That Fall Feeling

Hello hello. 

   I haven't done a picture update in a while so I'm doing that today. I love keeping our memories in this little space on the internet. It's officially Fall (and no, not like that means pumpkin stuff is out, but it's like actually fall weather-wise) and I adore this season. I love the decorations, the crisp air, the seasonal events, and yes, I like that the fall is a sign post that holly jolly Christmas fun is just around the corner. But also, the Fall can feel hard. I hate it when the days get shorter and it feels like 10pm right around dinner time. I can start to feel that teacher fizzle from the high energy go-go-go of the first weeks of school catching up with me. And this year, man, this year it alllll just hits differently doesn't it??

 I was trying to express to AJ the other night what this season feels like and the word I landed on was heavy. The Pandemic feels heavy. On one hand I am so totally over it and ready to move on, but on the other hand, I know that numbers don't lie and the higher than ever case counts are alarming. It's scary. Also politics. Very heavy. (Insert the wide mouth emoji here). The world (our country in particular) feels broken. Damaged. I know better than to think that we will be this divided forever but DANG. So yeah, heavy feels about right. But when things feel too heavy, I have to remind myself that maybe I'm not meant to carry it all. In fact, I know I'm not. But sometimes feeling a bit of that weight can be a good thing. It creates awareness that what we do and say matters and that while I know who holds this whole thing up (God, in case you were wondering), we can all do our part to carry some of that heavy for each other too. That is a long and winding way of saying, I see your heavy too and sis, it's totally possible to live with "The fall brings out my happy/basic/extra self/give me all the pumpkin spice everything and how freaking cute are baby pumpkins" and also "Yikes. Dayyyyyummm. 2020, what else you think you're gonna pull?" at the very same time. (But keep in mind, despite the despair that creeps in my heart when I watch the news or the *literal* lack of actual light in our days, Fall also means the return of Reeses pumpkins, the return of some of my TV faves,  crunchy leaves, and infinity scarves ..anything really to lighten the load, I'll take it!). I was meaning to write two separate posts this week, a photo update and my little musings on how life feels uncertain and unknown but this is my dang blog and I'm just doing 1 post this week. See: "heavy." 

Remember that country song, "These are My People?" I always think about that when I see a pic of my little crew. These ARE my people and they are my everything. We've been going on lots of walks and adventures. 

I visited Hadley. I just love spending time with her. 

To say our Traeger has been getting a workout lately is an understatement. We've done flank steak, meatloaf, chicken kabobs, apple cobbler, burgers, and this weekend, a giant brisket. We've got pork belly and chicken wings on the docket next! 

We visited the Zoo! 

We ordered some photos on canvas for our front hallway. I think they look so good! We also took off the front of Hank's crib. He loves his "big boy bed." He is getting so grown up! 

School is going well. Someone please remind me how exhausted I will be the first month or so of school. Every single year I forget how those first few weeks are (Like I want to be in bed at 8 pm sort of tired). My class is cute and I pray we can stay healthy and together all year. I got a Donor's Choose funded this month with all sort of holiday teaching goodies including all these gingerbread themed books! So fun! Also, how amazing is technology?? My kids had a zoom call this week with the Ogden Nature Center and we got to see some cool animals and get questions answered live! I need to remember how awesome technology can be because we watched The Social Dilemma last week and I was about ready to throw my phone in a river. (I highly recommend the movie. We already know what technology is doing to us but I believe it pays to hear it over and over). 

Speaking of Neflix....GUYS. GUYS. This was just a little half hour thing on Netflix's social media platforms (I thought it was on actual Netflix and kept refreshing like an idiot), but we watched this Friday and it was so perfectly adorable. I love revisiting the Banks Family! 

I've also been doing plenty of this.....

Check out my September Reads HERE

Well that post got super duper long. That's for reading along. May we all find some light and let down some of our heavy. 

Savor Your Sparkle,

Leslie