indian summer

they are calling it "indian summer" because we are getting one last fling with warmer temperatures. i think today was around 74 and tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 78! (this is in sharp contrast with the high of 48 forecast for saturday.)  it was raining this morning but after lunch the sun came out and i decided that we should enjoy the warmth while we could.

the boys and i headed out down the trail for a long walk.  i was even brave enough to let mason ride his bike for the first time.  we went around 4 miles and mason did fantastic!  i was so proud of him because he has never ridden his bike anywhere even close to this distance.  here is some quick video of how he can pick up his feet and balance on the bike now.  he can actually 'ride' much longer, but you can get the general idea.

manning has figured out how to hold and chew on a teether.

maddux got to ride so that we could keep the pace up.

i didn't really have a plan in mind, but did bring my wallet in case we got to the shopping center and i could pick up a coffee. :) we just made our way down the trail and had fun spotting wildlife.  we had some great luck with following several woodpeckers and watching them 'peck' at the trees. and maddux was happy to point out each and every squirrel.

when mason realized that we were almost to the shopping center, he suggested we get some ice cream.  we had almost gone two miles and he had done so fantastic that i thought ice cream sounded like a great idea!  (it didn't hurt that we had a gift card either.)

maddux had to be woken up to eat his ice cream.  we let manning keep sleeping.  i think manning enjoyed falling asleep out in the fresh air too.  it wasn't hot, but it was warm enough to melt the boys' ice cream very fast.  i was basically licking each cone to try and minimize the mess since i didn't bring my bag and had no wipes!  at least the girl working the counter had given me a lot of napkins and i had brought extra water.

 i was happy not to have my own cone to worry about.  i had picked up a coffee at starbucks so that mason could go to the bathroom.  he rode his bike right into the store!  i wasn't sure what to do with it because it is so small and we didn't have a lock.  do you just leave it outside?  i was afraid someone might trip on it so we took it in with the stroller.  i am sure i was a sight for all the cool 'kids' hanging out with their laptops at starbucks (there is a university across the street).

once we were fairly cleaned up, we headed for home.  i didn't want to have to rush on our walk, but we needed to make sure and get home before madelyn's bus came.  on the way back we stopped to enjoy all of the fallen leaves.  it was so gorgeous in the afternoon sun - the pictures don't really capture it.

mason LOVED riding his bike on the trail.

maddux had me take pictures of his 'favorite' leaves - there were a lot.

i wanted them to take a picture together, but they pose and moved on before i could get the camera turned back on.

i am so thankful for this day of fun with my boys after two very busy work weeks where they spent a lot of time in the house.  love.