again

when keane gets excited and really enjoyed something - a game, a movie, a show, being thrown in the air - he will say "again!" as soon as the activity stops. he usually laughs as he says it too because he's so excited about the prospect of actually doing it again.

i have similar sentiment about fall. i just have to wait a little while longer for "again" to roll around. but looking at the forecast for the next week and a half it seems as though fall is upon us. {hopefully it's here to stay.}

fall makes me want to cook comfort food, and bake. this summer we used our grill more than ever in part because our kitchen is still "broken" as keane says, and it was easier to just make dinner outside as much as possible. but now. now i want to make salted caramel sauce to go with our apple cider, and our apples. and pears. and a whole bunch of desserts that i want to make now that pumpkins and apples and pears are in season.

{via pinterest from sallys baking addiction}

i'm dying to make some buffalo chicken dip for football games. just dying to. it's one of the best things ever, and i couldn't eat any last year because i was nursing, and adele didn't do well when i had anything spicy. besides - she wasn't sleeping through the night for a good long while, so i was too exhausted to make anything more than i had to make for sustenance.

{via pinterest from all recipes}

but this year... this year i don't just want to finish the kitchen project we started back in july. i also want to spend ample time in my kitchen serving up deliciousness.

fall also makes me more than a little nostalgic. it makes me pine for home. it makes me miss soccer season, and huge bonfires. it makes me miss the nip in the air that starts a little earlier up there. it makes me miss the piles of leaves we used to rake in the front yard of our house, and jumping off of the front porch into them. {don't worry, it was only one step higher than the ground}

{via pinterest from aesthetically pleasing}

there was something magical about watching the world change and just enjoying it. something wonderful about just simply enjoying the wonder of each new season.

i want to make sure my kids get that. i want them to be grateful for the changing seasons. i want them to enjoy the different parts each season brings. granted we don't really get true winter down here, but i want them to learn how to ski, and get to go sledding nonetheless.

i hope that they will truly look to each coming season with anticipation. i hope they will learn to appreciate all of the blessings of the different seasons. and i hope they won't forget to get outside and play whether it's raining or snowing or sunny & bright. i hope they love getting outside.

{via pinterest from flickr}

peter and i went to REI on saturday, and i found a pair of trail running shoes. i wasn't really looking for them, but they were on clearance, and they were the brand that i've wanted to try for a while so we went ahead and got them. and now i really want to use them.

just going in there {and spending the whole day prior at the whitewater center} made me want to get outside so much more. it's tough to do some of that with young kids, but still. i want to take them camping. i want them to learn to kayak. i'd love to do more rock climbing - both climbing walls, and actual rock. even if my kids don't absolutely love being in nature, i want them to make an informed decision about what they like and don't like.

i want them to ride their bikes and go for runs, and just sit outside. and be outside.

i'm so thankful for fall. i'm thankful that fall has come around again. i'm thankful for the cooler weather, and all that comes with it. i'm thankful for the comfort food, and the slippers, and the blankets. i'm thankful that i can drink hot drinks all day long. especially ones with pumpkin spice or caramel in them.

{via pinterest from querido refugio}

but mostly i'm just thankful for a change. i'm thankful for the gift of another day on this earth. another day to spend with my kids. another year to add to my life.

oh, and sidenote: if you've never made salted caramel sauce, you should. just sayin' - it's freakin' amazing. by the end of winter you'll be like the old lady from the frank's red hot commercial "i put that **** on everything." no, really. do it.

happy fall to you!

xoxo