Bring on the Pumpkin Spice

Well, it seems we jumped from summer to fall. I don’t mind as I enjoy the fall season. I love everything pumpkin spice, I love layers, I love coffee, I love the cooler weather, I love fall scents, I love the sound of football on the tv, I love bonfires, I love it all. I do hope we have a few months of fall before we jump straight to winter. Not like we have a say in the matter though, this is South Dakota, HA.

We have been busy here in Zell adjusting to our family of four (five if you count Rudolf). Lena is growing rapidly, giving us more coo's and smiles each day. Mila grows out of a new outfit or piece of clothing everyday it seems, and is a sassy little thing. Rudy proves to still be a puppy, chewing on anything -and everything- he can find. Our house is currently surrounded by dirt since our landscaping has not yet been started. That means when it rains, Rudy has quite the muddy haven to run around in. It's such a joy (insert lots of sarcasm)!

With the fall comes the harvest. We have put up our corn silage already, fall tillage is done, the haying season has come to an end, cover crop is planted, and the calves have been pre-conditioned. Next up will be preg-checking the cows, harvesting the remaining corn for grain, and weaning. There is some tidying up to do before the calves come home yet, and some maintenance waiting for our next cold snap. We have had our first frost, but not the freeze some folks had to our west.

A quick house update (more to come later)... We have quite the laundry list of items still needing to be completed on the outside, most of which won't be completed for a while. That list includes: siding and lighting on the exterior of the garage, concrete apron poured for garage, driveway lined out and graveled, front porch and steps installed, back deck and steps installed, back fence installed, grass seed planted, flowers planted, and window wells placed in holes where our basement egress windows are. Our basement is partly framed up and the inside of our house is (for the most part) organized. Anyone who really knows me, knows I get a little obsessive (almost OCD like) with organization. I like everything to have it's place. I enjoy it and I function my best when things are organized. We have had our fireplace on already, which has been a dream. I may not want the weather to reflect winter yet, but I do LOVE the Christmas season and cannot wait to decorate our fireplace for Christmas, and cuddle up to watch some Hallmark Christmas classics with my girl gang. My grandma actually came in our house today and told me that Hallmark will begin playing Christmas movies towards the end of October. I said, "Don't worry my stepdad bought me a Hallmark Christmas movie package on iTunes I can watch whenever I want!" She thought it would be a bit early to start now, but Garrett reminded her that when LJ was born we had Christmas movies playing the whole day on the TV. Yes, I am one of those annoying individuals who listens to Christmas music the minute it comes on the radio and begins decorating immediately after Thanksgiving (if not a shade before). You can hate me all you want, I love it and I don't care what anyone thinks LOL. It truly brings me joy and puts a smile on my face!

-Morgan-