Autumn in Florida

Autumn in Florida is a lot different that it is in NC or NJ, the two other states I've spend most of my life in. It is much cooler at night, but still really warm during the day here right now. I remember wearing thermals under my halloween costumes growing up, but down here we have to find short sleeve costumes because it is still in the 80's during the day. I'm used to it now after 8 years here, but it still is a little weird at times.

We also miss out on the changing color of the leaves down here. There are a few trees that get some color, but it is nothing like it is up north. Sometimes I get nostalgic for the colorful leaves and then I see film of people digging out of snow on the news and I remember how thankful I am to live in the tropics during all seasons of the year.

Recently we took a trip about 45 mins north of our town out into the country. We met some friends of ours at a Christmas tree farm that has autumn activities for the whole family. It was lots of fun.



Here you can see my baby boy smiling in the pumpkin patch at the farm. They had some really big pumpkins there and we all marveled at their size. I think this one probably weighed almost as much as my skinny little guy!



The boys got the opportunity to have pony rides while we were there and they both jumped at the chance.



Little Clark amazed me riding this pony named "Spooky" all by himself. I walked along side expecting him to get wobbly but he was very steady and focused the whole ride. Maybe he'll be a jockey when he grows up, he certainly is small enough right now!



Of course Curtis also got a turn to ride "Spooky" but his favorite thing about the farm was playing with his friends in the hay pit. It's amazing how much fun preschoolers can have with just a big pile of hay.



And finally here is a photo of the boys on the "Spider Train". It was a really bumpy ride but both boys loved it. They wanted to keep going and going.



So while we may not have vibrant leaves or cold winds, we do still have some aspects of Autumn here in Central Florida. The acorns all over my driveway remind me of the season enough every day even if the temperatures don't. There is a saying that says you should grow where you are planted and I feel pretty lucky to have planted my family in such a wonderful area.