Amy Scott's Thoughts

Some people wait all year for the Christmas season. For me, I wait all year for October! Excuse my redundant exclamations, but you just can’t beat October. It’s the best! The flavors, the outings, the birthdays, the weather, the colors!!! It’s all my favorite! I’m truly my happiest self in October. This October has been no exception. It’s been a truly amazing month.

I’ll try to keep this post brief so that I don’t overwhelm you with all the October awesomeness, but I can’t keep it to myself! I hope you enjoy this recap of our autumn activities and celebrations. The major highlights since I last wrote were visiting GG, another birthday celebration for the boys with my side of the family, a family vacation to Sunriver, celebrating Graham’s actual birthday, and launching rockets with our homeschool co-op! Never a dull moment in October!

Sunriver Resort is one of our favorite places to visit. The Cove (the indoor/outdoor swimming complex) and the miles of paved bike paths make Sunriver endlessly fun. We never run out of things to do there! In fact, there is never enough time and we are always hopeful that we’ll visit again. Our big adventure day was visiting the John Day Fossil Beds and going on a fossil dig in Fossil, OR. Behind the high school in Fossil, you can dig for fossils and keep what you find. We found so many leaf fossils! Jeremy and Owen would have dug for fossils all day. I enjoyed the Journey Through Time Scenic Byway as we made our way down scenic backroads. Jeremy joked on his birthday in March that this was the year he’d find a fossil and we made that dream become reality! My favorite part of our vacation was our bike ride by the river with all the beautiful fall color. The boys will tell you that the Cove was their favorite part. They also enjoyed doing some shopping in Bend with their birthday money. It was such a great trip!

Graham’s birthday was Saturday. We had planned to go to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle for his birthday, but the weather didn’t agree with us. Instead, we went to see The Wild Robot in theaters. Graham was allowed to pick two movie treats which made his day (we usually only allow one treat). After the movie, we had a pizza dinner with all the grandparents in attendance. Graham wanted everyone to have their own pint of ice cream as his special birthday dessert. It was a very fun day to celebrate our now nine year-old!

Jeremy and the boys have been working hard over the last week to create rockets for our homeschool co-op rocket launch day. We met yesterday with our group to launch rockets together. It was a wonderful afternoon! Jeremy was great at helping the boys assemble their rockets and he was also super helpful on launch day. I was nervous that the weather would cancel this outing, but it turned out to be the perfect October afternoon! It was warm enough you didn’t need a coat, blue sky, little wind – it was just right for launching rockets. It’s always a joy to share these experiences with other homeschool families. I am so thankful for our co-op community!

With a little over a week left in the month, we still have a lot more planned. Can you believe it? We cram a lot into October. I’m looking at my November calendar and it’s intentionally going to be quieter. It’s all a balance! I love getting in as many outdoor outings as possible in October. The fall color just can’t be beat and I know the rain will arrive and stay in November. The seasons changing reminds me of God’s faithfulness and the blessings that arrive with each anticipated change in the weather. I am equally happy with a cozy, gray, rainy day indoors as I am with a day of chilly blue sky and sunshine. Each has a purpose. Each season is meaningful.

Autumn is my favorite season. I could be done with my blog in just that one sentence. But… that isn’t how I roll and you know it! Autumn is my favorite season for adventuring. I love fall activities and there is a sense of making the most of the good weather before the rain settles in for what feels like forever. Late September and the month of October hold my favorite traditions and outings! Lots of fun to be had!

Jeremy wrapped up his hunting season on Thursday, September 19th. He is more in sync with our family schedule again. It’s good to have him back! We planned a family adventure for the next day after hunting season. We visited a local zoo thanks to free tickets from our library summer reading program. We had the zoo mostly to ourselves. Homeschooling gives us the ability to visit places while others are at work or school and I love avoiding crowds! In fact, we talked to a lot of zoo employees because we were the only ones around. It was also a cool, misty morning. In the PNW, weather can also keep crowds away. The animal must love mornings like that, though, because they were all out and active! We saw animals we don’t usually see, like the Arctic foxes. The red wolves and clouded leopard were actively running around their enclosures. It was worth adventuring on a chilly morning to see active animals.

The zoo kicked off a busy week for our family. September was very quiet and then bam! For one week, it was not quiet at all! Friday was the zoo and we ran errands while in town. I came home in time to turn around for book club on Friday night. Saturday was a full day at church for our annual Women’s Conference. This year I led a crafting workshop after lunch. My hope was a simple craft would be a good outlet for ladies to sit, chat, and connect. I believe my mission was accomplished! Sunday afternoon after church, our church staff stayed to have lunch together, watch the Seahawks, and play games. Monday was the beginning of our annual staff retreat for Jeremy. I wasn’t able to attend on Monday, so I hosted a playdate at our house after school. Tuesday, I joined Jeremy for staff retreat… and by Wednesday, I was a bit peopled-out. I stayed home all day and recovered from all the activity!

Friday is our favorite day for family adventures. Yesterday, we visited Mt. Rainier National Park. We were a little early for all the fall color, but we were early enough that the marmots weren’t hibernating yet (we missed them last October). We also found a black bear foraging for berries. We weren’t disappointed that it was cool and cloudy. The animal sightings made up for missing a clear view of the mountain and the autumn colors were lovely. The mountain did emerge just before we left. It’s always an impressive sight! We love having a national park so close by!

That about sums up our September outings. I’m looking forward to all we have planned for October. The combination of birthday month and favorite fall traditions makes for the best month of the year! It’s almost here. Hooray!