I love fall!

***Warning. If you live in state that isn't as pretty as Utah in the fall and a post about fall is going to make you feel jealous, you have been warned. You can either get over it and read this post or you can come stay in our guest room and enjoy the fall for yourself!***

Fall is by far my favorite season in this here state. I love the colors changing and the cooler air. Fall is my favorite time to be in the mountains. This year, I took many naptime drives with J in the backseat up through the mountains. My favorite is Guardsman's Pass up through Midway, but I also love the Alpine Loop and Little Cottonwood. I can't get enough of God's creation, and just think, if His creation is this great... how much more magnificent is He!

 

I love fall clothing and pumpkins (patches and recipes), in fact here is one of my favorites that we're having tomorrow: Skinnytaste's Pumpkin Chili. I love soup, crisp mornings, and evening walks in sweatshirts. I don't love that it gets darker sooner and that it's no longer windows-open season, but we can handle that. Oh yes, I also love caramel apples. I kind-of forgot how much I loved them until Matt decided to make a batch this weekend. Yes, every now and then he gets all Martha on me and decides to get creative in the kitchen. We used apples from our backyard and caramels from the store and ate 4 of them in a 2 day window. We gave away 2 to some friends who stopped by, I'm still regretting that decision.

Matt was not so totally amused at my photographic journaling.

 Jason seems to love the fall too, he wants to be outside all the time and loves the leaves (fake or otherwise). He also can't get over how ball-like pumpkins are. Here are a few pics of J man in fall. I bet you can't guess what my favorite little-man shirt is this season? :)

I really really love this one. I think it's going on the wall!

This year and next I am in charge of the centerpieces at our local CF Parent's Night Out events. My first shot was a few weeks ago and the centerpieces were a hit! I bought lanterns at Ikea and filled them with different fall-ish things (candy corn, pumpkins, candles). Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures, but just take my word for it... they were cute! Anyway, I ended up with tons of leftover fake leaves that we used to decorate and they have just been sitting in a bag. I've sent a few of them off to friends who used to live in Utah and are missing the fall, but there are still plenty left over. So, I decided to go for it and put a few fall decorations up. Don't hold your breath, but I'm thinking about starting a small (did you hear that Jess? small) seasonal decorating collection. We'll see. Today J and I walked to the grocery store and on our way home, stopped at the produce stand. They had these adorable little pumpkins for a buck a piece! I couldn't pass them up. And I may be back for more... they're so fun and unique. I wish there was a way to preserve them without them rotting and harboring all sorts of bacteria I'm sure.

Well, there you have it. We are enjoying fall (and a month free from coaching!). We'll be heading to the pumpkin patch soon and are hoping to put together a farmer Halloween outfit for J. What about you? What's your favorite fall tradition?

Visiting dad at work during lunch. 

Do you remember that we have a dog?
Sweet Scout. And, J is starting to love to play with him (namely hide and seek) and stuff balls in his mouth. Scout is quite the good sport and will hold it until J isn't interested anymore.

I think he wasn't sure why I was taking pictures of anything but him...