We have only been in Rochester in western New York for one day and wow what a blast we've had already. The trees are ablaze with color. I've tried to take some pictures from the car while driving and some of them actually aren't too bad.
This morning we visited my Gram. Aunt Nancy took us on a tour of her vegetable garden. This is no small garden, she has over 100 cucumber plants, 30 tomato plants, a ton of carrots, green bell peppers, asparagus, strawberries, green beans, broccoli, and our favorite raspberries. The kids had so much fun picking as much of everything that they wanted. Aunt Nancy was so pleasant to be around. She is such a different person when she is in her garden. She told the kids all about her gardening techniques and how she even keeps her carrots in the ground in the winter covered with hay and snow to keep them warm so she has a fresh supply of carrots all winter and she explained how she always lets a section of her garden go to weed each year to replenish the nutrients in the soil. The kids had a great time.
After Great Gram Dorothy's house we went Grammy and Bompa's house to pick up Grammy and headed to Ellison Park for a picnic lunch. My little people were so excited they ran straight down the big hill where mommy and daddy used to go snow sledding when we were kids. When they got to the bottom of the hill they played in freshly fallen leaves. They sledded in the leaves and made piles and jumped in the leaves and made leaf beds and were truly joyful.
After the leaf playing we continued down the hill to the little bridge that goes over Irondequoit Creek. 
We had a lovely picnic lunch under a magnificant beech tree. After lunch Annie asked if she could soak her feet in the creek. So off came the boots and socks and in the creek they went. We didn't snap any pictures. Grammy and I were too busy making sure the little people didn't get carried away by the current and the water got deep very close to where they were frolicking. After Emerson's nap we went out to dinner with Great Gram, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Pat, Rebecca and Gramma Jan.
What a great day! Filled with family and the familiar smell of fresh fallen leaves.
