Indian Summer

After a chilly September and October, we are having a most unusual November. It's the longest fall I can remember - not even any snow yet! Even more bizarre, it's been in the 60s with sunny afternoons for the past two weeks, so jackets are only needed in the morning and evenings. It's wonderful! Sure to change soon though, so we are taking advantage as much as possible. One afternoon was too pretty to pass up, so the kids and I biked over to the city park where we discovered vast amounts of leaves!! So much fun scooping, tossing, piling, and jumping.

We even made an obstacle course of leaf piles for races, both around and through them! The daredevil boy had to have a go at them on his bike. Don't fret - there were several more successful attempts after this. He's tough!

The whole family also took our bikes/scooters to Snake River Landing's scenic path one afternoon. Less leaves there, but lots of open space for daddy-chasing and tons of rocks for throwing into the partially-drained pond.

The sun kept shining this past weekend, so we did a late-fall excursion to Cress Creek. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we had to fight the urge to curl up in the sunshine for a nap. 

All that time in gymnastics has paid off in this girl's balance.

The creek is the best part! Supposedly, the water stays fairly warm all winter so the moose can come eat the water cress growing in it. It also provides a calming, babbling brook sound in the background. Perfect for that nap...

But kids are always more interested in seeing how close they can come to falling in the creek! Luckily, we came away unscathed, other than the pond scum that Owen fished out.

Just a beautiful fall day. We were too late for fall color, but scenic nonetheless.

Owen and John even ventured up the steep, less-developed trail to the rocky top! They are the two dots on top of the rock way up there.

 It's still a nice view for a kid-friendly hike 40 minutes from home.

Lastly, the capitol Christmas tree came through town, so I took Hadley to check it out while Owen was at school. It was harvested in western Idaho and is making a few stops on its way to Washington, D.C. The top was visible and decorated, but apparently there is 80-ft of Christmas tree occupying the full length of this trailer! Pretty impressive!

Hadley even got to sign the trailer in silver marker, along with thousands of other well-wishers. 

Added bonuses were the free cookies and the giant potato trailer. The guy on the left there is Spuddy Buddy (the Idaho potato mascot), but this is as close as Hadley would get to him. She also didn't want her picture taken with Smokey the Bear or Santa. Since the line was a little ridiculous for that photo op, I was totally fine with her shyness!