Fall Weekends are the Best Weekends

And here we are, back to Monday. You know those weekends that are a whole lot of good old fashioned, nothing? Aside from a couple quick fun trips, that is exactly what this weekend was like. Not a lot of structured fun, but lots of free time and a go-at-your own pace kind of relaxing. As much as I love checklists, and structured activities during days when Landon and I have all together, my body also craves some relaxing, go-with the flow kind of days too. It’s always nice to have laid back weekend, especially when the fall weather (that is finally here) has me craving all sorts of cozy sweaters and curling up on the couch with a good book. Oh and fruit crisps. Fall weather = all the fruit crisps. Is anyone else with me on this?

Saturday

Instead of trying to sleep in as much as possible on Saturday morning, I took advantage of the dark morning that help Niah sleep in and beat everyone up out of bed by five in the morning. Normally, I love to sleep in a little on the weekends, since I don’t usually during the week, but Saturday I wanted to spend time with Jesus alone and get a run in before the soccer game.

This past week, I’ve attempted to rise before the rest of the house in order to make sure I have my quiet time in the actual quietness of the morning. Too often, I am trying to read while Niah is ‘playing’ nearby. And while this ‘works’, I am 2490x more distracted and I don’t feel as though I’ve had enough time to truly meditate and learn from the Word. So, a five am wake up call on Saturday was what was necessary!

It was glorious and I was able to have my devotions and run before Benaiah woke up. Actually, technically, I ran 1/2 my run and Landon watched Benaiah for the second half of the run.

I ran an easy 3 treadmill miles, while the sun was waiting to rise, and once it was light, I ran another 2.5 (ish) miles outside. I was hoping for 7 miles on Saturday, but since I had a time crunch, 5.5 was all I was able to fit in. Oh, well!

After my run, I showered, threw on some makeup and headed out the door with my boys to Landon’s soccer game. It’s really nice to have something on Saturday morning to help get us up and moving, because without motivators like running or soccer, I feel like we would spend the entire morning lounging around (which is fine, but I love productive mornings even more).

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My parent’s have been wanting to come to soccer since the summer and Saturday, they were finally able to meet us there. We all cheered Landon on as he scored two goals. Niah had fun walking around like crazy and attempted to get onto the field multiple times. I have a feeling life is about to get wild with this little walking man!

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Once the game was over, we all decided to go out to a favorite, local bagel shop for breakfast. I ordered the pumpkin bagel (which was okay, not amazing) and topped it with plain cream cheese. Bagels > Donuts. Is anyone else weird like me on this one?

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It was so fun to catch up over bagels and coffee with the family and after an hour or so of chatting, we parted our separate ways. Landon and I spent the rest of the morning through afternoon working on some house organizational projects (can anyone say hallelujah for an organized closet?) and after a few hours made smoothies for lunch.

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Niah went down for his nap around three and while I had my hands free, I organized the bathroom and kitchen cabinets. Landon went to get a haircut in the evening and Benaiah and I spent time together snacking and walking up and down the sidewalk. (His new favorite thing to do)

After a leftover dinner (chicken salads + butternut squash souffle) we watched The Young Victoria (so good) and headed to bed.

Saturday = done.

Sunday

Saturday’s laziness definitely helped me prepare for Sunday’s craziness. Sunday morning began at six am, when I woke up to coffee and devotions. After spending time alone in the Word, I picked up the house, showered and cleaned the bathroom all before Benaiah woke up. Once he was up, Landon and I spent time getting ready for church and eating pumpkin pancakes as a family.  I don’t know about you guys, but there is something about eating pancakes on brisk mornings that just feels so right.

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After our pancake breakfast, we headed out the door to stop at our local French market. It was totally adorable, but since we had a time crunch, we stopped for only a few minutes. We picked up a blackberry jam and called it good. I’m hoping to stop back next week though, all of the produce from the local farmers looked amazing!

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A few minutes later, we arrived at church and spent time in worship and fellowship. We left church a little earlier than normal, since we had planned on meeting up my family at a fall festival near my parent’s area. It was hot and crowded, but we enjoyed walking around and checking out the various vendors and food booths. We all enjoyed bites of funnel cake (when at a fair right?) and after we had our festival fill, headed back to my parent’s house for a relaxing dinner.

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The rest of the night was spent watching old home videos (aren’t those the best?!) and eating scrambled eggs. Breakfast for dinner is always a win for us!

And now I am off, hoping to sneak in a workout before the little man wakes up! Happy Monday friends, I hope you have a fantastic week. Thanks for stopping by the blog today.

Questions of the Day 

  1. What was the highlight of your weekend?
  2. Do you like going to fairs/festivals?
  3. Did anyone run the Chicago Marathon?! I had quite a few friends running and they all did amazing!!