Why I Love Fall

Autumn has pretty much always been my favorite season (although winter and I had a brief fling awhile back).  There are so many things to love about fall, which I'm sure you all know, but I thought I'd share some of my personal favorites.

1. Relief from the heat.  Living in Georgia, the summers can be brutal, and as fall sets in, there is this heavenly feeling. And my favorite day of the year is the first day you step outside and smell fall in the cool, crisp air.  The nights start to get colder, the sun during the day is a bit more forgiving, the humidity starts to let up. I actually start going outside on purpose, when I don't even have to, and Carson has really loved this change.  We've been going out every day to play in the driveway or cul-de-sac.  She loves to follow squirrels around from yard to yard as they avoid her, and she gets sincerely upset when I won't go into our neighbors' garages or backyards or trees to continue the chase.  She also enjoys picking up rocks (and trying to sneak them in her mouth), playing with sticks (which she calls, "tsss"), and pointing at stuff, asking me to name it.

2. Fall festivals.  I love when the weather is just perfect--you don't get too hot standing in the sun, nor too cold in the shade--and there's interesting new things to wander around and look at (and eat).  We went to the Norcross Arts Festival several weeks ago and had an amazing time.  There were so many talented artists and lots to keep Carson visually entertained.  Funnel cakes, hot dogs, live music, friendly people, dogs walking around with their owners--what's not to love?  Carson had such a blast, and Brandon and I did too.  We even bid in a silent auction and got her a little hand-painted chair for her birthday, made by a student at one of the local schools.  Please don't tell her--it's a surprise.  Here are a few pics of the fun:



3. The pumpkin patch.  This was one of those fun things we got to do together as a family with Toby, Angie, and Cousins Patrick and Maddy.  It was a gorgeous day, and we enjoyed seeing the cousins explore the pumpkin patch together.  Patrick is such a good big brother, and Maddy was so laid-back.  Days like this make me thankful and excited for the years we have ahead, all of them being friends.  Carson's favorite part was this little squash she found.  We have about 53 pictures of her showing it to different people (all strangers).  She was so proud of it.  We tried really hard to get a good pic of all 3 cousins, but it just didn't work out like we wanted.  Instead, we have a bunch of funny "out-takes," which we love too.  Carson also enjoyed getting to see a real live goat, sheep, pig, and cow--none of whom seemed very impressed with her.  Here's a slideshow of the day:



4. Brandon is home more. As pools close and the temperature decreases, Brandon is able to spend more time with us in the fall. This means we start getting some real family time to just hang out at the house, go for walks, run errands together, or do fun things like go to fall festivals. Special bonus: I have a sitter for when I need to get my hair cut, want to grocery shop baby-free, or meet up with my girlfriends for dinner. We even got to go on a cool date night this weekend to a fundraiser for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. We had a really great time, met some new people, and even won the big raffle at the end of the night!

5. Christmas is coming.  Now that Halloween is over, I can sing Christmas carols out loud, not just in my head, and people don't think I'm a total nutcase (at least not for that reason, anyway).  I start getting excited about the next Christmas right around New Year's, so it's thrilling to me when the rest of the world gets on board this time of year. I can't wait to see how Carson reacts to it all--the tree, Santa, lights in the yard....it's going to be so much fun!