Fall has arrived! (almost...)

I love fall!
I never really understood the hype with fall until we moved to Utah last year. Fall is so beautiful! The temp finally isn't 100 degrees every day. The crisp morning air. The leaves changing from green to all shades of red, orange and yellow! Football season. Getting to wear boots, scarves, and sweaters without having to scrape snow and ice off my windows yet!
I love it all!

Last year around this time I was just starting to become better friends with the girls I work with. We went to a haunted house together and it was awesome!

This year I'm able to call these girls some of my best friends! We are already planning on doing fun fall things together. And it is going to be so fun!

So here is my 2016 Fall To-Do List

1. Go to a pumpkin patch. Josh and I have these things called "Pass of all passes" that gets us into things for free! (It was only $15 and is good to use ALL year!). This pass gets us into a pumpkin patch for free! Of course there are things you need to pay for once you're inside...but admission is free! I love mostly free dates :)

2. Drive through Provo Canyon to see the changing leaves. Well...it doesn't have the be Provo canyon. Pretty much just any canyon where the trees are all around us! My grandparents have a cabin that is in the middle of tons and tons of trees. I hear it is the most beautiful drive up to it in the fall!

3. Go on a few more hikes before the snow hits and I just want to stay inside and cuddle. There are a few hikes I've been wanting to do so I better hurry up and do them before it gets too cold! Last winter was so hard for me! I was so cold that I didn't want to go outside at all. Maybe this year will be different since I know what to expect with winter. We'll see.

4. Carve a pumpkin. I guess this kind of goes along with going to a pumpkin patch. But Josh and I didn't carve one last year and I was pretty bummed about it. We'll be sure to make up for it this year!

5. Go to a BYU football game. Last year I wasn't able to go to one even though Josh was at every home game (he worked with BYU recruiting and got in free). I love the atmosphere of football games and I want to go to one this year!

6. Run for 45 minutes without stopping. Again...something I want to do before the snow hits! I miss the days when I could just go out and run 8 miles just because I could. I remember looking at my running schedule and being excited that I would only be running 6 miles that day. Because that's so easy, right? (HA!). I want to get my endurance close to what it was when I was running everyday.

7. Take family pictures. We had some taken last year by a dear friend and we loved them! I'd love to have some done every year to look back on.

8. Finish Unbroken. I've been reading this book for a few weeks no and I LOVE it! But for some reason I keep finding other things to do instead of reading it. I will finish it!

9. Go fishing. My dad is planning on coming up here in a few weeks and we're going fishing with him! We're so excited!

10. Run a 5k. Josh and I love running 5ks together. We have run 2 so far and are hoping to run one again for Halloween! They are so fun, especially when the pressure is off and we do it just to have fun.

Oh hey there Fall, nice to meet ya!

Everybody keeps asking me how I like Utah so far. My answer? I love it!!
The only thing is that I'm freezing cold already. Super excited for Winter.

I have never experienced Fall before! I'm use to the leaves just dying and falling off of the trees. The weather starts to calm down in November. And I wear boots and scarves just because they're cute.

Now I get to see the trees turn beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds before they fall and turn to brown. Now I understand the real beauty of boots and scarves. And fuzzy socks...because my feet have been getting soo cold!!

Fall has been going easy on us and it wasn't cooling down for the longest time. It doesn't matter so much for me because I'm inside all day wearing scrubs. But now it is starting to be so cold at home! So cold. Like 65 degrees cold in the middle of the day! I'm not completely use to wearing giant fuzzy socks, warm leggings, and sweatshirts inside. I guess that is something I'll have to get use to! (We have always refused to turn on the AC or heat. That might have to change.)

Wednesdays are my day off and I usually spend my morning running errands then come home and clean, do some laundry, and relax. Today was a bit more difficult. I just wanted to stay in bed all day! Not to mention we have been trying to work out every morning. As in 5:30 am. It has be so hard. So today we skipped the workout part and went with the warm cuddling option instead.

Anyways...after my chores today I decided to enjoy the wonderful Fall. I drove to a park close by our home and just walked around and enjoyed(?) the cool air and the beautiful trees. While wearing my scarf and boots.

So...yes, I do love it here! But it also hasn't been Winter quite yet. So I'll let you guys know when we get to that point.

But for now, I will enjoy this beautiful time of year!

xoxo

Simply Stephens

PS. Be sure to check back on Saturday. At work we are dressing up as Disney Villains and you do not want to miss out on my costume. It is going to be epic.