Fall Bucket List 2016

I’m behind on posting about my fall bucket list this year.  Last year I rolled it out at the beginning of September, but this September has completely gotten away from me! 

Our fall bucket list always has the same group of core activities, but I like to try to add a few different things to it each year.

O N E – Decorate the House for Fall

Something I’ve been doing for ten years (since before fall décor was a huge thing), and this year I changed up the décor a bit.  I got a few new items and rearranged some things, so the home tour will look a good bit different than last year! 

T W O – Take Jacob to His First Georgia Football Game

Last year we only made it to one game, and this year we’re aiming for three.  To make this year even more special, we’re hoping to take Jacob to his very first game!  We’ve never taken either of the kids before because it’s just such a long day of travel and a lot of the games are too late for them to stay awake.  Now that Jacob is five and he no longer needs naps, we thought that this year would finally be his year!  We play Tennessee on October 1st at 3:30, so we are hoping this will be the perfect first game for him.  It will also be his first time in Athens, so we want to take him to see all the sights and see where Daddy went to college and hopefully make him fall in love with it so much that he will want to go there one day, too.  ;o)  

T H R E E – Install a TV on Our Back Porch and Watch Football Outside

This was a bucket list item for last year’s list, and the only one that we didn’t do, so here it is again!  Hopefully we’ll have a big check mark on this one at the end of the season.

F O U R – Attend Homecoming for My Alma Mater and Jacob’s Current School 

An alumni social and a football game… the perfect way to spend a Friday night during the fall!  Ours is this Friday so hopefully we’ll be checking this one off this week!  And hopefully the weather will cooperate and cool down a bit.  ;o)

F I V E – Head to the Mountains for a Fall Weekend Getaway

As I mentioned in this post, my uncle has a mountain house and we haven’t been to it in six years!  The last time we went, it was in early September, so the weather wasn’t very fall-ish, so we’re hoping to go when the leaves are turning colors and the air is crisp this time.  And we’ll also be going with the babies!  They’ve never been to the mountains before.

S I X – Go Apple Picking

Y’all, I’ve never been apple picking before!!  What’s up with that??  There is an apple orchard not far from the mountain house where we’re staying for our fall vacation, so we’re hoping to finally go this year.

S E V E N – Go Wine-Tasting at a Vineyard

Another item that we’re hoping to accomplish on our mountain trip.  Supposedly the vineyard is kid-friendly.  We’ll see how that goes!  Haha.

E I G H T – Go Gem Grubbing

Hubs is a rock nerd and he used to go gem grubbing when he was young, so he wants to take the kids as well.  We just have to watch Olivia like a hawk so she doesn’t try to shove them in her nose again.  ;o)

N I N E – Find a New Pumpkin Patch to Visit

We’ve been visiting the same pumpkin patch every year for the last six or seven years (since before we had kids), but sadly, it closed this past year.  Therefore, we will be on the hunt for a new one to visit… and I’m not sure that there’s one as close, so we may have to turn it into a little road trip.

T E N – Carve Pumpkins

Last year was the first time that we’ve ever carved pumpkins as a family.  We used to carve them all the time when I was little, but for some reason B and I never adopted this tradition until last year.  Last year we did a very simple one, but this year I’m hoping to use one of those pumpkin carving kits to do something a bit more intricate.  No triangle eyes and nose!

E L E V E N – Make S’mores

Well, I lied.  I just found another item that we didn’t cross off the list from last year.  We really need to do this.  The kids would love it!

T W E L V E – Trick-or-Treat

This one is obvious, but one that’s definitely worth mentioning!  We are in the process of helping the kids decide what they want to be, and I can’t wait to see them all dressed up.  Too bad Halloween falls on a Monday this year… they should really let kids have November 1st off when Halloween falls on a weekday.  :o(

T H I R T E E N – Watch Our Favorite Halloween Movies

We watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown every Halloween night after trick or treating is over.  Since Halloween is on a Monday this year, we may have to watch it the Friday or Saturday night before.  Last year, Jacob also got hooked on Toy Story of Terror, so I’m sure we’ll be watching that one as well.  Any other kid-friendly movies we can add to the list?

F O U R T E E N – Read Our Favorite Fall Books

We have a huge collection, and they are actually already in our seasonal book crate in the living room, so we have already started the process of checking this one off the list!  It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, Happy Thanksgiving Curious George, Little Blue Truck’s Halloween, Five Little Pumpkins… the list goes on!  

F I F T E EN – Find Some New Fall Books to Enjoy

I’m really excited because one of our favorite children’s authors, Sandra Boynton (author of Pajama Time), has a new book for Halloween!!  I just ordered it from Amazon and we should be getting it in a couple of days.  I also need to check out Room on the Broom.  I’ve seen it around forever, but we’ve never read it.

S I X T E E N – Hire a Professional Photographer for Fall Family Pictures

I keep saying that we’re going to hire a professional photographer to do our fall pictures and we always end up getting my dad to take them, but this year I really really want to do this!  I need to go ahead and start researching now so we can nail down a photographer and a date.

S E V E N T E E N – Drink at Least Three Pumpkin Spice Lattes

I never have time to go to Starbucks in the morning because there’s no longer one on my route since I take Jacob to school.  Therefore, I only get to have them on the weekend.  Well, they’ve already been out for three weeks now and I have yet to get one.  Anyone want to bring one to me??

E I G H T E E N – Play in the Leaves and Enjoy the Fall Foliage

We don’t have many mature trees around our house, so we never have a back yard full of leaves.  We do have a couple of really great parks here in town that have leaves by the bucketfull during fall, though, so I’d love to go there and let the kids play.

N I N E T E E N – Make an Apple Pie from Scratch

I’ve never made a pie from scratch before, but I’m thinking of trying my hand at an apple pie this year.  After all of that apple picking that we will hopefully get to do, I will need to find something to make with them.

T W E N T Y – Watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

The perfect way to end fall and begin the transition to Christmas.  In my book, once Santa Clause waves at the end of the parade on Thanksgiving Day, the fall season is officially over and the Christmas season has officially begun! 

Bring it, because I’m so ready!

*Linking up with Jessi's Design and Going the Distance for What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday.