Apple on ground close to tree...

Isaac is definately my son. He read Harry Potter 2 today. All of it. The neat part was I let him stay up to finish it, and he leaned over the rail at 9:30 and called down to us in the living room that he was done. He pumped his fist in the air and had a huge grin. I'm looking for the next book that will do that for me. Any suggestions? Nathan keeps trying to tell him that Harry dies in the next book, but Isaac is onto us.

Is everybody ready for New Moon? Nathan and I are gathering with all my church friends for our second annual Twilight Saga movie viewing tomorrow night. Are other churches besides Mormons having (unofficial) vampire parties? Last year, I had not read even the first book and had to get the young women to fill me in before we left. One of whom had read Twilight THIRTEEN times. Could be twice that by now.

Today while driving to school, I passed a mom walking to pick up her kids in a 'Team Cullen' shirt. I've seen one-fish-two-fish shirts and our library is currently selling "Where the Wild Things Are" shirts, but I don't remember that happening for any other NYT Bestsellers. Thinking. Still thinking. Nope. I can't think of any. Although Harry Potter was very well represented on Halloween around here, but I didn't see any Twilight vampires.

I just want to say that Nathan read all four books. He hasn't read The Lord of the Rings, but he's read Twilight. And my little sister, Cleo ISABELLA (age 12) has a poster of Edward on her ceiling and is sure she's going to marry him. And she wants us to call her Bella, 'cause that's her middle name. Isaac saw an add for New Moon and was like "ooh, Mom, there's that book." Pervasive, isn't it?
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Smicker Reunion in Luke Butler, FL

We loaded up the car and headed down to FL, my beloved country.

Jonas, Eli, and cousin's son Aiden trapped in a hamburger.

Jonas, Emma, Aiden, and Eli looking for minnows. My cousin Pat and I were so proud of them for not falling in. They (mostly) stayed on the seam that that ran down the middle of the walkway.

Some adults got tricked into participating in this game too, but I will allow them their shreds of dignity by not posting the hip-gyrating pictures here.

Egg toss. Lots of cheatin' going on. Emma and I were partners, and I missed her first toss (it was overhand, and hard. Sigh. She should have asked Daddy) And my dad got four eggs tossed at him on the first throw, but none got splattered on him. 

My dad and Nathan thought they were the dream team...

But Eli and Michelle Wright won with some weird bowling/throwing hybrid move.

It made Eli's YEAR.

Just some folks wanderin' around. I didn't take as many pictures of individuals as I meant to, so this'll have to do. We had about 60 people there.

Isaac, Eli and Emma show Aunt Sharran a snake's skin they found in a tree.

We camped out in O'leno State Park Fri and Saturday with my Dad, Uncle Jerry and Aunt Sharran, Shannon and Jim and Aiden and Annemarie, Pat, Austin and gf Lauren. My favorite memory by far was the ghost stories. Nathan told the classic "Falling Rock" (Falling Rock goes on a hunt for the biggest bear and never returns. His father posts signs "Watch for Falling Rock" and you can still see them today. Shannon told the Green Ribbon- a husband finally removes the green ribbon that his wife has always worn after she dies, and her head falls off. The kids all had a go at a head-falling-off-story after that. Then I told a story about the beautiful Indian Semolina who waits for her Spanish lover, but he never returns. She hears his ghost in the whispers of the fire, and you can still hear it today. And the Robitussin-stops-that-coffin one. Who says oral storytelling is dead? Okay, we do, cause it was pretty awful.

Rule of picture taking in nature #1-if there is a rock in the river, you must take a group picture on it.

It's in our genetic code.

These pics are over the Santa Fe River, and we walked the River trail- down to the end of the river where a sinkhole swallows it. The river reappears about three miles away.

Corollary-Bridges count, too.

This is Shannon, Jim and their two: Aiden and baby Annemarie.

The cemetary. I had some fun playing with this one.

My dad and Pat and my clan drove out to Traxler FL to visit

the old church that Dad's grandma and husband and her parents are buried at.

My clan: Kelly and Nathan Bryson, Isaac, Emma, Eli and Jonas.

Interior of Traxler Methodist Church

A banana spider, about three inches across.

I'd like to write a book just to use this as a cover.

The end of the river. It's kind of anti-climatic unless you're there after heavy rains- the river just seems to dead-end. My dad said that he's been there when the water was high, and logs swirl on the surface above the sink. Dad and Isaac saw a really big gator.

My great-great grandparents (my dad's mom's mom's parents)

My great-grandparents' gravestone. The End!

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Knock Knock!

Star Wars Halloween!

Emma loved her "Princess Amidala Battle Costume", and I was right proud of the cape. Pretty close, eh? I think I understand now why people go to conventions.

I had to wrestle Jonas into his Jedi Padawan costume, and he got stuck with the light sabre without a blade, but it seemed safer that way. He's holding Emma's Nerf gun here. I spraypainted it chrome, but she didn't like that it was still tacky, so she didn't carry it.

Eli wore his Luke costume all week after school.

Isaac got really sweaty in the Darth Vader helmet and ended up carrying it in his bag most of the night.

I was Princess Leia and Nathan was Obiwan Kenobi, which is forbidden love if ever there was. I felt dirty every time I kissed him. LOL. Emma liked that, as Padme, she was my mom.

We went to a neighbor's party- which I'd assumed was a costume party, but the only other adults in costume were the host and hostess. Dang. We sucked it up, and tried not to look self-conscious. Nathan might not have been-but it took me a few minutes before I forgot I was in a long white dress with a shawl and a silver belt around my neck. At six-thirty, it was time to get some candy.

We made it to about twenty-five houses before Nathan and I were carrying Jonas and Eli was asking to be carried, too. It was about 80 degrees, and we were all sweating, but I'd take it over trick-or-treating in a 40 degree drizzle like we got in Evans City, PA the last two years we were up there.

The sad thing about Halloween is that the Snickers are gone too soon. I believe I just started planning Christmas stockings:)

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