Fall Kickoff Day

Today at our house was Fall Kickoff Day.

Okay, I don't know about you, but I certainly have a favorite time of the year! I'm certain that my most favorite time of the year starts with September 1st! I know, you're thinking, "What's up with September 1st?" It's not my birthday, or my anniversary or any special occasion in the life of my family.

If you know me well, you know I despise summer. I hate to be hot, I hate to sweat and I detest the humidity. Summer and I have NEVER gotten along. EVER. Period. I was the girl who would sit under a shade tree and think I was dying if I was forced to be outside. You might say, "Why were you forced to be outside?" The answer is because I would never go outside unless someone made me! I didn't play ball, I didn't like the park and I just didn't like the heat. I also loved school! Of course, summer means No School, so I didn't enjoy it. After hearing these rants, I'm sure you can imagine that I LOVE the fall!!!

Crisp air, cool nights, sweaters, jackets, weenie roasts and s'mores, crunchy leaves, pumpkins and pumpkin patches, apple cider, Halloween and Thanksgiving! Oh, the bliss of it all!!!

A few years ago, before I had kids, I declared that September 1st was my favorite day of the year. You see, on September 1st (in my mind), you can start getting out your fall and harvest decorations. Soon thereafter come the Halloween decorations and right on into Thanksgiving. NOT TO MENTION Christmas!!! (Christmas is another post that would take you 5 years to read: One year for each of the trees in my house!) I LOVE the holidays! I love everything about them! So, each year, on September 1st, if I can, I start decorating and enjoy myself!

This year, September 1st was on a Wednesday that happened to be our first night back to AWANAs after summer break. As the AWANA Commander, I have tons of work to do before AWANAs can start. So this year, I waited until Friday, September 3rd to start the excitement.

Molly got out of school today for a school improvement afternoon so I picked her up and we all loaded up in the van to start the Kickoff!

First, we went to Tuscola to get supplies at IGA for the cookies we were going to make. Next, we went to the park. Tuscola has an awesome park. If you haven't been, you should go! This summer, every Friday, we took a picnic lunch and visited a different park in central IL. Today was our last stop on the Friday Park Tour. We enjoyed playing there for about an hour and a half. Next, we came home and made Corny Cookies from the Family Fun website. http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/corny-cookies-685173/ They were so cute to make, plus, they tasted great. I didn't use their cookie or frosting recipe because I have an awesome recipe, but they were still the same concept. Unfortunately, as you can see in the picture, mine didn't look near as cute, but they were fun! For dinner, we had chili. Our first pot of the year. Chili is easily one of Andy's favorite foods so he was happy! After that, we dug out our fall decorations and Molly and Ryan helped me unpack them and set them up. They were so cute, trying to give me major input on where each thing should go throughout the house! I loved it!

Next we have to get to our porch! That's my favorite thing to decorate! Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere! And a few mums thrown in too! Hopefully we'll get to that next weekend!

I hope you all have a fantastic fall and enjoy the crisp air, cool nights, sweaters, jackets, weenie roasts and s'mores, crunchy leaves, pumpkins and pumpkin patches, apple cider, Halloween and Thanksgiving as much as I do!