It's beginning to feel like Fall

This week the weather changed and it really started to feel like fall.  Gray, rainy, cool days with the occasional peek of sunshine in the quickly fading fall colors highlighted the week.   Although, the weather on Monday was beautiful.  

Monday was my first day back at work after my vacation, and by the end of the day, I was exhausted.  I really didn't feel like doing anything after work, but the sun and two crazy girls convinced me to get out and enjoy the nice day because colder days are ahead.  Ultimately,  I never regret enjoying a beautiful fall day.

We actually found a couple of smaller parks that we hadn't visited before and I decided that checking them out would be a nice way to spend our evening.  The color and pretty views along the river made for a really beautiful backdrop for our walk and the girls were happy to be in the woods. Even if the trail wasn't very long.

We ended our little adventure with a walk on the East West Pathway just before sunset.  I was really glad that we'd gotten out to enjoy the day and so were the girls.   The fall colors were beautiful. 

Rain moved into town on Tuesday, limiting our ability to get outside.  Luckily we were all happy to just stay home and snuggle up for a quiet evening at home after work.  

On Wednesday I spent my lunch roasting vegetables and doing some other meal prep.  I had veggies from my garden and the farmer's market that I needed to use and a rainy day lunch was the perfect time to get this done.  A couple of crockpot meals, roasted veggies, and potato and green bean soup cleared all of the veggies out of my fridge and I had meals for the rest of the week and some meals that I popped into the freezer for some quick dinners in the future.   

On this rainy Wednesday afternoon, I was surprised to see this beautiful tom turkey standing on the neighbor's front porch.  In all my years living in my house, I've never seen this before.  I had to get a picture.   

After work, I made the drive to the shelter for our Wednesday night dog walk.   I was very happy that the rain stopped so we didn't have to walk in the rain.  We had 4 very nice dogs walk with us, and they all loved bring out of the shelter for a while.

The girls had come along for the ride so that we could head to Fenner Nature Center immediately after dog walking because there was a fun geocaching event that we wanted to attend.  We finished the evening with a bonfire and some snacks.  It was a beautiful way to end our rainy day.

After work on Thursday. we visited the final South Lansing Farmer's Market of the season.  The girls were very happy that their Fur Real Dog treat lady was there to spoil them and I picked up a few things before we headed home.  We're going to miss the Farmer's market until it returns in the spring.  

The best part of our week was Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona coming to town for dinner and for Jack O'Lanterns Unleashed at the fairgrounds.on Thursday evening. 

Fiona loved this event last year, and I love that they offer dog friendly nights on Thursdays so that I can do something fun with all of my girls.

We enjoyed our walk around checking out all of the awesome pumpkins.

Then when we were done, Fiona happily posed for a few pictures with the girls.  These are some of my favorites.

I think all of their personalities come through in these.  I sure do love these girls!

Friday was a busy morning at work as I prepared to be out of the office next week for a work conference in San Diego.  

We left home late Friday afternoon to head to Farmington Hills for the night so I could fly to San Diego on Saturday morning.   While I didnt have to be in San Diego until Sunday  I decided to take advantage of the trip and head out a day early to explore town since I'd never been to San Diego previously. 

Aftrr an uneventful drive,we got settled into our hotel before heading out to meet up with Nicol, Tyler, and Fiona for a hayride which was being held by the Nature Center where Fiona goes to preschool. 

It was great weather for a hayride, and Fiona was very excited to be in the wagon.  It was a beautiful evening for it, too.  

I was really glad that everything worked out so well, allowing me to join them on the hayride and then for dinner afterward.  I love spending time with them.

After dinner,  the girls and I headed back to our hotel so we could turn in for the night for my early Saturday flight.  I was sad to be leaving them behind, so I took full advantage of all the puppy snuggles I could!

I was up and out of my hotel room by 6am to drop the girls off for their stay at Canine College, and then it was off to the airport for my flight.  I was so excited that my path crossed with this adorable little TSA pup as I was just entering security at the airport.  It certainly brightened my day.  And I have to say, despite the current government shutdown, I probably had the best TSA check-in experience ever.   It went quickly and the TSA agents were all great.  

After I was through security, I grabbed breakfast, and headed to my gate to wait for boarding.  I saw the sunrise from the airport, and by 8:30 we were off for the trip to San Diego. 

It was an uneventful flight and I landed in San Diego just after 10am.  I was through the airport and in an Uber to my hotel quickly.  Luckily the hotel had a room ready so that I could check in early.  It was nice to drop off my luggage, get changed into some shorts and then head out to find some lunch.  It had been a long day already and I was starving!

I enjoyed some delicious Mexican food sitting outside on a beautiful day then walked around a bit to see what I could see in the Gaslamp Quarter.  Then I headed off for an afternoon at the San Diego Zoo.

I had a good first day in San Diego and I'm looking forward to some more fun tomorrow before work takes over for the next few days.  It should be a good week here, though.  I'll share all about my San Diego trip next week.  For now, I'm heading off to bed after a very long Saturday!

Hope you have a great week, too!