The holiday season is well on it’s way! I think I’m more on the ball with Christmas shopping than ever and it’s still November. Which brings me to, it’s still November! Which means it’s still Fall.
Is it just me or does hype for everything start a little earlier each year?!
It seems everyone is ready to jump in to Fall early August, with over a month left of actual Summer season. Then everyone is ready for Christmas as soon as Halloween ends. It’s great to look forward to things, I’m certainly getting in to the holiday spirit, but I think it takes away from the present moment. We’re so busy worried about what’s next that we’re done with what IS while it’s happening!
So, even though the land of Instagram is moving on from pumpkin errrythang,. I'm playing catch up on all our Fall festive fun!
At the end of August I took a social media break. Partly to be more present for those present moments. To soak up the transitions of my girls starting school and unplug from everyone else’s “noise.”
It was honestly freeing. Part of me didn’t even want to plug back in... but social media is a blessing in many other ways to plug in to the things we *want* to plug in to! So here I am, back again.
Some of you might appreciate a catch up on snippets of the fun we were up to during that time. And it’s helpful for me to journal some of our happenings to document that season and welcome what’s next!
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Halle started Kindergarten! Our school’s program is only half day and she goes in the afternoon. It’s been a big change for her but she loves it. I can’t believe how much she has grown in just a couple months!
Autumn also started Preschool this year before going to Kinder next year. She is going two afternoons a week and loves it!
This gives me a (super quick) window of time to spend one on one with Jordan or sometimes a day date with Matthew, when he’s off. The girls miss having “built in” friends everyday like they did with my dayhome so they enjoy socializing at school. And this time is much appreciated by me to get things done or simply relax.
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My sister came to visit us during September. This was her first time meeting Jordan. It was great to have her here while Matthew was away to help me with the transition in to school drop offs. It’s a lot of going and I haven’t had to experience that yet...
It was great to simply catch up and we took in some sights around the city! Although early Fall was much colder than as of late. We went to Granary Road and the Calgary Corn Maze.
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Next up was Autumn and Matthew’s birthdays! Year 4 and 30! Autumn hosted her first big kid birthday party at our house. We had some animal activities, old school party games and a glow dance party - cause who doesn’t love that! For Matthew’s, a crowd of us went to a Calgary Hitmen game.
My dad was able to make a quick weekend visit then too! We always enjoy any time we can spend with grandparents.
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October brought us more visits to the Corn Maze. And, luckily, more sunshine too! We love spending the afternoons there. We love the mini doughnuts too ;)
Surprisingly, this was our first year actually carving pumpkins with the kids. Other years we’ve just used them as decor or painted and decorated them. It was fun to do this together this year. And I loved having the pumpkin seeds to roast and add to oatmeal and salads :)
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This Fall Autumn is taking ballet and Halle joined Sparks. Halle really enjoyed her day camp in October! We made an adventure out of that day by heading to the mountains to hike Johnston Canyon.
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Halloween was a lot of fun this year! The girls both had parties at school and it’s always special to celebrate another baby’s “first.” The weather was great for trick or treating and the girls went farther than ever before! We also started a new tradition of having a campfire in our driveway. I handed out treats there and hung out with neighbours and friends. It was better than driving our dogs bonkers and juggling a baby back and forth to the door.
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In other Fall news, the season brought lots of fresh air fun and times spent as a family and with friends. The girls and I also joined a mommy group and have enjoyed connecting with new families through school.
As shared in my last post, I still have big dreams for this space. While sometimes I think I talk a big talk (and don’t take that action) it comes down to a priority struggle for me sometimes. After all, the time being present and the times you see in those photos is what it’s all about. If I can swing doing extra on the side to make my soul happy then that’s just icing on the cake!
One thing I did change up, in a surprising way, was jump back in to designing Keep Collective. There’s a lot more I’d like to share about this but for now it’s just something fun for me! A way to be creative, design reminders of what matters most and help spread some happy with others. And I’ve got big plans on how I want to weave all my dreams together and be more fearless when it comes to doing the things I want that bring me joy!
In saying that, I hope these photos spread some joy to you. I hope Fall was filled with many happy memories for you and yours. I hope you took time to unplug and be present. And, if you didn’t, try it this season. It will be even better during the “most wonderful time of the year!”
Thanks, as always, for reading and following along with our growing family! XO
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