What a beautiful start to the weekend. The humidity is very low, the temperatures are borderline cool, and the sun is shining. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Here are two additional baseball submissions received from Roxanne and Brendan J. Looking good!

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We received one more poem submission for our August Poem Challenge yesterday as well that I wanted to share. It comes from Samantha:

Awesome August
Unbelievably
Going too fast
Unready
School to restart
Time to have fun

I don’t know what it is, but August always triggers an excitement in me for Fall. I know that August is typically the hottest month of the year, but when August comes around, so does my anticipation for everything fall.

I like to go to the Dollar Tree every couple of weeks just to see what’s new, and this past week it became a near obsession! Guess what they are already stocking the shelves with? Come on, guess?

HALLOWEEN and FALL merchandise! So excited. I don’t think I get even this excited when the Christmas stuff starts coming out. One thing I found that really makes me happy are the Halloween and Thanksgiving cards! Yep, the shelves are full of them. At 2 for $1.00 we stocked up on our Halloween cards already! I’m holding off on the Thanksgiving ones because I’m not sure if we’ll try a card exchange for that, but Halloween–well, that one we are definitely going to have!

Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves though. It is still August and there are 78 days till Halloween, so that means we’ve got time to still enjoy summer and make the most of this season while it lasts.

Our Kool-Aid challenge reminded most participants of their childhood. Making ice cubes or homemade popsicles with it was one of the more popular memories. Lemonade stands, chilling out, Kool-Aid Bursts, and vacations all came to mind. It’s wonderful how something as simple as a little packet of Kool-Aid can bring a smile to your face.

Last night’s trivia was a bit different. Every question had a silhouette that you needed to identify. I was really surprised at how many turned out to look like more than one Disney character. I had to accept all answers, because “Yeah, I can see that too!” Right or wrong, the point was to have some fun and challenge you with something a little different.

So, what to do today!? There were a few National Days that we could think about tying into a challenge, but nothing jumped out at me this morning. There are still many types of happiness we could explore, but again, I’m just not feeling it this morning.

I think my excitement for fall is just clouding my creativity today. So, how about a real challenge. Let’s see if you can find any signs of fall outside! I know summer is still in full bloom, but are you noticing anything outside that might be an early sign that fall is just around the corner? Looking outside into our garden I can see a few signs right off. How about you?

Take a walk outside around you house, around your neighborhood, or maybe even around town. Pay attention to every detail–the people, the houses/buildings, the trees, the businesses, the sky, the ground–is anything changing in the least? Summer seems to take forever to get here and is usually fleeting. Let’s see if we can find any first signs that summer is coming to an end.

Use the form below to make a list, or send in a few snapshots of what you find. All Zack will have to do is go into my craft room and take a picture of all the great fall finds I picked up this week at the Dollar Tree and he’ll be set — but we’ll see what he can find outside as well!

Enjoy your beautiful Saturday!

Zack & Lisa

Is fall already starting? Challenge