All Hallows Eve

The Cain's started off with a traditional jack-o-lantern with a big grin, created at CrossPointe's 20-somethings party.  Then when the Hagan's had us over for the 2nd annual pumpkin carving extravanganza, we decided to shoot for the stars and carve a golden retriever.  It really took forever and was rather difficult, but I think it turned out pretty good.

Finally Springer's company had a pumpkin carving contest today, and his department submitted a "pumpkin pie".  Pretty clever, huh?

Whole Hog!

Last weekend Laura Susan and I helped throw an engagement party for a good friend who's getting married next month. We were in charge of the food, and of course we decided to do barbecue. But not just any barbecue, but a whole hog! His name was Herman and he tasted great!

Celebrating Jasper's First Birthday

Today we celebrated Jasper's first birthday.  Hope you enjoy the pictures of the festivities.

We love you, Jasper!  Hope you had a happy, happy birthday.  And we think you did!

BBQ

As I've mentioned on here before, this blog kind of started out as a BBQ blog; a way for me to post about barbecue joints that we've been to. Well in the past 2 years that we've had this blog I think I have made 2 barbecue posts. I guess I've been slacking a little bit. I want to try to make a better effort at it and it starts today. Over the past 6 months or so at work, we have been conducting a Q-Review. Every 2 or 3 weeks we go to a barbecue restaurant in Columbus and do a review. We all fill out a scorecard after we go and judge everything from the meat and sauce to the ambiance of the place. We went to 8 different BBQ joints and over the next little while I am going share my reviews on here. Our boss puts together a write up after all the scorecards are received. He tallys the points and comes up with an overall score. The final one is about to be done and a champion will be crowned. Who will it be? You'll just have to wait to find out.




Meanwhile though I will share a couple of pics from a recent cookout that we did. UGA was playing Arkansas and I thought it was appropriate to have some Boston Butt. It turned out good and the Dawgs won!
 

The butts right off the grill.

Ready to eat!

Laura Susan enjoyed it!

Jasper after a long day of smoking some barbecue.

Shout Out to the Dawgs, Jasper Update, and Balloon Glow

Go Dawgs... make us proud this afternon. We're rooting for you... even Jasper.We thought it was time for another Jasper growth update, so above is where we started, and here he is at 11 months, 70 pounds!In other news, we went to Callaway last night with our friends the Finchers for the annual Balloon Glow. Reminded me of the Cherry Blossom Festival back home.

Happy Labor Day!

We're looking forward to a good weekend with the Darnells in town.

Favorite Picture from the Far East

Here we are on the Great Wall, and yes, we are soaken wet! It started pouring soon after we stepped on the Wall. On the bright side, the people in our group were the only ones on the Wall (no crowds... a rarity in that part of the world). Bad news was that it was quite slippery! But we had a good time!

I'm singing...

My sister introduced me to a new friend recently... so I've never met her in person, but I'm sure if I did, we'd be good friends. I really love her music. Check out her self-titled album. I promise you won't be disappointed. So far, my favorites are: Beautiful, My Beloved, and No Sweeter Name. www.karijobe.com