Outdoor Movie Night

In September our relief society put on a ward activity.  We had a Southern Outdoor Movie Night.  We held it at a member's home.  The menu for the night was delicious Memphis BBQ, side dishes like mac and cheese, green beans, baked beans, corn bread and fruit...and for dessert lots of pies.  There was a bonfire, games and of course a movie.  We fretted over the movie due to copyrights.  But Lori was diligent and acquired short animations from BYU.  It was perfect.  In between the stories were old, funny commercials.  

We served popcorn and cotton candy.  People sat on hay bales, chairs and blankets for the movie.  The weather was perfect and so was the night.  

Here's a few pictures:

For the movie screen, we used a sheet wrapped around PVC pipe.  Then strung a rope through the pipe and tied it around trees.    

The R.S. presidency: Lori, Alayna, Me and Monica...Monica's hand is blue from making the cotton candy. :)

The food...

Sign to welcome them all.  Get it Hey--Hay.. haha.

And the amazing pies of every kind. Raspberry, cherry, apple, chocolate, pecan, banana just to name a few!

We had a great turn out and a big thank you for all of the help!

The Memphis Zoo

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh my!  But wait, I didn't see Lions or Tigers at the Memphis Zoo.  Maybe next time.  We did see Grizzly Bears, Black Bears and Polar Bears though. 

We finally made it to the Memphis Zoo.  My work (Hilton) had a Family Zoo Night.  It was great.  We got off work early and Nels got to come too.  Hilton provided dinner, dessert and we got in for free. 

Here's some pictures:

Monkeys

It's been so long, I can't remember the name of this monkey...I think it was an Orange oh wait an Orangutan.

Giraffes:  Such pretty patterns.

Me and Nels:  Um, we did not match or even coordinate our colors.  Orange and Red...I will try not to do that again!

Cool cactus or Prickly Pear Cactus.

Zebra:  Yikes, Stripes, Fruit stripe gum...remember that advertisement?  Yep, I'm getting old!

Elephant.  My sisters favorite animal.  I rode an elephant once at the San Diego Zoo.

Cheese:  see orange and red...oh dear.

Bald Eagles:

I love this fact about the Bald Eagle:  "Bald Eagles mate for life and will only select another mate if their mate should die." 

My favorite section was called the Teton Trek.  Probably because it reminded me of home.  Love the Tetons.  Anyways the Grizzly Bears were super active.  I got a great video, but alas, it won't load today. 
I wanted a cute picture of us on this adorable wood bench with the lantern above us.  Here's the picture, but once again, orange and red...not so great.  haha.

So picturesque, don't you think?

Bird in the Garage

I know it's Snowy December and I'm writing about the warm August months.  But I'm catching up here!

One day I left the garage door open and a wee little bird flew in and couldn't get out.  I  figured the bird would come out eventually so I didn't worry about it.  But I casually mentioned it to Nels. 

Sweet Nels went out to the garage on an errand to rescue the bird.  He used a broom to gently guide the bird out of the garage.  For some reason the bird liked the broom and just perched there for a few minutes.  Well, long enough for Nels to go into the house, get the camera and take a picture. 

I learned that Nels has a soft spot for wee little birds trapped in garages.  Way to be a hero Nels! :)

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.