Tailgating in October!

Darbi and her family came to Bloomington
to see the IU football team take on the fighting
Illini. Darbi's dad and stepmom flew in from Arizona,
her sister, brother-in-law, and niece were there, too!
Great to see the Strahle family and spend a chilly
day outside with them :)

To take a break from the cold, we caught the
open basketball practice in Assembly Hall.















Darbi's niece stole my camera and went on a
photo shooting spree!

Here's model, Kristen:



















Sydney's portrait of Darbi



















One of many she took of me.



















Sydney and I! She never took any photos of
Kevin or Chad, her parents, grandparents, etc!














Night games in October... can be COLD!





























In the stands!














Chad and Kristen














Chad just LOVED ruining the photos.

Aquarium!

Kevin and I set up our aquarium...













Freckles is one of our "starter" fish.
It's a Dalmation Molly.













Zig Zag is our other "starter" fish. He's a
zebra Danio.













Aquarium decor.


























These are our real plants. One's a bamboo
stalk and the other is the moss covering that
alcove.



















Here's our gourami - Lt. Aldo Raine...













He loooooves the camera!













Freckles, with Zig Zag and Julius in the corner
(and Julius' reflection).













Julius was our next danio - a Glo-Fish or
transgenic zebrafish...













Julius and Zig Zag













Lt. Raine in the hiding spot.













Newest edition - a long-tailed zebra danio.
He's bigger than Zig Zag and Julius, and has
a fantail.. He still doesn't have a real name though :(













Lt. Raine again!













Freckles













New fish













Last but not least - the bamboo shrimp - named
Jabba the Shrimp... He hides out in the corner,
directly in the current, waiting for food to come
to him. He even reaches out and snatches it as
it goes by!!













For a better picture of a bamboo shrimp.
http://www.planetinverts.com/bamboo_shrimp2.jpg

Kentucky 2009

Kevin and I (and the dogs) took a trip down to
Hamlin, Kentucky, over Labor Day weekend!














The dogs snoozed most of the lengthy car trip.





















First time near the lake...















They weren't too keen on it.














but enjoyed "hiking!"















And were great watchdogs...





























































The dogs loved visiting with the grandparents
just as much as we did!














In Kentucky!














On the pontoon boat... Captain Wrigley













The boys!













Crane...













Pretty scenery














The crew





























Family















Piper enjoying the wind in his fur.










































It was a beautiful day... but then the clouds rolled in.











































We ended up leaving our fishing spot (after having
no luck) and heading back to the other side of the lake.



















Boys in their usual spot.














Luckily, we made it across the lake using only
the trolling motor...














And made it up the boat ramp (with help from
kind strangers) just in time!














One last good weather photo














Then the skies opened up.














Grandpa and Kevin were stuck on the boat in
the monsoon!















After the storm and before dinner, Kevin and I
tried our hand at fishing from the dock again.



















Very pretty and still.














We still didn't have any luck though.





























Posing as a fishing model...





























































































Leaving Hamlin...
And their one shop.






























The boys enjoyed the trip quite a bit!