A perfect fall weekend of backup plans.

First of all, I had my sermon written by last Wednesday. WEDNESDAY, people. Can you believe it? It made for a wonderfully care-free weekend.

On Friday, I welcomed my BFF Carter and his family for pizza and cake pops and hot chocolate and games with large play balls. The original plan was to go to the pumpkin patch but we needed a backup plan because it was cold and windy and icky outside. The evening turned into a lot of coloring and ball tossing and giggles.

After the kiddos and their parents left for bedtime, Dave stayed a bit longer and we watched Back to the Future. It’s my annual tradition on the day my dad died. It was a movie I grew up watching together with him. Friday marked ten years. Ten years.

Saturday was another day for a backup plan. Dave and I had planned on packing up our bikes and heading to the Root River trail in Lanesboro to go biking, something we talked about doing all summer and never quite got around to getting there. We didn’t get there on Saturday either because of the wind and cold once more. We chose a new destination – a toy store.

First, we stopped in Rochester so Lindsay could buy new tennis shoes and grabbed some lunch. Then we headed to Kellogg, MN, on winding country roads, to the home to Lark Toys. I’d heard about this toy store but had never been; Dave hadn’t either. It was the perfect destination. Great fun and a giant shelf full of rubber duckies. Dave models them here:

Upon returning to Austin, we decided it was time to carve pumpkins. Whether they make it to the actual holiday is debatable; if not, we’ll carve a couple more. I forgot how fun it can be to carve pumpkins.

And wait. There’s more. Yesterday was the church’s annual hayride and bonfire fun. It was a bit chilly but we bundled up and had our fun in the woods. We had a mini pumpkin hunt and painted pumpkins, along with s’mores and hot dogs and apple cider.

So yes. It was a crazy fall weekend. I’m tired.