Biking....

Saturday was our church's annual bike hike. We normally go to Tallahassee to the St. Marks Historic Railroad Trail but this year, we decided to stay local and ride on the Blountstown Greenway. The part of the trail we would ride in Tall. is 16 miles long. That is a nice trek! The Blountstown path is only about 7 miles round-trip! :) Not quite so hard on the tush!

Tamara and I rode together the whole way....she is still a little slower and cautious than her brother and Dad! :) But since I have an old bike with no gears, I don't mind taking it easy, either! So we make a good team!! :)

Of course, we had to stop in town and take a break at the train!

Danny and Austin N. in the caboose....

Time for a drink break....

At the end of the trail, by the Apalachicola River, there is a path leading back through the woods. We had never checked it out, but were told there were ruins of an old saw mill back there. So we went and had a look....

There it is.....


My Mr. Clean and I .......

...as Mariann R. calls him since he shaved his head!! :) Dan says he's still working on the earring, I say he needs bigger arms and white eyebrows!! *HeeHee* :)

Danny and his friends, Jay and Austin, down by the water...

Troy sleeping...well, like a baby :) for Sherry....

The Apalachicola River....beautiful! Now we just need some Fall colored leaves to make it perfect! :)

Danny on top of the world...well, in this case, just the train! :)

Ruth Drawbond and I split from the group and rode a few blocks down to the Farmer's Market...
Alice E, Amelia G. and Glennys S. had a stand selling products they made.

The Smith's and Katy E. had a stand as well. They were selling baked goods and homemade jewelry.

After we all got back to the park, we had lunch! Chili soup is the tradition and it tasted wonderful on that cool, breezy autumn day!!

Dan held Troy for Sherry while she ate lunch....he is such a cute smiley baby!! :)

See!?? :) :)


It was that day we found out that Josh and Angie's two littlest ones had the Whooping Cough. Things seemed so scary since we realized that most of our church had been exposed to it and didn't realize it. Poor Josh and Angie had no idea that is what the kids had. :( The last I heard, the children seem to be doing relatively well. We were especially concerned about little Jasmine, who is only 4 months old. Forrest, the other child with w.c., is 1.
Sunday our week of revivals started, and Mr. Yutzy asked us to have special prayer that morning for Jasmine and Forrest and all of Josh's family...and then too, for our church and surrounding community to be protected from this illness. In the evening the Pastors and Elders went and had an anointing service for the Yoders.
So keep praying, if you would....this may not be over, but God has it in His control!!

Canning....

I thought I had waited too long to pick tomatoes this year, but on our way to church last Sunday I noticed the Tomato Farm near here still had signs out to pick your own, so Tuesday after sewing circle I stopped and picked a 5 gal. bucket full.
And this is what I did that afternoon.....


Smelled up my whole house, that salsa smell!! :)


I realized that 5 gallons was just not very much....I only got 2 batches of salsa from it and I had also wanted to try some tomato soup, so on Thursday, we went back and picked another 10 gallons. :)

My helpers.....


When it is near the end of the season, they bring in Mexican's to pick....as we were just getting started picking I noticed all their trucks lining up. I was thinking, Uh-Oh!! We are going to be waiting awhile to get out of here!! But till we were done, the line was almost gone! The workers at the farm unload those trucks so quickly!!

Loaded down.... :) I left the bucket in the van as it got fuller and just walked up and down the rows, loading my shirt!! ;)

Look at all those wasted tomatoes! I found a few good ones on the ground, but most of them had bad spots or were smashed!

Tomato fields....

Saturday was our church's annual bike hike (pics later) but Danny asked to have his friend Jay over after the ride and lunch was over. His mom agreed much to the boys delight! :)

The kids had fun playing all kinds of stuff....

While they were playing, I started on my first batch of tomato soup....chopped onions and celery and started cooking them.....then I added the tomatoes....

The children were more than willing to help crank out the soup!! :) Thanks to Alma for letting me borrow her Victorio Strainer!! :) I hope to be able to buy one some day!!


All together I got 4 batches of salsa, 12 quarts of soup and 2 quarts of Pico de Gallo!! :) I still have a few tomatoes left and want to make a little more pico today! Then I'll be ready to see no more tomatoes for awhile!! :P But it feels good to have the jars filled and on the shelf! Well, they aren't on the shelf quite yet. I need to clean up my big closet a little to make room for it all!! Sounds like a good job for a rainy day!!

One thing I enjoyed about canning was the time I had to think!! :) It seems there is so much going on in our lives and sometimes you just need to be able to be still and sort through everything! Be blessed~

We had a couple beautiful sunsets last week!!
This was Tuesday night....


And then Wednesday night....


Loved the texture of the clouds....


Father-daughter sharing a cup of coffee one night! :)

~Talladega Nascar Race~

I am way behind on updates....this past week was very full. Just didn't have time to sit down and do this. I will probably be doing a couple different posts through the day today!! :P

Last weekend Dan had the opportunity to go with 3 other men to the Nascar race in Talladega, AL. His friend Roy was able to get FREE tickets for them...and they camped in the FREE camping area! :) So it was a relatively inexpensive trip! I'm glad Dan had the opportunity to get away and have a good time with the guys!
Since I didn't take these pics, it feels kind of weird to be posting about them, but I thought it only fair to include the events of Dan's life since this is a family site!! :)


This was the guys set-up....they slept in sleeping bags on lounge chairs under the green tent. :) It turned out to be a COLD weekend and they weren't fully prepared for that! :P

Keeping warm by the fire. I should have posted the pic of their "coffee pot" sitting in the fire. Can't camp in the cold without coffee!! :)
L to R - Roy Pickron, A.T. Peyton and Kevin Vinson.


Roy

Danny's favorite driver is Jimmie Johnson...the Lowes driver!

Recognize this guy?? The King!! "Cars" fans know all about him!! :)

Kevin and Dan (they had tickets that allowed them to go into the pits before the game on Sunday!!)

Jimmie!!

The race underway! :)


The kids and I had a good time while Dan was gone. Us wives met at Kay's house on Saturday for lunch. After we left there, the kids and I went to Tallahassee to do a little shopping and ate supper in the mall. It was Halloween and I figured the stores would be empty with everyone out trick or treating. Well, I was sadly mistaken!! The Mall was FULL....the had trick or treating in there! Each store was giving out candy! :P So, we didnt' stay long and instead went to Michaels and spent awhile "shopping" there....dreaming is more like it! :)
We were all glad to have Dan back late Sunday night! He had my favorite cologne on....wood smoke!!! :) :) :) It took a few days to air out his sleeping bag!
Him and Danny are making plans for next year....I guess that means Tamara and I will have a mother/daughter weekend. Any ideas??

Haircuts and Free Tickets! :)

From this:

To this: :)


I like him with longer hair, but it was getting so hard to keep it laying straight!! :P And women think they are the only ones with "hair troubles". :)

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My dear hubby has a friend who got them free tickets to the Nascar Race in Talladega this weekend. He was pumped and worked extra hard to get his school work done on time....sounds like a school age child, right?? ;) They left early this morning and are coming back L.A.T.E. tomorrow night.
Talked to them today via Skype. It was a cold, rainy day! They set up camp to block the winds and rain. Talked to Dan tonight and he said it was still cold, but the sun had come out before dark and it was clear. Looks like a great day for a race tomorrow! :)

Their camp site....




I know they are having a great time and I pray that this time away is a refresher for Dan....spiritually and mentally!! :)

Us husband-less ladies got together for lunch and had fun just visiting. The kids and I went to Tallahassee tonight. I thought since it's Halloween that the stores would be emptier since people would be out trick or treating and so on. WELL....I thunk wrong!! They were trick or treating in the mall!! :P Needless to say, we didn't stick around real long. We found Michaels and Bed, Bath and Beyond to browse and dream in! :) Then we stopped for DQ ice cream on the way home...a treat I miss since we moved south (there aren't any closer than an hour to us!!)
Now it is time to get my weary bones in bed. I am looking forward to an extra hour of sleep, but if I don't soon get to bed, it defeats the purpose!! :P


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Happy Fall, Ya'll~

Friday, my sister Chris and her family came for a short weekend visit! The guys decided we should take in a football game at our local highschool that night. The Tigers were playing the Port St. Joe Sharks....and the Tigers won, but they had us holding our breath for awhile!! :)

Here come the Blountstown Tigers....

Everyone must have been intent on the game.... :)

Cody and Danny were yelling, "Skin those sharks!!" :) But their yelling was nothing compared to the lady on the back of our side of the bleachers! I wouldn't be surprised if she lost her voice....but you can count on her being in that same spot at every game, yelling and blowing her bullhorn! Next time remind me to wear ear plugs!! LOL!

This is the middle school football team...looks like we got some big players coming on next year!! Some of those guys are tall!! :)

Dan with two of his favorite nieces!! :)

Saturday after lunch Chris and I took the kids to the park to burn some energy! :)

Check out that eye!! :)

Nicole....sporting a new look with her contacts!! :)



We played a quick game of kickball....
Watch out Danny....Mom's about to get you out! Only if she can throw straight! LOL!

Tamara on base!!

~Sisters~ :)
Carmen

While we were at the park, the men got back from a quick trip to Panama City Beach to pick up a piano we bought from Dan's boss' church. Many hands to help unload!! :)
Tyler, are you bossing your sister? *gasp* ;)

Checking out its insides....

It's new home...

Watching more football..... :P

Princess Tamara with her royal cat....Orchid Seraphina. :)

The Martin's....Dwayne and Chris, Nicole (17), Tyler (16), Carmen (13), Heidi (10) and Cody (7).
Thanks for coming and spending a few hours with us...we enjoyed it!!! :)