MOM...

Mom loves flowers. She saw these in the foyer
and we asked if we could take her picture with them.
Doesn't she look pretty??

"Steph, Mom and I" Stephanie bought Mom
her festive halloween top.
(I scanned the first (2) pictures and they aren't
as clear as the others I've posted from my camera.)

Sunday, Oct. 21st, a Pumpkin Festival was held

at Chapel Hill and included was a hay-ride. I

have always enjoyed a hay-ride and Mom

enjoyed the ride too along with Darrel & Lori!!

Here we saw the lake on the property from a

different prospective.

Waiting on the hay-ride.

Steph and Mom posed in front of the big pumpkin!!

Seaside Adventure & Other Fun...

Saturday (9/29) Cori, Amanda and I attended a
peanut festival in Emporia, VA as well as stopping
at this roadside stand where Cori bought some
pumpkins, mums and peanuts in the shell.

We also stopped in Smithfield, VA...an historical village.

Sunday, Cori and I enjoyed the day at Busch Gardens

and rode some big roller coasters. This was the

scariest coaster I have ever ridden which sat 10

people across and 3 rows deep. "The Griffin"

Towards the end of the ride it traveled above

a pond and (2) blades in the back picked

up and sprayed water!!! No one got wet, but

it looked really cool...

Tuesday (9/25) We got up at 4:30 am and

we were on Virginia Beach before sunrise with

our cameras for a photo session...

After the photo session, we ate breakfast

at a hotel on the boardwalk and then drove

to the Outer Banks (NC) for a day of exploration...

In the evening we viewed the sunset over

the sound in Corolla, NC.

Corolla is at the end of a strip of land and a

lighthouse is needed to warn any ships in

the vicinity...

Friday we viewed the sand sculptures that

were built on Virginia Beach by teams from

many different countries. This one is of an

American Indian. I wanted to see the

sculptures in progress, but we were never

there at the right time.
Monday (10/1) Wanda and Dick Perry stopped

by on their way to the Outer Banks.

We really enjoyed your visit Wanda and Dick!!!

My stay with Cori was a lot of fun and after all

the stress at work I was grateful to have some

downtime. The only snafu came at the end of

my vacation when I found out I had scheduled

my return flight for AM instead of PM and

therefore had to stay one day longer than I had

planned - what a sacrifice - right?

After placing my luggage back in Cori's car, her car

wouldn't start and we had to have it towed - and

then rented a car for the next day.

When I arrived back in Cleveland my luggage couldn't

be located (2 suitcases). So I'm still dealing with the

airline as they search for me. At work they're going

to get tired of seeing me in the same clothes...I don't

want to go buy anything until I know if they find my

luggage or not.

All in all my vacation was truly enjoyed and God

blessed the time I spent with Cori.

"306 SUNSET LANE"

Home Sweet Home --- 306 Sunset Lane!!!!!!

Memories... 1st day of school, 1st date, measles, Brownies,

trick or treat, ballet and tap w/Mrs. Kettner, neighbors,

Methodist Church, Mounders, hide 'n seek, family reunions,
sledding at the pit, roller skating, boating, camping, Rock

River, drive-ins and root beer... MOM & DAD :)

View of the Sunset Hills Golf Course and time enjoyed on

the patio...

Pretty empty living room... think of all the hours we

enjoyed in this room: monster music with Dad, back

rubs with Mom, hide the thimble, live Christmas

trees and bubble lights. Sharon, Sally and Susan

moved into the 'new' house with Mom and Dad

and later Stephanie, Sheila and 'Kim' (Darrel)

were born.

Dishes, dishes, dishes!! Mom and Dad had their built

in kitchen crew... You wash and I'll dry while we

played "I see something blue"... Last minute

decisions to have a picnic supper at the White Pines

State Park and the great suppers Mom would put

together including FRESH squeezed Lemonade!!

We all enjoyed sitting on the patio and watching the

golfers on the course or sharing skits with the

family...Singing... Dad playing the harmonica...

Singing... Sharing a good laugh... Singing...

Laughing, Laughing, Laughing... What FUN!!!

The Era has come to an END but we sure have

some Great Memories :)

* SUMMER FUN *

Sally, Al and I visited with Mom
Thursday (7/5) before they left
for Oklahoma.
Sally and Al were all packed up and
ready for their trip home when this
picture was taken...

Ben enjoyed getting his feet wet
in Uncle Darrel's pool on the 4th.

Nathan's batting practise with

Uncle Darrel - Nathan had just

hit the ball in this photo...

I was planning to help Nathan put

his 'Thomas' puzzle together but

he did it all by himself. Great Job,

Nathan!! (Nathan looks so grown

up here)

Fun around the campfire..

Andrea was cuddling with

Nathan at the campfire..

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!

Belated 'Happy Birthday' to LauraLee
who was 35 on June 18th. Also a Happy
Birthday to Chad who is 35 TODAY!!
Best Wishes from Mom and Dad Riley :)

"Hatfield & McCoy Trail Ride"

This is at the beginning of our trail
ride and Cori's first time riding a
4'wheeler!!

Cori took this picture from her

4'wheeler to show how we

meandered through the

mountains. It looks like

I'm in the lead!

"You go first, No, you go first"...this

was the normal conversation as we

encountered some difficult terrain.

Here it looks like we are headed

'down' the mountain.

I was proud of Cori on her first

official trail ride - she did well

and was also a great navigator

with the trail map. :)

Cori took this picture using her

wide-angle lens. I'm glad it was

the 4'wheeler that got the wide

angle treatment, if you know

what I mean... It looks like I'm

riding a 'monster' 4'wheeler.

We discovered an abandoned

mine that was on one of the

trails. Where Mark and Cori

are sitting was great feel of

air-conditioning for a hot day

of riding. Mark wanted to explore

inside the mine, but didn't have

a flashlight!!

Dale enjoyed the Trail ride, but had

to use a rental 4'wheeler which you

had to shift. The 4'wheelers we own

are automatic transmission and are

easier to ride. Thank you Dale and

Mark for letting Cori and I ride the

automatic 4'wheelers!!

Here is the 'beauty' of the mountain trail.

Cori tried to show the perspective

of the mountain trails. The elevation

changes can't be shown very well in

pictures, but most of the time we were

looking down into the treetops. Here

Mark is ahead of me climbing the trail.

This is the 'preying mantis' rental

4'wheeler with lots of power that

Mark rode. That's what Cori and

I called it.

Cori took a picture of the trail ahead.

Some trails were very steep and others

had boulders in our path. The trail

with boulders was the scariest for

me to ride on. It felt like you were

going to tip over. But we all

made it safely.

The sun was going down and the

mountain fog was moving in when

this picture was taken near Gilbert,

WV on 6/24/07.

We are Family...

Steph, Shari, Sally, Mom and Darrel
posed for a picture after a cookout
at Darrel & Lori's.

Future Lifeguard???

Team effort during the 4-wheelin trip

around Riley's yard.

Isn't Nathan a Cutie Patootie?

The answer, of course, is YES!!

Hey, Jenna, you're lookin' good!!

Jenna and Lori - cute picture.

Ben says, 'Start the engine, I'm ready

to make a move...'