Friday Favorites #28

Hi there! It has been a minute since my last post! Life got pretty busy over here with grandparents visiting, soccer starting, and just everyday life.

Fall is in full swing up here! I absolutely love fall in northern Michigan. The weather actually feels like fall today at a crisp 55 degrees. Last weekend, we picked apples and the leaves are starting to show their best colors. It’s looking like rain this weekend, so we may be cozied up at home which actually sounds pretty nice. I think I will make some soup!

The boys do not have a soccer game tomorrow morning, so we’ll hopefully get to sleep in. This evening we plan to meet up with a few friends who are in town. The boys also have a tailgate event at the school for the local high school homecoming football game.

Keep on scrolling for this week’s roundup of favorites (some overlap from last week). Thanks for stopping by and have an awesome weekend.

The Weather

We’ve had a gorgeous stretch of sunny weather in the 70s and even 80s the past few weeks. The mornings are still pretty chilly, which makes dressing a little tricky, but crisp mornings, warm afternoons, and glorious sunsets are what it’s all about this time of year! We took advantage with some hiking, kayaking, beach time, and boating. Hibernation season will be here before we know it so soaking it all up while we can! Although we do like to get out in the snow;)

Grandparents Visiting

The reason I have not been blogging recently is we’ve had back to back visits from grandparents! Ryan’s dad was here two weekends ago and my parents arrived last Thursday and left Wednesday morning. Like I’ve said before, we LOVE when they visit and do not take it for granted. We appreciate the quality time so much. We made many cherished memories when they were here. Hopefully, I will blog more about it because we had back-to-back weekends of grandparent fun! Some highlights include hiking, kayaking, the dunes, fishing, apple picking…the list goes on and on! The distance we have now makes our time together feel more coveted and special.

October!

October is one of my favorite months. All things pumpkin, bon fires, sweaters, fall fun at the farms, the beautiful colors…Anne of Green Gables nailed it when she said, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers”. I don’t usually go all out for Halloween but this year I am feeling the spirit! I decorated the boys’ room and our front deck. We are beginning to plan our Halloween costumes and hopefully a trip to Pahl’s Pumpkin Patch will take place in the next few weeks. The boys keep asking Alexa to play Halloween music…we are definitely here for spooky season!

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

I went a week or so where I just wasn’t in the mood to read. I finally picked up The Good Sister and it didn’t take long to get back into it! This is my first time reading Sally Hepworth and it won’t be my last. I have fallen in love with one of the main characters and that’s always a sign of a really good author. It takes a minute to get going but once it does you can’t put it down! It’s a captivating, suspenseful read and I look forward to finishing this weekend.

Date Night

Whenever my parents are in town, Ryan and I get a much-needed night out. Last Saturday, we had a blast stopping at three different downtown places. First, H&L Social at Hotel Indigo for some rooftop drinks and gorgeous views.

Second, was a delicious, romantic dinner at The Flying Noodle.

Last, we topped the evening off with a few post dinner drinks at West End Tavern. Funny story: We ran into a local children’s author couple and ended up chatting it up for a bit! They did a Homer and Marge Simpson impression which was fun. I actually bought one of their books at a festival last year! It’s a sweet story about how we are more alike than different:)

Day Date with Owen

Yesterday, Owen and I pretty much spent the whole day together one on one. I try not to think too much about how he’ll be in school full time next year because I just love our Tuesdays and Thursdays together.

First, we went for a short hike along the Boardman Lake Trail. Owen pointed out all the animals, his favorite being the black squirrels and a blue heron (I think?).

Then it was off to the library for story time, play, and checking out new books. Owen usually doesn’t participate in story time a whole lot, but yesterday he was doing the movements and getting into the silly story that was read aloud. He really loved playing with the play food this time and we checked out a huge haul of nonfiction animal books. His favorite.

After our library visit, we met daddy for brunch at The Omelette Shoppe downtown. It was pretty yummy!

My mom always gifts the boys a small Halloween present and this year a cute Halloween scavenger hunt was a part of it. We headed downtown for a stroll in the neighborhood to see what we could find. Owen checked off quite a bit on his list! We also played a bit at the playground:)

Lucas had an early dismissal yesterday, so we picked up him after our walk. Dad was going to pick up Drew at his normal time. We hung out at home until soccer practice. I had full intentions of going with Owen, but Ryan left without us haha. So instead, Owen and I had one final one-on-one outing at Veronica Valley. He looked for frogs, naturally, and we went on quite a long walk. Every time we are there, he picks me a flower (or weed lol). It’s so sweet though.