The Great Pumpkin...

So we (well, mostly I) carved our one Halloween pumpkin for the year! We got together with some friends...Megan and Brett also live in our complex...Brett and Brett are D1's!
I had Brett cut the top part out, then he parked in front of the TV to watch the Buckeyes beat Penn State, and also watch the Red Sox vs Rockies.
Candice and Mike live just around the corner too....also another dental couple from Utah!
Yikes...i'm not sure what's going on here!
Showing off the finished products!There she is...in all her glory! STARS AND BATS FOREVER!

Sleeping Beauty....

The last couple of days i've found Brett catching some ZZzzzzs on the couch! He's been having some long days at school...i think they're getting to him! These were taken on Friday and Saturday. I feel bad because both times i think he'd just barely gotten to sleep and i've had to wake him up to go somewhere... He was already in a deep enough sleep though that he didn't mind the flash from the camera!

What a Sleeping Beauty! (notice the tv remote in hand both times)!

FINALLY....some familiar faces!

Brett's parents were able to finish off the last leg of their trip through the Great Lakes States with a weekend in Columbus with us! We were so excited to see them! They were on a week vacation with Uncle Mike and Aunt Kristie from Washington visiting random cool places in each state (i'm sure you can check the anderton homestead link for the update on the trip)! On Friday night we went out for steaks...Brett's choice of course!

Saturday we were able to take ma and pa to their first Ohio State Football experience! We actually went to our first game the previous weekend, but saved the post for now!This was the Buckeyes first game since they took over the #1 spot! GO BUCKS! You can't really go to a game without full gear...including lucky Buckeye necklaces!



We have to park quite a ways away from the stadium...luckily we can take a shuttle to get a little closer. It parks us just on the other side of the Olentangy River. It's not too bad of a walk from there! The stadium is GINORMOUS! It's called the "Shoe" because it's shaped like a horseshoe.




We got there plenty early... and took the elevator to the top (which is pretty dang close to where we sit)! This is the view as the elevator doors open! Pretty sweet!

It's pretty amazing to see all the fans/crazies flood in....LOTS OF SCARLET (aka red for those living outside of Ohio)!
One of the highlights of the game is the beginning. "The Best Damn Band in the Land" performs.
The are known for the "Script Ohio" where they spell it out in cursive while marching and playing. I must admit it's pretty impressive! The crowd goes nuts when a tuba player comes from the script to dot the "i".
Then the band presents the team just before game time...again, the crowd goes nuts! We had a good time, but i was a little bugged by the 2 wasted fellas behind us. They sounded pretty uneducated with their choice of words throughout the game. The more intense the game got...the worse their language got. At one point i wondered if it could really get any worse and some how it managed to. Poor guys. It's definitely not the sheltered life we're used to in Utah. You would NEVER hear language like that at a BYU game...probably not even a Utah game! Oh well, we had fun anyway!
A shot of the bridge over the Olentangy River. The river runs right through campus.
A quick shot in front of the house just before church! We had beautiful weather the whole weekend! It's been so nice here...it really is just starting to feel like Fall.Our church parking is also the temple parking lot! We feel really grateful to have a temple so close...it's about as close to us as the Ogden Temple was while we were there. Not too common for outside of Utah, so we are excited about that!After church, Brett took us on a tour of the dental school. Here he's pointing to himself in the class picture. I'm not sure why, but everyone here is obsessed with spelling OHIO!! ha ha ha! When i say O-H.....you say I-O! O-H---I-O!!!We wandered around the stadium north side since we didn't see that on saturday. It's huge!Brett mapped out a scenic route on the way back to our house. It included a scenic tour down Riverside Drive which is a road that runs along the Scioto River. There are so many trees it's hard to see the river through them. They are all beginning to change colors (a little late due to the abnormally warm temps) so it was really pretty. We made a quick stop at a park to take pics on this funny rock formation!
I had heard of this weird corn field in Dublin and had previously told Brett about it...he had secretly googled the site and this was the last stop on our outing...Brett kept telling us he had a surprise for us on our way home. I laughed my guts out as we pulled up and i saw the statues of corn!!! Apparently Ohio used to be the #1 corn producers in the US. And some man Mr. Frantz from this area (this is actually on his old farm plot) made some hybrid corn seed that is widely used today. So, i guess this is a tribute to corn! And this is us....being "Children of the Corn." ha ha Good surprise Brett! Mom and Dad...we wish we could have had more time with you guys, but were very excited to see you and can't wait till Christmas when we are back "home" with you in Utah!

Card Club #2...

So here are some pics from last week....most of you won't be interested, but Mindy (my cousin) asked for some pics for ideas! Mine is the first one.

Night Out

I'm a little behind, but these pics are from the night of Priesthood session...a few of us got together for some yummy food at the Macaroni Grill! MMMMMM!Candice, Taylee & Megan
Boston, Amanda, Tate & Me! It was nice to have a night out!

I Feel at Home When....

Last week we were looking for a bigger backpack for brett and decided to go into a store that was somewhat similar to a Sportsman's Warehouse, but not nearly as big. I was like...."Brett, i feel like i'm back home!" We both laughed...being surrounded by the smell of hunting and fishing gear along with a warehouse completely furnished with everything imaginable in the fashionable colors of CAMOUFLAGE made me feel like i was in my mom's house again. (Each one of the boys' rooms has camo bedding, pictures of big-game on the walls and usually a few weapons ready to go out at any given time somewhere close by) I think i even secretly hoped i would run into one of my four rowdy brothers there....OH WAIT, that would be at Cabela's! I can't wait...My mom and the boys are all coming out to visit for a long weekend in November!!! Brett might be looking for another place to stay while they're here...sometimes it's hard to handle them all at once! ha ha ha

The other time i felt at home was when i searched out the nearest Costco!! I know, it sounds silly but when we were in utah i think i made at least one trip/week to costco, sometimes even two! When we moved we heard that the costco was quite a ways away from our house, but there was a Sam's Club about 5 minutes from here. So, we joined Sam's......BOOOOOO! I didn't love it! Well, i guess you just get used to buying certain things! I found out that costco is about a 7 minute drive from my work, (so about 35 minutes from home) so i went there and probably spent over an hour just wandering....it's easy to do! I was so pleased to be there! I came home with a big load...money well spent! And our freezer is full! YEAH! I love COSTCO!

I sure do miss the leaves...Brett and i had to speak in church today and i brought up the beautiful fall leaves in my talk...i was going to mention how awesome the utah leaves are on the mountains during this time of year, but i was already choked up and that might have just pushed me right over the edge! ha ha ha We are finally starting to feel the effects of fall here, but it wasn't till just last week. Till then it had been sunny and between 80-90 degrees. Apparently that's not normal for this time of year here, but you know me and hot weather...i wasn't complaining! You poor folk in Utah are gettin 30's and snow, eh?! We dropped about 30 degrees and now it feels like fall. I think the leaves coloring will be pretty short-lived here this year.

I had card club last week...stay tuned for pics...i need to download still.

Inniswood Metro Gardens

There are 14 different metro parks around the Columbus area....they are basically natural area parks that conserve land and water, but are also for everyone's enjoyment. We hit up our first park last weekend. INNISWOOD METRO GARDENS is on 122 acres of land. It was a really quiet, relaxing park. Some artist designed all these huge bugs and they are scattered throughout the park with little posters of factoids next to them!I really enjoyed the scenery...flowers, trees, and especially the herb garden....tons of different plants to smell up the air!There's a walking path through the whole park...this part went back through a grove and for just a minute i felt like i was in the mountains! (minus some pine trees)!!Gettin a little friendly with the giant ant! I look like a character from "Honey I Shrunk The Kids!"
Umm, Brett, i think you're a little big to play in the kids section!This was some weird part in the "sister's garden...you walk through these brick structures with sayings on the walls as the mist machine fills the air...a little creepy to me. A little like a weird scene from a scary movie...i mean, look at Brett's silhouette peeking through that wall!
This was a story maze, each square had a section of the story on it... i got a little nauseated reading the ground while walking in circles!We actually got to the park at about 8 am....yeah a little unheard of for a saturday morning around here! The air was crisp and cool, but it was beautiful out!A little cheesy but Brett had to poke fun of the fact that i HATE spiders!

NEXT STOP...."BODIES" This exhibit is at an area on the east side of town called EASTON (original, eh?!). It's kinda like Gateway in Salt Lake but 10 times bigger with much better stores and restaurants! (A perfect place for a days' outing with the girls!) I wish i could have taken some pics here, but no cameras allowed. Bodies is a "phenomenal look at the phenomenon we call the body." I felt like i was taking anatomy all over again...except the cadavers didn't smell! It's an exhibit you walk through at your own pace. Each room is a different system of the body. There are 1 or 2 full size cadavers in each section, plus the organs seperate with descriptions of what each does. It was really neat to take a step back and remember what a magnificent creation the human body is. I really enjoyed our time there. *There is a Bodies Exhibit in Vegas also (along with many other locations) so if you're close, you should check it out!

It was only about 11am when we finished and i was really hoping for some stuffed french toast from IHOP, but there were none to be seen. We settled for a classic experience at the local "WAFFLE HOUSE" instead! As we pull up we notice a big sign directing semis and RV's to park around back---classic already! We walk in and get a loud "HELLO" greeting from the staff. We must have looked stunned...or confused because a couple of the waitresses then told us we could sit wherever we wanted. As you walk in the "kitchen" is directly in front of you. The waitresses all stand in front of the kitchen. Then there's 3 foot wall that separates the tables from the staff. They take your order from the other side of the wall, then proceed to call out your order from where they're standing---VERY LOUDLY to the cooks with their Ohio-an accents!
Since everything was reminding me of movies today...i would picture this place as the hole in the wall cafe in "Dumb & Dumber" where C-Bass and the fellas are frequent diners. You know the classic line..."EXCUSE ME, FLO...?" That kept going through my head the entire time we were there! One of the waitresses names was Candie...she was a real treat! She was missing her bottom teeth EXCEPT for her canines...which were very noticeable as she yelled to the cooks! Lots of yellling going on there! I had a waffle and hashbrowns...not too shabby! They get the food out really quickly...the just hand it over the wall to you! Brett had some HUGE biker fella sitting behind him! He had to have been 3x Brett's size with gray hair the length of his back. It was in a pony tail with about 5 other elastics all the way down his mane each about 3 inches apart from the next....you know how your mom used to do your hair in 1st grade? Anyway, i think he was a regular there because he was asking the waitress how her kids were....actually i'm sure more than 1/2 of the people there were regulars for a saturday morning...i'm sure we looked a little out of place!

The great thing about the WAFFLE HOUSE was the 10% discount on your meal if you eat on Saturday mornings and you are wearing your OSU Buckeye gear! Luckily, brett was sporting his scarlet tshirt and we received the discount! We both laughed as we walked out...what a place! One that all Ohio-ans must experience at least once....heck, i'm sure we'll be back soon!