Sunshiney Thanksgiving!

This was a very quiet Thanksgiving in our house with all of our families either traveling or otherwise occupied--(selling the family home and moving).  Which, I for one, will not complain about.  Life can be hectic, so we were happy to stay put this year. 

Our weekend was filled with sunshine and warm sunny weather with a high of 22 degrees Celsius on Monday!  It practically felt like summer!  But the leaves told us otherwise.  We got out for a bike rides along the trails near our home and the leaves were stunning!  There were tons and tons of milling walking the trails with cameras in hand trying to snap photos and capture the firey orange-red beauty of the leaves skirting the waters' edge. 

Aside from all the "cliché" things that I am thankful for (a wonderful life, a supportive and happy marriage, my beautiful children and our good health) here are a few extra things I am thankful for this year:

1) The cousins who live in Toronto and descended upon our home for Thanksgiving dinner, arms laden with all sorts of delicious food, including a yummy often-made and often-favorited kale salad, homemade pies and the like.  Oh, and wine!  Lots of bottles of yummy wine.

2) Friends who live in Toronto, who had no family around and also crashed at our house!  And made the most amazing gravy I've ever had!

3) Five little ones who ran around the house adding a vibrant and lively tone to the celebrations--chanting for chocolate milk and pounded the table with their forks while calling joyfully for PUMP-KIN-PIE, PUMP-KIN-PIE!  I am always so happy to lean into the chaos that are our young excitable children.

4) Leftovers, and such lovely yummy leftovers!  (I know, it's the small things).

5) This incredible weather and vibrant leaves.  I just know it's going to be enough to get me through this long, dark winter.  

6)  The internet!  (Thanks to modern technology we got to skype and chat and see pictures of our families' thanksgivings).  So while it might seem a little frivolous and luxurious, I am very thankful for these abilities to connect with people all over the country when we can't be everywhere we want to be.

.... And thanks to the mountains of food, many family members and what felt like a million children (even if there were only five) I was way too in the moment to get ANY photographs.  Which, admittedly was a bit liberating, but now I am just a little bit sad we didn't capture any of those moment with the kids banging their forks on the table.  Or crawling all over Clifford's leg begging for chocolate milk, or Frankie covered in cranberry sauce leaving little adorable fingerprints on the white cotton tablecloth (which did come clean, btw).  Or the big beast of a 20 lb turkey....  These fond memories will just have to be written down rather than captured in a photograph. 

Hope your Thanksgiving was sunny and warm, if not outside, then in your homes!

Farms Around the City: Chudleigh's!!

You know, for such a big city-city, with all of its office buildings and opera houses and theatres and stadiums, Toronto surprisingly has a lot of great farms around the outskirts, not that far of a drive either. We've made it a bit of a mission to explore some of these farms each fall since we've been here.

There are so many different farms with various activities and food options.  We've found that while some are open during the week (while others are closed), some places have lunch menus during the week and other places don't.  I always TRY to plan to pack lunches.  But let's be honest.  Even when I do, the kids end up eating their lunches at 9:30 in the morning on the way to the farm and are ravenous by noon.  One great farm we went to last week was open AND served lunch--Chudleigh's!!  Farm animals to visit, apples to pick, tractors to ride (without the long lines), pumpkins, enormous slides to whiz down.  I think that was our favorite part--those big slides down into the hay.

It was definitely one of the chilliest days we have had so far, so we had to try out our new hats and mitts we bought at the CNE this summer.  Whew!  They were warm.  And for once, both of the kids asked to wear their hats and mitts.  Not sure if it's because they are getting older and understand the simple equation: hats + mitts = warmth.  Or that they got to pretend they were animals. Anyway, these hats and mitts are super cute and really roomy, so I am sure we'll have them for awhile.  (So long as we don't end up losing them!)  I'm starting to think I should have bought myself a set.

My personal favorite were the little piglets, all curled up on top of each other.  Sort of reminded me of our family in the morning, all piled on top of each other, the kiddos kicking us in the ribs. 

 

This was one of the most hilarious moments.  We were trying to get the kids to poke their heads out of the holes and pretend to be the animals.  They totally did NOT get it. At all.  They would peek out and look down at the ground and then disappear before we could get a picture.  It was sort of like that gopher game.....

 

 

We really liked Chudleigh's!  And will definitely be putting it on our list next year!

Frolicking in Fall Leaves in James Gardens

Had a little bit of fun today in James Gardens with my kiddos.  Believe it or not, the fall leaves are very very behind here.  Here and there are some bright coloured trees.  But some of the major parks in this city still don't have many coloured leaves.  Let's hope that means an extended fall with beautiful golden light, crisp autumn air and a slow transition into a short winter! ;) 

We've never spent any time at James Gardens with my kids but it is such a beautiful spot with lots of lovely gardens and trails.  Many little bridges and ponds with ducks and geese.  The kids loved running through the trails, finding mucky puddles, climbing on the bridges, running through golden grasses, and throwing leaves around on the one small red leafed tree we found.  

We are still transitioning to life with only one toddler who naps.  This makes the days a little long and grumpy.  It seems impossible to get enough sleep to handle the hype of the day.  So these little morning adventures out are ways that we blow off some steam.  I always find my children are so much happier when they are outside running around freely.  And so am I.  Lately, I've just been turning off my phone while I am with them and just joining in all the little moments.   

Now that almost all my weekends are tied up with photoshoots, I am trying to make the most of our free weekdays to do things we might otherwise do on a weekend.  I am realizing how precious and limited my time with just them is.  My husband and I always talk about the fact that it won't be long before the kids will be off spending time with their friends--off to the park or a friend's house, or soccer practice, etc.   So as grumpy or tough as some moments, some days might be, we are trying to fill them up with lots of great memories and moments while I can.