Fall fun!

It's that time of year again when I start to feel giddy with anticipation for all the holidays! I love Fall! I love all the pumpkins, decorated porches, fall festivals, changing colors, cooler weather, Halloween fun, Thanksgiving traditions, etc., etc., etc. When September hits, I start making lists of all the "fall" things I want to do (and, truth be told, I even start Christmas shopping...although that shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone who knows me) then by October I start checking things off my list. I love living these moments with the people I love the most. I love the memories made and the laughter shared, and yes, sometimes there are moments of frustration and not everything always goes as planned...but what I choose to let linger are the intimate imprints of love impressed on my heart. So...let's get started! This year was slightly different because of COVID. We had to wear face masks and some activities were limited, but it didn't limit our desire to have fun. Jeff and I began the fall festivities with a beautiful drive over the Alpine Loop to see all the incredible colors. You never know how many shades of yellows, oranges, or reds there are until the leaves start to change. The weather was gorgeous and the company was my favorite.

Last year, Jeff and I attended Salem Hills High School's homecoming football game. It was so much fun! I remember attending all my high school games because I was in the marching band. Yup...I was one of those band geeks with the funky feathered plume on her hat, but it was a blast! This year Jonas came with us. Ever since he received a football crash course in Flaming Gorge from his older siblings, he has concluded that he is going to be a football player. He was sooooo excited to go to an actual game! He yelled the cheers, danced with the music, and remained faithful to SHHS until the bitter end. That may not seem like a big thing, but Jonas usually jumps ship on whatever team is losing, and unfortunately, Salem lost. I thought for sure he'd start to cheer for the other team, but he stayed true to the home team. He even shed a few tears when they lost (which was only one of two games they lost all season). Still, he is determined to play football for SHHS when he's old enough.

Next up, flowers, pumpkins, and apples! Last year, my friend, Shannon, hosted a pumpkin bouquet workshop. I enjoyed it so much I came back this year. She grows some of the most beautiful flowers. I love utilizing her talents coupled with some of my own creativity to design a fall masterpiece.

After I finished there, I ran home to grab Danny and Jonas for some apple picking at Riley's U-pick in Genola. We picked apples and ran over to their pumpkin patch to grab some pumpkins as well. And, of course, we had to grab some apple cider slushees before we left.

The rest of the afternoon, I decorated our front porch, indulged in some caramel apples, and made pumpkin cookies!

The following weekend our fall activities ramped up once Mom, Dad, Kate, and eventually, Ryan and Nichole, joined us. The first couple of days (October 3-4) were pretty relaxed. Mom, Dad, and Kate flew in Saturday late afternoon. We just came home, had dinner, then enjoyed listening to the women's session of General Conference before utilizing our expert food critic skills to taste test a variety of fall cupcakes. The pumpkin chocolate chip cupcake was the fan favorite! They were all so pretty and tasted so delicious that it was pretty hard to choose.

Sunday, we enjoyed the last couple sessions of conference before our own little Chili Fall Festival. Because of COVID, our ward decided not to do our chili cookoff so we had our own little chili dinner with festival games. We did a pumpkin stomp with oranges balloons, bobbed for apples, ate donuts on a string, tossed rings on pumpkin stems, pinned the nose on the Jack-o-lantern, pumpkin bowling, and more. I love how much joy the kids experience in these simple games (for the most part...Jonas still struggles to not be first or best, but he's getting better). As a bonus, we all got to celebrate Scott's birthday with his childhood favorite dessert - banana split cake.

On Monday (5th), Kate and I started our day with a fall puzzle and a fall Hallmark movie (which she only endured because of the puzzle) before I took Mom, Dad, Kate, and Jonas on another drive over the Alpine Loop. The colors seemed to be more muted at the bottom of the canyons but definitely more vibrant at the top. I printed out a fun nature scavenger hunt to make the drive more interesting for the kids.

When we came out of the canyon, we headed to Krystle's house where we met up to go apple picking at Riley's U-pick in American Fork. I think the little boys simply enjoyed running around and jumping off the hay bales rather than actually picking the fruit, but they loved the fruit when we coupled it with caramel and candies!

The next day (Tuesday, 6th), Krystle had enough going on that she decided not to join us. Instead, I took Mom, Dad, Kate, and Jonas to Wilkerson Farm's Fall Festival. It was dusty and a little warm, but worth it. We enjoyed the games, rides, hay ride, and corn maze. Grandma even got a chance to show off her roping skills as she taught Kate how to lasso the wooden animals. 

Afterwards, we deviated a little from the fall activities to show Gma and Papa the really cool Moon's Rare Books and Antique store. They always have the coolest literary finds. We saw a thousands year old music book inscribed on animal hide, a scroll writing instrument from centuries before Christ, and even got to sit in Brigham Young's chair! It's like transporting yourself to the past when you enter that store.

On Wednesday (7th), Mom and Dad headed to Krystle's for the rest of their stay and we went to pick up Nichole. The fun immediately continued with a trip to the Red Barn for apple cider donuts before heading to Jakers for corn pits, hay rides, slides, and another corn maze.

Thursday (8th) Ryan flew in to join us as well but not before we went on a witch hunt at Gardner Village. I love these whimsical witches! I look forward to running around the village with the kids in search of all the witches.

That evening, we celebrated Nolan and Camden's birthdays. Krystle decided not to have parties for the kids this year so we made our own. Each of the boys got to pick a birthday treat and open gifts. On the way home, Kate, Jonas and I "Boo'd" a couple of neighbors. We have to spread the fall fun!

Friday (9th) we went to SLC for our second annual cemetery scavenger hunt. I know it sounds a little creepy and maybe slightly morbid, but the kids love running around in search of certain headstones. Even Jonas and Camden could find certain letters or dates. We chose this specific cemetery to see the resting places of prophets and church leaders...and also the creepy headstone of poor Lily Gray whose husband insisted on inscribing the epitaph "Victim of the Beast 666".

The week/weekend finally wound down and most everything was checked off my Fall Bucket List. Mom and Dad flew home on Saturday while Nichole, Ryan, and Kate flew home Monday morning. Monday afternoon (12th), Jonas and I met up with the Tanners at Ashton Gardens for the Scarecrow Festival. This gets bigger every year! I love all the creative entries (and don't really love the creepy ones). This year, my favorite entry was the witch from Room on the Broom. Jonas loves that book! I am going to miss when he's too old to enjoy reading books with me or going to all these fall festivals, but for now, I cherish all these moments. It has been a great kick off to the "most wonderful time of the year"!