Fall Afternoon

     Monday afternoon screamed outside time.  The walls of our house seemed to be closing in on us; probably some sort of protection mechanism to combat the ricocheting bodies of a four and six year old who were literally bouncing off of every surface.  Little Man comes home from school everyday bursting with little boy energy and Kiwi usually follows his lead.

     I was able to successfully reign them in long enough for Little Man to do his homework and then we heeded the siren calls of the changing leaves, crisp air, and sunshine.  Dinner prep was put off, toys were left out, and we just went.  Packed some water, tossed the scooters into the back of the van, grabbed some freezer bags to collect leaves in and headed down to a nearby park.

 This little guy takes his exploring seriously.   Intent, focused, bright eyed, curious, and on a mission.  He did not appreciate efforts to direct him in a different way or show him the leaves, so we just let him explore what he wanted to.  A metal grate covering a drain and some benches were of most interest to him.  Below is my attempt to get a cute fall picture of my baby in the leaves.  He just wants to get back to the benches.

 These two rode their scooters, collected leaves, and ran and ran and ran.  Kiwi's freezer bag was stuffed full of leaves within five minutes of arriving at the park.  Little Man had a different approach, stating that he was waiting for the really interesting ones and only choosing a few special leaves to make his collection.

    One thing both the older kids really wanted to do was make a big pile of leaves and jump it.  They worked for quite a while to get the pile. Little Man was especially dedicated to the cause.  When it was done, they were ready to jump and designated their starting point quite a distance from their pile.

 Here's Little Man on the way to make a jump (Kiwi in the background is at their starting point).

 And he's getting closer....

 And here comes the big jump into the...wait for it...

big pile.

This is the result of our efforts.  Next time, maybe I should bring a rake to aid in the leave pile.  They enjoyed it though.






At one point, I decided to try and play photographer and made the kids sit while I took their pictures with the beautiful fall backdrop. Little Man and Kiwi humored me for a few minutes breaking out a few poses (Kiwi's thoughtful look cracked me up).  Mason was not too keen on the idea.  It wasn't so much the camera he opposed, more the suggestion that he needed to sit still for more then .2 seconds.  Although I did manage to snap a couple of the three of them before Mason decided it was time to get down.

We finished the afternoon by walking over to the play structure and playing until the afternoon sun gave way to dusk and I looked at the time surprised that it was almost time for Mike to get home.  It was my favorite kind of afternoon.