5k Race

I've always wanted to volunteer to help at a race.  I got my chance in August.  We had about 10 people from our ward help with the Forrest Spence 5K race.  Other than being early in the morning on a Saturday I really enjoyed helping out.  We had a lot of fun. 

Here's a few pictures:

We were course directors, so they loaded us up in a van to drop us off at our locations. 

The race was at Overton Park, downtown Memphis. 

Cheese...My fellow sign holders. My friend Lori and her two teenagers. 

Here come the runners.  I was impressed by how many women came running around the corner with strollers and kids.   I was the first directional sign, so they hadn't been running for very long.  But I still cheered the runners on.

Me and my friend Lori.

My friend Vanetta, timed the runners for Mile 1.  She shouted out their time to them as they passed.

Sara and her daughter.  See how fun it is to volunteer. :)

Nels and my friend Vanetta's family:

Nels was Mile 3.  He lost his voice from shouting out the times. :) 

The Finish Line:

After the race they had food and entertainment.  We enjoyed the bread, bananas and oranges.   I was happily surprised by how many runners said thank you to me for holding the sign.  It gave me that warm, cozy feeling. :)  I would definitely volunteer again.  It was a good experience and always more fun to do with friends. 

Farmer's Market and Bike Ride To Mud Island

Back in August we ventured out early on a Saturday morning  to the Memphis Farmers Market.  I was super happy we went.  We bought the biggest and yummiest tomatoes ever.  Mmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about this delicious red fruit.  (Yes, I had to look up if a tomato is a fruit or vegetable.  According to the Oxford dictionary it is a fruit. : )

We also bought some zucchini.  I just slice and steam zucchini, sometimes I put a little parmesan cheese on top for more flavor. And last, we bought some beautiful summer flowers, sunflower included.  I love flowers.  So there we were with our bikes and our farmers market purchases, downtown Memphis, it was an idyllic setting.

Here's a few pictures:

Doesn't this just scream, "Fresh!  Healthy!"  I wanted to buy all of the herbs, but I resisted...I don't really know how to cook with fresh herbs.  Sad, I know.  Maybe someday.

The happy flowers:

I love the variety!  Another goal:  Learn how to cook with eggplant.  I don't know if I like eggplant, but it's purple.  How neat is that?  In any case, it would add a splash of color to any meal.

After the Farmer's Market we rode our bikes on a lovely trail down by the Mississippi river. 

Here's a towboat and barges:

The famous Memphis bridge in the far background and to the right the Pyramid.

Beautiful homes line the river bank.

Me.

Closer picture of the pyramid and tower with "Memphis" on it.

Closer picture of bridge.

We crossed over the river on a biking/walking bridge and to Mud Island, pictured below:

On Mud Island they have a replica of the Mississippi river that you can walk/bike and learn about the largest river system in North America.

Tennessee and Mississippi border...the dark part on the right represents Memphsi area.

A barge of some type.

The "cruise" ships to tour the river in.

My attempt at artsy pictures:
Flags on Mud Island:

Fountain on Mud Island:

Aw, my cutie pie, Nels:

The bouquet of flowers at home:

It was a fun morning in Memphis!  It started to rain just as we finished up.  Perfect timing that rarely happens!

The End.

Shelby Farms

One Saturday Nels dusted off our bikes, filled the tires with air and got them all ready for us to ride.  He put the bike rack on the car and we set off on our bike riding adventure.  We went to Shelby Farms which is just outside the city of Memphis. 

Here's Nels (Yes, we're still in the parking lot. :)

Me...I wore pig tails just for Nels.  Funny...pig tails...that's what they are called right?

Here's some of the trail.

Nels wanted to do some rugged biking so I thought sure.  Well, my bike is a hybrid and does NOT like tree roots, tight turns or steep hills.  So after a bit we had to turn around and go back.  This is the wider trail below...you can't really tell the steepness or bumpiness.  The below pictures are pretty mild, so imagine later the trail narrowing down to the bicycle's tire width and being bumpy, tight turns up and down.  So as you can see I, (I mean) my bike couldn't handle it. :)

So we went on a paved trail that circled around the farm. 
I turned around and snapped this photo.  My favorite one from the day.  I love the tree and the sunbeams.

A little lake:

Me, happily on the paved trail.  Yah, no more tree roots!

It was nice to get away for an hour and be in nature. :)

Nels's Grill

After we moved here we bought Nels a grill.  He LOVES it.  And I LOVE the food he cooks on it.  He's becoming a grilling KING!  Below is a picture of him grilling lots of hamburgers and pineapple.  Yummy!  He's also trying out woodchips and smoking the meat.  Mmmmmm. 

When my parents came to visit, back in April, they loved Nels's grill so much they bought the same one!  My mom has been cooking chicken over a can of root beer.  I hope I understood her correctly. :) 

We'll have to give that a try soon!

Happy Grilling!

Corky's

When Nels's anniversary for work came around, I knew exactly where I wanted to take him.  So to celebrate three years with IP we headed to Corky's.  Corky's is the famous barbcue place in Memphis. It's always packed and after eating there we know why.  It's finger lickin' good!

Here's Nels entering the building.

Tons of Famous people have eaten at Corky's

THis is the first bbq place that the menu wasn't under glass on the table and cloth napkins!

The picture obviously doesn't do it justice.  But my mouth is watering just looking at it and remembering what it tasted like. 

We met up during our lunch breaks, which we rarely do.  So it was double nice to eat together and celebrate.

And that's all folks!