October

Tim and I talk constantly of the idea of selling our house and winter coats and moving south, to Texas, Florida or the Carolinas. What a life we could have - no more snow shoveling, no more scraping ice off windshields, no more windburnt cheeks and runny noses and chapped hands. We dream of sitting outside on a patio in January, drinking coffee and wearing sunglasses. We dream of weekends laying on sandy beaches and splashing in waves. We dream of daquiris and sunscreen and grilling out all winter long.

But the reality is that we're Midwesterners. We brave the ice and snow through the winter for the payoff of the other 3 seasons (which tend to make up only half the year, here in Chicago!) And the best of all these seasons - fall.

Oh how I love fall. Trees turning from green to red, yellow and orange. Pumpkin spice Hershey kisses. The smell of the cooler, crisper air. Colorful mums blooming. Lazy Sunday afternoons in front of a football game. Hooded sweatshirts and warm mugs of apple cider. You can feel the excitement in the air. It's as though the world is trying to squeeze in the final few weekends of joy and energy before winter hibernation begins.

So in honor of fall approaching and our lack of family pictures, we decided to venture out the other weekend to finally get some pictures. Our friend Jen graciously agreed to act as photographer for us and I am glad that we finally got some family photos. I find that we get so caught up in our day-to-day lives and forget to grab the camera and capture these moments together. We are going to try to be better about it though!

I love fall!!