The joys of fall

Pumpkin patches, hay rides, hot drinks, stews, cider mills, and doughnuts, just to name a few. Fall is my favorite time of year and my list of favorite things during this season could rival even Julie Andrews. Even this morning's bright white frost, which made me move my morning run indoors to the treadmill, brought a smile to my face. That's what a crisp fall day is all about. So we spent this crisp fall day (which, at nearly 60 degrees, wasn't all that crisp later in the afternoon) taking in the many joys of this rich season. The first three, and more, we covered this morning at Wing Farms (the same place where we picked up all of our free rocks this summer!) with a farm animal visit, a hay ride to the pumpkin patch, and hot cider with fresh doughnut to warm up. Calvin, who is going to be a fall lover like his mom, enjoyed every bit of it, even the rough kisses he received from Champ, who, incidentally, was the cow who taught him to moo this time last year - the only real word he was saying at the time (I double checked my dates on that one - could it really have been only a year ago??? Yes). Both Champ and Calvin are much bigger now, and possibly equally more vocal! We came home from that excursion toting two bundles of corn stalks, a bale of hay, and two pumpkins, all of which now grace our festive front porch.

And after a refreshing afternoon nap (for Calvin, that is, since Jon and I spent that time weeding gardens and spreading 2 cubic yards of mulch) we climbed back in the car and headed to Spicer's Orchard in Fenton to meet with old friends, John and Ashley, and their two boys. Spicer's didn't have a Champ, but they did have a "train ride" (think hay ride, only the wagon looks like a train), a big (and messy) sandbox, and really, really good pies. Since fall is also about warm homes and warm hearts, we ended the evening with great company, great dinner, and one of the aforementioned great pies.  Our friends' oldest son, Noah, is only seven months older than Calvin and the two of them played together wonderfully, even well past their bedtimes, allowing us adults to share some stories, some laughs, and some wine before calling it a night.  Yes, fall is one of my favorite things.

Our new addition...

...to the yard.  Christmas came to our house early this year in the form of a beautiful Eastern Redbud.  We picked him out last week, after much searching and disappointment from various Ann Arbor area tree hot spots, at Fraleigh's Nursery and they brought him home to us this morning and planted him in the back yard by the butterfly garden.  We are all very excited to welcome him to our terrain, but Calvin especially is absorbed in his presence.  Yesterday we stopped by the nursery to finalize the delivery details and to take some pictures, and during our grocery stop on the way home Calvin told everyone who would listen about his new tree and its yellow leaves (his grasp of language  is such a joy, and I mean that without a single ounce of sarcasm).  His jubilation at the arrival of the "planting men" this morning was equally as uncontainable and we spent the entire half hour outside in the barely above freezing weather watching them dig a whole, mix in dirt and mulch, and plant our new addition; our beautiful new tree.  Thank you Gram and Grandpa!  And kudos to Fraleigh's, where everyone was knowledgeable and helpful.

Chicago, marathon style

Tuesday, tuesday, tuesday – dance class, laundry, dusting, work, and dinner –  the routine is always oh so boring when following on the heels of a mini vacation such as the one to which we were treated this past weekend.  On Friday, for Jon's birthday, my parents loaded us all in the van and treated us to a weekend in Chicago to visit Curtis, who also got older on Friday!  Big city living is fun in small doses.  Curtis's new apartment offers both a great location and a marvelous view (think walking distance to the Pier, Millennium Park, and the Magnificent Mile, all places that we visited), and  even had a closet in which Calvin could sleep (important unless we all plan on going to bed at eight with the baby).  On Friday we arrived in time to enjoy a fantastic birthday dinner, French style, at Cyrano's Bistrot.  Mmmmm escargot.  On Saturday we stuffed ourselves at breakfast, enjoyed a late morning outting to The Navy Pier (mmmmm local beer), and stuffed ourselves again with an early dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe.  Mmmmmm  carbs.  And that brings me to the second reason for our weekend visit–The Chicago Marathon, in which both Curtis and his friend, Julie, were running.  So Sunday morning we stuffed ourselves once again at breakfast and then made our way through Millennium Park (a fun destination in itself, too, what with the bean and Crown Fountain) and over to mile 26 of the 26.2 mile marathon route where we camped out against the barricades for an hour in order to see them run by (and snap some pictures, of course).  A successful endevor!  They both finished what was their first marathon in just under 4.5  hours AND managed to look pretty peppy in the aftermath.  Our final day, Monday, found us shopping the Magnificent Mile and enjoying a deli lunch before packing it in and heading for home (at which time Curtis probably heaved a sigh of relief at having his apartment to himself again and the tme to rest his marathon weary legs).  One more stop, this one for dinner at the nearly century old Schuler's in Marshall, Michigan, for their famed prime rib.  And that brings us to today.  How boring.

Pictures galore in the Chicago Trip album.

Rainy fall days

We like to spend them oustide.  Calvin is the proud owner of a great second run rain coat and pair of (luckily) matching boots which he begs to put on every time the ground even appears to be wet, so when we actually saw rain falling this morning we headed out to catch some rain drops and puddles before music class. Unfortunately the fall weather in Michigan is as fickle as a contestant on elimidate and by the time we stepped off the porch the rain had stopped and we were forced to make do with meager puddles and damp grass.  Oh the utter disappointments of childhood–if only we could embrace them as adults we would never lament a rainy day in all our lives.

For heaven's sake

As you can probably tell by the stagnant conditions on the blog, I've been away for a short trip.   My loving husband sent me on a four day retreat to  Northern Michigan where I spent my time window shopping,  hiking ski hills, taking in the brilliant fall colors, and scrapbooking at a weekend convention.  It was a much enjoyed break, but I have always suffered from an overactive homesickness gene, an affliction that was not improved upon with the advent of motherhood, and was, therefore, itching to get home as the final day drew to a close.  I relished that first pint sized hug when I finally  arrived home, sat down to spend some play time, and though I was gone for only four days I could swear that Calvin's language developed tenfold while I was away.  Maybe it's a trick of the memory, having been working with pictures and notes taken nearly a year ago, but when I first arrived and sat down to play he was talking a mile a minute, in full sentences, and without much space for breathing.  It was while I was trying to drink in this wonderful moment that I apparently erred in my toy placement, to which Calvin responded "No, not there, the dude goes down here.  Oh for heaven's sake."  Yep, definitely tenfold.  And I really was only gone four days.