Leaf Explorers

I have loved the warm weather through September and October. The kids have played outside nonstop; we've eaten dinners and lunches and even breakfasts in the backyard or on the hill; I've been able to run in short sleeves. So it's not that I haven't enjoyed the season! But I did look around about a week ago and start to worry that I had almost missed Fall—the leaves, the trees, the canyons. We've hardly had time to take a breath and I'm always feeling like there's some box or other I ought to be unpacking.

And so (every year I say this)—"we almost didn't go"—but thankfully we DID go! We took a picnic and went up the canyon one morning instead of school. (Or should I say "for school"? hee hee) Malachi gallantly volunteered to stay home with a napping Gus, which made the rest of us much freer to explore!

Daisy and Junie had remembered all year about their "horsie" they'd played on last Fall. It was a bouncy tree growing sideways out of the mountain, and they had so much fun on it! They asked if we could go play at the same place again, and I was not at all sure that we could find it—or if the tree would still be there after the winter. But they remembered right where it had been, and it WAS still there! Just as horsie-ish as ever. They were so happy.

Little Zekey spent the first 45 minutes tripping and falling over rocks hidden under the leaves. He wanted to stay close by me so I could kiss his hundred little bonks and scrapes. But after awhile he found his footing (and got smart enough to stop RUNNING everywhere) and then we could hardly keep him in sight! He was playing motorcycle some of the time, and forklift some of the time—making "vvvv"-ing sounds everywhere he went, of course.

Teddy was just fully one of the big kids this year. He and Goldie went off exploring and came back SO proud of themselves and SO talkative about all the amazing things they'd seen—a tunnel made of rocks, a cave made of trees, beautiful golden sparkly rocks (Goldie's phrase), huge tree roots, and I don't know what-all. Teddy got quite dirty from his exertions, and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to wipe his cheek off and instead making it worse with his dirty hands.

Goldie was not entirely clean herself.

Aaa! The cutest brown-eyed boy!

"I am the Leaf Queen!"

"No, I am the Leaf Queen!"

"We are the Leaf Dancers!" (It had a song that went with it. Far too silly to reproduce here.)

More silliness.

A little sly.

Ziggy discovered some snake grass, which was quite a thrilling development. The kids all love it so! I'm pretty sure there's still some of this in Goldie's backpack.