Fall is here

Oktoberfest beer has arrived at the Jewel!

College: Week One

As part of the freshman orientation to campus, the students are taken to the football stadium and pose for a big class picture in the shape of an I which the university posted on Facebook. Mistakenly, I thought they did this on the Friday after B arrived and that he missed it, but they did it Saturday night. Glad he knows the schedule. Anyway, he said, he is in the picture. Yay. His description of where he is, "In the middle section of the I there is a woman with pigtails that is being held up by a man, I'm to the left of those two." I can't find him.

And E has settled into her apartment. Here she is with her roommate at the Champaign Corn Fest the weekend before classes began.

Here's a picture of gnocchi E made for her dinner Sunday night. It was "OK." I take that to mean it wasn't so good. Perhaps she needs to find a different recipe.

She packed this bento box for lunch on her first day of classes.

And she won this jar of pepperoncini for answering a question about the syllabus in her vegetable garden class (yes, it's a real thing, and yes, she's taking it). And B called! He's settling in and sounded happy. He'd like us to bring him a blanket that doesn't have cat hair on it. Not sure we have one of those.

Disney's water park photos

We went to both water parks during our vacation. This photo was taken at Blizzard Beach with Olaf from "Frozen."

This was taken after going on the raft ride.

This was taken at Typhoon Lagoon. I love the look on L's face. Andy, B and I went on a raft ride, too, but got someone else's photos by mistake. The Photo Pass service is convenient, but not always accurate.

The rest of us were already on the way back to our resort when Allison, Cindy and L got a chance to pose with Lilo from "Lilo and Stitch."

Disney's Hollywood Studios photos

We were in Hollywood Studios a lot. Love that it's a smaller park than Epcot and Magic Kingdom.

Me with the kids.

Me and my boy.

This is pretty funny that it was captured on film. This is the "before" of a typical family photo ...

... and the "after."

We waited in line to see Chewbacca. I love the look on B's face.

And posed for a few pictures with him.

Here's the gang on the Rock 'n' Roll Roller Coaster. B and I didn't ride. L looks terrified in this picture ...

... but then rides it on a different day and is loving it. It was E's first time on this ride ... and, again, might be her last. I was told she screamed the entire time.

Me and E while waiting for the rest of the gang to ride the Hollywood Tower of Terror.

Allison at Hollywood Studios.

Disney's Magic Kingdom photos

Who knew Tinker Bell was flying over us when we posed for this picture in front of Cinderella's castle?

And Allison caught Tinker Bell!

Me and my kids.

E gets a picture with Luminare from "Beauty and the Beast."

L and her aunts ready to go on the Mine Train roller coaster.

B and Cindy on the Buzz Lightyear ride. B looks so serious. Needless to say, he had the highest score of all of us.

Posing in front of the Haunted Mansion, one of my favorite rides. (And it's nice and cool inside!)

This was taken on the relatively new Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Mine ride. Looks like Cindy knows where the camera is.

Riding in the front and putting your arms up? Craziness.

I look like a baby next to B who doesn't even hold the handlebar.

Another late night for these two.

These four pictures are from Space Mountain, a roller coaster in the dark. It was E's first time riding it ... and likely her last. And, again, with the arms in the air - more craziness!

No arms in the air on Splash Mountain, but they are giving it the thumbs up.

L loves her Starbucks and I couldn't resist having them pose with their drinks and cookie. Could be a Starbucks ad.

Disney's Animal Kingdom photos

We were up early to get to Animal Kingdom when it opened so we could go on the new Avatar rides. The wait was long and it was hot. We're all "glistening" in these photos.

The scenery was really neat.

We couldn't leave Animal Kingdom without a ride on the Mount Everest roller coaster. B, E and I perused gift shops while they rode.

Cindy and the girls liked the Avatar rides so much they went back for extra magic hours, 10 p.m. to midnight. The park is only open at that time for guests of Disney resorts. The rest of us went to sleep.

Disney's Epcot photos

We bought the Photo Pass service at Disney, which gives you access to all the photos taken during the week by the Disney photographers. It's really the only way to get photos of the whole group unless you're fond of giving your phone to strangers and asking them to take your photo.

A day picture ...

and night picture in front of Spaceship Earth.

L and Cindy.

B and E on Test Track. B looks so calm and E has her face covered.

Allison and I take a break from the heat inside the Mexico Pavilion. We think the photographer was inquiring whether we were a couple until Allison we were a couple until Allison said we were in-laws.

My college kids on their own to explore Epcot.

Here we are on the new Frozen ride. We told B he wouldn't get wet ... we were wrong.

Because we are Chase Disney Visa card holders, we were able to go to a special room to get our picture taken with characters. You don't know which characters are there until you're in the room. I think we lucked out with three characters.

Allison and friends.

Minnie Mouse loved being in L's selfie.

Andy and I went back to the Chase photo area on a different day and had two characters with us.

Allison was exploring Epcot on her own (at a slower pace than Andy makes us go) and she met Mulan!