The Avett Brothers and VT vs. Duke

                     

Part of my birthday present from Nick was tickets to see one of our favorite bands - The Avett Brothers!  They played in Roanoke last Friday night.  We have been wanting to see them for a while, and I have to say- they did not disappoint!  They are awesome performers and so much fun to see live.  Laurie and Pat came with us-  it was such a fun night out!

On Saturday we finally went to see a VT football game.  Football is the culture here and we had clearly been missing out.  My dad was able to come up for the day and go to the game with us.  If you know my dad, you know he is a huge Duke fan.  He didn't have very high hopes for the Blue Devils on Saturday, so he wasn't disappointed too badly.  Basketball season is a different story! The weather could not have been more perfect and we enjoyed the quality time with family.    

My dad in his Duke blue and his girls.  

Matt and Kate's Visit

This weekend, some of our good friends from Raleigh came up to visit.  Nick and Matt have known each other since elementary school and were roommates at App (and remained best friends after living in a dorm room together).  Soon after I met Nick, I met Matt and Kate and they got married about a month before we did.  We were so happy to have them and their sweet pup, Callie come visit.  On Saturday we went hiking at one of our favorite places to go, Mountain Lake, on the War Spur Trail.  We loved strolling though the beautiful fall leaves and taking in the gorgeous scenery.  Sunday we enjoyed a relaxing brunch before they had to head back.  We had such a great weekend hanging out and catching up with good friends.  Thanks for making the trip!

Oktoberfest

On Friday, some of our friends in Blacksburg hosted an "Oktoberfest" party.  We made authentic German food and tasted German beers. Nick's mom and dad both have a German heritage (clearly, with a last name like Scheuer!)  Nick's mom was a big help and provided authentic recipes for us. We feasted on brats, German potato salad, sauerkraut, spaetzle, and schnitzle.  Turns out German food is pretty delicious.

                    

For dessert we had apple kuchen and apple strudel- yum!

Our lovely hosts- Katherine and Bynum in their awesome costumes.   Thanks for having us guys!

Baby Kus

Once upon a time my cousin Anna and Nick's roommate/best friend Kyle were both in our wedding.  They just so happened to walk down the aisle together and soon after fell in love.  They tied the knot and now a few years later, they are expecting a sweet little baby due in December!  It is so crazy and exciting and we couldn't be happier for Anna and Kyle!  This weekend while we were in Raleigh, I was able to go to Anna's baby shower.  It was at The Cupcake Shoppe in downtown Raleigh, which has some of the best cupcakes I have ever had!  

Look at this beautiful Mommy-to-be!  She is glowing!  Anna and Kyle are going to be surprised by the gender and are keeping their name choices a secret, so right now they are affectionately calling him or her "Baby Kus"  (a shortened version of their last name).

Blair (my other cousin) came back all the way from Nashville.  Blair, Anna, Laurie and I grew up together, seeing each other almost once a week (our moms were identical twins after all!)  We always say we are more like sisters than cousins.  It is rare for us all to be together these days, but so much fun!
We are so excited to meet Baby Kus!

My Monarch

So, this post is definitely the second grade teacher in me coming out.  But I have been so fascinated by this little guy the past couple of weeks, I just had to share.  One of my sweet students from last year brought my class a monarch caterpillar a couple of weeks ago.  Being an animal lover that she is, she had collected and researched these little guys and told me exactly what to do and what to expect.  The caterpillar crawled around our bug barn and ate milkweed for a few days.  Then one afternoon it crawled to the top of the cage where it attached itself and hung like a "j".  The next day when I got to school it had turned into a green chrysalis.  This is the way it stayed for a while.  Then on Friday I noticed you could just barely see the outline of the butterfly's wings inside.  I knew that this meant it was going to emerge soon!  We were heading to Raleigh that afternoon and I decided to take it with us so I didn't miss something. 

 On Saturday morning, when I checked on it this is what it looked like.  It was all black, but you could very clearly see the wings!  I just can't get over how cool this is!  Nick keeps making fun of how much I have been talking about this, but I am fascinated!

I knew it would happen quickly, but I still missed the butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.  When it came out, it had to hang upside down and spread its wings for a while so they could dry.  Here you can see it hanging and the empty chrysalis. 

After a few hours, we took the butterfly outside so he could climb out and fly away.  It took awhile and a few failed attempts, but he finally spread his wings a flew away!  This butterfly will fly all the way to Mexico!

It was so beautiful and such a cool thing to watch!  It really is a miracle!  That tiny, ugly caterpillar completely transformed into a beautiful butterfly.  We have been learning about metamorphosis in science, it means a complete change in form.  When I see this butterfly I cannot help but be reminded about what God has done for us.   

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"  2 Corinthians 5:17

My 26th Year & A Sweet Husband

Last week I celebrated my 26th birthday - crazy!  Nick helped to make it a very special day!  Here is the wonderful breakfast I woke up to- yummy "egg cups" and doughnuts from Carol Lee.

 This was on my card- one of the best parts about getting a card from Nick is this pig that he draws on the back.

 I had school that day and Nick had class that afternoon.  I hurried home from school so we could go pick out a pumpkin before Nick had to go to class.  When I got home, he told me to get ready for dinner and surprise- he wasn't going to class!  We went here to pick our pumpkin.  How fun!

Originally, I thought we were going to dinner somewhere around here, but after the pumpkin picking we got on the highway and started traveling south.  We ended up in the small town of Elkin, NC where Nick and I met a few times when we were engaged.  There is a really cute restaurant that we have been to before.  When we pulled up, I saw Laurie and Pat!  Nick surprised me and had them meet us for dinner!  We had a fabulous meal- if you ever end up near Elkin I highly recommend this place.  We had the best night enjoying dinner and catching up!  I kept telling Nick I was going to stay 25, but so far 26 seems pretty great.