Celebrating the Return of Fall!

With the kids finally in bed, it’s time for me to relax and unwind. It’s the first evening of fall, so tonight I am totally celebrating it. Tonight I am trading in my electronic summer scents for real life candles in “Pumpkin Spice” and “Autumn Wreath,” while snacking on Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts and watching football. So take THAT, summer!

I am so ready and excited to fully embrace and celebrate this season. While most people (including myself) make summer bucket lists, this year I’m making a fall one. I’ve got some serious thinking to do, but it already includes:

• Sample some of those seasonal beers I always hear about, especially the pumpkin ones
• Make a pie from scratch
• Carve pumpkins (instead of being lazy and just sitting them on the porch for decoration
• Toast pumpkin seeds
• Play in the leaves with the kids
• Take a drive to look at the fall leaves
• Buy and actually wearing a seasonal scarf
• Try several new fall-type recipes
• A trip to Red Barn Farm
• A trip to to Carolyn’s Pumpkin Patch
• A trip to a pumpkin patch in Nebraska City with the cousins
• A trip to Jamesport
• To be continued…

I’m sure I’ll be begging summer to return in a few short months, when it’s too cold to stay long outside, or when I’m stuck at home because I’m too afraid to drive in the snow. But until then, I’m going to have fun playing in the leaves with the kids, wearing sweatshirts and fuzzy socks, eating chili, and doing all of the things I end up putting on our fall bucket list.