Horse Riding, Church Picnicing, Alligator Wrangling, etc.

Hail, loyal followers of LTAV! I trust that since you are reading this you have not yet lost faith in the power of this blog to give you a slightly different perspective on life. As the title suggests we have quite a few items of interest that are not in any way related to weddings, yes that is possible! :)

As the last post indicated the attack of of a fever and cold somewhat delayed this post but that can not hold us down.

Enjoy!

The Church Picnic

The Saturday after Jon & Monique's wedding our church took a break from all of the wedding work by having our annual church picnic. First of all I must confess that I have erred greatly, instead of spending my time giving you full coverage of the event I was leading the sports, shocking I know. Thankfully, Carmen was fulfilling her blogging duties to the fullest so if you want the real coverage please visit A Reflection of Me.

Mr. Clayton ensures that fair play is everywhere to be found.

Benjamin

Emma, the Photographer

A valiant young warrior surveys his domain...

What's this? A warrior dares to cross the bridge and challenge the powers that be?

I am afraid defeat is all that is to be found on the other side of the bridge.

"And stay off!"

Sir Jeriah the Valiant

Isaacs Family Concert

Recently we got to see the Isaac's Family, a Southern Gospel/Bluegrass group, for the first time live in concert.

I don't think I have ever heard a box sound so good!

This concert afforded me the perfect opportunity for trying out my new 70-200mm 2.8f L lens. Prior to this lens the only telephoto I had used was an old Sigma that was loud, slow, and gave murky pictures, upon reviewing my pictures from this event I was blown away at just how sharp they were. Make sure to click on the last picture and then zoom in to view it at a larger size.

Horseback Riding

On Labor Day some of my siblings and myself were very privileged to be able to ride horseback for the first time ever, unless ponies at the petting zoo when you are six count. :) Thank you so much Scott for organizing this outing and to your friends who own the horses, we had a blast!

Our wonderful host & hostess prepare the horses.

Story

& Gracie

Yes we were all "green" so instruction was required...

...some of us listened better then others... ;)
You have to view this one full size, the expressions are great!

Shad shows us how it is done.

How romantic. ;)

Monique

Karen, perfectly at ease.

Scott surveys his domain.

Stephen

Joshua

Shane

Abigail contemplates the deeper things in life.

Daniel

Joseph

Isaac

I wonder if he needs any more help?

Starting out slow...

... and he is off!

Isaac catches on quickly.

I start out on my first ever horseback ride.

Pulling her back from a gallop.

The Eye of the Horse

Shane scans the Susquehanna Valley for possible intruders...

...such as this highly suspicious character picked up in the rocks behind our picnic table...

...or, worse yet, the Dark Rider!

Like all prowlers of the night these flee as soon as they are exposed to the light!

Shane with his new found friend.

Shad entertains us with music & song.

Speed!

Our generous hostess with her babies.

The Great Martin Hotdog Roast

Mr. Martin ensures that there are plenty of french fries for everyone.

Dad enters into the spirit of the moment!

Smoke is always a slight downside to open fires, though when one does 5 hotdogs at once like Don this discomfort can be minimized!

Hey, who says hotdogs can't be artistic?

For some, roasting hotdogs is no laughing matter.

Philip, the Pro.