Halloween Salt & Pepper shakers, oh my

Alison and I decided to have a bit of a pumpkin carving contest tonight. It wasn't much of a contest as you'll see in the photos. I pretty much blew her out of the water. Actually I'm much better at picking out gourds than carving them. We may have chosen smaller gourds had we known that we, meaning I, would have to carry them a mile. I carried these pumpkins so far out of the Avila Barn that it really was a pity to carve them up so brutally. We took the hay ride out to the pumpkin patch, and they pretty much just left us out there to rot with the pumpkins that had been kicked in by some really happy kids. So anyway, here I am hauling these gargantuan pumpkins out of the field, and all the while Alison is searching for an even heavier pumpkin for me to carry. I think she's hinting that I should get back to the gym.

Uuktuberfeist with Spanglerkel

I ran in an Uuuktuberfest fun run this past weekend. Mellissa Spanglerkel talked me into going out there, and I had a great time. I didn't exactly push it, and the only training I did involved curling silver bullets, but I was happy with my time. If you don't know already, it's time you found out that I'm always rushing to get wherever I'm going. This day was no different. I woke up with plenty of time to spare, but I just waited and waited around my house until there was just barely enough time to make it to the start line before the race started. I then realized I didn't have any cash to pay the entrance fee, so I made a quick pit stop by the ol' faithful parents house to borrow $10. Thanks mom and dad. The run was fun, and then I kept things going by hiking up to the Eucalyptus grove at the edge of Montana de Oro state park. Good times. Jeff and Alison need to run next time. Here are some pics.
Here is a video.

Almost 4 months

Alison and I have been married for nearly four months, and things are really going well. My good friend Jesse Acosta inspired me to get a family blog going. The Bartsch family blog is going to have a tough time keeping up the Acosta Family Blog because the Acosta's a have a little man named Micah that does most of the entertaining + they live in Hawaii, but we'll give 'em a run for their money.

I'm gonna get the new Bartsch to help me out with this blog so you, our amazing friends and family, can get your fill of Bartsch Banter between real life visits. It is 9:30 and I gotta hit the hay... big presentation to the bosses tomorrow. Cotton mouth and clammy hands here I come :)