Bowling Near Duke

Sometimes, to let off a little steam or just have some fun, we take the kids bowling.  It is something that all of us can participate in and we all love to do it.

Now, we are not professional bowlers, and with me probably being the best bowler, with an average score around 200, we will not be winning any bowling competitions anytime soon.

But it is a lot of fun and does not cost too much.  Misty and I have contemplated about getting our own bowling balls and shoes, but do not know whether it would be worth it since we are hit and miss with going bowling.

Once Misty gets warmed up, she is capable of getting a strike, as demonstrated below.

Looking good for a strike.

Strike! X 

A very proud Misty after her strike.

Here's proof of her strike.

Of course I could not let her show me up, so had to try for a strike too! But just like I tell the kids, you don't always get what you want.

Don mentally preparing to recover from his missed strike.

Looking good!

Well, not a strike, but at least a spare.

We also think that maybe the lanes were not maintained as well as they could be due to being robbed many times of our strikes.

The proof is in the pictures below.  Anyone can tell that Misty just threw a perfect ball and that a strike should be the result.

Looks like a strike to me.

But then, for no apparent reason, she was robbed!

Robbed!

She was so stunned by the vicious crime that was perpetrated against her, that it completely threw her confidence off and shook her for the rest of her frames, as is evident below in the next couple of pictures.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Misty doing the walk of shame after being so shook up by being robbed earlier.

Now that I had a chance to win the game, I reached down deep, pulled out my best moves, and let the ball fly.  I could just tell that I executed the perfect throw and the ball and I were one.

Yea, I know that the picture may not show it as being perfect, but the end results were.  You know the light was awful dim and I had the flash turned off on my phone when taking these pictures too.

Don and the ball as one.

Perfection!

For the kids we have the bumpers put up so that they do not have a bunch of gutter balls, but Courtney and Tia are pretty good at keeping the ball down the middle without touching the bumpers.

If the kids get a strike or spare after bouncing off of a bumper, then I tell them that in reality, it was a gutter ball.  Some may think I'm just busting their bubble, but they need to learn to bowl the right way and keep the balls out of the gutter.

Ian checking out his results.

Avery really liked his bowling shoes and wanted to keep them. Luckily, we talked him out of it and he did not make too big of a scene when leaving.

Avery excited about something.

Avery picking his ball while Courtney and Chloe pose for the camera.

Avery bouncing it off the bumper.

Chloe even gets into the game with a little help from her brothers and sisters.  Here Courtney is helping her throw her ball.

Courtney helping Chloe bowl.

Chloe happy with her latest throw.

As you can tell, Chloe was having quite the fun time while bowling with her family.

Chloe having fun.

All in all we had a fun time and the kids got to burn off some of their stored up energy, which is always good.

Ethan surveying his latest throw.

Courtney trying to pick up a spare.

Courtney showing how happy she is or that she really, really has to pee.

Tia throwing her best.

We do not go bowling a lot, but plan on picking it back up since we all can play and the kids have so much fun doing it.

The last time we went with our friends from church, the Gloade family and had a really good time.  They have three lovely girls, who our children love to play with and so anytime we get together, it is fun.

Their dad, Christian, said that he had not bowled since he was a teenager, but I had my suspicions when he started bowling strikes early into the game.

I bowled one of my best games to include a turkey (three strikes in a row) and won the first game, but then was beat in the next game by Christian.  I really do believe he had not bowled since he was a teenager, but he could have fooled us!

We are so lucky that we make good friends everywhere we go and have so much fun with them.  Unfortunately, we do not always show you everything we do on our blog for all sorts of reasons, but try to show the things that we think are the most interesting.  One day, when I can get a blog out every week, you will see more of what we do.

Also, the weather here has been rain on top of rain!  As a result, we've had to cancel a lot of our planned outdoor activities.  One reason I'm doing this blog so close to the last one is because our plans were rained out for the day and I ended up with some spare time.

If you like to follow our blog, please register with Google+ and become a follower so we can see how many of you there are.  Also we would love for you to like our LivelyRV Facebook page and check in with us from time to time.  We would also love to hear from you, so do not be shy and give us some comments.  

Until next time, may God bless you and keep you safe.

Thanks!

Don, Misty, and Kids...

Homemade Organic Cream of Mushroom Soup

Here is a recipe for homemade organic cream of mushroom soup that is way better than the canned variety you buy in the store.  You can also make it without using organic ingredients, if you so desire.

Ingredients for organic Cream of Mushroom soup.

The chicken broth pictured in the glass bowl is also homemade using organic chickens.  Misty usually makes a batch every week or so when we roast two 3lb chickens for dinner.  She then takes all of  the bones and slow cooks them overnight with some other vegetables and herbs to make the broth.  Usually, it ends up being more like jello, which means it is very good chicken broth.

Maybe I can show that recipe in a future post.

As for the cream of mushroom soup, here are the ingredients which are all organic, but do not have to be:

3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter

2 cups chicken broth
1 glove garlic
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz mushrooms
1 small onion chopped
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

First thing is to chop up your mushrooms and onions.  We like them chopped small, but you can chop them medium or however you like.

Chopping up the mushrooms and onions.

Next you will want to melt the butter in a pot large enough to hold it all.  We used a 5 quart pot which was more than big enough.

Melting the butter.

Next add in your mushrooms and onions and saute until the onions are soft.

Sauteing mushrooms and onions until the onions are soft.

After about six or seven minutes it should look like the below picture, depending on how high your heat is and how small you chopped the mushrooms and onions.

What your mushrooms and onions should look like after sauteing for six or seven minutes.

Next add in your flour and stir it in throughly.

Adding flour.

You can now add in the chicken broth. 

Adding in chicken broth.

While keeping it on the heat, stir in the chicken broth until it thickens a good bit.

Thickening the soup after the chicken broth is added.

Next comes the heavy cream and the rest of the seasonings.

Adding in the heavy cream.

 

Adding in the last of the heavy cream.

Now stir it all together and let it thicken a little more until it is at the consistency you like.  Serve and enjoy!

Finished Organic Cream of Mushroom Soup.

This is a very easy and quick recipe for this soup.   We will make two or three batches and then freeze it in ZipLock bags to use later on.

No store bought soup can compare and this is so much healthier.  The main reason for this blog is to share with you how easy it is to make your own. 

So next time you crave a nice bowl of Cream of Mushroom soup or have a recipe that calls for it, try this recipe and let us know whether it measures up.

If you are not a follower of our blog, please register with Google+ and become one.  We are curious as to the number of followers we have, that have not registered.  We would also love for you to like our Livelyrv Facebook page and check in with us from time to time.  Comments are also very welcome as we would love to hear from you.

Until next time, may God bless you and keep you safe.

Thanks!

Don, Misty, and Kids...

 

Camping Near Duke

For the past couple of months we have been staying near Duke University in order for our aunt to receive treatment for a brain tumor that was discovered a few months ago.

Misty's aunt is living with us in the RV, which makes our close quarters even closer.  But it has all been good and believe it or not, we have not gotten on each others' nerves at all.

If anything it has been a real pleasure to offer our RV to our aunt so that she would not have to pay for a hotel for her three months of treatment and doctor appointments.  Family takes care of family and we feel God has given us this way of life, so that we could assist in this matter.

The kids with Aunt Lynn.

While attending service at Hope Creek Church, we met a family who invited us over for dinner one Sunday evening.  We had such a great time and before leaving we made plans to get together again.

 We ended up visiting the Sarah P. Duke Gardens on a Wednesday  afternoon which is fifty five acres of beautiful gardens, landscapes, ponds, and woods located in the center of Duke University's campus.  Here is a map of the gardens, if you are interested.

There are over five miles of trails that take you through it all with beautiful views of water fountains, and four distinct types of gardens.  Free admission is a big plus and it never seems to be very crowded even though it receives over 300,000 visitors a year.

Welcome to Duke Gardens.

Entry gate to the gardens.

Walkway down to the Mary Duke Biddle Rose Garden / Roney Fountain.

Courtney, Avery, Tia, Ian, Chloe, Ethan, Don, & Misty posing in front of the fountain.

One of the cute gazebos that bridge one garden section to another.
This one is between the Historic Gardens and the H.L. Blomquist Garden of Native Plants.

Even the rest room's architecture is pleasant to the eye.

The Pergola viewed from the Historic Terraces.

Molly and Avery enjoying the fish in the Historic Terraces and Fish Pool.

Another view of the Pergola from the Historic Terraces.

A nice spot to rest while enjoying the bamboo in the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum.

The garden at the Burpee Learning Center and a reconstructed tobacco barn.

A tub of meat eating plants.

A beautiful pitcher plant.

A Yellow Pitcher Plant with a view of its deadly water.  Deadly to insects, that is.

My favorite meat eating plant, the Venus Flytrap.

Another deserving fly that ended up as a meal.

Cute little piece of citrus fruit named Calamondin which is also known as a miniature orange, but used more like a lime.

Beautiful steps of stone and a grist mill grinding wheel. 

All in all we had a wonderful time with our new friends and really enjoyed our walk through the gardens.  We walked a good two plus miles that day, so not only did we enjoy our company and surroundings, but felt good in the fact that we got some much needed exercise.

It was also nice to let the kids run wild and burn off a lot of their stored up energy.  It is always easier to put them to bed on days like these, when we wear them plum out.  The trick is to let them wear out, without wearing you out in the process.

One of the many frogs at the Blomquist Pavilion pond.

The pond at the Blomquist Pavilion was a perfect backdrop and had just enough stepping stones to get a picture of all the kids, including Allison and Molly, who are two of our friends' kids from church.

Ethan, Allison, Avery, Tia, Courtney, Ian, & Molly at the Blomquist Garden pond.

 Also during our walk the kids had a chance to feed the waterfowl while at the Garden Pond in the Culberson Asiatic Arboretum section of the gardens.

Ethan, Allison, Ian, & Avery feeding the waterfowl at the Garden Pond.

We want to thank God for all of his blessings and the opportunity to help out our family in their time of need.  We also want to thank Him for guiding us to such good friends while on the road and keeping us safe.

Everywhere we have gone, we have always met just the right people to make our stay a better one.

Coincidentally one of the neighbors in the RV lot next door is actually from Fayetteville, West Virginia and knows where the Lively Family land is at, in Fayette County, where my father grew up.

Another coincidence is that an eleven year old girl, that the kids met just down the street, is also from West Virginia and still has family living in Charleston, close to where we used to live.

I've always heard that the North Carolina license plate is an alternate West Virginia license plate due to West Virginians migrating to North Carolina for work, so maybe it is true since everyone we met, seems to have connections to West Virginia.

Until next time may God bless you too!

Thanks!
Don, Misty, and Kids...