monday

we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with my family. We had high hopes of going to the Oktoberfest parade in the morning, but the thermometer made us think twice. 2 degrees C. is not very inviting. I am thankful that the kids didn't seem to mind. Abigail and Nathaniel still have pretty bad coughs and the last thing I wanted was the cold air to get their coughs going. Next year.

The kids were very excited to finally go to Grandma and Grandpa's. We arrived in time to share lunch together. As a vegetarian, I always struggle with the traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. It is obviously based around meat and not terribly exciting. Anyone out there ever do something radically different for the holidays? I remember a friend of mine mentioning that one year she abandoned the traditional turkey and prepared an entire meal based around global dishes. Her brother-in-law had a difficult time putting aside the tradition of the bird.

After our lunchtime meal, the kids quickly went outside to play in the leaves. On your mark, get set...

Go!

The kids occupied themselves most of the afternoon. The cool temperatures didn't deter them at all.

He was happy to watch the jumping.

Nathaniel's favorite part is the raking of the leaves. He was happy to prepare the pile before the next run.

Loving this photo.

A word of warning...this is what can happen to you when you spend too much time with your "Crackberry".

Unfortunately there aren't many pictures of Jesse. He did get outside for some soccer and sandbox time, but the camera did not follow. Here he is having a late afternoon snack of chips and dip. The shrimp were "yucky."

I got focused into this game for quite a while. I remember playing this at my Opa's house when I was young. He had the trick all figured out. I do not. Perhaps this is how he kept his mind so agile for all his life. Who needs Nintendo DS when you have these kinds of games?