The cutest test ever...

 

Renee was kind enough to help me with posting videos on my Blog. She used this adorable film of Olive and her fish bed as a "test". I was actually in Portland when this was taken. I would love to keep it on my Blog; Olive is too cute.

Oktoberfest at the Carpathia Club

 We decided to go to the Oktoberfest at the Carpathia Club. It was a lot of fun. As we walked in, these young men were doing the Schuhplattler, a traditional Bavarian dance.

 We had a whole gang! Carla and Mike met us along with Gramma and Grampa.

 First things first, food! We headed for the sausage tent, I made a beeline for the beer.

 Gramma and Grampa saved us a table. 

 Needless to say, the food was good.

 Grampa is in his full German attire. He really enjoyed the fun.

 I think Mike and Dad are solving the world's problems or talking about the weather.

 The baby liked the music.

 Katie informed us "fish lips" is the newest craze in middle school. We decided to be cool for the camera.

 Al and Katie had a great time.

 

 This Schuhplattler segment was introduced as possible the most "extreme" version ever demonstrated. I was intrigued.

Before the evening ended, I asked several members of our group to share a commentary for the blog. Al dedicated his to Renee.

 

I'm not sure if Mike and Helmut understood the whole "video" concept...

 

So Carla and I showed them how it's done.

A good time was had by all!!  :-)

The Roof...

 The roof was quite a project. The weather was ridiculous. This is Sunday after the fly-in. It had just stopped raining when we arrived and the boys were hard at work...well, Helmut was directing.

 Carla and my main jobs were to visit the neighbors, go for a boat ride, and get pizza. Suzi, Jimmy, and the rest are super excited about the baby.

 We also just had the septic field redone. I was really surprised at the condition of the backyard. It's almost back to normal. The black plastic "wall" will be removed after the final inspection.

 Apparently Carla is getting a little too close to the pizza...

 We decided to tie Mike to a makeshift harness (of which I was holding the other end). He was really excited about this project...

 Work continued the next day with Tony, Paul, and Tabby up on the roof. I ran around the yard picking up debris and worrying someone was going to get hurt.

 Tony was quite handy with the nail gun. We simply fed him shingles and nails and he pretty much did the entire roof.

The weather was worse than miserable on Monday (Labor Day). It was freezing, cloudy, and the wind had picked up. However, we ended up with an almost finished project, one which the boys can be proud of.

The Peach Fest Fly-in

The Peach Festival would not be complete without the Sunday morning Fly-in. Carla, Mike, and I enjoyed the huge breakfast. It was really good and we could eat all we wanted.

 After a while, our good friends Al and Bob joined us. We reminisced about the time one of the planes flew in, aimed the front of the plane at the hanger, and blew dirt all over our breakfast. Nice.

 A few planes flew in however the weather was cloudy and it began to rain.

 The local firefighters are always on hand to show off their cool tools.

Even the mounted police posed for a photo. Now it's off to church for Carla and me, Mike is headed to the cottage to help with the roof.

Biking to Church

Well, another Sunday, time to get the old bike ready for a ride. Our church moved to Rochester and Auburn roads, it's about an 18-20 mile trip one way, depending on the trail I choose.

Better check my mirrors before I leave. Helmut really helped me trick out my bike with some sweet extras like these mirrors and an awesome bell. I even have amazing grips on my handlebars....those Germans, expert bicyclists!

It's always fun to hang with Carla and Mike. We have such a good time.

We love our matching shirts!