A weekend at the lake

We enjoyed a fun weekend at Grand Lake in Grove Ok. My uncle has a home there and my moms side of the family goes down every yr. for a get together! My daughter Taylor and her boyfriend Sid spent sometime on the wave runners!

Smile at the camera!!

Those wave runners turn out great hair dos!!

Time spent just hanging out!

Late one night we took a couple of the little kids ( and big kids) to a water park. These two had too much fun. I didn't think they were even going to get wet again. I think they had more fun then the little ones!

Daddy Daniel and little Daharmonie playing in the water!

By the end of the weekend even Uncle Elton's dog Max was tuckered out~

Here are a few of them getting the grills ready for a big country breakfast! That's my brother Shawn at the far right in the blue shirt.

We always have alot of time to sit around and visit. A few moments after this, my cousin Kathy in the pink, Aunt Marilyn in the blue and Aunt Wanda in the pink sitting began to sing. That happens alot in our family.

Taylor and Sid spitting sunflower seeds at each other

Cousin Tammy frying up some hash browns for breakfast. Her family is the host of this event. They work very hard getting ready for all of us to descend on them for the weekend! She has a beautiful boat she always has available for us all to ride in.

The kids, their all growing up. Chelsea my niece, Sid, Taylor's boyfriend, Taylor, my daughter, Brooke my other niece and TyLynn my cousins daughter.

HOw'd that happen? Oh their just so cute I thought I'd show them again?

The family slaving over the hot grills! My hubby in the gray shirt and hat. Cousin Tim and his wife Terri. We had a great time. It was hot, but we all enjoyed ourselves. Some of them camp out. We always head to town to our motel room. Ruffing it to me is a Motel 6 with black and white TV! I like my air condition and a shower to much for the camping side of it. Town is about a 15 min. drive so it's not to bad. Thanks Uncle Elton for a great weekend!!

Night Pics of Barn

Just a few night pictures of the barn dance. Sorry they are not very good. The old barn did glow from the hill tho!

This was the flatbed trailer that we used for serving the food from. We threw some red check table cloths randomly over it and added a few crates and vegetables for a center piece and it worked well.

It was lighter than this there. (not a good pic) The young kids were dancing away and having fun!

Glass jars with cracked corn and candle lite the walkway to the dance floor. FYI cracked corn will burn, had a small flame in one!!

Even young pup Rocky had his red bandanna on for the party. But it was "doggone HOT" Everyone seemed to be having a great time and the bride and groom and their families had a blast!! What a time!!!!!!!!

The decorating is almost done!!

OMG! What a few days I have had. Nancy and I have had so much fun playing in the barn the past couple days. we are exhausted but it like we said today, it is a BIG highlight of our summer. This is the front of the barn. The office entrance.

Right beside the entrance where everyone will enter is this big old pickup we came up with after a few phone calls! Love the colors! Note the saddle on the side and the chalkboard in front with a wedding message to the new couple.

This is the entrance they will use Sat. evening. I used old shutters and I borrowed the gunnysack with geraniums and a flag from someones new blog! I wrote Welcome to Rutland Horse Ranch on an old chalkboard to greet everyone.

I love how this turned out. It's not the best pic. Ill try to take a better one Sat. night of the back of the truck where the drinks will be served. The old window frame is chalkboarded Just Hitched Abby and Bryan! Loving the saddle on the side of the truck.

Beside the truck is going to be the cups and sugar for the tea. Iced down water in the tub!

This is a grouping in front of some of the stable. Oh, the horses will be in their stalls right there by the guest! It's so cool to hear them whinny and snort around.

Now this is going to hold the wedding and grooms cake. The ladies went out early this morning and picked almost a whole van full of wildflowers! Sunflowers, queen anns lace, wild lilies. Just beautiful Kansas wildflowers.

We displayed quilts all the way down the stalls behind the wedding party's tables. Some more flowers and hay bales. I haled more hay bales than I can remember and Guys! I applaud you for those hot summer days in a field tossing those around! Oh my gosh!

We had a cinder block wall right behind the flatbed trailer which we will serve the buffet food from. So a few ladies hung quilts from this wall and we added some country treasures.

Threw in a screen door and a few bed rails. We had tons of geraniums in bushel baskets.

Loving the wash tubs with ferns. Most of this stuff came from my yard. I still can't believe I have all of this and still my yard looks full. People where so nice to offer their flowers and the comments we have gotten from different folks coming in to look has just been incredible. They comment on how hard we have worked. It has been hard and so hot but it has been so fun!!! Nancy and I worked so well together and bounced ideas off each other. It really gets those creative juices going when you have someone Else's eyes to create with. Nancy is so talented with her decorating. We both have the same taste in style.

Love this setting with the saddle on the fence behind the hay with another window pain chalkboarded. Tag sale find last week for $5. Wrote a cute little saying on there. Really used the American flags I stain up.

This is a setting up high above the cinder block wall. It hides the air conditioning stuff.

Another little area in front of some stales.

This is the gift table. On the table and bales of hay I can see gifts for the new couple. Nancy had a great idea to place pictures of the couple on an old clothes rack pined with mini clothes pins on twine. The guest can walk in drop off their gifts and take a gander at the couple as children.

This little setting is a favorite of Nancy and I. It hides the silo and grain tubs. We loved the saddle and the old American flag on the metal chair!

Now we are not a fan of the scary white trees but the grooms mom thought we needed more lighting by the dance floor. After dark I think they will be a pretty addition but I wasn't digging them in the daylight. They will serve popcorn in the old wash tub new the dance area.

This is the stage where horse auctions where held yrs ago in the Rutland Horse Ranch Barn, go check out the web site to see the barn in her younger days. www.rutlandranch.net Guy Ray Rutland the grandfather of my daughters boyfriend built this awesome barn I think holding 148 cement floor horse stalls. This barn and rancher was nationally known for his breeding and training of Quarter Horses and now is youngest son Jeff is carrying on this family business. Its really an amazing story and legacy!! This is where the DJ will be stationed.

Another small setting near the dance floor. Well I just wanted to send a few pics to you all before the dance Sat. night. I will try to get a few more of the lights tomorrow night and the tables set up. Its really been a transforming process. The owners Jeff and Laurie Rutland have been so gracious to accommodate the family to whatever we needed to decorate. It is after all still a daily business they are running with all of us running around there with the horses and dust. Jeff teased us many times today about the decorating of the barn and all the flowers. We told him once if he left the 4wheeler parked there too long we'd pop a flower there beside it and hand a bandanna from it! Jeff and Sid ( Taylor's boyfriend have worked their tails off helping us get this reception going and have been so generous! We'd love to see some business come their way maybe for all they have done. So if you need a new quarter horse for your barn give Jeff a call and visit his web site. It is amazing!!!! More pics to come tomorrow with all the glitts!!!!!!

I'm staging for a barn wedding reception!!!!

YeeHaw!!! I've have been so busy girls! I was asked to help decorate a huge local horse barn for a lady who's son is getting married! The bride and her mother and the grooms mother came over one evening last week and looked at my house and yard decorations. I gave them a few ideas I had thought of they picked out a few they loved and said "do whatever you want with the rest" !! We loaded an entire horse trailer full of junk from my yard and house this evening and headed for the barn. This barn is also my daughters boyfriends family business. Rutland Horse Ranch is located out south of our town and is gigantic. In the 60's -the 80's it was the largest auction and breding of quarter horses in this area of the country. Check it the history of Guy Ray Rutland and this ranch he built for his family at www.rutlandranch.com Anyway,

we head out there again at 7 shape in the morning to start staging this barn. They are having it catered with chicken, baked beans and the fixings. With horses in the stalls next to the dance floor. They have an old flatbed trailer for the serving table. I'll take lots of pictures to show you all. I have awakened at 2 in the morning thinking of this barn!!! Wish me luck.

Summer Colors

Just a few shots of the front of the house. I decorated for the Memorial Day red white and blue. I will probably just keep it all up for the summer. My Mom has a fit when she sees the old red quilt my grandmother made me on my front porch. But I just put it out there for the holidays and I love the red on the porch.

Here is a display I made up yesterday. I found this old tool box at a tag sale and have had it out in the potting shed forever. I painted it up red and antiqued it. I put a flag in it and added some firecrackers. I have it sitting on the island in the kitchen.

This is an idea I got off of someones blog. I loved the well pump at the kitchen. I found one for $10 from an old junk man and Mike attached it to a board I had painted up. I love it by the sink and it can be moved when I need more counter space.

We worked on this project on Sunday. I may cut back on the dirt pile. I have plans to plant the maiden grass and add some old junk to it. It is at the entrance of the driveway.

This was the hot sweaty project from yesterday. A new garden area. Now mind you I only wanted a spot for about 8-9 tomato plants. No, we had to go and make it much bigger. I have had a garden before and lost interest in it fast. I have never had a raised bed, so maybe the weeds would choke me out!

We got the pool up and running. Put in a new liner this yr. The daughter has already had two late night parties in it. It's nice that she's older, not so much supervision.

I made some antique tags and wrote some sayings on them. I also made the little tag holders. I have a pot sitting on every section of the deck! It says A weed is not but an unloved flower!

Here are a few tag sale finds I found last weekend. School was out Friday for the summer and I hit a few sales. These are longaburger baskets got both for $5. for both. I love the shape of them.

This is an old laundry basket I pd. $10 for. I'm going to put the beach towels on the back porch in it.

It came with the original Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval! paper with it.

We took our daughter and two friends to a driving school last weekend near Pittsburg Ks. and hit a couple flea markets and tag sales. I bought this cooler for $3 and at the flea market the same cooler went for $23.99. I got a great deal!!

I bought these from a friends tag sale. They belonged to her grandparents and it would have cost alot to powder coat them. I told her I liked them even rustier than this. Got them for $16 for the pair. Well the daughter is home from watching her boyfriend at his tennis match and we need to run up to the DMV and check into getting a licence so she can drive to work this summer. She started at the pool on Sunday. She like it alot. Have a great week!