The marathon, Peeling apples: All tokens of Autumn

Seasons are changing, as are the activities of our small family. All the special autumn traditions are a billion times better with our little Cooper along for the ride.

As customary we watched the St. George Marathon from Veyo (mile 7) and were extraordinarily inspired by the runners. My parents have been camping out at that exact spot to videotape the runners (in case of cheating) every marathon for 10 years! So we bundle up against the cold and drive up at 4 am just to see this amazing spectacle every year. Jesse had me burn a special "marathon mix" so he could open all the doors on our Yukon and blast the music as loud as it would go without blowing out the speakers. This included classics like "Eye of the Tiger" and the "rocky theme". Lots of runners would be intently focused on the large hill ahead of them and then recognize a classic inspirational running song and look up to see me and Jesse boogying down. Some would blink in confusion and re-focus themselves, others would put their hands up and yell "thanks for the music!", still others would be walking until they heard the uplifting tones of "chariots of fire" and then begin to pick up their pace into a jog. I think because of our cheering and support, and especially inspirational dancing and yelling, lots of runners finished at least 5 min. faster. We tend to have that effect on people.

Another Fall tradition held by our family is the yearly drive to New Harmony to buy bushels and bushels of apples. My dad has been doing this since he was 5 years old. "What do you do with bushels and bushels of apples?" my attentive reader might ask. We bottle them! Last Friday night, as Jesse was away on a scout camp-out, me and Candice had a free night, so we spent 7 hours bottling 60 quarts of apples. They are beautiful! Also, it's a long awaited jump-start on our food storage.

These small and seemingly insignificant events notch out the time as the weather turns from warm to cool, and these last few jam-packed holiday months fly by. It's almost like autumn is the calm before the stormy tornado of decorating, parties, family, and sugary treats. Happy Autumn to all!