Even though....

Even though Christmas is approximately 14 days away.....

Side note:
I'm not a day counter, nor is my husband or 2 of the 3 kiddos, but Smiley?  She is a counter.  Always has been.  When she was littler, the question was always, "how many more sleeps?"  Now that she is older (a whopping 6 years old), every morning she looks at our family calendar and counts the days until Christmas (or her birthday, or anyone's birthday, or a planned playdate or whatever else she can count down).  It is definitely an endearing annoyance :)

Anyway,

Even though Christmas is 14 days away, I still want to share with you the pictures I took of the kiddos this fall on our annual trip to the local falls.  Coming here makes me wish we still lived in our tiny city house, just blocks from this little gem of natural beauty.

Behold... some lovely fall colors (oh, and cute kids, don't forget the cute kids part ~ at least I think so!):

Can you feel it?

The warm humid air of summer is slowly becoming cooler and crisp.  The evenings that were once full of sunshine until well after the kid's bedtime are becoming darker earlier.  The bright green leaves that grace the neighborhood trees are showing hints of different shades of green, red, yellow, orange and brown. The official first day of fall has come....and gone.

While I love the warmth of summer and the long sunny days spent basking in the sun and playing in the water at the beach, pool or on the boat,  there is so much about fall that brings a smile to my face.

Here are a few of my favorite things about fall:

1.  Getting to celebrate another year of marriage to my honey.

2.  Cool mornings, crisp evenings and warm bonfires to take away the chill.

3.  Mother nature's air conditioning, open windows and fresh air.

4.  Cozy sweaters and tall boots

(pinned in on my "My Style" board on Pinterest, but I can't find the source via the website link)

5.  Lazy Sunday afternoons watching football (and maybe, just maybe the back of my eyelids ~ there is
     something to be said for a good Sunday nap)

(Source)

6.  The slow change into beautiful vibrant colors of reds, oranges, yellows, browns and greens.

7.  The lovely, warm, cozy scent of cinnamon in the form of candles, baked goodies and beverages.

8.  Speaking of beverages ~ spiked apple cider ~ mmmmmm
     Need a recipe for yourself ~ try this one (I don't put the ginger in, I keep it warm in a crock pot and
     yep, for the adults I serve it with a shot....or so of spiced rum)!

9.  Chili, soups, casseroles and other warm comfort foods

10.  Fall-ifying my home ~ switching out the seashell and driftwood decor of summer for rich colored
      leaves, pumpkins, candles, flowers and pictures.

11.  Getting to spend time with family during our annual hunting trip.

12.  While I don't like the early setting of the sun, there is something to be said for the beautiful morning
       sunrises that I am able to witness on a very consistent basis due to the darker mornings.

The seasons, they come and go and while there are definitely some I like more than the others, they are all beautiful and unique.  And fall is, hands down, one of my favorite!

What do you like about fall?

First time this year

A week ago, we headed out of state for a long weekend to get together with family and friends for some fishing, laughing, swimming, food and conversation.  This is an annual event and one that my family looks forward to every year (2009, 2010).

Come and see for yourself:

Fishing ~ and do you see how my rod is bent?  

I have a fish on the end of that baby!  

Time to put down the camera and focus on the task at hand!

The view...

Beautiful as always

But alas, someone NEEDED a nap and well, napping on the boat just isn't her cup of tea.  Actually, napping anywhere other than her crib or pack-n-play doesn't happen too often.

Splashing, Swimming with cousins and with Daddy

Day 2, more of the same.  But, on this day, someone surprised us all and actually crashed!  Yay!

And we caught our limit of fish!  

The first of many boating adventures of the season!

Embrace the Camera

This last weekend Hubby was gone on a boy's weekend, so it was just the kids and I.  We decided to go to one of their favorite exploring spots ~ the falls.

Trying for a nice arm outstretched group shot :

~ Too sunny ~

~ Missing Action ~

~ Only Half of Me ~

 

And Finally ~ Yay for self-timers ☺:

We all had a blast!

There were lots (lots and lots) of stairs Sassy stopped counting after one set of them ~ she was to 110.  We went up and down many sets.  No need to go to the health club this day ☺

There was lots of exploring done (notice Action brought along his binoculars)

Come along....

Here are a few of the things we saw:

And my favorite ~ besides the waterfall ~

Just look at that tree arching in front of the bridge.

So cool.

 

   

A Glimpse

God is everywhere,
in everything,
you just need to stop and look around and savor.

A glimpse of God on our vacation:

the beauty of change

The beauty of a sunset

(I'm a sucker for sunsets☺)

and a full moon

the beauty of animals 

a loon

Click here: to hear their sound

bald eagles

(you'll have to take my word for it, I was a little slow with the camera)

hummingbirds

and

black squirrels

Beautiful

Amazing

God

EVERYWHERE!

Have you caught a glimpse?