That's all folks.

Justin is 28 years old and I remember taking him trick or treating when he was a baby. It was shameless sugar extortion. We were poor starving college students. The Halloween sweets may have lengthened our life. Emily is going to a party this evening instead of knocking on the doors of our neighbors. Is it the end of an era or just a blip on a lengthy string of Townsend tricksters?

And is she even sporting a costume, I mean our address includes the word Oklahoma? Well, barely. Those boots may not have seen the inside of a barn but they were purchased while standing beside three cowboys and I don't mean OSU fans. Does that count toward authenticity or can it pass for dress up?

Cry wolf.

Emily missed dance class on Thursday so she could sing and dance at the 7th grade choir concert. It was a monster popularity contest. I know you're thinking "well, uhhh, isn't that the definition of middle school?" No really, Emily was a "wolfette," a backup dancer for the singing "Werewolf" performing "Cry, Wolf." It was adorable, we really loved it, and who can say that truthfully about middle school?

Must be Fall.

The picture above was taken about 10 days ago. The one below was taken yesterday. We planted the maple trees maybe 7 or 8 years ago. Okay, we had someone plant them. They have gotten so big we can't see our neighbors across the street. On the one hand, that's a shame because they are lovely people. On the other hand we love these trees, the beautiful colors of the autumn leaves, the privacy, the spider webs that sit between the two and scare people into screaming like a little girl, especially in the dark, when they walk through them up to the door. A Halloween decoration without the fuss.

We have friends in Arkansas.

We took off for Branson over fall break last week. We had to stop and see the Mings new home in Bentonville, AR and have lunch with them. I should have taken a picture, I guess we'll have to go back. First they coerce us into moving here and then they pack up and leave.
We still love them though!
Lonny has been having his Magellan board meetings during fall break these last five years or so. We usually just take off without him but this year he was free to play so we went to Branson for a couple of days. What a hot spot! Actually it was kind of cool. Both Geoff and Eric were miffed when I told them we went to the Dixie Stampede. It was cheaper to send them to college than pay for another ticket to this dinner and show. This is the only photo of the event but let me tell you it was something. The horses were beautiful and plentiful. There were cowboys and cowgirls and cute little pigs and more food than a person should eat in one sitting.

Friday we spent the day at Silver Dollar City. Again. We have lost count on how many times we have entered their turnstiles but it had been awhile and we were anxious to get back. This innocent looking barn hides the Giant Barn Swings. A new ride. I asked Geoff if he had ridden it this summer when he went and he said he had and that it was horrifying. That pretty much sums it up.

You enter the barn and sit yourself on one of these swings. The girl in the picture is comforting the hysterical, crying girl that just got off the ride. That could have been a sign.

Then you hold on for dear life while the swing swings at least straight out at it's highest point which of course gives you a great view of the ground which you fear you may smack into when you fall out of the seat. Ahh, good times.

This swing is in the "we promise not to scare the breakfast out of you section" of the park. That's Emily on the far left.

Emily and Lonny were satisfied with one ride.

Thunderation is a kid roller coaster where some passengers ride backwards. Emily faced Lonny and I as I attempted to take her picture. She was laughing at me as we sped down the track and I could not hold the camera still.

Okay, there we go.

Ahh Powderkeg. The roller coaster that's blasted out of a mining company explosion. I have a fondness for Powderkeg, the name of the very drive we resided on in UT.

Here, I appear to have just been arrested but no need to worry, I am ready for the blast.

That's Lonny and Emily riding in the second seat. For about the 10th time. The weather was chilly and kept the faint- hearted away. Too bad for them because with no lines we could ride the rides again and again. So we did.

We must not forget Wildfire.

We went back to Silver Dollar City on Saturday and rode Wildfire seven times in a row. Except for the time I took this photo.

Here they are on the "why did I get myself into this" situation.

And upside down.

We couldn't decide which kind of jerky we preferred.

I don't recall this bridge from past visits but it could not be avoided. In my previous life I was a Springfield High School Miller.

And like high school, a few thrills and some jerks.

When we had had enough we left the park to board the Titanic. It was half a ship at half scale.

They give you a boarding pass with the name of a real passenger. Like the Holocaust Museum in WA DC, you tour the museum and then discover the fate of your person. Emily was a Countess, so yes, she survived. Lonny was the Chief Steward and he perished. I had the name of Bess Allison, a 25 year old who sailed with her husband, two year old daughter and an 11 month old son. The boy, along with his nanny, survived with the aid of a lifeboat. Bess, and her husband and daughter, drowned while looking for the baby. Their little girl was the only child in first and second class to not survive. It was a sobering end to our little trip but then so is the realization that you have to go back to school on Monday morning. It was fun while it lasted Emily.

Happy Birthday Miranda!

Today is my daughter-in-laws birthday. She takes excellent care of Justin and Bryce. Two more of her favorites are cooking and cleaning so of course, we love having her around. I have proof, just check out her cooking adventures blog.

http://mirandasrecipes.blogspot.com/

Townsend and Sons Demolition Services.

Do you need something torn down, demolished, or deconstructed? I can get someone right over to get this done quickly and efficiently.

When I heard they were tearing down the Deseret Towers, the very same dorms Justin inhabited his freshmen year at BYU, I nodded to myself and agreed it was inevitable. Might as well take it down on purpose. And of course Justin's room was one of the first to meet the wrecking ball because building "V" had already barely endured the punishment of my son and his hallmates. When BYU decided to sell their old bowling equipment and had the guts to sell it to their own on-campus housed freshmen what were they thinking? The boys now had bowling pins, they had bowling balls and they had the hallway of building "V." A bowling alley was born.

Eric, no slacker in the if it can be broke I can do it department, had his own incident this weekend. I remain uninformed of the minute details by my own preference to remain in the dark and because Eric's legal counsel wasn't prepared to set up the deposition at present time. All I know is the front door doesn't appear to stick any longer. In the future and upon hearing of any apartment burned to the ground in the greater Provo area I may point my finger at Geoff. I am sure he wouldn't want to be left out of the family enterprise.

Cats and dogs.

It's been raining them since I came home. I spent two weeks in "sunny WA." Keep that to yourself because the natives don't appreciate those two words in the same sentence being announced across cyberspace.

I took the pictures just to prove my imagination wasn't running rampant. I can come up with some tall tales but this wasn't one of them.
And since we are telling stories, they say you should never drive into water over the road and I do promise never to smirk at drowned rats again. It may appear that I am about to confess that I did nearly perish but alas, tis not true. I only repeatedly witnessed the dilemma of if you can't drive through the water across the road then how are you going to get home, or who is going to pick up your daughter or how can you get a cheeseburger? So it rains 5" in about three hours Thursday night. There was water on the road. I didn't really want a cheeseburger. I did pick up my daughter and we did go home and I confess to driving through water on the road in OK. The roads were dry in WA.