Halloween Weekend at LRRvResort

It is Saturday and the weather looks like it may cooperate today…Last night as the guests arrive, the magic pumpkin seeds (at a cost of $5) were being bought…What the magic pumpkin seeds do is change the little pumpkin candy wrapped in cellophane and tied with either an orange, a black or a purple ribbon with a small card attached to put their name or site on…The magic pumpkin seed is then placed on a hay bale outside that same night and the next morning the little ones or older ones come and see what their magic pumpkin seed has grown in to…The little ones are truly amazed at how big their magic pumpkin seed has gotten over night…The guests then bring their new pumpkins up to the crafts room and they can paint their pumpkin to enter in to the Pumpkin Painting Contest that is held sometime between 5 and 6pm at the Halloween Carnival held down in the cafe area…

The crafts room opens at 10am and slowly the guests come in to the room to start their design on their pumpkin or just wanted to paint it…Many parents were with their little ones to help out on the design if the little ones wanted help…So many designs and artsy painting…The crafts room is packed (from time to time), every table is sometimes taken up with kids/parents working on their pumpkins…If the older kids didn’t buy a magic pumpkin seed, they can buy a pumpkin and paint it…The influx of guests was amazing… By the time that everyone had come in to the crafts room to paint, there was anywhere from 2 to 20 pumpkins outside on the tables drying…

This was a possible winner at the Pumpkin Painting Contest held in the cafe area for the Carnival…There were a few good pumpkins that were hard to decide on a winner…Thank goodness that the moms and dads got to put a navy bean in a little cup and the most beans in a cup is the WINNER…

Among the pumpkin painting contest was the Best Decorated Site and Costume Contest…There were several decorated sites located in the wooded section of the campground and down in the lower section of the campgroud where there are no trees…The evil wicked witch was only a few sites up from where we are parked…This site also had out some tombstones and a black kitty cat…

A site up in the woods was decorated with evil looking clowns…Even the owner was dressed up as a clown… Can you tell who is the owner in the clown costume????  This guest also won the best (only dressed) adult costume…

At 5pm the Halloween Carnival begins in the cafe area…There are the  cake walks, horse races, pumpkin painting contest, costume contest & apple bobbing…The kids come in all dressed in their favorite costume and the family picks out a table for the hour of the carnival…For the pumpkin painting contest, there are 2 tables set up…The ages for each table is under 7 years old and 8 years old and older…It gives the little ones a fair chance of being picked for their pumpkin…The cake walk is easy…Numbers are placed on the floor and the kids pick out their favorite number to stand on…Richard picks out a number out of his goblet and that number is out of the game…The game ends when there is one person on the number left…They win a prize packet and a cake of their choice that was bought for the game…Two cakes are bought for the 2 cake walks…The adults get a chance in the cake walk too…The horse races are very simple…Six kids are on one of the numbers and Richard draws out a card that gives the horse number and how many spaces that horse (person) moves forward…There is a total of 6 blocks to make it to the winner spot…It becomes fun to watch the  kids “gallop” to the finish line…Brianna got in to a horse race and she did the apple bobbing…When one apple bobs and if they get an apple, the reward is a free ice cream…Who can resist?  Bobbing for apples was the last event of the carnival and everyone was ready to head home and have dinner…I just want to add one more picture of Brianna in her  Princess Aurora gown…

The Girls at Halloween

The pictures about to be seen are Brandi's 3 girls ready to go trick or treating around their streets...We did not recognize Elizabeth with her faced painted...Our youngest granddaughter went trick or treating over in Sicily but I haven't seen any pictures of her online yet...What you are about to see in costume are Sleeping Beauty, Kitty Kat and Pumpkin...Three of the most adorable girls...As soon as I can get a picture of the youngest, I will post it to this blog...Kayla, age 5, was the Kitty Kat...Brianna, age 4, was Sleeping Beauty and Lizzi, age 2 1/2, was a pumpkin...From what I heard they got LOTS of candy...enough chocolate to make mommy go nuts...LOL…and a couple of pictures of Laurianna who lives in Sicily…

Aren’t these guys adorable???

Before going trick or treating on Halloween night, All the girls decided to carve pumpkins…It looks like Kayla is working on a pumpkin and possibly doing a great job…

Looks like Lizzie is doing a great job carving out all the inside of her pumpkin…Getting all the seeds out and possibly just playing with the insides of the pumpkin…

Brianna and Kayla did a fantastic job on the pumpkin…I bet they couldn’t wait to put it outside…Great carving, guys!!  Love you all!!

I know the next 2 pictures aren’t a Halloween picture but I just couldn’t resist how 2 of my 3 cuties sleep…Don’t worry Laurianna, I will put up some pictures of you if I have one of you sleeping…This is Brianna sound asleep…I believe she was grounded for doing something bad and she fell asleep…what she has on is one of her favorite summer dresses that she picked out at Walmart while she was staying with us in Hillsville, VA…

The next one is of Lizzi…The yellow teddy bear that she is holding is her favorite sleep toy…She can not fall asleep with out and does that teddy need a bath…Sweet Dreams to my 2 cuties…xxxooo

 Here is our little Rainbow Care Bear…She is all bundled up ready to go Trick or Treating…With that cute costume on, how can you not get some candy…

This is a cute picture of her daddy, Chad, her mommy, Misti and Anna…It’s great to see that even the parents got dressed up for Halloween…Wonder if the got any candy for being dressed up??? 

The Halloween Decorated Clubhouse

One of our jobs here at Lake Ridge RV Resort was to decorate for the Halloween weekends…This year the Trail of Terror isn’t going to be held due to a few complications last year by guests…My thought is that I am very glad that it is not outside this year cause it is COLD and DAMP…After all the boxes were brought up from the barn, Richard and I was going through the dusty boxes to see what was available to decorate with…I know for a fact that Richard did most of the decorating cause a lot of the spiderwebs and stuff had to be hung up high…but I did help…Our managers liked what we did and said it was better than last year…So I am going to post some of the pictures to show everyone what we did…Enjoy…

The windows in the cafe area were easy for Richard to take care of…The spiderwebs added some pizazz along with the hanging witches and draculas and some window clings that Brianna put on the windows…

This is the entrance coming down the steps leading to the cafe area and to the game room…Like I said, Richard did a wonderful job…

It is so nice now that we can decorate the Bingo area…Torches are lit at night…Ghosts blow in the wind…Prize boxes are kept under the pumpkin table adn the corner cabinet has some feet and hands ready to hand out candy…Some little scarecrows help finish out the touches…I think we were lucky to find enough twosomes to help make the decorating even…

The hallway leading from the office/store area tells all the guests what will be going on at the Halloween Carnival held between 5 – 7pm on every Saturday during October…Richard just thinks of everything…

The cafe area…Last year there were some lights at the counter and some cardboard leaves…This year, I thought it would be nice to add spiderwebs and the lights along with some ghoulish masks and other decorations that were available…Like pumpkins and a tombstone…There are a few witches around the counter and a very evil looking mask…

This is the Bobbing for Apples area on the cafe floor…The Halloween table cover works well for the water and the bucket we found turns out to be great for the little and big kids…

Laurianna Jorges – 8 months old

Laurianna lives in Sicily and will be until about October 2010…Laurianna (Anna) is our youngest granddaughter…The pictures that are acquired is from Facebook and I am very glad for that chance to get them…I want to post some of the ones that I had collected that I thought were very cute and fantastic and great…

So sit back and enjoy some of these pictures…

This is one of our sweeties…It looks like she will keep her blue eyes…Now there are 2 blue eyed cuties in our family…Anna & Brianna…

According to Misti, Anna has learned how to give kisses…How precious now…

This is Daddy getting kisses (Chad) and Mommy getting kisses (Misti)…

Anyone want to do pull-ups with this sweet little girl?  Looks like she is doing very well for herself…One, Two, Three… or I can use my daddy to do my pull-ups on…

Can you make this face while in a playpen?  I can…Learning how to make funny faces at an early age…I bet she had some fun…

At first it looks like she is riding face forward but after a closer look I can see that she is sitting correctly in the car…It’s tough being old…She is so adorable…Silence is golden sometimes…I sure do wish I could hold her…and the cute little jeans…Nothing like a baby in jeans…

Another Visit to Lake Ridge for Brianna

Brianna had decided that she wanted to come back with us to Hillsville, Va, Lake Ridge Rv Resort on September 29, 2009…Everything was packed that I thought she would need, all of our stuff was packed and all of it was put in the truck…The bin was packed and so was the inside of the truck…We departed Martinsburg, WV about 10am…The drive back to Hillsville was good…Brianna is pretty good about riding for about 5 hours…We always stop somewhere to eat dinner…

While I work up in the Crafts Room from Tuesday – Saturday, Brianna has her own crafts to do…Brianna received a pack of 18 count suncatchers so she was busy painting one at a time…Brianna did work on a paper plate pumpkin and a wood project…

Sometimes Bri gets to have an ice cream cone and when she does get one, the person who works behind the ocounter gives Brianna her fair share of vanilla ice cream, which is her favorite flavor…

Does she enjoy her ice cream?   I think so…

And then there are times when she feels the need to help out one of the managers of the campground, Steve…Steve was counting quarters and putting them in the wrappers and Bri was handing the wrappers and once in a while putting the quarters in the counter for Steve…

When we are not in the crafts room we are home and there are fun times…Brianna was listening the music that her Poppy put up on his computer…We sang and danced to many songs…Here Brianna and Poppy were playing and having a fun time…

There were times when Brianna slept in and we would come out and see how she was doing…Bri sleeps on the couch instead of on the floor on nice comfy foam because it is really cold on the floor now…She does watch a movie in our room and then she falls asleep on our bed…Richard or I carry her out when it is time for us to go to bed and put her on the couch…but as you can see, there are odd ways that she sleeps…

On one of our shopping sprees at Walmart, Brianna and I came across some very cute Halloween outfits…The prices were reasonable for each piece and she liked them a lot..So I got her the cute kitty top and the matching pants…She really likes this outfit and if she could wear it all the time then she would…I’m glad that I wash clothes once a week…LOL…The same time this picture was taken, Brianna was being silly..She wanted a few cute pictures of her posing and flipping over on the couch…

Brianna likes to see the pictures as I took them and wanted to do many flips and poses…Let me show a few of them…She’s a goof ball…

How is this for a pose???  She came up with this pose and I could not refuse getting such a wonderful of our granddaughter…We sure do love her (and the other 3 as well)…

How about doing the splits?  Bri wanted to show how she can do the splits…What a good job..maybe she will want to be in gymnastics when she gets a little older…She likes to walk along a wood rail as if it was a balance beam…or maybe a ballerina…

The one thing that Brianna likes is to go for a golf cart ride with her Poppy…She is always bugging him to go…So the other day, the sun was out for a while and it was a little warm and she wanted to go for a golf cart ride..Richard took his camera and off they went…Needless to say, the 2 of them wound up at the playground…

Down the slide she came…She loves to take off her socks and shoes and bury her feet in the sand…One day she may have a shovel and bucket but this was not a planned visit to the playground…

How far off the ground do you think she jumped???  It is so cool to get pictures of where her feet dont’ touch the ground…Brianna had a wonderful time at the playground…Thanks goodness  her Poppy took his camera to get some special shots of her playing and running and playing…Then I got some leaves as a little present….

Listening to music is her new thing…We spent some time listening to kid songs, singing and dancing to them…She thinks the music bars on the computer is the music picture and when Poppy closes it, she gets upset cause she thinks the music is ending…

My Ravens Page

  In 1996 I became a fan of Baltimore’s new team, The Baltimore Ravens…Sure, we got the team from Cleveland but Cleveland didn’t want to build the Browns a new stadium…Art Modell wanted a new stadium…So he moved the Browns to Baltimore and the naming for the football team was being a contest…Let the people who live in Baltimore and the surrounding cities vote on a name that will fit our new team…The name Baltimore RAVENS came about because of Edgar  Allen Poe…Wouldn’t you know, the new football team now has 3 mascots named Edgar, Allen & Poe…The Baltimore Ravens played at the Memorial Stadium where the Baltimore Orioles use to play before Camden Yards was built and were the previous football team (Baltimore Colts) use to play…   

A new stadium was built next to Camden Yards with purple seats…What an awesome place to be at during game day…Luckily I got to go to a few games when I lived in Baltimore/Bel Air areas…

The Ravens had several coaches and last year we acquired a new coach, John Harbaugh…The guy smiling is our head coach…The other coach is Cam Cameron…Our defensive coach, Rex Ryan, went to become Head Coach of the New York Jets…He will be

missed…

This is the leader of our awesome DEFENSE..#52, Ray Lewis…What an asset he has become…He has taught and brought along several other defensive players…One is Terrell Suggs, who thankfully, is still with the Baltimore Ravens…A few of the other guys on the defense are or were Kelly Gregg, #97, my favorite; Haloti Ngata; Jim Leonard; Bart Scott; Adalius  Thomas;  Jonathon Ogden (retired); Rod Woodson (former Steelers); Michael McCrary #99 (retired) and many others…

Over the years we have had several QB’s, just like other teams…Vinny Testaverde; Trent Dilfer (Superbowl XXXV); Steve McNair; Kyle Boller and now Joe Flacco…(Wacco for Flacco)…The true Rookie of the Year for 2008/2009 season…The only Rookie QB of 2008 who took the Ravens to the playoffs and almost to Superbowl XVIII…

There is one person who is not with the Ravens this year, 2009…It’s Matt Stover, #3…He has been the best kicker that the Ravens has had since they became the Ravens…Luckily, I was able to get several autographs from him from the time that they practiced out at Westminster College (McDaniel College as it is now known) until 2003 when I left Maryland. 

The only real Raven left is Ray Lewis…Everyone else is gone and I’m sure Ray will be gone at some point…The one coaching staff person that is missed is Rex Ryan..In time I know that he was heading to be a Head Coach of a team but he was one of the best Assistant Coaches and Defensive Coaches the Ravens have ever had…He is sorely missed…

Season 2009 is here and so far the Ravens are doing alright…The preseason looked really good since we were 4-0 but with preseason the main reason the games are played is to see who is going to be kept for the football season…Needless to say before preseason are the trades…Bart Scott and Jim Leonard was gone…Jim Leonard is a terrific player and he is playing very well with the Jets..but then why not, he does have a great head coach…Right now, as of 12.11.09, the Ravens are 3 wins and 2 losses…I certainly hope that the offense get their act together and that the offensive coach gets the offense on their feet again…The Baltimore Ravens have a great team this year and I truly believe that we can make it all the way but the Ravens have to get their act together…C’mon Ravens, Let’s go all the way…Flacco deserves to go all the way…

This is Downtown Baltimore…M&T Bank Stadium…next to Camden Yards (Orioles)…at the corners of I-395 & I-95…I sure do miss coming to this stadium..The crowd..The noise…The fun…