poke it with a stick. image gallery

outdoors indoors 1

bubba loved looking around at all the animals. here he's checking out all deer and wolves they have in a special hunting gallery.

also in the deer hunting area was a hunter! as you walked up to him he spoke, talking about the different aspects of hunting. it was kind of creepy, but the kids seemed to enjoy it. oh, and there was a squirrel next to him, which bubba really thought was funny!

as one would expect, the girls liked the animals, but were more interested in shopping! tweets tried on a fun hat which her mom caved in and bought for her because she was just so cute in it!

they also had a section of animals from africa, here is bubba growling like the lion behind him! he loved to look at them, but was also a bit terrified of them...

get a room

tweets, myself, and aves just hanging out!

as usual, whenever i pull out my camera the girls want to take a turn with it too. this one is tweets' silly picture of mema! their grandma is so much fun!

papa wanted to lay down for a minute or two while we waited for everyone to be ready. needless to say, he certainly wasnt going to get too much rest...

taking a dip

aves just seems to be trying her best to stay afloat!

bubba, mid-air, as he shows off his cannon ball abilities!

teacher convention 09

the highlight of the convention this year was getting to see my old 7th grade english teacher mrs. jager! she was always my favorite teacher, my friends and i were always misbehaving in her class, but she seemed to have so much fun with us! she is retired now, but still helps out at the convention. i think what surprised me the most was the fact that she remembered everything about me- she even asked how my old friends from 7th grade are doing! wow, i hope i can remember all that after i've been teaching as long as she had!

outside the centery center, heading in for another day of professional development!

the conference center itself is pretty cool, its got a huge area to sit and talk that overlooks the big river in south bend.

ladies day

diana and her favorite sister barbara.

the sisters allen, so happy to be together!

mom gets in on the picture taking fun!

poco found a new friend in gramma!

sunday dog day

the kids being brave enough to actually touch poco! as you can see, poco isn't even all that interested in the whole tramatic thing.

relaxing after dinner with the kids.

bubba and jill on the couch.

before the kids leave mema and papa's house they always get a little treat. for some reason aves thought it would be best to put her treat inside her socks...

make a steak 1

mom and papa at the grill getting ready to put the meat on.

timmy doing his grill master thing!

going back to get mom and diana's steaks just right.

orchard hay ride 2

the girls in the pumpkin boxes!

diana and i took a little walk into the orchard ourselves for a minute, it was really beautiful. and so is she!

the apple orchard from the entrance.

orchard hay ride 1

tweets, mema, bubba, jill, aves, and tim waiting in line for the hay ride. papa gave bubba his coat so that he wouldnt freeze on the ride. the jacket may be a bit large...

the girls were ready for the ride, but werent quite so sure about petting the horses.

up the steps, finding a good place to sit.

looks like they found a good view to enjoy the hay ride from- bundle up, its going to be a cold one!

autumn orchard 2

they say you should clean off the table after you are done eating...

the kids watch as they make fresh apple cider.

the apple pulp gets put into the squeezin' machine!

the traditional photo by the giant apple out front of robinettes. you cant really come here without getting a photo of the apple, right?

autumn orchard 1

papa in line in the food hall, the line goes all the way back and through the front door and about fifty yards into the parking lot. not too much time to sit and watch donuts, that's for sure!