Trunk-n-Treat 2007

Fall has arrived, and we did some festive things, like carve some jack-o-lanterns. Junior's is on the bottom step, Syndi's is on the second step, Stephen's is on the top step (and somewhat hidden), and Daddy's is the highest on the old milk jug.

[The picture above is animated, but it doesn't show on the main blog page. If you click on it and let it load for a minute, you will see the animated overlay of the candle-lit pumpkins below.]They look cool in the dark!
Stephen had fun painting his small pumpkin.
Syndi had fun carving her own - all by herself!
Jon had fun, too. Unfortunately Junior was obedience challenged that day (all day), and didn't get to carve pumpkins with the rest of us. He carved his the next night, but no picture was taken.
We did, however, all go on the front porch and take a picture with our pumpkins. Sylvia, the Grand Coordinator, didn't carve or paint, but choreographed and photographed everything.
Sunday night our kids got all dressed up in their costumes... ...and we went to Trunk-n-Treat in the PVN church parking lot.
We saw Elvis...
...and a Cereal Killer...
...and Stephen and Syndi got their photo taken with Tigger.
It was fun, with about 40 trunks open, and kids pouring in for a couple of hours.
And our kids came away with way too much candy, as always!

PVN 2007 Ladies Fall Retreat

The ladies of Pleasant Valley North Baptist Church attended another successful retreat. This was again held in Toccoa, Georgia. As you can see, 26 women (and one baby) attended, including the speaker, Debbie Wingenroth. (Julia is in the arms of the woman at the right end of the second row.)
Fall colors were beginning to show here in Georgia, and the ladies enjoyed their meals overlooking the lake.
The women enjoyed singing and Bible study at each session.
Breakfast with the morning mist rising off the lake.
The ladies also enjoyed hanging out, playing games, talking, and more!

The Rise of Michigan

OK, I must admit...I've watched a little bit of Michigan football. Yes, in spite of the atrocious losses to Appalachian State and Oregon. Who can resist Saturday Night Football on ABC when the Maize and Blue are playing?!

So I've been watching the re-emergence of the Wolverines, and now they sit at #19 on the AP poll. I see them rising over the next few weeks, as some top-ranked teams will face each other and leave one of them tumbling. So Michigan will fill the void, rising to probably #11 or #12 by week 13. And what, say ye, is Week 13? Well, the annual Michigan-Ohio State game, of course! Duh! Last year's game of two undefeated teams left Michigan out of the championship (though much of the nation felt there should be a Michigan-Ohio State rematch for the title). The graphic above shows some of the nation's top teams and how they've fared through week 8. My predictions for weeks 9-12 are shown, with Michigan rising. November 17th, 2007 should be another classic. With Mike Hart and Chad Henne having returned to make another run at the Big Ten Championship and a victory over the Buckeyes, they will certainly come to play.

And I, for one, don't expect to be disappointed!

For those of you who don't realize the significance of the Michigan-Ohio State battle, I just had to post this. An elementary school photo taken in Ohio, with the lone Michigan fan.

GO BLUE!

HAIL TO THE VICTORS!

Coosa Valley Fair 2007

We went to the Coosa Valley Fair for our fourth year in a row. They have plenty of things for kids to do (young kids and old kids, which is great for Jon!).
They have lots or rides.
And animals for people to feed. This is the animal tent. Syl is at the right with the kids.
We watched an animal show.
The kids were mesmerized by the unusual animals.
Afterwards they went to see the zebra...
...and feed the goats and ponies.
Then we hit the rides for small kids. Syndi and Stephen are in the lead in their car...
...and Junior is trying to catch them.
Then on the motorbikes, Junior took the lead...
...and Syndi and Stephen tried to catch him.
But in the antique cars, Syndi and Junior took the lead...
...and Daddy and Stephen tried to catch them.
The kids were always anxious for the next ride.
Eventually we meandered over to the bigger rides, where we took to the carousel.
So many booths lined the way, with bright colors and lots of prizes!
They scream "come play!"
But we know to stay away!
Syndi and Junior rode on a mini roller coaster .
And Stephen found a bouncer, which he absolutely loved! We had trouble getting him out.
Syndi and Stephen peaked at the toys they offered for prizes.
But Stephen found fun in just running across the mats!
Ah...lunch!
Now if that doesn't say indigestion to you,
I don't know what does!
Corn dogs were woofed down...
...so Syndi and Junior could play peek-a-boo with the vendors. Kids don't need the rides. They find fun anywhere!
Oh the fun!
StevieBoy and JuneBug shared a seat on the Bee ride.
Then Syndi and Junior rode the swings.
Syl put Stephen on the train. Meanwhile, Jon took Syndi and Junior to some bigger rides. Unfortunately, they couldn't ride much because everything was set up for two riders. So Jon brought Syndi back...
...and Syndi rode with Stephen on the roller coaster...
...while Jon and Junior smashed the snot out of other vehicles in the bumper car arena!
Okay, actually we avoided people unless it was inevitable.
Then we'd smash the snot out of them!

Syl brought Syndi and Stephen over (and Julia, who did wonderfully in her car seat in the stroller all afternoon). So Jon and Syndi did some smashing of their own. But Syndi took the wheel, and Daddy only got the accelerator.
After we rode our final ride, we had to get a funnel cake. Above you see everyone sharing the last of that mm-mmmm good powdered sugar.
Then we headed to the display area, where Syndi found her 2nd place brownie entry!
Sylvia found her 1st-place rolls!
And Jon found his 1st-place butternut squash.

It was a lot of fun, but exhausting for all of us. We headed home, and the kids slept well that night.