Turkey Festival

Hello everyone!
I don't have a ton to say, but I haven't posted in awhile so I figured I probably should share something!
This weekend was Eldon's Turkey Festival! I don't really know what to compare it to because it wasn't like Fowlers Parish picnic or a craft show. It was a mix of both. Lots of fair food and vendors selling lots of goodies! There was a parade and lots of people!

As well as a few turkeys walking around. And you know I had to get a picture with one.

I ran into a handful of the students in my preschool class at the festival. Seeing how excited they were to see me outside of school makes the long days worth it.
After a long day at the festival, I was sunburnt and tired!
Sunday was a pretty relaxing day as well. I watched some Netflix, then Alyssa and I went to Walmart and checked out the Osage Beach Outlet Mall for a little bit. I got some goodies to decorate my room with at Walmart! It turned out really good and my room feels a lot more homey now! I love it!

Nothing too exciting! School is still going pretty well. The kids are behaving better and learning more everyday. It amazes me how much they know! Eldons homecoming is this week so all of the Americorps member's will be a part of the float which is School of Rock themed. I'm sure there will be pictures to come!
Aubrey :)

St. Louis

Hello again!
Another busy weekend here in Eldon!
Friday night we went to Eldon's high school football game. They played California. We left at half time because we got cold! It changed into fall quickly here in Missouri! When we left Eldon was up 10-6 but they ended up losing by about 15. We must have been their good luck charms!

On Saturday, Alyssa and I went to St. Louis for a music festival.

yes we are wearing fanny packs

 We left around 12:30 and arrived in St. Louis around 3. After taking a wrong turn, we stopped at Toms bar and grill for a bite to eat before heading to the music festival. We made it to Forrest Park (which is a lot like Central Park in NYC) for the concert around 4. The park is huge! And we didn't really know where the concert was at other then somewhere in the park. So we had to follow some people and our ears! We took a wrong turn and ended up having to cross a little pond to get back on track!

the pond we crossed

Before long, we had found it!

First we listened to Nate Reuss one of the singers from FUN who is solo now. Next we listened to Nico and Vinz and later Ludacris who suprised me and put on a really good show!
Finally we got to see Hozier which is the reason we went to the festival! All the other performers were just a bonus! He sounded so good live! It was a great show! It was an awesome night!

We ended up staying at a hotel in St. Louis because it was too late to drive the 2 1/2 hours back to Eldon. We woke up the next morning and headed out. But first, we stopped for breakfast at a FirstWatch which only serves breakfast and brunch. It was really good! I must say their pumpkin pancakes are great!

Then we headed towards the arch! We were going to get out and check it out but the traffic was crazy because of a football game and construction so we decided to head home!

It was another great weekend!
Aubrey :)

Weekend in Overland Park, Kansas

Hello again,
For Labor Day weekend, my roommate Alyssa and I went to Overland Park, Kansas to visit her family. Overland Park is about 30 minutes from Kansas City. The drive was about 2 1/2 hours. We left Eldon around 4:45. We arrived in Overland Park around 7 and went out for dinner. Apparently Kansas City is known for their BBQ so Alyssa said I had to have some. We decided on Joes Kansas City BBQ. We shared an order of  ribs and pulled pork. I must say both were phenomenal and I understand why Kansas City is famous for their BBQ!

Alyssa and our dinner!

After dinner, we headed to her house. Her mom was out of town for the weekend. but her dad and 2 pugs were home! Her dad was very nice and her dogs are sooooo cute!
The next morning we woke up and dropped Alyssa's car off for an oil change at 8, then we took her dogs to the dog park

Next we did a little bit of shopping. Overland Park reminds me a lot of Grand Rapids. The population is about 200,000. They have every shop you could ever want and more. Everywhere you looked there was another shopping plaza! We even went to Costco!

On our way back home we stopped at Sweet Carolines  candy shop to get some goodies. I got birthday cake fudge which was very good and some candy. Alyssa got fudge and chocolate covered peanut clusters. 

Then we went home and just hung out the rest of the night. Two of her friends from high school came over so we had a little fire and made some smores and just talked. They were really nice and it was a lot of fun! 

The next morning we were on the road again back to Eldon. We arrived at our apartment and there was a giant box from amazon on our lawn. We both looked at each other and asked whose it was because neither of us had ordered anything from Amazon. It was for me! Mom sent me a box of goodies from amazons Prime Pantry! It was so heavy! It was such a nice surprise to come home to! Thanks again mom if you are reading! :)

All in all a pretty relaxing weekend with nothing really exciting going on! I just made some banana muffins and put a tater tot casserole in the oven! I am making actual food!

Next weekend, Alyssa and I are heading to St. Louis for a music festival. I'm hoping to get a good view of the arch as well! I am sure there will be a blog post to follow that!

Other then that, there is not a whole lot to update. We have been in school for 3 weeks and I am liking it so far. The kids are pretty well behaved and the people I work with are very nice and helpful. The roommates are great as well. Living with Martha and Alyssa has made leaving home a lot easier. We all get along really well and that is really nice. 

Tomorrow we start LEAP which is Eldons afterschool program. So I will be at school from 7:15-5:45! Hopefully, I survive!

Hope you had a wonderful labor day weekend!

Aubrey :)