It’s my favorite time of year. It’s the time of year when we slow down a little bit more and we relax a little bit more and we celebrate a little bit more and we appreciate a whole lot more. It’s also the time of the year when we get busy busy… Kiddos playing sports, work is fast approaching the Q4 hum drum, holidays are now in full swing and celebrations are a plenty. All I can say is I love it, it is Fall.

I appreciate this time of year most of all. I love the cool crisp that becomes Arizona. I love the smells and scents. I love the ritual and routine. I love everything about it. It is the time of year when summer slowly fades into fall and when excitement starts to bubble about. It is the time of year when I am truly reminded of just how blessed I am. I feel excitement in the small things. I appreciate the big things and I look forward to the memories we get to make as individuals and together as a family.

This Fall is new, this Fall is exciting, this Fall is “ours”. We are blending families right now. Slowly bringing two worlds together as one. There are busy days and casual nights. There are old traditions and new ones quickly approaching. There are moments of chaos and moments of pure joy. It is a new world for all of us. I am thrilled that it is Fall and we get to experience this time together as a blended unit.

This year Avery is two, this year is the year that the traditions will begin and they will matter. This is the year where things will start to click. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. This is the year where we get to celebrate and enjoy one another to the fullest and make memories. I am so excited, I have been delaying the tradition process. Delaying the inevitable which is making memories and starting traditions that she will carry with her, in her heart, for her lifetime. Dressing up and trick or treating (I still remember my clown costume filled with packing peanuts in 2nd grade), wishing on the wish bone, dressing like Pilgrims and Indians for our first thanksgiving in our new house, stuffing and pumpkin pie, hanging ornaments the Friday after Thanksgiving while drinking hot chocolate, one present on Christmas Eve, Santa presents last on Christmas morning, finding our hidden ornament on the tree, Mana’s monkey bread, the New Years we tore construction paper, watched movies, ate dip and shrimp cocktail and ran around the apartment complex at midnight as a family (I made it out of the front walkway, but I was too scared so I ran into the apartment and locked the door, locking my family out). This year, we will start making those traditions.

It is the most magical time of the year. It is the time of year when I appreciate my life the most. It is the time of year when everyday can be magical, memories can be made frequently and people come first. It is the time of year I love.