fall

It was kind of a blustery day out today. The kind of weather that makes you want to stay inside curled up in a comfy chair with a cup of cocoa and the newest issue of any design magazine. But I was out doing errands and as I drove home from Trader Joe's, a gust of wind picked up the leaves and swirled them across the road. It was really pretty. I think I love fall not only for it's present beauty, but for fond memories from the past, like:

• school starting
• butterflies in my tummy for the first day of school (I still had those for my kids first day)
• the smell of the furnace kicking on for the first time
• leaves changing in the mountains
• finding the prettiest leaves to take to school
• shopping for new school clothes
• the waxy smell of a new box of crayons
• football games
• shopping for a Homecoming dress
• my first kiss
• bon fires
• trick or treating
• sorting out Halloween candy in piles from best (Milky Way bars) to ickiest (root beer barrels)
• getting a new tray of Prang watercolors at school
• my mom making oatmeal in the morning
• the smell of chocolate drop cookies baking when I came home from school
• the sound and smell of school buses passing
• the "regular-ness" of knowing the seasons will fall into place
• the crispness of the air
• watching the World Series on TV
• not knowing who's in the World Series, but being with your friends so it didn't matter
• wearing sweaters
• ...and boots
• the cool mornings when you wear a sweater and the warm afternoons that you wish you hadn't
• the crunchy sound of leaves under your feet
• making caramel apples
• The ward fall bazaar
• That last really warm day that you can be outside having a picnic

What are some of your fall memories?