Fall Fun in Summer Weather

With the weather so nice yesterday I had to seize the opportunity before it is gone for good. After Ethan was done with school we grabbed some lunch and then headed to the coolest park to play. The kids have such a blast there. The past few times we've gone it has been pretty quiet, so the kids can run free without too many obstacles. Their imaginations run wild. We were dragons for a while and then bees trying to sting each other. That park's structure is great for playing hiding and chasing games. We just have a great time there. Because it is November, though, the Parks and Rec. have turned off the water. So, due to the warm weather and all the running, the kids were thirsty and we had a 1/2 cup of leftover soda to share among the 4 of them. As we were searching for a water fountain, the kids saw a pile of leaves on the ground under a huge maple tree. Nobody said a word to anyone, but simultaneously the kids all ran to the leaves and gleefully started to play in them.

After the leaf fun we had to get some water. We did a little shopping and Aaron met us at the mall on his bicycle. We played with the train table and Barnes and Noble and then headed to the bluffs to hike. We hiked up our usual "difficult" trail. The trail Ethan loves. But, yesterday, he hated. He cried most of the way up. Brayden came with us, too, and he and Emmett loved the hike. We ended up on a rocky face of a bluff. I, of course, didn't take the camera along to capture that shot. Needless to say, the kids were pretty exhausted after all that physical activity and no naps.