Thursday Thirteen- 13 reasons I'm looking forward to fall

~13 Reasons I'm looking forward to fall~

1. School starts! ~ The kids and I are both ready! Gabriel starts 1st grade, and the girls will be in pre-school opposite days of the week. We are all ready for the structure that school provides. Summer is a break for the hustle and bustle of the school year, but now that August is halfway through, enough already!

2. Crisp days, cool nights! ~ I think we could all agree that there's something about the fall air. Although the temps. here haven't been bad at all, the feel of fall air as soon as it hits your face is just breathtaking! It seems like you can actually smell the air! I love it!

3. Keeping the air conditioner off, for good! ~ I think this one speaks for itself!

4. Hayrides and fall festivals galore!~ I love the activity of festival hopping! If there isn't such thing, well, I just invented it! :) When it's fall, it seems at every turn there is sign posted for a festival that's taking place. Most of them are free, or atleast pretty affordable, so we attend them pretty often. In the fall we always know that if all else fails, we can get in the car and go to a festival!

5. Mums! ~ I love mums! They are, to me, a sign that you know fall is soon to come. They have beautiful blooms and beautiful colors, and they are so harty! I planted some in my garden last season, and what do ya know, they came back!! I had to pick the blooms off of them in July because they started to bloom so soon! I was so excited though to them come back. I got my money's worth, and I will be buying some from the kids school to decorate the porch. They are one of the first things I put out! I just love them!

6. Picking pumpkins~ What greater tradition in the fall than picking a pumpkin to carve! Or in our case, picking 4, one for us, and one for each of the kids. We just started carving together last year ( I let the two older kids help with theirs) and they loved it! Something magical for them to look forward to!

7. Two birthdays! We celebrate the girl's birthdays! Ella's is in mid September, and Ariana's is just two days before Halloween! This year, I'm doing something different and I will be making Ariana's cake myself. I have chosen to make it a fall theme, of course! I'm excited about that, and I'm sure she won't mind. :) It's a busy time for Birthdays here in the fall, but we love it!

8. Decorating~ For those of you who don't know me, decorating is a hobby of mine and a passion. I love to experiment with my house, and it seems I'm always rearranging furniture or pictures! It's always a work in progress, but I just love to make our house warm and inviting! I especially look forward to putting my fall decorations up outside, as well as inside. Every surface is decorated with something "Fall", but in a very tasteful way. I even have fall hand towels for the kitchen! I don't think it's too much, I just think I'm providing an environment for every season. The fall season even inspired the color I picked for an accent wall in our living room. It's called mid evil gold, and it just reminds me of the season. I want to follow that same idea in our bedroom, dining room and bathroom. This color below is similar to the color on our accent wall.



9. Trick-or-Treating~ Once again, this one speaks for itself, doesn't it?! The kids are on cloud nine from the time they wake up till the very late time they go to bed. I love seeing them so happy!

10. Snuggling (even by myself) under a warm blanket- I have to admit, I love to relax and watch T.V. as soon as I put the kids to bed. As it starts getting cooler outside though, I can add a blanket to the scenario, and what a better way to end the hectic day!? Who says you have to be in bed to cover up! ;)

11. Wearing my comfiest pajamas!~ Once again, this ties in with #10. I love to get comfy and toasty on cool days and nights. I'm talking fleece EVERYTHING and socks and slippers on top of it all! Head to toe fleece usually doesn't happen until later in the fall though! :)

12. Going leaf collecting with the kids!~ This is one of our family traditions, and we do it on more than one occasion. Last year, I took the girls around the neighborhood while Gabriel was in school. This year, I'll try to take them on the weekend so he can be involved in our initial leaf hunt. And it's a learning experience on top of it, and you can't beat that!

13. And last, but certainly not least, the colors of fall! ~By far, my big reason for loving fall! Golds, oranges, deep browns, reds, yellows, the colors are everywhere! There's nothing more beautiful than a spread of trees that have been hit with the season! Natures beauty is amazing and shows it's splendor in the fall more than any time of the year!
Here is a picture of some beautiful fall foliage just north of here. Spectacular!