"Flags of our Fathers"
I totally 100% recommend this movie! We saw it last night and it is fantastic! There is a great cast and it's directed by Clint Eastwood. It's a fantastic history lesson that every American should see at some point in their lives. WHEN you see it, stay until the house lights come back on! You don't want to miss the photos of Iwo Jima and the very very very end where they show it today, pretty amazing!! (and I do mean the very very very very end)

Someone note that I posted about 4 new blogs today.. Do I win an award for this??

More Cutie Pics....
because you haven't already seen enough, right?

This first one...I call ... "why me?" Why does she have to have a great aunt who grabs a camera everytime she's near....he he he..


This one is... I love my gruncle (great uncle) Andy b/c he lets me eat leaves when
no one else will!!

Ok, ok, ok... I'll stop with those-

Scarecrow Day
I can't believe I am sharing these!!
These are from scarecrow day at school last week, tons of fun!!
Misty, my assistant and awesome friend, is the one with me in the above picture!

Cutie Pie

Here are (more than you want to see I bet) pictures of our cutie pie
great niece that I took this weekend. Who can get enough of that smile!

Fall is in the air~
I have nothing exciting to post about, how sad is that? It's fall....have I mentioned how much I love fall? I love cool air, jeans, sweatshirts, hot coffee & hot chocolate, football, open windows, halloween, pumpkins & scarecrows, the whole shebang!

And for some reason I like to paint on pumpkins. It is a habit that I got from an old friend, Holly Chapman...there's a tribute to you. I'm not very good at it...but I do enjoy it for some reason?!

So what else? I had strep throat last week, ugh!! Double ugh!! The thing was..I had a sniffly/stuffed up nose and coughed my head off, but not a bit of a sore throat. Very odd, I was shocked & even argued when I finally went to the doctor and they did a strep test. No way I could have it, I didn't have my typical symptoms. One shot & 2 kinds of meds later, I'm over it. Germy kiddos at school I guess, what can ya do?

What Else? Scarecrow Day is coming up at school this week. It's our alternative fall celebration, instead of Halloween at the church preschool. Tons of fun and I've worked on improving my "get up" all weekend. Should be fun. Andy & his brother are running in a 1/2 marathon this weekend, their first. More power to them! The Tanner clan is all coming over for a cookout get together that afternoon, should be a hoot! We're on day 23 of the countdown to the next cruise, now there is something to smile about! Mom is already mostly packed, what are we gonna do with her??

That's it...all I got....just hadn't updated in forever and felt the need.
Nothing new here folks, move along-

Fall is Fair Time!!

Fall is for sure fair time here in the south! It's tradition (always has been) for my family to go to the fair on my birthday. Up here, we attend the North Georgia State Fair, it's pretty close to home! Dad has always said that I'm a cheap birthday date! "Give her a corn dog, roasted corn and cotton candy..she's good to go!" It's true, I am never more happy than when I'm stuffing myself with greasy fair food!

I love the lights, the crisp night air that is just arriving with fall, the farm animals, the people yelling "Come on, win a prize", the buildings of nutty crafts and over grown veggies, the strange attractions, the concerts, the crazy shows from pig racing to dancing bears & elephants and I hang onto the fun memories of being young and actually riding on those rides without the thought of barfing! (Getting old stinks!)

The best fair, hands down, is the Georgia National Fair in Perry! It's huge, huge, huge! Mom & Dad use to take me when I was little and now Andy & I enjoy it together. (Mom & Dad go with us occasionally) It takes about 3 hours to get down there from here, south of us. It's worth the drive to Perry! Sometimes we spend the night and other times, like this year, we don't.

Where to begin?

The animals: Instead of 1 barn full of farm animals, they have about 8. Each barn/building is filled with stables or pens of one type of animal. The horse barn alone holds about 1,000 horses, mules and donkeys! The grounds are used year round for different breed horse shows. There is a huge covered arena for horse events. Each day/night of the fair, there are different shows with different breeds. We caught the evening of barrel racing. What little girl didn't dream, at least for a minute, of being a cowgirl? We had horses and I sure dreamed of it!! All of the other animals have shows & exhibits as well. There are sheep, llamas, rabbits, cows, goats and pigs. Each animal in their own building. There are several indoor arenas where 4-H kids from across the state come to show off their animals and compete for ribbons. We caught the llama costume contest one year, hilarious! There are thousands of animals and kids! There are demonstrations as well: how people sheer sheep, cow milking, etc.. (I reminded Andy that we must have land and more room for animals when God blesses us with a little one of our own, someday. We both grew up with animals and hope our children can too!)

Exhibits: There are buildings filled with commercial goods for sale, each with their own booth. (I fought the urge for yet more costume jewelry and purses) There are crafts and nature exhibits galore. Wildlife rangers are there with snakes, alligators and other reptiles to let you touch and learn about. There are aquariums filled with game fish and stuffed animals where you're taught about hunting.

Rides: You want to get your kicks?! There are 2 entire midways set up out there! There were 3 ferris wheels, 3 roller coasters and too many rides to begin to mention! One midway is still traveling with their own 12 act "freak show", you know the one I am talking about?!

Shows: You name it, they have it. Dancing bears, elephants, camels to ride, racing pigs, music of any style, Krystal burger eating challenge, motorcycle stunts, tight rope walkers, acrobats, dancers, magicians, puppet shows and everything in between. It's there!!

Concerts: Each weekend in the huge enclosed auditorium. Gretchen Wilson & Big/Rich were upcoming events for this weekend.

Food: Oh my!! Enough food to feed the hungry of the world! BBQ ribs, chicken, pork, beef, you name it.. Hotdogs, hamburgers, corndog, sausages, pizza, cotton candy, caramel or candy apples and on and on and on..... There were stations to mix & make your own icee (I did that). Places to pour rootbeer out of a barrel and into your mug. Fried? Want to talk fried in the south?? You name it: mushrooms, veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, zuchini,etc..), onion rings, oreos, cheese cake, Snickers bars and don't forget the Twinkies! **I, for one, ate healthy! I had a hamburger (not too bad huh?). I ate some strawberries, ok..so they were dipped in choclate, so what?! I ate an apple .. and it had a "little" caramel on it. I "needed" just a few bites of a corndog, so Andy shared one with me. (Along with all he hate himself)

Cars, lawnmowers, tractors, boats & campers: There are demos from every company in South Georgia. You name it and they were there with a whole load of them! We picked our favorite top 10 cars/trucks/SUVs of course. Andy drooled over tractors of every shape, size and brand. Lawnmowers too! Playgrounds to play on and outdoor playhouses to wish for. They had them with bedrooms, porches, porch swings, window flower boxes and a chimney...every little girls dream! You want to make an impulse buy on a boat, camper or hot tub (what's up with those at the fair?) Well, go right ahead!!

Agri lift: What is an agrilift you ask? It's just like the chair lift in the mountains, but much much longer. It goes across the entire fair grounds and is a nice ride! We took the round trip ticket and had a ball as always. Since this is a big agriculture event, the name agrilift seemed to fit I guess.. Andy is a dork for my picture as usual!

Paddle boats or kayaking: And who doesn't think of those 2 things when going to the fair? NOT! Ok..but since they have a little lake/pond, feel free to rent a boat and go for a ride! Tons of people were doing it!

Characters: There are tons of those and I don't just mean the "carnies". They have "Fair Bear" and a few others. A favorite is this "Rockin' Robot" that walks around. He's super huge! He talks to people, poses for photos and sings & dances! He's a hoot for sure!!

To learn more (and who wouldn't want too?) go to www.georgianationalfair.com and check out the fun! We had a blast and it was well worth the drive down there & $5 admission. (You don't even have to pay to park!) We wont mention the money one can fork out on food and fun, but that's up to you.

Until next time.....

My Top 10 Favorite Scary Movies:
(title stolen from Amber!)
Mine are in no order though and many that are listed are now corny, but still classic in my book!!


10. Jaws (who doesn't think of this when they're at the beach?)
9. Candyman (DON'T say that 3 times! Owwwww)
8. Friday the 13th (My Mom wouldn't let me see those so I'd go to my Aunt's house and she'd rent them all for me!!)
7. Nightmare on Elm Street (same reason as above, we'd rent them all)
6. Pet Cemetary (man I loved that when it came out)
5. Child's Play (who doesn't love a demented doll?!)
4. Psycho (The classic factor is HUGE)
3. Blair Witch (yep, it creeped us out!)
2. Poltergeist (gotta love the little girl!)

Tied for 1st!
1. The Exorcist (creeeepppy to me for some reason)
1. Silence of the Lambs (THE MOST creepy movie that I have ever seen. Ick- )