My Autumn Bucket List {52 Lists}

A fun list this week!! I only wish it would start to feel like fall. Temperatures were in the 90's today!

Our family takes advantage of the autumn season. It is our last chance for some quality family time before the holiday chaos hits and Daddy begins working long hours (he's a tax accountant).

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This year, my autumn bucket list includes:

A trip to the mountains. One of our favorite places! We love the Biltmore Estate and have seen it in all its seasonal glory. Last year, I experienced seeing the leaves changing colors and walking through their fall garden. This year, we received free tickets for another visit.

Apple picking. We did this for the first time last year and it was so much fun!!! We jump at any opportunity to harvest our own food (strawberries and blueberries grow very well in our area, as do many varieties of vegetables) and so we drove 5 hours to pick our own apples. It was an adventure in one of the most beautiful settings!

Pie. We don't do too much baking during the summer months, so when autumn rolls around I am more than ready to get to work in the kitchen. I will make an apple pie from our freshly picked Granny Smith's. I will also make a pumpkin pie, as the smell of pumpkin pie is one of my favorites at this time of year (though surprisingly, it is not my favorite to eat).

Soup. I love soup served with freshly baked bread. It is hardly appropriate to eat soup during the summer (unless a storm is upon us), but autumn is a time to plan to make all of my favorites from the year before.

Apple cider. The best apple cider I've ever had came from the apple orchard we visited last year. It was fresh tasting compared to store-bought. I will be picking up some more this year.

Hot wassail. My way of kicking the apple cider up a few notches. I prefer to use store-bought cider for this, so as not to waste the fresh apple cider (aka liquid gold) listed above.

Bid a not-so-fond farewell to the bugs! We live in the South, the utopia of all things creepy crawly. My poor older son gets eaten alive every time he goes outside, even for just a couple of minutes. I look forward to the temperatures getting cooler and the bugs dying off (or burrowing, or whatever they do) so that he may play outdoors without worry.

Raking leaves. I truly enjoy this chore activity. Where I grew up, leaves did not fall from the trees each year. Everything was green year-round. It was nice, but I always wanted to experience the seasons. Twelve years of living here and I still look forward to raking the leaves.

Watching the children play in the leaves. They love it as much as I do. They help rake, but kids will be kids and throw themselves into the big pile of leaves.

Collecting leaves and pine cones. The children love searching for the perfect leaf or the biggest pine cone. They glue the leaves to paper and put it on their wall to look at until the leaves dry out and crumble.

Read-Alouds. I do less reading aloud in the summertime with the children. We're always so busy and the children are active until bedtime (and sometimes after). Once the weather gets cool, they seem to calm down earlier in the evenings. My oldest two love curling up on the couch with me as I read some of my favorite chapter books. I am most looking forward to reading A Christmas Carol with them this year.

Getting into a routine. Summer is over and so are the additional activities and trips. Dance lessons have started back up, (home)school is in session, and it is the perfect time to get into a good rhythm for the school year.

Reconcile the year. I spend much of the autumn season thinking about things I would have done differently, or things that I could have done better. Most importantly, I think of my relationship with God and how it can be improved. The miracle of the season gets closer, and I reflect on all that my Savior has done for me. I use this time to make both personal goals and family goals.

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