Election season brings to mind door-to-door canvassing back in the day, supporting our favorite candidate (who also happened to be our dad). This photo (of me and my big sister Joan) was taken a number of years before we became mortified at the thought of driving around town with a sign on top of the car!

Over the last few years, my cousin and I have met up with our kids at the Children’s Farm at The Center in Palos Park, IL. It has all the fall activities one could ask for! We usually start with the hay bale climber; move our way over to check out all the farm animals (their volunteers are so nice to answer our questions and let the kiddos interact with the animals); attempt the corn maze; and, of course, pick the best pumpkins from their U-Pick pumpkin patch, which is my kids’ favorite. You can also grab some concessions or bring a picnic lunch. It’s been a tradition that my kids look forward to every year.

For many years, I was lucky enough to be able to join my nieces when they were still wee enough to want to traipse around the neighborhood in adorable costumes. In 2011, Madeline (left) was seven and Sydney was eight, and they decided that my Statue of Liberty costume was not complete without a homemade torch. So we got out the construction paper and completed my look. After a few hours of collecting candy, we retreated to their mom and dad’s house for another treat: takeout from Maggiano’s.