Fall fun!

For the past month, I have been checking off my Fall bucket list with all the fun activities, flavors, and events the season has to offer. I really do enjoy all things fall. Jonas likes to participate in most things with me, but he also feels like he's getting a little too old for the corn pits or hay rides. Luckily, I have Carter and Everly to fill in...so I don't look too silly doing that stuff on my own. I love that those two are old enough to take them out to enjoy these things. I am lucky enough to watch them once a week. I wouldn't trade it for the world! They are so much fun (and yes...I'm usually a little tired by the time they go home. haha!). One week in September, I took both of them to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. Now obviously, we have enough "farm" animals at our house, but we don't have pony or train rides. This may not be a "fall" activity, but we did it during the Fall season. They loved it. They fed the animals, rode the train, played on the playground, and even rode a pony. Carter did awesome by himself until the pony jumped a little at the end. At that point, he wanted off immediately! Everly loved every second of it. She is definitely more of an animal lover. Although, she kept calling the baby goats puppies. 

Again, I'm aware this next activity isn't necessarily "fall themed", but is occurred in the fall season. Because of our trip to Iceland, Jonas was going to miss his class's field trip to the Utah State Capitol so we decided to take advantage of a random day off of school (because the teacher's had a training day) to go. We toured the building and talked about the legislative process at a state level. We saw exhibits about Utah's history and even one chronicling the film industry in Utah. It was actually a pretty fun excursion. 

Later that week, we grabbed an apple fritter and some apple juice to celebrate the first day of Fall!

Once we got back from Iceland, I really kicked up the seasonal celebrations. The first Wednesday after we were back (October 9th), I took Carter and Everly to Jaker's Pumpkin Patch. We even convinced Amber, Jacob, and Beau to join us. Even though it was a little hotter than I had hoped, we enjoyed a morning of corn pits, mazes, hay rides, and more. The kids (minus Beau...he wasn't really sure what he thought) really liked the corn pits. (And yes...we kept finding kernels everywhere the rest of the day.) Before we left, they helped me pick out several pumpkins for us to carve at our family Halloween party later in the month.

The following Sunday (October 13th), we celebrated Jeff's 51st birthday. He always gets lumped into the fall celebrations. Just another reason I love this season so much! Jeff is the glue that holds this family together. He is my best friend and my eternal love. Even though it was what he wanted, a simple family dinner never seems enough to show him how much we care. I'm not sure even the most elaborate, over-the-top party or gift would be adequate. He is the world to all of us, and we are so grateful for the example of unfailing love he is to us.

Wednesday (October 16th) was his actual birthday, and he agreed to celebrate a little more. (I'm pretty sure if the grandkids weren't involved, he would have just gone to work and treated it like any other day. In fact, that evening, he volunteered to do a family night activity at the Veterans Home. That was how he wanted to spend his day...just working and serving others.) Jeff joined Amber, Beau, Carter, Everly, and I on a trip to Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point to see the Scarecrow Festival. No...he didn't care about the Scarecrow Festival, but he was interested in seeing the newly opened Tree of Life exhibit there. This is a larger than life depiction of Lehi's dream from the Book of Mormon. There are over 120 statues of people. Some depict Book of Mormon prophets. Others depict scenes from the life of Christ. Still others are just normal, every day people working their way to the tree. It was a beautiful display of faith. After walking around the gardens, we had lunch at one of Jeff's favorite restaurants, the Harvest Restaurant. I loved mixing a little fall fun and showering my husband with more love on his birthday.

Jonas's fall break started the day after Jeff's birthday (Thursday, October 17th). The past two years we've taken a little trip, but since we just got back from Iceland, we decided to simply stay home and  do at least one fun thing each day. Thursday we met up with the Tanners for a day at the Provo Beach Resort. This year, Jonas and I decided to gift each of the boys an all-day pass there. We were hoping to cash it in over the summer (around Jonas's birthday), but with Lincoln's ear surgery, we postponed it to around Nolan and Camden's birthdays. Krystle and Addie joined us for a couple of hours before they continued on with their day and I stayed for another few hours with the boys. The boys had a blast! They surfed, played laser tag, bowled, conquered the ropes course, and more. However, around dinner time, they decided they were done so we grabbed dinner at Kneaders then let Nolan pick a place for a birthday dessert before heading back to our house for a sleepover.

The next day (Friday, October 18th), the boys played all morning and most of the afternoon at the house. There were epic battles with unseen foes, highly anticipated basketball shootouts, rousing moments of board games, and so much more. On the way back to Saratoga Springs to drop off the Tanner boys, we stopped at Handels for a special birthday treat of Camden's choosing. Once we dropped them off, Jonas and I headed to the Nike outlet store to search for some basketball shoes. He is so excited to be playing "club" basketball this year. Right now, basketball is his chosen sport. He does really well. I hope it's a good season for him.

Saturday (October 19th) was supposed to be filled with more "fall"-type activities; however, plans changed when Casey and Laurin's basement flooded due to a big storm and a broken downspout. Jonas was given the choice of going to the Scarecrow Festival with me and the Tanners then having fun at a fall festival in Orem, but ultimately, he decided to join Jeff is helping to repair and prevent further flood damage. I was both so proud and a little sad. Jonas is getting to that stage where he doesn't get as excited about the fall activities anymore. He's not my little boy...but he is growing into an incredible young man who loves to help and serve his family. And, he thought his chosen activity for the day was a blast! He loved hanging out with everyone and helping. When we got home that night, he decided to hone his fire-making skills. He started a fire in our wood burning stove then decided to cook dinner (and breakfast the next morning) on it. Sometimes the simple pleasures are just as meaningful and fun as the bigger activities. 

Monday (October 21st) was his last day of Fall Break. The allure of a fall festival still eluded him; yet, he did agree to go to one with me after we went to Lowe's Xtreme Airsports first. He had a blast jumping on the trampolines and playing dodgeball. Usually, he does the climbing wall and trapeze too, but he literally spent 90 minutes on the trampolines and in the dodgeball court. Afterwards, we grabbed lunch then headed to Rowley's Red Barn in Santaquin for some fall fun...finally! While Jonas did really enjoy the apple cannon and large slides, I know he only consented to go because he knew how much I wanted to. I think we'll have to try Corn Bellies next year if I want him to continue to accompany me to a fall festival. Still, we had fun, and I got to do my corn maze. In fact, I think that was the most fun (although Jonas would probably say the apple cannon was his favorite). 

The month was quickly coming to a close, but not before a couple more fun, fall activities. On Tuesday (October 22nd) night, we attended our neighborhood's annual Chili Cook-off. We always have so much fun associating with friends in our community. There is always plenty of good food and good times. Jonas just loved tossing a ball outside with a group of boys. We were having so much fun that a bat decided to join our party too! Luckily, it was at the end when we were cleaning up. He flew in and erratically flew all around the cultural hall. Jonas loved watching the chaos he caused, but was more than ok to keep a healthy distance...unlike some of the other young men. It was a memorable way to end the evening.

Wednesday (October 23rd) I took Carter and Everly to Gardner Village to see the Witches. Jonas has finally grown out of this (unless his cousins go with us) so now I have to borrow my grandkids to justify our excursion. I wasn't sure how they'd like it, but they had so much fun! They kept running from witch to witch then they would ask all sorts of questions about the witches (e.g., what is she doing? why? can she move? etc. etc. etc.) We spent over an hour just wandering around the witches then we bought a fun treat before heading home. 

There was one more week before Halloween...and one more chance to visit a Fall festival before they closed up for the season, so I took Carter and Everly to Gordo's on Wednesday, October 30th. Again, they loved the corn pit. I'm still finding little kernels around the house. We played on the slides, saw the animals, rode the little "train", and immersed ourselves in corn. I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to hang out with these kiddos every week. The bigger they grow, the bigger my love is for them.

I can't believe how quickly this season is flying by. I think I hit all the items on my fall bucket list. Now on to Halloween...Thanksgiving...then Christmas! And it will happen just that fast!