october

I always have such a hard time choosing my favorite season, because I really do love the special things that each of them offers, but I am LOVING my first fall in Tennessee!! In addition to my usual favorites: scarecrows, pumpkins, candy corn, boots, sweaters, and yummy-smelling candles, the weather has been cool and crisp, and everything is absolutely beautiful! The many shades of red, yellow, and orange almost seem pretend they're so pretty!! In addition to the amazing weather and gorgeous foliage, October brought my mom, dad, and sister to Hohenwald for such a FUN visit, Oktoberfest festivities in Hohenwald, a quick trip to Texas for Ashley's wedding, fall fun with our church family, and trick-or-treaters galore!!!! It has been a fabulous fall so far!!!

This picture does not do them justice, but here's an example of our BEAUTIFUL trees!

They are so pretty, I made wreathes for the people at the nursing home with the kids at church. They did a great job and the wreathes turned out beautifully! Tonight, we went and gave them to the sweet people at the nursing home and my third-graders were PRECIOUS! It was an honor to watch them imitate Jesus!

I was out of school for a few days in early October for fall break!!! I know, I know, soooo FUN! They used to not have a fall break here, but Oktoberfest has become such a HUGE event that all the teachers were asking off and the buses couldn't get through because of all of the traffic!!! Lewis County quadruples in size during that weekend every year!! It is CRAZY! People are EVERYWHERE! There are massive traffic jams in our little town! Needless to say, it was FUN and a little Stars Hollowish;) Because I was going to be out of school, my parents and sister decided to take a vacation and come see us!! We had such a great time together. We played, shopped, talked, relaxed, and thoroughly enjoyed our time together!!

Misty and I at the Grand Ole Opry on her birthday! Sooo FUN!

I drove back to Texas with Mama, Daddy, and Misty to be there for my sweet friend, Ashley's wedding. We had lots of fun visiting in the car and playing childhood car games. I was honored to be part of Ashley and Argimiro's special day as her matron of honor!! It was so much fun! Ashley and I became best friends right after I moved to Roby in eighth grade when she was thoughtful enough to invite the new girl to her slumber party! Thanks Ash:) We've been BFF ever since!! Her friendship is so special to me, and we have so many wonderful memories together. We used to talk and dream about our future lives...and though we're not next door neighbors in Buffalo Gap like we once dreamed;), we have both been blessed with precious husbands who love and honor us, and we got to stand beside with each other when we said "I Do."

What a precious friendship!

After the wedding, I flew back to Tennessee and it was COLD!! Several of us from church went to a haunted hay ride and corn maze! Once again, it felt a bit like Stars Hollow! Corn mazes are all the rage around here in the fall, and I was so excited to participate! Those of you who know me well and are familiar with my direction disability, don't worry, I did not go in alone! In fact, Kaye and I had Anna, our fearless second-grade leader!!

While my sweet mama was here, she helped me decide on a FUN costume idea for Trunk-or-Treat at church! Then, she and Misty helped me make our costumes! I thought they turned out really well! Everyone was surprised that Keith was going to dress up as a crayon, but I didn't even have to twist his arm, he was a great sport! Then, with the help of my cricut, I made our trunk decor:) We had fun passing out crayons and candy! Thankfully, some friends warned us that our neighborhood was the happening place on Halloween, so that we could stock up on candy, because they were not kidding!! We had about 250 trick-or-treaters....sooo fun!!

Hope you are all having a happy fall!