I can't believe it's already time to go back to school! Wow did the summer fly by. But, fall is always one of my favorite times of year with the crisp air and all the beautiful colors. And this year we are lucky enough to have an exchange student from Australia named Courtney to show our area off to! Last weekend we took her to the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, MN. Fried food on a stick... really what could be better? But Courtney's favorite food from the day? Caramel apples!! She LOVED them - so we figured we'd take her to one of the local apple orchards next. There are many to choose from in the area, but we usually go to Eau Claire Orchards just south of I-94 on Balsam Rd in Eau Claire. It's the closest to us, and there are a lot of fun activities like the apple sling shot (a can't miss), the corn maze, the apple train and the playground, not to mention shopping opportunities in the craft shop. And, if you don't want to pick your own apples, there are plenty for sale! But we will go all out and pick our own bushels - can't wait to make homemade cider and apple pie!!

Back to school also means back to football - one of our favorite sports to watch. There are high school games on Friday nights and UWEC Blugold games on Saturdays at Carson Park, and NFL games to be watched on Sunday either at home while grilling out or at one of the many sports bars in the area. Our home can get pretty crazy on Sundays with Joel being a Bears fan, me being a Broncos fan, and Berit and Harrison cheering for whatever team ours are playing. Should be a great season! Hopefully we don't scare our Australian mate too much. :)