favorite season

     hello everyone! I know I am probably the biggest slacker in the blog world and I'm terribly sorry...I'm trying to get better, but its going to take some time. so cut me a little slack, please and thank you! as many of you know, autumn is my favorite season. the leaves changing color, the crisp air, and last but most definitely not least, thanksgiving! thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. wanna know why? okay..I guess I'll tell you.
     thanksgiving is filled with family, fellowship, and (most importantly) food! if you are lucky like I am and we were blessed with a family who knows how to cook, you totally understand where I'm coming from with this! we always have thanksgiving lunch/early dinner at my grandparents house (my dad's parents). grandma stilwell is the BOMB when it comes to cooking. oh my goodness. I could probably go on for days about her sweet potato casserole but I'll spare you...just thinking about it makes me hungry! she is one of the only people to get my to actually enjoy eating green beans too! and let me tell you, that is near impossible. ask my mom, I absolutely despise green beans but somehow I eat grandma stilwell's green bean casserole like nobody's business! one thing we always laugh about is how much food she cooks! you would think she is cooking for 20 people when in reality, there are 6 of us. we will be in the middle of eating and about 3 different buzzers will go off because more food is ready in the oven! anyway, this is just a little preview of why I love thanksgiving so much.
    after we have eaten ourselves silly at grandma and papaw's house on thursday, we pack our bags and head to good ole west virginia for the weekend! west virginia in itself is one of my favorite places but mix the mountains of wild, wonderful west virginia with thanksgiving...JACKPOT! my entire family on my mom's side get together and stay at a lodge for the weekend. there are about 100+ on an 'on' year. 'on' years are when everyone comes (and I mean everyone) and 'off' years are when some of the family is spending the holiday with the in-laws. this year is an on year and I couldn't be more excited! you are probably thinking, lots of little kids running around with chocolate drooling our of their mouths, how is that fun? ohh trust me, its hilarious! side story: I remember one specific time when my cousin adam was probably 5 or 6 (he is 14 now) and he came in the room with a plate full of MnM's. little man has chocolate allllll over his mouth and his entire face. let me remind you, it was probably around midnight at this point. you couldnt get mad at the poor kid because it was so stinkin funny!
     this year at the lodge will be a little different because I'm bringing someone special. I know it doesnt sound like that big of a deal but it totally is. my entire family will be there and last time I checked, meeting distant family is kind of a big deal. anyway, I'm bring my boyfriend Barrett! I have met the majority of his family and I'm excited for him to meet mine! I'm sure it will be a little overwhelming for him, but he is a pretty tough cookie. I think he can handle it ;)
     another thing I love about autumn is the weather! can you say jeans and a sweatshirt!? that honestly is the perfect weather. not too cold and not too hot. and you know what that means? football season! I grew up going to virginia tech football games and I love me some football! I have the best memories of watching football on sundays after church with my family. who is my favorite nfl team? well, I'm torn between the packers (daddys favorite) and the panthers (scotts favorite). but I think I'm gonna have to go with the packers because I have always been a daddy's girl :)
    leaves. that one word sums up my obsession with autumn. all the leaves on the trees are changing colors and everything is just so beautiful. I have a love for photography and I recently went down to the arboretum right off campus and took over 150 pictures...I posted just a handful of them on a page at the top of my blog! check them out if you love fall as much as I do and let me know what you think!

love yall :)