Happy Thanksgiving!!!

This year for Thanksgiving my roommate Kimberly and I decided that it would be fun to take on the task of hosting the Thanksgiving meal. Neither of us had ever really done a turkey by ourselves before and I was excited for this opportunity; I feel so grown up! We invited just a few friends over, there were seven of us total, and it was a good sized group for our first Thanksgiving. We gave everyone a food assignment and they all did an amazing job! Aside from everyone running late, Thanksgiving went off without a hitch! Surprisingly, it wasn't even stressful, we gave ourselves plenty of time to get everything ready and we cleaned up as we went along and by the time 2:00 came around all we had to do was carve the turkey. I think that Kimberly and I did a great job on our first turkey. While we ate we went around the table and expressed what we were thankful for, I am so thankful for my family and the many wonderful people that surround me in my life! I am truly blessed! After dinner we loaded the dishwasher and put food away and then we sat around talking until the subject of 'the worm' (a dance move) came up, our friend Ally gave us all a wonderful demonstration of how to do 'the worm' which was followed by everyone taking turns trying it out-what better way to make room for pie??? After eating the delicious pie we topped off the night by going to "Tangled" in 3D and can I just say that it is a fabulous movie and I think that everyone should it!! I was laughing my head off the whole time!! I definitely missed not being with family for Thanksgiving but this was definitely the best alternative that I could have hoped for!! Thank you everyone!!!

Monticello!!

I have been wanting to go to Monticello for some time now and now I can finally say that I have been there! I was especially lucky because I was able to make it down there in the fall and not only was the property beautiful but the drive down and back was also beautiful! I just love the fall!!! I went down with my friend Kyle and we had a great time visiting Thomas Jefferson's home. The home itself is amazing, he spent 40 years building, adding onto and renovating the place. His property is some 5,000 acres and it is incredible! We took a tour of the house and then walked around the property. Thomas Jefferson was a very intelligent man and he dabbled in many areas of expertise. He invented a lot of things for convenience sake and it was neat to see some of those inventions he came up with. We walked down to the little cemetary and saw his tombstone as well as others in his family. We went through the visitor center and learned even more about Mr Jefferson. After our visit to Monticello was complete we went over to Michie Tavern where we enjoyed a late lunch. This tavern is a historical place where Jefferson himself went to eat on occasion. It has been around since 1784! It was a buffet of home cooked food that would have been eaten back in the day, it included: fried chicken, pulled pork, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, cornbread, coleslaw, stewed tomatoes, and green beans-oh and the best apple cider ever! We ate off of metal plates and drank from tin cups and the workers were all dressed up in outfits from Thomas Jefferson's time. It was an all around amazing experience!!

Weekend in Philadelphia!!

My roommate Kimberly and I went to Philly for the first time this past weekend and we had a blast! On our way to our friends house that night we accidentally took a wrong exit as we entered the city and ended up right by the Philadelphia Art Museum. We did what any normal human beings would do...we parked the car, put 'Eye of the Tiger' on speaker and ran up and down the steps! We weren't nearly as cool as the little boy after us who was making his own 'Rocky' theme music while he ran up the stairs! So cute!!

On Saturday we got up super early and drove an hour to Lancaster (Amish Country) and we went to the Shady Maple Smorgasbord! It was fantastic!! All you can eat breakfast buffet and they had everything you could possibly eat for breakfast! I love breakfast food so I was in heaven!! I even tried the 'scrapple' (a Philly dish that is made up of pork byproducts and cornmeal, it is made into a pudding and then fried), it was alright, not my fav!

After breakfast, since we had to go by it again anyway to get into the city we decided to stop at the 'Rocky Steps' again and get some better pictures in the daylight. Here are some of the highlights...

Where's the Love???

We went to City Hall (which was closed), Independence Hall (which we were too late to get tickets to) and the Liberty Bell.

Of course you can't go to Philly without getting a Philly Cheesesteak!

Drewry's Bluff

We went to Drewry's Bluff in Richmond and walked the trail in the rain! If the Union hadn't got a hold of this fort they might not have won the war.

Best Buddies!!

Ready, Aim, Fire!!!

Let it Be Known!

I am Caleb's favorite Aunt!!! Hearing him say my name is my favorite sound in the world!

Need a Little Spice in Your Life?

Halloween has been quickly approaching and my roommate Kimberly and I have been racking our brains as to what to be. Since we are basically inseparable we wanted to come up with a great costume idea that we could do as a duo. We finally came up with the idea to be salt and pepper shakers. We bought some matching metal collanders to resemble the top of the shakers and then we wore black and white outfits with duct tape letters. It was a pretty simple and easy idea. We tested them out at our 'Fall Festival' last night and got some great reactions. Some people had a hard time determining what we were, we had one person look at the collander's and then down at the 'S' and 'P' and asked if we were spaghetti! Nope, try again. Some people thought we were using the collander's to prevent aliens from reading our minds; I guess they could serve that purpose too, I don't think any aliens read my mind the whole time I was wearing it. We did get a lot of positive comments about our costume and we actually got 2nd place in the costume contest!

So the World May Hear...

I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer with the Starky Hearing Foundation as they gave out 125 hearing aids to deaf people in the DC area. (Starkey travels all over the world donating hearing aids to people who would not otherwise be able to get them) My friend Justin got me involved with the organization and I am so grateful that I got to be a part of this life changing event. I got to help out in the counseling area. I taught the recipients how to use, care for and protect their hearing aids. It was great to see how excited these kids got as they began to hear, some of them for their first time. If you want to be a 'Hearing Angel' and help children have the chance to hear, go to: http://www.oliveosmond.com/

The Legwarmers!!!

On Friday some friends and I put on our best 80's attire and went to see The Legwarmers (an 80's coverband) perform. It was totally RAD!!! They played tons of great songs from the 80's and they were a blast to watch. We got there a little early and made our way to the very front, right by the stage. We were so close that when they came to the edge of the stage we could reach out and touch their guitars! My roommate Kimberly and I both caught one of their guitar picks. We were right by one of the speakers and it took all the next day before we felt like we could hear normally again. But it was totally worth it!!! So fun!!!!

Home Sweet Home!

I got the chance to go home for awhile back in August. I flew out of Richmond with my sister Julie and her two kids. We had a wonderful time visiting our family and friends. Our days were filled with fun and excitement. We shucked barrels of corn and bagged over 150 quarts of it at my grandparents house. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows in the fire pit in the backyard, Caleb was a little unsure about the fire. We played the Wii, went for walks, went grocery shopping and played games. It was a wonderful vacation!!!