Fall Pictures

This past weekend (while Benjamin was away with the Scouts, camping) we went up on the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the Fall Colors.  They are gorgeous!  I thought I'd share some pictures:

Bright Colors

A variety of muted colors

Steve and the kids

Me and the kids

Joshua being goofy

I liked these rocks

Jessica liked this moss

Jessica on the barricade - this part of the Parkway is closed during the winter

Jessica took this picture of the leaves

Carolyn in her colors!

Wacky Hair Day

Our county School System sponsors a fund raiser for Eblen Charities every October. To make it a little fun, my children's elementary school has a "Wacky Hair Day" at the first of the month to encourage donations for the fundraiser. All the children that bring in money that day get to wear their hair any wacky way they want. So Jessica and Joshua wanted to go all out and spray their hair this year. So here are the results:

Front:

And Back:

They had a lot of fun!  Now, though, can anyone tell me the trick to getting the spray out?  They've both washed their hair already, and they STILL have green in their hair! :P  (Hee, Hee! What a hoot!)

Seattle Vacation

This year our family vacation took us back to Steve's home of Seattle, Washington. Too many years had passed since the last time we were able to spend time with family in Seattle. (One of the really hard things about living across the country from Steve's family.) We were able to take in a lot of sites.  (By the way, these photos—and more—can be seen in here)
Newly completed light rail. We caught it about a block away from our hotel and took it into Seattle.
Views from the Space Needle at the Seattle Center
Mount Rainier. Steve thought it was the best weather he's ever seen while on the mountain--made for great views.
Ferry ride from Anacortes to Orcas Island in the San Juans
Once we got to Orcas Island, we drove to the top of Mt Constitution to Moran State Park. Some awesome panoramic views of Puget Sound!
To top everything off, we finished our week in Seattle with a trip to the Oregon Coast. It was great to see all the sights and especially to spend time with Steve's parents, Cherie's family, and Steve's brothers. We intend to make our next visit much sooner. Five years is too long between visits!

Some fun pictures taken this summer

Jessica's Birthday

Jessica turned 11 on August 7th and got an ice cream cake complete with horses on it. She has been asking for an ice cream cake for some time, and horses are one of her favorite things. What more could a girl ask for? Love ya Jessica!

One of the things you can see in the photo album are pictures from a game of "photo tag" where Martha chased the kids around the yard attempting to take pictures while they tried to escape getting their picture taken. (Something I usually try to do anyway ;-)

Regional Summer Camp

This year our scout troop was invited to a regional LDS scout camp that was held at Camp Buck Toms about an hour away from Knoxville, Tennessee. It was a great experience where the boys were able to do all the regular scout activities: hiking, working on merit badges, swimming, eating in the mess hall, flag ceremonies and hang out around camp.

In addition, there were some pretty cool LDS activities that occurred culminating in a fireside which featured Larry M Gibson of the General Young Men's presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Brother Gibson gave a great talk on how scouting and the Aaronic priesthood establish a foundation for the young men build a life of service. Not something you would experience at every scout camp.

Pictures of Carolyn!

We had a friend, Destinee Blau, take pictures of Carolyn a couple of weeks ago. They are SO darling! Check her photography blog out for an overview (Carolyn's pictures were posted August 17):
http://www.destineeblau.com

Or you can go directly to the slideshow:
http://www.destineeblau.com/carolyn.html
(You have to install the viewer, but it was pretty easy for me to do it.)

They are so beautiful! Thanks again, Destinee!