"Give thanks with a grateful heart."
Even though the weather wasn't the greatest, the weekend still was.
We didn't have an overly busy weekend planned initially, but it turned into one.
We took each day as it came and it was all good.
Friday evening, we went to a hockey team party hosted by the Higgs Family. Friday the weather was still warmish and half-decent so it worked out well that the boys could play manhunt outdoors in the neighbourhood and then swim in the outdoor pool. By the time they started swimming it was raining. Which didn't seem to bother them - they were wet anyway. Pizza was consumed. Introductions were made with parents that we didn't know. I think we have a very nice group of parents/kids and it was a fun evening for all of us.
Saturday morning we woke up to chchchchhhhilly temps. Brrrrrrr. Max had an exhibition hockey game in Stratford. I decided to stay home and get some work (cleaning and food prep) done around the house. When they got back home, Max was in the mood to get some raking done. There are lots of leaves to be raked in our back yard for sure.
(He would have preferred if Keith waited to mow the lawn until he had raked it ALL. We didn't have time for that so the lawnmower had to come out and finish up the process.)
Bake me a pie! Indeed!
My mom's thanksgiving dinner was on Sunday and I offered to bring some of the food...swedish mashed potatoes, jello rings and dutch apple pies. Which is why I was so busy and stayed home from hockey.
Around 2:00pm that afternoon, Kyle & Kurtis arrived for a cousin sleepover. Max loves when they come and is wondering if the next time they can stay for a few more days and nights. :)
The rest of Saturday was spent supervising boys and making food. Keith was also busy and bless his heart immensely because he was fixing clogged drains and my kitchen sink faucet and replacing the hot tub cover and all manner of things that needed attention. I like when stuff gets done like that. At night it was movie and popcorn night for the boys and then trying to get them to sleep....aiye! They were seriously planning to stay up all night long. Fortunately for us, all night long came at 10:30pm.
Sunday morning we all went to church (Keith taught our adult SS class) and then headed over to my parents for a delicious thanksgiving dinner. Only about half of us were around this year. Heather & Vanessa were on the MYF bus trip to Ottawa. So were Jesse & Emmalene (youth sponsers) And Jon & Sheila and boys are coming down next weekend instead. We were a smaller group but we still enjoyed a delicious meal with all the fixings!
A glimpse of LeeAnne infamous "frozen lettuce salad"! ;)
In the afternoon, Max had a hockey practice in New Hamburg so Keith zipped him back for that and then they both came back later to hang out and pick me up. While they were gone, Wyatt was busy building and tearing down forts. He was getting us all involved. So cute!
Sunday was cold and rainy and dreary. We stayed indoors all day....there was nothing pushing us to go outside even though I would have loved to go for a walk. Fort building was a good substitute!
Monday morning we slept in a bit and when we woke up....we saw brilliant blue sky and sunshine pouring in our windows. YES! A lovely beautiful Thanksgiving Day!
We soon headed out for the wide open highway. The perfect day to go for a drive and check out the fall colours....
Our first stop was Elora. Loved it! Haven't been there for years....probably since I was a little girl.
We parked on a side street in front of this house. Loooooooove it. Isn't it adorable? Pretty sure this house has my name written all over it. Or at least on the mailbox! ;)
We hiked around the park area and then down into the gorge.
This tree....STUNNING. Words cannot describe the vividness.
Finding our favourite leaf. It's a big job.....there is always a better one, laying just a bit beyond where you are standing. Max picked this one because of the orangy colour...it was that perfect fall orange shade.
Heading down to the river...
Just to interject for a moment....we all loved spending time here. It brought back so many memories of our exploring and hiking days in Vancouver. It reminded us of Lynn Canyon. A lot. :)
Keith and Max walked across a tree to cross the river. They wanted to explore the caves.
Here they are crossing back to my side of the river, via the tree...
We packed a picnic lunch before we left and found a lovely picnic spot after our exploring adventures.Mmmmmmm...food always tastes better when eaten outdoors. Even if it is just sandwiches, veggies and grapes. :)
This was the ultimate leaf find. Because of the black edges....very unusual and very stunning! It came home with us and is getting pressed in a book.
My trusty fall boots (the wind must have blown my scarf tassle in the photo just as I snapped!) These boots were made for walkin' and they go just about anywhere!
While walking around Elora, we noticed various modes of transportation. This one is not that unusual...
This one is...
(We did laugh when we saw this mini-van. Seriously! Well...at least they were wishing everyone a happy thanksgiving in a creative way!!)
Leaving Elora we drove alot of back country roads and did a loop to Hockley Valley (Hockey Valley as Max called it) and back. We stopped beside the road here for a bit and Keith and Max spied wild turkey's in the field:
Finally, we stopped in at Grandpa & Grandma's on our loop back home. They had just arrived home themselves after spending their day at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Wyatt went along with them so he was still there..Max and him jumped on the tramp for a while.
At the end of the day we all agreed that this year's drive proved the most beautiful fall colours seemed to be right here in Waterloo Region. We had to drive quite a ways to figure that out! And there will be lots and lots of leaves for the Maxter to be raking in the next couple of weeks...
(watercolour & ink by Max)
No comments:
Post a Comment