October Already?

Okay, how is it possible that tomorrow is October 1st? Wow! This year is flying by...I do not know where it has gone!



October to January is my most favorite time of the year, so I am stoked that tomorrow marks October!



And how are we already 7 weeks into the school year? It's flying by as well! I already feel like my little kindergartners are so much bigger than they were 7 weeks ago. I know, I sound ridiculous!

Why Yes, I love Fall!

I am so happy that Fall is officially here. Someone just needs to let Riverside know because today it was 107 lovely degrees. Not okay with me.

I have tried to make our apartment "Fallish."My mom has always decorated for holidays and seasons and has definitely passed that love on to me. The other day I told Tyler that I can't wait to build up my Fall and Christmas decoration stash like my mom's. His eyes got huge....I think he saw dollar signs everywhere!! ;) My goal is to buy a few things every year to build up my collection. I got a good start with both Fall and Christmas last year and I am already trying to add to it this year.

I have Fall scented candles scattered throughout our home and it sure smells wonderful! :) My mom had a few Fall goodies for me last weekend when we went to visit! She got me some yummy smelling candles and a cute candle holder. Love it!

I am proud of my $2.50 snag from Target! Isn't it cute?!


I love my table decorations. I found the wheat bundle and pumpkins at Sprouts. Love that store. I picked up some ribbon, spiced up my plaque and candle holders and voila!


This morning Tyler and I had apple-cinnamon waffles and it felt like fall....minus the fact that the air conditioner was on.:)

In a few weeks we are going to Oak Glen with our friends the Richey's to go apple picking. I can't wait! Bring on the homemade apple crisp!

I can't wait to bake my first loaf of pumpkin bread. Yumm.

Last year Tyler and I carved our first pumpkins together and started a tradition we will carry on forever. :) I am excited to pick out our pumpkins and carve them this year!

Yay for Fall!!!

It's So Nice To Be With Family...

Tyler and I are in Redding visiting my family and it's so very nice to be with them. It had been almost 4 months since we last saw them in Las Vegas and I couldn't take it anymore; I needed to come see them! It's so nice to be in Redding. I was telling Tyler yesterday how my feelings about Redding have really changed. For my entire life Redding was my home. When I first moved to Riverside, I still felt my home was in Redding. For the longest time, I would come to Redding and feel like my heart was still here. After almost 2 years in Riverside (whoa! time flies!), I really do feel like Riverside is now my home. Our little cozy apartment in my home. I have finally embraced Southern California and all it has to offer. Yet, it's still SO wonderful to come to Redding, see my family, and enjoy the slower-pace of life for a few days. It's the strangest feeling to drive from one side of town to another in ONLY 10 minutes in Redding! It's amazing to not sit in traffic! It's hard to get used to there only being 2 lanes on the freeways here, versus 4 in So-Cal. Here are some highlights from our trip so far. We are still here until Monday, but have had so much fun already. Sorry I don't have pictures...I left my camera at home!

-The cooler weather in Redding (ahhhh, I miss living in a town that actually has seasons!)
-Dinner at Logans (I have missed those rolls!)
-Tri-tip dinner on my parents' beautiful patio
-Sleeping in:)
-Having extra help for my kindergarten prep work! (Thanks family!)
-The beautiful Fall decorations in my parents' home:) I love Fall:)
-Bubble baths in my mom's huge tub:)
-Manhattan Bagel
-My mom and dad spoiling us with gifts:) They spoil us so much when we come to visit!
-Getting our car serviced for a much cheaper price than in Riverside!
-Long talks with my mom and dad. Oh how I miss them...
-Getting to see Summer! We laughed so much! I miss that girl!:)


We have more fun things planned for tomorrow! We get to see the Berg family and Brianne!! Yay!!

Phoenix!

I only snapped a couple of pictures while we are in Phoenix and here they are! Yes, Tyler and I are wearing matching retreat shirts. We took these pics at a scenic point on our drive back from Prescott to Phoenix. I really should have taken more, but we were so busy I wasn't even thinking of taking pictures. Tyler did an AWESOME job. I really believe God spoke through him at the retreat. It was awesome to hang out with young people who really want to live their lives for Christ. I got to lead a small group discussion with the girls and I was so blessed by my time with them. It was a fun weekend! I am really happy I get to tag along on these trips with Tyler!


Let me just say......PHOENIX WAS HOT! Oh my....it was scorching!

A Day In My Life....

Today I let the kids use dry erase markers to practice writing on erasable sentence strips. I turn around for literally 5 seconds to get a drink of water and all of a sudden I hear....

"MRS. ELLIS!!! HE (student pointing to his table partner) IS PUTTING THE MARKER IN HIS GROSS PARTS!!!!!"


Yes, this is my new life as a teacher. There is never a dull moment!:)

And We're Off!

To Phoenix!

I am excited to hear my husband speak at another retreat. He has been working so hard and I am stoked that I get to go along and support him. Today we fly to Phoenix and then tomorrow we will drive 2 hours to Prescott....thankfully Prescott will be much cooler than Phoenix! It feels like this has been the summer of traveling for us and it's been really fun. I feel like every few weeks we have packed our bags and taken off to somewhere different. My mom reminded me last night to enjoy how easy it is to just pack and up go somewhere, because when we start a family it won't be so easy! :)

I hope you all have a fabulous Labor Day weekend!