Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Our Christmas Celebration


On Sunday, we celebrated Christmas with the kids, grandkids and Mom.
I posted these on Facebook so some of you may have already seen them. In that case, close your eyes, exit the blog, or view them again!


Mighty cute brothers!

Mom with her great grandsons

Crystal and Mom


Josh & George

Josh & Sheri

Whenever we do a family photo,
we usually take a "Make-a-
Face"
pic and this is it!


And here's the real photo

Merry Christmas everyone!

Sending Christmas Smiles,
D~~~~

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Lexi & The Gingerbread House

Here's Lexus with the
gingerbread house she built.

It's very cute!
Great job Lexi!

Sending Gingerbread Smiles,
D~~~~

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

SNOW!

I took this outside the front
door just after 7:00 this morning.


And this outside the back door.
I LOVE the way the
snowflakes look in the dark.


And this was a little later.
It's 8:10 now and it has stopped snowing. As expected, it's melting too but that's okay. I'm still happy that I got to see it snow. We have another chance in a couple of days although it's suppose to be mainly west and south of here but hey, a girl can dream can't she?

Smilin' Snowy Smiles,
D~~~~


P.S. I just learned that the clock time on the blog is wrong! It says I posted this at 7:53--NOT SO--it was 8:10 as stated above. Hmmm.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Thanksgiving Week


Our fun and wonderful granddudes were here this week. Pa-Paw took them for a ride in the new "Super Car." Preston dubbed George's last Miata the "Super Car" so he's calling this one the new Super Car.

Triston & Pa-Paw

Preston & Pa-Paw
On Tuesday, we took them to
Northpark Mall to see the trains.
The layout had a
really cool Dallas area.

There was also a Mt. Rushmore &
New York City but my favorite by far
was this Washington snow scene!
Oh how I love snow!!

A kind gentlemen offered to take
our picture so we took him up on it.

On Thanksgiving, Mom, Linda & David
arrived first.
Mom hadn't seen
the boys in quite awhile!

Linda made the turkey, dressing
and gravy which thrilled me to no end!

It was quite tasty too!
And David carried it.
There I am with the green bean
bringers, Crystal & Michael.
Yum on the green beans.
("Bringers" is my new made-up word.)

And here's the corn casserole bringers,
Josh & Sheri.
It was a delicious Paula
Deen recipe.
You certainly can't go
wrong with Paula Deen!

Some of my guys
Geo, Preston & Michael.

And my gals
Linda, Daisy & Mom


And my sweet niece and her pals
Dustin, Brandy & little Tink


Oh my and what's a gal to
do after a long hard day
of food, football and fun?

Sally has the right idea!

Turkey smiles,
D~~~~

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

At Long Last...


As many of you know, Geo's Miata broke down awhile back, and we've been getting by with one vehicle. Lately, however, we've gotten restless for another vehicle and decided it was time. We started looking at Miatas and Geo has driven quite a few in the last few weeks!

Today we finally made a purchase but instead of one vehicle, we bought TWO!
We also kept the Sport Trac
so we have three vehicles now.

We purchased:

A 2004 Miata.
It only has 45,000 miles on it.


And a 2003 Envoy!

This photo doesn't do the metallic paint job justice probably because I'm no Ansel Adams! It has LOTS of bells and whistles which we are thrilled with. My favorite was the heated seats when we drove it yesterday. It was very cold and they were awesome! Okay, I need to go somewhere now--anywhere!

Two Smiling Happy Campers,
D~~~~

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Look Who Was Here on Saturday!

Preston & Triston! We played Tiger Woods Golf on X-Box, put together a jigsaw puzzle, and they flew balsa wood, rubber band airplanes with Pa-Paw. It was a most enjoyable time!

Pa-Paw, Triston & Preston
They'll be back this coming weekend to stay a few days. We look forward to it!
Smilin'
D~~~~

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

It's Here!

Look what arrived in my mailbox a few days ago! I started getting them in 2001, and each year about this time a new one arrives. It's always chock full of good, down-home recipes from folks all over the country.


I like to sit down with a cupppa Joe, and go through the entire book, marking the pages that contain recipes that I'd like to try. After I go through it, I might be sharing some of the good grub with y'all!

Smilin' with Food in Mind!
D~~~~

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Stacie's Birthday


Lexi made her 1st cake and it was a birthday cake for her Mom. She did the writing and decorating on it too! Great job Lexus! Sue took this photo of Lexi, Stacie and Aaliyah on her phone. It's a little blurry but pretend it isn't!



Stacie, we're glad you're out of the hospital and feeling better too!

Smilin',
D~~~~

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Halloween Cuties!

Here are some precious pictures of Mallory and Peyton on Halloween.

I'd say Mallory is cute as a bug!

A view from the back.

What a precious costume.
I love the wings!
And the polka dots!

Oh heck, I love it all!




Thomas the Train (aka Peyton)
chugging down the street
in his adorable costume.

I love the hat, scarf and overalls!

A view from the back.
I

Trick or Treat!

Hey, wait a minute. It looks like he's
trying to give his candy away.

I'll bet he was chew-chewing a
lot on Halloween! Mallory too
and she wasn't even a train.


Both costumes are too cute!

I missed seeing Preston & Triston and getting pictures. I was still sick. I'm still not back to normal. Okay, I can hear you saying that I was never normal!
Smiles,
D~~~~




Friday, October 30, 2009

A Trip to Hot Springs

Last weekend, we met Jack & Middy in Hot Springs, Arkansas. We arrived on Thursday and went home on Sunday. We rented a nice condo on Lake Hamilton, and had a very good time.

The Condo
It had four or five levels.


The View from those big windows.
On Friday, it was overcast all day but
Saturday was a very pretty day.


On Friday, we started out shop
hopping
in downtown Hot Springs.


Jack & George trekking
the downtown streets.
They look like men on a mission, huh?

Mission impossible?


These glasses are
obviously
couture but Middy didn't buy them.
They matched her jacket too!


Middy tried to talk Geo into buying
this visored hair but it was a no go.

It's probably couture too!

After the stores, we had coffee and cobbler to warm us up before heading over to tour the Fordyce Bathhouse.

Hot Springs is known for it's bathhouses, some of which still operate today. We heard that it's a nice and relaxing experience but I just don't want someone giving me a bath! For one thing, they might go blind. I picture them running, screaming from the building, "My eyes! My eyes! Ahhh! My eyes!"

Anyway, we started
in the Men's Bathhall.

(Click the photo to enlarge it for reading.)

And here's a live picture
of the picture above
(minus the men).


This stained glass was in the
ceiling just above the
sculpture in the previous picture.


We tried to get a feel for the times!

Look at all these gadgets from
back in the day. I didn't pay
attention to what they were
used for but don't you think
they look important?

Jack getting electrocuted!


It's quite clear that these shady
characters are trying to
escape from the asylum!


Nobody tried these sweat boxes out.
Frankly, I think they're a bit creepy.

Actually, I'd be afraid someone would
come along and throw a load of
laundry in on top of me! Or maybe
try running me through a
permanent press cycle to dry!


I had to share these
three stained glass windows.

Pretty, huh?

After leaving the bathhouse, we climbed to the top of these steps which led to path after path after path. We ended up hiking up a mountain for a good hour. We'd see a path with an arrow and a sign that would read: ".2 miles" so we'd take it. We'd get to the top of that path only to find another sign: ".1 mile," and then, oh no, at the top of that path another sign: ".2 miles" and on and on.

Some of these paths were a very steep climb too! At times, I thought it'd never end! I almost wanted to wimp out but I was with all these healthy, in-shape people! Well, Jack and Middy are in shape and George faked it. Okay truthfully, it
turned out to be quite invigorating and I liked it!
Finally, we arrived at what we thought was the top of the mountain but there was suppose to be a tower. We didn't see it anywhere so we headed back down the mountain, taking the path marked "shortcut!"

Later, we got in the truck and drove up the mountain. We all broke into laughter when we discovered that if we'd have only walked another 30 feet, we'd have seen that the tower was only 100 yards away!

We parked the truck and
checked out the tower. We didn't
want to pay $7.00 each to go
to the top so we didn't stay long.


Someone suggested that we check
out the Arlington Hotel so we did.


Creative picture taking
in the mirrored doors!
After we left the Arlington, we spent about 2-1/2 hours at Oaklawn Casino before going to dinner at Fisherman's Wharf. The atmosphere and food were both excellent! We were all very pleased.

After dinner, we went back to
the condo for fun and games.

Saturday morning, we walked
down to the dock.

Our condo from down a level.
It's the windows on the right.


After exploring the dock, we drove through lake front neighborhoods and then tried out a restaurant on the water called Doe's. The sign said "World Famous for steaks and tamales." Jack, Middy and I ordered the tamales, and we all thought that they were fabulous!

We sat by the water on the dock.

And enjoyed ourselves...

It was a very nice day too.
A very nice lady saw me taking
pictures and offered to take our
picture. We took her up on it.


I think she did a good job but I
should have put on my sun glasses!


After we left Doe's, we went to the condo to watch the Tennessee vs. Alabama football game. We intended to go back to Doe's to try out their steaks for dinner but while watching the game, we ate so much that we opted to stay put and watch more football--Texas played Mizzou that evening. In the process, we ate and ate and ate some more!

We really had a nice time and I learned that whenever we get with Jack & Middy, I need to be in tip top shape because we always end up hiking! I did much better this time (on a much longer hike) than I did the last time in Branson but I plan to be even more prepared the next time.
George and I have been sick with flu-like symptoms since we got back but I'll be on the treadmill as soon as I'm able!

Smilin' and Gettin' in Shape
(but not the shape of a circle),
D~~~~