Let's Talk About Fall.

It's officially fall now, even on an afternoon like today where the kids are wearing shorts and the windows are all open and my house is just a tad bit steamy right now.

I just pulled two loaves of fresh pumpkin bread out of the oven. A twice weekly fall {and winter, too} staple. I'll gift a loaf and in two days our loaf at home will be gone and I'll do it all again.

I don't mind baking. And I would rather my kids eat excess amounts of homemade pumpkin bread than many of the other snacks they could be scarfing.

And later this afternoon, I'll stick an apple pie in the oven to share after dinner. I'll put it in late enough that the insides will still be warm when we eat it. That's the best way to enjoy a homemade apple pie, isn't it?

We've been up to all the fall activities as of late. We've visited the pumpkin patch  nearest us twice already. One Friday night {before the fall activities were going to technically open}, J and the littles and I had a visit and we owned the place.

It was chilly enough for long sleeves but not cold.

There wasn't a single other child or family visiting that day so J and I bounced and bounced too.

We visited another day when all the events were open with friends. We've been to the apple orchard we love a couple times too though not for apples. We've picked raspberries and jumped in the hay. Next week the littles and I are taking a bus field trip there again where we'll do all things apple.

One of the fun things about fall is all the outside activities there are to do around us. Being we're so far removed from the city, the country is at our backdoor. Literally.

So we can go to the farm or the orchard or the pumpkin patch in a quick blink of the eye. And most of the things we like to do are relatively inexpensive. A dive in the corn pit: $1. A jump in the jumpy pumpkin: $1 {or a food donation}.

What sorts of things do you like to do with your kids in the fall? If you're local, give me some new places and ideas, we love exploring new parts of town. Are there any things you make or bake that symbolize the transition of summer to fall for you, like pumpkin bread is for our family? Perhaps we should have a "fall recipe" exchange....