plan and enjoy a slew of festive, fall activities

Seitan Turkey and Dressing
Homemade cranberry sauce
Asparagus casserole
Sweet potato casserole
Homemade rolls
Mashed potatoes
Brussels sprouts?
Corn pudding?
Broccoli salad?
Pumpkin pie (with cayenne caramel sauce?)
Pear Cranberry cake?

-Pick apples
Throw a fun Halloween partyGo to the zoo
-Do some autumn leaf activities with Ramona
-Make a Thanksgiving feast
-Cook with pumpkin
Drink apple cider
-Drink pumpkin spice chai

Yum. Audrey and I made caramel apples together last weekend. Last year, we tried the pre-made caramel wrap things, but they didn’t turn out very well or taste very good so this year we bought a bag of caramel to do it the old fashioned way. Audrey was in charge of unwrapping all of the caramels (and sneaking a few into her mouth along the way). Then we melted the caramel in the microwave. That worked okay, but I think we’d have had better luck using the stove. I need a double boiler. We didn’t have sticks for our apples so we just rolled the apples around in the caramel as best we could. They weren’t pretty but the tasted delicious.

We’ve been to two orchards so far this season. I think I could go to one every weekend and never get tired of them. Our favorite is Tanner’s. They have so much fun stuff for the kids. There are goats and llamas to feed, a barrel train ride, horse drawn carriage rides, pony rides, a kid-sized corn maze, live music, and of course amazing food. We brought home a bag of apples, peach salsa, apple cider, and a fresh apple pie. Yum.

We haven’t yet done any apple or pumpkin picking. I think the girls might still be a little too young for this year.

1. This Sunday, Barry will take A to a birthday party for his friend’s 4 yr old twins.
2. Apple Orchard
3. Zoo Boo
4. Curious George at the Fox? (maybe Barry & Andrew)
5. Halloween
6. Playdates with Xavier and Kaitlyn.
I think it might be nice to plan a mommy & me date w Andrew while I’m home. Maybe get a sitter once a week and do storytime at the library or something.

I know it isn’t “officially” fall until later this month, but in my world fall has most certainly begun. School is in session, the weather’s getting cooler, and some of our leaves are already starting to change. Even better, the seasonal delicacies are starting to appear! A few days ago, my mom and I made a run to Barnes and Noble and both enjoyed a slice of Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake. It was fresh and delicious. I’m actually not a huge fan of pumpkin flavored foods so I won’t be eating a ton of them this fall, but that first one is always a special treat.