October 7, 2009

Fall. Just the name brings back wonderful memories. I LOVE fall. I love that it starts out with a crispness in the morning and warms to the most comfortable temperature during the day. I love that you can smell the leaves burning at the farmhouse down the street. I love that when I walk out of the house in the morning, the colorful palette of leaves line the path and crunch softly beneath my feet. I love to see the yellow, orange and red mums that were so carefully planted at the first sign of coolness and the pumpkins that sit on the porches in the neighborhood.

Of course, it is easy to love the fall season when you live in Texas because it also means that you can now do outdoor activities without having a heatstroke! One of my favorite things that we do every year is go camping. We pack up our tents, sleeping bags and warm clothes and head off to the most wonderful campsite in Oklahoma. We meet my parents, sister and her family and we spend the most glorious long weekend camping out, hiking, geocaching and visiting. I guess what I love most about fall is that it means family to me. Love. Togetherness. Happiness. We start to pull our family close, spend more time at home and out of the cold. It means the beginnings of holidays and thankfulness. The ending of a good year and a promise of a better year to come.

I LOVE FALL.......

September 20,2009

A Fair to Remember...

I know, its dumb, but I couldn't help myself. Growing up in Texas, it was a yearly event to go to the fair. I loved going. Not only did we have a day off of school, but the fair was a big event in Texas.

I can still remember the morning of our annual "fair day". My younger sister, Amy, and I would wake up with a great anticipation. My mother made us matching outfits and we were so excited that we could finally wear them. After a big breakfast, we would head out to the fair. I will always remember looking for Big Tex, the giant Texan who greeted all the fair goers at the gate. I can still here his voice in my head as he welcomes us to the fair and reminds us to eat a hotdog and ride the rides.

I can still feel the excitment of walking up to the ticket booth and my dad buying us a big book of tickets to use to ride the rides and play the games. As we walked through the entrance, we could smell fall in the air, popcorn and candy apples, hot dogs and cotton candy--and the faint smell of hay and animals. I could see the huge ferris wheel and we would head straight for it. Ironic now, since I can't stand heights, but I loved the ferris wheel. I always felt so free as we went around and around.

We would spend all day, riding the rides, seeing the exhibits and looking at all the animals. I can remember falling into the car and being so exhausted that I would be asleep 2 minutes after we left. Those are the memories that I want for my children too.

Although I no longer live in the Dallas area, we have our own fair here in Waco. It is a huge event that lasts for about a week. But more than the rides--they seem so cheesey and much less stable than when I was a child--we go to see the rodeo. It is an event we look forward to every year. I love to see the look of excitment on my childrens face as they watch the big bull try to throw off the rugged cowboy or their horror as he goes after the rodeo clown. We always enjoy a great laugh when we watch the little ones ride the sheep to see who can go the farthest. We have also made it a yearly event to go through EVERY camper at the show and make our dream list.

It is that time again--only a few more weeks--and we are already excited and ready to go. I can only hope that my children have as good a memories as I do about the fair, and that they, in turn, make those memories with their children.