Family Reunion

Rachel's shadow puppet

fishing

Hayden caught one!

Friendship bracelets

on the farm

She helped make the cookies.

A 'little' sample of cookie dough.

Can't see the one in the front or the dog. We were loaded!

The first weekend in August, we had our annual family reunion. What an adventure... me and 6 kids (John was out of town) spent the weekend on the farm. Well, some of it anyway. We drove up to Childress to the family reunion and had a great time visiting with family. We had about 70 people at our reunion. It was great to see cousins, aunts, uncles, great aunts... We all take food and boy was there a ton of it. My dad is known for several things in the family: Chocolate chip cookies, Homemade ice cream and home made peach cobbler. When he's feeling really energetic, he makes the peach cobbler in a dutch oven. YUM! Dad put me to work both Saturday and Sunday helping make the Peach cobbler. It was so fun to be in the kitchen with 20 other people telling stories, laughing, cooking... Pure joy! I do have to confess that on Sunday, I had dessert first. While everyone else was in line for lunch, I knew the ice cream was done and I scooped a pile on top of my warm Peach cobbler and sat down for a little bowl of yumminess. Kate caught me. She couldn't believe I was eating dessert first. Just talking about this makes me hungry for Peach cobbler.

The kids played and had a great time. They went to the park, went fishing, fed the ducks at the pond. It brings back memories from my own childhood and going to the reunion. One year, my brother caught a duck and brought it over to the reunion building. We have a picture of everyone around him as he held his prize. Ahh, fun times!

The Hike in Cloudcroft

We went for a hike in Cloudcroft. We tried to do this hike 5 years ago and didn't make it. We did have four kids under 6 years old and two of them were in strollers. This time, no strollers. We did make the 1.3 mile hike down to the trestle, but we almost didn't make the 1.3 mile hike back up. You think 2.6 miles is not that bad, well not normally, but do it on the side of a mountain. A little bit harder. We had a map to follow and handed it to Sarah to read. It was funny to see her read it. She was so confused. It was a map that had no directions on it and was not even close to accurate. None of us could have followed it, but it was sure fun to see her try.

White Sands

It was a beautiful day at White Sands. During the summer, it gets so hot there, but this day, it was about 80 degrees. We took advantage of the cooler weather and went down to play in the sand. We had so much fun and got some great pictures. John found the sledding dishes in the cabin. We were so excited to use them as you can see...

Cloudcroft...

We had a great time in Cloudcroft. It was beautiful! I just wanted to share a few pictures. We are heading to our family reunion, but have some great pictures to post from White Sands...

St. Joseph's Mission

Yesterday, we headed down to Las Cruces to visit friends. As we drove through Ruidoso, John reminded me of this old church that we had seen on our last visit to Cloudcroft. As you come around the mountain, there is this amazing church hidden back in the mountain. Last time, we didn't have time to think about stopping, but this time, we decided to stop. Much to our surprise, the church was being restored. We got to go in and see the inside of this church that was built in 1920. There was a sign on the door to let visitors know that there were bats. As we walked in, Sarah was greeted by something flying swiftly past her. As it rushed by, we realized that it was not a bat, but a hummingbird. Still a little scary when there's a sign on the door saying 'beware of bats'. We enjoyed walking around and seeing this historic old building.

Light Sabers in Walmart

Yesterday, I was walking down the toy isle and behind me I hear these odd sounds of crashing and grunting. I turned to see what it was and it was my two boys, John and Hayden, fighting in the middle of the toy isle with their light sabers. I love that my man is still a kid at heart. He loves to play with our kids and have fun! They worked their way up and down the isle wielding their newly found swords. At one point, a Walmart employee walked around the corner and saw the commotion; he just turned and walked away when he saw it was a boy and his dad. Funny! And what would any mom do? Grab her camera and take a picture. See, this is why you should carry a camera in your purse. Moments like this should be shared... See, it's okay to pick up a sword in the middle of the store and fight your six year old boy. It will make his day!

Penne Ala Vodka

I went to a Living Proof Live event this weekend and we talked about food on our way home. It made me think of this recipe. It is one of our favorites and I didn't know if I had shared it or not.

Penne Ala Vodka

1 package sausage (Italian Turkey Sausage)
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 large can crushed tomatoes (28oz.)
¼ cup vodka
½ teaspoon salt
½-1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (We like it spicy, so I use 1 teaspoon)
¾ cup fat free half and half
1 cup skim milk

Cook garlic in olive oil for about 2 minutes, add sausage; cook until sausage is browned. Add tomatoes and vodka and simmer for about 3 minutes (this cooks off the alcohol). Season with salt and hot red pepper flakes. Add the half and half and milk and simmer 2-3 minutes. Serve over Penne Pasta. (At this point, you can put the sauce in a crock pot to stay warm. Sometimes I cook it in the morning and keep it in the crock pot all day to let the flavors marry and then we eat if for dinner.)

Freezing instructions: Cook as directed above. Allow to cool and store in freezer bags. Thaw in the refrigerator 24 hours before serving. Heat the sauce in the microwave, on the stove top or in the crock pot (High 2 hours or Low 4 hours). Serve over Penne Pasta.

The original recipe called for1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream, but we altered the recipe to be low fat. We also are using turkey Italian sausage and the original called for Italian or Breakfast sausage.

Weight Watchers Points: (sauce only)
1cup= 4points
½ cup=2 points

A trip to Panhandle Plains Historical Museum

A few days ago, all the sisters gone, so I asked Hayden where he wanted to go. "The museum", he exclaimed. So off we went on our historical adventure. he took the map in his tan dirty hands and off we went to the basement. For those of you that have not been to the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum, the basement holds the animals and Indian artifacts. It's Hayden's favorite exhibit. When you don't have any sisters begging to go to "Belles of the Ball" exhibit, you can go wherever you want. He led the way with map in hand from one exhibit to the other. He had a grand time being the leader of our twosome. We only spent about an hour, but we had a great time and got to see a new exhibit of "Texas Panhandle Athletes". We saw some greats and can't wait to go back. At the end of the trip, Hayden posed in front of the Buffalo across the street.

The mom in the lounge chair...

We have been to the pool several times and I am enjoying my new stage of motherhood. I am no longer pulling on and off soaking chlorine scented swim diapers! I am the mom at the side of the pool, lounging in the pool chair reading a book. Not a worry in the world... I remember seeing them, the moms in the lounge chairs. Oh, how I longed for that day. Now, I am that mom. Even though I leave one stage of motherhood behind, I am jumping feet first into the new one. Our oldest is almost 14 and going into High School. Yikes! As I read her copy of "Twilight", I scan the pool over the top of my book trying to locate that cute little blonde girl. Ah, I spot her across the pool hanging out with all the kids from her youth group. Her cheerful smile welcomes those around her. Now, where are the others? Ah, there's the roommates swimming in the pool, playing games just as cheerfully as they share a room. Really! They make up their own games, their own rules and enjoy the warm sun and cool water. Now for the boy, in the shallow end, diving endlessly for a dive stick that is black with red flames. His blonde hair is getting lighter by the minute. What a day! I love summer and love spending time at the pool.

New Blog Title

Well, about a year and a half ago, I had to change my blog title. Remember..."Texas Roots with Air Force Branches". We were no longer in the Air Force and that no longer fit who we were. So, not knowing what to change it to, I had a contest... Ah, it's all coming back now. So, I've decided that though we may still be "Driftwood" in this world, it was a temporary name. I am not having a contest this time. I have been thinking about this for a while and had several ideas, but finally settled on "Just a small town girl...". I've always been a small town girl at heart. The Air Force may have taken us all around, but I was still a small town girl. Now, I am back in a small town in Texas and I love it!

Also, I've made this blog public so I don't have to update my blog and facebook separately. I can just add a link when I update my blog. Also, this way, my dad doesn't have to remember his password.

I hope you enjoy the new look and maybe some new content every once in a while...

Branson

Good food

Sarah, Rachel and John

Brooke and Hayden

John and a yummy dessert


James thinks Sarah's cool

Audra, Hayden and Kate

We picked Sarah up this past weekend and we drove into Branson for dinner. We decided on the Hard Luck Diner with singing waitresses. It was really fun. Hayden even sang along with Brooke as she sang "All I want to do" by SugarLand. It happens to be written by a friend of mine from High School- Bobby Pinson. We had a great time and drove for a little over 9 hours for 2 days in a row. Not too bad.

Summer Fun

2 pooped pups

Sarah and Meredith

Hayden and his friend have a sleepover.

A scooter at Tractor Supply

Nachos at the pool

We have been busy, but have had some time to relax and enjoy our summer too. We just got Sarah and Rachel back after both being gone for a week. Kate has already gone to camp with the youth group. We also did some dog sitting for a friend that went to India. It has been fun and we look forward to our "small town" Forth of July celebration this weekend.

Hidden Falls Ranch

Our Garden and the Summer Reading Program

Summer reading with "Henny Penny"

Hayden playing checkers in the library


zucchini

One side of the garden

Tomatoes- YUM!

Brussel Sprouts

Well, our garden is off to a good start. Several things are coming up nicely. However, several things are not coming up at all. We planted lots of great stuff and I've taken pictures of everything in the backyard. So, that leaves out the corn and the strawberries. Those are in the front so they get more sun.

Also, we've been going to the Summer Reading Program. They had a puppet show of "Henny Penny", had a storyteller today and have other great plans for the summer. They are even doing a history walk around the square in Canyon. I think that will be great.

God's Canvas

Last week, after a quick thunderstorm passed through, my neighbor came over and told me to come outside to look at the sky. This is what we saw. We made the kids come see too. It was so different. I've never seen clouds like that before.