Cardinals Birthday

The Cardinals won the World Series on Kyle's birthday. So this is a happy guy:

The next night we went to Heather and John's Halloween party dressed as a bumble bee and a bee keeper. Kyle contemplated dressing up as a flower, but this seemed a little easier.

John and Heather really know how to do a Halloween party. Here's some of the treats:

The eyeballs were peanut butter balls with icing and the mouths were apple slices with marshmallows for teeth.

John dressed up as Dexter, and the whole basement was decorated in plastic and weird tool kits. He even had a case of glass slides.
And the backyard was super spooky.

How can you ask for a better weekend?

Mulberry Mountain

Harvest Festival this year, Oct. 13th - 16th, was a lot of fun. As RV Upgrade camp hosts, Kyle and I got to greet everyone and pass out shower wristbands. We met lots of people, got to see a bunch of great music, and I even caught a nap in my hammock. Dirtfoot and friends camped with us, and we were right next to the St. Bernard's. It felt like a big family reunion. Well, it was really.

My highlights were definitely the making the Chompdown bloody mary's,

camping with good friends,

(Me, Sonya, and Andrea - pic care of Pauly)
eating the great food (Andrea's potato soup, Tony's chilli, Scott's spicy chicken and rice, brats, bacon, and Will's lunch every day), and having our own golf cart.

My music highlights were listening to Scotty G. whistling with Truckstop Honeymoon, late night Speakeasy, Dirtfoot playing "Underwater Turtle" with a special performance by a little hooper, Cornmeal, Todd Snider, Honkey Suckle, Rev. Peyton and his Big Damn Band, Deadman Flats, and Mountain Sprout. Did anyone catch Yonder Mountain? :)

Edited to add: Here's the late night Speakeasy show, free for your listening pleasure.

Current River Trip

We usually try to do a fall float trip, so we made some last minute plans for Shelly's birthday on the Current River. We have been to this spot several times, and the people at Jadwin Canoe are fantastic! Scott, Krissy, Shelly, Mike, Jen and Tom, Dan, and Amy were in attendance, and they were a great group to float with. Plus, the fall foliage was spectacular.


Kyle likes the front seat.

This is Welch Spring, which is the 5th largest spring in Missouri and is a conservation area for endangered grey bats.


After a long day on the river we all ate a potluck dinner, sat around the camp fire, and had a lazy evening.