A “it’s really feeling like fall now” weekend update

The Packer game kicks off in 20 minutes, so I don’t have much time. Just jumping on to say hola and give a quick weekend update.

The weather has been BEAUTIFUL. Just beautiful. Well, yesterday and today, anyway.

Friday night Ethan had a 4:30 p.m. soccer game and it was overcast and spitting a few raindrops periodically, but it was mostly fine. He and his soccer friend ultimately decided at the last minute (while maybe in a post- soccer game loss/ end of the week tired funk) to actually not go to the 7 p.m. Homecoming football game.

I pushed him a little to reconsider (#memories, and all), but he was with his friend and the friend’s mom, so I was obviously not going to make a big deal about it. Anyway, it was his decision. The weather was looking like maybe more rain moving in, they had had back-to-back soccer games Thursday and Friday nights (i.e. long, active days), some other friends had already decided not to go, and his school’s football team was playing the #1 ranked team in the state. (Talk about bad luck for the Homecoming game….). A total shut-out was predicted, which I’ll agree, maybe would not be that fun to watch. He said he just really wanted to go home, take a shower, make a frozen pizza, relax and play some video games. Fair enough.

He caught a ride home with his friend, and I drove downtown to meet up with Ivan and his mom for dinner. Asher was working as a Timer at the girls’ high school swim meet with a friend (and then went to his house after), so he was occupied, too.

Saturday

Asher had 6:30 a.m. swim practice yesterday, followed by a soccer game at noon ~35 minutes away. Ivan had his (last of the season) Saturday soccer game, so I took Asher’s game yet again.

Like last week, it was another GORGEOUS day. We have really had a spectacular fall so far.

I sat in the sunshine and wore cropped joggers and a tank top and just felt so comfortable. Just cool enough that I wasn’t exactly hot, but plenty warm in the sun. The trees are all just in that “beginning to change” stage which is fun. It’s like… a little teaser. Little glimpses of color suddenly popping up in many places, but not everywhere, either. I feel like the world just feels a bit “golden-looking” right now. Ah, fall is just so charming!!

After the game Asher and I ended up grabbing some Chipotle for lunch. Wasn’t really in the plans, but he begged, and well, I honestly can’t really ever say no to Chipotle. 🤷‍♀️What can I say.

We made a stop off at the mall for fall soaps from Bath and Body Works. Here’s what we ended up with:

I felt like the selection was more limited this year! I mean, I like these, but I feel like usually there are a lot more blatantly FALL designs. Like tons of orange/ pumpkin/leaves and even fun Halloween selections. These all felt a little more like “understated fall”. Or, “sophisticated fall”. LOL. Anyway, they’re nice and all smell good, but just an observation, I guess.

Saturday night was Ethan’s Homecoming dance!! After getting home from being at soccer + lunch + the mall, I squeezed in a gym session while Ivan helped iron Ethan’s pants. (Ivan actually bought Ethan’s new Homecoming outfit at Macy’s on Friday while on a work break… haha… another reason I’m glad to have boys. Pretty sure no girls were buying their dress the day before the dance….).

Here’s my handsome freshman:

And a “cool in shades” picture:

The dance was actually going to be held outside!! They started this during the pandemic, and apparently the kids actually really enjoyed it and wanted to continue the tradition for Homecoming only. (Winter/spring dances still held inside.) Therefore they directed the kids to wear sneakers/non-dressy shoes, which I’m sure no one was upset about.

At first I thought the outside thing sounded weird, but then someone told me that the backdrop of the old, historic school building softly lit up at night actually creates a really neat backdrop. Fortunately, it was a beautiful evening, too.

The verdict from Ethan was that it was “really fun”. I asked if he danced, and he said no. haha. But I guess it was still fun going to dinner, being at the dance, talking with friends, the music, the whole thing. Yay!!!

Ivan and I did the pick-up at almost 11 p.m….yawn. The boys were tired on the way home and didn’t say much, but I got more from E this morning. 😉

Sunday

Asher is off right now at a Paintball place with his swim team. I dropped him off there around 9:15. He had never been paintballing and was EXCITED to try this. Haha. I’ve heard it kind of hurts, so it’s not high on my list of things to try. lol. Though Ivan and Ethan have both done it and say it’s really fun. I like how his swim team organizes non-swimming social events for the kids, too.

I also ran to get my fall decor this morning. I stuck with my trusty local Home Depot… I feel like the quality is always solid and the prices are decent. At some point we usually get some pumpkins for carving from a pumpkin farm or pumpkin stand, but for now, I just wanted some basics.

I got 3 mums, a bale of hay, and like 5 pumpkins for I think…. $70. Jeepers. 😑Inflation even hits pumpkins. Lol.

$70 feels like kind of a lot, considering this “fall decor” really only sticks around for a little while. It also makes me wonder how much some people spend on this stuff. I see a LOT of homes with multiple HUGE, gorgeous mums, dozens of pumpkins, corn stalks, hay bales and just generally WAY fancier set-ups then I have here. ha. My mini-hay bale was like $8.95!! For a little dinky hay bale. Anyway. I’m happy with what I got and I’m mostly happy to have it checked off the list. I greatly enjoy looking at my house decorated for fall, so it’s money worth spending, to me.

(Ivan may disagree with me on this. hehe. When I was checking out, the lady was like, “Email receipt?” and I saw it was his email on the account, so I was like, Oh, um, how about a printed one instead. 😁) (Not that I’m hiding it, anyway; he has full access to the credit card statement obviously! But we don’t need to, you know, emphasize it with a special email outlining the cost of pumpkins and mums. 😂)

The rest of the day should be pretty chill. Watching the Packers game, Ethan is working now 11-4, and just some things around the house. Need to pull out my fall door wreath and going to do some light cleaning/chores while the game is on.

I’m gunning for a MOVIE NIGHT tonight. We’ve had so many visitors, etc. on Sundays for weeks on end, that I asked Ivan if we could please just have a quiet night alone tonight!!!

Also hoping to fit in a gym run to round out a strong week of workouts. Need to hit Full Body, strength session #5/5 for the week before a new week starts tomorrow.

All in all, a nice weekend so far. Between football, Homecoming, fall soaps, changing leaves, pumpkins and mums, I’m definitely getting in the Fall State of Mind now. 🙂

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for fall colors. Love the warm tones of the reds, oranges and purples, in the leaves, plants, decor….all of it.