I wait all year for fall.
Seriously. By the end of an Oklahoma summer, I am completely over the heat. I’m ready to open the windows, wear a sweatshirt, walk outside without immediately regretting my decision, and stop planning my entire day around how hot it’s going to be.
Fall is easily my favorite time of year.
Our fall doesn’t necessarily look like the cozy Pinterest version, though. We spend a ridiculous amount of our weekends at soccer games, and Braden has football practices and games mixed in there, too. Sometimes our plans get pushed back because there’s a tournament. Sometimes it’s technically fall, but Oklahoma hasn’t gotten the memo, and it’s still 90 degrees outside.
But we still have certain things we look forward to every year. So this year, I’m making an actual fall bucket list.
1. Go All Out Decorating for Halloween
This is always at the top of the list.
We love Halloween, and we decorate as early as we possibly can. We’re actually a little behind this year thanks to a soccer tournament, but we’ll get there.
Last year’s Halloween decorations give you a pretty good idea of what happens at our house. We don’t put out a pumpkin and call it good. We decorate.
This year will probably look pretty similar, although it will feel a little different because Devin is away at college. That’s one of those things I’m still getting used to.
2. Make It to the Pumpkin Patch
No matter how busy fall gets, we always try to squeeze in a pumpkin patch visit.
One of our favorites is Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch in Arcadia. It’s one of those outings that actually feels like fall, especially once Oklahoma finally decides to cooperate with the weather.
With soccer taking up so many Saturdays and Sundays, finding the time can be tricky. But this is one I really want us to make happen.
3. Bring Back All the Cozy Dinners
One of my favorite things about cooler weather is being able to turn on the oven without feeling like I’m personally responsible for raising the temperature of the entire house.
Fall means it’s time for the heavier meals again.
I’m talking pot pies, pastas, soups, and all the warm comfort foods that don’t sound nearly as appealing when it’s 100 degrees outside.
My Turkey Gnocchi Soup is perfect for this time of year, and so is my Loaded Potato Soup.
As for fall baking?
I’m still not a baker.
But there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying pumpkin bread and pretending that’s part of the fall experience.
4. Read All the Haunted Books
My reading changes with the season, too.
Right now, I want haunted houses. Ghosts. Supernatural stories. Creepy things happening in old houses. Basically, if the book sounds like something I wouldn’t want happening to me in real life, I probably want to read it in October.
I already love thrillers, but this time of year makes me want to lean even harder into the supernatural and spooky side of my reading list.
Preferably while sitting outside in cooler weather, which brings me to another item on my list.
5. Read Outside Without Melting
This sounds like such a small thing, but I’ve been waiting for it.
Until recently, if I wanted to read outside, I had until about 10 a.m. After that, there was too much sun, it was too hot, and I was done.
I want afternoons outside with a book. I want to sit on the patio when it’s actually comfortable. I want that tiny window of Oklahoma weather when being outside is genuinely pleasant and neither freezing nor unbearably hot.
There is nothing more relaxing than sitting out in the sun when the weather is cool.
I’m going to take advantage of every bit of it.
6. Watch as Many Scary Movies as We Can
This is another favorite.
We try to watch scary movies with Braden during October whenever our schedule allows it. Old scary movies, new scary movies, genuinely good ones, completely stupid ones. We’re not picky.
The problem this year is Austin has soccer games nearly every Saturday and Sunday, so our movie time is definitely taking a hit.
We’ll squeeze them in where we can.
7. Survive Fall Sports Season
I don’t know if “survive” technically belongs on a bucket list, but here we are.
Austin is playing soccer with both his 2019 age group and the 2017 team, which means he’s playing up two years as well. There are a LOT of soccer games.
And soccer isn’t the only sport happening around here.
Braden has football practices and games during the fall, too. Soccer tends to get a lot of attention in our family because there is so much of it, but football is a big part of Braden’s fall, and I don’t want that getting lost in the chaos.
Our fall calendar may not leave a lot of blank spaces, but I know we’ll miss these busy sports seasons someday.
Maybe not the scheduling part.
But the rest of it.
8. Make the Entire House Smell Like Fall
If the temperature outside won’t cooperate, I can at least make it smell like fall inside.
This is when all the apple, cinnamon, pumpkin, leaves, wood, and amber scents come out. I love changing the scents around the house with the seasons, and fall is easily my favorite.
If Oklahoma insists on giving me summer weather in October, my Glade plugins and I will simply create our own fall.
9. Pull Out the Sweaters Way Too Early
Every year, I do this before the weather actually justifies it.
I don’t care.
I’ll put the capris and shorts away in the ottoman, move the tank tops to another section of the closet, and start pulling my sweaters and sweatshirts forward.
Then I’ll stare at them longingly while the forecast continues to say 85 degrees.
Eventually, Oklahoma will give me sweater weather.
And I will be ready.
10. Get Outside More With the Dogs
Cooler weather means we can finally start taking the dogs out during normal human hours again.
During the summer, I’ve had to walk them around 5:30 in the morning just to beat the heat. I’m very ready to move those walks into the daytime or afternoon.
More walks, more time outside, and considerably less sweating sounds pretty perfect.
11. Spend More Time at the Parks
Once the weather cools down, I want us outside as much as our sports schedule allows.
Braden loves the skatepark at Mitch Park, so that’s always an easy option. I’d also like to get back to walking around Lake Hefner and spend some time at Martin Park Nature Center.
These don’t have to be big planned outings. Sometimes just getting everybody out of the house and enjoying a nice day is enough.
12. Finally Take Our First Real Hike
We’ve been wanting to try a real family hike, and Natural Falls State Park is still on my list.
We had hoped to make it there already, but between soccer and the heat, it just hasn’t happened. Fall seems like a much better time to try.
Will we actually find an open weekend?
That’s another question entirely.
But it’s staying on the bucket list.
13. Go Trick-or-Treating
Yes, our kids are getting older. No, we’re not giving up Halloween.
Braden usually likes to hang out with his friends now, while Austin, Mike, and I go trick-or-treating around our neighborhood.
Things change as the boys get older, and our traditions change with them. I’m learning that’s just part of this stage of life.
But I’m hanging onto the fun stuff for as long as they’ll let me.
Mostly, I Just Want to Enjoy Fall
That’s really the point of my fall bucket list.
I don’t expect us to check off every single thing. Our weekends are packed. Plans will change. Soccer games will get added. Oklahoma will probably throw in a random 90-degree day just to annoy me.
But I love this season.
I love Halloween. I love scary books and scary movies. I love heavier dinners, fall scents, sweatshirts, cooler walks, and finally being able to sit outside without feeling like the sun is personally attacking me.
So even if we only squeeze these things into the spaces between soccer games and football practices, I’m going to enjoy as much of fall as I possibly can.
Because it took long enough to get here.