Once Upon a Campsite...

Christmas String Quartet

2009-01-05T22:43:00.003-05:00

Uncle Parish came for a Christmas visit this year. Here they all are together; piano, violin, double bass and guitar - playing a little Christmas blues. In the 'Blue' room. LOL!

In true Autry tradition, you gotta have a jam session sometime during the holidays!

Neighborhood Luminares!

2009-01-05T22:24:00.004-05:00

My neighbor, Tracy, and I spearheaded a Christmas Eve "First" for our little sub-division. She recalled to me how when she was a kid her neighbors all put out luminares on Christmas Eve, and what a peaceful thing that was to see. So, of course, I fell for that - hook, line and sinker! Then only to realize we need 500 bags! Here are just a few of them filling up her basement floor. Thankfully, my other neighbors, Amy & Derek volunteered to fund this crazy scheme.This is Eric and her husband, Jeff, dutifully carrying bags to the two trucks we used to disperse them. We had fun filling them, really the only slight mishap was her dog, Lila, managed to eat one of the tea candles. LOL! Oh, did I mention that my Christmas guests were expected to help me disperse these lovely bags? My sister Gina and brother-in-law Chad had the honors. Hee-Hee! (that was after they helped us put our pool table together- hey the family that works together stays together!)

Candle lighting in progress... And...the finished project. Ahh, peace on earth, goodwill towards men. This lasted about 20 minutes until the first rain shower and then a second heavy rain dowsed them all out by 8:00pm. Maybe it was a good thing. With the wind, John Jr. and I did have to stomp out 3 bags that managed to catch on fire. Whew! This was an I Love Lucy moment. The Christmas Eve Special.

The Many Faces of John III

2009-01-05T22:11:00.004-05:00

There is a tall, dark and handsome young man living in my house these days...It's John in his first tuxedo! (Not 007!) This was John dressed up for his Christmas Orchestra Concert in December. I did video a song for you, but somehow it won't upload, saying it's too large a file. Boo-hiss!Here's his "STELLA" impersonation!And now a more serious one. Waiting between pieces during the concert. I'm proud. Definitely the hottest guy in the Symphonic Orchestra!

For your listening enjoyment!

2008-12-22T21:46:00.006-05:00

Here is a quick sampling of Eric at his very first orchestra concert playing his double bass. Before you play this little video, you must first scroll down to the bottom of this page and pause the Christmas Music that is currently playing. Then you may scroll back up and play this sample.

The red headed boy next to him is his best friend, and our next door neighbor, Jackson. Here are a few still shots of them. They've learned a lot in only 2 months, and 2 classes a week.As you can see, the bass is bigger than Eric. That won't last long. LOL!

Summer Campout 2008

2008-12-22T20:42:00.005-05:00

This fourth of July, we met our long-time friends "The Turners" (From Tennessee) at a State Park that was about half-way for each of us. It was one of our favorites, here, Cloudland Canyon State Park. In fact, the first time we had ever heard of Cloudland Canyon, was when we lived in Nashville and it was the Turners who told us about how nice of a place it was. We never got to visit it together (although we did camp out together at another location), so it was fitting that we met up here 7 years later! Here we are looking out at the overlook: Elaine, Jeryl, Curtis, Big John, and EricNow, what happens when two men (who ran marathons in their younger years) and two pre-teens (who are currently both excellent athletes) hike with two moms (no words to describe us)? I'll tell you...about .2 of a mile into it, one BIG hiking group turns into two hiking groups! A fast one and a not-so-fast one.So, Elaine and I are soon on our own in the woods and come along this sign.

Normally, I'm not a rule breaker, but they make it hard when you come along obstacles like these...

Okay, a few tree trunks down, that's not such a big deal...

Oh, so the trail virtually disappears. We're fine. Really. Alone. But fine.An hour and a half later we finally find our way back to the trail! Whew! But if we go back the way we came, it's another 1 1/2 plus? NO WAY!!! And how come our hubbies aren't even worried about where we are?!?!?Well, we just found two OTHER men who happened to be in nice uniforms that would drive us back to camp! We laughed the entire way, because these "other" men made us ride in the trunk of the truck and all we could think about was the movie "Deliverance". LOL!Here are the concerned hubbies as we are pulling up to camp. The looks on their faces were priceless! Almost worth the 2 hours lost in the woods! Seriously, we all had a great time together; pick-up soccer games, fireworks from the mountain top, reminiscing about when the boys were all small, and of course...sitting around the campfire. A perfect camp-out. Aren't they all?

A River Runs Through it

2008-12-18T20:47:00.002-05:00

It wouldn't be a trip to the Smokies without a little fishing. Here's John III standing along one of the serene streams they fished in that day.This shot of Eric makes me think of Mayberry on the Andy Griffith Show.Nana and Paw Paw were sitting pretty, watchin' the fish flop until along came...A rain shower!That didn't stop Eric though, he kept on fishing and here is a big grin on his face when he thought he had caught the big one! It turned out to be a rock fish - if you know what I mean!

On Top of Old Smoky!

2008-12-18T20:30:00.002-05:00

We made a day trip to my favorite place, The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here's Dixie at the beginning of the trail going to Clingman's Dome lookout (about a 1 mile incline from the parking lot).

Even though it was the middle of June, we all needed jackets!As you can see, they don't call it the Smokies for nothing! This wasn't a good day for a good view. Nothing but fog!

Nana & Paw Paw Came to Town!

2008-12-18T19:57:00.002-05:00

We had an excellent start to our summer when Dixie & John Sr. came for a two week visit! Most daughters-in-law would baulk at such a thing, but I'm lucky to get along great with my mother-in-law. She was a terrific helper around the house and especially in the kitchen, where we had many "Sunday Worthy" dinners while they were here.Pandy Sue got to come along for the trip too! She was a little lady the whole time and got along great with Phoenix and Frodo. Here she is in her travel bag. We won't mention that she left a little "tinkle" in the Atlanta airport. Shhhh....The boys read a tribute to their Dad and Paw Paw on Father's Day. They each recited different traits/both physical and personality traits that they had in common with them. I won't go through them all, but here's a few of the funnier ones: Pose-able Big Toes, Acid Reflux, the same name, and Nana's chocolate cake.. Which you can see here we made that day, and ATE that day!

Year In Review

2008-12-18T19:46:00.003-05:00

Okay, I wish I were better at keeping up with our blogging....I hope Santa doesn't count it against me! Better late than never, right?

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T14:11:00.009-04:00

I've learned a lot from my Dad, even in the six short years that we have known each other. I've learned how not to complain, how to accept people the way they are, how to become more patient and how not to live in the "past". Those lessons were learned little by little, along the way of us developing a relationship. But I did learn one thing almost immediately after we met, that has given me joy I didn't realize I was missing...And that was how to LOVE DOGS.

I used to think dogs were just animals. Something that I didn't want around - especially in the house! I would see owners baby talking them, dressing them in cute couture and letting them lick their own ice cream cones and think, "Boy those folks have a screw missing!" Or I would visit a friend's house and their mangy mutt would greet me with a nose up my crotch and follow me around the entire time until I was vulnerable enough for him to get a leg up on me. I often wondered, "Why would anyone allow their dog to sleep in their bed or pay hundreds of dollars to have their dogs' teeth cleaned?" "A dog is a dog", I would think.

So you can imagine my dread, upon getting to know my Father for the first few times over telephone conversations, realizing how enamored he was over his own two dogs, Jake and Windy.

Being adopted at birth, it wasn't until I was 33 that my Dad and I were reunited. He lived across the country from me, so many phone calls were made trying to get to know each other. After a period of time I decided to fly out and meet him in person. I was thrilled to do so, but also pretty nervous about getting along with "the dogs". I came to understand over our chats that his dogs were like kids to him. And even though I had reservations about getting along with dogs myself, it did seem rather endearing that he was such a compassionate man towards them. But now it was time for us to spend time together, dogs included, and I was becoming apprehensive about interacting with Jake and Windy. I did after all, like all children, want my Dad's approval. And I could just imagine things going awry between me and the dogs.

But they handled me with kid gloves. They were perfectly behaved and the most polite dogs I had ever met. Jake was a gentle giant, a Newfoundland/Great Pyrenees/Saint Bernard Mix. Windy was a Golden Retriever and a very mild mannered lady. Perhaps they sensed my uneasiness, for they were both docile and willing to allow me to learn how to communicate with them in my own rudimentary way. We all walked and played around in a green space at the harbor on the bay and I grew more comfortable as time passed. Then my Dad remarked how Jake seemed friendlier to me than to most strangers and that was all I needed to hear. That declaration perked me up and it was like I'd liked dogs my entire life!

Over the next year, my Dad would comment here and there, that my boys needed to have their own dog. He felt it was part of growing up and an experience that all boys should get. "Every boy needs a dog", he would say. You know, 'man's best friend' hype. In return, I always had an excuse for why we could not get one, reciting how much trouble a dog would be, but secretly I was thinking through it in my own mind. Finally, the day came that I decided to get "the boys" a dog.

We chose a 6 month old male Labradoodle and it was love at first sight - for all of us! And, just as I thought, he was a handful! His first day home he bathed me in dog water drool and christened his new crate with diarrhea. We had to potty train him, crate train him, and leash train him. He was afraid of school buses and vacuum cleaners. We had some rough times that first week, but I realized the joy the he would bring me that first night, when the only way to keep him from whimpering in his crate was to move it beside my bed and sleep with my fingers stuck between the bars so he could feel that I was still there with him.

Since then we've had a lot of good times together. Learning tricks, going on walks, fetching, camping, hiking and just plain hanging out. We've treated him to ice cream and baby talked our hearts out. Now my boys are the type to bring in every stray they see on our street and we have even added a second dog to the family.

I realize now that he is 3, that you can't explain to non-pet owners the bond between man and dog. And this past year has brought some sad changes for my Dad. Both Jake and Windy have passed on and he is having to get used to life without a dog. I guess in the coming years it will be my turn to talk my Dad into getting a dog. I've mentioned it a couple of times and he's dismissed it, saying how hard it is to travel when you own a dog and likely remembering some of the more difficult times when they were medically fragile. But I'll keep nudging. Because after all...

EVERY BOY NEEDS A DOG!

Air "Autry"

2008-05-16T19:51:00.004-04:00

Here's Eric flying high in a game last weekend. I promise this photo is not "doctored". It's courtesy of our team Dad, Doug Smith. Believe it or not, there were no injuries from this move either.

Recently, Liverpool Futbol Club U-18's came across the pond and held a training night for Eric's team. Eric was thrilled to be called "Crouchie" (Peter Crouch) by one of the players. Later that night we got online to look at pics of Crouch and read about him, only to find that he indeed could pass for an adult version of Eric! Not only is he tall like Eric will likely be, but when he was younger, he shared the same jersey number that Eric has had his entire career - #24! Here's a photo of Crouch:

Today's Southern Belles

2008-04-01T21:50:00.005-04:00

St. Patrick's Day weekend we had the pleasure of a fun visit with our cousins from Texas, Allison, Angela and Amber. We all went bowling and showcased our fantastic ball skills with a girls vs. boys contest. It was so nice to have some females with me in this house dominated with males! They spent the night with us and the next morning I took these beautiful "Southern Belles" on a tour of Stone Mountain. We shopped and toured the authentic Antibellum buildings and imagined what life might have been for us back then. Then we went on to Old Town Lilburn for more shopping and eat at my favorite place, The Blue Rooster. MMmm! Chicken salad sandwiches!

Here's a slideshow of the trip up the mountain...

Lone Star Angel

2008-04-01T20:00:00.002-04:00

Here's my latest art piece I am calling "Lone Star Angel". This is an original by ME done in acrylics. I painted it for our Texas themed sunroom and I plan to do a companion angel for her. You just don't find a lot of Texas decor out here in Georgia ;)

THE SEASON BEGINS

2008-02-24T21:41:00.004-05:00

Here's Eric celebrating after scoring a goal in his 1st out of 3 games this weekend! Someone please teach him some humility! LOL!

A SUPER Tuesday!

2008-02-21T19:25:00.005-05:00

We had a fun time on Super Tuesday! Not just because our favorite candidate took the win for Georgia but because we had a special visitor in town!

Uncle Parish was here on business and treated us for dinner! Our job was to find the restaurant...No problem! We chose the Fox Sports Grill. We picked him up at his hotel, and proceeded to the restaurant only to find that out of all the places we could have chosen to eat in Atlanta--we picked the Obama Headquarters!! We couldn't resist taking a sign with us (even though we are supporting other candidates) and I insisted that they hold the sign for the picture. Somehow, I don't think it's the sign that these Autry boys are giggling at, do you?

NOTHIN' BUT NET

2008-02-21T17:59:00.005-05:00

We just wrapped up another fun basketball season for Eric! His team didn't fare too well in the play-offs, but he did get a triple-double on one of his games. Don't ask me what that is, I'm just quoting his dad :) He also made the all-star team at the end of the season! Here's his highlight reel I had fun making...

Tallulah Gorge

2008-02-07T15:27:00.000-05:00

Here's another day trip we took in January to Tallulah Gorge State Park, in the North Georgia Mountians. This hike too, had over 600 steps down into the belly of the gorge and the same back up. Here's the view from the top of the trail, looking down at the waterfall... This was a swinging bridge we had to cross about halfway down, suspending 80ft. above the floor of the gorge. At first glance, you can't tell if you're going up or down on this pic... And...the pay-off. As we stood here, at the bottom, I envisioned what it would look like with a little bit of snow cover. and here is John Jr. heading back up the stairs. We couldn't help but hum the Rocky song!

We're Baa-aack!!

2008-02-07T15:09:00.000-05:00

Okay, we're back online after a month off of taking down Christmas trees, playing in the snow, being sick and job hunting! The boys got me a brand spanking new camera for Christmas, and I have finally figured out how to use it! Here goes trying to post a slideshow of our recent day trip to the North Georgia Mountians:

This was our 3rd visit to Amicalola State Park. A strenuous hike of 604 steps up to the top of the waterfall and 604 steps back down. Of course, Eric did it twice without breaking a sweat. Enjoy!

TREES AROUND THE WEB

2007-12-16T14:58:00.000-05:00

Let's have some more Christmas fun and post our Christmas trees!

This is our fancy tree in the Formal Dining room. Colors are blues and gold.

This tree is in our den. It's Scandinavian themed to reflect my heritage. Also interesting is the tree skirt. It's actually a wool patch quilt made by my adopted Grandmother. Just another great use for an old quilt.

Last is the Texas room tree. It's hard to see in the photo, but it has rusty stars, hay bows, and real rope for the garland. Since this is the room I sit in and dream of watching snow out the window, I added some icicles and a few snow balls.

Now, y'alls turn! Comment here when you've posted your tree!

Black Tie Affair

2007-12-16T14:51:00.000-05:00

We had the pleasure of hearing John's 8th grade Orchestra perform at the High School Theatre this past week. This was their first time to dress 'Black Tie' and as you can see he was very handsome! Next year they will be wearing tuxedos. They sounded great as they serenaded us with some timely holiday music.

Cookie Exchange (Tagged by Trish)

2007-12-14T19:33:00.000-05:00

For our 4 legged friends I decided to submit a dog cookie recipe. I plan to make these for our friends who have dogs. I even bought a bone shaped cookie cutter. It should be fun. If you can't find baby food liver then just use chicken. Since I haven't made them yet, I included a picture of Phoenix enjoying one of our Christmas trees last year.

Dog Lickers 'Cookie' Treats

3/4 cup wheat germ

3/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder

1 egg

1 tablespoon brewers' yeast

1 (3.5 ounce) jar pureed liver baby food

1/4 cup water, or as needed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, stir together the wheat germ, milk powder, egg, yeast and liver baby food. Add water if necessary to make a workable dough. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from cookie sheet to cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Christmas Quiz

2007-12-10T16:45:00.000-05:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, it has to match the tree it is under, and i like unusual bows and to use postal brown wrap and stamp or glitter shapes on it.

2. Real tree or artificial? We've had both. 3 artificial this year.

3. When do you put up the tree? After Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? Mid January. I am always holding out for snow. Once I left a tree up till Feb and let the movers pack it for me. They were not happy.

5. Do you like eggnog? No, yuck.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Lincoln logs.

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes, several.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My in-laws and my Dad and his wife, because they don't ask for things.

9. Easiest person to buy for? John Jr.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A book written about Eleanor Roosevelt. Used. It's the thought that counts.

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Mail. But this year will be the first in at least 3 years I've had time to do them.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story and Christmas Vacation

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Just before Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I'm sure I have, but I can't remember what it was.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Home made coconut chocolate balls. Mmm.

16 Clear lights or colored on the tree? Why choose? When you can have them all. One tree with blue, one tree with clear, one with multi.

17. Favorite Christmas song? A Christmas Song.

18 Travel at Christmas or stay home? I like to host a big crowd at my house. But I also like to take a day trip hiking or something.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen {and Rudolph?}The person before me just did.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I like stars

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? I really love everything, but people buying all the Wii's and re-selling them to make money was annoying.

23. Favorite Christmas tradition? When the boys were little, we bought a teddy bear every year for each of them to sleep with on Christmas Eve. Now, we have a large collection of Christmas bears. My other favorite is Big John taking me out on my Christmas date and shopping for me.

24. Up early or sleeping in? Around 6:30 or 7:00am

25. Who hands out the gifts? Everybody.

26. Does Santa wrap your gifts? We didn't do Santa when the kids were young. We don't wrap the ones that are too big to wrap.

27. Do you tell the Christmas story? If my father-in-law is here he sometimes reads it.

28. Do you leave cookies for Santa? No.

Alrighty, then. Let's hear all about Christmas at YOUR house. Tag. You're it!

Gene Autry

2007-12-03T01:14:00.000-05:00

Here's a window frame I painted a few years ago - a tribute to our distant cousin, Gene Autry. Again, it's very folk styled. I painted it from the back side of the glass and then came back in and outlined it in black from the front. Then, spray painted the entire back with the creme color for a background. This one hangs in our Texas room, which I'll show in the home tour later.

New Blogger on the Block!

2007-12-01T21:11:00.000-05:00

There's a new blogger in town folks! Check out "In the Shoes of Johnny" on my friends and family blog list. John created his site completely on his own. I think you will like it. There's room for more than one blogger in this house!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!

2007-11-26T19:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to Eric! Eric is turning 11 this year and he has a lot to be proud about! Eric's jubilant spirit is contagious as you can see by his photo. Not only is he extremely talented with Math and sports but he enjoys lots of friends with his congenial personality. Eric tries to be every one's pal and has a special place in his heart for international students who have moved to our school. He's a sensitive guy who is always concerned for others. Last year, on a school field trip to the zoo, he happily gave his $10 spending money to a parking lot musician who was playing for food money, without any encouragement from anyone else. He also sets his adult aspirations high, having interest to be a Professional Soccer player, a Fox News Channel Anchor, a Weather Man or an architect. Whatever Eric sets his mind to, we know he will be successful - in life and love for others! We're proud of you Eric! You're the best 11 year old in the whole world! For this year's birthday we took him and two of his buds on the overnight stay at Cloud land Canyon State Park. Here's Jackson, Eric and Schyler on the way intently playing their hand-held games. Here's Eric, John and the crew at "Big John's BBQ" where we ate lunch at one the road. You have no idea how hard it is to get a photo with regular smiles of a group of boys! LOL! Schyler and John during the "Manhunt" game at the cabin. Walkie-talkie central! He got a brand new set of walkie talkies for his birthday! The guys "yodelling" into the canyon. (poor bears) Enjoying the views. One of the quieter moments of the weekend. Raising the bar? The boys hiking down to an overlook. Enjoying a little college football in front of the fire. A friendly game of spoons. Looking cool at Mackie 'D's after a fun filled weekend!

Cloudland Canyon State Park

2007-11-26T15:26:00.000-05:00

This weekend we got an opportunity to visit CLOUDLAND CANYON STATE PARK located in Northwest Georgia. This was our first visit and will go down as one of our favorite state parks. The occasion was a birthday trip for Eric who is turning 11 years old! The cabins are very affordable. This one slept 8 in beds with two bedrooms. It had all the perks including a wood burning fireplace and a screened in porch with 4 wonderful rocking chairs. The cabins were perfectly secluded, yet still conveniently close to a hiking trail that led from our cottage to the rim of the canyon. As you can see, there is still some fall color in the area. Here's one view from the edge of the canyon. I guess they don't call it Cloudland Canyon for nothing - It was very foggy during our visit. There were many trails that led to fantastic lookouts. The canyon normally would boast several waterfalls with trails leading to the bottoms, however, with our current drought situation the falls have been reduced to a mere trickle. Just another reminder of exactly how dry we are out here.

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

2007-11-19T14:10:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone has gotten their Thanksgiving dinner shopping done by now! It took me two visits to the grocery store yesterday, but I finally got mine finished. Let's share what's on our menus :) Mmmm. Here's ours;

Turkey (made by my sister)

Spiral sliced honey ham

Cornbread dressing (made by my sister)

Gravy (made by my sister)

Mashed Potatoes

Hot Rolls

Green beans with bacon and tiny red potatoes

Steamed Asparagus

Broccoli, Cheese and rice casserole (made by my sister)

Seasoned Corn

Fruit Salad (made by my sister)

Cranberry Salad

Deviled Eggs

Relish tray with baby dill pickles, baby sweet gherkin's, pickled okra, pickled beets, green & black olives

Sliced cheeses and crackers

Pecan Pie ( made by my sister)

Pumpkin Pie (made by my sister)

Chocolate Mousse (made by my niece)

Key lime bars

Peanut butter chocolate bars

Sodas, tea, rum & pineapple juice

What's on YOUR MENU?

TOUR OF HOMES (Dining Room)

2007-11-19T13:42:00.001-05:00

Welcome to our dining room! By far, the fanciest room in our home since we are all about comfort. As I had stated in an art post, the decor here takes on a French Country theme. I like this theme because it does still have a dressed down appearance. I'm proud of this room because I really put alot of myself into it. When we bought our home, it was previously a formal sitting room. I moved the chandelier from the original dining room to this room because we usually have a large crowd around the holidays. Then, my sister Gina and I painted all of the trim and dental molding white (previously stained) and did a faux treatment of the gold on the walls. The only new furniture in the room is the table and chairs. When all the leaves are in, it seats 10 comfortably. Everything else in the room was either handed down from family, found at a clearance sale, hand-made by me or bought from Goodwill stores (which I love finding bargains at).

Now, tag to you gals who are in on the tour of homes! Antigone, Gina, Lori and Trish! And anyone else who wants to join in!

Double Take

2007-11-01T19:24:00.000-04:00

From a face only a mother could love.... To GQ material! Here's John dressed to kill for a musical event at Georgia Tech tonight. I think I'll dub this my very own version of 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' {:o)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2007-10-31T22:35:00.000-04:00

The neighborhood gang Our spooky table scape...complete with smores, sherbet punch, candy corn and malted milk balls! Oh, and a few nasty spiders John Jr. AKA (Goat boy) at a friend's house He stayed busy scaring kindergarten kids =( We had a record 26 trick-or-treaters this year which is good for our older neighborhood. How many did YOU have?

BOO!

2007-10-31T22:30:00.000-04:00

John's Jack-O-Lantern creation Eric's Jack-O-Lantern creation

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!

2007-10-25T19:24:00.000-04:00

Someone is having a Birthday! It's our Nana! Not just any Nana, but the best Nana in the world! Here she is with me posing at the Grand Canyon National Park, 2007. She may be a grandmother, but she's got a lot of spunk left in'er. You can't slow her down! She's a Pastor, wife, mother, sister, Nana, and friend but most of all a caretaker. A caretaker of all. She never stops waiting on others. Whether it's a cooked to order breakfast, transporting her Sr. congregation members to the store or nurturing her little lap-dog, she's a devoted servant to all. If you're not careful, she'll take the shirt off your back to wash it! Never will you meet a more humble maternal woman.

Here she is at her church, where she does a great work for God.

We're lucky to have such a exceptional woman in our lives. We love you, John-Lisa-John III-Eric

You Haven't Lived Until You've...

2007-10-24T18:45:00.000-04:00

WON THE CHILI COOK-OFF!

Here's John III, cooking his award winning chili for our neighborhood chili cook-off '07.

What? You've never seen someone cook from a bar stool before?

And here is the finished product! John's secret? He went on the website myrecipes.com, looked at all of the chili recipes and took interesting ingredients from several different ones and put them together for his creation. And, guess what? He had NEVER tasted chili before! He does like to cook though, so I thought getting him to enter the contest would be a great way to get him to taste chili, and it worked! Except he did taste around the beans. Since a couple of folks wanted the recipe I decided to share it here. Just keep in mind, this was a 14 year old cooking, so there weren't really exact measurements. I asked him to name his recipe, but in true teenage fashion, he said to just call it "Chili".

CHILI

2 lbs. of lean ground hamburger meat

1/2 lb. of ground sausage

1/2 lb. of mesquite bacon

1/2 can of kidney beans

1/4 bottle of mesquite flavored BBQ sauce

1 can of Rotel

1 can of beef broth

1 can of V8

about 1/4 cup of white zinfandel wine

2 oz. of unsweetend bakers chocolate, melted

lots of salt

lots of chili powder

2 heaping teaspoons of Cumin

a couple of shakes of Italian seasoning

2 spoons full of minced garlic

Cut the bacon into bits and stir-fry it. Then, drain it onto paper towels. Crumble and cook the ground beef and sausage, and drain any fat off. Add the bacon crumbles and remaining ingredients and let simmer as long as you want. Hint, you may need a bar stool! =)

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2007-10-23T13:31:00.000-04:00

A little more than a year ago, we moved to the neighborhood of our dreams. An older, established place with mature trees and large lots. Where children walk to school and play Frisbee in the street with their friends next door. Where neighbors still Christmas carol and BBQ on Independence Day. That's why it was our pleasure to co-host the block's first annual fall "Chili Cook-off" this past weekend with my neighbor Tracy.

We had splendid sunshine and mild temperatures for the fall gathering. Here are some pics of the festive set-up of our backyard;

There was lots of mingling, crafts for the kids and 13 steaming pots of Chili entered into the contest! Everyone had their own style of 'tasting'. Some critics chose to use a plate, with several entries ladled on. Others chose to just hover over the buffet table, tasting and ranking each pot. My personal favorite was the White Chicken Chili, but the contestants were very creative. There was vegetarian made with tofu, an all beef spicy pot roast style, some with red wine, chili made with rib meat, and even a radioactive FISH chili. But, when all the tasting was said and done, there was a clear winner. 14 YR. OLD JOHN AUTRY, III with his prize winning Chocolate Wine Chili! John won the coveted Chili Trophy, to cherish until he hands it off to next year's winner, and a gift certificate to "Chili's Bar & Grill". This makes a clean sweep for John on winning the sub-division contests, after winning the elusive Bike Decorating Contest on the 4th of July this past summer. I may have to pull him out of next year's competitions or we could get run out of the neighborhood! LOL!

May everyone have a wonderful fall season. Enjoy your football games, go trick-or-treating, pile up your leaves, and snuggle with your loved ones and a warm bowl of chili.

CHILDHOOD PHOTOS (Tagged by Lori)

2007-10-22T00:12:00.000-04:00

Here are John and his parents John & Dixie, 1965. If I didn't know better, I'd say this was Elvis and Priscilla! This is me playing dress-up about 1974. Now, tag to all who haven't done this one yet - put up a childhood photo of yourself!

Tour of Homes

2007-10-17T18:06:00.000-04:00

WELCOME HOME!

Let's take a tour of homes! It would be ALMOST like a visit in person! I'll start it off, after all, this can't be as bad as showing my hairstyles over the years. Maybe we will get decorating ideas from each other, or it may inspire some of us to clean house. (that would be me)

This is our front stoop. We've owned this home for a year now. It's a 2 story traditional colonial with a basement. It was built in 1975 and we are the 3rd owners. We purchased our home from a dear friend, who raised his daughter here and moved away from town to enjoy his golden years. Well, he's not THAT old, really.

If you want to participate, you don't have to do every room, it's up to you. Just leave a comment on this post when you have your photo up. This time let's do Front of house/door. Be careful not to give away details about your street, etc. for safety reasons.

Come on In!

Im"PECK"able Presidential Candidates

2007-10-10T21:30:00.000-04:00

I'm not a very competitive person. I like to do things for fun. Bowling - use the bumper guards, Watching football - root for the team with the cutest coach. And, when my son's youth soccer team is whoopin' up on the other team I'm on the sidelines consoling the other team's goalie. So, I've just been waiting for y'all to whip out the political posts on your blogs so I can non-competitively enter the arena! There's too much cable news watching in this house. So, a few years ago I had to come up with some kind of interesting twist on how I was going to predict the Presidential favorite, just to keep my sanity. The last Presidential race I chose the "First Lady Material" test. In other words, who had the wife that seemed to fit the shoes of a First Lady the best. It worked just fine. I predicted the top dog just by judging outfits, hairstyles and congeniality. Of course, the queen of ketchup made that a pretty easy prediction. This year let's do "The Kiss" test. Meaning, if I woke up one morning and turned to see a presidential candidate lying next to me instead of my wonderful husband, John, would the candidate get a "Kiss" from me? "Kiss" being a metaphor for VOTE. Okay, so here we go;

JOHN EDWARDS- Ooh, I'm sorry John, with the expensive haircut and all, I think you're a little too METRO-SEXUAL for my taste. I bet your using more Mary Kay product than I am. You would need to rough-up your style a little before you would get a kiss from me. Maybe you should read my hairspray blog.

MITT ROMNEY- Ooh La La! Tall, dark, and handsome, now here's a guy I could look at on the TV for the next 4 years. But, Mitt, I'm just wondering...if I did "kiss" you, would you still call me in the morning?

HILLARY CLINTON- Now Hillary, I want to play fair with you. Since I'm not Gay, of course I wouldn't "kiss" you. So, I thought I would let my husband weigh in on your fate. When asked if he would "kiss" you he answers a flat out NO. Sorry Hill, he doesn't like blondes OR short hair so put your Chap stick away.

JOHN MCCAIN- Okay, now here's the real tough guy I was looking for earlier. Boy, John, you just might have it all. Character, humor, honesty and integrity. I'll just keep reminding myself that's a cancer treatment in your jaw, not a huge wad of smokeless tobacco.

BARACK OBAMA- Okay, this guy's not half bad. A little geeky looking. He just needs to grow into his ears and his grin. He reminds me of a nerdy guy in high school that grows up to be some really successful handsome catch 20 years later. You know, the one everyone wishes they would have dated, but never gave him a chance. In that case, Barack, we'll touch base with you in a few years.

RUDY GIULIANI - Rudy, Rudy, Rudy...Now, I'm tempted to "kiss" you, because you seem like a real 'take charge' kind of guy. The kind of guy that everybody wants to be around. The guy that acts like he owns the place. Hmm. But, that's got me a little worried. If I say I don't want to "kiss" you are you gonna send some mob guy after me?

FRED THOMPSON- Now Fred's great. He's older, wiser and even if he doesn't know what he's talking about he could at least ACT like he does. But he looked a lot cuter when he was acting. Fred, have you lost weight? Because it's not flattering! And to think, the camera adds ten pounds! You're beginning to look a little 'chicken-esque'. Didn't your doctor tell you that you need to put on a few pounds in your later years? One broken hip and your history! I'll consider giving you a "kiss" once you get back to being a biscuit away from 250.

MIKE HUCKABEE- I like MIKE! He's a good catch! They kind of guy you could bring home to mama. Strong values, tough character and no B.S. Yep, he gets a "kiss". And, unlike the last President from Hope, Arkansas, he doesn't smoke cigars! So- that's a plus! What's that Mike? No one knows about you yet? Oh, okay. I guess our "kiss" will just be our little secret for now. Don't worry Mike, we'll show them when it's time to enter the "Kissing" booths!

The Mr. & Mrs.

2007-10-09T22:03:00.000-04:00

Here are two more little fun paintings I have done. The top one is "The Mr." and the bottom is "The Mrs."

And here is where they live, on the breakfast room wall. As you can see, I'm a starving artist and that is why none of the paintings have frames yet! LOL!

Bag of Tricks

2007-10-05T21:14:00.000-04:00

It's time to clean out my purse. I know this because last weekend I found myself in a panic at Wal-Mart's self-service check-out when I could not find my debit card. I knew right away it had not been stolen. I knew this because I don't put things back very well. In a rush, I likely stuck it in an interior pocket with a receipt instead of pulling out my wallet and placing it near my driver's license. So, the tough part was just finding it inside my enormous bag of tricks. Just as my sister, Gina, was about to step in and pay for my order, I found it. We had to laugh about it. However, after cleaning it out today, I think you may get an even bigger laugh when you see a list (in no specific order of importance) of what all I am carrying around in this bag of tricks!

Wallet

Sunglasses

Keys

coin purse

A watch

Hairbrush

Travel size baby sunblock

Another set of keys

Travel size FDS

Small personal phone directory (because I am the last Mom on earth that does not own a cell phone to store her family/friends phone numbers in)

Eric's second place soccer tournament plaque (still in bubble wrap, tourney was 2 weeks ago)

Two Birthday cards given to John III (his birthday was Aug. 31st)

A child ID kit complete with DNA swab (a freebie from grocery store, I'm saving for my 4 yr old nephew)

6 in. long tweezers ( I use these to pull out thread that gets stuck in the sewing machine, so I don't know why they are in my purse)

Plastic bag from the Greenville, SC convention and visitor's bureau

4 ink pens

1 pencil

Toe-nail size clippers

Car rider number tag for the elementary school pick-up line (I only pick-up the neighborhood kids if it rains, otherwise they walk)

An old grocery list

Paint color chips

A coupon card for a free game of bowling (expired 8/30/07)

Two tampons (not sure why there is two since I am peri-menopausal)

Regular size tweezers (these we do use for tweezing)

Large bottle of Multi-purpose contact lens solution (I find this bottle is empty)

Tiny bottle of Multi-purpose contact lens solution

Small plastic pencil sharpener

Some loose pennies in the bottom of purse

About 20 loose Dr. Du-More's tooth flossies (that can't be used because they fell out of the little plastic baggie they were in)

Two lip glosses

A sterling silver necklace I bought while vacationing in April to the Grand Canyon still in the little bag it came in

Another small keyring with only one key on it (not sure what it belongs to)

A couple of tiny rocks I took from the shores of Isle Royale National Park (which is against the rules, since it is an international biosphere preserve)

A plastic knife (still in it's plastic wrapper from some take-out place)

A loose dollar bill

Many, many wrinkled receipts

My membership card to Bally's (This should be in my work-out bag)

Match book (even though I don't smoke)

A utility razor blade (you heard right folks)

A measuring tape (really these are lingering from a recent project)

Two fabric swatches

A used up Kleenex and a Hair Clip.

Let's just say, if I were stranded on that deserted island folks are always talking about, one of my items I get to keep would be my purse.

What's in YOUR purse?

Who's Your Man? (Tagged by Antigone)

2007-10-03T19:18:00.000-04:00

1. Who is your Man?

John Edgar Autry, Jr.

2. How long have you been together?

16 years married.

3. How long dated?

About a year and a half.

4. How old is your man?

42, only 4 years older than me.

5. Who eats more?

Of what? He eats more cereal & milk, I eat more cheese.

6. Who said, "I love you" first?

Me, of course. I say "I love you" first to EVERYONE! BE OPEN PEOPLE!!

7. Who is taller?

He is, 6 ft. 2in., but he tries to deny that I am 6ft. tall. He claims I'm only 5ft.11in.

8. Who sings better?

Me, unless he's playing our favorite 80's love songs on the piano.

9. Who is smarter?

That is not a very nice question.

10. Whose temper is worse?

It depends on if I'm getting what I want.

11. Who does the laundry?

No one, until every last pair of black socks are used up! And then I make an attempt.

12. Who takes out the garbage?

Our two sons. He says that's why we have them.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?

He does. And I keep him facing the right so that the snoring is not as loud!

14. Who pays the bills?

He does. I'm a happily kept woman with a healthy allowance.

15. Who is better with the computer?

His office assistant.

16. Who mows the lawn?

Our boys. I used to enjoy it though, it's good exercise.

17. Who cooks dinner?

Applebee's, Sonic, Pizza Hut, O'Charlie's. Sometimes me, but John would have to ask how to heat up a hot dog in the microwave.

18. Who drives when you are together?

He does, because I'm on a 6 year accident streak right now.

19. Who pays when you go out?

He does, and his tips big.

20. Who is most stubborn?

I refuse to answer this one.

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?

No admitting going on in this house.

22. Whose parents do you see the most?

His.

23. Who kissed who first?

He kissed me and his beard stubble hurt my chin.

24. Who asked who out?

He asked me. I said no. I thought about it for a week. Then I called him and asked him out, but he picked the date, and it was to watch him play co-ed softball and pizza afterwards.

25. Who proposed?

He did. It was Christmas Eve and he had a ring.

26. Who is more sensitive?

Me, me, me. Totally.

27. Who has more friends?

We have about the same.

28. Who has more siblings?

We have the same (2) as far as we know. Since I'm adopted, I guess there could be more out there for me. (I could only hope, because I love family!)

29. Who wears the pants in the family?

He does. I don't like it. Wearing the pants is stressful.

OKAY, TAG TO ALL WHO HAVEN'T DONE THIS ONE YET!

You Haven't Lived Until You've...

2007-09-18T14:31:00.000-04:00

Won 'Most Patriotic Bicycle' in the neighborhood bike parade!

Here's John on his Stars-N-Stripes creation! Here he is, 4th of July 2007, accepting his prize and brother Eric in the green striped shirt is proudly grinning! We are very fortunate to live in a neighborhood that affords us these kind of "Norman Rockwell" moments.

Family Fun

2007-09-12T21:44:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we got the pleasure of a visit from two of John's prettiest most intelligent eligible bachelorette cousins - Angela and Allison!

As you can see by the photo, there was a lot of goofing around and many laughs that evening. Allison visited us for the first time two years ago and the boys never stopped talking about her. This time she brought her lovely sister Angela with her. My boys are quite smitten with these 20 something degreed professionals! Quiet, never-notice-a-girl John III had them in stitches and was in rare entertaining form! Eric was his usual ladies' man self. It was pouring down rain when the girls drove into the driveway and each of the boys went out to the car holding umbrellas to escort them inside. We had such a good time we almost didn't let them leave!

Game ON!

2007-09-09T12:54:00.000-04:00

Soccer season is in full swing these days around our house! Here's some of Eric's follies (that's what I like to call the action pics) over the last couple of weekends. It almost looks like he's got a problem with sticking his tongue out of his mouth when he's getting serious about the game. That may come back to bite him one of the days. This action shot is funny. Looks like he's trying to kick the ball up and catch it with his hands. Get up Eric! This isn't the pros!! Photos courtesy of Doug Smith, one of our talented soccer Dads.

You Haven't Lived Until You've...

2007-09-06T20:57:00.001-04:00

STOOD AT THE EDGE OF A GREAT LAKE AND SEEN AN OCEAN!

John III at Lake Erie - age 4 1/2 Big John at Lake Michigan - 2007 Eric at Lake Superior - 2007 A quick stop at Lake Huron - 2007

Just one more to see and that's Lake Ontario! Words can't express the expanse of these great lakes! Which Great Lakes have YOU been to?

20 YEARS OF HAIRSPRAY

2007-09-03T00:52:00.000-04:00

My senior class just held our 20 year reunion a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to make the trip to attend, since school started for my own kids just two days later than the reunion. I wasn't very good at keeping in touch over the years. In fact, I was told I couldn't be found for the 10 year reunion. So, I've had a good time catching up with friends and reminiscing some of the more memorable times we had together. I was a BAND DORK (a darned good-looking dork, I might add), Band President my senior year, an A-B student, quiet around the popular crowd but a big flirt among my band friends and possibly remembered for dating a boy younger AND shorter than I was! One friend I've caught up with I've known since kindergarten. We used to hold hands across the isle on the bus on the way to school. Now he is a Cosmetologist! This got me to thinking. Since I was unable to make the reunion, I thought I would give him and my friends a good chuckle and share 20 years of hairstyles with them. So, here goes... SENIOR PHOTO hair. 1986. To get this look I spent a lot of time with a curling iron and hairspray. I showed this to my kids once (I was proud of this photo) and the first thing they both said was how bad my hair looked! What!?! PROM HAIR 1987. Can you say, "Zana-du?" Hey, this was a Texas prom you know. In Texas the bigger the hair the better! MARILYN hair. 1989. Oh, just kidding, it's a Halloween wig and costume ;) ENGAGEMENT hair. 1990. I don't know what kind of look I was going for here, but I do remember thinking Cybil Sheppard had good hair LOL! JUST MARRIED hair. 1992. A little better than Ms. Sheppard's 'do'. I think we shall refer to this as the 'Bozo' period! Who needs extensions with a full head of hair like that?!

NEW MOM hair. 1993. Awe, me and my first born. I think he was about a month old here and obviously I chose this 'helmet head' hairstyle as a form of birth control because it is pretty hideous!!!! ICE SKATER hair. 1995. I don't know...maybe I was in preparations for the '96 Olympics?

SECOND BABY hair. 1996. Ooh, the magic of hairspray...pushed a baby out in only ten minutes and not a hair out of place! Just call me Super Mom armed with a bottle of hairspray at my side!

BUSY MOM hair. 1997. Hmm. I kind of like this one. Sort of simple but a little sophisticated. I guess this is what I would have looked like at the 10 year reunion.

TRYING TO BE BLOND AGAIN hair. 1998. This was me trying to be blond like I was as a little girl. Ladies, don't try this at home!! I quickly found out my husband prefers brunettes after this one!

FORGOT TO BRUSH OUT THE CURLS hair? late 1999? This one hurts right in the gut! I must have a healthy self-esteem to put this one up! DIDN'T LIKE THE WAY I LOOKED hair. 2002. This is a strange phenomenon women do. I think I didn't like being fat here, so since it was too hard to change being fat, I changed my hair instead! LOL! It doesn't work, the next day I didn't like my hair either. TODAY hair. 2007. So I skipped a few years, but I don't think much has changed in a while. This is me this week, on a good hair day. Meaning, I actually tried to fix my hair! Usually these days, I am sporting a tom-boy looking pony tail. Plain Jane, almost forty year old me. No hairspray, hot curlers or curling iron needed. On a special occasion I might use a flat iron, but I'm not a whiz with that new invention either! HAPPY 20TH to my friends, and I hope this blog qualifies for a free make-over *wink*wink* :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!

2007-08-31T01:07:00.000-04:00

My handsome son turns 14 years old today! We are so proud of the person he is. He is so far beyond where his Dad and I were at the age of 14. He's a calm spirit, an unselfish attitude, a witty personality and a wealth of information.

Here he is this past spring at the Grand Canyon. Unafraid to stand at the edge of forever.

Last week at school he wrote this poem and I thought I would publish it here on our blog...

I Am From.....By John

I am from long car trips, camping and cookouts. I am from a green stool, which I used to reach many snacks from the snack cabinet. I am from haircuts, pine cone wars, and tall glasses of lemonade.

I am from a bump in the road that my friends and I used to jump our bikes off. I am from walking to school on a sunny day with the sun glaring in my eyes.

I am from a cracked drive way and a broken skateboard from Jim's skate board shop.

I am from waking up in the morning and the smell of bacon and biscuits cooking and the dog barking at a cat outside.

Memories are more than just events, they are the mold and cast that shape your life.

Well, what can I say...I love this Kid! Happy Birthday to the BEST 14 year old ever! Love, Mom

You Haven't Lived Until You've...

2007-08-27T23:13:00.000-04:00

FINALLY GROWN TALL ENOUGH TO RIDE A GO-KART!Here's my Nephew Ethan delighted that he can join in on the family fun! Summer 2007 in Pigeon Forge, TN - our favorite place to race!

Dog Days of Summer

2007-08-23T19:36:00.000-04:00

The Dog Days of Summer are starting to wear on Phoenix. Here's the Dude (short for doodle) chillin' out on the cool sun room floor with his shades on. I only let him go outside for a short time since we have been having 100 degree days here. He mopes around all day like a child who can't play outside because it's raining. Sometimes I get so hot I think maybe I'll try lying on the sun room floor too.

Art Debut

2007-08-18T15:26:00.000-04:00

Meet "Brie". She is my interpretation of Lowell Herrero's "Surrounded By Sunflowers". I love his work and certainly can't afford the real thing, so I decided to just paint one for myself. This is my first acrylic painting on stretched canvas. I know whimsical folk art is not for everyone, but I am sweet on this style right now.

This is where "Brie" lives. Since the Autrys are from France, we decided to decorate the dining room in a French country theme.

I also paint watercolours and I am currently working on designing this year's Christmas Card. Y'all tell me what you think! I would love the feedback.

Parting Shots

2007-08-14T21:25:00.000-04:00

Congratulations! You have now made it through the "Take a trip with Us '07" blog! Reminiscent of the vacation slides that your old Uncle Ed would make you sit through, this blog kept our 10 days of adventure alive all summer. For me, this was as much of a "trip back home" as it was a journey to a new place. My trip to the north has been a long time coming, being re-located and adopted at birth to Texas 38 years ago from North Dakota. This was my chance to experience a bit of my Scandinavian heritage. It turned out that we were touring more of a Finnish land than a Dutch land (I'm lots dutch) but I still fit in very well with the widely European people of the UP (Upper Peninsula of Michigan). No longer did I stand out as a tall, broad shouldered, pale skinned woman with ice blue eyes. Instead I was just one of the crowd. In fact, I can't say I have ever been around more blue eyed people in my lifetime. Something I'm used to getting comments on here in the south ("you've got such blue eyes") was the norm all around us. I took home many experiences from this expedition. Perhaps the most important impression was just fitting in with folks like me.

While on the Island, I took a nature journaling class from writer Cindy Crosby. She challenged us all to write our own haiku about our surroundings. Being personally impacted by the people and the natural surroundings, this is what I came up with:

Isle Royale

Blue everywhere

Blue eyes, watching blue skies over blue shores

Royale Blue

Island Wildlife

2007-08-12T14:49:00.000-04:00

Here is a Momma Moose and her twin calves shuffling around Rock Harbor just mere feet away from our lodge room. This was two days prior to our arrival. The pictures were given to us from the staff. She never showed up again during our time there, but she did leave a large gift on the sidewalk one evening! Very large!
Look closely on the pier shot and you will see a Loon and her babies (little loonies?) in the shadowed areas. Loons were also swimming around us when we were canoeing in Tobin harbor.
This is the guesthouse where folks gathered to play games, read or sit around the fireplace. See the squirrel on the floor? I guess he wanted to play? We sent him outside to play after the photo.
Antlers discarded by a moose. There is a spot on the other end of the island where the staff stacks them all up. There are dozens there. Kind of sad. Some moose are killed by the wolves and others die for other reasons.

Row Gently, Please

2007-08-05T22:29:00.001-04:00

I was the lucky parent who got to take the boys paddling in Tobin Harbor of Isle Royale. What I had imagined to be a soothing activity for me quickly turned stressful after getting lectured by the Dock hand on canoeing safety. Before he could get a word in, I assured him, "we know what we're doing, we've canoed lots of times". Then he quickly put me in my place by educating me on something that I didn't know.

He said, "On Superior, we don't tell people to wear life jackets to keep them from drowning. We tell them to wear life jackets so that we can find their bodies".

That shut me up! He then informed me that the water temperature was a frigid 48-49 degrees and that ten minutes in the water without a wetsuit and many people would pass out from hypothermia. All of a sudden canoeing didn't seem like such a great idea and Tobin Harbor looked even bigger than at first glance.

But, we did it anyway. Only the boys were completely carefree and I had a much more "job at hand" kind of attitude! In the last photo you can see the yellow sea plane that some of the island's visitors arrive on. We did enjoy our tour of the harbor, and John Jr wants everyone to know that sitting in the middle in an aluminum canoe was like sitting on a block of ice! ;)

Have you ever gone canoeing and where?

Fun on the Island

2007-08-04T14:57:00.001-04:00

We hiked almost every day on the island. There were great look-outs at every turn of the trail. Very easy hiking compared to North Georgia Mountains.
Rock hopping entertained the boys for hours on end! It took me a while not to worry about one of them getting injured! Just good old-fashioned fun!
My favorite activity was beach combing. Superior water levels were down 18 inches this year! Very upsetting to the locals and many boating maps were having to be altered for safety. Two of the small islands were joined for the first time in any one's memory. Sad, but this did make for some exciting beach combing. Eric found many, many artifacts and the National Park artifact historian even kept some of them to be displayed in the office case. He was proud :)
The boys also enjoyed waving down the incoming boats from a small pier at the harbor. They returned the greetings with horn toots!

What Vacation Dreams Are made of...

2007-08-01T10:55:00.000-04:00

Here are my favorite scenic photos of the Island. Add in a crisp temperature of 65 degrees and that should give you the most accurate depiction of this sensational National Park. And yes, I took these!

Crossing Superior

2007-07-29T19:14:00.001-04:00

Not long after leaving Copper Harbor we encountered a thick fog. Nothing but water and fog as far as the eye could see (which wasn't very far). I would say it was gloomy, but we kind of liked it, as if we were entering a portal into one of John Jr's fantasy fiction books.
Eventually, Superior began to rock the boat baby! Four foot seas and Eric was a little worse for wear. No vomiting, unlike another child on board, but I had to ride the rest of way with him out in the elements on the bow of the boat for fresh air just to keep color in his face!
Land Ho! We begin to reach some of the outlying Islands of the archipelagio.
Thank God, we made it! We enter Rock Harbor on Isle Royale National Park. Magically, the fog lifts and our fun begins.

A Date with The Queen

2007-07-25T18:52:00.000-04:00

Our first look at the Isle Royale Queen IV. This was our ride to the Isle Royal National Park. A 3 hour tour. Hmm. That sounds familiar. The Queen is a 100 ft. steel, twin diesel powered passenger boat.
Eric's realization of the size of our boat! LOL! I think he was expecting an ocean liner!
John, and then Eric at the stern of the Queen as we leave Copper Harbor.

Copper Country

2007-07-22T17:47:00.000-04:00

This is the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, located in Copper Harbor, Michigan. We stayed here the night before our boat trip to the Island. I love the architecture, very Scandinavian or Finnish they might say. I read somewhere that 40 % of the census takers in this area answer to be of Finnish decent. But then, that might not be that many folks since I think there are only about 75 year round residents. LOL! Copper Harbor is Michigan's Northernmost community and it got it's name from the copper boom of the mid-1800's.
Notice the rock work on the front steps of the main lodge. I wish I had some of those rocks! They would be mighty expensive in Georgia!
Here's the front of our cabin. Looks like a movie set doesn't it?
Here are the boys, getting cozy and glad to be out of the truck.
This is John, working his remote magic to get the dish TV on. Shortly after this photo we lost electricity for the evening. Storms pretty much dominated the night, also causing our cabin phone to go out, and we had to resort to the Manager coming out to wake us up at 6:00am to catch our boat ride the next morning. Little did we realize the sun would actually come up by 5:30 AM!

WAITING ON BECKHAM....

2007-07-22T10:00:00.000-04:00

A long day made longer...Eric had an action packed summer Saturday and was looking forward all week to the perfect nightcap of watching the MLS debut of his beloved Beckham with his Dad. I doubt Beckham's ankle injury was affecting his body last night as much as Eric's activities were affecting him staying awake for the brief showing! After swimming twice, riding his scooter, playing with his neighbor friends outside, and taking in a pick-up style soccer game with some adult Haitians at the park he was a little worse for the wear. He's actually awake in this pic, he's only "resting his eyes". I bet there were hundreds of little boys across the nation in the same predicament last night. LONG LIVE THE MLS!

ENTERING THE U.P.

2007-07-21T21:04:00.000-04:00

Our first view of Lake Superior - the Keweenaw Bay. As we drove our way out of Wisconsin, the clouds gathered up a somewhat irritable rainstorm. We loved it though, because we are, after all, Weather Channel junkies.
We arrive to Houghton, Michigan - Gateway to the Keweenaw Peninsula. We crossed over this neat elevator style bridge. The middle raises up and down to let water traffic through on the Portage river (leading from open Superior water to the Keweenaw Bay of Superior). But, in the winter the water freezes over. With no water traffic to worry about, they lower that middle section by one floor and the lower passage accommodates snowmobile users. Totally cool!
Here's a shot of downtown Houghton. They have the enclosed footbridges to use from building to building when snow piles up on the streets in winter. I loved this town! I'm already campaigning for John and I to retire there. At least somewhere in the Keweenaw. If you look closely in the photo they even have mass transit there! I'm not sure why...other than it is a small college town (Michigan Tech).

Happy Independance Day

2007-07-05T00:37:00.000-04:00

Here's a little Americana from our recent trip up North. Happy 4th of July to everyone!

A Drive Through Wisconsin

2007-07-03T14:36:00.000-04:00

We had a nice drive through Wisconsin on our way to the U.P. It was only a couple of short hours before the outdoor temperature cooled off from the steamy Chicago heat.
In Milwaukee, a city that I have visited before, my favorite things are the church spires that dot the skyline throughout the city. Many have copper roofing that has gracefully turned green.
We drove underneath another weird roadside rest area? This one is actually in a bridge form! There were folks eating lunch inside there.
These are also some of our favorite barns out of the many HUNDREDS that we drove by. Looks like the cheese cows have a great place to make cheese!

A Bit of Culture

2007-07-02T20:24:00.000-04:00

Our second day in Chicago we took in a bit of culture. First we watched a show of Chinese acrobats called CIRQUE SHANGHAI at Navy Pier. They jumped through hoops, balanced china plates, group rode a bicycle, and twisted their bodies into bewildering poses. Even the youngest performers had six pack abs and after the two hour show we felt as though we should have taken the entire group to the nearest buffet.
We had an early dinner at a great Italian joint called Gino's East. The atmosphere was inviting. The walls were personalized, graffiti style, by all of the restuarant patrons. We ordered a "to die for" lasagne and their famous deep dish style pizza. The lasagne was so good that John Jr. actually tried it for the first time and liked it. The pizza was tasty but I think we are not fans of having the sauce on the top. All in all, a great place to go.
We topped off our evening by attending Verdi's Requiem performed by the world famous Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I have no pictures of this event because one is not allowed to bring a camera into an orchestra hall. We've learned, through having John in orchestra, that there is much etiquette that goes into this kind of event. The gallery was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop prior to the first note being played. And, you'd better not clap just because the music stops! There are usually many movements to each piece, best just to wait for others to test the water first! I was proud; there was one instance that a few clapped at an inappropriate time, but not MY family! Good going Autrys! The hall was ornately beautiful, just the setting you would expect. However...we had the nosebleed seats. Whew! And, we barely fit into these nosebleed seats! The fat lady may be singing at the Opera but she sure isn't sitting in the audience! Anyway, the boys played their "A" game at this event...90 minutes of quiet and stillness with no intermission! Needless to say they got ice cream afterward.

A Night On The Town

2007-06-30T17:45:00.001-04:00

Our first night on the town (Chicago) was a visit to Navy Pier on the Great Lake Michigan! This is the Ferris Wheel. We rode it after dark to see the beautiful night skyline of downtown Chicago. You had to board and de-board while it was still moving -sort of like a ski lift- John Jr was trying to make our gondola "rock" and his Dad was not too keene on that idea. All of my shots of the skyline from inside the gondola were bad due to the Plexiglas, but these give you an idea of how elegant it was that evening.

Chicago or BUST!

2007-06-28T21:00:00.001-04:00

So what does "or BUST" mean anyway? I've always wondered that.
Here we are approaching CHICAGO, the windy city. Although, while we were there it was the hot muggy city! Even moving towards Chicago at rush hour proved to be loads of traffic, partly because there are many toll stations. We had a little fun with those. John was driving and decided that exiting the toll booth was similar to exiting the pits in NASCAR! We were naming the other drivers in the lines around us and then beating them out of the pits after paying the toll.
Next you see a McDonald's smack dab in the middle of the interstate! No kidding!
Our first glimpse of Downtown
The Chicago White Sox Stadium, which I mistakingly called the "Cub Sox" and the rest of the family let out a roar!
A view of the Great Lake Michigan from our hotel room
A look at downtown from inside the hotel. A great place to stay - Embassy Suites Lakefront

Are We There Yet?

2007-06-26T18:38:00.000-04:00

Ya'll come along with us on our 2,635 mile journey of car trips, boat rides, Great Lakes and great musicians! We had a fantastic time on our 10 day adventure. Here's the view from the backseat and a few interesting things we saw along the way...

Here's John and Eric starting out; all bright eyed and full of life, ready to experience the good old USA!

I'm taking my turn to drive a 3 hour shift. Everywhere we look we see reminders of our dogs back home. But no dogs are allowed on the National Park island of Isle Royale (it's an international biosphere) so they are only with us in spirit.

Whoops! Looks like we lost one already! The next photo is of the boys posing with this Gorilla at a gas station in Tennessee. They didn't want to do it, I had to bribe them with buying gum! Then I was called a cruel Mother! I guess they are too old for this sort of posing stuff! Let this be known as the LAST "posing with a fiberglass animal" photo ever to be taken again of the Autry boys! Just for fun, to keep us occupied, we kept track of all of the fiberglass animals we saw on the entire trip. These seemed to be a quirky countryside phenomenon and sometimes completely unrelated to the businesses that they were located at. In total, we saw 8 deer, 5 horses, 4 cows, 2 moose, a bear, a gorilla, an elephant, a giraffe, a chicken, a dragon, a bull, 2 Santas, 2 kip's big boys, and 2 over sized soft serve ice cream cones. Warning; driving long distances will cause you to resort to some rather odd entertainment.

The Lure of The North

2007-06-11T22:07:00.000-04:00

The hot muggy Atlanta summer has finally arrived. So too, has the time for our summer holiday. This year we head to the north woods of Michigan. In search of cooler temperatures and the remote wilderness of ISLE ROYAL NATIONAL PARK. Located on the largest of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior, the park is one large island surrounded by about 400 small ones (called an archipelago). In 1980, the park was designated an international biosphere reserve, and the only way to reach the island is to cross the powerful Lake Superior by seaplane or boat.

You may ask, what calls our family to this isolated ecosystem? Perhaps it's the hope of seeing wild moose or wolf in their natural habitat, the visual feast of watching a sunset along a rocky shoreline, or the excitement of voyaging over the waters of the largest body of freshwater in the world. As Napier Shelton wrote, "to step into Isle Royale is to leave behind one's own self and one's own world and to begin a new exploration into the nature of life." Perhaps for us that is the lure of the north.

Nature awaits the Autry Family!

You Haven't Lived Until You've...

2007-06-07T12:02:00.000-04:00

Been buried in the sand!

In honor of summer, I chose a beach activity this week. The top photo is Eric at Panama City Beach, Florida (Prettiest beach we've ever visited) and that's John in the bottom photo at Tybee Island, Georgia (a great beach with lots of local flavor and a good place to watch the fisherman on the pier in the evenings). What beach have YOU been buried at?

'I DO' LOVE TO CAMP

2007-06-05T22:45:00.000-04:00

My sixteenth wedding anniversary is coming up this month, yet it seems like only yesterday we were planning a wedding. Although we chose the traditional month of June for the event, there were many other aspects of our wedding that were considered to be "out of the box".

For starters, I chose the color FUCHSIA for my bridesmaids' dresses when it was still called HOT PINK. I insisted on my lovely future sister-in-law standing up with me as a bridesmaid, even though she was seven months pregnant at the time. We almost had more people in the bridal party than were sitting in the audience. And, I refused to register for china at Dillard's and instead registered for camping equipment at JC Penny. But perhaps the most unique idea that we had was to go camping for our honeymoon.

Okay, I admit most of our reasoning for going camping on the honeymoon was due to a lack of funds. In fact, the entire wedding was done on a shoestring budget. We referred to it as a "family" wedding. As in, our Father sings the special music, our Uncle plays the piano & organ music, our other Uncle takes all of the wedding photos, and yet another Uncle performs the ceremony. (yes, I married into a very talented family!) A friend took my bridal portraits, a friend made our wedding cake, three friends made my wedding dress, friends catered our reception, and a friend made most of the bridesmaids' dresses. After totalling all the receipts of expenses we had only spent $1,200 on a wedding with a bridal party of 16! Now that was a deal even for 1991!

During the year of our courtship we managed to experience a couple of more camp outs and acquire some of the more important equipment that we so desperately needed on our first outing. We had a beautiful little 2 person dome style tent and even splurged on an air mattress. Of course we weren't so fortunate as to have had a mattress pump. Instead we were using the old standby, a loud and inefficient hair dryer. But isn't it true that no matter how much equipment you have you are always wanting more? This desire lead us to actually opening all of our wedding gifts during our wedding reception! I'm quite sure that Martha Stewart would not have suggested such a faux pas. But, I doubt she would recommend camping for the honeymoon either. This plan paid off though, because we were thrilled to receive even more items we needed for the trip.

Being native Texans, we knew better than to try and camp in the Texas heat in the middle of June. So, one of John's groomsmen, Ken Sumrall, suggested a great spot in the Ouachita mountain range of Arkansas. It was Albert Pike Recreation Area. We had an old brochure that Ken gave us to go by for directions. What we didn't know was that we would have to traverse a 6 mile gravel road up a mountain to access the park. This sparked some anxiety for us, wondering if we had taken a wrong turn. But the slow bumpy trek paid off when we finally arrived at the entrance of the park. We found ourselves in a secluded camping paradise with the Little Missouri flowing right through the park. We chose a scenic water/electric site right next to a sweet old couple in their travel trailer.

After setting up camp with all of our new gadget gifts, we decided to embark on a two mile hiking trail. The footpath would lead us across a stream of low water areas many times. We found awe-inspiring lookouts and that just enhanced the romance that we were already feeling. We were alone in the remote wilderness with nothing to contemplate but our new lives together. It was a fantastically delicious feeling. Nevertheless, the passion would come to a halt upon our return to camp.

Being the proud newlyweds that we were, we initiated an introduction to our elderly neighbors. After boasting about our new marriage we received a friendly warning that would put a damper on the evening's romantic festivities. The kind old man informed us that we were not the only newlyweds to visit the park that week.

"Now, just so you'll know," the man cautioned, "the last couple decided to do some funny business in the women's side of the bathhouse. Problem was, they didn't lock the door behind them and got caught in the act."

Even though my face had been under the sun all day, I became very pale. Maybe I was a married woman now, but that didn't mean that I was exempt from being embarrassed by this statement. Thinking back, maybe it was my choice of hiking in merely a two-piece bathing suit and tennies that prompted him to forewarn us. John, however, had a look of amazement on his face, with an eye-brow raised as though he had just been given a ticket to an amusement park! We quickly thanked him for his advice and never spoke to them again. We were very careful that night to make sure that the only thing the fellow campers heard was the singing cicadas.

Now, sixteen years later, I find pleasure in telling people that we camped on our honeymoon. Today it feels more like a badge of honor that we had so much love between each us, that we didn't care that our honeymoon location was not painted on the window of a travel agency. Lasting marriages are few and far between these days. Perhaps, for us, the focus on the destination of our lives together vs. the destination of our honeymoon spelled a successful union.

The photos above are John and I on our wedding day, and our friends Ken and Leslie Sumrall.

Happy Anniversary to the BEST husband in the world!

YOU HAVEN'T LIVED UNTIL YOU'VE....

2007-05-31T00:05:00.000-04:00

CANOED IN THE RAIN !

Here we are summer 1998 on the Harpeth River just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. We tried first to ride it out alongside the banks, but eventually bailed out of the boat and took shelter under the trees. We had too much rain that week and we could actually hear large trees losing their grip along the banks and falling into the water upriver. It was a frightening but exciting adventure.

OUR FIRST TIME

2007-05-13T18:04:00.000-04:00

Awe, young love...Okay, everyone who's thinking dirty, get your head's out of the gutter! I'm talking about our first time to CAMP!

John and I met the spring of 1990 and it wasn't long until he was already taking me to meet his family. I took that as a good sign that our relationship was becoming a promising venture. I first met his brother. Then soon after; his parents, sister and uncle. We then got an invitation to spend a weekend out of town with his older cousins Eric and Sharon Bugg.

We all hit it off well and had a fun time together. They were a few years older than us, married, owned their own home and even had their own dog. We considered them to be "way cool". That summer they invited us to join them on a weekend camp out at the Guadalupe River with some of their other friends. No way we were going to miss that! Hangin' out all weekend with the almost thirty-somethings along the banks of the Guadalupe? I could picture it already...Chilling out around an evening fire, trading jokes, sipping wine coolers and gazing at the night stars all with the gentle background sound of The Eagles playing on the radio.

My first indication of how things would go should have been when John and I were loading up for the trip. Oh, but no, I was too in love to see it! My duties were to pack for myself. At age 21 and being single, that meant toothbrush, toothpaste, make-up, hot curlers, hair dryer, hair spray and a bathing suit! John's duties were to provide everything else. And I was pretty confident of his ability, even after his request for me to help him load the top mattress off of his bed into the truck! He assured me the mattress would be much more comfortable than just a sleeping bag and I did agree on that. I was equally impressed that he had gone to great lengths to assemble an ice chest with plenty of drinks and sandwich makings. He threw in a couple of bags of chips and loaves of bread and we were ready to go!

Our first evening with the group was everything I had imagined...and then some! As the night progressed, each couple turned in to their prospective tents and I realized our tent hadn't been assembled yet. When I quizzed John about this, he replied, "We don't have a tent". What? No tent!? I panicked inside! Just the thought of all the critters we would be exposed to made me cringe. I was shocked that he had known we didn't have a tent, but failed to see the importance of not mentioning this to me. But, John had a way of making a bad situation sound good. He said his plan all along was to lay the mattress in the back of the truck so that we could star gaze before we fell asleep. As I closed my eyes, I was thinking how lucky I was to find a guy this romantic. I stopped thinking these thoughts as soon as the first rain drop hit my nose.

Rainstorm. No shelter. Bad experience. It all happened so quickly that I don't remember who bailed us out, but someone rushed a big blue plastic tarp over to us and we spread it out, over our rain soaked bodies. Even under the tarp we could still feel each stinging drop of rain hit and the sound underneath the plastic made sleeping near impossible. It was like the mattress we were on was an island as the bed of the truck began to fill with water. I knew we'd be the laughing stock of the campers, but I didn't fully understand why until I awoke to every one's jeering at their morning discovery.

The newcomers left all of their food out. That was us. White bread and potato chips were strewn all about the campsite. A raccoon apparently had his way with our sandwich fixings. My embarrassment over the sleeping arrangements quickly faded. After we spent the next half hour picking up the remnants, many of the other girls left for the bath house. I followed along, but without the real necessities; such as soap, shampoo and a towel. Our cousin Sharon helped me with that too. By the end of the camp out, John and I had become the "moocher couple". While the other couples wowed us with their culinary skills on propane stoves for breakfast we found ourselves having to beg and borrow for our rations.

You would think that this experience would have us running as far away from camping as possible. But instead, we were hooked. Hooked on camping, and hooked on each other. And so began our future.

The top photo is me and John after we first met. The bottom is our "way cool" cousins, Eric and Sharon Bugg.

ALONG AN ARIZONA HIGHWAY

2007-05-09T00:25:00.000-04:00

This rest area is really roughin' it! I guess when you've gotta go, you gotta go!

PHOENIX, AZ

2007-05-09T00:18:00.000-04:00

A Saguaro cactus on the move. We took this when we were on our way to Sedona, Arizona. It made me think of that old song, "Woops there goes, another rubber tree plant".

TUGALOO STATE PARK, GA

2007-05-08T23:39:00.000-04:00

A boy and his dog...Eric and Phoenix at Tugaloo State Park, Georgia. Beautiful lakefront camping sites! Water level is pretty low this year, but makes for a nice strolling area along the shoreline.

MEET FRODO

2007-05-08T22:57:00.000-04:00

Woof y'all! I'm Frodo, the Autry's 6 1/2 year old schnoodle. I came into the family this year because my previous owners couldn't handle me! That's right, I'm a spit-fire! What do ya bark about that? But hey, I'm potty trained, crate trained and I know some tricks that Phoenix doesn't! Speaking of Phoenix, it takes alot to rile that dogie up! He doesn't have near the spark that I do. I can bounce my 25 lb. self from the sofa to the wall to the kitchen in a single bound! This is a pic of me and my owner (one of the pale hair-less dogs that I live with). They call him Eric. How original! This was my first camping trip that we all took to Tugaloo State Park in North Georgia. Listen Dawgs, camping wasn't that much fun for me. The owners made a big deal out of going out there, packing up just about everything we owned, right down to my cozy dogie bed! They all acted so happy. But I was wondering, why didn't we just do this in our own backyard where there was at least some good grass! Phoenix and I had to stand guard the entire day on our leads and protect the owners from all of the wild animals out there. It was exhausting! Birds, squirrels, other camping dogs going by. I couldn't even bat an eye for fear that a skunk might come along. And that's not all. When night fell, the owners built a big fire and all sat around it for hours! Not me, I didn't want an ember to catch my lovely coat on fire! My guess is, that's how the owners got to be hair-less! Anyway, they finally came to their senses and drove us home after a couple of nights. I hear them talking about a long vacation this summer. Lucky for me, they're going to take me to the dog hotel this time! Bark ya later Dawgs!

CAMPING STORIES

2007-05-04T00:02:00.000-04:00

Our family loves to camp. As you can imagine, after visiting almost 50 state parks for camping, hiking or canoeing; we've had some pretty diverse experiences. Experiences that range from the GOOD, the BAD to the UGLY! You may wonder, what sparks our interest in camping? I think that it is a deep desire to "Play house". Remember in Kindergarten class how much fun it was to cook and clean in the play kitchen during center time? It's kind of like that. There is a sense of accomplishment that is hard to duplicate after you've cooked up a nice scrambled egg/hash brown breakfast for the family. (Okay, part of the accomplishment is that everyone is so hungry that they'll eat whatever you make without a complaint) Suddenly, the work around the campsite to be done seems like fun even for the kids. A child that whines about cleaning his room at home happily helps set up the tent and eagerly goes to bed with a flashlight and book in hand. Of course another big allure of camping is getting to be one with nature. Nothing compares to sleeping under the stars and hearing the cicadas sing all night long. Hiking to a hidden waterfall or fishing on the end of a dock brings a feeling of peace and relaxation that will have you longing for the next trip while you're on your way home. Camping is like a mini-adventure every time you go. With so many variables like weather, terrain and wild animals there's bound to be something unique to remember about your outing. Certainly, there have been many memories for us. With 17 years of camping behind us, we look back and see that many milestones were shared with the great outdoors. I'll be posting some of our favorite camping stories over the next couple of months. Maybe one will bring back some memories of your own or inspire you to begin making them.

LET'S PLAY I SPY!

2007-05-02T19:31:00.000-04:00

Here's a fun little "I SPY" pic for you.....Do you see Eric's Face in the photo? The main subject in this photo is our beautiful Azaleas.

MEET PHOENIX

2007-04-17T19:28:00.000-04:00

This is our furry family friend, Phoenix. No, he's not a "KISS" wanna-be, he's a 2 year old Labradoodle. He's our first dog and he really has taught us the value of having a pet in the family. For no reason at all, we can't help but smile when we look at him. If you have a dog of your own, then you already know about that weird urge to say "Yeeessss" in baby talk when your rubbing his tummy. If you don't know about Labradoodles (a standard poodle/Labrador crossbreed) I'll tell you! He's the perfect family dog! Extremely agile and the perfect fetcher for great kid-play. A fast runner and an incredible jumper! The smartest dog we've seen as he potty trained and learned commands lightening fast. In this picture, he's a little dirty on a rainy day, but normally his coat is lovely with wavy curls and very light shedding. If you are in need of a "helper" he can open doors (with french door handles) and open the lid to the trash with ease (we all know why he does that!). Compared to our other dog, Frodo, Phoenix acts more like a human part of our family and Frodo is like our dog! So, as you can see, we highly recommend his crossbreed. Phoenix is very friendly, has lots of other dogie friends that he has play dates with, and loves to wrestle his Dad. He's camped and hiked and swam in a pool. He's managed to catch a squirrel, bird and a frog. Still on his list is the neighbor's cat and a rabbit that lives out back in the English Ivy. He has a weak spot for #2 pencils, rubber tub stoppers, leather sandals, and TOILET WATER! He didn't get the nickname "potty mouth" for cursing!

THE GRAND CANYON

2007-04-15T21:14:00.000-04:00

Our most recent Adventure was a visit to the Grand Canyon with the boys' Nana and Paw-Paw. This is our youngest son, Eric, looking into the canyon through a viewing glass, as millions have over the years. At only 10 years old, Eric has been to more states than many people visit in a lifetime. Presently, he's visited 17 states and the District of Columbia. After flying to Phoenix to visit their grandparents, we all packed into the 4 Runner and made a day trip to the canyon. There was a bit of nostalgia in the way we traveled. We packed a picnic lunch, loaded the family dog and even played car games to keep ourselves occupied. (FYI- a restaurant that starts with the letter Z is Zaxby's-a chicken place down south) On this trip, Eric decided to leave a part of himself behind...Or should I say, down the canyon! While snacking in the car he managed to lose a pesty loose tooth. We just couldn't resist the temptation for him to hurl his tooth into the Grand Canyon! So, he did. Ever heard the old saying, "I spit a mile into the Grand Canyon"? You get the picture! Just think of Eric if you're watching a National Geographic special next year about archaeologists finding a link to a pre-historic boy in the Grand Canyon! And if you haven't been to the Grand Canyon yet, it's a trip you MUST take! It was a great place to realize that there's more going on in this world than our trivial daily problems.----Lisa

COME ONE, COME ALL!

2007-04-15T14:40:00.000-04:00

Okay folks, let this serve as your open invitation to come and visit us here in the southern comfort of Georgia! We've 'purtied' up this guest room for all of our family and friends to enjoy. There's so much to see and do here, not to mention having the delightful company of yours truly! With Stone Mountain, The Georgia Aquarium, The Braves' Baseball, North Georgia Mountains, lakes and waterfalls, and headquarters for CNN and Coca-Cola there's something here for everyone. So, ya'll come, ya hear?!