A Great Way to Spend Fall Evenings...

As much as I don’t like it, fall is here. The air is cold, the sun is not shining near as much anymore, the days are shorter, and I’m afraid my flip-flops have been retired for the season. I really don’t like fall, and I despise winter. I just don’t like cold weather. I’ve been begging John to move is down south somewhere, but unfortunately, his business is here. And our family is here, so while I’ve been begging, it’s really for real because there’s no way I could leave our family.

But there is one thing that makes fall a tiny bit better for me…fires in an outdoor fire pit in the evenings. Obviously since we’re not out in the sticks (like where John and I grew up), we can’t have a fire just anywhere, so we pull out our outdoor fire pit, start it up, and pretty soon we have some neighbors hanging out with us for the evening. And I’m warm…that’s the most important thing!

The kids love fires in outdoor fire pits…they get to make s’mores! And I too love roasting marshmallows. But more than that, I think the kids love the tradition that they bring. We start them as the sun is going down, the adults all sit around the fire with drinks, and the kids run around the yards, or they are riding their bikes in the dark, or they are back jumping on the trampoline.

We have had some awesome conversations with friends around fires at night. We started them at our first house, and I know that’s how we got to know our two sets of neighbors (who later turned out to be good friends of ours) so well.

So if you haven’t tried this, I strongly recommend getting a fire pit and lighting it up. It’s such an easy way to make friends and get to know your neighbors, not to mention it’s a great way to relax!