Falling leaves. The best of New England…

When I arrived at Audrey’s home yesterday, it was uncharacteristically quiet.  No running feet.  No loud laughter.  No arguing about games.

Audrey was sitting at her kitchen table, laptop at her fingertips and a steaming cup of coffee nearby.

What?!  Where are the boys?!

Audrey answered that Matt had taken all 4 of them to Home Depot for rakes and leaf bags.

Oh.

When suddenly, the running feet and laughter and whose-rake-is-whose sounds came flying from the driveway.

I headed outside with Audrey to be greeted with 4 boys dragging rakes and leaf bags from the car.  They were screaming, in unison, “We bought 75 bags! 75 BAGS!”

Whoa.  That’s a-lotta bags.

But Audrey and Matt’s yard is big.  They have a-lotta trees that had been tussled around by Hurricane Sandy. And it’s Fall in New England.

Excitement at 4 boys raking into piles and picking up about a zillion leaves and stuffing them into 75 bags was, well… fun.

For about 10 minutes or so for 4-year old Henry.

The other guys were having contests… raking, filling bags, lugging them to the street, counting the bags as they lined them up like soldiers.  2. 6. 10. Up to 29.

Henry, why aren’t you helping?
Henry, you’re supposed to be helping!
Henry, I’m telling Daddy.
HENRY!
Grandma, where’s Henry?

“Um.  I don’t quite see him,” I answered…

Until the giggling gave him away!

8-year old William quickly calculated that they had 46 bags to go.

7-year old Alex decided that jumping into the piles of leaves seemed like more fun.

5-year old Ben thought Alex had a pretty darned good idea.

As did 4-year old Henry, as he busted free from his bag…

Rakes.  Leaves.  Brothers.  New England in Fall.  Leaf Pile Jumping.

Does it get any better?

And 0h, yes… this Grandma did help with the raking, piling, stuffing, lugging.  Just not all 75 bags-full!