We had a great Harvest Party again this year. We think 1000+ people were there. This was the first official New Life event run by a volunteer. We handed it over to a lady who did a great job with it. Yippee!!! An incredible outreach opportunity--we're praying the Lord will bring the harvest! 

Great day!

Yesterday we had celebrated our "commitment sunday" by revealing the amount our church pledged towards the renovation of the old Odessa Country Club. Over $287,000 was pledged--and because a foundation is giving us $1 for every $2 we receive, that turns into over $414,000!! Woo-hoo! I don't know if that will cover our pool costs mom, but it'll do something!

soccer games

Here's an update on our weekend soccer games: Blake's team scored in the first minute of the game, but went on to lose 4 or 5 - 1. Blake has been plagued with ankle/heel pain which seemed to worsen during the game. Garrett's team was ahead 4-1 going in to the 4th period, but the other team (the 1st place team, by the way) scored 2 goals and was knocking on our goal pretty fiercely. We were thrilled when the ref blew the whistle to end the game!! We got the call last night inviting Blake to play on the Select team for his age group - he didn't even need to try out! The coach has been attending the games to evaluate players in a game setting and was impressed with what he saw Blake doing. Thankfully, he saw the game where Blake scored 3 goals!

Summer Disney Cruise

Andy and Carrie before the cruise


Our crew enjoyed a wonderful summer trip on the Disney Cruise out of Florida. Here are several favorite pics of our little adventure.














Daddy and girls on deck as we embark














Michaela's beard














Overlooking beautiful bay on St. Thomas














Walls girls at Castaway Cay














All dressed up for dinner














On the stern of the Disney Magic














Andy and Carrie during the cruise

first try

Hopefully, this attempt at blogging will work! I need to learn how to post pictures too :) Blake and Garrett and Phyllis went to the San Diego Zoo this past weekend and had a GRAND time! We thought of Alex and Katy and Elijah who have been to this zoo before and wondered what their favorite sights were. We loved the polar bears, koalas, pandas, meerkats, giraffes, and some interesting ones we saw in a show: polar wolf, badger, spotted leopard, and more... Mike and Austin went camping with the guys (jr. high group) to a desert area on the way to Mammoth. They had fun 4-wheeling and hiking and exploring caves & mines. We look forward to running the Turkey Day Dash with the Oak Park cousins!!

Jenna's Science Project

Hi family,

Here's a picture from last Sunday night of Jenna's school project. Aren't these four foxy gals?

We had two winning soccer games for Jenna and Michaela last Saturday and Jessica enjoyed a volleyball tournament in which she beat Alicia Williamson's team.

Everyone has been very healthy this fall and we're all especially proud of Carrie and her hard work on her doctorate at UCSB.
I'm finally back to running after suffering a calf injury in mid-September. I have my next marathon in Phoenix in January which means this will be a short training season.

Love ya,

Andy and the gals

Thanks Trisha!

Allright Trisha--thanks for posting the cool new pix. Let's go flashback for a sec--who'd like to look back and dream about next year?

Elijah discovered Dennis the Menace Park. How appropriate! (By the way, this park is supposed to be a copy of one in California.) 

Practicing his march for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 

Alex the Evzone! Among the brightest, handsomest and bravest, right Grandma? He sure had fun telling his class about Greece. His last statement, which he was so proud of, was, "Greece is in the Bible a lot. Paul went to Greece as a missionary. Some other people who went to Greece as missionaries were my Grandma and Grandpa Wall. That's why Greece is special to me." 

Katy the Rockstar! She has decided that would be an acceptable alternative to a Princess. (I'm quite sure she has no idea what a rock star is...) 

This outfit reminds us of Aunt Phyllis, who first gave it to Katy! Olivia melts her mommy and daddy's hearts with her smiles. She is the sweetest baby! 

This girl can dance!