Fall Fun Completed.

As winter and the Christmas season are right around the corner, I figured I would see how well I did in accomplishing my fall goals. It was a good list I feel, check it out here, however time and life got busy. I did worlds better completing tasks off of my fall to do list than  I had in the past with my summer list..

1. Corn Maze - That was completed one evening with two of our wonderful friends. We bundled up and had a wonderful evening getting lost in the corn. The highlight of the evening however was not the corn or the great time with friends, ok that was up there, but this huge dome shaped trampoline really was pretty epic. Yes, it was a gigantic, yellow and red rubber dome that you could jump on and fly in the air. They let us have 'adult jumping time' on it, which really made me feel old and I felt a little guilty have the kids get kicked off, but it was totally worth it.

2.Rake Leaves- Not going to lie, kind of sad that this did not happen. Maybe next year someone will take up my offer on free manual labour.

3. Caramel Apples- Another big fail. There were however lots of festive fall treats made, but caramel apples did not make the cut.

4. Fall Crafts- Again, no time for anything. Fall crafts were not completed, well a yarn wrapped wreath was made, but fell as soon as I put it up and before I could take pictures, it broke. Then my niece broke it two more times, I gave up on it and it ended up in the garbage. I have however made up for it with the number of Christmas crafts created. Just wait to see the awesome thing I got a group of kids to make.

5. Pumpkin Pie or Apple Pie - So looking at this list again makes me realise that I was probably hungery when I made it, cause there are some serious junk food going on. I did make some pumpkin tarts with home made crust, filling and whipped cream, so I am calling that winning.

6. Try new Fall Recipes- Well I made the pumpkin pie tarts. I also did some yummy apple sauce cookies (recipe here) and pumpkin cookies (recipe here). Both were a big hit with the pumpkin cookies being the winner. I just loved the icing.  I used the same icing for both. Next time however, I will not store them in the same container, it became hard to know which cookie was which.

7. Carve Pumpkins - This became a family affair as a few of my cousins and I helped our second cousins (? Cousins kids? Feeling old) and my niece carve some pumpkins at thanksgiving. They helped de-gut them, then draw or explain the face they wanted, and then we went to town cutting them out.

Not on the to do list, but always wonderful, spending time with family. We went to Firefest (a local fire truck thing) as they are one of Little J's favourite things. 

My brother re-enacts the war of 1812, it was the bicentennial, so we went as a family, spent the day and watched the battle. 

Family pumpkin carving. 

The best picture (out of like 20) of the little kids with their pumpkins.

Baxter dressed up for Halloween and the pumpkin cookies in the background. 

Little J was a bat, she loves Baxter. 

November Books.

I am slowly but surly getting back on track for getting some reading done. I am a long ways from coming even close to accomplishing my reading list, especially because I might have just put on order all the Gossip Girl books. I do however feel like those will make me feel accomplished in the number of books I read because they are small and fast books.

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close- This was an easy read. It is also one of those books that you read when you think your life sucks and the last thing you want is to read about people getting wonderful jobs and living in beautiful places and meeting completely awesome people. This tells life more like it is, with having no work, and little gross apartments and boys who don't always call you back. It is a good pick me up. I did however struggle greatly remembering which girl was which as the character development was not well done, but the actual life situation was well explained.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson- This book was kind of slow, but I was determined to truck through with it because I knew it had to be going somewhere. The book looks at a woman who wakes up every day forgetting her past. It gets intense, but you need to make it through the first 200 pages. In the end I am glad I kept going.