Thanksgiving

Today was Thanksgiving here in Canada. A holiday I enjoy, marking a season I enjoy even more. And this weekend was an absolutely perfect fall weekend. Sunny, crisp, leaves just starting to show their colours.

We spent Friday at the Zoo with one of the kids' new classmates and her Mama. They're also a two-mom  household. Their little girl and Sprout have become quite good friends in the past month, and I really enjoy chatting with L, who does most of the school pick ups and drop offs. I was a little worried The Bean would feel left out, not having his own friend there, but it was a non-issue; all three kids got along wonderfully. L and I laughed, because at the end of the day we really could have just taken them to a park. They spent more time climbing on rocks, playing with sticks, and jumping in leaf piles than they did looking at animals, but they were happy, which really was the main goal of spending the day out together.

 

 

Saturday started off a bit rainy and grey, but it cleared up by lunchtime and we were able to go to the apple farm, which is something we'd put off from last weekend when it was much to rainy to even consider going. We took a tractor ride out to the orchard and filled up a bag with apples, then headed back so the kids could play on the massive bales of hay. 

Our neighbours had us over for dinner that night. They are a lovely family with two girls, fairly close in age to our two kiddos. Our kids were overtired and bit more wild than I would have liked, but it was still a nice visit. I had an interesting conversation with the father, who is also an identical twin, but quite different from his brother. It feels good to know that there are other twins who aren't BFFs. (I haven't posted much about it here, but my sister and I have not been on speaking terms for nearly a year. I'm mostly okay with this as I am no longer willing to tolerate the was she was treating me or my family, but it can be hard to knowing that I'm/we're not meeting people's expectations in terms of what a twin relationship should look like.)

Sunday we had our usual running around --me tutoring in the morning followed by the kids' gymnastics lessons mid-day-- followed by getting ready for hosting Thanksgiving. It was our first time hosting a holiday. We got off pretty easy, as the only guest was my mom, but still, I was concerned about everything coming together. Jen managed the kids while I holed up in the kitchen. Everything turned out pretty much perfectly! The food was delicious and everything was on the table even before the time we're usually sitting down for dinner. I prepared turkey, stuffing, roasted potatoes and carrots, mashed sweet potato, and green beans, along with cranberry sauce and gravy. Oh, and pumpkin muffins for dessert! Yum! I'm looking forward to eating the leftovers this week.

Today was another gorgeous day. Just the four of us went to one of my favourite places in the city --The Brickworks. We did a walk through the quarry, along the railroad tracks, and then back to the Children's Garden for the kids to play. We could have stayed longer, I'm sure, but tomorrow we will have to get back to the regular routine, so it seemed best not to push it.

There are more substantial things that I'd like to write about, but it's getting late. Fluffy surface level will have to do for now. Happy Thanksgiving, friends.