Thanksgiving Skies...

There's an old adage which goes, "Red Sky in the Morning, Shepherd's Warning; Red Sky at Night, Shepherd's Delight." And while the old weather folklore didn't quite agree with the colours in the sky, both sunset the night before Thanksgiving and sunrise on the morning of Thanksgiving itself were quite magnificent! :)

Thanksgiving 2022 sunrise was one of the best I've ever seen!

Costume Party...

The kids hosted a costume party for a few friends last Sunday (20th November). They had lots of fun and it gave us adults an opportunity to get dressed up, too. I was Siya Kolisi, captain of the Springboks (South Africa's national rugby team), while Candace was a cute hobbit. Riaan was a pirate and Eliza was a princess. :)

Snowy Saturday...

We woke up on Saturday, 12th November, to a surprise two-inches (5 cm) of snow that had fallen during the night. Both Riaan and Eliza had lots of fun in the cold white stuff, while Anya was not that much of a fan. The children even built a small snowman before the snow disappeared. :)

We woke up to a snowy scene!

The two older children loved it!

Zinnia flower wearing a snow hat.

Black-Eyed Susan with snow.

The storm drain was covered in snow.

Eliza and Riaan with their sweet snowman.

Windy Saturday Adventure...

We drove to Vernon, Indiana, on one of the windiest days that we can remember, recently. We had a rather challenging drive with lots of flying leaves and branches across the road, but once there we had a good time hanging out with our Mercy Ships friends Justin and Noel and their family. :) We walked in a beautiful park and our children loved the amazing playgrounds!

Clearing storm debris from the road.

The Medora Covered Bridge, one of the longest covered bridges in the USA!

Walnut Grove one-room school, originally built in 1913.

Anya loved the playground at Muscatatuck County Park.

Eliza and her friend Levi.

Sweet Riaan.

The ruins at Vinegar Mill Stone Cutting Quarry. There was once a water mill here that cut rocks!

A view of the Muscatatuck River.

The children and I hold up the cliff!

Heading up the stairs towards the parking area at Vinegar Mill.

Walking at Tripton Park in North Vernon.

Candace and Anya with Noel.

The kiddos found a massive leaf!

Selfie with my sweet Anya Joy.

There's a large solar park here.

We love walks no matter the weather!

The large musical instruments at the playgrounds are fantastic!

Pretty skies as we headed back towards Washington, Indiana.

Falkor the Lego Luckdragon...

Recently, we introduced the children to The NeverEnding Story, the classic fantasy adventure film made in 1984. Riaan used his imagination to make this amazing Lego creation of Falkor, the Luckdragon, from the movie. :)

Riaan's Atreyu and Falkor.

The pair in the movie.

Another view of Riaan's Luckdragon.

November Monarch...

A monarch butterfly made a rather late appearance in early November. It is probably the latest in the season that I've seen one of the bigger butterfly varieties. November was quite mild up to that point (it's much, much colder now!) so it's no surprise that it was confused. :)

Front Porch Music Festival...

The Front Porch Music and Arts Festival happens in late October in our small town here. Several homes in the area host various musicians who perform, as the name implies, on their front porches. There are food trucks and a vendor craft market nearby, too. 

We supported a couple of acts during the course of the day, including friends who were performing for the event.

Dan performs on a front porch.

The talented Judah.

One of the many front porches that were used for music over the weekend.

Boys' Day Out at Shakamak...

Recently, Candace and the girls went to my in-laws' house to make apple butter. Riaan and I, however, had our own plans and so we drove up to Shakamak State Park for another father-son adventure. This is a bit of a tradition for us Crawford boys, having visited together in 2020 and earlier this year. :)

We hiked our favourite Trail 2, enjoyed a picnic lunch, and then played cricket together at the large field near the playground. As usual, it was good to get outdoors and explore this lovely state park in the late autumn! :)

We LOVE exploring during autumn!

Beautiful trees...

And golden leaves!

Riaan at the coal mine demonstration.

We found a small pond full of frogs.

Bright red leaves were plentiful, too.

Pileated woodpecker!

Riaan shocked that this bench is still not repaired. It was destroyed by a falling tree early in the spring.

Scenic lake.

Spot the Riaan. :)

Riaan's memory is amazing. "That low branch is the one that you walked into when Granny was here." Yes, that's certainly true! Back in September 2019!

Cricketing fun on a lovely autumn day!