Happy Birthday Seester!

Believe it or not my sister turned 32 yesterday. We went over to my parents' house to have dinner. In true, mature Melanie style, she decided to dress up in funny outfits just to watch me laugh until I cried. She always enjoys having fun and bringing out the kid in everyone!

Happy Halloween to my fellow Americans!

Field Trip!

On Monday I went with my class on a field trip to the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley. It is an annual trip that the second grade does, and I just love it! We all (kids and chaperons alike) enjoyed exploring all exhibits of the hall. At the end of the day, none of us were ready to go even though we had spent more than three hours there.

This is a must go for any parents with children two years or older. The kids have such a wonderful time with all of the hands on activities that they are able to experience. We will definitely get a membership when we have kids.

Pumpkin Party

Friday night I had some of my girlfriends over for a Pumpkin Decorating Party. Although I enjoy carving pumpkins, I decided to try something new this year. I used ribbon and spray paint to decorate my pumpkins. They turned out pretty cute, but not as cute as the cute inspirations I found in Good Housekeeping, so I decided to borrow their pictures instead of showing mine.
It was so fun to see everyone's creative juices at work. Everyone used their imagination and all of the pumpkins turned out so the pumpkin Maya made for Danielle was the cutest pumpkin. She added ribbon detail to create bangs and pigtails.

We also had some yummy turkey chili recipe that I found here: YUMMY!

Where did the tree go?

Last Saturday I asked Chad to rake off the leaves that have fallen on our roof. When he was up there he decided to take his job to the next level. He told me that he was going to trim a few branches that were touching the house. I thought, "Great idea." Little did I know that he was planning on cutting more than a few. Here is what he decided to chop down.

Jamie's Shower

I am so excited that Jamie is getting married! I have known Jamie for about 7 years now; we met in the teaching credential program. She is a wonderful, funny, creative, kind, giving friend. I always knew that she would meet a great man and fall in love . Her and Anthony make an adorable couple. Seeing the two of them together, it is easy to feel their true happiness. I cannot wait until next Saturday to see them become husband and wife. Congratulations Jamie and Anthony.

Great Story

If you want to hear a great story, ask me how I got these flowers.

No, they are not from Chad (in case you were thinking that).

Yippie - It's Fall!

This is the amaing view in my parent's backyard right now! I just love fall!

Irish Inspired Cooking Club

Once again, Cooking Club was a hit! Danielle picked some delicious Irish recipes for us to make. The food was terrific, but the wine was even better :). I will definitely make Sheppard's Pie soon. Most importantly, my girlfriends are wonderful. Cheers to Cooking Club!

Capitola

Melissa just moved into a new spot in Capitola. She invited the girls down for a slumber party and to check out her new place. It is gorgeous. It is unbelievable to think that she is lucky enough to wake up to this view every morning. We had such a great time hanging out, laughing and catching up. There were many great stories being shared (among multiple bottles of wine). We spent most of the afternoon on her back deck hanging out and overlooking the beautiful ocean. I actually got a little bit of color.

Here is a picture of the girls (me, Heather, Tracy and Melissa). Alix was taking the photo, so unfortunately she is not in it.

I just had to add this picture. Heather is too cute!

There is a great restaurant in Capitola called Hank's. It has a great salad bar. The servers create any yummy salad that you can think of. It is so fresh and healthy. I think someone should look into opening one in Walnut Creek.

We are all looking forward to visiting Melissa as often as she will let us! Thanks for a wonderful weekend Melissa!!