This year, we took Ellie apple picking. It is one of my favorite activities to do as a family. We can’t make it every year, but when we do, it’s always delightful.

In late September, I went with Keegan on a work trip to Santa Barbara. It was my first time there, and I fell in love. If you haven’t been, I can’t recommend it enough. The buildings are all white stucco with tiled roofs. This photo was taken from the tower of their historic courthouse.

We took Ellie to the ballet in October for the first time. We saw The Wizard of Oz at the Kauffman Center. As you can see, we really leaned into the fanciness of the event.

This photo was taken on a recent girls’ trip to Santa Fe. On this particular night, we had a private chef cook us miniature tacos, sous vide steak and a million other perfect little bites at our Air BnB. The picture is really grainy – but you can see all of our faces – which was more important to me.

For the last several years, Ellie has played soccer. While her teammates have mostly stayed the same, the team name always changes. This time, they were the Dolphins. Here, you can find her shielding her eyes from the sun and showing off her trophy.

I haven’t dressed up for Halloween in years, because I am lazy when it comes to costumes. But, this year, all three of us were invited to a costume party. Keegan and I went as Wesley and Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride, and Ellie switched up her cat costume to be a “princess cat.” You can’t see it in our family selfie, but she’s wearing her cat pieces and Jasmine ensemble together.