Fall Fun with Family and Friends

Fall is in full swing and so is the fun. Actually family-time has been ongoing this past month, but as I have just finished my first practicum placement, only now am I getting a chance to catch my breath and catch you up on all the action.

First of all, Dad is back home and doing great after his surgery. Although his week-and-a-half stay in the hospital was almost more than he could stand, he’s up and out and about with minimal discomfort. Jeanette and I dropped in to see him and Mom on the Thanksgiving weekend, and Dad looked great. You’d never ever guess he’d had open heart surgery two weeks prior. With the surgery off his chest and the healing well on its way, he’s all set heading into winter – complete with “no snow shoveling” orders from his doctors. Well, if they insist.

We spent the rest of the beautiful Thanksgiving weekend with Jeanette’s family in Harriston. It had been less than a month since we’d last been up to celebrate our niece MacKenzie’s first birthday. Being the first grandchild on both sides of the family, she was utterly showered with gifts. Despite all the new toys, MacKenzie seemed to have the most fun with the laundry basket in which the gifts were delivered… with a little help from Aunt Jeanette:

As the beautiful weekends just keep on coming, I wanted to take full advantage by venturing into the great outdoors with Alfredo. Last weekend we headed for High Park for some high-impact (i.e. I could hardly walk the next day) one-on-one soccer. He’s getting bigger and faster and leaving me further in the dust than ever. As if he weren’t skilled enough, a friendly onlooker from Mexico (where they know a thing or two about the beautiful game) taught Alfredo some helpful tricks while I caught my breath. Perhaps I should start steering us toward something more my speed. Chess, maybe? Oh wait, he beats me at that too…

This weekend I did successfully find a place for us to go that harkens back to a slower pace of life: Toronto’s Black Creek Pioneer Village. The gorgeous fall day was perfect for wandering around the period community, chatting with the miller, and hearing ghost stories from the baker. Indeed the village’s Halloween Hootenanny was in full swing, and although many of the activities were decidedly un-pioneer-ish, Alfredo loved them. The apple slingshot was a particular hit (literally, as he got to launch apples at pumpkin targets).

The free pumpkin to decorate with markers was also a winner:

And the biggest delight was the surprisingly scary haunted maze. Often in total darkness, we timidly made our way through narrow corridors, brushing past things hanging from the ceiling and jumping at thumps and screams from unseen entities. At one point, something let out a banshee-like scream right in front of Alfredo and he tumbled back into me. “That was so cool!” he said, once he’d found his voice again.

More scary but less cool for Alfredo was the Creepy Creature show involving a man producing a live tarantula and asking for volunteers to pet it. It turns out that Alfredo, a devout Spider-Man fan, is not a spider man himself. He wanted nothing to do with even watching other people petting a giant hairy spider. Opting to bite rather than be bitten, we left the show early to eat lunch. All in all it was perfect mix of freaky and fun and a great way to spend a fabulous fall day.

As for school, my next practicum will begin the week of October 27. I haven’t yet heard where I’ll next be, but if I enjoy even half as much as I did my time in a grade 3 class, I’ll be in good shape. I still expect the next placement will have me in a kindergarten classroom. Maybe I can beat them at soccer.