Other fun things we did in Virginia

Even though our trip was short, we tried to fit in as much as we could!

We always make a stop at Cafe Rio

Coop turned 27 weeks and Nana Starliper loved talking to him and feeling him kick

The Starliper men went to a Caps game and looked so cute in their matching jerseys

Thanksgiving 2014

   It was so nice being with family on Thanksgiving! Matt and I wanted to help with something so we decided we would make the rolls since I have a great recipe. We actually made them the night before so we just had to pop them in the oven on the big day. Everyone was impressed with them,so we were happy that they worked out so well! All the food was delicious and it was fun trying out some of the Starliper traditional food. It was a great day reflecting on the things that we are thankful for! We are most grateful that Cooper was able to be in my belly this year and enjoy all the yummy food!

                     

 

My plate (loved having grandma's mac and cheese)

 
Pecan Pie is probably my favorite Thanksgiving food!

Getting to Virginia

This year Matt and I got to travel for Thanksgiving. This was Matt's first Thanksgiving home in 8 years! It was a quick trip we left early on Wednesday morning and came back on Saturday night. We left our apartment at 3:30 in the morning to make sure we had enough time to get to the airport. There wasn't anyone on the roads so we thought it wasn't gonna be crazy at the airport,but we were so wrong!  The security line was the longest we had ever seen it before. There were a ton of news stations there and Matt and I got interviewed by one. Right before it happened I turned to Matt and said I hope they don't interview us,because I hadn't put any makeup on! Thankfully they just used our comments and not the actual video of us.

Once we made it though the line and onto the plane we thought all the craziness was behind us. This was definitely not the case! Matt and I were sitting in the last row of the plane when all of the sudden we hear squealing and this lady quickly walking toward us with what looked like a brown duffle bag that was overstuffed. It turned out to be a huge 40-50 pound pot bellied pig! According to the pig's owner it's medicine was making him sick aka loose bowels! The reason she was running down the aisle was he was going the bathroom everywhere! Her seat was right next to mine and the pig was huge so I was thinking the this pig is sitting next to me on this flight, and I'm pregnant so I really hope I don't get sick. It was the most bizarre situation. She tried to keep the pig at the seat but he wasn't obeying and she had to clean up the mess and she was crying. Finally the airline asked her to leave since the pig wasn't following the rules. Thankfully the flight attendants were able to get rid of most of the smell and the flight was only an hour. It was a bumpy flight because we were flying through a storm,so we were so excited once we landed!

Since we got in so early Matt's parents were still at work,so we decided to go see the new Hunger games movie! I was definitely feeling the lack of sleep during the movie so I was glad the movie was so  action packed so I could stay awake. After the movie we went home and waited for Matt's mom and went to lunch at Panda Express,which we hadn't had in over a year since Mass is lacking in food chains. We spent the rest of the day just chatting up and being together with family.

                         

Halloween 2014

 The night before Halloween, Matt carved our pumpkin. We did a little tribute to baby stars! Matt freehanded it and I'm so proud of how he did it and I loved that I didn't have to help out!

This Halloween I went on a field trip to the Amherst Cinema with my third graders. We learned about film making and how to write good stories. Later in the afternoon I handed out candy to the few trick or treaters we had. I think we had 12-15 when we only had 8 last year! When Matt got home from school we headed to Chipotle for $2 burritos. The line was out the door,but we didn't mind too much because it is fun to see all the different costumes!  We saw a lot of  animal ear headband costumes but we also saw some creative ones too. It was a fun night!

the water cycle and a strawberry

Fall in New England

Everyone should visit New England during the fall at least once in their lives. It is so beautiful and the colors are amazing! A few days ago Matt and I drove to a nearby location and took some pictures with the trees in all their glory.

Ward Halloween Party 2014

On Friday we had our ward's Halloween party! It was a great event. It started with a nice potluck dinner where we brought some yummy meatballs. Matt and I were in charge of a game so we did potions bowling. It was a success, especially among the teens. Matt got a workout setting up the pins that everyone was knocking down. I went as a strawberry and Matt went as a pineapple. Everyone knew what I was,but people thought Matt was corn or a mario character. It was an easy costume that involved a green poster board and some gold tape. There were other games like fishing, bean bag toss, a cake walk, a balloon room, and a haunted house. At the end of the party there was a trunk or treat where our car was the favorite! Matt hid under some blankets in the trunk of our car and stuck his hand in the candy bowl. When the kids came up I told them to reach in and grab a piece of candy. They were so surprised when a hand grabbed theirs! Even though the kids had been to our car before they still liked coming back,because they didn't know when Matt was going to attack! Now we only need to get our $3 chipotle burritos next Friday and it will be a perfect Halloween!

this is with the lights on so it wasn't as obvious with the kids

Mike's Maze

We live right next to a corn maze,so last weekend Matt and I and a couple of friends from our ward at church went. It was so fun! We missed out on going last year so I was excited that we made it this year. The maze was in the shape of a raven this year and we did a flashlight maze. Matt enjoyed hiding in the stalks and jumping out at us! None of us thought to grab a map at the start so we just wandered around for an hour wherever anyone wanted to go. Eventually we did find our way out and we enjoyed root beer floats and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies  with another couple and their sweet baby girl. It was a fun Friday!

Mikes maze

Adventures in dog sitting

My friend Angie has a puppy named Sunder. He is a party poodle. Angie lives in the same apartment complex as me,but she travels back to Utah for work every few months. She recently was gone for 2 long weeks and her husband works long hours selling solar panels for vivint. So when I could I would take Sunder for a walk and feed him. He is such a funny dog,so it was fun being able to spend some time with him to help out. Just look at his cute face!

Matt helps out too

such a handsome pup

he loves looking out the window

It's a BOY

Matt and I found out on October 9th that we were having a baby boy! I was so surprised, I was 100% convinced it was a girl! I started the day by getting the 4 strand flu vaccine since our baby will be born during flu season and I work around elementary kids everyday. At my ultrasound I was almost 20 weeks along. My favorite thing was seeing how big our baby was and how you can see how everything is developing inside his body. The technician pointed out the different heart vessels and parts of the brain and how the blood was flowing through the body. We could also see his spine and he even gave us a thumbs up! He is quite the mover! We didn't get a good profile picture of him,because he was moving everywhere. We did get two pictures to prove that he is definitely a boy so there's that.  His heart was beating at 146 beats per minute. Everything looked great and we love knowing what we are having! He already has some cute clothes waiting for him. His name at the moment is Cooper and we are still deciding his middle name. We sure love baby boy stars!

before the ultrasound

Matt wanted to do the cupcake reveal and they turned out perfectly 

jelly bean reveal 

Big E Fair year 2

One of the best things about living in western Mass is the Big E fair. Matt and I go for the food,so this pregnant lady was happy! We love the state houses, it's like visiting all of New England in one quick walk. Our favorite house this year was Maine's.  We went with our friends Lisa and Michael and it was such a good time! Next year we will have a little one to experience it with us.

Trying our first lobster roll from Mass House

One of the reasons we loved Maine's house- pulled pork parfait!

Baked beans, pulled pork and BBQ sauce

Zach's Mac and cheese with bacon

The legendary Big E cream puff

Piglets

baby chicks hatching 

Clydesdale Horses

Michael and Lisa

Maple cotton candy- my personal fav

Not pictured but consumed: funnel cake, fresh squeezed lemonaid,spicy dill pickle