monday's five things: fall bucket list

go ahead. cut loose. live out loud. love a lot.

That's the manifesto of The Happy Family Movement. Can you tell why it's one of my favorite blogs to catch up with over a cup of coffee?

The Solar Family may live in Kansas City, but their ideas for making fun an every day priority resonate from coast to coast. Over the summer, their family created an amazing summer bucket list, invited other families to join in the challenge and, not surprisingly, they crossed off every single wish.

In the spirit of keeping the fun -- even as the routine of fall sets in -- I've created a little fall bucket list for our family.

1. Apple or Pumpkin Picking, or Both - One of our favorite family foods is homemade applesauce. Imagine how much better it will taste after actually picking the apples? Am doing some research and a round-up of local pick-your-own farms will be posted later this week. {{But if you have a local farm you love, please share by posting a comment on this post!}}

2. The Baltimore Book Festival - It's this weekend! And we can't wait for the Children's Storybook parade on Friday at 1:00 PM. The festival is also having milk and cookies for the kiddos on Saturday from 12-1 with all of the festival costumed characters. Author/Illustrator appearance highlights? Sam McBratney (Guess How Much I Love You?), David Wiesner (Art & Max), Todd Parr (The I'm Not Scared Book) and Kevin O'Malley (The Great Race).

3. Play at Charm City Kids Club - We STILL haven't had a chance to swing by this new totspot. Now that my work schedule is a little less chaotic, we're hoping to get over there for an afternoon of play.

4. Bike the C&O Canal- The Bug LOVED our 17 mile bike ride in Jackson Hole, WY. We're planning to pack up the bikes and head to the western side of the state to take in the fall foliage. Maybe make a stop by the Catoctin Mountain Zoo on our way to or fro...

5. Have a S'more Get Together - An unfussy way to get friends and their kids together even as the nights get chilly. Figuring out how to do this in the backyard of our Charm City row home will be an interesting challenge... Bet you can't wait to see pics of that one, huh?

So we've shared our list. What's on yours?