Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a great Thanksgiving!

I am so thankful for all our blessings. Timm smoked turkey and then finished them off in the fryer...the best of both worlds...so tasty.  I made three pans of mashed potatoes, and a huge pot of gravy.  Family brought the rest of the sides and Chris brought a honey baked ham.  Christy made her first batch of southwest cream corn and it was wiped out.  Desserts galore with pumpkin pie, lemon lush, and pumpkin trifle.  Oh my gosh, so much food.  Everyone went home with a to-go box or two to share and enjoy.  

Hope your Thanksgiving was full of love, family and friends.  

Our baby turns 27

Saturday was Chris' 27th birthday.  I swear I do not know where the time goes.   

His dog Shelby. 

Scott and Chris at Chris' wedding in January this year.

Her parent's, Bri, Chris, his parents...(that's us) 

Chris helping out at one of our BBQs.  

I'm so proud of this young man!  He's one amazing guy!

Happy birthday Scott!

Wishing my baby boy a happy 30th birthday!  

I don't know how you got to be 30 so fast...time flies when you're having fun I guess. 

So proud of him!  Love his wife too.  They have so much fun together. 

Just last week his project truck "Daisy" moved under her own power for the first time in 12 years.  He's been rebuilding his Suburban for the last year or so.  It was his high school graduation gift.

Wishing you all the best life has to offer, my dear!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the dads in my life...my hubby and my dad.   

Dad, on vacation in New York state 2013 

Timm and his boys, along with his brother,John at Chris' wedding Jan 2014 

My dad, Timm and myself...Spring BBQ 2014

Love all you guys!  You're the best!

Chris and Bri's mountain wedding

On Saturday, January 11 our youngest son, Chris married his fiance, Bri at 

The Lodge on Mt. Charleston outside of Las Vegas. 

It was a beautiful day and the bridal party was looking fabulous. 

I feel very blessed to say Chris'  Uncle John (from Washoe Valley) performed the ceremony.  He just seemed like the perfect man for the job since he was involved with the engagement.  Chris and Bri were staying at his home for the weekend when Chris asked her to marry him at Lake Tahoe.    

Bri is an animal lover and works as a vet tech.  Her dog, Titus was the ring bearer and did a great job. 

Chris and Bri wrote their own vows.  The words that came out of my son's mouth were pure love and poetry.  Who knew that was in him!  Many tears were in the eyes of the guests at that point.  I think her expression in the photo says it all. (She swore she wouldn't cry...but she did)

This is me...mother of the groom.  I made all the floral arrangements, bouquets and decorations.  

I used pine for all the greens since it was a mountain wedding.

What a great looking bunch of guys!  

Scott (brother and best man), Chris (the groom), Chris Russell (best friend), Charles (cousin)

The happy couple!

Such a special dog

They say "dog is man's best friend" and I have to say that's true...and woman's best friend too.  We've have many dogs in our lives but none like Cassy.  That's not to say we didn't have great dogs...Cassy is just extra special.  

She travels with us, goes to BBQ contests with us, and just want to be close to us...where ever that may be.  

She's so in tune with us she let's us know when our blood glucose levels are out of whack...and no one trained her to do that.  It took us a while to figure out what she was doing.   

Yesterday, September 10th was the 7th anniversary of her adoption.  It's hard to believe she's been with us that long. We've loved every minute of it and look forward to the years ahead with her.

Cassy turns 7

Our furry little girl, Cassy is 7 years old today.  She's such a huge part of our life that it's hard to imagine it without her.  

 She loves the get out and explore with us.  We got her a pair of Doggles last year that she doesn't mind wearing, as long as we're on the move.  

Of course, she relaxes at home. 

She loves to bark at and tries to destroy the sprinklers when they're running. 

 Loves the comforts of home like her toys....and the couches...and our bed.

Goes to barbecue contests with us, we even got her a bed of her own (which she seldom uses). 

She goes most places with us...definitely one of the family. 

Happy birthday Cassy!  We love you.

Our baby turns 26

Seriously, how did this happen?  I just don't know...hard to believe it happened right before my eyes.  I so wish I had baby pictures on my computer...but alas, only the last few years is all you get to see.  

Yeah, I know, it's not a great photo of either one of us.  Bit it's Christmas morning with no make up or hair yet. 

I'm so proud to say he's turned out to be an awesome young man!  I never had my doubts but I'm still amazed with this guy sometimes.  

He loves to camp, ride his ATV, shoot, and more.  He's also a great cook.

He'll hang out with me when no one else will.  He's cut, sanded, and painted more wood than he would care to mention.  He even painted windows with me during the holiday season.  He's an awesome welder, too.  

He's a war buff, super knowledgeable about firearms and can shoot like nobody's business.  This is a recent photo of him shooting a 535 yard shot...and he hit it several times.  

Last year, he and Bri got engaged while in Reno/Tahoe.  What a romantic guy he can be.  

Looks like a wedding this coming winter for these two.  

As a parent, you strive to raise your children to be the best people they can be.  You want them to be trustworthy, helpful, courteous, loyal, helpful, friendly, kind, obedient, thrifty, brave, clean and reverberant...oh wait, that's all the points of the Scout Law.  I'm so proud of my Eagle Scout. 

Here's wishing our baby boy...all 280 pounds. 6 foot 4 inches of him a very happy (although this post is late) birthday!  We love you pieces! 

Our Oldest Son Turns 29

People say time flies when you're having fun...that must be true because I sure don't know how this little boy became a young man, then a husband with a lovely and caring wife over night.

  

This is one of my favorite pictures of Scott.  It was taken when he was 16-17 years old while he was staffing at Camp Del Webb in Utah that summer.  He spent 2 summers on staff there teaching Scouts to climb and rappel.

He adopted Roxy (RockStar) shortly after college, she's still hanging with him along with 2 others dogs. 

Always an outdoor loving guy, he and Christy were married in Valley of Fire State Park, NV.

I'm so glad he enjoys spending time with us.  He traveled to Bentonville AR for the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour finals with us.  He has many of the same passions as his dad and I.

We're so proud of the man he has become.  

Happy birthday Scott!

A Hall Tree

 Well a tree painted in the hall anyway...;0)

I painted this tree in the hallway at my son and daughter in law's home over the weekend.  We all love love love the way it turned out.  

Christy loves owls so I had to add one to the tree for her.  

I painted a carved heart into the trunk of the tree to give it that true personal tough for them. 

Their plan is to place photo frames all over it with pictures of family...a family tree.  

I'm glad I was able to do something so special for them.  

What a great project for National Craft Month. 

Our 30th

Time flies when you're having fun is what they say.  I don't know how 30 years went so fast, that's for sure.  It's been quite a journey with lots of adventures, fun, struggles and joy along the way. 
We've been blessed with two wonderful boys that we've put our heart and soul into.  So much of our lives have been about them.  I stayed home to raise them and am proud to say they have never spent a day in daycare.  I know that is not possible for many parents, and I need to say we sacrificed a lot to make that happen.  It's not something easy to do that's for sure, and I had the good fortune to have my parents and Timm's parents there to lend a helping hand (and advise) when needed.  Scott married a wonderful gal, Christy 4 1/2 years ago.  Chris has been dating Bri for a year now.  They both have great gals.

We've been through lots of activities and hobbies.  Timm was one ranked 3rd in the state in archery and traveled for several tournaments.  I tried it, I wasn't good at it.  He gave that up when our boys hit Cub Scout age and we gave 17 years, time, money, vacations and vehicles to the Scouting program.   I wouldn't change a bit of it though...good program, good values, good people.  I know we touched countless lives through packs, troops, crews and training. For me, crafting and painting has been a constant through out the years and continues to be a source of income and pleasure for me. 

We've always been outdoor people.  We love camping, hiking, exploring, and more.  We got our first ATVs 10 years ago.  In fact, Timm surprised me with mine for our 20th anniversary.  We've had a great time with them and have met some great people there too.   It looks like we'll be heading to the Moab area in December for our anniversary trip. 
Our immediate plans are tied up in BBQ competitons and will be traveling to Bentonville Arkansas this month for the Sam's Club National Finals. 
Happy anniversary Timm, I love you more than life itself and look forward to growing old with you in a life full of love, family and adventure.