Peoria Young Group

YG Christmas Party 12/15/05 VIDEO CLIPS COMING SOON
Megan flashes her trademark smile before the party starts.	Hubes	Dusty, Benj, Tate and Aaron	Andi
The kitchen starts to get busy as groups make their pizzas.	Tate	Alyssa looks over the kitchen as Polly and Jessica work on their pizza.	More food-prep.
Matt's about to dig in to his pizza. Perhaps he should cook it first.	Sisters Jodi and Megan chat.	"Look, ma! No jeans!"	Joanna
Tate, Aaron, Zac and Isaac	Jodi emphatically defends her lovely vest, which one person derogatorily called a life vest.	Isaac and Aaron take a seat as they wait for the party to start.	Allison and Tate watch as Jodi and Polly get ready to blow out the candles on their birthday cake.
Jodi and Polly go in to blow out the candles	The Cake	A group of girls	A group of guys
Joanna, Amanda and Angie enjoy their own pizza.	A "table-eye" view of the party.	Andy yuks it up with Alyssa, Autumn, Rhoda and Monica.	Having way too much fun, Cori puts on a gingerbread man show
"I once caught a fish this big!"	Jimmy and the Elder Statesmen.	Matt, Chris and Allison help out with the dishes	Chris is very happy to have his picture taken. This photo closely resembles a similar photo from the 2004 Party.
Rhoda, Chris and Monica	Rhoda, Chris and Monica	Allison, Matt and Alyssa do the dishes.	Phil, Jodi and Joe chillin' in the kitchen.
Philbert/Philbo-Baggins/Phillegal	Jodi	Kum-Dog	More people washing dishes
Sam and Larissa during the singing.	Tate and a very blurred Aaron sing some Christmas carols.	Polly goes in for the steal during the gift grab.	Aaron looks on as Zac opens his present.
Zac looks pretty happy with his Spotted Dog Cookie Jar.	Jimmy once again looks thrilled with the gift he picked. See him in 2004	Matt opens his gift.	Not being able to wait to get to his seat, Matt proudly opens his gift right there on the floor.
Looking down the line of girls during the gift grab.	Jessica gets giddy over her gift.	Jon savors the taste of the Turkey & Gravy soda as Dusty grabs for the bottle	Jon looks on in anticipation as Dusty takes a swig.
Dusty reacts to the taste an gladly gives up the bottle.	The Elder Statesmen: Benj & Eddie B	Reflecting the sentiment of several YGers, Phil tries to take out the photographer with the frisbee.	Adam appears to have some trouble having his cake and eating it, too (thanks to Joanna).
Sibs Jodi and Megan again.	Shoes	Shoe	Even more shoes
One more shoe	Yet again, more shoes	Another shoe	More shoes
Cori is really having a lot of fun playing with the lighter.	Cori, bored with the lighter, now plays with a ribbon while Andy sits idly by.	The Rewster	Monica, Joanna, Autumn and Cori play in the cake.
Goes goes in for the kill: a handful of mashed up cake aimed at Cori's face.
Prairie Air Show 8/13/05 PHOTOS BY BENJ & ADAM - Video Clips - An F/A-18 Hornet performs a fly-by 12 sec, 1.1MB Skip Stewart in his Pitts Special aerobatic biplane performs 56 sec, 4.8MB
This is what being one of the first in line gets you - your choice of front-row seats.	Dusty and Benj at the helm of the KC-135 Stratotanker.	Andy, bro. ry t. funk and Benj peer into the back of a KC-135 jet engine.	As Adam looks on, Andy wipes his hands clean after inspecting the engines of the nearby Stratotanker.
Benj and Dusty check out the inside of a Blackhawk helicopter.	bro. ry t. funk tests the safety harness in the Blackhawk.	Ryan and Andy exit a Blackhawk.	Fusty Dunk walks away from a light observation helicopter, which just so happens to be armed with Hellfire missiles and a .50-cal machine gun.
The guys go in for a closer look at an F-18, similar to the one that would perform later in the day.	The back end of an F/A-18, just like the one that would perform later on in the day.	The front of the same F/A-18.	Dusty and bro. ry t. funk are all too happy to push where it says "PUSH."
Andy takes a closer look at the AH-1 Cobra, the Vietnam-era helicopter.	Dustin, bro. ry t. funk, Rew and Adam check out the back end of the Cobra attack helicopter.	The guys check out one of the many airplanes on display.	Same plane as before.
"Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with a red [orange] stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels. It looks like a big Tylenol!"	A WWII-era training plane.	Dustin, Benj and bro. ry t. funk	Dusty and Benj take in the sights.
bro. ry t. funk	The very first people to arrive at the air show, Dusty (hidden), bro. ry t. funk, Adam, Andyrew and Benj (photographer) were guaranteed front-row seats.	Dusty and bro. ry t. funk catch some rays while waiting for the action to begin.	Benj, Dusty and Andy watch one of the day's performers.
Skip Stewart in his black and red Pitts Special biplane puts on a breath-taking flight.	Skip Stewart's Pitts Special aerobatic biplane.	A Marine Corps F/A-18 taxis in front of the crowd as he gets ready to wow the spectators.	Dan Buchanan demonstrates his skills in his hang glider, complete with smoke and pyrotechnics.
A member of the Army's Black Daggers Special Ops Parachute team nears the end of his jump.	A member of the Black Daggers prepares to land.	An F/A-18 Hornet performs a very fast, very close flyby.	An F-16 screams past the crowds.
The Super Shockwave shows off for the crowd. The Super Shockwave is a 1957 Chevy truck complete with two jet engines, producing 25,000 horsepower.	Dusty admires the Super Shockwave.	A WWII P-51 Mustang performs a fly-by as a Chinook helicopter flies in the background.	F-16 Fighting Falcon
Young Group Trip to St. Louis 7/30/05 - Video Clips - Jon & Jimmy exchange "Yo momma" jokes - removed by request 7 sec, 0.6MB Interstate traffic 2 sec, 1.8MB "Now we're bookin'" in the Arch tram 2 sec, 0.1MB City Museum water fun, part I 21 sec, 1.9MB City Museum water fun, part II 19 sec, 1.7MB Megan, Joanna and Julia sing "What's a Sister Got to Do to Get a Brother in This Church?" 191 sec (3min, 11 sec for those of you in Rio Linda), 17.1MB - NEW PHOTOS - taken by Elizabeth Rieker
Megan, Jimmy and Elizabeth dancin' in the tram 29 sec, 6.4MB
Group Photo HI RES	Nicole, Bethany and Jenna	Joanna and Amanda	Joanna
Joe, Megan and Sarah	Joe and Megan	Joe and Megan	People
The Arch	Jimmy and Megan	Jimmy	Megan, Joanna and Julia sing their wonderful song. VIDEO
Joe	Isaac
- St. Louis Arch -
Our Fearless Leader, Tim, chats with Joe and Jimmy as Joe finishes off his Wendy's Frosty™ Dairy Dessert. The rest of the group waits in the background.	Jessica, Allison, Larissa, Samantha, Emily, Zac (mostly hidden) and the Rewster sit on the bench waiting for the rest of the YG to return from lunch.	Here come two Young Groupers returning from lunch, Monica and Julia.	Jodi, Emily, Rebekah, Zac, Andy and Sarah wait some more before it's off to the Arch.
Yikes! A too-close close-up of James' head.	Before we head off to the Arch, Jimmily drifts off into deep thought. He is, as we all know now, one the foremost thinkers of abstract and irregular thought in our generation . . .	Joanna tries her best to hide from the camera while Amanda tries her best to prevent Joanna from fleeing.	Megan and Amanda smile before heading to the Arch.
Rosie and Jessica enjoy their Frosty™ Dairy Dessert while Allison, Our Fearless Leader and Larissa chill. Allison looks like she's about had enough of standing around.	While Larissa chats with Allison, Jodi takes a break on Samantha's lap while Rebekah looks on.	A small smattering of Sisters sip on soda and something savory as they speak.	Benji-apartheid (props to Josh) and Our Fearless Leader, Tim, engage in conversation.
Two members of the Brothers Funk (Isaac and bro. ry t. funk) play hand games while Debi looks on and Joe (still) tries to finish off his delicious Wendy's Frosty™ Dairy Dessert.	Jessica, Larissa, Sam and Jodi wait patiently while the Group gets ready to move out.	Justin and bro. ry t. funk yuk it up.	Megan, who didn't know this picture was being taken or else she probably would've either killed me or beaten me up as most people who are either really camera shy or just plain sick of all the photos being taken would like to do whenever they see me and my camera at any given Young Group event, smiles. She also offers the St. Louis Bread Company, a part of the Panera Bread Co. family, great product placement. And since so many people will actually see this page and read all the way through this incredibly long photo caption, I will gladly yet humbly accept any royalty checks from the St. Louis Bread Company, a member of the Panera Bread Co. family, for any increase in revenue they may see once this page is posted on the World Wide Web.
Rew and Zac bring up the rear as the Group finally heads off toward the Arch.	Temporarily foiled in our quest for the Arch by a red light, the Group waits.	The beautiful Gateway Arch.	At the base of the Arch, Betny and Elizabeth go from being the photographers to the subjects.
Julia uses hand gestures to emphasize the point she's making to Angela. Meanwhile, a man in the background sports an Albert Einstein hairdo.	Joe does a little dance while Megan looks on and Sarah passes by.	Woah - too bright! (Amanda and Angie in Tram #3 on the way to the top of the Gateway Arch with Benj, Andyrew and Adam.)	Woah - too dark!
Looking down on the Mighty Mississippi as a speedboat passes by.	Traffic gets congested on the Interstates into St. Louis. Just an hour earlier, we were stuck in that traffic crawling towards St. Louis.	Looking out over the city, one can see the current Busch Stadium (home of the St. Louis Cardinals) with the new stadium being built right next to/on top of it.	Looking towards downtown you can see buildings - lots of buildings. Tall ones, short ones, thin ones, fat ones, pointy ones, flat ones. Lower middle is the Adam's Mark Hotel - the hotel in which the Aupperle's stayed in the Presidential Suite just mere weeks after President Bush had been there.
Another view of downtown St. Louis.	Situated in the middle of downtown, the Old Courthouse is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which also includes the Gateway Arch. website	Standing over the special glass section of floor in the Arch, you can see that there is absolutely nothing between you and the ground but 630 feet of air and lots of gravity.	Benj in the top of the Arch.
The viewing area of the Arch could get a bit congested at times.	Rosie and Jessica get five sets of bunny ears. Four and half, actually; the latecomer's hand on the right doesn't really count as a full set of bunny ears.	After coming down from the Arch, Heath watches the happenings.	Andy, Rosie, Emily, Angela and Julia look on in horror as Jon falls.
- City Museum -
Mike and Carol head off in one of what seemed like an endless amount of tunnels.	Matt looks down to the lower level while Dan and Kayla contemplate going through the tree tunnel.	Q: What do you call a fish no eyes? A: a fsh a joke as told by Mike Kaisner on peoriayounggroup.com (1/23/03)	Andyrew gets ready to let the tank full water rain down on unsuspecting children below.
The surge of water falls below.	Hubes and Rew display a sense of schadenfreude as kids below scream and run from the water just released.	James waits to enter one of the two airplanes hung high atop the "MonstroCity" exhibit at City Museum.	Standing below one of the airplanes, this group watches as others climb and slide all around.
As one group prepares for boarding, others deplane.	Angie makes her way from MonstroCity back indoors in one of the tubes.	Rhoda, Justin and Zac walk around the outside of MonstroCity.	Benj maneuvers in his effort to get to ground level to tend to his injured cell phone. I'm sorry to report that the cell phone did not make it. Let us observe a moment of silence.
Benj still looking for a way down.	Weeeeeeeeeeeee!	Zac tries to run up the slide but runs out of steam and traction as he nears the top.	Inside the "Enchanted Caves" exhibit, Julia and Megan take a break on the railing after riding down the slide.
The Enchanted Caves were built within an historic shoe factory’s spiral conveyor tunnel system.	same spot, different shot	After running around City Museum, Jimmy and Benj sit and enjoy a few cold drinks	Sitting next to the Monstrous Slide, Jenna, Nicole, Betny, Elizabeth, Alyssa and Brenda
Nicole, Elizabeth, Betny, Jenna and Alyssa	Megan, Julia and bro. ry t. funk talk with Kayla before heading out to the bus.	Megan, Jules and bro. ry t. funk sit around and look like they've about had enough.	As we leave City Museum, a parting shot takes one more look at MonstroCity.
Car Wash 6/25/05
Aaron works hard to reach the top of the minivan.	Heath gets down to business washing the vehicle with the two-handed approach while Erin takes an early break.	bro. ry t. funk rinses a van to hand it off to the great drying crew.	Jason gets the suds off.
During one of the few slow times, Jason takes a rest from the action on his pressure washer truck. What a life saver the pressure washers were!	As the heat gets to him, Chris is dripping wet. btw, nice shirt, Chris!	Another shot of the worn-out Chris.	Betny takes a cell phone break.
As the line builds, Jason keeps on keeping on while bro. ry t. funk and Jimmily walk around.	Part of the wonderful drying crew (l-r, Adam, Betny, Jenna and Chris) make the cars look great with their superb techniques and above-par skills. While not to take anything away from the "cleaning" crew, the dryers often saved the day by removing missed bugs, bird poop, tree sap, dirt, grime, tar, etc.	The cleaning crew, (l-r) Rhoda, Jake, Heath, Jason, Jimmily and bro. ry t. funk work hard one of the many, many, many vehicles to come through.	The same cleaners (plus Aaron) continue work on the car.
Trucks are always fun at the car wash, and this one is no exception. Pictured are (l-r) Rhoda, Jacob, bro. ry t. funk, Heath, Jimmily and Erin.	The fun continues . . .	Emily and Samantha share the duties on this big truck.	Chris comes in to help Samantha finish drying the truck.
Chris and his towel and Adam and his chamois do a bang-up drying job.
Mystery Supper 1/5/05
Andi and Rhoda scoop ice cream onto chocoloate-chip cookies.	Erin slaves over the hot stove while Dusty prepares bowls for the spaghetti.	As Rhoda prepares Ken, the Skillet Cooki, Brittany checks the drawers for some utensils.	Brittany, Erin and Dusty work on the spaghetti while Rhoda and Andi prepare the evening's dessert. Jake stands there.
Dusty looks around the kitchen while Erin checks on the progress of the spaghetti noodles.	Andi seems to be having a blast scooping out ice cream.	Chris puts some skillet cookies in the freezer while Andy protests the taking of this photo.	see previous caption
Chris loads the freezer full of Ken, the Skillet Cookie.	Chris checks the freezer as more skillet cookies are loaded in.	That's a nice look for you, Chris.	Giving a glimpse into the kitchen preparations, Chuck, Mike and Art are grouped together.
The Fellowship Hall is all set to go. Let the Mystery Supper begin!	In lieu of an apron, Andi thinks she can get away with wearing chaps.	Jon slices Dave into tiny pices for the mystery supper. Dave is, of course, Butter Braid bread.	Brittany turned Jake's mourning into dancing (literally) by finding the cup full of numbers that was used to seat our guests that Jake misplaced. Jake erroneously blamed Adam for losing the numbers.
The City of Phoenix poses for their group photo as they enjoy their first course. Those who failed to order silverware probably didn't enjoy it as much as those who did order silverware.	The Rockville, Connecticut, group smiles as their first course arrives.	The group from Morris, Minnesota, seem to be enjoying their meals as the Ft. Scott, KS, and Sarasota, FL, tables sit empty.	Photo #2 of the Morris group and Cori still won't look at the camera.
Moving out west, this group of diners was designated Silverton, Oregon.	These are the placemats used on each table to signify which Church town that group is from. This is, obviously, Silverton, Oregon.	Morris, Minnesota	Rockville, Connecticut
Phoenix, Arizona	Fort Scott, Kansas. Those who went on the Young Group invite to Ft. Scott will recognize this picture.	Sarasota, Florida	The meal continues.
Still more eating.	Latecomers Julia, Jozsef and Phil move into Sarasota, Florida.	Julia and Jozsef laugh as they try to figure out how to eat their supper. Julia was later caught cheating by using the stick from a Tootsie Pop to eat her food. Such cheating was not permissable and, nedless to say, the Tootsie Pop was confiscated.	Even more latecomers fill in the city of Sarasota.
Brittany takes a taste of the pudding before serving it to make sure it tastes ok. Just kidding! That's a staged photo!	The Rewster does some dishes after all three courses have been finished.	Jon and Dustin wash some dishes.	The fumes in the kitchen must have gotten to Rew and Dusty as they resort to a towel-snapping contest.
Getting back to work, Andy and Fusty meander over to the sink to finish the dishes.	Before the skits start, Rhoda wheels a table back into storage.	As all Church Towns assemble to do their skits, Chris gives the orders.	The Silverton group performs their take on Noah and the ark.
Chad makes a good ark, but the highlight of the evening was Chad turning into a dove. One of the great Young Group moments . . .	Jacob (Zac) places the Coat of Many Shades of Red on Joseph (Clayton) in their portrayal of the Bible story.	In this modern adaptation of Joseph's life, Joseph's sisters sell him (a great hockey player) to a hockey team.	Same skit
[Insert own caption here]	This is the Official Scorer's Sheet for the judging of the skits. Judges have been named, so feel free to take it out on the judges if your group lost.