Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011 was quite uneventful considering last year when we had a more gory Halloween with my severed finger and trip to the ER. Yes, this year was very calm, fun, and everything I love about Halloween. I even carved a pumpkin using a pumpkin carving tool as opposed to kitchen butcher knife (I definitely learned my lesson last year!) The girls dressed as Dorothy and Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz. And Howie being the awesome daddy that he is dressed as the Scarecrow. Emma-Caroline and Sophie's Godparents, Patrick and Anna as well as our friend Angela and her daughter Lydia joined us for trick-or-treating. We all had a wonderful and fun Halloween!

Trunk-or-Treat

Sunday Evening, our church had an All-Hallows Eve service and party to celebrate Halloween. The service is filled with wonderful songs and Bible readings. It is always one of my favorite events. This year's party was bigger and grander than ever before with lots of fun activities for the children including trunk-or-treat. It was a great start to the Halloween festivities!

 Our party extraordinaire, Sabra, set this little house up just for Emma-Caroline and Sophie! Notice the witch's ruby slippers!

 Parish Hall full of kids and families! It was a grand celebration!

 My friend Mandy and her daughter Mary Helen getting ready to hand out candy for the trunk or treat.

On their way down the line to trunk-or-treat.

A Very Tennessee Family Tradition

Last year at this time, construction was finally nearing an end on our house. Landscaping was in and the new Avery House was beginning to be settled. I had a bit of a freak accident with my hand and was left to doing things for several months one handed. No biggie, but with an injury, the finality of our house being complete as well as the approaching holiday season, we failed to venture to our back yard room to enjoy the fireplace. One year later and we are totally LOVING this outdoor room! It's an awesome place to be with Howie's roaring fires that he makes, roasting marshmallows for s'mores and watching football on a crisp Saturday evening! This past Saturday, we took full advantage of our special family room, and although the Vols did not win against South Carolina, we all decided that this was the beginning of a new family tradition!

Fall Fun!

One thing I have learned from my 365 Project this year is that the camera you use and your lenses are of course of great importance. But sometimes you may not have your best equipment on hand, so then the important thing becomes just using what you have and documenting the moment whether it be with a point and shoot or your camera phone. this past Saturday, I went on a trip with the Kids choir to the pumpkin patch. My battery was not charged so I made use of my camera phone. The plus side of using my phone to document our trip was that I got to instantly send photos to parents who were not able to go on the trip of their children in the patch. We had an awesome time, and although I was unable to use my best camera, these camera phone photos still came out pretty nice!

 Standing in the Sunflowers.

Surveying the pumpkins!

Crescent Moon!

 1/40, f6.3, ISO 200

El Arco Iris

On Howie's and my last full day in Puerto Rico, we were given an amazing gift. After a little afternoon rain shower, a full arc rainbow, or arco iris in Spanish, was left painted across the sky extending from the middle of the ocean, to the other side. It was stunning! I wish my camera was able to pick up the vibrancy of the actual colors of the rainbow. I kept playing with my settings and the below images are what I was able to capture. Seeing the rainbow was a great way to end our trip!

El Yunque Rain Forest

One of the highlights of our trip to Puerto Rico was hiking in the rain forest. It is the only U.S. territory that has rain forest, so we felt very blessed to be able to visit it. Half way up into the rain forest we stopped at a tower, of which I am not exactly certain of its purpose. It offered spectacular views of the coast and rain forest below. Further up we hiked down to La Mina Falls and then back up again. Being in the rain forest with all of the sounds of the birds, insects , coqui frogs, and water fall was a very humbling and spiritual experience. Hiking in el Yunque is something I will not ever forget!

St. Regis Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

The St. Regis Resort where Howie and I stayed was simply beautiful! Everything about it was well planned and thought out, and unlike some resorts that could be plopped down anywhere, this one retained the natural feel of the true island of Puerto Rico. The best part about the resort was that it was paid for by Howie's acrewed points from business travel. Luxury without the price tag is always a bonus! I will let the photos of the resort do the talking. If you are looking for a place to vacation, the St. Regis, Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico is an amazing place to visit!

 Plantation House

 View from the back of the Plantation House

 Views from our room.

 Pool area.

 Enjoying a tropical cocktail by the pool.

 Beach proximity.

 Views of the beach.

 Enjoying the ocean waves!

Back view of the Plantation House.