Fall is one of our family’s absolute favorite seasons. There is something so magical about the crisp weather that somehow makes everything feel so cozy. Throughout this post you will find our family’s top fall activities, and your family’s soon to be favorite activities too!
Feel free to scroll to the bottom of this post to find your Free Fall Family Bucket List Printable.
The Ultimate List of Fall Activities
Visit an apple orchard.
There are quite a few apple orchards in our area, so we usually make at least one if not a few trips to local apple orchards during this season. Most of our favorites have adorable kid play areas, family activities, apple picking, shops, and so much more. There really is no better way to kick off fall than with fresh warm apple donuts and hot cider at a local apple orchard. I can practically taste the sugary deliciousness and feel the warm and cozy feeling of drinking fresh hot cider from just the thought!
Go apple picking.
I’ll never forget the first year we brought our girls apple picking. The delight that lit up their little faces at the sight of all those apples hanging off of the trees was pure joy. Apples, at that time, were their absolute favorite and watching them take in the scene turned out to be my favorite. We have gone apple picking every year since, and it is definitely a fall tradition that we all look forward to each year.
Our kids can rarely wait to taste the crisp deliciousness of the apples (as shown above)!
Bake a fresh apple crisp or apple pie.
My kids love to help out in the kitchen. Baking a fresh apple crisp or apple pie is sure to fill your home with scents of the warm coziness that is fall. The warm yet crisp apple and cinnamon flavors and scents that fill your home while baking these delicious treats are well worth the effort put it and definitely helps to signify that it is officially fall.
Visit a new playground.
I have young kids, and they have a lot of energy…like A LOT. Parks are a dream come true especially in the crisp fall weather. It’s the perfect opportunity to let my kids have a great time and get out that energy all for free. Grab some hot cider or warm coffee and head out to check out a new park in your area.
Do a nature scavenger hunt to find and collect leaves, pinecones, and other cool nature finds.
Fall is the perfect time to head outside and explore the world. There is such a variety of pinecones and leaves that have fallen that you and your kids are sure to find something awesome!
Do a craft with your fall nature finds.
Once you go on your nature scavenger hunt and have collected all sorts of fall nature finds, it’s time to use those cool nature finds to do a few crafts! A few of our favorite ideas include making pinecone bird feeders or doing leaf rubbings with coloring supplies and papers. For the leaf rubbings, put a leaf under a paper and color over it with crayon or color pencil. Your leaves will appear on the page. My kids love this, and we usually do it a few times during the season!
Take a fall family picture.
Whether you have professional pictures taken or just take your own family picture, you will be happy that you have them. We make a point to do one of these options every year during fall. The leaves are gorgeous, and it’s a perfect time to take cozy fall pictures. We usually end up using one of these on our Christmas cards too, so it really is a win win!
Rake up a giant leaf pile and jump in it.
This is a ton of fun and a great way to get out your kids’ energy! This is definitely not an activity limited to only kid involvement, so get out there and jump in the leaves with them. It is seriously a ton of fun for the whole family even our dog loves to run and jump in the leaves with us! Your kids are happily playing and throwing gorgeous leaves into the air, so it’s also a perfect photo opt too!
Visit a local forest preserve.
This is one of our all time favorite activities throughout the entire year. We go hiking and picnicking at least a few times a month. However, fall is a beautiful time to head out into the wilderness and enjoy the changing colors and the fresh crisp air.
Visit a pumpkin patch.
We love visiting our local pumpkin patches. The pumpkin patches near us offer a wide variety of fall family activities in addition to all of the pumpkin treats! You can go on a tractor or horse drawn wagon ride, or try to find your way out of a corn maze. So fun!
Pick out the perfect pumpkin and carve it into a jack-o-lantern.
Whether you search for your pumpkin at a pumpkin patch or pick a perfect one up from the store, you should definitely add this to your family’s fall traditions. It has been so fun to watch the amazement on our kids’ faces as they carve their pumpkins and play in the pumpkin insides. It’s a great sensory activity for littles.
What are your favorite fall traditions?
I would love to hear about your favorite family traditions in the comments below. Thank you, and I look forward to hearing about them!
For your free Fall Bucket List printable, simply click on the link below.
This one pan, easy meal is absolutely delicious and definitely one of our family’s favorites!! Soon it will be one of your family’s favorites too!
Feel free to scroll to the bottom of this page for a printable version of this recipe.
This recipe calls for only a few ingredients that we usually just keep on hand. It is so delicious and simple to make that it has quickly become a family favorite in our house.
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that you really don’t have to measure anything, and you can simply use what you have on hand. I have made this recipe with more or less of any of the ingredients, and it has turned out great every single time! Depending on how much you plan to eat or what you have on hand, you can simply customize this recipe for you. Often times I make a giant batch, so we can eat it for lunch leftovers throughout the week.
It is so simple and can be cooked in such a variety of ways that it is a perfect recipe for any season. My two favorite ways to cook this recipe are in the oven and the air fryer. You will find both of these directions below.
Italian Sausage and Chicken Sheet Bake
Ingredients:
Italian Sausage, 1 pound thawed
Chicken, 2 breasts thawed
Peppers, 1-2
Onions, 1-2
Potatoes, 5-10
Italian Seasoning (basil, parsley, thyme)
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
Directions:
Chop all ingredients to similar sized cubes.
Mix all ingredients in bowl.
Oven Bake at 375 degrees for about an hour. Air Fryer Bake at 375 degrees for about an 25 minutes, stirring about every five minutes.
Enjoy!
To download a PDF version of this delicious recipe to print simply click on the following link.
Simple and quick meals are an absolute must for our family! This Garden Veggie Pasta recipe is so simple and quick to make that it is one of our family’s go-to recipes in the summertime. It is a great way to use and incorporate any ripe vegetables from the garden, especially zucchini and yellow squash.
Feel free to scroll to the bottom of this page for a printable version of this recipe.
The following recipe includes the vegetables that we use most often. However, we have made this Garden Veggie Pasta recipe with a wide variety of vegetables, and it has turned out great every single time. Use whatever you happen to have on hand!
Every year, we plant zucchini and yellow squash plants. They produce so much that we usually end up with more than we know what to do with! This recipe is a great way to use up those veggies from our garden.
For this recipe, I usually only use one Italian sausage that I break up into very small pieces. I was hesitant to first try it with only one, but once I did I realized it’s really all you need and is a great way to save money by stretching your meat. The Italian sausage, even when using just one, adds such amazing flavor to the rest of the dish. It is also a fantastic way to eat mostly vegetables that are still loaded with flavor!
I hope your family loves this simple and delicious Garden Veggie Pasta recipe as much as mine does!
Garden Veggie Pasta with Italian Sausage
Ingredients:
Onion, chopped
Zucchini, chopped
Yellow Squash, chopped
Italian Sausage (We usually only use one Italian sausage to make it stretch)
Can of Tomatoes, diced
Spinach
Italian Seasoning – oregano, basil, parsley, whatever you have on hand
Garlic
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan cheese, to top
Noodles, your choice or what you have on hand
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
Cook chopped onions through until translucent and caramelized.
Add zucchini and yellow squash to the pan and season with Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and pepper. Continue to cook for a minute or two.
Push veggies to the outside of the pan. Cook the Italian sausage until fully cooked through. As you cook the sausage, break it up into little pieces. Once fully cooked, stir all of the pan ingredients together.
Add a can of diced tomatoes and spinach to the pan. Continuously stir the mixture and season to taste.
Cook noodles as directed on the box.
Combine the veggie and meat mixture with noodles and top with Parmesan cheese.
To download a PDF version of this delicious recipe to print simply click on the following link.
This is the most amazing tomato soup recipe that you will ever eat. The tomato soup has very, I repeat VERY minimal ingredients and is such a huge hit for our entire family. It pairs perfectly with sandwiches, paninis, grilled cheese sandwiches, BLT’s, salad, or is excellent on its own! It can be enjoyed as a lunch or dinner.
Feel free to scroll to the bottom of this page for a printable version of this recipe.
This light yet rich and flavorful tomato soup is one of our favorite summer recipes!
The Most Amazing Tomato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 TBS garlic
2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
Chicken broth (We use homemade)
Salt and Pepper
Directions
Saute olive oil, 2 chopped onions, garlic, and salt on medium high heat until translucent.
Place onion mixture and 2 cans of fire roasted diced tomato into the blender. Blend to desired consistency. We usually go with a little bit of a chunky consistency.
Transfer tomato mixture to pot with chicken broth. Heat on medium heat until soup is fully heated throughout.
Enjoy!
Feel free to top with fresh herbs if you have any! I love mine topped with fresh basil. Yum!
We like to serve this delicious tomato soup with BLT’s.
To download a PDF version of this delicious recipe to print simply click on the following link.
Encouraging independence was a huge help with our twins, and it was a total life saver when their little brother was born two years later. It was a bit more work upfront but well worth the time it saved me once they got going. I also found that they really enjoyed having a bit more control over the smaller decisions in their life which led to less tantrums. It was a win, win for everyone. Everyone is different and there are pros and cons for all decisions, but I think that encouraging independence with our kids has helped our family tremendously. The following include some of our family’s favorite ways to have our kids help out and to encourage them to be more independent and responsible individuals.
Ways to Encourage Independence
Put their kitchen items where they can reach, so that they can get their own bowls, plates, cups, and silverware. I started this one quite early on. The kids were able to pick out their own dishes, clean up their dishes after meals, and help put their clean dishes away.
Set up a snack station. We do mostly produce snacks, so I set up all of the fridge snacks in clear tubs in the door of our fridge that way the kids can reach and pick out their own snacks. I also set up a snack bin for pantry snacks and bananas. This was especially helpful when their baby brother came and the girls were able to ask and then get their own snacks. I do try to minimize snacks before and after meals though, so that they will actually eat their meals.
Let them feed themselves. We have never fed any of our kids because they all fed themselves. We chose to do baby led weaning. There are quite a few resources online in addition to the Baby Led Weaning book and cookbook. We started with banana, sweet potato, and avocado and went from there. The first few times they just played with their food, but they were just learning to figure it out. From there, they worked through learning how to chew and swallow all of their food on their own. I loved doing baby led weaning for so many reasons including that we were able to all eat as a family and enjoy our meals while feeding ourselves. Meal times were actually enjoyable. It also simplified the entire meal process because they were eating foods that we were eating instead of us buying and preparing separate foods for them. They were able to experience and enjoy a variety of flavors and textures right from the beginning. It is a decision that worked well for our family, but definitely do your research and do what works for you and your family.
Set up a clothing system that they can help maintain and use on a daily basis.
In the beginning, I spent quite a bit of time folding, refolding, and then refolding their clothes again. When I say quite a bit of time, I mean ALL THE FREAKING TIME. It was a vicious cycle that never seemed to end. After many weeks of this, I finally decided to stop wasting my time. I placed 4 baskets in the girls’ closet and I stopped folding their clothes…..I repeat I STOPPED FOLDING THEIR CLOTHES! It was life changing and gave me a few extra HOURS in my week. There was and still is a basket for dresses, shirts, pants, pajamas. They can pick out their clothes, dress themselves, and best of all help put their own laundry away. There are nice items that we do choose to hang. I’m sure at some point our system will change, but for now, it is working wonders and saving me a heck of a lot of time.
Let your kids help with household tasks. Laundry, feeding the dog, cleaning up, etc. My kids do love to help with the laundry that we do fold, like towels. They have gotten very good at folding towels. They also love to help out with various household tasks. If they want to help out with something, I usually let them. If nothing else, at least they are learning and practicing a life skill instead of causing mischief or making an additional mess. Use a towel to help clean up a spill.
Go through the day constantly asking yourself if the task is something that they can do on their own or at least help with. It is amazing how quickly they turn into such capable little beings. We’ve all seen how quickly they can undo something or make a massive mess, so we might as well use that energy for something productive. There is so much that they can do on their own and that they can do to help out around the house. Let them. It will make you both happier.
If you are interested in easy breakfast ideas your kids are going to love, click here!!
For help getting your family out the door, check this out!! (Especially if you have young kids!)
You can literally start these three simple and free habits today! Seriously Right Now!
After reading “The Power of Habit” by Charles D., I have been working to find the easiest possible way to improve my habits. Habits can either be tools to use to your advantage or a huge disadvantage if left on autopilot to routines that don’t positively impact your life.
Habits are great if you are using them in a way that benefits and adds to your life. Habits only take a bit of upfront work to form and then you get to reap the benefits while barely thinking about the actual task at hand. effortless Choose what you want and be intentional on how you set up your habits. After a certain amount of time, they become automatic with little effort on your part.
These three simple habits can drastically transform your life and have definitely transformed mine. They are simple and free so there is really no reason to not at least give it a try. Seriously simple and free! There is nothing to lose. I have formed the habits of
Drink As Much Water As You Can
This is a perfect example of a habit that can become effortless. I began this habit so long ago that it is now something that I rarely think about. I am always drinking water. Like a lot of water. Just writing about this is making me thirsty. At every moment of every day I keep water with me so that I can constantly be drinking water. Keep a water bottle with you, set an alarm, choose a certain time of day, or anything else that it takes. Do the upfront work to form the habit of drinking as much water as you possibly can. Staying hydrated is so important for your health and plays such a big part in how I feel each day.
Be Grateful
There are so many habits that can lead you to becoming more grateful. The following are just my favorite two. These are habits that I added to my life and have been enjoying the benefits of for the last year. It has drastically changed the way I view the world and my life.
The first habit I do throughout the day is to to use designated activities that I’m already doing as an opportunity to reflect on reasons to be grateful. There are so many places and times in your day to use as time to think of reasons that you are grateful. You can practice this habit while driving, showering, filling up your water cup, and countless other times could be used as an opportunity to be grateful. I use my shower time to think of reasons to be grateful. After turing this into a consistent habit, now as soon as I get in the shower I automatically start listing reasons to be grateful.
The second time a day that I have created a gratitude habit is to write down just three things that I am grateful for at the bottom of my planner each time. I am already using my planner daily. When I use it to plan the next day, I am then queued to remember to record three specific things that I am grateful for. Like waking up to the birds singing through the windows or for all three of my kids eating their dinner without complaining. I used to make the mistake of writing grand significant things or people that I was grateful for but I always seemed to run out of things after family, friends, etc. Keeping it specific to a detail of the day that way you can find endless details of your life rather that just focusing on the 5 most significant and important things you are grateful for.
There is just something about being grateful that expands your heart and view of the world to opens up and welcome new thoughts and endless possibilities.
Remember to Breathe. Just Breathe.
Breathe. Seriously. Just breathe. One of the most simple and transformative habits I have been working towards improving is remembering to breathe. I have been working to fill the spare moments with a few intentional deep breaths, and it has been an extraordinary way to improve my mood and health.
Instead of spacing out while filling up my water bottle or feeling impatient while driving in the car, I have been taking those few seconds to just breath. Instead of filling my day with tense little moments feeling frustrated and impatient, I have been choosing to breathe to create these peaceful and calm moments that have made all the difference.
I have been amazed by the profound impact of establishing simple habits throughout my routine. What are some of your favorite and simple habits that have made a big difference in your life? I would love to hear about them in the comments below.
For information to help you simplify your beauty routine, click here!!
Do you want beautiful skin? Do you want to save an insane amount of money, time, and effort on your beauty routine? Do you want to feel more confident? Yes?!? Great! Then you are in the exact right place!! I am going to share with you my surprisingly simple beauty routine that has seriously changed my life.
For the past four years, I have only used one product on my face, and I honestly don’t think I will ever return to my previous ways. Over the course of my life, I have constantly switched the products that I was using on my face. Throughout high school, I would use different face washes, lotions, creams, makeup, etc. I would constantly switch and it was usually products that could be found at any regular department store. Once I got into college, I felt that I needed to up my game, so I started spending quite a bit more money, time, and effort on my beauty routine. I also started to get adult acne that was stressing me out to say the least. This was all before switching to my new totally life changing beauty routine.
If you love doing your makeup and it is more of a passion for you, then you do you, but for me this has been life changing. If you are the type of person who loves doing your makeup, this may not apply to you. I am not. Doing my makeup completely stresses me out. I’ve never felt very confident in my makeup applying skills and would spend an ungodly amount of time trying to get it all just right. In addition to that, I seem to have some form of pre social event anxiety. I don’t know if that is actually a thing, but I, for sure, have it. Prior to any social event and I mean any, I start to totally freak out. The anxiety builds. All of a sudden my outfit, hair, and pretty much everything else wouldn’t be right. Once I’m at the actual event, I usually settle in and feel fine, but the entire time leading up to the event I freak out. Trying to perfect my makeup while feeling this overwhelmed was pretty much a nightmare for me. Fast forward to a few years later and I found out that I was pregnant. Not just pregnant but pregnant with the type of twins (Mono Mono) where I would be hospitalized to monitor the babies for 8 weeks leading up to when they would be born at 32 weeks. During my time in the hospital, I decided it was the perfect time to simplify my beauty routine since I would be strapped to a hospital bed for the majority of every day and night. This is where I had my aha moment and switched my ways. Are you ready for this amazingly simple beauty routine? It’s go time!
Step One: Wash your face with water
Step Two: Moisturize with coconut oil.
Step Three: No makeup.
Boom! I began washing my face with water. Yes, you heard that correctly. Nothing else. Water, just water. It literally doesn’t get any more simple than that. To moisturize my face, I use coconut oil.
Coconut oil is the only product that I have used in the past four years and it has completely transformed my beauty routine. You guys this is it! I have noticed far fewer breakouts, saved an insane amount of money and time, and I feel far more confident in myself. You’ve got to give this a try! You literally have nothing to lose.
A bonus side effect of using only coconut oil on my face and no longer caking on the makeup is that I started to actually love my face. I didn’t wake up feeling self conscious of my makeup free face. I slowly started to feel so much more confident because I started to always look like me. It was always my face. It looks the same every day and it feels great knowing that I look like me. Before going fully makeup free, I would never have felt confident even leaving the house without makeup. I have not worn any makeup for the past four years, and I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I have made. I have saved so much money, time, and effort with this new beauty routine, and I feel more confident in myself.
You are beautiful exactly the way you are. Simplifying your beauty routine is the perfect way to let your natural features shine and learn to love yourself. I would love to hear about your current beauty routine and how you keep it simple. Please share in the comments below!
Learn about three free and simple habits you can literally start today right here! Seriously don’t waste another day not doing these three things!!
This guilt free pancake and waffle recipe is delicious, versatile, and healthy! There is literally no reason not to give them a try as soon as possible. Seriously! They have been my kids’ absolute favorite ever since I started making them years ago.
Feel free to scroll to the bottom of this page for a PDF version of this delicious recipe to print.
This recipe is measured out for one banana that way you can simply multiply it out based on how many bananas you happen to have on hand. I originally designed this recipe to fit in our Nutribullet for convenience. However, I quickly learned that it wasn’t enough for my family because my kids absolutely love these healthy pancakes and would eat a million if I let them! They have quickly become a staple for us.
These pancakes and waffles freeze wonderfully, so I usually make a very large batch to freeze the extras. Then I have ready to go waffles and pancakes on hand to use at a later date. They are perfect to pop in the toaster and bring on the go or to keep on hand for a quick, mess free breakfast! I hope you and your family love these simple, healthy pancakes and waffles just as much as we do. Enjoy!
Healthy Pancake and Waffle Recipe
Ingredients:
1 banana
¾ cup whole milk
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp cinnamon
1 cup blended oats ( we just throw them in the blender)
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Place raw oatmeal in the blender or food processor and blend until it is the consistency of flour.
Combine and mix all of the ingredients together. I have used a blender, standing mixer, and mixed by hand. All three techniques worked perfectly, but I usually use my standing mixer.
For pancakes, cook in a pan on the stove or on an electric cook top until they are cooked through and golden on both sides. Tip: Wait for the top of the pancake batter to begin bubbling before you flip your pancakes!
For waffles, cook in a waffle maker until they are cooked through and golden.
Enjoy! We have enjoyed these about a million different ways. You can have them on their own, with syrup, with frozen or fresh berries, with applesauce, with chocolate chips to the batter, and honestly any other way you can think of. So Good.
To download a PDF version of this delicious recipe to print simply click on the following link.
Ever since they were babies, my kids would wake up hungry. Like the world might end, we need food now kind of hungry, and this is when I began my search for fast, easy, and filling breakfast ideas to get their day started off right.
The following breakfast ideas are both healthy and satisfying. We have pretty much rotated through some version of these breakfast foods every week ever since my girls started eating solid foods. These breakfast ideas have grown and evolved with us as my kids have grown.
They can be made with a few simple ingredients and any extras you happen to have on hand. This makes them both easy and versatile so your kids never get sick of them. I will often make these in bulk for the week, so that I only have to actually cook breakfast a few times.
Oatmeal
This is a simple classic that can be easily mixed up with a variety of flavors and toppings. We make a basic oatmeal recipe then add whatever toppings we happen to have on hand that day. Some of our favorites are apple cinnamon oatmeal, banana peanut butter oatmeal, blueberry oatmeal, mixed berry, and seriously so many more.
Bonus Tip: When my kids were early toddlers, I would make thicker oatmeal (add less water) so that it would be a little less messy.
Waffles or Pancakes
I make oatmeal banana waffles or pancakes, and when I do, I make an insane amount. I freeze them and keep them on hand for an easy breakfast option.
These are my kids’ favorite, and they have been for quite some time. It is very versatile and can be made into waffles or pancakes depending on which you prefer.
The waffle maker that I have makes 4 rectangular waffles at a time which is perfect to freeze and then pop in the toaster. I love these because they are basically a mess free version of banana oatmeal. I first got the oatmeal pancake/waffle idea when my girls were babies, and the tiny pancakes consisted of blended oats and milk slowly evolving into the more flavorful and delicious waffles they are now. Yum! You can find this delicious recipe here.
Eggs
We eat eggs quite regularly, but we usually mix them up to be omelettes, scrambled eggs with cheese, over easy eggs with toast. Depending on the day, I will make eggs in bulk on the stove or I will make a quick version in the microwave. If it is a quick weekday breakfast, I usually go with the microwave version.
An easy and quick way to make eggs with less dishes is to spray oil in a large glass Pyrex measuring cup or a glass bowl. Crack a few eggs (however many you want or however many will fit) and a splash of milk into the measuring cup or bowl. They will fluff up quite a bit so make sure not to fill the cup or bowl all the way to the top. Cook in the microwave for about 3 minutes. Enjoy!
Yogurt Parfait
My kids absolutely love Greek yogurt and will gladly eat it plain. However, when we have yogurt with breakfast I usually make it into yogurt parfaits. These are great since they are made with ingredients that we usually already have on hand. I start with Greek yogurt topped with any fresh or frozen fruit and homemade granola (usually made in advance).
Smoothies
The final go-to breakfast option is to make smoothies. These are absolutely delicious and can be made with such a variety of ingredients that we usually already have the ingredients needed on hand. Our smoothies usually consist of a combination of bananas, Greek yogurt, spinach, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, mango, and literally any other fruit we happen to have on hand.
These have been our family’s absolute favorite breakfast choices since they are nutritious, filling, and surprisingly simple to make and keep the ingredients on hand. I hope these 3 simple breakfast ideas help fill up your family to make your mornings a bit more calm and give you a little extra time to drink you coffee before it gets too cold. Cheers!
