Autumn is I know I am not alone in saying that fall is my favorite season! I look forward to it all year, especially since moving to the desert. Fall is like a breath of fresh air after the blistering hot summer temperatures. After being holed up in our homes, almost unable to go outdoors unless it's to play in the splash pad (something my kids grow tired of quickly once it becomes their only option), we long for days when the sun goes down early and we can run outside! Growing up in the midwest, autumn meant beautiful colors in the trees, crisp air in the morning, and rainy afternoons. As I got older I always looked forward to hot cups of coffee and wearing lots of layers. I am the most homesick when the first day of fall rolls around every year and the pictures start rolling in from friends and family still living in the mitten state. We are fortunate that most years we get to take a trip back home and stay with family near the end of summer. We decided to embrace our desert landscape and escaped to the mountains to explore in the cooler temperatures. Mt. Charleston is an hour drive from our neighborhood, making it a perfect destination for a day trip. I packed a picnic lunch for us and brought along our crayons and water colors. Sometimes I forget that these things can be taken with us, and it makes for a great engaging activity to color and draw the things as we experience them instead of from memory later. Harper brought along her little notebook and a multi-colored pen and recorded everything that she found along her way, while Atwood and I discussed the different colors of leaves that we found and matched them to our crayons. After lunch we checked in on Harper's fairy house that we had built on an earlier trip using only items we found in the woods. We were pleased, and a little surprised, to report that it was still mostly intact! We stopped at an overlook on a road we had never turned down before, and the kids marched along a stone wall while we admired the view. On our way to check out a new area of the mountain, we drove past a meadow where families were picnicking and playing soccer. Among them was a family of wild horses! I had never seen wild horses before and Nick quickly pulled over so that Harper and I could jump out of the car and get as close as we could without disturbing them. Overall the day was pure magic. We saw so much wildlife that we just don't get to experience living in a large planned community. Nick and I have already made plans for our next trip up before snowfall. I want to share some photos from our day, so prepare for a photo overload! Create leaf rubbings like we did by using a clipboard or other hard surface for older children you could then later help them identify the plants that the leaves came from. Is there a nature destination in your area? You could pack a picnic and spend the entire day in your yard looking for bugs, leaves changing color, funny looking sticks, and discussing these things with your child. You don't have to travel far to witness and enjoy the changes of this season.
xoxo P.S. Harper and I are wearing matching Long Sleeve Tee Dresses in Sandstone and one of my Hand-dyed linen bandana scarves that can be found HERE.
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hello,I'm Sam. Mother of two and the sole seamstress behind Found Path. Here I'll share a more intimate look behind the brand, and a peek into our lives. Archives |