Sofe's new boots

A couple of weekends ago, Gene took 3 grandgirls, Maddy (11), Kate (9), and Sofe (7) shopping for cowboy boots. They mentioned to us on Thanksgiving, that boots were on their wish list. Carole took this picture of Sofe, the next morning in her PJ's watching cartoons with her new boots on!

The Wood Wagon

It's not quite a tour bus, but Sonic Wood now has a trailer, aka "The Wood Wagon". It even matches my car! It's a 5 x 10' enclosed cargo trailer with a ramp and I'm soooooo excited! This weekend we're playing in Abilene (home of Dwight D. Eisenhower) on Friday night, then in Chapman (home of really big tornado 2 years ago, and our mandolin player), so the trailer will have it's first road trip. Sunday evening, I'm singing in the church Christmas program, no trailer needed. Busy weekend to be sure.

That's all for now, much love to ya'll.

Joan

Awwwwwwww!

miss y'all. New design for the blog-- just so you CA people remember there is weather in other parts of the country. It's a high of 35 today and we're on our way to the Titans game! Brrrrrrr. Happy, happy birthday to Joan!

Thanksgiving

We missed the Nelsons and the Nashville Perrys at Thanksgiving so I thought you might like to see everyone who was here. The dark haired girl in a couple of the photos is Ryan's friend Janay from work. The blonde girl is Dylan's girlfriend Stacy and the other two are her parents, Jan and Mark.

Love to you all!

Janelle

John's 53 birthday

On John's birthday I had some friends out for a picnic at Cheekwood (our botanical gardens-- that was having an exhibit from a famous glass blower from Washington - Dale Chihuly) It was a gorgeous fall evening and we found a secluded spot overlooking the city. Rachel and I shared ten things we love about John. It was both meaningful and funny. And, of course, the ever present football stories from Jeff. I wished you all could have been there. This picture was takin' after the others left. Wonderful memory following what has turned out to be a challenging year.

We miss you all! With the holidays coming, it's harder than ever to be away from family. (It's impossible to use our free tickets during the holidays to come your way). My parents are coming at Thanksgiving and we'd love to-- absolutely love to-- have any Perrys, Marks, Nelsons or Mobleys after or during Christmas/New Year.

If you're able, tune into the CMA awards tonight. One of our best friends is up for song of the year-- Tom Douglas for "The House that Built Me" by Miranda Lambert. We're making a banner for his house today, having a party tonight to watch and cheer on our friend. It's kinda like the superbowl here-- and Tom's had three number one hits this year. Fun.

I send much love from John, Rachel and me.

Good Morning!

It's another beautiful morning in the Flint Hills! Actually, it's still dark outside, but I know it's going to be beautiful. We leaving in an hour for Overland Park; Gene is taking Andy and Dave Lewis to a hunting preserve outside of Lawrence, along with dogs Birdie and Belle, for a little warm-up before the opening of bird season. While they're doing their thing, I'll hang out with Kristin and the 2 little ones.

This picture is from last Sunday's lunch at mom and dad's house. Lovely young ladies.

Have a good day, much love to you all.

Joan

Camping

Last weekend, Gene, Birdie and I went horse camping at Eisenhower State Park, on Melvern Lake, just south of Osage City. We met up with some friends from Fort Scott. It was Birdies first camping trip and my first official trail ride in 3 years. Everything went fine, no wrecks, good weekend. Saturday evening we drove into Osage City for supper, so I gave everyone the guided tour, pointing out the cleaners, both houses, the old campgrounds (now a Sonic drive-in and grocery store), even where mom was born!

Right now, we're having the outside of the house painted. It's looking really good! And we recently replaced the kitchen and bathroom windows along with the sliding glass dooor (french door now). Home improvements!

The band is going to begin recording next week, so we'll have something to use as a marketing tool and to sell at shows. No shows scheduled for October, which makes this a good time to record. Tomorrow night, we're going to audition a bass player...we'll see...

That's all for now, much love to all!

Joan