Fall camping trip...

Once again, it has been far too long since our last update. Our main problem is that our camera has been broken. We're very grateful to my sister, Rebekah, for letting us borrow hers on our camping trip this past weekend. We had a great time in the great outdoors - enjoying the chilly air, sleeping in the tent (sort of), cooking over the campfire, hiking next to a river, and visiting a pumpkin patch and apple orchard.

Derek - preparing to cook our dinner

You can barely see our tent in the background (it was dark)

My brave husband crossing the river on a fallen log

On our hike next to the Etowah River

I love tiny little pumpkins

Derek likes ones that he can drink out of...

Eating a giant, fried apple pie at the orchard

Yeah, baby apples are a lot cuter than they are tasty

Hey friends!

Just wanted to say "hi" to all of you good friends of ours! We haven't updated in a while but we're still here. We've each gotten a Facebook which has kept us occupied as we play around with this new social venue. Hope everyone is well. We love you guys!

Derek and Michelle

PS: Here's a picture from a while back that I just saw and HAD to post! My wife is adorable, what can I say?

"Camping"

We had planned to go camping this past weekend with our dear friends, Allen and Mandi Hughes. Things didn't go exactly as planned...

We drove to Pocket Campground about an hour away. As we were driving, huge, dark clouds began to loom before us. Us in the car...

A little before we arrived, the bottom fell out and it began to pour down rain. It eased up some, so we explored the area a little. (In the bottom right picture, we're looking around for a turtle someone told us about. You do strange things when you're camping.)

 This is what ended up happening...

We drove back and slept over at Allen and Mandi's apartment, talked, laughed, played cards, and made a big breakfast the next morning. It doesn't really matter where you are, as long as you're with friends. Fun times.

The Best Game on Earth!

Tonight I had the opportunity to play the greatest game on earth...HOCKEY!! And ice hockey, at that. This past Christmas, my beautiful and thoughtful wife Michelle bought me the whole gamut of equipment so that I could play pickup games at the local ice rink. Pickup games are a way for people to play a sport whenever they feel like it, whithout having to be a part of something organized.

Anyway, it was great to be out on the ice: skating, shooting a puck, getting knocked down, and even...if you can believe it, scoring a goal (five-hole, for you hockey fans out there; in laymen's terms, that means between the goalie's legs).

During the game, my wife was right there to cheer me on (uh...in the stands, not on the ice...), and her family joined us as well, which was really cool.

Here are some pics. They're a little blurry because I skate with such lightning speed! (But uh...there's a slight possibility that it's because of our camera's shutter issues).  I'm the guy in the navy jersey with the logo of THE best sports team ever: the New York Islanders. Enjoy. And if you get inspired, get some gear and play a pickup game sometime. Besides, who needs teeth anyways?

This past weekend, we went to the Marietta square for a concert with Julia Brink and Frances Cope. Frances had come in town to keep Julia company while Garret was away on business. The music was Big Band, which meant swing dancing for Derek and me (yea!!). Fun times. And no, that lady in the background was not part of our group.