An IFRC Hot Dog Roast

Don't skip the introduction...

Before you get to the pictures, you need to first hear who gets the credit for them. All the good ones are Emma's - at least all the really good ones are. :-) Also, thanks to the Botsfords for offering me their pictures. (I think Emma made me ask for hers. jk) Kara and Michaella, a few of your pictures fit into my story lines perfectly, so thanks. And, Emma, your pictures made my story lines for the most part. I didn't take the time to try to figure out who took each picture and watermark them accordingly. After you see a certain section of the post, you may understand why that would have been very difficult. And lastly, since one of the photographers present did not give me his pictures :), I will have to direct you to his post if you want to see them (you will need to scroll down pretty far).

Double, double, oil...

...and trouble...

...fire burn...

...and fryer bubble.

(For those of you who never read Macbeth, that's a Shakespearean paraphrase. :)

And we really did have "toil and trouble" getting the fire and fryer started.

Worth it all for good fellowship.

If I didn't know better, I'd think he has a big family to feed. ;-)

Frankly, this frankfurter has too much mustard.

Kara braves Conrad's precarious bridge. All that is between her and... concrete fifteen feet below, is those thin ropes.

An Invasion of Photographers

A few of us can get away with daylight operations without appearing too suspicious.

A member of the undercover reconnaissance team lurks in the shadows, attempting to capture an image.

From a darkened corner, a teammate covers his moves.

Moving in on their prey...

...while I lurk nearby, ready to shoot if need be.

Other team members review the images imprisoned on the camera card.

See. I told you that I actually let Candace use her own camera sometimes. As you can see, it's off.

Sorry, Dad. You just can't escape us.

(Dad gets tired of seeing photos of photographers, and so this long series was a trial for him. :)

The Mysterious Guest

So, what was the reason for this full-scale invasion of the paparazzi? Why the security? What was their prey?

A cold-blooded predator.

Uncle Dale takes a moment to calm the beast's ferocity.

Chills run up Aaron's spine.

Dad gives a detailed introduction to both his brother Dale and his "pet" ...

...after which, he launches into the first half of Dale's speech. ;-)

Popsicles forgotten.

Question & Answer Time

Question #1: "May I hold the alligator?"

Answer: "Hmm... Well, maybe we could manage that."

It's been managed.

(This visitor wasn't too mysterious to Mrs. Raine. She said she's been at too many reptile shows not to recognize the gray tubs that the reptiles are transported in.)

"Judging from this model, its teeth are pretty sharp..."

"Really...? Now you're telling me."

Abigail sees what she can see of the teeth.

Cousin Jesse came along. I wonder why.

Perhaps to eat our popsicles...

... and drink our punch?

Famous zoologist Mr. Botsford...

...with the two greatest catches of his life.

See you later, alligator...

Karen runs her idea up the flagpole to see if anyone else in the discussion will salute it.

Abigail contemplates which was named first: the cardinal (bird) or the cardinal (Roman Catholic official).

Would you believe it! Sherry read about it in a dictionary one time, and so she got the answer right. Impressive.

The thing is, Sherry knew, BUT... you don't. Give it some thought and DO NOT google for the answer. I'd love to hear what you think.

"Last chance for brownies. Going once. Going twice. GONE to Maryland!"

Better get one quick, before they too disappear.

Last Guest to Arrive

On one hand, I could go home to bed; on the other hand, I could come over here and eat cold french fries and shrimp.

It's obvious which gained the upper hand.

We listen dubiously as...

...Derrick tells us how he scared his Mom to death by taking a rowboat and rowing out into international waters.

Why'd you do that? It's so bizarre.

Hmm... I never really thought about that before.

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And that's all for now. I know I only covered one subject this time, but, with all the time spent getting the store opened this week (yes, it's opened), I didn't have much time to spend on this. This morning, I was out in the store trying to write up captions between phone calls to try to get the problems in our credit card processing software fixed. So now that that's worked out and this post is done, I'm going to go find something new to do. :-)

God Bless.
Carmen

A Special Edition in Honor of...

...my precious sister Candace!

The reason she is so precious.

Some of you don't know this (I know, I know... some of you DO), but this blog wouldn't be what it is without Candace and her camera. To tell the honest truth, that little Canon Powershot that I carry around and even slip up and call "mine" at times is HER camera. (She's forgotten that though. ;-) And lest you think I love her merely for her generosity with her camera, she herself is quite valuable as a subject for photos and also as a fellow photographer. That's right - I do actually allow her to use her own camera sometimes!

On a more serious note, Candace has a lot of wonderful qualities that have absolutely nothing to do with photography/blogging. I am extremely blessed to have a sister and friend like you, Candace.

So... Happy 16th Birthday, Candace!

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God Bless.
Carmen

(Hmm... I bet I have you all so well trained that nobody will see this post until next Saturday, the normal posting day. ;-)

Hello Everyone,

Glad to have you back. This post caters largely to my relatives, but the rest of you are welcomed to look in on what we do when we get together, as we do quite frequently. Family is an incredible blessing, and I am blessed with a long Christian heritage in mine.

However, we start out with someone who is not a relative (though he probably is somewhere way back)...

There have been some characters working on our house...

...but this spouting hanger takes the prize in eccentricity. He introduces himself as "Stumpy the Great," offers to sell you his business every ten minutes, and keeps up a running commentary if you are anywhere within hearing distance. We had fun the day he came over.

"HEY, did you just take my picture? That will cost you $50."

Dad and Conrad were huffing and puffing to put the pool away in the vicinity where he was working.

He looked down and laughed at them and said, "Why didn't you take the water out? Then it wouldn't be so heavy."

So now you have a taste of what Stumpy the Great is like. The only way to find out what he's really like is to hire him to hang some spouting for you.