Our Reformation Day Faire was a wonderful success. We were very grateful the Lord blessed us with fabulous weather - no rain and mostly sunshine! We had visiting families from the area as well as from out of town. The food was delicious (and no, I didn't get photos of food this time...so, no drooling... ;-)) and the fellowship sweet. During our feasting, Elder Price(a.k.a Raphael) and his daughter, Anna, performed the Reformation Polka, which included the choreography from Mary Poppins. :) After some of the play practices that we've had in the past, our "Lady Jane" play turned out better than we were all expecting. :) My dad's Luther presentation was outstanding (and no, I'm not biased at all...;-)), John C. played the town constable so wonderfully, that I don't think anybody else will be able to replace him...so, don't even think about moving out of state, y'all. ;-) Although Tetzel was only able to stick around for the early part of the day(before the constable drove him out of town, that is) he did a fabulous job.

For those of you who were not able to make it, we hope you will keep next year in mind! Here are a few of the 200 photos that I took:

'Twould appear that I am the royal hair dresser...Melinda, don't you look so cute in rollers!! ;-)

While the Constable in Whittenburg (right) takes his job seriously...

...others take great pleasure in it. :)

Three fair maidens.

No, Lady Victoria is not using a CD to spin wool...it's just a figment of your imagination...

Even the talented Raphael graced us with his presence.

His subject, Mona Gabrielle sits ever so patiently. ;-)

A sneak peak...

Prince John plays a game of checkers with his side-kick......Sir Guy of Gisbourne. Who knows what these two had up their sleeves.

Robin Hood, keen as ever, is on the watch.

Queen Mary

Our Family

The Lady Rebecca tries her hand a game of checkers too.

*gasp* Is that King Richard????

Katherine Von Bora wrapped up due to the nippy weather.

L-R: Will Scarlet, Prince John, Sir Guy of Gisbourne (yeah, I think the rest of the gang captured those two villains... ;-)), Little John, Robin Hood and Ivanhoe...looks like he joined the Merry Men too. :)

Robin Hood(right) and Little John(left)
Walkin' through the forest
Laughin' back and forth
At what the other'ne has to say
Reminiscin', This-'n'-thattin'
Havin' such a good time
Oo-de-lally, Oo-de-lally
Golly, what a day

Sir Guy of Gisbourne, planning his escape, I'm sure... ;-)

If he could only get past Eleanor of Aquitaine...

"Just before the battle, Mother, I was thinking most you...

... While upon the fields we're watching, with the enemy in view..."

I'm just glad that I was on the outskirts of the battle. :)

I'm not really sure what she was doing, but she looked cute doing it. :)

Anne of Cleaves, Lady Jane Grey and Bloody Mary...hmmmm....I wonder what Mary is plotting... ;-)

Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I...

Yeah, so I was cold...what's new? ;-)

Last minute prep seems to be taking over...so if you've sent me an email, or if you're just waiting every so patiently for me to write to you....it'll come after the party....

We went to the Candler's house after church on Sunday. The little girls had a blast on the trampoline, the...I don't know what to call them...the "middle girls" went for a walk down to the creek...yeah, Jess went too...*waiting patiently for sounds that arise from shock to subside*...

"It was fun....there were no bugs or frogs or anything..."quotes Jessica...

Mr. Candler and my dad were keeping the fire pit warm and blazing. Melissa, Josiah, Caleb and I were having quite the time practicing our wonderful archery skills... :) Don't laugh, okay...there are some of you out there that saw me attempt to shoot a bow while we lived in Houston...but it was like a 55 pound draw...I mean, come on...do you really think I could pull that thing back?!? :) So, I ordered a 35 instead...and while I don't have the string back to my ear yet, it's coming. :) Josiah was very kind and gave me some helpful tips...after which, I did actually hit the target...okay, well only once...remember, no laughing...don't burst my bubble... ;-)

When the Riggenbach's arrived, Mrs. R. came out to shoot the bow with us. Sierra also joined us with her 45...isn't that what you have? She's amazing...I couldn't pull that back for the life of me. The men roasted our Kosher hot dogs over the fire pit. When dinner was done, we all headed down to make s'mores. Unfortunately...now don't draw and quarter me for this...I'm not very fond of marshmallows. They make me sick. So, I just had chocolate and graham crackers. When the feasting was done, for the most part, the "middle girls" went out to the gazebo to ensure they had fond memories of Jessica's last night being 16. :) Below are some pictures for your viewing:

The gazebo rails.

The beautiful fire pit. Maybe my dad will build us one...;-)

Me, Caleb and Josiah...

Aiming...or at least, I'm trying to...

Firing...and hoping they make the target...

Me, Sierra, Mrs. Riggenbach and Josiah

Lily, Jess and Sierra in the gazebo making memories...

The Polka...

Dancing feet...any idea who they belong to? :)

Sierra and her burning marshmallow...she did this just for me...wasn't that so sweet! :)

While we were in Alabama last week, Vision Forum sent a film crew out to shoot some interviews. If you would like to see a clip click here. If you do not care to see the clip, click here...

Of a trip and a gown...

We arrived home from our trip to Alabama on Monday evening. We had a fabulous time, as usual with the Chancey's. While we were there, we also had the pleasure of meeting a young lady named Tayla from Pennsylvania. She came in the day after we did and sadly had to leave on Sunday. But we had a blast getting to know her, and hope she'll come visit us soon. :)

Tayla and I at the airport.

Our Reformation Day Faire is just around the corner! I've been busy getting some sewing done for the party, and since I just finished tacking the trim on Jessica's gown, I thought I'd post some photos...

Jessica has always wanted an excuse to have Eowyn's dress, so we decided to be Flemish visitors in Germany...which meant we could go a little more medieval. Here are a few pictures of my re-creation of the gown...

After the ultrasound, Christa called to tell us...

It's a Boy!!!!!!

"Hmm, since it appears that a cherry isn't favorable, what would you suggest? [personally I wouldn't mind a cheesecake ;) ]" ~ Comment left by Ashton

So we will be attending church with one of our sister churches in another state this coming Lord's day...and no, Garrison, I didn't leave a dessert...so sorry...if you come along with us, you can have Creme Brule... ;-) So, since I will be missing this next week, I thought that I'd leave an open poll as to which kind of cheesecake y'all would like to see on the table the following week. Now remember, this is just a poll, so don't get insulted if your selection doesn't show up next week. I suppose that we will put all of the choices into a hat and draw out the next flavor...pictures on the blog and all... ;-) If the suggestions are good ones, maybe we will carry it on for a few weeks. lol

If you put something like "Peanut Butter and Jelly Cheesecake" I won't make the rest of the church suffer for your sake, but I will remember to make it for you on your birthday...so beware...I have a good memory! ;-)

If you have suggestions...bring them on!

The Mother-Daughter tea last night turned out very nicely. We had plenty to eat and ended up inviting the gentlemen that escorted their families in to help consume some food. :) Oh, and none of these are scratch and sniff or scratch and bite stickers... ;-) Here are a few photos that I took during the tea last night.

Jessica plays "Lady Jane" off stage too. ;-)

Some of girls had already left before I was able to snap this photo.

Chocolate Espresso Truffle Cake

Buttermilk scones

Cucumber Dill and Jalapeño-Pimento Tea Sandwiches

I'm not sure who brought these, but they were so good.

Last night, a few of us from the McDonald family carpooled with the a few of the Riggenbach family, and went to the Bloomington area. After stopping at Culver's and JoAnn's, we met up with some other families from church who also drove out there for a dance practice! We learned several new dances, some of which I was kind of familiar with, and the others...well, not so much...isn't that right, Josiah? lol The night ended with ten minutes of the all-time favorite, The Virginia Reel! The caller was dividing the sets up into five couples, but somehow, our set managed to have way more than that. Our whole set was made completely of the Providence people who there(minus two people who were in another set)!

And of course, I only took one photo...but you know, it is really hard to carry the camera around while you are dancing... But I do know that Ashton and his family took a ton of photos...so I'm sure they will be appearing soon(hint, hint, Ashton...;-)). We had a fabulous time, and are eagerly looking forward to the next dance! So I leave you with the one and only picture that I got...

The Polka, according to David and Garrison...