Another Month Over

Wow, tomorrow's the end of the month. In 10 days, Kev will be home; in just 13 days, that boy is getting married. Life is moving fast, but in a good way, I guess.

Just another quiet Sunday. We went to church and just came home and watched movies. I spent the afternoon trying to get rid of a headache that hit me out of nowhere. Then it was leftovers for dinner and more TV in the evening.

Too exciting for you? I can understand that. :) But, hold on; the next couple of weeks should make up for it!!

Until the next time . . .

Another Wedding Shower

Today Lindsay hosted a shower for Sara. As usual, Lindsay did a fantastic job of decorating, providing finger food, and a warm atmosphere. This wasn't a surprise shower, so some of the pressure was off. :) We had a good turn-out and Sara got some great gifts. Randy& I are just thrilled that Sara is part of our family. She is a sweet, loving young woman and will be a wonderful wife for Kevin.

It's so hard to believe that the wedding is just two weeks from today. It seems we've been talking about it and planning for it forever. Of course, when you're concerned the groom won't make the ceremony, that makes things a little tense, too! ;) But, all is on course now and we can just enjoy the next few days.

Here are some pictures from the party. Enjoy.

Sara and her mom, Ann

Sara and Lindsay

Sara's ready to open presents

Mingling

Spending More Money!

Wow, what a humid morning this was! Yuck. Walking outside at 7am should be a refreshing venture, but not today. Randy rode with me to Curves again this morning because we were going to breakfast afterward (isn't that what you're supposed to do after exercise???) and then run a couple of errands.

We had breakfast at a diner we've been passing by and keep saying we need to try. It's called the 'Round the Clock Diner and it's open 24 hours. You don't see that much anymore. The parking lot is always full, so we figured it must be pretty good. We got a big breakfast; the pancakes were HUGE. I couldn't even finish my meal and that's not the norm. :)

Full from breakfast, we headed to our next stop, an RV Dealership. We needed to get a door stop and Randy wanted to check on getting a surge protector for the outside electrical hook-up. We had one and it got fried quite awhile ago and we've been saying we need to get one ever since. So, today was the day. The dealership didn't have them in stock, but we ordered one and it should be in early next week. Man, those things are not cheap! But, it's a lot less expensive than having to rewire the RV!!

After that, we stopped at Radio Shack to see if they had portable GPS on sale. We told Kev & Sara we would buy them one. We found a Garmin Nuvi 200 on sale and were pleased at the price. So, check another item off the list!

With that, we were done spending money for the day and headed back home, trying to beat the storm. The storm that never showed, by the way. Not sure what's going on with this weather. We did get a little rain this evening, but nothing like we thought we were going to get because of the dark clouds.

We ended up going over to Lindsay's this evening, which was not in the plan. She called to let us know that a package from Omaha Steaks had arrived. Our oldest, Ginny, had bought Randy a package of different meats for him for birthday/Father's Day and had it sent to Lindsay's. What a great gift! Randy was excited 'cause we just don't buy meat like that – filet mignon, sirloin, etc. Thanks, Gin & Chuck!

We're now back home, got the meat all tucked away in the freezer and it's time to settle back and watch some TV. Hope you all had a good day. We sure did.

Until the next time . . .

OOPS!

I didn't write anything yesterday! I can't believe it. I didn't even realize it until this morning. That just shows you what an exciting day we had yesterday – NOT! It was even more boring, er, um, I mean, relaxed than the day before. Man, we gotta step it up. Although I did go to Curves, so that has to count for something!

We were a little more active today. Randy rode with me to Curves this morning because we were spending the day at Lindsay's, so in an effort to save fuel, he sat outside and waited for me while I exercised. What a guy!

It was laundry day, as is the usual routine on Thursdays. So, after exercising we headed over the Lindsay's. However, today we had an extra duty. We got to watch Reagan this afternoon! YAY! After having not seen her for more than 10 days, I was ready.

It was great. She hadn't come downstairs yet this morning when we got there. And when she came running into the kitchen, she ran right into my arms, seeming so excited to see me. Aaaahhhhh, what a great feeling! Nothing like a grandchild to brighten your day.

Spent the morning doing laundry and playing with Reagan. Jason & Lins left around 1:30. They had to go to Silver Spring to attend a viewing for Jason's great uncle. That left us in charge for the rest of the day. :) We all took good naps this afternoon, so we were all in good moods this evening.

Dinner was meat loaf and a tossed salad for Randy & me; turkey, cheese and salad for Reagan. However, Reagan was adventurous and tried the meat loaf. And, she liked it. Boy, won't her mommy be surprised. But, I know that the only way Reagan will ever get meat loaf again is if I'm making it. It's not a favorite of her parents'.

Well, it's quiet time for Reagan, so I better run. She is such a good little girl, gets a little out of control once in a while, but hey, who doesn't? :) For the most part, it is a pure pleasure to spend time with her. And quiet time is the best – it's snuggle time!

Until the next time . . .

What a Lazy Day!

It was a little cool this morning when I set out for Curves around 7am. But the sun was shining and it was actually kind of refreshing. Of course, after working out for a half an hour, the cool air felt really good!!

Made a quick jaunt to the grocery after Curves. Just needed to pick up a few things to get us through until the big grocery run on the first of the month.

Then, it was back home to do not much of nothing for the rest of the day. Yeah, I know. Tough life. Worked on a cross-stitch project and caught up on my computer reading. Randy mowed the lawn. And that was about it.

I made chicken divan for dinner and that was my last official act of the day. Whew. I gotta sit down, I can't stand all this hustle and bustle! :)

Until the next time . . .

Great News!

We got great news last night – Kevin will get home in time for his wedding!! Now, that might sound pretty odd to most of you, but given the past couple of weeks of the Army roller coaster, it is music to me. A synopsis:

Kevin's orders for his return to the United States had gotten mixed up back in May. He got orders to return during May which was a month earlier than his tour was supposed to end. He explained that to his superiors and they agreed a mistake had been made. Kev's plan was to re-enlist in mid-June for a specific duty station, Fort Lewis in Washington state. Fast forward to June 16 and Kev is preparing to re-enlist. Fort Lewis is now not an option because there are no slots available. Now, what to do. He had a choice of three bases and, after much discussion with Sara, it was decided he would choose Fort Riley in Kansas. Not a problem. He re-enlisted, got locked into Fort Riley and was told he would get his orders within a few days.

Now I have to tell you that Kev had warned us it usually takes about three weeks to get his orders and begin the clearing process for leaving Korea. You need to remember this later. :)

It's now Friday, June 20, three weeks before his wedding and Kev is told that he would probably get his orders in a couple of weeks. He cannot begin the clearing process until he has his orders in hand! UGH!! So after much wailing and gnashing of teeth (mostly by me!), and asking all of everyone I meet to pray, one of Kev's sergeants comes to him this past Sunday and tells him he's going to step in and “pull rank.” Apparently, this sergeant had been through something similar and knew what Kev was going through.

Bottom line : Kev got his orders by 10:30 Monday morning (which was 9:30pm Sunday our time) and is beginning the clearing process as we speak!! He has his itinerary to come home; we pick him up at Dulles Airport on July 9 at 4:45pm.

First, I want to thank all of you who have prayed for Kevin during his tour in Korea as well as during these last couple of weeks when I've begged for intercession on this matter. I cannot tell you how much I believe in the power of prayer and the appreciation I feel for each and every one of you.

Secondly, I gotta confess that I have lacked an enormous amount of trust in God during this time. I have been angry with God that He has not intervened and made this process easier for Kevin and the rest of us. I am ashamed of my lack of faith. Deep in my heart I know that God has a plan for each of us and it's the best plan. And I have not trusted Him for that plan for Kevin. So, as you're continuing to pray for Kev & Sara, I ask that you pray for me as well. That I will not have a “fair weather” faith, but one that is deeply rooted within my heart and cannot be shaken. Thanks again.

So, we begin our week with good news. Sara's been a whirlwind of activity, doing all those last minute things you have to do for a wedding. And everything's coming together. What a good feeling.

Hey, I know this is supposed to be a travel blog, but it's really about our life. And sometimes I need to write about life outside of our travels. Especially right now when we aren't moving around. So, thanks for reading and putting up with the ramblings of a slightly crazy, menopausal fifty year old woman!

Until the next time . . .

Beautiful Sunday

The weatherman was wrong – again! Aren't you shocked? But, it was in our favor this time, which is a nice change. We were supposed to have rain/thunderstorms all day, but we woke to beautiful blue skies and sunshine. Not too hot, although a consistent breeze would be nice. :)

We played hooky from church this morning; instead spending a lazy morning with Lee & Cheri, chatting about how nice yesterday was as well as having our usual “lazy river” of conversations. You know – where you start with one subject and by the time you're done you've meandered through many others but still don't know what you've talked about. I LOVE those kinds of conversations 'cause you can only have them with good friends. It's “comfortable” talk.

We also went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast – one we hadn't been to before so we get to mark another one off the list! I think this makes 52. :) After breakfast, we went back to Lee & Cheri's to collect Blackie and head for home. We said our good-byes to Marty. The next time we see him, he'll be Private Lee Fortenberry, Jr. Hard to believe.

So, here we sit, back at home. As much as Lee & Cheri's home is a great place to be and we are very comfortable there, there really is no place like home. (Thanks, Dorothy.) We're sitting out in the screened room; I've got the computer and Randy's reading a magazine. Blackie's laying on the floor so glad to be home where he can be in the same room with us. He had to stay out on the sun porch at Lee & Cheri's because Courtney is allergic to dogs. But, he had company, their dog Jupiter was there, too. Anyway, it's good to be home.

Here are some pics from yesterday's cook out.

From his kindergarten graduation to now! :)

The graduate. He couldn't resist showing off the attributes of a soldier!

Talking with his recruiter, Sgt. Dolan (in the middle) and his dad, Lee.

That's it for this weekend. Just relaxing and waiting to see if the rainstorms show up. Tomorrow's an easy one for me – just Curves and then back. Randy's taking the truck to get its new tires and mowing Jason & Lindsay's lawn. Hope you had a great weekend.

Until the next time . . .

Celebrating

Today we celebrated Marty's graduation and his enlistment in the Army. You may remember that we attended Marty's high school graduation a couple of weeks ago. Marty is Lee & Cheri's son and we are close to him. So, we headed up to their house around noon so we could help them set up for the cookout. They were expecting some of their friends, Marty's friends and some of Marty's teachers to stop by at some point during the afternoon.

It's so interesting to watch these young men as they pass from childhood into “adulthood.” Or what they think is adulthood. Marty and Kevin are very much alike and I was often reminded of Kevin as I watched Marty today. Being eighteen is an odd age as the world tells you that you're an adult now, but too often you still feel like a kid. It's hard on parents, too, because these “adults” are usually still dependent on them, but desperately want to stand on their own. Often I wish the government had kept the age of majority at 21 for everything because it would have made life a little easier.

We've known Marty since he was 2 years old. Lee & Cheri came to our church in Columbia, MD at that time and we became friends through serving together in different ministries. Over the years we became even closer; more like family. Their kids are like a niece and nephew to us. We are always included in the special events of their lives and love that. It's great to see Marty growing into the man his parents have prayed he'd become.

Marty will be leaving by the end of this month for Fort Knox in Kentucky for Basic Training in the U.S. Army. He will be in the Calvary and then after Basic Training, he will go to Fort Benning in Georgia to attend Airborne School. Another young man volunteering to serve our country. Thank God for these wonderful young people.

I took pictures, but unfortunately, left my USB cable home and we are spending the night at Lee & Cheri's. I'll have to share some pictures tomorrow.

It is such a great blessing and privilege to share in your friends' accomplishments (or their children's). We appreciate being a part of this special day in the life of the Fortenberry family.

Until the next time . . .

Being Remembered

Randy & I attended the memorial service for Mary Link this afternoon. What a fantastic experience. Yes, I know that probably sounds very odd to say about a memorial service, but it's true of this one. It was a celebration of Mary's life and that's what she wanted. She helped plan this service because she knew that she was dying and wanted to be sure that above all else, Jesus was the focus of it all. Many people spoke and shared stories of Mary's influence on them, but each person reiterated that it was Mary's desire that Jesus be prominent in those stories. Listening to her two sons and husband speak of her with such loving words and emotion, I felt I was allowed an intimate glimpse into their lives as a family.

As I sat there, I had to ask myself how I will be remembered by my kids, my family, and my friends. Will they be able to say that Jesus came first in my life? Will my life reflect that to those who don't know me as well? Will my kids be able to say that they knew they were loved by me unconditionally? Will Randy know how much I have loved him? Will my friends know they were important to me? I think I know the answers to some of those questions, but to others, I'm not so sure. I walked out of that auditorium thinking I have a lot of work to do.

Being remembered. . . it's something all of us want. To be remembered with good thoughts, smiles, and stories. To know that we mattered. To know that a part of us will live on in some way – children, grandchildren, part of a ministry, or just that our lives touched another's in a way that made a difference. I know that's what I want.

Until the next time . . .

It's Only Money, Right???

It was dentist appointment day for both of us. We really like our new dentist, Dr. Shapiro. He has a small practice in Dover, PA and everyone in the office is so pleasant. Dr. Shapiro even does some of the cleanings himself! Both times we've been to him, he's done my exam and cleaning. And there's no fuss, no waiting. I had a 9:20 appointment and was out of there by 9:40. Can't beat that! Randy & I must have been good this past 6 months 'cause neither of us have cavities. But, Randy does need to have a tooth extracted 'cause it's beyond help. Oh, well. At least it's a back tooth, he'll never miss it! ;) And I need to get a new mouthguard 'cause mine is almost cracked clear through. Keep on grinding!!

Next stop was Byers' Tires. Randy wanted to get their opinion on whether we really needed new tires on the truck right now or if we could wait until next year. He likes these guys; it's the same place we got the tires for the RV in May. After inspecting the tires, the fellow said that we could wait to replace them, however if we were going to do any long distance hauling, then he'd recommend that we replace them now. Well, that's all Randy needed to hear. We could wait and find someplace in Alabama to purchase the tires, but we both figured why do that. Randy likes these guys, they did good work on the RV and peace of mind is worth everything. Plus, Byers' quoted us the most inexpensive cost! So, Monday we'll have six new tires on the truck. Isn't that special?!?!!!! :)

Quite an expensive morning – dentist appointments and tires. Hence, the title of this post. :) But, gotta be grateful that we have the money. Could be worse; could be on the credit card!! YUCK.

Then, it was on to Lindsay's to do laundry. It felt a little weird coming into their home without them being home. Don't know if I've mentioned it, but they went away for a week, combining business with pleasure. Jason has a few stores in the Pittsburgh area and he needed to get out to them. And they have good friends in Columbus, OH who they haven't seen for over a year, I think. So, they decided that Lins & Reagan would go with Jason to Pittsburgh and play around while he worked for a couple of days, then they would head on to Columbus for the weekend. Quite a good plan, I'd say. Haven't talked to Lins yet today, but I am wondering how Reagan did sleeping last night in the same room as Lins & Jason. Could be interesting.

I do know that I am missing them already. Isn't that silly? I'm away from them seven to eight months out of the year and I'm missing them after only a couple of days. Guess it really is mind over matter. :)

After laundry was done, it was time to do a few errands. I had to buy some colored embroidery hoops to use as frames for the princess cross-stitch projects I did for Reagan. Michael's had three that I could use. Then, to the mall to pick up some new shorts for Randy and to the AT&T store to get some new phones and change the coverage we have. Got all that done and headed for home. Whew! We packed a lot in to this day!

I did talk to Lins and she said they're doing good. I hope they have a great time in Columbus. I know they're really looking forward to seeing their friends, Tom & Cheryl and family.

Another night of So You Think You Can Dance, so Randy will be up in the bedroom again, watching anything else. :) Tomorrow we'll be attending a memorial service for Mary Link and then having dinner with my good friend, Tricia.

Hope your day went well. Until the next time . . .

Quiet Day

Wow! It was actually quite chilly this morning when I got up at 6:30. The thermometer read 53 degrees outside and 59 inside! But, I'll take it. I just put on my ratty, comfy sweater and curled up in the recliner for my quiet time. It's funny how 59 degrees is warm in the winter, but come summertime, brrrrrrrr. :)

Got out the door around 7am for my Curves workout. And if one more person asks me if I “like” it, I'm gonna scream. “Like” is NOT the correct verb for any form of exercise. Sorry! Yes, if I have to exercise (and shouldn't we all), Curves is the least annoying that I've found. But, I can't say that I like it. I don't. I probably won't every like exercising. So, there you go.

Back home around 8:30, in time to catch the last half hour of Good Morning America. That's a downside of going to Curves each morning, I miss GMA. Okay, so I'm a nerd. But, I like GMA. And only seeing the last half hour means I really don't get caught up on what's going on in the world. The last half hour is usually fluff stuff and entertainment news. Not the I don't like fluff and entertainment, 'cause we all know I love that gossip!, but I would like to know a little about what's happening elsewhere. Oh, well. If the world's gonna end, I'll know it sooner or later, right?

Have I mentioned the gorgeous weather, yet? Oh, yeah, I did tell you how cool it was this morning. Well, it's just getting better as the day goes on. Beautiful blue sky with lots of clouds floating by and a great breeze. It's gonna be another afternoon in the recliner out in the screened room, I can just feel it. Why am I waiting? I'll finish this later!

Oh, my. What a great couple of hours! I sat outside and cross-stitched and read and just enjoyed being out there. It was wonderful.

But! What a change that came up. All of a sudden it got dark and there was thunder and the rain came down in torrents!! And just as quickly it was over! Very strange.

Leftovers for dinner and then it was time for So You Think You Can Dance. Randy's up in the bedroom, so I'm watching TV by myself. That's it for tonight.

Tomorrow's full – both of us have dentist appointments; Randy wants to check out a tire place and it's laundry day. Such fun!

Until the next time!

Gorgeous Weather

This has been a gorgeous day, weather-wise. We woke up to 60 degrees and sunny skies this morning at 6:30. All day there's been a nice breeze, even gusty at times. I even got to sit outside for awhile this afternoon. Haven't been able to do that lately. And there's more good weather the rest of the week, according to the weatherman. (But, you know how THAT goes!)

Didn't do much today. Worked out at Curves and signed the contract for joining. Then, Randy & I did some grocery shopping at Wal Mart. We also picked up a bird feeder and bird feed. I'm so excited! I can't wait to see how many different kinds of birds visit us. It's a stick-to-the-window feeder. We're going to put it on the back picture window.

Once we were back home, we just enjoyed the weather and watched some TV. I caught up on my blog reading. Randy grilled pork chops on the grill and with salad, that was dinner. Exciting times, huh? :)

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Randy's sister, Melissa!

Hope you had a good day!

Until the next time . . .

Reflections

I found out yesterday that Mary Link died. Our families attended Grace Community Church in Maryland together. Our boys were in youth group together. Mary and I weren't close friends, but she was one person I could always count on when I needed someone to help out with a youth function. You could count on Mary.

Mary had battled cancer since being diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago. I hadn't seen her in all those years, but kept up on her progress through mutual acquaintances. From my understanding, she fought hard and strong. These last few months were tough ones, but you'd never know it by reading a journal kept by her husband, Joe, on the Caring Bridge website. Their strong relationship with each other and the Lord allowed them to face this battle head on. Their sons, Joseph & Andrew, also have a strong faith which has kept them afloat. Now, they have said good-bye, knowing that Mary is pain free and walking with Jesus. And they can live with that. What a wonderful gift she gave her family.

We'll all miss Mary. God has taken a loving warrior home.

I've done some thinking since finding out about Mary. I pray that I will have the gracious, strong, faithful attitude Mary had, right up to the end. I pray that my family will know how much they are loved. I pray that my friends will know how much they mean to me. And I pray that when I see God face to face that He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I'm sure Mary heard that.

Have you done much thinking about your last days? No, it really isn't a morbid subject. Guess what? All of us are going to die; it's just a matter of when. It's as much a part of life as living is. I hope that you'll take a moment to think about how you want to be remembered and the legacy you want to leave. I know I will be.

Until the next time . . .

It's Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads who read our blog. Too often Mother's Day gets all the hype and glory. But, what would we do without our dads?

I am fortunate to still have my dad with me. He has been a great dad and I hope that I have made him proud. He was a brave man – at the age of 35 he married my mom and inherited a ready-made family with two daughters. He has never once shared any regrets even though I know my sister and I have given him cause to wonder what the heck he was thinking. :) But, blood doesn't make a family; love does. And I have never felt anything but unconditional love from Daddy. I've disappointed him, pissed him off and made him smile. He has loved me through all of it.

One of my best memories from childhood, one that gives me that very warm feeling inside is of Daddy and me going for the Christmas tree. It was our job to go to the Christmas tree lot and pick out the best one. I loved that it was just Daddy and me. I got to pick out the tree (with a little guidance, I'm sure) and we'd bring it home for Mommy and Paula to ooh and aah over. And it was always the perfect tree. Really, it was.

Thanks, Daddy, for showing me what a man should be and how he is supposed to love his wife and his kids. Because of you and Mommy, I've been able to make a great life with Randy and my kids. And, I knew when I didn't have it right the first time around. Parents don't just teach you how to be a parent, they teach you how to be a spouse and a family. I got blessed with the “teachers' God gave me.

I hope and pray that each of you are able to think of at least one fond memory of life with your dad. If not, I'm truly sorry for that. But, there is a Father in heaven who would love to be your daddy. Talk to Him, he'll love you for you and not ask anything in return. Just like my dad does. I'm lucky to have them both.

Until the next time . . .

A Wedding Shower

Oh, what a beautiful MOOOOOOOORRRNNING, oh what a beautiful day! Okay, so I'm singing on the computer. I can do that – you can't hear me. :) This is the first morning in quite awhile that I've been able to come outside and sit in the screened room and drink my coffee and just reflect on what a great life I've got. Lately, I've been running out the door to go t Curves or it's been too blasted hot and humid to sit outside. I think it's gonna get hot, but at 7am, it's just right. Hence the singing.

This afternoon Lindsay and I traveled down to Dundalk (Baltimore) to attend my niece, Megan's, wedding shower. She is getting married in August. Showers are not my thing – wedding, baby, etc. Watching someone else open gifts and oohing and aahing over those gifts is just weird to me. But, it was fun to see the joy in Megan and to be with family and friends. AND the food is always good at my sister's house!!

That's it for today. It's raining now and it sounds nice and cozy on the roof. That's one of the cool things about living in an RV – the rain on the roof. I just love it.

Until the next time . . .

Who Says This is an Unlucky Day?

It always amazes me how many people are truly uncomfortable on Friday the 13^th. I've never really thought too much about it. Guess I'm just not the superstitious type. And today was not unlucky at all! This was the last session of my fitness study at Curves; I got weighed in and measured. Well, I've lost weight AND inches. I'm very happy about that. And what did I do? Went out to breakfast to celebrate, of course! :)

I wasn't sure if I would join or not because it is a year commitment. With traveling as we do, I didn't know if they would give me enough travel passes to make it worthwhile joining. The trainer said that they also have a month-to-month plan, but it's $10 more per month than the contract. She said she'd have the manager call me to talk options. Then, while Randy & I were at breakfast, the trainer called to say that she had talked to the manager and they would give me EIGHT months of travel passes!! Isn't that wonderful? So, I said that I would join for the year commitment. I'm pretty psyched about that. I really didn't expect them to do that. Very cool.

After we got home from breakfast, there wasn't much more to do. I had to reconcile the bank statement which is such a piece of cake with Quicken. I used to dread doing the monthly statements back in the “old days.” :) We watched some TV.

Lindsay called to tell us to come over after Reagan's nap to watch a movie we'd gotten from Netflix, “Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium.” So, we did. It was a cute movie, a little too old for Reagan, but she enjoyed the magical parts. After the movie, we went out and grabbed a bite to eat.

We're home for the night now. Tomorrow will be a quiet one for Randy – I'm going out for the afternoon to attend my niece's wedding shower in Baltimore. Below are some random pictures of Reagan.

Pop explains the finer points of flushing tanks.

Helping her daddy wash his car.
Watch out, American Idol!

Until the next time . . .

Not Much Happening

Well, as I broadly hinted yesterday, today was just an exciting day. (She says sarcastically.) Randy dropped me off at Curves this morning for my workout and then went on to the Ford dealership to get the oil changed in the truck.

After our workout, Lins took me back to her house so that I could do laundry. First, though, I had to pick Randy up from the dealership because the truck wouldn't be ready for awhile – probably not until the end of the day. Usually, Randy waits for the truck, but we didn't have an appointment and they were just going to work the truck in as they could. Got Randy and headed back to Lindsay's to do the laundry.

Lindsay & Reagan went to their last session of Gymboree. When they got back, we had lunch and Reagan went down for her nap. Lins took advantage of our being there to go to the grocery without the little girl. So much easier that way! How I remember those days. Lins is like me in that she hates grocery shopping – and with a little one, it's a lot less enjoyable.

The dealership finally called around 4ish, so we headed over to pick up the truck – HA “pick up,” “truck,” get it? Oh, well. Guess it's just me. :) We got the truck, dropped Lins' van back off, went in to say our good-byes and headed for home.

Poor Blackie – he had been home all by himself since 7am!!! Of course, I'm sure he slept all day, but he was ready to go for a walk when we got home! We are very fortunate he is such a good dog – no accidents anywhere!

That was it for our exciting day. Tonight is results for So You Think You Can Dance, so I'll be watching TV by myself. I've got to read all my blogs, too, 'cause I never got a chance today. Don't want to get behind on those!!

Tomorrow's another slow day. Lins & I have our last session of Curves for the fitness study. Then I have to make a decision whether to join or not. I really want to, but it's gonna depend on how the travel passes work. We'll see.

That's it from Dover, PA. Until the next time . . .

We are Tired Tonight!

Okay, there's a reason that 50 year olds are not supposed to have babies!! Apologies to any older moms out there, but this 50 year old is tired tonight. Chasing after an almost 3 year old is exhausting!

We had a good night's sleep, though, thank God! Reagan did great last night and I was so grateful! There was no angst at going to bed and she did wonderfully with the abbreviated bedtime routine. She is such a good little girl. There was just one “uh oh” when she called me in the middle of the night – she had slipped off the bed! I can't say she fell because she was so matter of fact about it. She just said, “I fell off da bed, Nana.” I asked if she was okay, she said yes as she climbed back into the bed and proceeded to hunker down to go back to sleep. What a trooper!

The rest of the day was fairly laid back in that we didn't do much except whatever Reagan wanted. :) A couple of times I had to beg off playing to catch my breath, but then Pop took over. Reagan plays well by herself at home, but I guess when you've got two people at your beck and call, you take advantage of that! ;) She and I went up to the playground for about an hour and also played in her imaginary world quite a bit. For being just shy of three years old, she's got an amazing imagination.

After lunch, we packed up and headed back to Reagan's house for naptime. We figured she would get a better nap if she were in her own bed. That turned out to be a great idea because she took a 2 hour and 45 minute nap!!! Woo HOO!! That gave Randy and me down time and we both got naps, too.

Once Jason & Lindsay got home, things were back to normal. Reagan was very happy to see her mommy and daddy, but I think she had a good experience spending the night at Pop and Nana's and will, hopefully, come back again. We'll be rested up by then!!

Tomorrow's Curves and laundry. Randy's taking the truck in for an oil change. That's it for tomorrow, I think. You never know, though!

Until the next time . . .

An Overnight Visitor

Started this morning off with a visit to Curves and quick trip to the grocery.

We also bought an air mattress for our pull-out sofa. The current mattress is done. You know those mattresses are not made for long term use and our son slept on it for almost a year. We've slept on it once and – YUCK! - it's not that comfortable. Hence the purchase of the air mattress. :) With Reagan spending the night tonight, we're going to need!

After a lazy afternoon of watching the remake of “The Andromeda Strain” (didn't finish it yet), we headed over to Lindsay's for dinner and to pick up Reagan. I had told Lins that I would make them tacos tonight. After dinner, we packed Reagan up and came home.

I've been a little apprehensive about Reagan staying overnight just because she's only stayed once before and that was when she was an infant. She is very much a creature of habit and is very opinionated about those habits so I've been a bit concerned about her going to bed here. She has a definite bedtime routine and I hoped that we could get by with an abbreviated version of it.

We got home and hung out for an hour or so just playing and talking and checking out the sleeping arrangements. Reagan had a good time with some of my Mardi Gras beads. Isn't she just too cute! I think she thinks so, too!

We watched America's Funniest Home Videos, one of her favorite shows and then it was time for bed. She was such a good girl!! She went right into our bed without a problem; only calling me twice to go through a couple of rituals I forgot – blowing kisses and then ensuring that her babies were covered up. So, it's 8:39 and all is quiet. I just hope it stays that way. :) I'm just excited to have her here.

We are supposed to get some nasty thunderstorms tonight, so I am a little concerned about Reagan hearing those. The rain is very loud at times on our roof. But, it's thundering some now and so far, so good. Let's hope that Randy & I get some sleep tonight!

Until the next time . . .

What a Sweaty Day! UGH!

Moving furniture in 100 degree heat is not fun. There, I said it and I'm proud. :) We went down to Columbia today to help Sara move some things she had purchased off of Craig's List. Poor Randy. He just hates this kind of weather, but he loves Sara and so, of course, we wanted to help her. So, we got all the furniture in the truck in one load, with the help of a couple of Sara's friends, too.

That was all we did today. After getting some lunch at Sara's, we came home. I'll tell you how tired Randy was – I drove home! Yep, kinda unusual. It was great to get home, take off the sweaty clothes and relax in our recliners. That's it; we're done.

Tomorrow is a Curves day. More exciting – Reagan is spending the night with us! YAY!!!! That should prove to be fun and exhausting! I can't wait!

Until the next time . . .

Time with Friends

Gosh, another hot, humid day. Feels more like August than June. I am grateful for air conditioning, I can tell you that.

We went to church this morning. First time we went to Daybreak without Lee & Cheri being there. Felt a little odd, but it was okay. Pastor Joel has started a series of messages out of the Old Testament, using various people to make his points. Today's sermon was from the life of Abraham. That's the cool thing about Scripture; you can read or study the same passage over and over again and still learn something. Very cool.

After church, we headed over to Lee & Cheri's house. First, though, we had to get fuel. UGH! I was not looking forward to that. But, I had gone online and looked at the Flying J Truck Stop that's near them and found their diesel was $4.69.9/gallon which is 20 cents cheaper than we paid a couple of weeks ago. So sad that I'm excited about $4.69 a gallon. When we got there, though, it was $4.71/gallon; still much cheaper than other places. Gotta be grateful for the little things.

Lee & Cheri weren't at church this morning because various family members were leaving this morning from being here for Marty's graduation. Lee was out with his parents and Cheri & Courtney took Cheri's mom to the airport in Philadelphia. They were pretty glad to have their house back to themselves after all that family. I guess when you are used to being on your own, it's tough to be surrounded like they were this weekend. All of their family live out of town – way out of town. Cheri's sister lives in TN; her mom is in FL and Lee's family is in GA.

So, we went over to help them relax. :) It's always great to be with Lee & Cheri. They are family to us and it's very comfortable at their home. We had good leftovers for lunch and then started watching Ocean's 13. That was not as good as the previous two movies. So, Cheri, Lee & I got in the pool. It was perfect! Cool enough to be refreshing, but warm enough that you didn't go into convulsions getting into the water. :) Randy didn't join us because he is not a pool person. :) He enjoyed himself inside watching another movie.

Too soon, it was time for us to go. But, we see them often now that we're going to church with them and they are also hosting a graduation party for Marty in a couple of weeks. We had to scoot home to Lindsay's to pick up Blackie. He spent the night with them so that we could be gone for the day without worrying about him. Once I got a little Reagan time in, we headed home. Randy noticed we got home almost 12 hours exactly from when we left this morning. Long day, but good.

Tomorrow we're heading down to Columbia to help Sara pick up some furniture she's purchased off of Craig's List.

Until the next time . . .

Quiet Saturday

Wow! Summer has arrived and it's not pretty. The three Hs, hazy, hot and humid, have settled in for the next few days. I know, I know; never happy, am I? I've been complaining about the rainy weather and now that there's sunshine forecasted for the immediate future, I'm complaining. However, I just wanted spring for a little while, you know, sunshine, 70 degrees, remember that? Seems we go from winter to summer anymore. Oh, well. Here we sit, inside, in our air conditioning and grateful for it.

Woke up with an ugly headache this morning, but headed out to Curves anyway. I do need accountability – having an appointment and meeting Lindsay meant that I went. If it was just me and no appointment, I probably would have shuffled my way to the recliner and collapsed. I was pleasantly surprised to find that with two migraine Exedrin in me, the headache receded while exercising. Didn't expect that. Once back out in the humidity, it came back somewhat, but not as badly as when I first woke up. So, that's good.

Looks like it's gonna be a TV/movie day. Too daggone hot to do anything else. Not even gonna cook. It's salad for dinner tonight!

One more thing: Our niece is 26 years old today. She's the next youngest grandchild and we have a great relationship. She's getting married this summer, too. So, here's to you, girl! We love you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Megan!!!

Until the next time . . .

Satellite Free Zone

We are officially satellite free as far as internet access goes. Randy & I both were a little sad because the satellite system has worked great for us for the last several years. But, after spending close to 2 hours on the phone today with the HughesNet technical support team, we decided to cancel our service with them.

The technical support team was struggling to figure out our modem wasn't working. Finally, they decided we needed to be pointed at a different satellite and that a technician would have to come out to our location – in South Dakota! Well, that brought up a whole bag of worms. I had to tell them we were not in South Dakota and that our satellite is on a tripod. As soon as I said that we traveled and moved the system often, I was told that they couldn't help us because they couldn't guarantee satellite access because every time we moved we could potentially need to point to a different satellite. I tried to tell him that we've moved often and have never had a problem until this new modem, and the response was that we had been lucky. So, we canceled our service.

Fortunately, we already have an AT&T wireless air card. The negative of the air card has been that I cannot upload pictures to our blog. Don't know why, but I haven't been able to do that. So, our son-in-law, Jason, used to work for AT&T Wireless and it has always bugged him that we've had this problem. Today he researched it further and found another program that works with the air card and set us up with that. I got home and installed that program and it worked! I am so excited. I was able to upload a picture to the blog with no problem. YAY! Now, we just have to be in places where we get cell reception. That's usually not a problem. If we're not, then we just enjoy a little freedom from technology for a few days. :)

Other parts of the day were much more enjoyable. We began the day with breakfast at Bob Evans with Jason, Lindsay & Reagan. This weekend is Street Rod Week here and there were a few of those vehicles in the parking lot. Reagan LOVES these cars. It's so funny. She and her daddy had to go around the parking lot and check out each of the cars. And, yes, it was her idea, not Jason's! Apparently, this is one of their “things.” Later in the day they went to the car show at the local fairgrounds. Reagan loved it.

Tonight we went to Lee & Cheri's son, Marty's, high school graduation. It was great to be part of Marty's big day. The last couple of years have been a bit of a roller coaster for Lee, Cheri & Marty as Marty has struggled to find his way. But, he has joined the Army and will report to Fort Knox, KY later this month. We are very proud of you, Marty!

Oh, and remember that momma duck that was sitting on her nest down the lane from us? Well, the eggs have hatched and I think I caught momma and babies swimming in the lake!

Looking forward to the weekend! Until the next time . . .

A Picture of Cedar Lake

Here's a great picture of the lake here at our campground. Isn't it lovely?

More of the Same

More humid weather, more heat, more Curves (of the exercise kind – not the other kind, I'm supposed to be getting rid of that kind!), more chores . . . blah, blah, blah . . .

We did have lots of sunshine today. That was not expected. The forecast had been for more rain. So, that was a nice surprise.

After Curves, I went to Lindsay's to do laundry as is the norm for Thursdays. It was a little special today, though, 'cause I got to watch Reagan while Lins & Jason went to the dentist. I just have a ball with Reagan. She has such an imagination and is very dramatic. Not sure where she gets that! :) Anyway, I never get tired of being with her.

After the laundry was done, lunch was eaten, and lots of hugs and kisses were shared, it was time to leave. I had one more thing to do before going home. I was getting a manicure/pedicure! Once a month I treat myself to that. I just love it.

Randy had a quiet day at home while I was gone. Even though I know he loves me, I think he really enjoys the time when I'm out. He is such a quiet guy, he deserves to have some time to himself. Living with me has got to make his head spin sometimes!

Another night of separate TV watching for us. :) So You Think You Can Dance is on again tonight. So, Randy's upstairs watching something, anything! else.

So, are you getting tired of my daily ramblings? Let me know what you think. Should I go back to once or twice a week postings? I do want to know. Leave me comments or a note in the Shout Box.

Until the next time . . .

Humid Weather

Woke up to a very humid start to the day. At least it wasn't raining – yet. Last night we had a pretty good storm, but it didn't last too long. There's more rain on the way, so the weather folks say. I did get out and took my walk. Glad I could get it in before any rain came. But, boy was I sweaty and nasty by the time I got back to the rig. Yeah, TMI, I know. :)

Not much planned for the day. Like I said, we're supposed to have ugly weather, so we figured we wouldn't do too much. Just hanging out, relaxing. We even turned the A/C on for the first time this year. Hated to do it (I'm cheap!), but it was just too daggone humid for me.

That's about it for today. Gonna watch So You Think You Can Dance tonight and gather the laundry together to take to Lindsay's tomorrow. Gosh, what a glamorous life we lead!

Until the next time . . .