Tonight, we went over to Dan and Amy's house to eat pizza and play games. The playing games part was SUPER fun, because they have a projector set up and we got to play on the big screen!! We played a ton of Wii games, then busted out the Guitar Hero. Video games just got a whole lot more fun!
Moku Espresso and Cafe is a new coffee shop that opened up on W. Union Street. Joey made the sign, and asked some muscley friends to help hang it up. Ben went to help, and I went to watch. I've never watched a sign get hung up before, it was cool! Joey did a great job.
This afternoon, Gina and Jill hosted a pumpkin carving party out at Paul and Sarah's house. Ben and I decided to walk along the bike path to get there. We underestimated how heavy those pumpkins would feel by the time we got there!
Jill and Gina making fresh donuts! YUM!!! I ate like two hundred.
Dad hooked us up with some SERIOUS tools that would carve a pumpkin UP. People said it looked like a creepy murder kit.
Pumpkin carving!
The lineup.
My pumpkin is in loooooooove:
Ben's spider pumpkin:
Jill's pretty pumpkin:
Gina's scary pumpkin:
NBIA headed to New Orleans to host its Fall Training Institute this year. I went along, although I wasn't there to work. I went for the FUN!
We stayed in the Chateau Sonesta Hotel, which is where Summer and I stayed when we spent one night in New Orleans many years ago. Bizarre!
We had lots of fun. The weather was so great, hot and sunny. We went to Rock 'N Bowl, rode the street car, went to Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, danced our butts off, ate lots of food, drank lots of beer, and more!
Every fall, a group of us from NBIA will take a hike up to Radar Hill to enjoy the beauty of fall. Here's a tree we passed on our way up!
Views from the top:
This year, we had a little coffee picnic!
Coffee!
Corinne made Amish Friendship Cinnamon bread.
Group photo!
This Tuesday will be Ben and my two-year anniversary! We decided to start celebrating a bit early because we LOVE to celebrate.
Mmm, almond champagne!
We got all sorts of cheeses and spreads and meats from Trader Joe's.
With crusty bread and apples and candles!
I made some chicken salad, too.
MEAT STICK!
Cheers!
Bird's-eye view.
Gina and Justin got married in Vermont on August 16. Unfortunately, I couldn't be there for the wedding. I was very excited to give Gina their wedding present though!!!
She and Justin have a cute little thing with snails. Let's just say they are a very meaningful part of their relationship. So for a present for them, I commissioned Summer to paint them a painting of snails! It was such a fun project. Summer really enjoyed doing the painting, and I enjoyed watching it come together.
Tonight we had Gina over for dinner and gave her the painting!
Summer made this killer appetizer. It was mint and parsley pesto with peas, served on baguette with bacon and shaved parmesan.
IT WAS SO GOOD.
Tink!
And here is the masterpiece!
Ben and I volunteered at the Pawpaw Festival beer tent this weekend. We had a two and a half hour shift, and I don't think I have ever seen time fly so fast in my life! We were SO BUSY the whole time. People just love their Pawpaw Wheat! Especially Tom, Gina and Rose!
The sunset was beautiful.
Doesn't that beer tent look inviting?
I just got home from a wonderful week in Cape Cod. It was an amazing vacation, and I'm not ready for it to be over!
Ben, Cheryl, Vana, Kayla, Derrick, their Aunt Dae and I stayed for the week in a vacation rental called Grandma's Place. That was our home base, and we spent almost every day at the beach, and had a great time exploring the town.
The big event of the week was Sarah and Yang's wedding! They got married at the Wequassett Resort in Chatham. The wedding was lovely and so much fun! We had several mini celebrations throughout the week as well. I took a lot of pictures during our stay, and I also got several photos from everyone else's cameras (thanks, guys!). So to really see how the trip went, just check out the photos.
