Falling for Fall

Autumn has well established itself, but, unfortunately, I am unable to experience some of the highlights of the season because I'm stuck in Florida, where things are pretty uniform-looking all year 'round. What makes this wrose is that I know my good friend and former roomie Reyna is experiencing an actual autumn and I'm not there to enjoy it with her. I'm quite put out by the whole thing; so, to console myself, I am compiling a list of all my favorite things about the season.

1. The Weather
   

Florida's summers are great, and I love the beach; but it is HOT here! And humid, too. The fall brings milder weather, and it gets cool and crisp outside. The clarity and briskness make walking outside in the morning invigorating! These days I drive with the windows down, and even the smallest breeze puts a smile on my face.

2. Fall Leaves

As the weather turns, so too do the leaves. This is probably the thing I miss most about fall in Utah. I remember, my first fall at BYU, I collected fallen leaves from all over the campus -- I couldn't help myself, they are so beatuiful. And the COLORS -- there were some that I didn't even know a leaf could be! Apart from being pretty to look at, they are also ridiculously fun to walk through/jump in, as illustrated by this little drawing I did.

3. Pumpkins

I have a weird, and possibly unhealthy, obsession with pumpkins. And this is the time of year when lots of things are pumpkin-flavored or pumkin-oriented. There's pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies, pumpkin pancakes at IHOP, and also pumpkin carving, pumpkin painting, and pumpkin smashing :). Also, just to be impish, I like to take the pumpkin guts out of a pumpkin I'm carving and throw them at people. This year I carved a pumpkin with some friends and had it entered into a contest. It won, and we got free tickets to howl-o-scream at busch gardens. So, boo-yah!

4. FOOBALL!

Fall is prime-time for football, one of my favorite sports. I like to watch it, and I love to play. As a matter of fact, this weekend we are having a powder-puff football game, and I am stoked!

5. The Fall Holidays

Though it's already passed, I've got to give a shout-out to Halloween. It's a holiday that calls for two things I like a lot: candy, and dressing up in costumes. I love dressing up for halloween, and every year I get so many good ideas for costumes that I have a hard time deciding what to be. This year I was Indiana Jones, because he is and anthropologist, and so am I. Well, I'm an anthropology major... but still..... Also good, and coming up soon, is Thanksgiving. I love food and cooking, and this holiday has to do with both (I make a mean turkey). But most importantly, this is the time of year for people to remember and really do honor to the blessings they have in this life. It also kicks off the Christmas season for my family. Besides that, the next day is Black Friday, which is both fun and exhausting for me, my mother, and my sisters.

So, Autumn, Fall, whatever you call it. It's an awesome season and I suggest that everybody make the most of it....