I love Fall!!!

This is my favorite time of year, by far. In northern Utah, "fall" lasts for weeks. The days are bright, the colors almost overwhelming, the nights are chilly and star-filled. We typically have 30 to 35 degree temperature changes from wee morning hours to our warmest time of day which is about 5 p.m. For example, last night the low was 63 and todays high is 92. In a few weeks we will see straight 80s for daytime highs with low fifties overnight. I love the smell of the air, the sound of the geese and ducks as they fly overhead. All the talk of the deer hunt, the smell of campfires, the last hurrah of the farmers selling corn and tomatoes at their stands. FOOTBALL games on Friday nights!! Driving thru the canyons and taking in the sights. Going to the corn mazes and decorating for Halloween! Finally being able to justify the purchase of the mulled cider and pumkin spice candles that I've been dying to burn :) Waiting for that first snowfall in the mountain tops. Usually we get the first snow above 8000 ft during the 2nd or 3rd week of September... I know because it is always around Meghan's birthday. This year there hasn't been any snow yet. I hope you all have a wonderful season, and are not too overcome by the negatives of this time of year: allergies, colds, sinus infections, rain. Enjoy!!

Autumn again....

Summer is over, although it is still reaching 85+ degrees here each day so it's still very warm out. The nights, however, are CRISP and I've actually put a blanket on the bed. I feel cheated from such a short summer (it seemed like) and at the moment I can't recall anything we did during August or September. I'll have to think about it!!!

School has started, and this year I have one in 11th grade, one in 8th grade, and a kindergartener! My life is stretched thin, with everything from car dates to play dates, from AP physics to flash cards numbered 1 to 30!!! HAHAHA, it is a great place to be, actually :)

Kate is cheering again this year, for REAL... knock on wood no injuries so far! Meghan decided to attend a different junior high this year, threw a fit on the second day cause she realized that was a mistake, but is now adjusting well to the new school. She has already learned a new love of history thanks to this year's teacher, and is really enjoying her Family and Consumer Studies (FACS) class if you can believe it. She keeps saying "I love my fax class" and I'm wondering, "her facts class??" LOL Emma was my worry... she didn't care for preschool at all ("except the field trips, mom!") so I thought we'd have a real problem on our hands. However, she LOVES kindergarten and hasn't complained about it at all. The first couple of weekends she was quite put out, actually, that she had to wait three days to go back to school!

I attended my 25th High School reunion the second weekend of September, and it was WEIRD! To see us all grown up.... it was odd, because I don't really think of myself as this old, but when I saw everyone together.... ugh. We are obviously adults now! It was really a ton of fun seeing people and having those memories flood back so fast and furious. I got to drive around my town of Ramsey, NJ with an old friend and see some of our favorite places. I ate breakfast at the diner that my friends and I used to go to after we closed down the fast food place where we worked. I toured the highschool and even saw some of my teachers that are STILL THERE!!!! I saw my old house, spent some quality time with my very very best friend from then and his absolutely darling funny sassy wife. I even got to spend time with my aunt and uncle in Chicago during a 4-hour layover! It was a great weekend and I don't regret going at all.

We had a bit of "spring cleaning" last weekend and cleaned the house as if it were really spring! We all had several jobs to do and even Emma said, "Mom, the house FEELS different". It is sooo nice! I even cleaned out and re-organized my kitchen cupboards! Now I would like to paint....

We did not get to go to the Utah State Fair again this year...that is my one favorite "tradition" at this time of year; a way to say good-bye to summer and hello to autumn, but it is just not the same without Grammie and Grampy Redmond and since they can't come out anymore, we haven't really wanted to go. Maybe next year we will feel like going.