Back to Square One

Well, the sellers foreclosed on the house we wanted.  Not sure why they would want to do that when they had an interested buyer already in the process.  We're bummed, but we're moving on quickly to find a suitable replacement.  To lighten the mood, here's a reminder of where we are in the form of a blast from my past as a PBS-devoted child.

Long Lost Photos

My earlier post about Jeff and Marissa reminded me that I recently came across some long lost photos taken when we went to the Hoop De Doo Revue during their visit in March. Click here to view the pictures on Flickr. Also, true to form, there is a video.

The Jelly Story Resolution

Some of you may still be wondering whatever became of that Welch's video contest we entered a few months back. Well, other than assuming we lost since we hadn't heard anything, we were still in the dark as well--until today! My mom (who submitted the video) got the following letter in the mail today:

Dear Ms. Pinder:

On behalf of Welch's, we want to thank you for participating in "The Ultimate PB&J Challenge" contest. The winning video entitled "Mason's Restaurant" can be viewed on Welchs.com along with some of Welch's favorite video submissions. As a special thank you for your participation, please accept the enclosed comlimentary coupon for your next purchase of a Welch's spread product.

Sincerely, Rose Spicer
Corporate Communications

So we are kind of sad that we didn't win the trip to New York City (even though we had kind of figured we hadn't by now), but excited that our video is on the Welch's website because we were chosen as one of their favorite video submissions! If you somehow magically haven't seen it yet or you just missed our wacky choreographed and harmonized antics, check out our Jelly Jam by clicking the Ultimate PB&J Challenge button on Welchs.com! And thanks for voting :)

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

We love our little neighborhood. It stays pretty quiet, which is one of the best things about it. it's been pretty breezy this weekend, which made it a perfect time for our anniversary gift from Eric's parents to come in the mail. Check out the video below to see the test drive!

Give Us a High Five!

Our family entered a video contest for the Food Network and Welch's, and in order to win, we need your votes! Click the link below to watch the video and rate us sky high so we can be the champions! To vote for us, click "Rate This" below the video. Thanks for your help!

Click here to watch and rate our video

Christmas in January

I've been clearing out space on our hard drive, so I finally got around to editing and uploading some video footage I've been avoiding. Here are three early (or late) holiday treats from the Pinders and Browns.

Above, a taste of our annual Christmas caroling tradition. Directly below, links to the outtakes of our attempts to recording the caroling tradition, and finally, our performance for the Christmas Eve service at FBC Waycross.

Christmas Caroling Bloopers

Rejoice with Exceeding Great Joy

Annie's Senior Recital

The hero of the day!

Last weekend, Eric and I drove/rode (respectively) to Rome, Georgia, for Annie's senior voice recital at Berry College. She'll be graduating in May with a degree in music education. It makes me feel so old (!!), but her instrument has grown by leaps and bounds, and we were all blown away by her performance.

The amazing recital was followed by a beautiful reception, and we had some much needed time together as a family. And we also took some cheesily cute photos of Eric outside in the cold. :)

More photos from the holiday weekend can be seen here, and below are links to the videos from the recital:

Danza, danza fanciulla gentile

Caro mio ben

Awake, sweet love, thou art return'd

Heidenroslein

Fur Musik

Thy Beaming Eyes

The sleep that flits on baby's eyes

Zion's Walls

J'en prendrai un, deux, trois

Movie Stars in the Making

Before Eric and I ever met, all the Pinders went on a little trip called Paddle Georgia, which involved our kayaking about 45 miles down the Chattahoochee River over the course of three days on the water. It just so happened that during the trip, a documentary film maker was producing a piece on the Chattahoochee, and he took some footage of us for his project, Chattahoochee: To Fall in Love with a River. We appear in the full-length documentary several times, but Mom recently found the delightful YouTube clip below, in which Pinders can be seen if you fast forward to 2:50 and 3:30. (If you're wondering what it is we're doing, it's a cheer we learned on a guided trip of the Nantahala River a while back. We retained it and it's been a family tradition ever since!)

ICE! Update

ICE! at Gaylord Palms was really cool (haha). All volunteers from Give Kids the World qualify to purchase the special VIP charity preview tickets, so we headed to the attraction and exclusive VIP gathering.

The hotel in itself is beautiful, but we were so excited to see the ice sculptures that we decided to head straight through the resort and go back to visit later. We were met by a little party featuring the thickest, richest hot cocoa I've ever had (and hot cider, eggnog, and cappuccino for my thirsty husband).

Inside the attraction, we walked through a lovely foresty Winter Wonderland, the colorful Hall of Ornaments, the delicious Candy Land, Santa's special elfy hideout, a beautiful sparkling Nativity scene, and Santa's Magical Flight, featuring four frigid slides made entirely of ice, and finally Penguin Pointe.

We followed up the experience with more hot cocoa because it was--holy cow--NINE degrees inside! Good thing they provide the parkas!

Below is a sample of the amazing artwork we experienced. Follow this link for pretty pictures!

EDIT: Almost forgot about the video! Of course there's a video. :)

Fun Cruise Stuff - Volume 3

The final installment of the Fun Cruise Stuff trilogy is here! I finished the home video montage from our trip. Enjoy!