day 63- harvest festival

Oreo fishing game! So cute!


day 63- October 30, 2009
harvest festival
Today was our school's harvest festival. It turned out really cute! My children dressed up as Native Americans.... it took like a week to get their costumes together and they wore them for a total of 5 minutes! As soon as the parade was over, they ripped off their paper bag vest and headbands. Some kept just the headbands on. Then, they checked out all the fun activities at each booth. It was actually a lot of fun!
I got a lot of cute ideas from the different class booths. Not that I have any children or anything, but maybe my sister or friends may like to do this for heir child's birthday party. My favorite was the Fishing for Oreo's booth! What you have to do is take an Oreo (they used the orange filling for Halloween) and dip it in vanilla or chocolate icing. Then, dip it in fun sprinkles (different kinds and colors to choose from). The people who work at the booth stick a toothpick through it, clip it to a clothespin that is hanging from a rod, and fish it into the child's mouth! It is adorable. I think it would be even cuter if another child tried getting the Oreo into his friend's mouth.
What a fun fall day! Oh and my booth was a pumpkin bean bag toss game! I was really proud of the beanbags I made with my new sewing machine!

day 62- need a break

day 62- October 29, 2009
need a break!
Wow! I need a break from children! Right now, the kids are SO excited for all the fall fun festivities! The harvest festival is tomorrow and Halloween is just days away. The kids are so pumped and ready for some fun! They are not focused or want to hear anything I have to say!!!!!! I am about to pull out my hair!

day 61- fall morning

day 61- October 28, 2009
fall morning
I cannot say enough about how beautiful it is here in Charlottesville in the fall time! The colorful trees and mountains are so beautiful! I just loved the fog creeping out of the valley.

day 60- the perfect pumpkin family

day 60- October 27, 2009
the perfect pumpkin family
Today, we went to the pumpkin patch. Luckily the rain held out until we were finished. Once we all got there, we took a hayride to the hill full of pumpkins. As soon as the tractor stopped, the children ran to search for their perfect pumpkin. Little "G" picked up a smaller pumpkin and placed it with a group of bigger pumpkins- "Look. Now the baby pumpkin is with its mommy, daddy, brother and sister pumpkins. It's a perfect pumpkin family!"
- How Cute!

day 59- I found it!

day 59- October 26, 2009
I found it!
So I have been looking all over the kitchen for my jar of chalk. The chalkboard in the kitchen has been blank since we have moved in. Last night, I decided to clean out and organize the kitchen cabinets. The pots and pans are stacked so nicely, the plates and cups and placed perfectly, and even the plastic Tupperware is all organized (we will see how long that will last). I found it! My jar of chalk was not in any of the cabinets, but right on top of the refrigerator. Yep, the refrigerator. I cannot believe I did not even think to look in the basket on top of the fridge! Now, time to start a countdown on the board... until Chad's graduation day!

day 58- pumpkin and bacon explosion part 2

day 58- October 25, 2009
pumpkin and bacon explosion part 2
While Chad was working on his Bacon Explosion today, I was carving our pumpkin. I decided instead of a scary face or Halloween seen that I would carve "The Rigdon's" since it will be our first Halloween married!! Exciting! It turned out nice. We even snapped a picture of all of us in front of our pumpkin! Our first family picture!

Chad's Bacon Explosion was delicious! He was very proud of it! It took a total of 2 hours to cook on the grill. Yum!

day 57- bacon explosion part 1

day 57- October 24, 2009
bacon explosion part 1
So Chad has been talking all about this Bacon Explosion recipe he had heard about from a friend. He has been wanting to make it for a while now. =So Saturday morning we went to the grocery store and bought the ingredients: 2 lbs bacon, 2 lbs sausage, barbecue rub, and barbecue sauce. That's it! He was so excited to come home and prepare it! He had to make a bacon weave as the base, sprinkled barbecue seasoning, spread the sausage, sprinkled bacon bits, and then rolled it all together. We decided we would not have time to eat it for lunch (takes about 2 hours to cook) and we had dinner plans with a few Darden couples later that night. So Sunday would be the special Bacon Explosion day!

day 56- sewing machine!

day 56- Friday, October 23, 2009
sewing machine!
On Friday, I got off of work a little early. We had parent teacher conferences and my last one was at 1:40. So around 2:15, I RAN out the door and started my weekend a little early! Wahooo! I decided to treat myself and buy a sewing machine. There are so many crafty things that I have been wanting to make, but you need to be able to sew. I get very frustrated sewing by hand and decided to get a cheap sewing machine. Here it is! Thank God for Chad! I had no clue how to set up the whole thing (threading the bobbin, threading the machine, etc.) I was about to throw the stupid thing out the window. Finally, with both of us working together, I was able to get it working properly. By then, I was too tired to play with it. On Saturday, I did make a small present for my nephewswith the sewing machine. It was a lot of fun! Now what to sew next??....

day 55- beautiful fall

day 55- October 22, 2009
beautiful fall
The trees are absolutely beautiful this time of year. I was leaving work when I saw this tree. I just had to take a picture. Such bold colors! I love Fall!

day 54- granola bars

day 54- October 21, 2009
granola bars
mmmm...mmmm...mmmm.... made some delicious chocolate chip granola bars the other day. Chad LOVES them! I do too! They are amazing! And I guess they are healthier for you than chocolate chip cookies!

day 53- pictures up!

day 53- October 20, 2009
pictures up!
Last week, I ordered enlargements of some of the photos I have taken. They look so neat! and SO big!!

day 52- i hate grocery shopping

day 52- October 19, 2009
i hate grocery shopping
I hate it. Everything about it.

day 51- torn toys

day 51- October 18, 2009
torn toys
This is an example of what most of the dogs toys look like! Ha ha.... poor puppy.

day 50- time with my boys

day 50-October 17, 2009
time with my boys
It felt wonderful to be able to spend some time with my nephews this weekend!

day 49- birthday boy

day 49- October 16, 2009
birthday boy
It is hard to believe that my little brother is 23!!

day 48- halloween photo fun

day 48- October 15, 2009
halloween photo fun

day 47- 9 years

day 47- October 14, 2009
9 Years
Celebrated 9 years together tonight.

day 46- puppy love

day 46- October 13, 2009
puppy love
Love my Normy Stormy!

day 45- cocoa for a cool day

day 45- October 12, 2009
cocoa for a cool day
Man! It was pretty chilly today! I could not get warm today. I think my hands were the worst. I was getting hugs and snuggles from my kids all day! I think they were getting sick of warming me up today!! As soon as I got home today, I changed into comfy sweats and made some hot cocoa! mmmm.... delicious! It definitely took the chills away.

day 44- pumpkin treats for my pups

day 44- October 11, 2009
pumpkin treats for my pups
So I have been in the kitchen non-stop this weekend. I made 6 apple pies and an apple crisp earlier and now I thought I would surprise the doggies with a special treat for fall. I searched the Internet and found an easy recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/peanut-butter-and-pumpkin-dog-treats/detail.aspx . It was pretty quick (rolling it out and cutting them took a little more time). They turned out delicious. Pepper and Norma told me. I would do anything for my pups. They are my babies.

More weekend pics in the kitchen:


pictures from our walk:

day 43- Pizza!

day 43- October 10, 2009
Pizza!
Chad and I went to lunch today at Crozet Pizza. It was such a neat, little pizza place right outside of Charlottesville. The restaurant was very cozy having only 7 tables. Every inch of the walls were covered with random decorations, pictures, drawings, and business cards. It was so unique.

day 42- robot fun

day 42- October 9, 2009
robot fun
We have been working on shapes in the classroom, specifically squares and rectangles. What could be more fun than to make a robot!!? It was a big hit! TGIF!

day 41- lil' diva

day 41- October 8, 2009
lil' diva
Enough said. ;)

day 40- morning sky

day 40- October 7, 2009
morning sky
So pretty.

day 39- apple pie

day 39- October 6, 2009
apple pie
Mmmm.... Yum...... Delicious apple pie!! Monday night, I made an apple crumb pie (my mom's recipe) with the apples that I picked at the orchard. I had a lot of pie that night! I made myself sick to my stomach. Of course I was watching the Biggest Loser that I had recorded from the week before. So I REALLY felt sick and guilty! The next morning, I ate one small sliver for breakfast and then took the rest of the pie to work. It was gone in no time!

day 38- apple day

day 38- October 5, 2009
apple day
It was apple day today!! My class and I went to the apple orchard! What a beautiful day to pick apples!! It was so nice to see the little ones picking their own apples (and watching some of them bump them on the head- hehe). Some of the kiddos decided just to eat the apples instead of pick them. Others picked tons and wanted me to carry their bags! No way... I was picking too! So now I am staring at a huge bag full of apples. Hmmm.... what should I make first? I think apple crumb pie! My favorite!

day 37- my halloween fashionistas

day 37- October 4, 2009
my halloween fashionistas
On Sunday, after all the household chores, I decided to head to the craft store to see what I could make for the pups to where for Halloween! Of course, they cannot fit into any pet costumes around. So instead, I wanted to make them Halloween bandannas to wear. Now, I am not big on sowing AT ALL! My mother on the other hand is amazing at sewing. I needed to buy enough fabric to make them each an extra large bandanna and then pom pom trim to go around the edges. I was on the phone with my mother back and forth trying to figure out how much of everything I needed. Once everything was bought, I came home and got started. I began sewing and I realized that it was going to take FOREVER!!! Especially without a sewing machine. Heat n' Bond is my new best friend! I finished the bandannas in about an hour and they are adorable! Yeah... I may have taken the easy way out, but really how many times will they wear a Halloween bandanna??

day 36- fun-filled day

day 36- October 3, 2009
fun-filled day
This morning, Chad and I checked out the local farmers market. We did not buy anything, but it was such a beautiful morning to get out and do something. Then, we went to Monticello! This was something I wanted to do while we were here living in Charlottesville. It was a perfect day to go!! We took a tour through Jefferson's home and walked along his farm. So picturesque.