We woke up Sunday morning to a slight chill in the air and it was nice and not too cold. We started our drive over Independence Pass early to avoid most of the traffic. Independence pass has sections that are one lane for cars going both directions and can be sketchy.

We stopped along the way to see the views and some hiking.

Weller Lake was a nice short trail with a beautiful river, lush forrest and a stunning alpine lake.

We brought lunch with us and had a picnic along the river.

We drove into Aspen to find coffee and playgrounds.

Aspen was chill and much more laid back than when we visited on July 4th weekend.

I didn’t get many photos from our drive but I enjoyed the views a lot.

We drove back to our campsite and enjoyed the mountain air.

We went to Mountain High Pies to have our favorite Crocodile Pizza.

This might be our last visit to Leadville until next summer as the snow is already settling in.

Saturday started at the soccer fields.

Emmy is digging getting to play soccer this season.

But mostly when she gets to play with Cory in the field with her. It’s been a fun bonding experience for them. Cannon had a game as well but I had to miss it because there was an accident in the camper and we had to rush home to wash our comforter, LOL.

After Cannon’s game we jumped in the truck and headed West.

We did seek out some much needed coffee on the drive into the mountains, Starbucks had some very cute cake pops for the kids.

The Aspens are changing and the weather was cool, it was a nice break from the 90s we have been having.

Wee found a beautiful camp site in Twin Lakes near Leadville.

I was very excited that we still had chili left over so we didn’t have to cook dinner.

I think fall camping might be my favorite.

Today was a whirlwind of prepping for camping while trying to still getting all the other life things done.

Emmy helped me get a Costco run done and the camper packed.

I did was to share THIS article that has some great information on hill repeats as well as workouts you can do.

Happy weekend everyone, we are off to find some fall leaves.

This morning we let Emmy choose our playground destination and she wanted to go to an old favorite that we call the Ladybug Park.

The trees were full of apples so that made it extra fun!

While I am getting sick of the 90+ degree heat, it is nice to get out in the mornings so easily and I hope we can still get out and play during the winter.

When we got home I started gathering outfits for the kids to wear to Disneyland. I like to start to pack early for trips that I might have to buy things for.

We have about a week and a half and we are getting very excited.

Normally I don’t start packing so early, for example we are camping this weekend and I haven’t started packing for.

After we took Cannon to school Emmy helped me make chili for dinner, I am ready for all the fall food!

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a55200/easy-turkey-slow-cooker-chili-recipe/

We made this recipe with some corn bread and it was so good!

We also got to cuddle a bit, we are learning to enjoy our “girl time”

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When do you start packing for trips?

https://www.trailrunnermag.com/training/trail-tips-training/the-science-of-why-consistency-creates-fitness-even-10-minutes-at-a-time

I HAD to share this article from Trail Runner Magazine because it is so good! I can give at least 10 minutes a day to improve. I also love their Podcast!

I have yet to be able to kick myself out of bed at 4:30 to get my workout in. I used to get a run in on the treadmill while Emerald napped and Cannon played in the basement

Things have changed now that Emmy isn’t napping and Cannon is at school in the afternoon. Emmy ins’t quite as helpful as when Cannon would cheer me on and tell me that I was fast.

She demanded that I have this teddy bear on the treadmill, needed three things and kept asking when I would be done….I am hoping that we can figure this out. Times change quickly and we are all adjusting.

The highlight of the day was finding this mug at the grocery store….it’s the little things.

Our cool morning today made it feel like we are really are moving towards fall, it’s also nice that it’s getting dark when the kids are going to bed at night. In the summer they don’t like going to bed when it’s still light out.

It got me thinking that it was time to create a fall bucket list for this fall:

• Run a family 5k
• Go to a pumpkin Patch

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• Drink Fall themed beverages from Starbucks
• Share hot chocolate with the kids
• Get lost in a corn maze

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• Attend a fall festival
• Carve Jack-o-lanterns
• Get dressed up and go trick or treating
• Bake pies
• Make Boo Baskets for the kids

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• Make fun halloween themed snacks
• Go for a hike in the mountains
• Play in a pile of leaves
• Go camping
• Make fall crafts with the kids
• Celebrate Halloween in Disneyland!!!

We have had bucket lists for last summer 2021 summer 2019  fall  winter and spring.

What are your favorite things to do in the fall?s

After our little weekend adventure in Vail we are back to the daily grind.

Emmy is starting to really like our “girl time” in the afternoon. Now that Cannon has school in the afternoon and she isn’t napping anymore we get to hang out just the two of us.

But the best part is still when we get to pick Cannon up from school. The whole car line thing is new to us, we definitely prefer walking to school and that will be nice to return to next year.

I was excited to see this flavor of Spindrift back in the stores, it’s only out for the holidays.

We made Creamy Shrimp Pasta for dinner and the kids helped me pick tomatoes from the garden. These tomatoes are so sweet and good. I had two amazing helpers making dinner and I can’t help but count my blessings and soak in this time. I love it so so much. My life isn’t perfect there are things that are not awesome (running isn’t really happening as I am STILL trying to recover from injuries) but I still just feel very peaceful and happy.

Tell me something that has made you happy lately!

Vail has long been one of our favorite mountain towns and September is my favorite month to visit the mountains. I looked back and found that we went to vail in September pretty much every year since the kids were born.

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This we started with a visit to a new (to us) playground after the drive up.

Slides and Sunshine had a great post on all the best playgrounds in Vail

The 7 Best Playgrounds in Vail Colorado!

Humphry came with us and rode most of the day in the stroller.

People always think it’s funny that Humphry gets a lift.

It was Oktoberfest so we grabbed some German food and enjoyed Polka music.

Obviously we had to find some ice cream for the kids and coffee for the adults.

The Fours Seasons Bears are always a great photo op!

There are a couple of fountains that kids can get into to play.

I was glad we had a change of clothes for the kids.

There is also lots of great shopping to be done in Vail Village, especially if you have a few thousand dollars you want to spend on some boots.

We had to make time for the Pirate Ship Park.

The leaves were just starting to turn and the drive was beautiful so if you are local now is a great time to get up into the hight country!

Where is your favorite place to travel to in the fall?

We don’t get to celebrate Grandparents Day with my parents this year because they are off visiting family in Oregon. So we made them this little video to remember all the adventures we had last year.

Covid limited our time together but we were creative and made the most of what we could while keeping each other safe.

Some highlights shared between Grandparents and Grandkids this year are:

• Yellowstone/Grand Tetons Trip
• Hiking the day after Thanksgiving since we didn’t get to eat together
• Christmas celebrated on the back deck (We got lucky with a beautiful day)
• Birthday parties
• Father’s Day camping trip

Hoping for many more adventures in the future!

Now that we have two kids in soccer it feels like we spend most of Saturday at the soccer fields.

Emmy has made some cute little friends on her team and is *mostly* enjoying playing.

Cannon has the new experience of getting to cheer for Emmy this year. We have been brining our little shade tent because it has been blazing hot. We are ready for it to cool off!

Cannon has a actual uniform this year instead of just a t-shirt and it makes him seem so grown up.

I had a hair update in the afternoon, long overdue!

While I was at the salon Cory took the kids down to the creek to play.

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The kids were requesting to go camping but with just one day we planned a day trip for Sunday, time to get ready!