Aubrey Painting

Jenny and Rodney gave me this painting for Christmas. Rodney's dad painted it. He has been doing a lot of paintings lately and I am very blessed to get this one. I miss her but I know that she is in Gods hand and I will see her soon.

Thanksgiving 2009

We had Thanksgiving at Jenny's house this year. Alesha, Arlon and the kids came up from Dallas and Alesha and I spent all day Wednesday cooking and baking and having a great time. And on Thursday we had to load everything up and take it to Jenny's house. I guess I was a bit tired because for some reason I took the turkey out to the car, it was covered in foil and setting in the back seat but I sort of forgot to close the door before returning to the house for more food.... and then Ryan came running in the house, yelling that the dog got the turkey, I ran outside and I was so thankful for that foil... Scruffy wasn't about to pass up a opportunity on Thanksgiving Day, can you blame her??? She had grabbed that foil but all that came off was the foil and one of those turkey legs. So Ryan saved the Turkey that year and I had to admit that I was a big dummy for not closing that door. But the turkey was just fine and Scruffy enjoyed her turkey leg.

Here is the group of us at Jenny's house.

Tashauna, Arlon, Tawnda, Ray, Cody, Rodney, Clif, Ashtyn, Jenny, Alesha, Arlon, Rider, Tammy, John, Katie, Sydney, Ryan, Gavin & Christian.

It was a great Thanksgiving :)

Alesha, Tawnda & Jenny

New York City

We did just about everything in New York City. The flight there was great, flying over the city was beautiful. We could see the Statue of Liberty from the plane and the whole layout of the city, it was an incredible sight. We had our own Suite right in the middle of Times Square and we were so high up that it was so cool looking down over the city.

We ate a different type of food every time we stopped to eat. We went to Carnagie's and ate Jewish. And that was the best Pastrami Sandwich I have ever eaten, not to mention the size of it. Of all the different types of food we had I decided that Greek was my favorite and Mercadito's had the best Pork and Pineapple Tacos I have ever tasted.

And the people of New York were the nicest and most polite I have ever been around. And the cab drivers were great, hailing a cab was fun. Alesha and I always managed to get one almost as fast as our hand went up. LOL I want to go back there someday, it was great.

This picture was taken at the Statue of Liberty.

We went to Central Park, this park was huge and we walked and took the horse and carriage and we still didn't see the whole thing. This is the most beautiful park I have ever seen in my life. We spent several hours there. I am gonna have to go back just to see the rest of that park.

At the Empire State Building. We went up to the top at night, it was beautiful. And COLD!!! That wind was blowing like a tornado but I wasn't going to let that stop me from seeing every angle of the city. I was in awe.

This was taken when we got back to Dallas after our trip. Arlon and Alesha and John and I were totally exhausted, but it was worth it.

The Big 50

John turned 50 on October 7, 2009. So Alesha planned a surprise party for him. It was a New York City Theme and he had to wear black, so Tashauna and I went shopping and we all made plans to go to dinner but we insisted that he wear this black shirt and he had to dress up just a little bit. :) We went to Mid America Grill (our favorite restaurant) had a great dinner and then the waitress brought out the cake, he still couldn't figure out what was going on. Alesha and Arlon handed him a card and inside was the tickets for New York City. He was so surprised and we didn't have much time to get everything together before the big day arrived.

Headed to Ohio

We made it to Ohio. A long drive but the drive across, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and into Ohio was so pretty. Everything was so green and we didn't run into a lot of rain on the trip either.

Going across the Mississippi River I had to take a picture of the St. Louis Arch. This is a spectacular sight. At the bottom of the arch is beautiful green grass.

As we came over a hill on Interstate 70, almost to Effingham, Illinois there was this huge cross just off the side of the freeway. It was so big and just beautiful under that blue sky.

Oh Oh!!!

My Dog didn't like the Fireworks

She ripped the screen on the motorhome and dived inside....

Where she feels safe and secure.

Goofy Girl !!

4th of July

After the Rain stopped

we made it to Blue Hole. This is the 'watering hole' in

Salina, Oklahoma that everyone likes to visit from time to time.

It was a nice relaxing day for the 4th of July.

The Du Quoin Mile

Last weekend was spent in Du Quoin, Illinois at the Magic Mile racetrack. John won in his class. It was so Hot and Humid. We had Tashauna and Ashlie with us and we would run back and forth from the grand stands to the pit area. Which was probably a good thing after eating all of that junk food. : )

This picture is John on the Mile Track. His steel shoe never touched the ground and he never used the brake, he was On The Gas, all the way around that track. 

Tashauna and Ashlie made their own Tank Tops to cheer on their Favorite Rider.

Paintball

Today I got to play paint ball. This was one of the funnest games I've played in a very long time. I was Arlon, Taylor and Me against 5 teenage boys. I told them to take it easy on me and they complied. I was the last person standing in the final round. I knew nothing about this game so I can say that I wasn't the least bit prepared. I should not have bothered putting on any makeup because playing this game in 90 degree temps caused it all to sweat right into my eyes. Yeah, those paint balls sting a little but the game makes it all worth it. I would do it again at any time, preferably in the fall when its cooler though. LOL

My Brother Frank

My brother passed away April 29, 2009.

He was only 48 years old and he will be missed.

RIP Frank, and I Love You baby Brother.

The Carrot Kid

Cody loves his carrots.

He tried to feed himself

and of course me being

grandma, let him. :)

Playing with the Camera

I was supposed to be getting some pictures of Cody's feet and hands for a scrapbooking project but they just weren't turning out like I wanted. So instead I started playing with the camera and Cody and I managed to get several fun pictures of the little guy.

By the way... Jenny entered the bubble blowing one in a contest. I have family members that take my photos quite often and enter them in contests. Some of them do really good too. :)

Racing

As you all know, I am a huge flattrack race fan. Here is a picture that I got this weekend of John and Bill Snyder on the mile in DuQuoin, Ill.

Braum's

We took them to Braum's and we had plenty of laughs. I am surprised we didn't get kicked out of the place.

So Many Grand Kids....

 What to do with so many kids in one place? Well, you do the best you can to entertain them.