Enjoy all of Fall – Our Fall Traditions

Fall in Northern Utah is one of the most specatular times of the year but it is also one of the shortest 🙁 It really bums me out! Just as the days get cooler and the colors start popping the sun decides to go to bed early.  The leaves changed so early this year. My friend was in NY last week and apparently the leaves are just starting to change – no fair – ours started the first week of October.

In October we usually pack our nights with outdoor traditions before the cold snap strikes. One of our favorite traditions in October is hike down to the Little Bear river to watch the salmon run.

Every year the kids find their favorite (usually the biggest ones) salmon and follow it up the stream as it fights the current. This year was Wil’s first time being able to walk the river with his sister. Talk about tear at your heart strings as I watched Ali tell Wil about her favorite fish. We have such a connection to this reservoir and enjoy all of it; we swim in it in the summer, fish in it in the spring and explore its deeper secrets as it drains in the Fall.  I’ve had a lot of moments at this reservoir where I’ve witnessed my kids creating recoverable memories in their minds. Recoverable memories are the ones that are so good, you find them popping up in your mind as you experience smells and sounds similar to that moment.

This year we started a new Fall tradition the kids have named The Halloweenie Roast. It’s basically my clever way of getting the kids excited about harvesting our apples and garden without them realizing they are working.  The apple cider flows freely with lots of treats and weenier roastings. Our harvesting ended up going a lot faster than I figured and it felt like we ate more apples (with carmel) than we picked. Our pumpkins did awesome this year, despite being watered by distracted summer time kids.  We have one rule in our house about claiming a pumpkin, you can only claim it if you can carry it. This rule used to be a lot funnier when the kids were younger and would pop a gizzard trying to pick up the monster pumpkins.

As we wrapped up our night around the back yard fire, the smell of fall filled my lungs as my mind created a beautifully recoverable memory.

Click here to watch the video blog from our first salmon trip and here to watch the video blog from last year.

Special thanks to Quaker Life Cereal for giving us an experience kit to help us elevate our fall traditions. Check out their new video called “Enjoy All of it” – its about taking the time to enjoy moments in your life – that is message I can get behind.  #TeamFamily @Quaker  @QuakerOats