Our First Annual Fall-i-day!

For some time now I've been trying to devise the perfect Autumn holiday for me and my family to celebrate. Thanksgiving is too borderline Christmas, Halloween is too evil and Church sponsored Harvest Parties are too much like a bunch of Christians with fingers in their ears trying to pretend that Trick or Treating isn't going on only blocks away. What I wanted is something that is cozy, yummy and involves plenty of the outdoors. So, this year, we invented Falliday! We had such a brilliant time that I'm already beginning to plan next year's festivities. Here's how it went down:

First, we had pumpkin bread and coffee for breakfast.
I threw in some whole, fresh cranberries into the batter on a
whim, and I hafta tell, they made the bread a jillion times yummier! I should also mention, that the pumpkin bread came from our very own pumpkin whom we carved up the night before while watching "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". Here's the picture of our pumpkin, Melvin, in his former glory...when we was a friend, not food.


We spent the morning lounging around and watching cartoons, as is proper and fitting for a Saturday morning. Then, after a lunch of Pumpkin and Carrot soup, salad with fresh herb dressing and rolls, we headed to the park for the leaf tromping!

The leaf tromping commenced with vigor! We collected specimens of curiosity, the most beautiful leaves in the forest, and lots of pinecones and acorns for crafts! It was such a delight to introduce Lucy to the marvels of Fall. She would find a pretty leaf and carry it around with her until she found one that seemed more beautiful. She stomped her feet, exulting in the crunching sound they made. She even threw a handful of leaves on her daddy so he could enjoy them too.

By the time we returned home, Lucy was in need of a nap, so while she napped, Chris and I crafted with some of the wondrous things we found on our walk. The results of our craft are still pending, but if it turned out well, I'll post about it later. When Lucy woke up, she got to participate in the crafting by trying her hand at leaf-rubbings. For a 15 month old, she did pretty darn good. But even if she didn't, she's cute, so who cares?


















After all of this, I was glad I had put dinner in the crockpot and it was waiting for us! I was inspired by my friend, Sarah, to have a German dinner, to celebrate Reformation Day (the day Martin Luther nailed his theses to the door. In so doing, Luther broke the spell catholicism had the people under, ending Europe's Dark Ages). So yummy, cozy German food it was! We had sauerbraten, hot potato salad and sauerkraut. And, as our own personal touch, we added a hat's off to Oktoberfest and drank some delicious beer!

After dinner, we were planning to go to my in-law's house for s'mores over their firepit and watch "Arsenic and Old Lace"...this didn't happen, so we snuggled up and played games instead.


It was a lovely Falliday, and I highly recommend you institute one for your own family!