One Fall Afternoon

So our big Japanese maple tree in the front yard celebrated the big finale of its seasonal cycle by turning deep orange to bright yellow, and shedding all the leaves during two storms.  Its our sixth year admiring the tree's majestic transformation and third year having Jason clean up the enormous amount of leaves scattered across our front.  Every year, the kids play with the fallen leaves on sunny days and they are excited every year as if the leaves are first snow of the season. 

A couple of weeks ago, the girls and I got out on a sunny morning to play with the leaves.  It was a little chilly and they told me their little fingers hurt, but they had a lot of fun playing in the yellow fluff.  They raked the leaves with their hands and threw the leaves in the air.  The leaves are dump from the rain, so their little fingers took no time turning red from being cold.  Their noses turned red, too, but they were running around giggling.   

After a fun play outside, we settled in for a warm cup of hot chocolate.  I really enjoy a simple and slow moments like these since we are always on the go.  Jason cleaned up the leaves a few days ago and the front yard looks a little empty.  We will now bundle up and stay cozy because the winter is here!