Whirlwind

Guys. I know it's been a while since our last update, but things have been B-U-S-Y! Which means I have lots to fill you in about. Fasten your seat belts.

Part One: Homecoming

If you didn't know, Mizzou invented the Homecoming tradition way back in 1911. Mizzou did it first, and Mizzou does it best. But don't take my word for it. Read more about it here. Even the TV show NCIS knows Homecoming started at MU.

What you may not know is that Mizzou Alumni Association (aka my employer) organizes the Homecoming celebration each year. Which means that yours truly gets to work it. It's a lot of extra hours, but it really is worth it when you see all those Mizzou alums come home and reconnect with campus. Totes fun. Except the 7:00am parade. That part sucks.

Casa de Anderson hosted several guests this Homecoming. My friend Nicole and her friend Lauren flew in from NYC to enjoy the festivities. They ended up staying a little longer than expected, but more on that in a minute. Our old pal Bryan Quick (Terrence, too) also came in from Colorado to partake in the fun.

Shannon, Nicole, Lauren, me, and Megan hanging at Quinton's.

Brent, Quick (Terrence), Alex, and Josh. Apparently they weren't having fun...except Josh.

So Homecoming went off without a hitch, and all of our guests were supposed to return to their respective homes on Sunday. Or so we thought. So we move on to part two...

Part Two: Hurricane Sandy

As I mentioned above, Nicole and Lauren live in NYC and as you may have heard the east coast (New York in particular) was hit with some unusual weather recently. Like a huge hurricane named Sandy.

So Nicole and Lauren got to extend their vacation in CoMo for a few more days. Which meant that they were able to partake in other fun things, like a Mizzou basketball game and...

Part Three: Halloween

Friends Stef and Jordan talked for weeks about how they wanted to throw a Halloween party at Casa de Anderson since we are the most likely to have trick-or-treat-ers. And since we like friends and candy, we obliged.

There was a debate as to whether call the gathering The 1st Annual Anderson Spooktacular or Hefferween. What's your vote for?

There were some excellent costumes, but the most popular costume at this party was Alex. Both Jordan and Brent dressed as him, complete with bald cap and golfing accessories.

They even have his goofy smile down...

Josh and Shannon also came through with a clutch costume based on the hilarious website Awkward Family Photos.

Josh was a big fan of the red turtleneck. 

Alex Gray's squirrel mask was also a big hit.

Sorry about my incessant giggling. I couldn't help it.

Halloween was a success and the hurricane house guests finally made it back to NYC on Friday morning. They ended up staying with us for more than a week and the house felt weirdly empty once they were gone. Nicole and Lauren...COME BACK!

Part Four: An Engagement!

The other Stefanie and Alex finally got engaged! We are SOOOOOOOO excited for them. (And I can't wait for Stef to start planning, since she was such a huge help as MOH for my wedding.) Woot!

Stef and Alex 2.0

Part Five: Decision 25

Josh's 25th birthday fell on Election Day this year, so Shannon hosted a birthday/election shindig and coined it Decision 25. It was fun watching the results with friends, but the real fun was seeing all of Josh's presents.

He got a lot of cheese.

Back-story on the cheese. Josh gave Shannon cheese for her birthday, so it was only fair that she (and a few others) return the favor.

Part Six: Mizzou Beats Tennessee

This past weekend Alex and I traveled to Knoxville to watch Mizzou beat Tennessee in 4 overtimes! It was a really great trip. We won, Knoxville is awesome, and we got to see our friends Jeff and Dusty. 

Victory is ours!

I think we had to listen to Rocky Top 23 times, but it was worth it to go home with the W!

Told you we've been busy!