celebrity

Who knew reading our community activity guide would be a good thing?

Actually, J did - this is our favorite magazine because it shows us what activities are being offered by the township for Taylor - we have done basketball, ballet, other dance, soccer, etc.

As we were flipping through the book this time, we saw our new celebrity on page 4...yes, that is Taylor at cheer camp...

christmas play

Who knew it would be so much work and yet totally worth the effort to put on a Christmas play?

One week ago today we had our first ever Christmas play at our church. Despite getting 10 inches of snow that morning, we still had the event - and all of the kids showed up. There were actually quite a few people in the audience as well and the play went off really well. It was amazing. Hearing the people in the audience laugh, comment, and enjoy themselves was great. The play they did was called the Fear Not Factor which was about the angels in heaven being given the assignment to talk to Mary, Joseph, and then the shepherds about the coming of Jesus. It was a very funny play with a strong message at the same time - perfect for their first time.

We also had a small refreshment time after the service where we had some snacks out on the wood floor and people were able to talk to the 'actors' face to face. What a great way to spend a Sunday morning - I'm sure the organizers didn't enjoy it as much as I did, but were glad it went so well.

Here are a few pictures of the event.

The snow we woke up to that morning...

The entire cast of the Fear Not Factor.

Cloe (Taylor) and Ellie (Royale) delivering lines.

Mary and Joseph.

Gabriel (Lake) and Michael (Jessica) in the middle of a dialogue.

Refreshments afterward.

fun in the snow

Who knew making snow people could be so fun? I kept putting it off thinking of being out there in the cold, but finally gave in yesterday...and am glad I did. Taylor and I had a great time making 2 new additions to our front yard yesterday.

fake bowling

Who knew bowling was such hard work???

This is a video of Taylor playing video bowling at Gameworks in Minneapolis. I thought it was pretty good...

minnesota

Who knew another trip to Minnesota could be a blast?

These are some pictures from our last trip to Minnesota. Always a good time out there - feels like visiting family...

Jeff showed us his new 'toy' - that was a suprise. He had just picked it up a few days before we arrived.

Nadia, Jeff and I playing hoops at Gameworks downtown.

All of us playing the bowling game.

Taylor and J pod racing - one of our favorite games.

Jeff and Tay pod racing.

Skee-ball - always a favorite.

Taylor and Bryan playing air hockey.

Jeff talking trash to the boxing game.

Bryan knocking the opponent out.

Taylor next to Boba Fett in Lego land at the Mall of America.

fall festival

Who knew our first Fall Festival at church would be a hit? Actually, I did. Had complete faith in my wife...

Here are some much delayed pictures of the event.

The amazing magician.

The magician wowing the crowd - and shocking J. The card she is holding secure in the middle of her hand switched places with the one on the top of her hand when he snapped his fingers...

One of his incredible baloon creations.

Grace, Donnell, and Hannah enjoying the show.

Taylor and Megan posing in the picture area.

The can smash game.

Our street sign - Vineyard Blvd South and East - a great addition to our scenery.

The putting game.

One of the candy stations - all of the offices were decorated and used for handing out candy.

The santuary set up for the event - games along the rear (bottom of the picture) and right side, Magician in the middle (front of the stage), and face painting and picture taking to the left.

Face painting.

Hay maze - set up with 4 dead ends...comment from one of the kids was, "Best maze ever." Made it worth transporting 100 bails of hay.

Lanterns (like the one on the ground to the left) were placed throughout the maze.

Our huge moonwalk...held quite a few kids all at once.

Our spread of food.

All in all, it was a wonderful event - better than we had hoped for a first time. We had 11 games, 6 candy stations, a moon walk, hay maze, face painting, and the magician - not to mention all of the food. Next year will be even better, and easier - now that we know what to expect. It was a great jumping off point - and I think the kids (and all of the adults) had a fantastic time.

Costume

Who knew Taylor would look good with pink hair?


This year for Halloween, Taylor decided to be Lola Lufagle (character from the Disney TV show Hannah Montana). Here are some pics of Lola, and then of Taylor...

family

Who knew some people never change?

We had the opportunity to visit my sister a few weekends ago. My parents were also there and my Aunt and Uncle came for the visit as well. I hadn't seen my aunt since I was Taylor's age (which was quite a while ago). She hadn't changed a bit and neither had my uncle. It was great to see everyone and we had the chance to celebrate my niece's birthday as well. Always great to get a chance to see family.

Taylor and her cousin Christina

My Uncle Rudy, sister Cheri, me, and my Dad

Uncle Rudy and Aunt Barb

Pure excitement for the great ice cream cake we were about to eat!

corn maze

Who knew a corn maze could be so complicated?

So we went to a corn maze on Sunday with a few friends...I'm thinking, "Ok, a turn here and there, maybe a dead end or two - no big deal." Wow, I was not prepared for how complicated and amazing this corn maze turned out to be. It's a good thing we purchased the 'optional' map for $1. There were 3 adults and 5 kids and it took us at least an hour and a half to get from start to finish - and we cheated by using the map halfway through.

We started out by taking turns deciding which way to go at each crossroad. We let each person make a choice and did this for a while. When it started to get later and later, we decided to start using the map...and eventually at every crossroad one of the kids would say, "Which way now Kevin?"

We had a blast and really enjoyed ourselves. As you can see from the map of the maze below, the farmers that created it did an amazing job. We definitely had a great time and enjoyed working hard not to get lost in the field of corn. The kids loved it also - it was as if they had never seen corn before in their lives. They couldn't pass a cob on the ground without stopping, picking it up, and yelling "Corn!" Guess it's more fun when it doesn't come from Kroger...

The 'enter' and 'exit' are on the far right on the map...just imagine how small we would be standing at those points and you start to get an idea of how big this really was...

new template

Who knew my template could just disappear?

So, I'm not sure what happened to my template (background), but apparently it's been gone for over a week now. I dug and dug, but couldn't find my template again (I'm still investigating though). Since I couldn't find the one I already had, I spent way to much time getting this new template up and running...and it still needs to be tweaked...I'm not sure I love it, but I guess it's growing on me...

Guess the new template is better than the white background with no side bar I was running with...