I love fall. I am so glad we've actually had a decent fall this year, rather than going straight from summer to winter. Hopefully we have a few more weeks of the gorgeous falls colors, drizzly rain storms, and cool (not freezing) temps. As the years go on, we are getting restless living in our little house with no yard for Beckett, but every fall I am reminded why we fell in love with and bought our cozy home in the first place. Our area -and even our neighborhood- are just so pretty in the fall, and seeing as we closed on our house in the first part of October, that's probably what swayed me a little on that decision rather than buying somewhere else. In a few months, I'll be back to wishing we had more space (likely as winter progresses and cabin fever sets in), but for now I plan on enjoying my amazingly gorgeous commute right up next to the mountains.
Here are a few pictures of our recent goings on to get out and enjoy the fall while we still can!
We were able to make one final trip over to Cache valley to Willow Park with Beckett's pal, Molly, which was so fun.
Ever October my family goes camping with a bunch of our family friends for Conference weekend. It is so fun to be removed from it all (even if you are just 2 minutes away from "it all" up in Mantua) and listen to Conference on the radios around the campfire. Since Matt was working this year - and our two and a half year old is a wild man, not to mention FAST, I didn't dare take him up overnight by myself. (I know, I'm a wimp.) Beckett and I went up to enjoy the day with everyone all day Saturday, then came home for dinner to see Daddy when he woke up before he had to go to work, and then the three of us were able to go up for an early dinner Sunday. Beckett had so much fun! We went on lots of walks (well I walked, he RAN, as you can see) and saw tons of wildlife; squirrels, birds, wild turkeys and even some deer. He loved it, and it was a nice change of pace to do something out of the ordinary.
and we got to get dressed up twice; once for the ward party (he's supposed to be Uncle Si, but I just painted a beard on, so he kind of just looks like a homeless person) and once on Halloween.
Beckett didn't totally grasp what was going on, but he still had lots of fun. He had a Halloween party in the morning at his daycare/preschool, and the lady who runs it is just awesome, she really goes all out. They had a cake walk, made crafts, and she even dressed up. Beckett loved seeing everyone in their costumes (unless they had a mask on) and by the end of the night, he was a pro at passing out treats at both of his Grandma's houses.
One other fun part of fall and Halloween are the fall crafts. This year I made some pumpkins for my little side table on the front porch, and a monster wreath for our door. (Both are ideas I copied from Pinterest, but who cares, haha. I don't have original ideas but I have an appreciation for others' good ideas!)
We are having quite the time adjusting to Matt's new schedule with him being on nights (7p-7a). It has turned out to be quite a challenge, since even if he is home and Beckett and I happen to be home, too, we need to let him get some sleep so he can get back up in the afternoon to do it all over again. I'm glad we're already 5 weeks in; only 7 more to go until we're back on days. Hallelujah.
Beckett has really been missing his Daddy; he asks for him all the time, and has started pretending to talk to him on the phone, and also with pictures of him. It makes me a little sad, but it's also pretty cute. In this picture he is holding his little Captain America and Red Skull figurines up to show Daddy and Papa.
We sure do love having him around when we can, though. This is story time with Daddy on his night off!
Hope you have all had a happy fall, too!
