Out Of This World

Last Friday, my husband and I went to The Prom. Our church pulls out all the stops to make this a memorable evening for over 1,000 guests with special needs. The entire church campus was taken over for The Prom - there were decorations, games, music, food, entertainment ...something for everyone to enjoy, no matter what their disability.

Dinner was served to the guests and their escorts ....

Guests could play "Deal or No Deal" in the auditorium (very popular!)

There were carnival type games outdoors ...

Happy guest!!

Father and son - Bill and Jason - a very handsome duo!

The Chick-fil-A cows made an appearance, mingling with the guests as they arrived on the red carpet.

Another very happy guest!

A young couple having fun...

This guy was just .... happy!

An escort with her guest for the evening ...

More fun and games outside ....

Contestants lined up to play "Deal or No Deal"

Jason, intent on winning a game.

Concentrating on her toss ...

The adorable Emily, a happy volunteer ...

This young guy was a volunteer in the Whac A Mole game.

Beautiful Karen, another hard working volunteer ...

Ahh, and there's that cow again, hugging everyone ....

Lollipop game ...

Jugglers to entertain the crowd ...

Another cow picture. (Why so many cow pictures, you ask? Well, guess who is inside that cute girl cow costume. Yep. That's right. Me. Blistering hot, but having so much fun!)

Tired feet, the girls were taking off their fancy shoes by the end of the evening...

And a WONDERFUL time was had by all, guests and volunteers alike. Can't wait for next year!

Fall Fun

On a cool breezy Saturday afternoon, we went to Iron's Fruit Farm, where they grow and sell all kinds of fruit during the year .... and of course right now it's pumpkin and apple season.

And what is fall without some mums on the porch?

While we waited for Matt, Em, Tara and Viki to arrive we wandered around looking at the animals .... llamas, sheep, goats, rabbits, pigs .. I'm sure I'm missing a few ... I had no idea that peacocks did the "wing flapping" things like ducks do. Caught me by surprise!

Chris found an apple on the ground and Mr. Pig was glad to munch on it through the fence.

I didn't notice any geese but Chris said they were there. Evidently they bite.

Barn wall ...

Tire on an old farm truck ...

Wheel on an old cannon ... or whatever it would have been called...

We meet up!

All suited up and ready to hunt pumpkins!

We rode the haywagon out a very bumpy lane into the fields.

Tara was not overly impressed with her first ride on a haywagon.

Tromping through the fields, trying not to fall when the vines wrap around our ankles. Wishing I hadn't worn clogs ... should have worn my old gym shoes...

Freshly picked from the muddy field.

Victorious! Found the perfect pumpkin!

Everyone happy and feeling like they got THE best pumpkin in the field!

But this was REALLY the best pumpkin in the field on Saturday! She was sleepy but not grumpy and seemed to enjoy all the activity. Sweet baby!

Young and Old

This past weekend we kept pretty busy with this little girl ... 4 1/2 months old and such a real person now! She's strong, inquisitive, alert, observant ... and drools a lot ...

Her smiles melt my heart.

She can be very serious. Very.

She loves to swat at her toys - and talk to them.

She's full of sugar and spice and everything nice!

And now for the old part of the weekend. We drove downtown to find the Nina and the Pinta or whatever they're named ... docked at the riverfront for a week or so. We were too cheap to pay to go on board. Kind of evil, pirate-y looking boats, they were! So that was a short visit.

Then we found Rte. 50 West out of downtown and wandered quite a way into the setting sun. We saw this sad but beautiful old church just off to the side and had to check it out.

I imagine it was a good German-Catholic church back in the day.

Someone in the neighborhood felt it appropriate to dump a mattress off to the side of the church. Interesting in its own rusty way.

Now that fall is upon us we're hoping to take some drives out into the country and find all the colors of the season ... stay tuned ...

Whac A Mole

Do you ever feel like your life is something like the frustrating Whac-A-Mole game that you see in the arcades? No sooner is one problem taken care of, then another pops up to take it's place. No sooner have I taken care of one (or many) issues in my inbox - and then a whole new batch shows up. No sooner is one person satisfied, then someone else is having problems. You know what I mean? Every day, every hour, brings something new that needs to be dealt with! Aaacck! Give me that big mallet to swat those moles!

Girl's Night

Order one piping hot pizza from the Italianette,

Toss a salad,

Open a bottle of wine,

Everyone bring their favorite special jewelry,

Add a little more wine to go with the jewelry ...

And then play "dress up" with a few of your closest girlfriends!

Earrings ...

Fancy necklaces ...

then different earrings ...

And sweep the hair up like this ... !

We all had fun with Karen and her sister!

Hard to believe she's going to be a (gorgeous) bride in just 3 weeks!

Mama's Big Fat Helper

Most of the time when I sit down to work at my computer, I have a furry companion who jumps up and gets in my way. He starts out by squeezing onto the right-hand side of my desk, laying right on top of my mouse pad so I can't use my wireless mouse. Annoying.

I finally get him to move over to the LEFT side of my laptop, where I have thoughtfully cleared an area for him to relax. (He's giving me a dirty look because I made him get up and move.)

Then he settles back into his nap ... still completely in the way.

And that's where he is right now, as I type tonight, nestled up against my left arm. Silly old cat.

Father and Daughter

Two people I love very much....

As photographed by Emily ... thanks for the wonderful picture!

It makes me smile!