Autumn Season Happenings 2017

Here's a little recap of some of the fun, little things that happened during the fall season of 2017:

When I got home from our fall foliage tour in New England, I was inspired to decorate my porch with mums and pumpkins just like all the adorable homes back East. I had a hard time finding some quality pumpkins since it was mid October and most places were pretty picked over. But I was happy with what I was able to put together, considering how late to the decorating-for-autumn party I was.

I also added a few hints of fall and halloween decor inside. This was my first fall season in my new home! 

Anytime I see something that is pumpkin spice flavored, I have to try it! I was pleasantly surprised to find so many fun pumpkin spice things to try at Sprouts.

Beth and I took our annual fall leave drive during the afternoon breaks during conference weekend. We drove up Emigration canyon this year and we were thrilled with how much color we were able to find. It was gorgeous!

I was also able to find some gorgeous fall leaves downtown, in Memory Grove. I had some time to fill before I had to pick up Jenny and Mike from the airport one day, so I decided to spend it strolling through one of my favorite parks in Salt Lake, it was a beautiful, sunny day.

One of my favorite fall time traditions, is going to Barnes and Noble, getting warm drinks and yummy treats, and reading all the fun new halloween children's books. Beth and I have been doing this festive little outing for years and I always look forward to it.

A big highlight of this season was getting to meet Wren and Odin, Alle and Josh's new dogs, as well as Roy, Aubrey's sister's tiny little schnauzer pup. We all met up at a dog park in draper and enjoyed the sunshine and ALL THE DOGS! 

Odin is a New Founland/ Bernese Mountain Dog mix and Wren is a purebred St. Bernard.

Even though we were in the area designated for small dogs and puppies, Roy was still so much smaller than all the other dogs. While he was able to hold his own, he preferred to be held, I was happy to step in to be his designated snuggler. 

The same group of us that met at the dog park, met later in the month for a festive fall dinner and a discussion about books. I hosted and provided bread bowl pumpkins and a fall salad,  Katie and Aubrey brought  different kinds of soups, and Alle brought a gorgeous, homemade apple pie.

One of my favorite country boys, Luke Bryan, put on a concert at our favorite outdoor venue, Usana, in October. This was pretty late in the season for an outdoor, country concert, but we bundled up and had a good time despite how cold it was!

By the end of the concert I had three coats on, a beanie, gloves and lots of hand warmers, it was freezing! Poor Luke was on stage in just a white tee shirt and jeans. He commented on how cold it was after every song! Hopefully he will come earlier in the season next year! 

One of my favorite fall time traditions is going to the fall harvest festival at Cross E Ranch. We spent a long time going down the hay bale slides and burying V in the corn pits.

We always make sure to get their homemade, apple cider donuts!

Then we headed to the pumpkin patch to load up on some pumpkins for decorating and carving.

This adorable little farm kitty followed us around most of the day, he must of been able to tell we are cat people.

V loved riding in the wagon and finding the tiny pumpkins

After the sun went down, and we had a wagon full of pumpkins, we got some dinner. Cross E Ranch has some of the best burgers ever! They tasted extra good on a crisp, fall evening after a full day of having fun at the ranch.

V still loves to do the silly Snap Chat filters, every single one looks absolutely adorable on her.