Halloween. . .

Too tired after a very long day to say very much but I can't go to sleep without saying SOMETHING about our Zombie Apocalypse.  The maze was a success even though we didn't have nearly as many people in the neighborhood as we did last year.  We had a great Zombie support system that helped make the evening a sucess.  I will have more to say but here's just a taste of what the evening was like. . .

Happy Halloween. . .

Quiz Trip, Part 4. . .

Good-byes . . .

It was hard to leave this home on Sunday morning.  We were all dragging our feet and putting it off as long as possible. . .

We finally hit the road and made a planned stop at Multnomah Falls.  The only people who will understand the following picture are Corri and Ashley Breshears.  Something to do with a long-ago quiz meet and a bus breaking down right here and eating candy on the bus in the dark and seeking warmth in this bathroom.  I'm a little sketchy on the details because I wasn't there. We had to take this picture and text it to the girls for old times sake. . .

This first set of pictures came from Joyce's camera:

Several of the people in our group made the climb to the bridge. . .

I've made the climb plenty of times already so I rested at the bottom and took more pictures. . .

I have no idea who all of the people in the middle are, but Joyce and Gary are off to the left side!!

The last leg of the trip. . .

If you have followed the blog for a few years, you might remember that Steph has a tradition that she sticks to religiously on every quiz trip.  She buys Hostess Cupcakes on the way home and eats them whole.  Like, seriously, a whole cupcake in her mouth at one time. . .

Here's the proof:

Nice!!

We made it home without a single mishap and Steph is already counting down the days to the next meet in December at Twin Rocks!

The End. . .

Quiz Trip, Part 3. . .

There are many, many reasons that I love to stay at the McConaughey's home.  It's just so darn comfortable, for one.  I love the way we all just pick up where we left off.  So much history in these sweet friendships.  I envy Katrina her easy hostessing ability.  Not sure if that's even the right word, but she is very gifted at allowing people to just feel at home in her home.  Maybe it's just me, but I don't think so. . .

(Most pictures courtesy of Joyce!)

After the quiz meet we made an appearance at the quizzing sponsored activity before we all decided to go back and hang out at the house. . .

I don't remember the name of the game but it was really fun. . .

We played girls against boys and each team had to guess a word that one of the team members could give clues for but not actually say. . .

It moved very quickly. . .

We laughed.  A lot. . .

As we were getting ready for bed, Katrina called me into Elsie's room to see this sweet sight:

These three were reminiscing about the past and looking through a photo album of one of the many birthday's they celebrated together. . .

They've been celebrating together since Gloria and Megan were 1 and Elsie was 2.  I really need to dig out some of those early, early pictures but for now, these sweet photos from the past always make me smile . . .

The weekend went by way too quickly and early Sunday morning we had to say good-bye. . .

To be continued. . .

Quiz Trip, Part 2. . .

The first meet of the year was in Sherwood, OR.  BFC has 2 quiz teams this year with a total of 9 quizzers!  Three of the quizzers couldn't make it to the first meet so the two high school kids that were able to make it had to be farmed out to other teams.  Andrew quizzed with Jered on the Newberg team and Steph quizzed with the Meridian team.  I spent most of my time with the middle school team even though Zach is the "official" coach since I won't be able to watch them quiz for the rest of the season due to the fact that I'll be coaching my high school team! 

All in all it was a good day.  I think everyone had a good time and answered questions.  Gloria came in at number 12 out of 47 middle school quizzers so that was fun for her!  I was impressed with how well Jordan did as a first year quizzer- he didn't seem to be the least bit nervous.  Zach did a great job as coach and we both felt more relaxed at this meet than we have in years! The pressure was off.  Although, if the first meet was any indication, Gloria could give Zach a run for his money and take this thing as seriously as he always did!! 

So. . . here's the day in pictures. . .

This is Jordan.  It was his very first meet.  He was excited!

This is Steph.  This was her 28th meet (ish).  It may not look like it but I'm sure she was excited, too!

Ditto for Andrew. . .

Cade quizzed last year and decided to come back for a second year.  I had to convince him that Bible Quizzing is as competitive as the soccer that he loves so much in order to get him to put his heart and soul into the game.  I don't think I ever quite convinced him. . .

Zach as middle school coach instead of "Smart Kid Quizzer". . .

Gloria is a little tired of being referred to as the "Smart Kid's Sister". . .

This is Megan.  She looks all serious but don't let her fool you . . .

Everyone was a little tense the first couple of rounds . . .

Eventually everyone relaxed and had a great time. . .

(The Super Hero Mascot):

Gloria memorized a bunch of verses so she decided to try the Verse Off after lunch. . .

She didn't "survive" but she was OK with that. . .

After lunch I hung out with the high school teams a little bit.  I think the Meridian team was happy to have Steph along. . .

She did good. . .

I think Andrew enjoyed quizzing with Jered again. . .

I mean, really, what's not to like here. . . .

At the end of the day Andrew came in 10th out of 74 high school quizzers! Nice job, Andrew!!

The Newberg team came in third place over all so that was nice!!  Good job Newberg team!!

Back to the middle schoolers.  In this blurry picture, just about everyone knew the answer but Cade was up first. . .

He celebrated just a little. . . Maybe my soccer analogy worked . . .

In this shot, Gloria and Jordan jumped at the exact same time- both of their lights went on.  The judges weren't sure of what to do so they gave it to the girl!! 

Gloria is taking quizzing pretty seriously this year.  She studied hard and memorized quite a few verses.  I was very proud of her for taking responsibility. . .

I tried to step back and just let Zach coach.  He did a fine job and I only intervened a few times.  One of the things I encouraged him to do was to offer some kind of a reward for answering questions and quizzing out.  The only thing he had on him was one of his senior pictures in his wallet.  It was pretty funny the way Cade and Jordan started to really compete for that picture! Zach even offered to autograph it!!!

I love this picture. . .

I think he's dreaming about winning the picture. . .

The last round of the day was against Elsie's team.  The high schoolers were already finished with their rounds so a bunch of them came over to watch these two teams quiz against each other.  It was a little tense.  And smelly.  It was a small room at the end of the day with a LOT of people in it.  That's pretty much all I remember about that round. . .

I had fun at the meet but pretty much the best part of the weekend for me was getting to hang out with Katrina. . .

After dinner the boys began to pose for the camera. . .

It was pretty funny. . .

(Jordan ended up with the prize and he couldn't have been more proud of his reward. . . )

Two of my favorite girls:

And three of my favorite boys. . .

After the awards were handed out, everyone went to the local YMCA to hang out.  We stayed for awhile and then decided to go back to McConaughey's to play games. 

To be continued. . . . . . .