Happy Thursday! It’s the last Thursday of the month so I am linking up with Holly and Patty to answer 10 fun seasonal questions. I love thinking about my answers and seeing everyone else’s answers, too!

This month we are talking about fall and back to school. Just so you know as I get going I am not ready for fall and I am not falling until the end of September. I am a firm believer in “September is still summer” and there is no changing my mind.

1 & 2. Any back to school traditions? How do you celebrate the first day of school?

We always take pictures on the front porch. The boys get a new outfit. This year they got a few new outfits – UNIFORMS! Jack has been wearing a uniform for two years and Luke’s joining him this year.

We usually celebrate the first week with a treat on Friday. I am thinking we will stop at the snowball stand that is on the way home from school.

3. Favorite early fall/back to school meals? Can you share a recipe?

Our back to school meals are EASY! I try to plan dinners that don’t require a lot of prep because that after school time can be unpredictable. I also try to plan meals with a lot of protein and veggies to make sure everyone is eating their best to feel their best. This week I made sheet pan italian chicken sausage and roasted brocolli, an egg bake with sausage and peppers, and ground chicken taco bowls.

4. What are your go-to outfits for early fall?

I keep wearing my summer clothes as long as possible. I will add a cardigan to a sundress or a long sleeve tee with shorts or a skirt/skort. If it gets really chilly, I will wear jeans (white or blue) with a bright top.

5. Do kids go back to school before or after Labor Day in your area?

Kids go back before and after Labor Day here. Some counties are before, my county is after, and the boys’ school is before. They started on Monday with orientation/upper class retreats and the first day of classes was Tuesday. Its going really well and I am so glad! My students will start on Tuesday after Labor Day.

6. When do you start to decorate for early fall?

I don’t really decorate for early fall. We hold on to summer until almost the end of September.

7. How do you get back into the fall routine?

Cold turkey, plunge right in. When the boys were little we would start going to bed earlier and getting up earlier, but we don’t do that anymore. This week was like a cold bucket of water. We all went from easy summer days on Sunday to school routine on Monday. We are setting alarms, making quick but filling breakfasts, filling water bottles, and dashing out the door in the morning. We are doing homework, using a real meal plan for dinner, packing bags, and going to bed a little earlier in the evening. Bam! It is school now! It is a little tricky this year because the pool is still open so Jack is working after school and Luke wants to hang with friends there after school.

8. What are you most looking forward to this fall?

Honestly, I do like a routine. I am looking forward to settling into our routine. This one is going to be different than anything we’ve had in the past because both boys are at school with Jeff and no one is on my school schedule for the first time in 12 years.

I am looking forward to our weekends. We don’t have any soccer games or tournaments and we don’t have any golf tournaments yet either. I am looking forward to some family time and some friends time on our fall weekends.

9. Do you decorate for fall? If so, when?

I decorate for fall around October 1st. I put out some Halloween things and some more fallish things (plain pumpkins, leaves, etc.). I leave the fallish things up until Thanksgiving. I add my Thanksgiving decorations on November 1st or 2nd. Yikes, how are we talking about turkeys???

10. What feels like fall to you?

Those mornings when the humidity is gone and the temperture is in the high 50s and low 60s. We’ve been having mornings like for the last week and a half. I walked out one morning and said “WTF? What the fall?” because we are still deep in the middle of summer!

High school football games are definitely fall.

When I go to check on our pool and the cover is on, that is definitely fall.

My birthday feels like fall, too.

Thanks to Holly and Patty for hosting. That was fun, even if it did make me think about the end of my favorite season. Have a great day full of sunshine and books!