1st Family Meal

When Amanda asked "are you going to put this on your blog?" last night, I told her "sure, it's been a while since I did a post." So here y'all go, for those of you who are regular readers of this blog. Oh, Ohio family, is anyone reading this? All of the Texas family wonders since there are never any comments from y'all. I guess we'll find out. :)

Anyway, last night we had our immediate Texas family over for the 1st family dinner at our house....BBQ ribs, which were very yummy!

After dinner, we played corn hole in the backyard. For those of you who don't know what this game is, you see the pics. It is basically a piece of wood with corn filled bean bags that you try to get in the hole. We have been looking for this game since we moved into our house to play in the yard, but haven't had much luck here in Texas. It must be a Midwest game. So last week we got really excited when our next door neighbors the Harris family had a corn hole game in their front yard! We asked if we could borrow it for the family meal yesterday and they were kind to share it with us. Kyle has already researched corn hole games online (y'all know how Kyle likes to research things) & one is on the way.

Feel free to come by & play corn hole anytime!


If y'all have never heard the song about corn hole on you tube, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io8X4pz_QJ0

It's pretty funny! Have a good one! Stay cool in all of this heat!

Happy 90th Grandpa Herd!

Last weekend the entire Herd side of the family celebrated Grandpa Herd's 90th birthday in Alabama at Kay & Elliott's house.

This was a special weekend because EVERYONE was there, which was really awesome. Relatives from Texas, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, & North Carolina all were able to be there to celebrate. Grandma & Grandpa Herd really enjoyed seeing all of the family together. I could tell that they didn't want the night of the birthday party to end & that the time of everyone together was a happy memory for them.


The 6 of us Rhodes' flew with Grandma & Grandpa Herd on an airplane to Alabama, which I can say was a definite experience in the large DFW airport. The biggest hangup that we experienced was in the Birmingham airport on the way home. The security guy was giving Grandma Herd problems because her drivers license had expired in 1999 & she had no other form of identification. Somehow Billy & Paula were able to talk with them to get that figured out. It's crazy the stuff we all go through in airports these days.


Here is a group pic of the entire family in Kay's backyard. We gave this pic to Grandpa Herd in a special frame.

Happy B-day, Grandpa Herd! We love you!

All Moved In!

We are now official home owners! The last weekend of June was very busy moving from our apartment in Bedford to our home in Arlington. Pepper the dog didn't know what to think about the moving boxes. However, he LOVES the fenced in yard at the new house!
Our apartment was pretty packed with boxes. For this move since it was local, we opted to hire movers....it was well worth it!
Kyle has been trying his hand at lawn care. In this pic he was trying out the new weed eater with his personal protective equipment of the ear protection & the goggles. Isn't he cute? :)
This is a picture of our new kitchen table. It expands into a larger circle to fit more people around it. I'm excited to have normal sized table! The one we were using was a hand-me-down from my parents, which was great. However, it was too small to fit tablecloths, placements, etc. I'm having fun fixing up the new table & eating at it!
This is a picture of our new bedroom furniture, thanks to my parents as a house warming gift. Yes, it is a KING and we are loving it!

As for anything interesting that has occurred as new homeowners, the weirdest thing to us is an invasion of lizards. They are small geko (spelling?) lizards & can fit under the baseboards to get in & out of the house! I see at least 5 per week and have made Kyle kill them all. This week I did get brave enough to try to kill one on my own, but they still give me the creeps. I'm just thankful that we don't have cockroaches,ants,mice or other more annoying pests.

This house has been a huge blessing. We would love for any friends/family to come & see us whenever you are in the DFW area!

Where is Your "Place?"

It's summer and along with the summer comes vacations. Many families that I knew growing up had a special place that they would vacation to year after year.

The special place to my family is Norris Lake north of Knoxville, TN. I have gone to this lake almost every summer since elementary school. Why do I love Norris Lake so much? I have been here with my family, extended family, several families from church as part of the summer tradition. I have laughed many times until I have cried with family & friends. I have played many rounds of euchre and other group games. I have enjoyed good food (can you say homemade ice cream every night with the Spicer & Oakes clan!). I have been so stress-free that I have gotten the best sleep here. I have been through many thunderstorms on & off the lake and have enjoyed many sunny days. I have enjoyed the peacefulness of God's creation, the joy of being in a place where I feel that much closer to my God. After breathing in the fresh air, swimming in the crystal clear warm lake water, gazing at the heavens in the night sky, how anyone could behold such beauty and not believe in our Creator is beyond me.
Now that Kyle & I are in Texas, we don't get to Norris Lake as often as we did when we lived in Ohio. It would be about an 18 hour drive for us now. We were so thankful to have the blessing to be able to go to Norris a couple of weeks ago with my entire family for a week of fun.
Norris Lake will always hold a special place in my heart. I'm hoping that Kyle & I will be able to find a special place like this closer by where we can go with our family someday. This will keep the tradition alive of taking the time to get away from everything & be with each other & God.
You've read about my special place. This is what I imagine on a really stressful day at work or when I'm down. Where is your place?

Shelly's Wedding

My cousin Shelly married Joey on June 7, 2008 in my hometown in Ohio. Here are just a few of the many pics from this fun, special day. A beautiful wedding!