Apples, Apples, Everywhere...

We took advantage of the Columbus Day holiday (Thank you Federal Government!) and the great weather that accompanied it by going apple picking with our friends Melinda and Dave. We weren't just picking apples though, we were picking them with a purpose...Applesauce! Although we ended up picking way more than we needed for applesauce as evidenced by the picture of Megan holding our apples below!

After selecting the finest apples Larriland Farm had to offer we went to Melinda's place where she taught us how to make delicious applesauce.

First came the peeling and slicing...

Then the cooking of the apples...

Finally the canning.

And voila...applesauce!

As I mentioned earlier we picked way more apples than we needed for applesauce so just yesterday, Megan got a recipe for apple crisp from her best friend Jeanette! So we used up some of our apple stock on THE best apple crisp I've ever had!

The worst pain of my life!

Michael was awoken early Tuesday morning (like 1:30 am early) by an intense pain in his lower right back in the area of his kidney. After toughing it out for roughly a half hour, he was forced to wake Megan up and have her take him to the hospital. The pain was just too much. Even though it was 2:30 in the morning, Megan was up to the task. It turned out Michael had a kidney stone. For anyone who has had one you know the kind of pain they can bring, and for all of those out there that have not had one, I hope and pray you never have to expereince it. It was that bad. Thankfully the doctors adminstered some good pain killers and now three days later, thanks largely to the great care I received at home, the stone has passed and Michael is pretty much back to normal! I want to thank my loving wife for taking such good care of me!!!

Hall Wedding and Valley Forge!

We spent the weekend of October 11-12th up in Philadelphia at the wedding of Michael's good friend Jason to his lovely fiancee Megan. The wedding was great fun and they couldn't have asked for better weather in October. It was sunny and the temperature was in the 70's. I was honored to be standing up in the wedding and to be a part of their special day. It's still hard to believe that I've known Jason for over ten years. Wow - how time flies when you are having fun, and Jason and I have had a lot of fun together over that time.

The wedding ceremony was wonderful and that was followed by a delicious dinner at a nearby country club. During the reception, they had some Korean musicians play traditional korean music (see below) to celebrate Megan's heritage. A very unique, thoughtful, and fun touch to an already perfect celebration. The dessert's weren't too shabby either!

Here we are enjoying ourselves out on the patio during the reception!

The hotel we stayed at was just a few miles away from Valley Forge National Park, so the day after the wedding we spent the day exploring around there. It was another absolutely beautiful day! The picture on the right is General Washington's Headquarters.

And here down on the left is a picture of Megan in front of John Brown's Farm and on the right you can see Michael on the phone with his Mom, making sure Megan's weekly football picks are submitted on time. Hi Mom!

Saturday Morning Photo Shoot

Fall weather has arrived!!! And with it, crystal clear morning skies. So this past weekend Michael got up early and took some pictures of Georgetown's campus in the early morning sun. Here are some highlights, I hope you like them!