This is How We Do Halloween

After hearing our first trick-or-treater ring the doorbell...

and after an extremely long hectic Halloween at school...

we decided to disable the doorbell for tonight:)

You may call me the "Grinch" of Halloween...but how many of you have had to deal with Halloween parades, parties, and parents all day long?

Fall Break

About a week ago, I got to enjoy the perks of being a teacher.

Fall Break.

It was wonderful. I got to finally do some projects around the house that I've been meaning to do and enjoy my two days off of school.

The first day of fall break, I decided to finally use my sewing machine that I got for graduation in April. I've done basic mending projects and worked on a dress with my mother-in-law, but I haven't yet tried to follow a simple pattern on my own. So, I drove over to Wal-Mart, picked up an apron pattern and $2 fabric, and after sewing all day long, I finished my first real creation!!!

I had a blast! It was SOO much fun and I can't wait to make some more stuff realllly soon.

Other fun happenings last weekend include carving our pumpkins. We pulled our kitchen table into the middle of the family room to watch a movie while we carved. And yes, we normally do look like this on weekend nights when we don't go out.

I used previous pumpkin carving experiences to decide that I would only carve a teeny pumpkin this year. I get bored in about 3 minutes, so this is what I ended up with:

Steve, on the other hand, could do this for hours. Here he is about an hour after I'm done still working on his stormtrooper pumpkin.

It took him so long he had to wake up the next morning and carve for another hour.

After the long and relaxing fall break, I couldn't wait to get back to school.

I have realized this past week that I LOVE my job.

I am starting to get excited to go to work in the morning, and I am not stressed out at all.

I love the 16 little kids I get to work with every day. Not a day goes by that they don't crack me up and remind me why I love teaching so much.

If you saw me last year, this is very exciting news. Last year was probably the most stressful year of my life. And having conquered it, I am so excited to see that I actually do love what I get to do each day.

A Grand Getaway

Steve spoiled me rotten for our anniversary this year.

We decided to celebrate on Friday night because we both had work Thursday and Friday.

But on our actual anniversary, Steve sent me flowers at work!

I think the kids were just as excited about them as I was:)

Our real fun began Friday after work though.

We made reservations to stay at the Grand America in Salt Lake where we stayed on our honeymoon last year.

We ate dinner that night at The Roof at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. This was fun and nostalgic because we had our reception there. I loved looking out over the temple as we ate.

After we checked in to the Grand America, we learned we would be staying on the 23rd floor (the hotel has 24 floors total). So our favorite part of the hotel was the view of Salt Lake from up so high. Steve kept the huge window open most of the night so we could look out over Salt Lake, and he continued to enjoy the view the next morning.

To continue the nostalgia, on Saturday we took a walk around Temple Square and reminisced about our wedding day. It was fun to talk about memories and watch the other brides and grooms take pictures around the temple.

Overall, it was definitely a grand weekend!

One year ago...

I married this guy.

In this temple.

And I couldn't be happier:)

And the Festivities Begin...

October is by far my favorite month. It was always up there with December, but ever since last October (when we got married), it has pulled ahead.

This past weekend, Steve's family had their annual Wind-O-Ween party with the extended family. Last year, Steve's sister-in-law Tiffany, his brother Greg, and both of us dressed up as the ninja turtles.

This year, Steve and I didn't have as much planning time, so I just decided to go with the old witch costume. As we frantically looked in our closet 15 minutes before it was time to leave for the party, we needed to figure out Steve's costume! But all we saw were girl clothes and more girl clothes. So we thought it would be hilarious if maybe we dressed up as each other. So Steve stretched out one of my dresses dress and a pair of shoes, but for obvious reasons, we decided against the cross dressing and went with this:

I'm still not sure what Steve's costume is. Perhaps a nerdy grandpa?

Well I just love October and am so happy it has begun. In school my students and I are enjoying:

-a daily Halloween children's book or two

-coloring cute Halloween pages

-listening to the Halloween party mix on Pandora

I think my students already know how happy I am that it's October:)