Fall Festivus

Fall is always such a great time of the year. I don't know which year I figured it out, but for most of my life, I thought I was born in the fall. I love the fall. I love the cooler temperatures, the changing of the leaves, the anticipation and commencement of several months of great holidays...beginning with my birthday in September. I know I was technically born in the summer, but it will always feel like the beginning of fall to me - so I still go with it.

As I think what I am going to write about, this post feels similar to one I've done before and I think that is because in the fall the commencement of the celebrations is almost ritualistic in nature. We do some of the exact same activities each fall season, with some of the exact same people and I think that is what makes it so great. Each year we get to look forward to these fun fall activities...so I am borrowing and altering the term Festivus - because the fall is really a festivus for the rest of us around here.

We begin early September with college football. We get our game day clothes on, we go get game day breakfast (chocolate donuts and coke), Ellie and Kevin do their game day dances, Ellie builds the game day fort, and we begin the season of Saturday game day.




We then celebrate my birthday. Please note for my birthday I received a game day shirt and a traditional German chocolate cake. Next year I really won't need to post, I will just make reference to this post and say read and repeat.

Next, it's on to the Utah State Fair. State Fair Day and Game Day happened to collide this year, so we still got our clothes on, set the game to record, went to the fair, and then came home for the game. Don't worry, with modern technology, we still get it all in! Ellie and I each have an activity we love at the fair. This year, we found Kevin one.

Ellie loves the Little Hands Farm.

I love the big yellow slide. (I got to go on it twice because I love it so much.)

And Kevin...despite his injury, will now be returning for the T-Bone the Bull.

We ventured out this year and tried some fried fair food - a fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich. But we also had the traditional Navajo taco and turkey leg. We played games, went on rides ( I literally spun myself sick on a ride this year), checked out the animals, had our picture taken with stinky sea lions, and we hit the pig races which was new for us. It was fun packed.....the fair never disappoints.





One thing extra this Festivus - we got an early visit from Mason and her family. They were in Utah for a wedding so we got to enjoy them earlier than usual. Mason had to be shared with other cousins in town for the wedding so Ellie spent some quality time with Logan and Titus instead.



Back to Fall Festivus, it is what we like to call "high craft season" - Sunday crafts are hit and miss in the summer, but in the fall and early winter they are frequent. We had some family in town for another wedding so they got to enjoy our first fall craft with us. It was fun to have other people there and I realized how great it really is to be together at the table doing crafts. It's such great family time.



In early October we shift to Halloween themed fall Festivus activities. We decorate the house (yes, usually on a game day), we go in search of the perfect pumpkins to become our jack-o-lanterns, and we go on a witch hunt. We skipped Hee Haw Farms this year because the pumpkin patch was a higher priority for Ellie. We were lucky to have grams with us as we found our pumpkins and searched for all the cute witches. Ellie tried to do some of the heavy lifting herself this year. (We usually bring Kevin for that. Talls and Heavy.)








Mid October Festivus - THE ANNUAL SHOPPING TRIP! We join our dear friends and head from Utah to California and back on a full shopping/eating adventure.

Ellie has been honestly preparing for this year's trip since we got home last year. She had her purse packed and week after week she saved money in her wallet for her shopping. This is the first year Ellie took her own money to buy things with. The first day we were mostly shopping in outlets and malls and Ellie had no interest in spending HER money there. I had told her I would buy the things she needed like clothes and pajamas, so that is what we tackled on day one.


On Day two - we hit the Santee Alley. This is where Ellie cautiously watched for just the right thing to buy. My mom bought some luggage, Kevin bought a USB charger, I bought a sun hat and Ellie - a Minny Mouse watch. Ellie's proved to be a better purchase than Kevin's. Kevin's didn't last after day two and Ellie's withstood some water damage and is still working today.

Her second purchase was at Olvera street - some candy to share with her cousins - after our traditional nice meal of taquitos with green sauce. YUM.

Day three of shopping (day four of the annual trip) Ellie spent the rest of her money and was done shopping.  So, she slipped on her new slippers and spent the afternoon at the Orange County Marketplace reading her new book in the cart.

It was great to have her own money, she was able to buy the things I usually say no to and I think she enjoyed the shopping more. It was interesting to see how cautious she was to ensure she bought just the right things. We were all worn out in the end and Ellie spent all but $1.62.

She hasn't started a fund yet this year for next. I wonder if she quickly got over spending her own money. It's much easier to spend mine.

Festivus October concludes with carving pumpkins and celebrating Halloween. Ellie cleaned our pumpkins up and then out and then carved. She had dance that night and they were allowed to wear costumes so we focused on her pumpkin first, dressed her up and then when she was at dance and Kevin was getting a hair cut, I finished carving mine and put them all on the porch with lights so when she came home in the dark she could see them. It was fun for her to see how they turned out after she left. More and more we seem to have to combine several activities into a day and we are a small family!





Halloween - Ellie picked my costume this year. She was Dorthy and I was a clown. Kevin's work did their annual themed office day so we spent many hours in costume shops searching for his Avitar costume and that is when Ellie picked mine out. It was easy and fun.

So, on the 29th, we dressed up. I was asked to help at Ellie's school carnival at the ticket booth. It was pure madness and so much fun to watch the kids.


Then we raced to Kevin's work to go through all the buildings and see the themed offices. This is quickly becoming a Festivus tradition. The first building had a few scary themes and Ellie was petrified, I wasn't sure we were going to make it through, but we went fast and enjoyed the yo-yo champ, the magicians, the cotton candy, and the lighter themed buildings. I was so happy we started with that building because by the end we had pretty much forgotten it. Kevin's group honestly did the best theme and we were really really impressed with the dragon Kevin had spent many hours building.




On the 30th we dressed up to go trick-or-treating early. It was cold so we only made it up and down one street in the neighborhood and then we spent the rest of the night answering the door at Gram's.

On the 31st we didn't dress up, but Ellie got a huge package in the mail from Mickey and Linda that had ridiculous amounts of candy in it. She was in heaven and it was a very successful Halloween for candy quantity and fun.


Fall Festivus November, there is the changing of the decorations in the house, the continuation of Sunday crafts and Thanksgiving. We got to join Ellie this year for the first time at Thanksgiving lunch at school. Ellie and I made three pies on Thanksgiving Eve - I am sad I accidentally deleted the pictures of lunch and of her rolling out the pie dough. All I have is this one of the completed pies, but it was fun and she often likes to help in the kitchen. Ellie spent Thanksgiving with her dad but enjoyed Thanksgiving leftovers with us Thursday night. I can't believe how much that girl can eat some days!

This November we had some early snow so before dinner and crafts Ellie got Jed to play in the snow...and then Kevin. Snow for me is just a fall Festivus no no. I don't like when the snow begins that early...for me, it is the end - the killer - of fall Festivus.






It doesn't matter really, after Thanksgiving our Festivus is pretty much over, because we then shift focus to the Christmas month - which is magical and warm, even if there is snow!