Bring it On!

Remember in my last post how I was all sad and mopey because I had just returned to Spain from home and I was missing everybody and everything?  Well, that feeling has nearly disappeared, thanks in part to the creation of my Madrid Six Month Bucket List! Now, of course I still miss my family and home, I’m not a savage. I’m just feeling a little more optimistic is all!  But I digress.

After careful consideration of my first 3 months in Spain (read: after a quick moment of panic and FOMO), I realized I hadn’t been taking advantage of my time here as well as I should have.  Enter Bucket List.  “Hello,” said the Bucket List, “I am here to motivate you to spend your time better while here in Spain.”

Okay, okay, so my bucket list didn’t actually talk.  But, it did motivate me to start using my time more wisely here, because I’m convinced that too much free time leads to the trap called Netflix.  So this week, I already managed to cross 5 things off!  And here they are:

Item 9: Go to the Templo de Debod

There is this beautiful temple in Madrid and I have had several recommendations to go, so I went with fellow auxiliar Selena and her adorable Husky, Perla!  Unfortunately, Perla was shunned from the Metro, so we had to walk a looooong time to get there and missed the sun setting over the temple.  Even though it was dark, the temple was all lit up and beautiful.  We then proceeded to consume all the calories we lost on our walk in the form of a milkshake from the Five Guys that just opened up here!  The chocolate/peanut butter combo was SO worth it.  So was the company and conversation :).

 

Item 11: Take a picture at Kilometer 0.

There is this marker in Sol called Kilometer 0 and is the point where Spain’s 6 national roads are measured from. I had walked by it so many times and had never actually gotten a picture!

Item 14: Go to J & J Books and Coffee.

On Friday, some friends and I went to this cute little bookstore/bar/cafe for Quiz Night!  We were on teams and had to answer questions in 4 categories: Name the Artist of the Painting, Name the Artist of the Song, Name the Country with This World Leader, and Finish the Pattern.  It. Was. So. Difficult.  Despite having trained for this by playing hours of Trivial Pursuit over break and challenging people to Quiz Up, I knew a total of 2 answers out of about 30.  Luckily, Sam and Minorka on my team were killin’ it with their knowledge, and we ended up getting about 11 correct.  Not too bad for amateurs!

Item 15: Go to San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

I had heard from multiple people that the monastery/royal palace in this little city was BEAUTIFUL, so I decided to take advantage of the virtually free transportation and its relatively close proximity and see it.   I met up with Nicole (my friend from Purdue) and her roommate and we explored.  And just like everyone said, it was beautiful!  It was great spending time with the girls and checking out a new area.  I’m really glad we went.

Delicious dessert typical of the area: bizcotelas!

Item 16: Eat tapas at El Tigre.

This was another thing I had wanted to do for awhile!  There’s this bar in Madrid called El Tigre where you can order a drink and get free tapas, and who wouldn’t love that?  So after school on Thursday, Selena, Mike (the other auxiliar), and I headed into the city to enjoy ourselves.  We went to both El Tigre and a similar bar called El Respiro. We got some beers and ate some delicious tapas (patatas bravas, ham on bread, chorizo, croquetas, etc.) and had good conversation.  It was a great time!

Idk why I can’t flip this pic…

In other news…

• Lauren and I bought a vacuum. His name is Carlito and we love him.
• I am now officially a regular at a restaurant!  There is this little Mexican restaurant in VdlC called Pura Vida where Lauren, her friend Katie, and I have frequented.  The last time we went, the server asked if I wanted any chipotle sauce because I always ask for it.  SHE REMEMBERED ME AND WHAT I LIKED! I was (oddly) excited about that; I’ve never been a regular before!
• I’ve been enjoying cooking for myself!  Two new recipes I’ve tried out lately are a sweet potato/chicken/asparagus one pan meal and a loaded potato soup! Delicious!

Random Corner:

Thankful for: The relatively warm weather we’ve been having here in Spain!
Enjoying: The many phone calls I’ve had with my mom since I’ve been back. 
Excited for: My grandparents and sister to come to Madrid in March!!!

IIIIII’ll Be Home for Christmas

Ahh, can’t you just hear Bing Crosby crooning  away now?  Well, I can…because that’s the song currently playing on Spotify…😉.

But you can’t imagine just how excited I am, because guess what?  According to the countdown app, it’s only 13 hours and 3 minutes until I board my flight back home for Christmas!!!  I’M SO PUMPED!!!  I can’t wait to hug my family, Yashas, my cats, sleep in my bed, use a clothes dryer, feel carpeting under my feet, eat mac ‘n cheese, and a whole assortment of other things that I’ve been missing oh so dearly the last 3 months.

But I barely had time to think about home this past week because of everything going on!

First, I have a new place of residence!  I’m now living with Lauren, one of the assistants at my school.  I moved into her apartment in Villanueva de la Cañada with her earlier this week, and it’s been great!  I’ve been enjoying living with her and I think we’re going to have a lot of fun the rest of our time here.

Second, our school had a Christmas program on Thursday, so we spent the week preparing for that!  Each grade performed a Christmas carol for the entire school/parents, and it was SO CUTE to watch all the kids in their Santa outfits and holiday hats singing and dancing.  I felt like a proud parent when I watched my 3rd and 4th graders perform!  Afterwards, all the teachers went out and had a couple drinks together.  I love my coworkers, and it was a good way to celebrate the end of a hectic week and the start of our vacation.

The assistants rockin’ it for Christmas

Third, it was one of the girl’s birthday that I tutor this week, so I was invited to her family birthday party!  I got to hang out, eat snacks, and meet so many family members, with whom I got to practice my Spanish.  It was really nice of them to invite me! The dad even said I was like family, which made my heart grow 3x its size, just like the Grinch’s.  I really love working with that family and feel very fortunate to know them.

Fourth, Lauren, her friend Katie, and Clara (who lives in VdlC) went out in Villanueva de la Cañada last weekend.  We assumed it would be pretty cool, considering there is a university in town and college students like to go out, but we were pretty disappointed.  The music was pretty bad and everyone looked like they were 16 years old, but we still had a good time together.

Okay, that’s all for now!  I gotta go finish packing for home!  Next stop: THE USA!!! ✈️

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones! 🎄 Enjoy your time with family and friends this holiday season!

Solo Trip 2: Granada.

SOLO TRIP ROUND TWO!!!  *Cue the alarms and flashing lights.*

That’s right! My second solo trip is under my belt, and I couldn’t be happier.  This weekend was absolutely phenomenal, so if you don’t mind me gushing about the wonders of Granada and why you should visit, please read on.

Saturday
I woke up early to catch the bus into Madrid (1 hour) to take the metro to the bus station (30 minutes) to take another bus to Granada (5 hours).  Except the first leg of the journey took way longer than usual, which meant I barely made the Granada bus on time.  As in, I ran through the bus station and was the last person on the bus before we left. I had about a minute to spare, but thank goodness I made it.  So after the long journey, I walked about 40 minutes to my hostel which is in the Albayzín district of Granada.  The winding streets were beautiful (and confusing), and there were these neat little shops all around.  I spent a good amount of time wandering into these shops and checking out the wares that evening, but I also went to the Mirador de San Nicolas that night.  This little plaza has the best view of the outside of the Alhambra, and seeing it lit up at night was amazing.  Too bad my pictures didn’t turn out so well, but oh well!  I ended my first night with some delicious vegetable cous cous and a glass of wine at a restaurant near my hostel.  As much as I love traveling alone, I’m still trying to get used to the eating alone part!

3rd floor terrace of my hostel

 

The streets of the Albayzín

 

Cous cous

Sunday
On Sunday I slept in as best as I could (hostals are not the quietest places in the world), but then headed to Carmen de los Mártires, aka beautiful gardens nearby the Alhambra.  I mean wow.  Wandering through the different areas of these gardens was so peaceful and the views of the city were breathtaking.  I was so thankful for the fact that it was December and the fall colors on the trees were so well-preserved!  And even better?  I got to see wild peacocks and peahens roaming around!  They were absolutely gorgeous and they let me get pretty close to them without running/flying away.  I was so happy there!

After the gardens, I made my way back to the Mirador to get some pictures of the Alhambra during the day since my night pics were a little meh.  There was a little cafe/bar nearby too, with an outside terrace looking out over the Alhambra, so I treated myself to a nice glass of sangria and enjoyed the view.

In the afternoon, the hostel had a free walking tour, so I joined in on that.  We went to so many places!  We admired the street art by El Niño de las Pinturas, strolled through the gardens for a bit, walked up a ton of hills, and even went to Sacromonte, an area in Granada where people live in caves!  We got to go inside of one of the caves and have a drink there, and we also got to see the outside of some of the “squatter caves.”  We learned that it’s really cheap to live in the caves, especially because there’s no need for air conditioning or heat-it’s all natural!

Along the way, I got to know some cool people, including a guy from the US teaching English in Toledo and 3 girls from Australia who are backpacking in Europe.  So that night we all went to a tapas bar called Poe and enjoyed Granada’s tapa culture!  Granada is famous for having bars in which you can order a drink and get a free tapa, so we indulged. It was muy rico.

La Alhambra – view from the Mirador de San Nicolas

 

View from the city after our walking tour

 

Tapas at Poe

Monday
I tried so hard to be a good hostel roommate, and in doing so, I effed myself over.  Long story short, I tried to keep my phone near me Sunday night so my early Monday alarm wouldn’t wake everyone up (it takes awhile to get down off a bunk bed to shut an alarm off, especially if your name is Kasey).  However, because of this, my phone didn’t charge correctly and I therefore had no phone to take photos of the Alhambra.  Cue the tears and the mild panic.  I was distraught, until I remembered I had my GoPro to take pictures!  Problem solved!

So I set out early in the morning with my tourist map in hand (no phone=no Google Maps) and made my way to the ticket office to pick up my ticket for the Alhambra, the famous fortress/palace in Granada.

As soon as I stepped foot inside the grounds, my life changed.

I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life.  The intricate details and designs of the Nasrid Palaces were incredible.  The Alcazaba, the fortress part, was very impressive and had magnificent views.  I fell in love with the beauty of the Partal and the Generalife gardens.  The grandeur of it all was breathtaking, and I was captivated.  I truly hope that everyone I know will someday get the chance to visit…just make sure to buy your tickets in advance or you’ll have to wait in line at 6:00 am!

After spending a few hours at the Alhambra and eating a snack in the courtyard where there were a bunch of cats running around, I headed back to the hostel to charge my phone and prepare for my visit to Hammam Al Andalus, an Arab bathhouse.  These bathhouses were important to Muslims because to them, water is the symbol of purity.  Plus, these bathhouses provided the opportunity for socialization.  However, many were destroyed by Christians because they were seen as inappropriate.  This hammam is one of the first to be reopened after it closed in the 16th century.  It was a very interesting experience, but after a long day of walking around, I wanted to treat myself!  Here’s how it went down:

Upon entering and checking in, I was given little booties to cover my shoes.  I was shown to a changing room where I put on my bathing suit and put my things in a locker.  Then I entered the rooms with the baths.  There were 4 baths from what I can remember, each in different sectioned off areas.  One was very small and was the cold bath.  There was a long bath that was shallow and hot, as well as a smaller, deeper hot bath.  Then there was a very large and deep warm bath.  You’re supposed to go between these baths and sit and relax and enjoy yourself, which I had a little bit of a hard time doing, simply because I had no idea what the heck I was doing.  I tried to take my cue from everyone around me, but seeing as several of these people were couples who decided to engage in PDA, I just decided to do my own thing instead.  I went between the baths at my leisure, particularly enjoying the hot baths and spending minimal time in the cold bath because let’s be real, I’m not trying to pretend I had been on the Titanic and swimming around in freezing cold water.  I even tried the steam room but lasted a solid 45 seconds before I thought I couldn’t breathe anymore and made my escape.

After awhile, it was pretty relaxing.  The lights were all dimmed, there were candles everywhere, and soft music was playing.  Plus the bathhouse itself was beautiful architecturally.  But then, the main event: the massage!  I splurged for the 30 minute one (treat yoself) and ohmygosh it was so relaxing.  I was so content and happy and I really didn’t want to leave after that.  But alas, all good things come to an end.

That night, several people from the hostel went on a tapas tour and we ate some more delicious food and enjoyed each other’s company.

More tapas

Tuesday
I slept in a little on this day and then headed to the Granada cathedral and took a tour of that.  It was incredibly large and elaborate and beautiful.  I also wandered the streets a little before it was time to head back to the bus station.

Just like last time, I’m very happy with the way this solo trip turned out.

Another piece of news: the teachers and auxiliares at my school all went to this fancy dinner at a restaurant called La Partida in Villanueva de la Cañada last Friday and it was delicious!  I feel very fortunate to work with such amazing people.

My coworkers! Thanks for sharing the photo, Anahí!

And now?  Now I’m gearing up for my trip to Milan, Italy with Minorka and Carolina!  Stay tuned!

Little Update (Mostly About Food).

Hello!  I figured I’d write a short little update now because I’ve got some big trips coming up and I’m sure I’ll want to write long-winded posts about them, so here goes!

Thanksgiving
Fun fact: Spain schools go harder for Thanksgiving than schools in the United States.  I guess in general, Spain schools just love celebrating holidays.

Last week was Thanksgiving, so of course we had to celebrate!  In third grade, we spent all week making pilgrims and the Mayflower and such.  In fourth grade, I got to lead a thankfulness activity and a silly Thanksgiving Would You Rather game. It was a lot of fun!

Anahí and I dressing up like Koo Koo Kangaroo to do a Thanksgiving dance!

Another way I celebrated Thanksgiving?  By getting together with Minorka, Caro, and Sam to eat pizza and apple pie and pumpkin bread.  It was no turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, or pumpkin pie, but hey, it was delicious food with great company.  We made the best with what we had!

Shopping Disaster
We also indulged in a little Black Friday shopping (on Saturday) and ate some delicious tacos for 1 euro each at a little place called Takos.  Amazing.  But funny story about this day: we are walking through the streets of Madrid in the pouring rain with our paper shopping bags when one of my bags completely separates from the handles and spews the contents all over the ground.  Laughing, I pick everything up and carry the bag by the bottom when my other bag begins ripping.  Caro has to shove some of my stuff into her bag, and Minorka tries to prevent anything from happening to her bags by holding them from the bottom.  But lo and behold, her bag splits too, and basically at one point all of our stuff is all over the ground and we are trying to gather it up and we are soaking wet and can’t help but laugh despite how frustrated, wet, and cold we are.  I tell you, it was quite hilarious.

Other Things

Corn: Since I hail from the Midwest, I feel like I am sort of an expert on corn on the cob. I’m pretty convinced I’ve tasted the best sweet corn in the world.  Hello, we have a Sweet Corn Festival in Normal… But Selena set out to prove me wrong.  She took us to this street stand where they roast corn on the cob and slather it with this red sauce called mojo picón.  Oh. My. Goodness.  That sauce on that corn was amazing.  I will definitely be going back.

Dinner with a Friend: The other day, a girl I met while traveling in Porto named Hind told me she would be in Madrid and asked to meet up.  She’s from Morocco and is studying in Portugal; how cool?!  We went to this amazing Thai restaurant and spent some time talking.  She is such a cool person and I’m really glad we got to spend some time together!

Going Home: According to my countdown app: 22 days and 11 hours until I board my flight to come home for Christmas.  My excitement is more intense than that house in Normal that overdecorates for Christmas with weird Santa statues.

Speaking of Christmas…it’s Christmas in Madrid!

Month Two: Check.

Well, well, well…it appears I’ve been in this amazing country for a little over two months now, which is crazy.  Time has been flying, and it feels like I’ve been here for so much longer.  And as much as I love it here, I’ve been anxiously counting down to when I get to go home…a little over a month away!

But of course, to keep my mind off my excitement for that, here’s what I’ve been doing:

Segovia and La Granja
A couple weekends ago, I took a day trip to Segovia, Spain with Sam.  It was gorgeous!  Between the impressive architecture of the aqueduct and the splendor of the Alcázar, my eyes were in heaven from beauty overload.  You know, I love the US, but the architecture just doesn’t compare to that of Spain.  I could look at the buildings and the castles and the structures for forever.  Plus, we got to try cochinillo, aka roast suckling pig.  This is a typical dish of Segovia where they literally roast a whole pig and then cut it with a plate.  The group found it extremely entertaining to see who got which body parts.  I got a leg while some others got ribs or even part of the head with ears! We also went to La Granja and toured the gardens, which were gorgeous in the fall!

 

Cochinillo

Aqueduct

 

The Alcázar, aka inspiration for Snow White castle

The Segovia Cathedral

La Granja

Bodega Portia and Lerma
Another day trip in the books this past weekend with Selena!  First stop: Bodega Portia, a winery designed by Norman Foster.  WARNING: Prepare for more gushing about architecture.  This building was amazing!  It was built in the shape of a flower with 3 petals.  In each “petal,” a different stage of the wine making occurs.  Plus, tractors haul the grapes onto the roof of the building to pour grapes into the machines so gravity can do its work and less energy is used.  It was fantastic…and so was the wine we got to taste!  Of course, they tried to be classy and teach us about color and intensity and when to swirl it and whatnot, but let’s be real, I just wanted to drink it.

After the winery, we headed to Lerma, a little town about 30 minutes away from there.  Selena and I met a couple cool chicas and we all got lunch together to indulge on the typical dish of the area: lechazo, aka roast lamb!  It was so tender, juicy, and delicious.  With our bellies full, we proceeded to take a walking tour of the town. And while it was in Spanish, I found that it’s gotten a little easier to understand.  Of course, it helped that Selena translated!

MadrEat Food Truck Festival
So just when you thought I would stop telling you about the food I ate, I have one more food story.  This weekend I went to a food truck festival with Minorka and Carolina, and it was so delish.  Even though the rain was a bummer, it didn’t stop us from chowing down on arepas and hot dogs and quesadillas!  We were stuffed, but it was so worth it.  We finished the weekend by seeing Arrival, which was a phenomenal movie.

Arepas are bae

Some other thoughts…

The Election
So I’m not going to spend much time writing about this topic (as everyone has been inundated with too much election information lately), but I would like to make a comment about it.  I had sent in my absentee ballot back in early October, and after that, I’ll admit, it was pretty easy to forget about all things election since I was so physically far-removed from it all.  But then the election rolled around and the results were announced and I have to say, waking up to the news that I woke up to was devastating.  I truly couldn’t believe it and had difficulty keeping my emotions in check when I had to leave for school that morning.  Luckily, my co-teacher completely understood and let me take a break from doing calendar that morning so I could get myself together.  But the rest of the day, some of the other teachers made comments feeling sorry for me, and it made me realize what a crazy time it is to be a representative of the United States in another country these days.  The perception people from other countries have of Americans is not always positive, but I don’t think this election has helped it in any way.  I even read a status from someone I met in Porto who is from Morocco that said Trump’s winning of the election meant Americans are racist.  It just breaks my heart that I sometimes feel nervous or embarrassed to say where I’m from, simply because I don’t know how that will be perceived.  I’m trying to be the best representative I can be, though, despite it all.

And Some Comedic Relief…
The other day, my co-teacher, Anahí, and I were playing a vocabulary game with the 3rd graders.  We had them suggest words and phrases they knew/had studied to put in the bucket.  Then, she or I would pull out a word and give the students a clue to see if they could figure out the “mystery word.”  So the phase I pulled out was, “Going home.”  I gave the clue, “This is what you do when school is finished.”  Now one student shot his hand up and looked so eager to answer this question.  So we called on him, and you know what answer he gave?

57.

That’s right.  He literally said 57.  Anahí and I did everything we could to hold it together.  So again, we gave the clue and called on another student.  The new answer?

100.

Guys, you can’t make this stuff up.  This is my life as an English teacher.

Random Corner
Proud of: My BFF Chloe on her new job with Steve Madden in NYC!  Can’t believe it-you will do amazing things there, I know it!  Also, proud of Lush for nailing the full time position at DataCamp.  You’re pretty amazing, and I can’t wait to celebrate with you when I’m home!
Thanks to: Lauren’s mom and aunt for treating me to lunch the other day!  It was a pleasure meeting you.
Latest purchase (besides food): I finally bought myself some short black boots, considering I (sadly) retired the Chacos for the season.  Retail therapy is amazing, people.  Though, maybe not for the bank account.

Until next time!

The Other Post I Promised.

Hey again, everyone!  Just when you thought you wouldn’t have to read another post for awhile, I’m back at it to chronicle the events I skipped over in order to write this post.  Because the last one was so long, I’ll try to keep this one short and sweet.

Toledo
A couple weekends ago, I went on a day trip to Toledo, Spain through a program called City Life Madrid.  I was supposed to go with my friend Sam, but she was feeling pretty sick and couldn’t make it.  So of course I was freaking out about going by myself (remember, this is before I gained confidence traveling solo from Porto).  But there was no need to worry because I met 3 awesome chicas also on the trip and we had a great time!  We enjoyed the tour exploring the ancient streets and admiring the architecture.  It looked very medieval and has Christian, Muslim, and Jewish influences.  We even rode the zipline, which was super fun, and the views were amazing!

 

The views…

 

So. Freaking. Beautiful.

Tren de la Fresa & Aranjuez
The next adventure was going to Aranjuez on an old-fashioned train called the Tren de la Fresa!  Minorka and I enjoyed the ride by eating the strawberries (fresas) they gave us and then had a blast exploring the city of Aranjuez.  It. Was. Gorgeous.  We toured the royal gardens and even took a boat ride while sipping sangria.  The trees, fountains, flowers, and weather were all beautiful.  It was a lot of fun!

 

Tren de la Fresa!

Yummy!

 

Hiking
Am I an avid hiker, prepared with hiking boots, a walking stick, and a good understanding of trails?  Heck no.  So naturally, I decided to do a 16k hike with Minorka and her friend Carolina in Miraflores de la Sierra with a group  called Hiking Madrid.  It kicked our butts.  There were steep areas with rocks, streams we had to cross, and cow poop to maneuver.  But it was gorgeous!  It was a lot of fun and we had a lot of laughs at how out of shape we were compared to the other hikers.  The best part (besides the gorgeous views) was that we got peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, which I have been craving like nobody’s business.  Leave it to me to think the best part was the food…  We decided we really needed to get into hiking so we could have an excuse to buy legit hiking boots, because they’re pretty cheap here. 😉

 

The 3 Hikeskateers

 

 

Lol, had to take this pic because of the leaves!

Halloween
Ohhh man.  You would not believe how into Halloween the kids at my school are.  Well, I guess just the school in general!  The Friday before Halloween, the entire day was dedicated to Halloween activities.  I’m talking spooky games, activities, and even a “horror tunnel” where the teachers dressed up and scared the students!  All the kids had on their costumes and elaborate face makeup and were so excited all day!  It was really cute.  Plus, all the teachers dressed up as Ghostbusters characters, so I was the Stay Puft marshmallow monster!  It was really fun and cute, but also really exhausting, lol.

Making Pumpkin Bread
Okay, if you’ve been keeping up with the blog, you know how much I miss the Fall and all that comes with it.  My favorite Fall food is pumpkin bread, so I decided I had to make some.  I bought some canned pumpkin, measuring devices, and baking soda (they don’t bake with baking soda in Spain?) at the Taste of America store (hallelujah for that store) and had my mom send me her delicious recipe.  Well, I followed all the instructions as best as I could, but unfortunately…it did not turn out as expected.  I don’t know if the oven temperature conversion was wrong when I did it online, but those stupid loaves charred on top and were a gooey mess on the inside.  I was so upset and couldn’t help but tear up because I had been so excited for a taste of home.  However, determined to make the most of it, I cut off the top and managed to salvage the middle portion of the loaves.  I brought it in to school so my fellow auxiliares could try it (they had never had it and always made fun of me for how much I talked about it) and they loved it!  So even though it didn’t go as planned, it was still delicious.  Even my host mom liked it!

Hanging with the Auxiliares
Okay, I can’t write another post without mentioning the awesome coworkers I have (mostly because Lauren has been dying to be mentioned in the blog, lol).  Two of the ladies I’ve gotten closest with are Selena and Lauren.  Selena is from Puerto Rico and is super cool and chill.  She is a very “go with the flow” type person, which is the exact opposite of me, but we get along well.  Lauren is from England and she and I make fun of each other’s accents and differences in our English, which gets hilarious sometimes.  We’ve all hung out a few times outside of school, including going to Tapapiés, a food festival in the Lavapies area where the restaurants each have a tapa and you try to go to as many places as possible.  I really enjoy spending time with them (and complaining about school with them!).  I’m lucky to work with some cool people.

Some delicious tapas

 

In other news, this last weekend was my youngest host sister’s birthday (she turned 6), so my host mom threw her a Little Red Riding Hood birthday party, and it was so cute!  There were about 15 little girls dressed in red capes and hoods running around and the decorations were phenomenal.  It was really cool to be a part of!

Alright, so that post was a little longer than I anticipated, but you can’t expect much else from me.  I hope everyone has an amazing week and enjoys the last of the Fall weather before it gets too cold!