Fall Adventures

Oh man how I love this time of year! It's taken me a long time to get back into Fall (what with constantly being pregnant and super sick during this time for the last 5 years haha), but I'm really starting to learn to appreciate it again. I almost prefer it to the summer right now. We've had a lot of fun this Fall so far, none of which felt like it needed it's own post, so I thought I'd throw it all together here:

I will always love the mountain views
During Fall drives!

One of my favorite parts of Fall is that the weather starts to get colder, which means HOT CHOCOLATE seasons is upon us! I still have quite a few hot chocolate items from last winter so I've been excited to get back into one of my favorite little treats. I know it's silly, but sweaters and hot chocolate are just so cozy and the fact that I get to stay home/inside during the day while it gets cooler outside is so nice!

Hot chocolate in a favorite mug!

Finding new Fall scents is hard, these two
Are my absolute favorites now!

Another favorite parts: Football! Go Pack Go is our Fall Motto haha. It's been so fun to get Pierce some cute little Packers outfits and have the girls sit with me as we cheer them on (they aren't doing SO great this season, but it's still fun to watch). I absolutely love that my girls call ANYTHING football related "Packers". So if they see a video with people in a stadium, they say "hey they are at the Packers" or if they see a football (on a shirt, sign, tv show, anything) they say "hey mom! It's the Packers like you like!" haha. I've looked forward to sharing my football obsession with them since Cara was about 6 months old so this is a lovely dream for me.

We took this last week off as a little staycation. Family vacations should start up again next year and not stop until we run out of money or places to go, haha, so staycations have been big for us the past couple of years (it's mostly been our only option with the Vid going on) and it's been so nice to hang out as a family. I've gotten almost all my Christmas shopping done, which might be one of my more brilliant ideas - to get my shopping done in November so I can enjoy  Christmas activities in December. We got some doctor appointments crossed off our lists, and we've just enjoyed not having to be so much on a time schedule. Plus this gave us some extra time to adjust to the time change, which I was dreading.

Zoo trip in the Fall are almost a MUST

Speaking of doctor appointments, I've officially gotten back onto birth control. I haven't been on anything since a year or so before Cara came along, but knowing we were done with having kids I was excited to get on something until I can get my permanent surgery taken care of. I decided on the arm implant and even though it's bruised like crazy and my arms is still a little sensitive, I'm very happy with my decision. They say it can mess with your periods, but to give it 6 months before you decide you hate it (IF you hate it, that is) and that works for me because I'm hoping in about 6 months to get my surgery so this just feels more right. They made me take a pregnancy test before hand and THAT was weird, but I'm glad for the reassurance. I also crossed off my general checkup/annual girlie doctor stuff with that appointment so it felt like a 5 birds, one stone type of deal haha.

The very last Thriller performance

While we had this last week off I figured it would be nice to drive up and visit Stacey. I hadn't been up there in about a year, maybe more, really, so it felt like good timing. I just went up Thursday and came back Saturday so it was real quick, but it was nice (also, she now only has 1 guest room, instead of 2, and since I was bring Cara and Gwen with me that meant I was on the couch so a short visit was really the only option). We made us a few shirts (which turned out SO cute), I got to see her boys wrestle (and Cara got to try it out for a bit), I helped her clean and organize some things, and we hit up a craft/gift fair while Cole took all 5 kids, by himself, to a fun play place (well fun for the younger kids, poor Ollie was a bit old for it and he didn't seem to have as much fun). We hit up Red Robin for lunch before heading back, which is one of my favorites, and had a great time! I was also able to fill up the gas tank, give the girls snack bags and a DVD play with a movie and get up there without making any stops! I even had enough gas to drive around for the couple of days and only needed to get gas to make it home without stopping. It was pretty nice (go little Kia Sportage!). I love that our friendship has lasted SO long and we've seen each other go through so much! 

I love seeing my kids interact with my friends

Her boys don't sit still so this is the best pic
I could get with one of her dependents haha
I love puppy cuddles!

So that's been our Fall so far, other than Halloween and Thanksgiving (which do get their own posts) and I have to say I'm having a great time so far! I'm still in the "I'm excited to do more next year" phase with a little one, but we're still soaking up what we can during this time in our lives and that's what's important!