October, Full of Tricks and Treats

So, we left off in the month of October with my visit from Michele and Chris.  I must admit that it gets pretty lonely in my apartment.  It's not a big space, but it is pretty quiet, so I was more than excited when Tate told me she wanted to come visit for her Fall Break.  Her break just so happened to fall on a weekend that Chris was coming and also when Marisa would be in town to visit Weezy.  All week I planned for the weekend and was so happy when Tate showed up at my apartment Saturday night.  Unfortunately, I had to work that Sunday, so Tate went and had lunch and shopped with Marisa and Weezy.  Chris, being the amazing boyfriend that he is, brought me lunch and then stayed to help with volunteers afterward.  When I finished working, we all headed to Weezy's to carve pumpkins.  This was the first time I had ever done this and was totally excited.  I think they all turned out quite nice!  Marisa had to leave right after she carved hers, but it was so great to see her for even just a short while.

Monday we spent the day at the North Carolina State Fair.  It was my first North Carolina State Fair experience, as well as Tate and Chris's.  We did the typical things; walked around the livestock barns, went to the petting zoo, and ate some food.  I had fried oreos for the first time, but definitely not the last.  It was worth all of the calories.  We ran into some of Chris's co-workers while we were there, on the way to enjoy petting some goats and alpacas at the petting zoo. Tate got on the road pretty early, since she had a long drive ahead of her back to Spartanburg, and I made Chris stay later to keep me company.  I never want him to leave when he is here, but worry about him staying too late and being on the road late.

The following week went pretty average.  I don't
 remember exactly what kind of work we did, but I am sure I was working on our house out in Garner.  All week I was looking forward to the next weekend, where Chris and I would be attending a Leadership Conference together with the rest of our co-workers in Alabama.  Friday before the conference, I noticed my neighbors were gearing up for a Halloween party, but thought nothing of it.  Saturday morning on my way to work I saw this:
I will let you draw your own conclusions on how this happened in my driveway.

The Leadership Conference in Alabama went well.  It took me back to my NCCC days, but in a less extreme training sessions kind of way.  We had 1-3 classes everyday, but plenty of free time.  It was held at a Baptist Conference center, so there was plenty to do.  There was a lake for pedal boats, mini golf, volleyball, paintball, a ropes course, and hiking trails.  While I avoided most of the assigned activities, Chris and I did spend some time at the lake and hike a little.  I saw a couple of people that I did NCCC with at the conference, so that was a cool surprise for sure.  When we got back from the conference, we had one day of work and then I headed to Charlotte for mine and Chris's anniversary.

Chris and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary over Halloween weekend.  He took me to dinner at an Italian restaurant and then for a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway the next day.  It was simple and perfect.  We exchanged home made gifts this year, nothing too big since this was our first.  I made him a storybook scrapbook of the past year, so every month got a page of pictures and a page of memories about that specific time.  He says he likes it, but it is something we can both look back on and enjoy.  Chris made me this wonderful card, which I absolutely love!  I couldn't have asked for a better gift. 

This entry brings us pretty up to date, so for my next one I will catch y'all up on the progress of the house I have been working on primarily and other festivities of November!