Busy with BBQ and Wedding Flowers

Spring has been very good to us here at the Martin home.
Trailhound Smokers BBQ has been busy with catering and drop off orders, along with some pick ups. The pit has been more than busy and full.  Thank you's go out to Advanced Pro, Martin Harris, Coronado HS Band, Canyon Ridge Church, First Congregational Church, and more.  We hope y'all have had full bellies of delicious barbecued food when you left your events.

Flowers have also kept me busy...it's wedding season before it gets hot here in Vegas.  

Yes, it's been busy around here...and we truly appreciate all the support.  

Spring BBQ Update

What a fantastic weekend!  The weather was perfect, the barbecue was a huge success and most importantly...a bunch of money was raised for K9s for Warriors. 

Thanks to all our friends and familythat came out to help and make this event so special. 

No one...and I mean no one went home hungry, in fact many went home with boxes. 

I donated 2 wreaths for the silent auction. 

If you'd like to read more about this event, hop on over the Trailhound Smokers BBQ blog to see more photos and how much money was raised for K9s for Warriors.

We're 'Cueing for a Cause

Please join us...if you can't make it, consider donating via our event page

http://k9sforwarriors.donorpages.com/MyEvent/TrailhoundBBQ/

But we'd love for you come on over, eat some championship barbecue and donate to K9sforWarriors with us on March 14.

Be sure to check out this great organization and the amazing work they are doing!

www.K9sForWarriors.org

 

Independence Day

I hope everyone is enjoying their Independence Day.  It's been really hot here in Vegas for the last week so I didn't buy any fireworks or gather the troops (friends and family).  I've been watching pictures on Facebook posted by my friend Liz...they went to Utah (Bryce Canyon area) and wishing I was there enjoying cooler weather

Timm put out the word and we did some smoking for friends and co-workers.  

Eight briskets, 12 racks of ribs, 4 pork butts, chicken and sausage, along with several sides.   

These ABTs were ours and boy were they good.  Timm seasoned the cream cheese and stuffed the jalapeno with shrimp...yummy!

The aerial fireworks have been going for 2 hours now.   I gotta say, folks have spent a fortune on them around here.  Mother Nature even got her share in with a short storm with thunder and lightening.   

Prayers and love to friends Pam and Louie today...they lost their son, Kasey 4 years ago now tonight.  I'm thinking of you.  

Cassy went to the lake to swim this week

She really enjoyed it.  But I gotta say, the water level at the lake is sooooo low. 

Hopefully, they'll start releasing some water from Lake Powell soon.

Anyway, I wish America a very happy birthday.  I pray for our nation and it's people.  I'm thankful for our forefathers, they were wise beyond their time.  I'm thankful for all those who serve and protect. 

Best Dam BBQ

It's a busy weekend in Boulder City, NV for Memorial Day.  The Best Dam BBQ Challenge will be in full swing Saturday with the barbecue contest, kid's fun zone full of activities, a car show, great BBQ meals for sale and more.  What could be a better way to spend National BBQ Month?  Just click on the link above for more information and details.  

We'll be there for the BBQ contest and we hope to do well and hear our name at awards.  

Barbecue will still be on the schedule on Monday, we'll be cooking for others for the holiday.  

The southwest regionals are in Vegas this weekend!  

Even though we aren't cooking in the series this year, we gotta go support and cheer on the teams who are.  

You can cheer them on as well.  They'll be cooking Saturday at the Sam's Club at 215 and S Rainbow.  

Sam's Club Regional Results

A brief post to let you know we survived the trip to Albuquerque NM just fine.  I gotta say, it's a long drive, and we did all 600 miles in one day.  We had a nasty storm come through on Friday, but it held off Saturday for most of the event.  We had just a bit of rain Saturday.

We had a good cook and were blessed to have the judges like our product enough to earn a 4th in brisket and came in 7th overall!  That is good enough to make it to the Nationals in October...in the home of Sam's Club and Walmart...Bentonville, AR. 

If you'd like more details and photos, stop by our other blog Trailhound Smokers BBQ.

Thanks for everyone's support!

Sams Club National BBQ Tour

Since May is National BBQ month, it only seems fitting that we'll be participating in our biggest stakes contest to date.

Round two for the southwest regionals is in Albequerque,  NM this weekend.  Teams that made it through round one in Arizona, Nevada, California, and Utah will gather to cook against each other for a purse of $20,000 and a chance to move on to the finals in Bentonville, AR in October. 

I am pleased to say we are one of those teams that competed in Las Vegas and made the top 6, making us eligible to attend the regional finals.  This weekend we will make the 600 mile trek to Albequerque to compete with 29 other top teams in the southwest.  We're excited and nervous.  We'll keep you posted on the outcome.  We wish all the teams the best.

ACM BBQ Throwdown

This weekend in Las Vegas!!!!!!  Next to the PBR and NFR coming to town, this is a great time to be in Vegas....cowboys, country music, and BBQ!  You can find out more at www.acmcountry.com.

We'll be competing this weekend along with 110 other teams as part of the ACM BBQ Throwdown in Las Veas at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.  It's free to the public.  You can get more info at www.smokeonthewaterbbq.com.

Looking for something to do this weekend?

Come out to Boulder City for the Best Dam BBQ Challenge!  There is lots to do out there.  Not only is there a BBQ contest  (we're cooking in it this weekend), but there is also a kid's zone, classic car show, Antiques in the Park, and more going on.  So get out there, eat some yummy BBQ and enjoy your day.  Here is the link that will give you all the information you need. 

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend everyone!  Give praise and support to all of our military personell, past and present!

50 Years!

On Friday, April 1st was my parent's 50th wedding anniversary (no joke).  They met through my father's friend, Norm...dated briefly and were married in 6 weeks.  Mom borrowed a friend's (Elaine...Norm's wife) wedding dress, a friend made the cake, flowers from the church were used for their special day.  I guess you could call it a whirlwind romance. 

We celebrated with a gathering of family and friends on Saturday at their church.  We've been planning for some time and trying to keep secrets from my Mom is not the easiest thing to do.  However, we pulled off a great day everyone enjoyed.  Norm and Elaine, along with Dad's brother Dave and his wife Lynn, flew in from upstate New York and Shirley flew in from Texas.  They'll all be here a week to enjoy the company and great weather. 
My hubby got another chance to use that huge smoker and cooked up 6 pork butts, 40 pounds of chicken and a 17 pound brisket for the party.  I made beans and deviled eggs, Shirley made a pasta salad, and we had a quite a spread...no one went hungry.  I made the flower arrangements, Carolyn and the girls decorated.  Cheryl took photos, Nelson handled everything else.  It was a team effort.  I can't wait to get all the photos from the event.  But today, we will rest...we were beat last night beyond belief. 
Congratulations Mom and Dad!  Fifty years is a huge milestone in a couple's life.  Thank you for being a great example of unity and love, family values and ethics.  What a great inspiration you are to me and so many others.  We love you!!!! 

Trailhound Smokers win 3rd overall at BBQ Contest

Many of you know Timm and I, along with our kids started a BBQ team last year.  Well, over the last weekend we went to Rock Springs, AZ for a contest.  We decided at the last minute to attend so Timm was really scrambling during the week to get ready.  It was certainly worth all the chaos and prep work.

Timm and I ended up getting four 'walks' to receive awards.  We were excited, amazed, shocked, humbled....you see it's really the first time we won in a sanctioned event.  It was quite an accomplishment for us.  Congrats to all the teams that participated as well.  Judges said there was lots of mighty fine food to taste and critique.  Congrats to our friends with R&R (pictured with us), they also got several walks and a 1st in ribs. 

Show and Tell Friday

It's been a whirl wind week after The Great Craft Festival last weekend.  It was a pretty good show.  My friend, Diane and I were scrambling to get enough stuff done for the booth.   We featured Christmas and Harvest.  I forgot to take photos right away so some of the stuff was already gone by the time I got around to it. 

The tall, lighted posts flew out of there!  I wish they were easy to ship, I'd list them on Etsy.   Speaking of Etsy, I've had a couple of orders this week for Thanksgiving pieces and a pattern...WOOT, WOOT!

And if I wasn't busy enough already, we have a BBQ here at home this weekend for about 40 people.  Yeah, I know, I said let's do it.  Apparently, I was out of my mind at that moment.  Everyone enjoys them so much and I hate to deny them some really tasty, smoked BBQ...and it would be spring again before we got around to it so it's this weekend.  Come on by, there will be lots of food.  Besides, we just bought this awesome smoker and Timm and the boys are dying to use it.  We've been cleaning and prepping for days and would love to have you come...it's Satuday at 2pm.  We hope to see you there.

My crazy life...

Many of you may be wondering what I've been up to lately because there haven't been any new post or crafts being made around here in the last few weeks.  Well, I've certainly been busy but not in a crafty way.  The rain has given us a weed explosion on an epic scale this year.  I've been pulling, mowing, weed-eating, and spraying the darn things and they are still growing faster than I can keep up with them.  We purchased a torch to burn them little suckers to the ground and will try that next. 
The week before Mother's Day was spent at the flower shop.  I put in 70 hours that week and I feel like I am still trying to recover from it.  Volume tripled fom Valentines Day and we were doing our best to keep up.  As much I enjoy working the holidays, they are very hard on a person.  Not much gets done at home that week but I prep meals before hand so it's easier on me.  The week after events like this are spent bringing the house back up to par with laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc. along with errands that didn't get done.

Now, we are preparing for a huge BBQ at the house next weekend. (hence, the panic on the yard)  Looking like 50 people or so will be here.  You see, we have decided to start a new adventure into competiton BBQ and this is our kick-off event.  This will let eveyone have a little bit of fun with it and share in some dang good BBQ.  It's also great practice for us as well.  We are excited and nervous at the same time but I know it will be something fabulous, exhausting and enjoyable all at the same time.  Our first competition will be in Williams AZ on the July 4th weekend.  We've been gearing up (literally) for it with lists, equipment, practice cooks and more.  If you're in the Vegas area, come on by....see the flyer for more information.  Oh, next week we are taking a judging course for competition BBQ as well.  It will give us great insight as to what judges are looking for, making our 'Q even better. 
Amongst all this, I am prepping for my one summer show in Duck Creek in July as well.  I purchased a souble booth so I'd best get my butt in gear so I'll be ready for it.  I told Timm to get a booth and sell some yummy BBQ but I think I need to be in that one as well.  BBQ is not a one man operation.  Who knows...if all goes well, next year a BBQ booth may be where I'm at next year. 

New Blog...Trailhound Smokers BBQ

What have we been up to lately...besides yard work?  Building a BBQ pit, well my hubby and youngest son have been building one.  It's awesome!  Timm came up with the idea and Chris did the welding on the project.  We've tried it once, but we are having a big BBQ with our families to really test it this weekend. 
Timm want to compete in BBQ competitions.  Looks like we may be out to our first one in a month or so.  I've got jitters but he doesn't.  I'm thinking it will be fun, hard work, and costly...but isn't anything that's worth a hoot.  I'm thinkin' we can cook a lot of pig on this monster of BBQ pit (Timm is 6'3") and make some money at some events too.
So anyway, you can check it all out and follow us at our new blog  http://trailhoundsmokersbbq.blogspot.com/. You can also follow us on Facebook.  Please become a fan of Trailhound Smokers BBQ.