Fall Bucket List 2019

‘Tis the season for all things fall!!  September 1 unofficially starts fall around these parts, so today I’m sharing our fall bucket list for 2019.  As always, there are traditional things that we do every year as well as a few new things sprinkled in the mix. 

O N E – Decorate the House for Fall & Include Halloween Elements

I’ve decorated for fall every single year since I’ve had my own place, so this will make year 14, I think?  Every year, I’ve always focused on the “fall” element of décor… pumpkins, leaves, buffalo plaid.  The kids have been begging me to add some “spooky” elements to our fall décor, so this year I’m finally going to do that!

T W O – Enjoy My Beloved PSL While Browsing the Fall Section at Hobby Lobby

The PSL is tied for first place (with the Peppermint Mocha) as my favorite drink from Starbucks ever, and since they’re only available this time of year, I try to enjoy as many of them as I can.  This year I’m going to take my PSL enjoyment to the next level and enjoy it while browsing the aisles of Hobby Lobby… my happy place this time of year!  #ImBasicAndIKnowIt

T H R E E – Hot Air Balloon Festival

There’s a hot air balloon festival every year here in Georgia and we’ve never been!  It’s been going on for 25+ years and I’ve always wanted to go, so we decided that this was going to be our year… weather permitting, of course. 

F O U R – Attend the Georgia vs. Notre Dame Football Game in Athens

It’s the hottest ticket of the season and we have four!  I am so thrilled for this game, y’all!  Rumor has it that ESPN College Gameday will be there, plus it’s an 8 PM kickoff, so it’ll be a night game!  B and I have already booked an AirBnb in Athens and the kids are staying home with grandparents, so we’re ready to partyyyy.  I even have my dress all picked out!

F I V E – Mountain Getaway in a New Area

Y’all, my aunt and uncle sold their mountain house!  Cue all the tears!!!!  We have been staying in their mountain house nearly every year since 2010 and we were so sad to see it go.  The kids always look forward to our mountain trips each year (as do B and I) so we decided that we’ll just rent a place this year.  We found a cute little place on AirBNB but it’s in a slightly different area than where we usually stay, so we’re hoping to do some exploring and find some new places to visit as well as partake in our typical mountain activities like apple picking, winery, gem grubbing, and visiting Helen, GA.  One of my friends highly recommended checking out Amicalola Falls as well as Monteluce Winery so those are possibilities for our trip this year.  It’s going to be different but I have no doubt we’ll have a fantastic time as we always do!

S I X – Attend Homecoming Festivities at My Alma Mater and the Kids’ School

Attending Homecoming at the kids’ school is always on our fall bucket list as that is my alma mater, too.  We have all kinds of fun Homecoming events, so we’re hoping to make it to as many as possible.  I was hoping to attend the Bonfire this year, but sadly, Jacob has a baseball game at the same time that evening.  The alumni social and football game should be fun enough, though!

S E V E N – See Ray Lamontagne in Concert

I’m a huge fan of Ray Lamontagne and he rarely tours.  When he does, he doesn’t typically come anywhere near us, so you can imagine how excited I was to see that he’s coming to The Fox Theatre in Atlanta in October.  Well, B and I just so happened to get FOURTH ROW SEATS and I’m so excited I can’t even stand it. 

E I G H T – Attend the Georgia vs. Florida Football Game in Jacksonville, FL

B and I also managed to get GA/FL tickets this year (it’s considered a special game each year so season tickets holders don’t always get tickets) and we are debating taking the kids down there for the weekend.  This is one of the iffy items on our bucket list that may not end up getting checked off, but I thought I’d include it just in case we do!  It’s all dependent upon our schedule… it’s filling up quickly!

N I N E – See Alejandro Aranda in Concert

Yes, it’s another concert on our fall bucket list!  B and I watched American Idol this past season and in all of my seasons watching I don’t think I’ve ever loved someone so much as I loved Alejandro Aranda.  His music is just phenomenal and he is incredibly talented.  He ended up NOT winning Idol (how, I have no clue), but I think it’s best this way because he’s already able to tour and do his own music and not worry about the American Idol brand making decisions for him.  I’m ecstatic and cannot wait to see him live!

T E N – See Wicked Broadway Play

I’ve been wanting to see Wicked for over a decade now, and B and I never had the chance to see it while we were in New York.  B saw that it is coming to The Fox Theatre in Atlanta and he surprised me with tickets a couple of weeks ago!  Yet another event for which to make room on the calendar.  Haha.

E L E V E N – Rock Ranch

We started going to Rock Ranch a couple of years ago with friends and the kids talk about it throughout the year and constantly ask when we get to go back.  I guess that means we need to take them again this year!  Gotta see if there’s even an open date to go!  EEK!

T W E L V E – Family Photo & Video Viewing Night

‘Tis the season for being snuggly on the couch in the evenings, and this fall, I want to take one of our movie nights to the next level by watching old movies of us!  We have thousands of old photos and videos from when the kids were little, and I’d love to show them to the kids so they can see what they were like when they were babies.  Complete with popcorn and snacks, of course!  ;o)

T H I R T E E N – Watch All of Our Fall & Halloween Favorites

Hocus Pocus, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Toy Story of Terror… so many good ones to watch!

F O U R T E E N – Visit a Pumpkin Patch/Cotton Field

I went to a pumpkin patch with Olivia on a field trip last year and we loved the place, and I’d love to take a family trip there this year.  It’s a bit of a drive, but it’s worth it!  And there is a pumpkin patch as well as a cotton field right there in the same spot, so we’d be able to knock both out at once!

F I F T E E N – Carve Pumpkins

The kids always love this tradition so it’s on our list again for this year.

S I X T E E N – Spooky Halloween Dinner/Trick-or-Treating/Movie

The kids actually already have their costumes so we’re ready to trick-or-treat!  This year I want to make a festive Halloween dinner for the kids before trick-or-treating.  I’ve seen those mummy dogs all over Pinterest and I want to make those for the kiddos.  They would love them!  Gotta do all of the festive fun things before they outgrow them!

S E V E N T E E N – Play on the Playground in Our Neighborhood

Confession time!  We’ve had a neighborhood playground the entire ten years that B and I have lived in our neighb and we have never once taken our kiddos to it.  As a matter of fact, they never even knew it existed until just a few weeks ago when we finally mentioned it to them.  Once the weather cools down it’s time to pay it a visit!

E I G H T E E N – Fall Family Photos

This is one of the items that’s always on our list… gotta have some family pics for the Christmas cards!

N I N E T E E N – Make a Homemade Apple Pie

We’ll be bringing home lots of apples from the orchard on our mountain trip, and this year I want to try my hand at a homemade apple pie.  I’ve always, always wanted to make one and this is the year that I’m adding it to the list to get it done!

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

This is always the last item on our list because it’s the perfect way to transition to all things Christmas!  Love this time of year!

In addition to all of these things, I’d also love to have another Friendsgiving like we did last year, but our November calendar is almost totally full, so I’m not sure it’ll be feasible.  I’d still love to try, though!

Cheers to crossing off all the things!

*Linking up with A Little Bit of Emily and Meet the Shaneyfelts for Fall Favorites.