Friday Five: Fall Transformations

Apparently I am not the only one anticipating the blessed arrival of my favorite time of year...fall. Thanks to Mary Beth at revgalblogpals, I present the transformations that await in my life...

Here in my neck of the woods, rain is falling...a little uncharacteristic for August, but most welcome! It'll be hot and humid later, but a break in the heat is most welcome.

Also falling (especially into my driveway) are the fruits of the bois d'arc tree (also known as the Osage Orange). We call them "bowdarks" and enjoy bowling them down the driveway to the empty lot across the street. (Yes, I may be a redneck...)

Bois d'arc fruits are used only for: 1) making more trees and 2) eating by squirrels (if you have another use, please let me know!)

The wood of the bois d'arc tree, however, is very hard and very beautiful, and makes gorgeous items like the vase above. Such a lovely thing, from such an odd-looking source!

For this Friday's Five, share with us five transformations that the coming fall will bring your way.

1. LMLW will turn 4 in October!

2. Going back to seminary in a few weeks! Yikes! ;)

3. Going through Charge Conference as the pastor! Yikes!

4. Preparing for Advent/Christmas as the pastor! and yet again - YIKES!

5. DH & I will celebrate 6 years of marriage the end of September - not really a transformation, but still something to celebrate!

Bonus: Give us your favorite activity that is made possible by the arrival of fall.

Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year - from September 28th (our anniversary) through Jan 2! I love the cooler weather, the change of the leaves, the brilliant colors and yes, I enjoy Halloween. We always did fun stuff as a kid - my uncle goes a little crazy the evening of trick or treat. He never had any children of his own, but I think he loves seeing the reaction of the children (and their parents) that night. He has about 15 different costumes that he interchanges during the course of the evening.

Anyway, we have carried on the tradition and love hayrides, choosing the perfect pumpkins and then carving them. LMLW is never one to shy away from getting her hands dirty, in fact she looks forward to it, as you can see below.

And sadly (though I think it is rather cute) we even tortured her baby sister - Ray Ray...

I have also included the finished products of her (and daddy's!) labor.

We have much to look forward to this fall - including our annual get-away, the beginning of October, which right now cannot come fast enough - sigh!

Happy fall!