Lovin' the Leaves

We are in the midst of Autumn and enjoying every second of it!!!! Last weekend, we hopped in the car and took a drive about an hour south of us to Brown County. Brown County is known for its exceptionally colorful fall foliage...

I still cannot get over the changing leaves...It is just magical...

Driving into Brown County State Park, we were engulfed by trees!

Green, Red, Orange, Yellow...Take your pick!

This is the "hilly" part of Indiana. Obviously doesn't compare to California mountains, but lovely nonetheless...We parked in the middle of the park, and headed out to the trails... Here is Ryan walking Sammy, and Amanda's husband Dave with their black lab, Owen...Picture of the lake...Me and Amanda :)Happy Sam :) Baby boy Frodie :)Like a painting... We left the park, and headed into the nearby town of Nashville...Ryan walking Sammy around town...Nashville is such a cute little town. It reminds me a lot of Oak Glen. Rolling hills and lots of cute mom and pop stores...October is the busiest time of year in Brown County. The colorful leaves and decent weather attract lots of visitors...My friend Tami (that I used to work with at Moreno Valley Ranch) told me that her sister moved to Indiana a few years ago and opened a craft store called "Kim's Corner" in Brown County.I promised Tami I would stop by Kim's store for a visit... Here we are! I told Kim I needed a pic of us for evidence...See Tami!!! Kim was very sweet. I am glad I got the chance to meet her :)Overall, we had a spectacular day. On the drive home, I was able to snap a pic of some trees turning colors in Noblesville...What do you think??? This past Saturday, Eric and Liz's daughter turned one!!! Happy Birthday sweet Elise! Is this gal spoiled or what??? Everything was pink and "Lady Bug" themed... Sugar coated marshmallows with lady bug toppers... Lady bug cookies and candy. Liz made it all!!! I am telling you, she is soooooo crafty!!! Pink treats...Happy Birthday, Elise!!! We love you guys!!!On Sunday, I headed out to the Goodwill in Fishers to buy some clothes for Fall. I ended up buying a total of 11 shirts and sweaters for 40 bucks!!! That's less than 4 dollars a shirt and once again all in perfect condition!!! Here is a pic of a few of them...I also stopped by Meijer and bought some new decor for our Thanksgiving table...This year, we are having our friends Nathan, Taylor and their daughter Sophia join us. Nathan went to high school with us and relocated to Chicago for work. My mom and step-dad are also flying out here. It will be the biggest Thanksgiving we have hosted in the Indiana house and we are so excited!!!The trees on our street are every color of the rainbow...And we will leave you with the trees turning across the street... Until next time...xo

Celebrating Autumn in Many Ways...

Hello there! Well, here we are heading into October...WOW!!! This is our 3rd Autumn in the Northeast and it is by far one of our favorite times of the year.Before I share our "happenings" for the week, I wanted to tell everyone that Ryan received the "Golden Mentor" Award for his work heading the Purdue University Science Bound program at his high school! To read more about the program, you can go to this link:

http://www.purdue.edu/sciencebound/

This week, two wonderful ladies in our lives celebrated birthdays- our "sister" Kellie in California...
And our Indy friend, Tiffany...Tiffany lives down the street from us. I met her 2 years ago through our other neighbors, Zac and Kristin. Tiffany and I have a lot in common. We both teach elementary school, are married to teachers and turned the big 3-0 this year!!! For Tiffany's 30th Birthday Bash, we took a party bus from her house in Noblesville into Downtown Indianapolis...

The bus was really reasonable. Close to 40 bucks a couple- It picked us up at 5 p.m. and took us home at 3 a.m. Soooooo much cheaper than renting a hotel or paying for a cab ride. We were able to eat, drink and be merry without having to worry about a Designated Driver. Here are Liz and I on the way to Indy...Here are the ladies posing on the ride down. Do you like the feather boas??? I bought all of the girls one to wear. I got them at the Dollar Tree for a buck each!!!The bus dropped us off in Indianapolis at a place called Jillian's. Jillian's is kind of like a Dave and Busters. It is basically a bar/restaurant with an arcade in it. It also has pool tables and a bowling alley...First, we had a yummy dinner...Then we played games. Here are Liz and I battling it out in a dance game...Ryan watching Brad race vrrrrroooooooooom...Liz, Tiff and me...After dinner and games, we walked down the street to the dueling piano bar, Howl at the Moon.I am sure many of you have been to a dueling piano bar before. They are such a blast because they require audience participation! Good music and good friends are always a combination for fun...Tiffany singing her heart out to her sister-in-law, Julie...Tiffany being summoned to the stage for some birthday harassment...Gotta love that face...Ryan, Brad (Tiffany's brother), Eric and Josh (Tiffany's hubby)...After Howl at the Moon, we went to a nightclub and danced our lil' hearts out! Some of us even rode a mechanical bull!!! This pic is of me, Tiff, Eric and Carrie bustin' a move...The dancing carried over from the nightclub to the bus ride home. It was a "party" bus after all...Wooooooooo-hooooooooo....Kickin' their feet up to a great evening!!!Dancin' machines....Brad has some skills...

All good things must come to an end...Nighty Night, Tiff!!! Happy 30th!!! xoToday, I FINALLY put up Halloween decorations! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to make our home festive...Jack-O-Lanterns and skeletons...Ornamental corn and pumpkins...Witches...Gourds...Ghosts and goblins...Fall foliage...Rusts, coppers, golds- the colors of Autumn... Happy Harvest!
"Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter ." -Carol Bishop

Time for scarves, beanies, gloves and flannel sheets.....We love and miss you all!Until next time...xo