Fye Family Time

Quick Weekend with Family

Much of the time spent together with the Fye family is spent around the table. Now I would like to say that it is not because we are eating all of the time, but really even when we are playing games there is always something good to snack on close by! I will say that this year we did cut down on the sweets a bit! There were only 4 pies, 1 batch of fudge and 1 bundt pan of pumpkin bread. We all have have pretty healthy sweet tooth so this was a big deal!!

Not everyone was able to make it for the weekend. Randy and Steven were missing from Deb's family and Rob, Kristi and Makenzi were missing from our crew. And really it seemed Milton was missing, too, even though we stayed at his house! He had to work all weekend and so when he was there he was pretty zonked.

This is Trenton Dale, Jerry and Liz's boy. He's such a good little guy.

Of course, these are my babies... if you could see all of the pictures taken you could tell she was the one taking them since she is in most of them!!

We had Mother/Daughter outfits for this day... no, not really. We never did have matching outfits. And somehow I just don't think she'd go for that now!

Some families all look alike. You can see someone out and say, "Ah, there goes a Jones!" But Larry's family doesn't really look alike... except in this picture! You can tell they are related here... same tight-lipped smile!! My kids don't look alike either. Occasionally in a picture I might think Ryan is Robby if it is a distance away, but then I realize he is much bigger than Rob is!

Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of them without one of them talking??? Yeah, we have no problem with Jerry... the main problem children this time were Larry and Debbie!! Larry kept making his usual faces and Deb couldn't stop talking! On Ann's camera there is one of Deb with her mouth open wide, laughing! Wish I had it... funtimes!

So, Mom had to get in there and straighten them all out! Those of you that know Ann, know how funny that is! Yeah, there were lots of shots of this one, too. In this picture is Jerry, Ann, Donna, Debbie and then Larry in the chair.

Three of the five grand-daughters... Kara (Donna and Milton's), Rachel (ours)and Chloe (Jerry and Liz's).

Miss Anna (Donna and Milton's) with Ryan and Rachel. It had been a year (I know that is awful!!) since we had seen Donna and Milton and their family. I noticed the biggest change in Anna. She has grown so much and is becoming a lovely young lady!

Ryan and Miss Chloe. He is so good with babies and children. He will make a wonderful Daddy some day!

One of the many things we look forward to when we are with Grandma is her noodles. She makes wonderful noodles! Since we weren't getting together for "Thanksgiving" dinner we were a bit disappointed in thinking we wouldn't get some of her specialties! But we were happy to see that noodles made the weekend's menu!

It was such a qucik trip, we didn't really do anything, but some made their way to the cave that is on Donna and Milton's property. They got a little dirty! The little kitty cat even went with them! That's Crystal holding kitty, Liz and Curtis (Donna's oldest). Jerry and Trenton went to the cave, but didn't go in very far. Just far enough for Trenton to be satisfied that he went in.

Crystal, Debbie's oldest, here with Jerry. Debbie and Crystal drove 12.5 hours to be with the family for the weekend! It had been a few years since they have been able to come so we were happy to see them, just wish it could have been for longer!!

Curtis and Ryan playing Risk, it looks like. Family favorites are Stratego, Risk, Castle Risk and Stock Market. (Wow! I was writing the next paragragh and noticed Curtis' left elbow and thought it looked like it is scarred froma burn... then noticed Ry's arm and realized it is from the light hitting the plastic table covering that Grandma has on the table... just thougth I'd tell you in case you noticed it and wondered about it!)

Donna is working on her Master's Degree in Elementary Education, I believe... don't quote me on that... anyway she is taking classes and she needed to work on a project and it just so happened that I knew something about what she was doing so we were looking at her assignment and I realized I could use what she was having to do. She had to set up a Delicious account and have 50 bookmarks and 5 people on her network. Well, I just love Delicious! It is a site that organizes all your favorites and you can share them through this networking site. And you can mark some private for ones you don't want to share. Like your dashboard, your broker, your bank, etc. And it is easy to add to it. Just link the page to your site. I love things that keep me organized! Maybe there was a way to do it before and I just wasn't aware of it. But I do like this! You ought to check it out. It is fairly easy to understand... you know what they say, if I can do it, you can do it! Since then I have seen one other person that put her Delicious bookmarks available on her blog. I am sure it is something that is going to catch on quick or maybe I will just notice it now that I know what it is! Have you seen it before?

I'll leave with this thought... Families are like fudge. Sweet, but with a few nuts!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Well, for some reason the pictures were put on here in reverse order!! But there are so many I have decided that it'll just have to do. If there is anything I am, it is flexible!! (family joke!)

This first picture is of the new me! Larry introduced me to someone we've known for years as his new girlfriend~ I had put up with a very bad perm for 18 months and kept trimming it thinking it would get better, but I realized I just needed to bit the bullet and get all the fried hair cut off!

This is a before picture... that is after for some reason. And this is what my hair looked like when it was at one of its better times... see, it really needed help! Now my hair on a bad day looks better than it did on a good day! This was over a month ago and it has grown out a bit already.

My Mom and brother, Steve came from Texas over the week before Labor Day weekend. We went on our annual Burress-Fye labor Day weekend get-away so didn't get to see a whole lot of them. Rob and Kristi were here for the weekend so they got to see them, also.

These are my cousins. Karen is Aunt Barbara's daughter and Brenda is Aunt Harriett's. We all look like our Daddy's!!

It was great to see Steve. I didn't get to see him when I was in Texas in June. I hadn't seen him since Mom's heart attack in January 2007. Steve is an amazing person. He is so talented in many areas and such an enjoyable person to talk with. Hopefully when he comes back next year we will be able to spend more time together!

I love this picture of Aunt Barbara and Mom. Mom will shoot me for putting this on here, but that's ok, she's shot me before!! Their time together was filled with "remember when's." A favorite was when my Mom tried to sneek in the back after getting home late from a date and Aunt Barbara wouldn't let her in because Grandma and Grandpa were downstairs waiting for her. I guess Mom had a problem obeying rules... if curfew was at 11pm she'd have her date drive around the block a couple of times because she refused to go in on time! Hmmm... guess that is where someone in my family got her reluctance to obey curfews!

This was our 11th annual steak dinner for the Burress-Fye "Camping" weekend... obviously we have moved on from camping. Rachel says it is now "cabining!" The larger the families grow the more money it costs! We were tossing around the idea of going back to tents next year, but we were going over the percentage of times it rained and now we are thinking of tossing it out! If we had choices of weekends to go that would be different, but when this weekend is the only option for a long weekend I don't know if we want to chance it.

The fire pit had to be cleaned out so that Larry could cook the steaks for dinner. Makenzi was such a good little helper!!

Isn't this too cute?? Uncle Ryan having tea with Kenzi. This was the cutest little playhouse. It has 3 sides that are hindged together so it can be folded to be put away. I took lots of pictures of how it was put together.. I may tackle that project someday!

Kenzi couldn't wait till dinner to have corn on the cob! We had them sitting out on the deck in their husks and she just grabbed one, started shucking and got it all cleaned off and started eating! Is she a doll?

Rachel and Ryan love the time with Makenzi. Bo and Lucky even made this picture. We hadn't seen Lucky for a while. They got along pretty good. Lucky is older and has calmed down which suits Bo just fine! My Mom always comments about how Rob always makes funny faces for pictures. It was such a quick trip for them to come for just the weekend, but I am so glad they did. I love having my family all together under one roof.

This was at the State Fair. We actually went twice this year. Once with our friends the Budensieks (if you know them, you know we had a good time!) and then we went back for more chicken and ice cream!! Actually, I love going through all of the 4-H exhibits and so we did that on our second trip, too.

This is out of order, but a good one to end on! She must have been eating cheese curls... see her orange fingers and lips? She is a good "mixture' of her Mommy and Daddy, but my, she does look like her Daddy in this picture! I think it must be that ornery gleam in her eye!! ('Tween you and me... she got a double dose of that!!)

July and Feeding the Fam!

In July we celebrated Ryan's 17th birthday.

(I will have to post more pictures later, because my computer isn't cooperating with adding pictures!!) And Kristi and Makenzi came for about a week and we have fun pictures I will share with you another time, but oh, we LOVED having them here! This was the first time Kristi came without Robby. We did miss Rob, but we were happy Kristi stayed here with us

(she could have stayed with her aunt).

This is Kenzi in her "Daddy Mode." If there is a video on that has their attention,

you might as well, forget getting it!!

After her trip to Chuck E. Cheese!!
Isn't she a doll?! Oh, I miss her!!


We went over to Jerry and Liz's to celebrate Jerry's 33rd birthday.

Jerry and Larry... They look about as much alike as my boys do!

Jerry, Liz, Trenton and Chloe

Some weeks I have such a hard time coming up with a menu! This week was one of them, but I do love to have my weekly menu all planned out! It makes life so much easier! So here it is:

Breakfast Options:

eggs, omelettes

blueberry muffins & fruit

pancakes

cereal

Lunch Options:

Spanish Rice

salad with grilled chicken

mini pizzas

chicken patties

homemade "corndogs"- (I make corn bread and place hot dogs down into the batter)

Monday: Penne-sagna (all the same ingredients as lasagna, but using penne)

Tuesday: My Birthday!! Pork roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, broccoli, deviled eggs and rolls and white cake with buttercream icing! This is one of my favorite meals!

Wednesday: Homemade"Hamburger Helper" Deer burger, mac & cheese, seasoned with seasoned salt... YUM! and tossed salad

Thursday: Lexington-Style chicken, baked chicken, green beans, blt salad

Friday: hamburgers and hot dogs, potato salad, veggies and dip

Saturday: Taco salad

Sunday: Sirloin steak, baked potatoes, tossed salad

I will try to get some more pictures on tomorrow and share a soup recipe...

fall is just around the corner, you know!!

My Life Today...

As I look out the patio doors I see a yard that needs to be mowed and patio chairs that need to be painted, but beyond that I see the sun shining and that a gentle breeze is blowing. It looks like a lovely day in central Indiana!!

Homeschooling is still part of our everyday life here... He got a late start last year and we have had lots of "breaks." That is a perk of homeschooling, but when you're in the middle of summer and still doing school work it doesn't seem so much like a perk! But really he spent most of June at youth camps so that is the way it goes! He hasn't complained! This week will see the end of another subject so we are drawing it to a close!

I am thankful for the time we got to spend with Kristi and Makenzi last week. Makenzi is at such a fun age! She is such a Mommy's girl, but she did let me comfort her after a boo-boo and she let me take a nap with her. I treasure those little moments.

As far as feeding the Fye's today, we will have mini pizzas for lunch and something made with chicken tonight.

I am reading "The Body on the Beach" by Simon Brett. I am a mystery buff and this one is set in England. It is fun to try and decide what exactly they are talking about sometimes!! That is what I read before I go to bed... another book I am reading is "Rise Above" by Gwen Shamblin. It is a Biblical weight loss program. I did it several years ago with great results and decided to revisit it. The main idea is that God designed our bodies to tell us when we are needing food (our tummy growls!) and that we should only eat when we are hungry and stop when we are satisfied.

I am amazed at what the weekend does to a house! So, today I will be setting the house back to order and work on my to-do list which involves laundry and wedding flowers! I am getting a late start today so I better get going!

My camera is broken (broke-broken?) and so I had to use Ryan's while Kenzi was here. I hope to get those downloaded soon and then I will share some of her visit! A blog post just isn't right without a picture, so I will share this one with you.

I love my family!

Happy Birthday, Larry!

This week has been a busy one for the Fye's! This week always is... in one week we celebrate our anniversary (this year our 25th!!!), Larry has a birthday and we celebrate what a great Dad he is. To add to the mix this year we had 2 business trips!! I love this picture of Larry. Twenty-five years ago I never dreamed I would still be so in love with this man. My family history wasn't exactly a legacy of long and lasting love... I didn't know we could still be friends and want to spend time with each other. Even though his family dyanmics were different, he didn't know it could be like this either. I can't exactly say when, but somewhere along the line we knew we wanted our marriage to be above the norm. Has it always been easy? Nah, we have had a few rough patches, but staying committed to each other and "enduring" has made us stronger. I am thankful for my husband. I have confidence in him and I know he does all he can to make us happy. I love how he leads a careful life and how he makes me laugh everyday.... this is what I live with....

When I looked at this picture I told him to be serious for the next one and not so cheesy...

Happy Birthday, Larry! You are the Greatest!

Tablescape Thursday

Last Sunday we went to our friend's Family Day at their church and so I didn't do a tablescape that day, but I do have a few photos to share from a Tupperware party I had last month.

The shabby chic garden theme was one I used for my sister-in-law's bridal shower. It was a little more embellished... I used planters (like the one on the mantle, in the background) and put glass dishes in them to serve the salads. Since I am decorating with them and my menu for the TW party wasn't as extensive I didn't use them. I love this counter that overlooks the family room. It is great for setting out the food for get togethers that aren't formal! You can't see it here, but it "L's" a little bit on the right.


I love this two tiered basket! I lined it with plastic wrap so I could use it to serve the chips. Soon the basket will be used in my office/craft room to hold who know what!

This candle was actually pink! I love pink, green and a creamy white together! I got busy and didn't take pictures of the food, but we had chicken salad croissants, vegetables and dip, chips, brownies and Spanish Coffee Cake cupcakes.

Although this is a favorite color palate, this was the last time of this year to use this cheerful springy collection. Pink and green will show up again, but not the garden theme. Be sure to check out other great tablescapes over on Susan's Porch!

Tablescape Thursday

My friend Becky had a birthday in May. (I won't tell how many candles were on her cake!!) We have a wonderful gift that we keep giving each other for our birthdays.... a meal that we cannot lift a finger for! Some years I take the meal to her house and have it there when she gets home from work, and other years, like this one, she and her son Kirk come over for Sunday dinner. The menu this year was hamloaf, sweet potatoes with pineapple, corn casserole, broccoli with cheese, eggs, rolls and strawbery cake for dessert.


May of you will recognize the dishes. I saw these at the Dollar Tree and I agonized over them for weeks. I just love that store for their dishes!! Becky looks good in blue, so I thought it was a good choice for the main color for the table.


The silverware is my good set... I only have two. Actually, I forgot I do have 4 sets! I bought 275 place settings when we did our son's wedding reception here in Indiana. I got a great deal at Old Time Pottery on Pfaltzgraff.... I will have to get those out and use them soon. This set is Onieda.. not sure of the pattern name. Whenever we eat at this table I always use the individual salt and pepper shakers. Almost without fail my crazy husband will ask for the salt to be passed. He loves to see everyone reach for it and then it dawns on them. Never a dull moment with him around!

As I said, I agonized over the black and white dishes for weeks, saw them on TT, wanted them realllly bad, and then when my sweet daughter Rachel got me this black vase for Mother's Day that just sealed the deal! I went back to DT and planned to get enough for a seating of 8, but they only had 6 good bowls so I bought what I could and planned to go to another DT.... did that last week and lo, and behold! they had another set of dishes to drool over!! So, I am seeing aqua plates in my future!

These black plates are from Meijer. I tried to get a pictue of the leaf design on them , but it didn't work out. The stoneware plates were the same price as the plastic ones so I went with the stoneware. Since the black and white dishes were from DT, I am sure you won't be surprised to hear that the 8 black salad plates cost more than the 8 plates, 6 bowls and the 6 candles that are table. But I am happy with the way the table turned out!

Head over to Susan's at Between Naps on the Porch for more tablescape creations!