Almost Licensed.

Noah has been taking drivers ed this semester and is pretty pumped that he is almost at driving age. Although I'm not quite ready for him to get behind the wheel I feel he will be responsible when it comes to driving like his sisters but still...I am not quite ready. It will be nice to have another driver in the house though so let's see how this goes and how he does in class and in taking the test!  

The Perfect Little Pumpkin Display!

True autumn days have officially arrived here in the east coast and according to the forecast it looks like it's here to stay! Fall is such a short season and the older Noah gets I just want the season to last a bit longer! This is why I'm always taking pictures of everything autumn such as pumpkin patches, fall foliage, and pumpkin displays. The fact that Noah and I are both autumn babies gets us even more motivated for the season and to enjoy all that comes with it. He's always loved pumpkins since he was a toddler and looking back at this post gets me all teary eyed knowing that the years are flying with this kid! We continue to adventure on and over the weekend we stopped by this cute little garden shop. Every time we are on a road trip I will stop at anything that catches my eye and this display did the trick. We just had lunch and as we were roaming around Connecticut passed by this garden nursery in Bethel and it was charming. I think Noah's favorite part of this prop was the truck! So here's hoping for more autumn adventures, and leaf peeping before this season ends and the cold begins!

 

Autumn Babies....

 

No matter how much I wanted summer to stay I have to say that I am extremely happy that fall is here! I say this every single year!! The fact that Noah and I are autumn babies makes the season even more colorful! I turn 51 in exactly two days and looking forward to celebrating with my family and also doing all the fall things that are meant to be done during this beautiful but short season. So let the leaf peeping, pumpkin picking, apple picking, apple cider drinking, birthday season begin! Happy first day of Fall! 

 

Autumn in Vermont- Part One!

Our trip to Vermont this year was so fun and the fact that we only brought Noah with us made it special being that it is still his birthday season! Brace yourselves because when one goes to Vermont-especially in the fall you just don't take a few photos. You take a gazillion photos so I may have to split this into a couple of posts. 

There are so many quaint towns within a 70 mile radius and we hit all the ones we wanted to go to. We got ice cream at our favorite place in Ludlow and went home with a couple bottles of vermont maple syrup. Jon absolutely loves it here and we hit some random spots while driving all over creation just to capture the beauty of mother nature. 

Appreciating Autumn In The Garden State.

Lately I have been really appreciating the beauty of Fall in my new hood. I feel that since turning 50 I don't want to take anything for granted. Not my friends. Not my family. Not The Lord. Not my neighbors. Not mother nature. Not the place that I live. We have been so blessed to live where we live and to have the neighbors we have. To have a couple of friends at church we can rely on, and to have a loving God who is there for us to show off his beautiful creations that he has done along with mother nature! And with that Lexie and I have been going on walks in the morning and just the other day picked up Noah after a half day of school to see the carpet of leaves in our town as well as running errands where we stumbled upon a park where the fall foliage was absolutely vibrant! I captured a few photos of my boy, and he is soooooo dang happy to be November baby and that he was born in one of the most colorful months of the year. New Jersey is no New York but in the fall...she's pretty dreamy. Just take a gander.....

MOOD'S Farm Market!

'Tis the season to venture out to pumpkin patches and farms! It has been at least eight years since we've been to moods farm market and when I finally had the urge to go back I nearly teared up. Mood's farm was one of the very first farms we went to when we first moved to New Jersey. Sitting at the picnic table eating apple cider donuts and drinking apple slushes while gazing toward the corn maze bought back so many memories when my girls (and boy) were babies/toddlers/teens. 

This was a place of many firsts. 

This is where we picked our first blueberry. Our first apple. Our first blackberry. Our first peach. Our first of everything. Some of the best memories were made at this little farm and I will always treasure them for the rest of my life. And today I went with one of those babies who is now a young adult! It was so nice reminiscing about our little adventures here as well as spending the day in places we hadn't been to in forever! Such a fun autumn day! 

After The Autumn Rain...

Fall has been so beautiful this year and I'm so glad that it lasted as long it did. We sure did need some color this year and Mother Nature did good in bringing color into our neck of the woods. Next to summer, Fall is my favorite and the fact that I have a November baby is a plus! I love that Noah and I both share autumn with our birthdays and that we make the best of this season. After the rain last week we went to a nearby park where everything was golden. The ground looked like a carpet of leaves. It was glorious and beautiful and I captured a few photos of Noah walking and running all around the park. It was a nice time for him to be able to get out of the house after a long week of zoom school to roam around free. And he really needed to get out!

More photos below...

Apple Picking On The First Week Of Fall.

When September rolls around particularly on or around my birthday we go apple picking. It is the best part of the beginning of fall and other holiday traditions. This time we were super lucky to have had a wagon all to ourselves. There was no one else on it and so off to the orchard we went to go pick some apples. I have to admit it was odd having the wagon and orchard all to ourselves. Truly makes you miss people. This pandemic has people changing on all different levels and on our way back from picking we had to stop to pick up 12 people who were picking pumpkins. It was nice seeing other people on the wagon, but they were all distanced from each other which is safe, but it's nice when someone smiles underneath their mask or nods their head. Although it was nice having the wagon and orchard to ourselves the sounds of other children laughing and parents helping their kids pick apples is a sight to see. Something I don't do anymore with my kids since they are too big too carry! It was unusually weird to have the orchard to ourselves but it was nice and we had fun. One good thing is that no one was able to hear me yell at my kid for throwing apples like they are a baseball. Every time Noah would pick a bad apple he'd throw it as if he was Derek Jeter. LOL! Good thing there was no one around for them to hear me yell like a crazy mom! Now for some happy pics!

49 Septembers!

Turned 49 today and it honestly felt a little off. Maybe it's because we are still living in the middle of a pandemic or maybe it's the fact that it's my last year in my 40's! Yikes! Nonetheless, my family made my birthday pretty special and because it fell on a school night celebrated it with pure simplicity. Although Jon worked we managed to have dinner at a decent time in the evening. My two oldest daughters including Lexie who is serving a church mission in Arizona called me today. Those phone calls totally made my day. Chelsea, who in all honesty hasn't written me a handwritten letter since like the 4th grade made, and wrote me the most brutal and loveliest letter! I laughed because she's so much like me, and I even got a bit teary-eyed reading it. I can't even imagine growing up in her era right now which makes me all the more grateful that I am living in a generation today where I can pretty much handle my own and teach my kids to be fearless, yet kind. Noah who is such a sweetheart has been so tired lately with having seven zoom classes a day and although he knew my birthday was today sort of forgot, but then after hinting to him that today is a special day he remembered! Crazy kid! 

Hello November!

HAPPY NOVEMBER from the GARDEN STATE! Leaves are quickly falling off the trees but there is still some color left thanks to all the rain we had last week. I took a few pictures before and after Halloween, and so far the leaves are still colorful and look like a big fluffy carpet. I doubt the colors will stay like this until Thanksgiving but one can hope and dream right! So thankful for November. I absolutely love this time of year when we can reflect on all the things that we are thankful for! 

A Cranberry Harvest At A.D. Makepeace Company.

This past weekend, we drove to Massachusetts to witness some cranberry harvesting in action! It's a beautiful time of the year to do this! We went to the A.D. Makepeace company which is the oldest cranberry grower in the country and have been around for over 160 years! I have been wanting to see this for years and was so bummed to find out that last year was the final year of having the cranberry festival which also means not going inside the bog. Bummer! Luckily they still do the tours, and we still had a grand time learning all about how they harvest the berries. And it was very interesting! 

Clearview Farm in Sterling, Massachusetts.

Fall is the BEST time to go to New England so we are taking full advantage of this season by venturing out to familiar places we've been, and exploring unknown places we've never been. There was so much we did this past weekend so I may write about it in a few posts. 

Pumpkin Picking From The Vine!

There's something about picking pumpkins straight from the vine that makes all the fun as opposed to buying a pre-cut one. When we went to this pumpkin patch in Bucks county all we did was walk around to look at all the beautifully precut orange, and white pumpkins, but it wasn't the same as actually picking one from the vine. So we all ended up going back to one of our favorite farms in Connecticut to pick pumpkins straight from the vine, and it was the best! 

Mum-Picking With Noah!

Even though it felt a little like an Indian summer on the first day of fall when we went apple picking, summer is officially over, and after having so many summer time shenanigans with my family I'm so happy that fall has arrived. Autumn has our name written all over it, and we are so ready for a new season! 

On The Day Before Thanksgiving....

Noah and I took a walk around our neighborhood to take in the last moments of fall. Most of the leaves have already fallen onto the ground, and some of the trees already look dried up, and bare. Luckily for me I have an adventurous boy who likes to get out no matter what the weather is like. He's such a good sport when it comes to taking pictures. I love that he's somewhat of a natural, and doesn't mind posing for me! Most of the time he wanted to just kick the leaves, and splash in small puddles all while trying to find a four leaf clover.

A Fall Morning Walk With Noah.

The sunshine continues to hang on into our neck of the woods, and with the little bit of rain we had yesterday it's beginning to feel more like fall. If we're lucky maybe autumn will be like it was two years ago in November! The leaves are becoming more vibrant, and colorful, and the air is much cooler. I really love fall, and because we haven't had much of it since September 21 hope it lasts a while longer, at least until thanksgiving.

Apple Picking At Battleview Orchards!

It wouldn't be autumn without our yearly visit to the orchard., and we are so lucky to live within reach of some of the finest orchards in Jersey. This year we decided to check out Battleview Orchards which is close to home. We continue to have the most memorable times while picking apples no matter which orchard we go to. This particular orchard was absolutely beautiful, and although it seemed a bit crowded, I have to say that this orchard is big enough for a lot of people, and we didn't mind all the people. We practically had a whole row to ourselves, and we just kept picking and picking.

Come, Listen To A Prophet's Voice.

In April 2011 Jeffrey R. Holland said, "As our conference comes to a close, I ask you to reflect in the days ahead not only on messages you have heard, but also on the unique phenomenon that general conference itself is-what we as Latter-day Saints believe such conferences to be and what we invite the world to hear and observe about them. We testify to every nation, kinder, tongue, and people that God not only lives but also that He speaks, that of our time and in our day the counsel you have heard is, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, "the will of the Lord, the word of the Lord, the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation."

Leaf Peeping in the Catskill Mountains.

There is nothing more beautiful in the fall than going for a drive down the Hudson Valley with our family. The two and half hour drive to the Catskill mountains to take a train ride put a smile on our little boy's face. He was sick for almost four days, and the look on his face when he saw a red train was priceless. He had no idea what were going to do. All he knew was that we were all going to go for a drive to go leaf peeping by car, not by train. 

WELCOMING AUTUMN WITH A BIRTHDAY.

Putting the air condition to rest and opening up the windows is a breath of fresh air, and the 70 degree weather is a sure sign that fall is here. The white dresser in the entry of the small foyer of my living room that had Noah's shorts, t-shirts and swim gear have now been replaced with hoodies, beanies, and sweaters. Going upstairs to the attic where I stored the rest of our "fallish" clothing, and bringing them out made the girls all giddy. They too were looking forward to this season. 

As I opened up the green chest in my bedroom I couldn't help, but to feel like a little kid at Christmas time. I took out all the scarves, and light sweaters that were stowed away, and gently laid them out on my bed. The scarves, and sweaters that I've had for years, and leggings still fit! And that makes me happy. Even happier because that will make my bank account last a little longer. I grabbed the scarves, and hung them carefully on a hook behind my bedroom door to make sure I grab one when it's cold enough outside to wear it.

I'm grateful for this season. I'm grateful to be welcoming it with a birthday. I'm grateful to be living in my 44th year with young children who still enjoy 'all things fall' with me. 

Apple picking. 

Mum buying. 

Drinking hot chocolate. 

Baking lots of goodies (I don't, but my girls do!)

Picnics in our backyard.
Drives in the country. 
Leaf peeping.

Leaf wars. 
Fall foliage.

The smell of a wood burning stove. 

Hickory.
Pumpkin. 
Caramel.
Peach jam.
Soups, and stews from a crock pot.

The mist that sometimes lingers when we wake up in the morning. 

Crisp air. 
Bon fires.
Smores.
Hay rides.

Cuddling with my boys.
Chunky sweaters.

Warm socks.

Yes...I love autumn, and happy to have a birthday in the middle of it all! 

Happy Fall everyone, and a happy birthday to me!