Halloween

Halloween makes the first official celebrated holiday that we missed last year being in the Dominican and we were really excited to get to do all the fun things that go along with it. We started the celebrations by carving pumpkins. I decided to go with something a little different this year so I carved the logo to Exodus church. It turned out pretty well and when we took it to church with us last weekend everyone got a kick out of it. Claire also decided to change it up from the traditional Jack O Lantern and went with a scarecrow. It also turned out really well. The other group of pumpkins that are pictured were carved by our neighbors. For those of you that don't recognize them they are the four main characters from the TV show The Office. Claire and I thought that they were really funny so we took the picture.

On Halloween Claire and I dressed up and headed over to a friends place for a small party. We went as a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush. It has always been a dream of Claire's to go as toothpaste. It was a good time. A couple other costumes pictured are Mr. Clean, Rosie the Riviter, and Mother Nature. It was nice to get back to some normal holiday traditions. Up next, Thanksgiving, and we are really looking forward to that.

Joe and Narissa's Wedding

Well this post is a little overdue but late is better than ever. The weekend of October 20 my brother got married. Claire and I drove up on Friday to help mom set up for the rehearsal dinner. Everything went very well at the rehearsal and we all left feeling like we were ready. At the dinner that night we all enjoyed pizza, ice cream, and a couple fun stories about the bride and groom.
That night Hank, another of Joe's groomsmen, and I headed back to Joe's place while Claire stayed at my parents house. We stayed up talking and watching a movie. It was early the next morning that we woke up and made a trip out to pick up the hog for the reception. Then it was back to the house to clean up and get ready for the wedding.
Pictures were first. We started the wedding by getting all the photos of the family and wedding party out of the way. With the exception of a few squirrely kids everything got finished up and some pretty good pictures should be on there way. Then it was time to get hitched.

Dad and another pastor that Narissa and Joe grew up with helped perform the ceremony. It was a nice ceremony. It was up to me, as the best man, to hold onto the ring. I think I did a good job. I couldn't let that responsibility pass by without a little fun. So I held a penny in one hand and the ring in the other. When it was time to hand the ring to the pastor I pretended to reach into my pocket and when I pulled my hand out I dropped the penny on the hardwood floor. It made a loud clanking sound and a few people gasped. Then I opened my other hand where I had the rings. Joe and Narissa thought it was funny and everyone else got a good kick out of it.
Afterward we all headed to the reception for some delicious pulled pork, cake, and dancing. It was a lot of fun. The toast went great and yes that is a picture of me handing Narissa a BB gun. I told the story about how one day when Joe and I were younger mom and dad left us alone for the day. I took it upon myself as the big brother to watch over Joe. So I held him hostage on the couch with the BB gun. Then I explained that as of that day Narissa was now there to help shoulder the burden. The cake that is pictured was not the official wedding cake. This was the grooms cake. My mom made it to commemorate the first time Joe and Narissa met. It all boiled back to a girl who wanted a ride in the cool Jeep in the parking lot. Then we danced before all calling it a night. Congrats Joe and Narissa on the big day and Narissa welcome to the family.