Today was Jake's birthday. It was a really beautiful day -- 80 degrees and sunny. It felt so weird to sit outside in shorts watching the kids play in giant piles of leaves. It was also a nice and peaceful day. Jake wanted to have a brunch when his parents visited, so we made an omelette and belgian waffles and coffee cake and bacon. Nora is suddenly eating bacon. And cherry tomatoes.
Jake still isn't old enough to run for President, but he will be in a year.
I bought a couple of child-sized rakes so the kids could help Jake with his leaf raking, and they were a huge hit. The kids spent hours today raking leaves and then playing with their shovels in giant leaf piles. Making a nest, moving the pile around, making a leaf slide, making leaf chairs. All you need for a nice Sunday is warm weather and a giant pile of leaves.
Jake's birthday has never been so warm in my memory. This time of year should be all about knee-high boots and scarves and cable-knit sweaters. But I'm not complaining.
I'm remembering his birthday 7 years ago, when we spent the day in a small town about an hour away that was having its annual Octoberfest celebration. Octoberfest is a really big deal here. His parents were there, along with his aunt and a bunch of his friends, and that night we camped nearby and froze our butts off. I learned that I was in a strange land with its own set of customs, including German drinking songs (I was the only one who didn't know all the words) and polka (I was the only one who didn't know how to polka). That night we had fondue for dinner at a Swiss restaurant. Octoberfest is pretty much all about beer, from what I can tell, and bratwurst, and I don't drink beer or eat bratwurst, but somehow it's fun anyway. Maybe it's all the polka music. This is us 7 years ago on his birthday.
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