leaf looking

The Miller family has a tradition of going "leaf looking" every fall.  As kids, Allie and I loved this trip - we got to skip church (we rarely did that), and spent the day as a family traveling around Iowa to parks, enjoying the outdoors, hiking, and dining on a picnic lunch.  

Though we've pared down the excursion over the years, we typically still picnic and walk the beach to dam trail at Lake MacBride in Solon.  This year Mom and Dad took a mini road trip/weekend away to check out the leaves near Dubuque, but Allie and I decided we still wanted to do the Lake MacBride outing.  So, after lunch at Subway (we simplified!), we headed to the lake to check out the fall colors.

I can't recall going last year, so I think this was Braden's first "leaf looking" trip.  He fell asleep on the way to the lake, and slept all the way out to the dam in the jogger.

It was a beautiful fall day - bright and sunny, and full of color.  Here's Allie and I on the swing along the trail (wonder how many pics we have on that swing from years past?).

 At the dam B woke up, and had a great time checking out the "waaa-der," spotting boats on the lake, and climbing on the rocks.

This year we added to the tradition, and stopped in at Wilson's Orchard to grab some apple cider slushies for the car ride home - yum!  I forgot to take any pictures of that part of our day, but the slushies probably didn't last long enough for a photo anyway.