A Few Thoughts on Today's News

For those asking for an official AFB statement on today's stunning news out of Burbank and San Francisco:

We at the AFB think Disney is the perfect fit for the Star Wars franchise, and we are absolutely in favor of more Star Wars movies.

Rambling thoughts:
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that today we'd hear the announcement of Star Wars sequels. I will wake up tomorrow in a world where Star Wars sequels are in preproduction... It is all very exciting and thrilling and I'm still processing all of this.

Thanks to Steve Kwant for this logo for Star Wars: Episode VII.

I just like to type EPISODE VII!!!

School Pictures!

Here are this year's school pictures!

Maren, grade 3

Deacon, grade 5

Trunk or Treat 2012

Welcome again to our October, the time of year when the fun just keeps on going, and going, and going...

Last night was the annual trick-or-treat-at-school-with-people-you-know-so-you-know-it's-safe tradition known as Trunk or Treat. Our theme this year: Indiana Jones and the Trunk of Terror.

Poor Indy finally got crushed by that boulder.

It was nice having Grammie along to help greet the Trunk or Treaters!

Deacon wore his TV Anchorman costume again. Now with working lights inside. Derek said I didn't configure his suit jacket & suspenders correctly, though, so I'll have to work on that for the next outing.

And this is Astronaut Maren!

The Bauers in their Minnesota Vikings Fans costumes! HA

Elena, Suzanne and I are dressed up as... OURSELVES!! How clever.

A few other decorated trunks...

After it was over, our car started without a hitch. Didn't even need jumper cables this year! Here are some final shots of us with Trunk 2012.

Coming to the end of the month - these last few days of October will be eventful and maybe, possibly even fun. Soon we'll have full coverage of the final events of our crazy October: pumpkin carving, trick or treating, and CCB Fun Fest 2012!

Fall Festival 2012

It's hard to believe we attended our SIXTH Fall Festival today at St. Paul's!

How times have changed.  I used to start making costumes in early September; now we do them the day before Fall Festival.  This year we bought Maren's Astronaut costume, but Derek worked until 4 AM this morning on Deacon's costume:

This year, Deacon wanted to be a news anchorman.

The humble beginnings of DNN.  He even had a working headline "ticker" at the bottom of the screen.

Astronaut Maren takes a breath of Earth air.

Deacon's Live broadcast was really live!

Grace, Micaela and Maren. Micaela was Cleopatra.

The best thing about this costume was that I got to buy Deacon a suit, which he wore willingly. The jacket, anyway.

Maren picks out a prize!

Ms. Hartel read all 6 of Deacon's scrolling headlines. I'll list them below.

After the costume contest: Deacon plays auxiliary percussion in the first performance of the year for the St. Paul's Concert Band!

I worked in the Prize Booth all day.

A movie!

OK, here are the important news headlines for the day on DNN:

ELECTION SURPRISE: FEDS LOWER VOTING AGE TO 10

MR. KOEPPEL: "PACKERS WIN, EVERYONE GETS DAY OFF"

FALL FESTIVAL DUNK TANK WATER TOXIC; TEACHERS SUE

MR. MINDOCK REPORTS COCKROACHES MISSING; POLICE INVESTIGATING

"BRING YOUR DOG TO SCHOOL DAY" CAUSES HUGE LACK OF PRODUCTIVITY

ST. PAUL'S CLOSES FOR WEEK DUE TO FREAK OCTOBER SNOWSTORM

All About the Cheese Secret, by Maren

Here's Maren's latest informative book, All About the Cheese Secret.  I know it's a little difficult to read the actual pages, so I typed the text below each page.  I would like to have added a space after each page's caption, but with this new Blogger interface I couldn't figure that out, so pardon the "crunched" look of this post.  I'll keep working on it.  Anyway, here's Maren's book!

The Cheese Secret:  Category 1
Where the Cheese Is
The cheese comes from secret tombs in Africa.
The man who first found the cheese was named
Herrold Harrison.  He found it on the moon.
Neil Armstrong did not see the cheese when
they approached the moon.  But Herrold did.

The Cheese Secret:  Category 2
All About Herrold's Death
Mr. Harrison lived to be 90.
He was just going to check on the cheese
when - SMASH!  The cheese tipped over
and crushed him.  That is how he died.
His body is still there because it was too
heavy to lift up.  Even with 100 people!
Herrold's last words were: "Hello Cheese!"
Today, Herrold's things are in the holes
of the cheese.

The Cheese Secret:  Category 3
The Cheese is Eternal
The cheese has lasted for thousands
of years!  Before Herrold died, someone
put part of the cheese in a museum.
That is how everyone knows about it.
But mostly Africans know about it.
Most Americans don't.

The Cheese Secret, Category 4
The Mystery of the Cheese
When Herrold died, scientists went
into the tomb.  They studied the cheese
for a long time.  Then they found out
it was the last living cheese on the moon.
But when they used microscopes
they saw that the cheese had multiplied!
The mystery is why would cheese multiply?

The Cheese Secret:  Category 5
When the Cheese was Made
Scientists think God created the first
cheese cells when He created the moon.
That is the last thing we discovered
about the cheese.
There has been nothing about it
we found out ever since.  But
scientists are still studying the cheese today!

Make sure you read this book again!  Thanks!

Herrold Harrison when he was 89
Herrold is a Christian

Poetry with Maren, October 3, 2012

Maren has suddenly become a prolific poet.

Here's one from tonight (typed by Maren):

PIE

I like pie.

I think I’ll give you a try.

No, I won’t.

My pie is poisonous, so don’t.

What? You say it’s not?

You’re not even as smart as a pot!

You think I’m on a show.

To that, I would say NO.