Family Mellmann

It seems that the beautiful leaves of fall have fallen (there aren't many left) so we are back outside raking. Patrick has been a big help this year running the tractor with the leaf rake. And Katherine loves to ride along. They stuck with us for most of the day raking (leaves), riding (the tractor), dumping (leaves in the forest), and changing (winter tires on). They were dirty and exhausted by the end of the day. It's a good day when we can exhaust our children. :)

Pictures on a cell phone don't do justice to the absolute grandeur and beauty of the season!

The foliage is beautiful in Vermont right now. The colors are in full glory and the Leaf Peepers are in full viewing mode. On this day we decided to split up to best make use of the weather and fit it the things that we really wanted to do.

We haven't gone on many long bike rides this year. Partly because it has been an unusually rainy summer and partly because...well, I just don't know. I guess it's partly because Patrick complains too much and we just get tired of hearing it. On the other hand we've just been busy doing other stuff. I guess it doesn't matter. With the weather as beautiful as it has been these last few days we just had to go for a bike ride. So we loaded up all the bikes and went for a waterfront tour. As you can see by her face, Katherine is quite pleased to be going for a bike ride. Patrick was also pleased to go...no complaining on this trip. It was a beautiful day all around.

As long as we have lived on River Cove Road, watching hot air balloons launch and rise over the trees has been a treat for us. All these years and it is still a treat. And this time they even came very close, which doesn't always happen. Typically the wind blows the balloons in a more southwesterly direction taking them past us, but not near us. That made this day special.

A Vermont October is bound to be cold and a bit windy so when the sun is out and the weather is fresh, but it's not cold, you simply *must* take advantage and spend time outside. On this day Katherine and I enjoyed several periods of outdoor play, but once Patrick got home from school we just couldn't resist throwing the kids' bikes in the car and running over to the park behind Williston Central School. The kids get to do a little riding, we can hang out by the river, and then play on the playground for a bit before returning home to start supper. It was a beautiful day.

It's here! The colors, the cool breezes, the falling leaves, the warm sweaters; it's really here. As I sit here in our new office (in our new house) and look out the front windows I am greeted by an old scene; one we have enjoyed for this our ninth year. What a treasure to look out large (mostly clean) new windows on a familiar scene of changing colors, falling leaves, and kids dressed in fleece as they run in the yard. A year ago this time our earthly possessions were still packed up in boxes and stored away in self-storage units. Dinner was prepared on a small camp stove in the camper (or by Chili's) and every few days I was making a run to the gas dealer for a refill on our propane tanks (for the camper's cooking and heating). Around this time last year Jörg and I were headed out to North Carolina for our big furniture shopping trip; two solid days of furniture shopping bliss and marriage enrichment (if you can survive building a house and two days of furniture s...

As the weather starts to get cold and rainy (part of autumn in Vermont) some of our activities move indoors. With the start of the school year, the Green Mountain Gymnastics Academy once again opened their doors to a community playgroup. So, as often as we can (every other week, at least) Katherine and I go to the playgroup and "shake our sillies out" and "wiggle the waggles away". It's a great time to run, jump, climb, crawl, roll, tumble, fly, and flop until the lights go out and it's time to go home.

I give a great deal of thought to each toy, activity, or play thing that comes into this house; is it educational? Is it a good value? Will kids play with it? Will it survive more than one child? Is it fun for me too? All of these things (and others) are considerations when I shop for kid stuff. Yet despite this thoughtful process they still gravitate to the everyday tools and materials; play with the box and disregard the gift that came in it or stomp on all the bubble wrap and forget about what that wrap was protecting. Today it is the fun of playing in featherbedding just brought out for the winter.