Weekend Shenanigans

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What a beautiful, fun-filled weekend! After a lovely Friday evening with some of our favorite people (more on that tomorrow), we awoke to amazing early fall weather. I am aware that it’s technically still summer, but when the temperature drops so low at night that we awaken to a freezing cold house, it is hard to remember that! The sunshine warmed us up enough while we walked to breakfast with the boys, where they enjoyed their very first hot chocolate of the season. Then we headed out to Shaw Nature Reserve. It has been too long since we have visited this great place. I am always aware of how crucial it is for all of us to get out of the city and be around these green open spaces with trees towering above and water, woods, and fields to explore freely. It is built into our very beings, this need. DSC_0099DSC_0104DSC_0112DSC_0116

It never ceases to amaze me the transformation that happens to all of us when we are in nature. It’s something different from just being at a playground or even a smaller green space. I think it needs to feel massive, greater than us, to get the feeling. And it’s worth it every time. We lay in the grass after snacking on apples and cheese and crackers and let the sunshine warm us and restore us. The air was fresh and cool, just the perfect day. DSC_0147

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We spent nearly the whole day there, just slowly moving from field to woods to pond. Being in these places with my boys always makes me feel like myself again, and I know they enjoyed it just as much. It fills up their little souls! DSC_0365DSC_0395DSC_0391DSC_0005

The rest of the weekend was spent at home and with our neighbors, a new group of young families that we have really grown to love. They are people who are outside enjoying their children and their community as much as we do, and it’s become a heartwarming tradition this summer, our meeting at the neighborhood playground every Sunday afternoon, chatting for hours, slack-lining, and always finding time for a soccer game (kids versus parents). It was a weekend full of belly laughter and teaching moments and filling up on joy. I love this time of year. DSC_0008P.s. — Our first successful lettuce crop, and Oliver found THE BIGGEST apple from our apple tree. He enjoyed every last bite.

… And here is our trip to Shaw Nature Reserve 2 years ago, where Oliver wore the exact same overalls Emil has on during this trip (not planned, I promise), and upon reading that post, I realize it must be difficult to have a bad day in that beautiful place. And look at how little they were! It makes my heart ache.

Have a wonderful Monday!

2 thoughts on “Weekend Shenanigans”
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  1. Oh my gosh! Looks like so much fun <3 I love that you guys have a neighborhood gang of like-minded parents and kids. When proximity and kindred spirits mix, there's always potential for true friendships. Happy Monday Mama!

  2. Ooooh, Sat’s temps were dreamy. It bolted us right out of our late summer ennui and into a new sense of wonder. After getting dressed for the day I snuck up to Alex and whispered “Lets go set some stuff on fire!” The joy of being an adult means that inbetween yard work and chores I could go burn twigs and leaves and random bits of paper in my fire pit and no one can tell me not to! Juvenile sure, but what is Autumn if not for re-sparking our belief in all things possible; crisp but warm days topped by chilled nights with soups and stews on the stove and open red wine, spooky stories and mists and crackling fires and crunching leaves and big full moons and things turning over slowly to a season that is full of imagination – almost stuffed to the gills with it – leading headlong into the magic of the holidays. Something about days where I can see my breath on the air that makes me hope for changing tides and new adventures.

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