Happy Fall!

We've been enjoying an AMAZING Autumn. The leaf color is possibly the best I've seen in the eleven years we've been here. On top of that, October has been unseasonably warm. You won't hear any complaints from me about that combination! Here are a few photos:

J took this picture of the pumpkin.

L took this to show the contrast of the leaf colors against the deep blue sky.

Now we have the leaf color, the deep blue sky, and a six-year-old.

One thing about Autumn in the north--the leaves fall down. On the ground. Lots and lots of them. When you're six years old, the best part of all of those leaves all over the ground is getting to PLAY in them. With that understanding, my sister and I always plan a few leafy games just to let the kids make good use of those piles...and piles of leaves. This is now our third annual Happy Fall Day. It's one of the lesser known holidays.

One activity is the wheelbarrow race. We rake up a huge pile of leaves and the kids race to the pile, fill up their wheelbarrows, then turn and race to a wading pool and dump in the leaves. J, being older and bigger, has to do more laps than Miss Girl.

Apparently the extra laps reduced his energy level. Imagine that.

After the race, Miss Girl and J drag the pool back to the leaf pile for the final event.

This is the favorite of the celebrants. The time-honored Jumpin' in the Leaves.

To finish off the day, leaves are raked onto a blanket to be tossed into the air.

Ready? On the count of three:

One.

Two.

Three!

HAPPY FALL!