"WHAT?!" you may ask, is a Mudfest? It actually began VERY accidentally.

About four years ago, a dear friend of ours, Tonya England (now Tonya Crouch) began having a back-to-school party for the kids at our church's congregation and a couple of other congregations. We also invited some college-age and young professional friends of ours to the party. It was supposed to be a bonfire-type party with dining outside, games, and just good fun.

Well, Tonya and I had already enjoyed riding ATV's together many times, and this day was no different. We made plans to ride for a little while, and then return to the house to finish preparing for everyone's arrival. It had rained a little, so we got a little wet riding in the woods. A garden area near her house was a little slick, so, I decided to turn some donuts in the slick mud. The more I played, the dirtier I got. And the dirtier I got, the more I decided I couldn't clean up before guest arrival, so I kept playing. Once everyone got there, we were eating, and I was chatting with a good friend named Charlie. I was still dirty, but no one else was.

Being the attention-seeker that I am, I ran toward the muddy garden area, and did a perfect Pete-Rose-head-first slide into the mud. As I was lying there on my belly, trying to get up, FLOP!!!, and there was Charlie right next to me, having done his own version of Pete Rose! The details are blurry from then on (quite literally), because I only remember 20 or 30 kids in the mud with us! We popped mud all over one another until there wasn't a clean spot on any of us! Of course some of the parents were horrified, but it was just good "clean" fun for the kids! It was like a last hurrah before school started, since it WAS a Back-to-School Party! After the mud fight, we all jumped into the pond to clean up. Never thought we could get a pond dirty, but we did!

These are pictures from this year's mudfest (after a one year hiatus, since Tonya got married last year). It was exciting to get it going again, and it seems the parents don't mind it so much anymore, since they now bring extra clothes and like seeing the kids do something they aren't often allowed to do!

Tonya with the water hose, and Jack England on the backhoe, readying the area

Larry grinding the mud, stirring it up

More mud stirring on the Polaris!

More grinding and mudding!

Uh oh! Sunk!

Honda UNSUCCESSFULLY pulling me out

Getting some Backhoe Help

The Kids in the "Before" Picture

Near the beginning (because there are still some clean ones!)

Larry and a "Mud-do," or "Mud Coiffure"

Small children lost and never found in the mud

One fatality of the mudfest (Larry)

Geronimooooooooooooo!!

Attacking Keith and Tonya!

Small children having a blast!

The AfterBath in the Pond