It’s Heatin’ Up

Well, that beautiful weather of a couple of days ago is gone! The next few days are forecasted to be hot, hot, hot. We're talking 100 degree temps. Ugh. Thank God for air conditioning!

Randy & I would really like to workamp next summer in PA. We decided it would be good for our savings account if we workamp for the next couple of years. We're very happy in Bonifay at Florida Springs RV during the winter, so we just need to find something in PA for the summer to round out the year.

So, in an effort to make that happen, we visited Harrisburg East Campground today. We met with the owner and toured the campground, which consists of about 50 or so sites and storage facilities. We liked both the owner and the park. Currently there are two couples workamping for her who have been with her for several years. That doesn't bode well for us. But, we threw our hats in the ring and we'll see what happens. If you're driving north on I-81 through PA, stop in to this park. I think you'll be satisfied.

There are a couple of other parks in the area we're gonna check out. Doesn't hurt to put our faces out there. And if nothing comes through here, we can always lengthen our stay in Bonifay. Andy & Alicia have let us know we are welcome to work there as long as we'd like. We've talked about doing an eight month stint there; October thru May and traveling June through September. We'll see.

Tomorrow we're going to my sister's to help her and her husband set up for their annual summer picnic they're having on Saturday. It's a big to-do and always draws a huge crowd. It'll be nice to help them out and spend time with them. We don't get to do that very often.

Continuing to pray for those in Colorado . . .

Spontaneity on a Beautiful Day

Randy & I had nothing planned for today; as a matter of fact there's nothing on the calendar until late tomorrow afternoon when we're on Reagan-watch. Well, we planned to do some chores around the RV, but had no plans to go anywhere.

We were very diligent in doing our chores, too. By 11:30 we were both done. I had exercised (walked 3 miles via video), made an eggs and scrapple breakfast for both of us and cleaned the bathroom. Randy emptied tanks, mowed and trimmed our site.

We rewarded ourselves by settling in and relaxing. I made a little more progress on my cross stitch project and Randy went on the computer.

So, where does the spontaneity come in , you ask? Well, I'll tell ya.

About 12:30 Lindsay texted me to see if we'd like to join her and Reagan for a round of miniature golf since it was such a beautiful day. As much as I am always ready to play with my girlies, we are trying not to spend any more money 'til we get paid on the first. We've been spending money like we won the lottery this month! :) Well, my frugal daughter quickly replied no problem, she had a coupon. So, I had no excuse! :)

Randy didn't feel like going, so I met Lins & Reagan for some fun. And Lins was right – it was just too beautiful to be inside. It's rare that we have this kind of day in June – low humidity, a breeze and temps in the high 70s. Perfect for playing outside! The three of us had a good time. And I got TWO holes-in-one! 

Back home, I quickly got into my muumuu and vegged in front of the TV while Randy watched a movie in the bedroom.

I made a new recipe for chicken divan for dinner this evening; got it from a low carb website. Other than it being a bit soupy from the sauce, it was very delish. Next time I will decrease the amount of chicken broth I use, that should fix the soupiness.

Ahhhhh. Just another day in paradise. :)

Until the next time . . .

Good to Be Home

This past weekend we went to our home town, Columbia, MD, to visit. Our main objective was to spend time with our “adopted” granddaughters, Kelly & Kate. I use quotation marks because these sweet girls are not our biological granddaughters or even blended family members. I worked at Grace Community Church (GCC) with their mom, Amita, at the time Kelly was born and we were very close. Kelly even gave Randy and me our grandparent names of “Pop” and “Nana.” And even though Amita and I haven't worked together for ten years, we've kept in close touch and those girls are precious to us.

Kelly and Kate are members of a swim team so Randy and I have attended one of their meets for the last three years. If you've never been to a meet, it's interesting. Most of the time you sit around, chatting with folks and then it's chaos for about 30 seconds or so while you scream for your swimmer as she swims in her event. Once those 30 seconds or so are over, it's back to chatting and hanging out until the next event. And the meet lasts three to four hours, beginning at 8am! So, we gain lots of Pop-and-Nana points when we attend a meet. And it's worth it to see the smiles on the girls' faces when they see us arrive.

After the meet on Saturday, we all went back to Amita & James' house for a pizza lunch and time together. We spent another couple of hours catching up and just enjoying being together. As always, it was hard to say our good-byes, but we'll see them at Christmas.

Saturday evening we had dinner at Beth & David's house, Beth and I also worked together at GCC and we have stayed in touch over the years as well. When I knew we were free Saturday evening, I called Beth to see if they were free to get together. And they were! David grilled burgers and chicken and Beth made corn on the cob and a fruit salad and we ate good. (Yeah, I know that's not proper English, but it says what I felt!) It was a great evening of catching up with good friends.

We rounded out our home town visit with worship at GCC. Before going on the road, we had been members of GCC for more than eight years, four of which I was on staff. Going back means we see lots of great folks and we get to participate in meaningful worship and hear a powerful message.

It was a very good weekend. A big thank you goes out to our friends, Tom & Tricia, who opened their house for us to stay the weekend – and they weren't even there!! Yes, they allowed us to stay in their home while they were gone. Is that generosity or what!

But, as always, it was good to get home yesterday. Nothing like sleeping in your own bed.

Until the next time . . .

A Couple of Days Away

I am amazed by my daughter, Lindsay. She is a lovely young woman who is happily married to her teen-age sweetheart and, as you all know, has a fantastic daughter. :) But, she is also a great friend. Of the several women Lindsay calls close friends, four of them have been her friends for almost 20 years and one for almost 15 years! In this transient, hectic age, that is phenomenal. At least to me. I am proud of who Lindsay is and how she loves her friends. Both the long-term ones and those she has become close to since moving to PA.

And we got to visit with one of those long term BFFs this week. Lindsay met Jennette in her freshman year of high school and they have been good buddies ever since.  Jennette spent many days and nights at our house and we consider her one of our own. Jennette and her family live in King George, VA which is almost three hours from us here in PA.

Yesterday Lindsay, Reagan and I loaded up the van and headed south to Jennette's to spend a couple of days together. I felt privileged to be included in this sleepover. Jennette and her husband, Mike, and their two boys, Jackson and Colton, built a home (literally – they built it!) and I couldn't wait to see it and spend time with them.

Needless to say, we had a great time. Jennette's husband, Mike, is a fabulous guy. He is a hoot, actually. And he took us invading his home in stride. And we evened up the score for Jennette since she's outnumbered in her house – three boys to one girl!

The kids, Jackson (8.5years), Colton (5 years) and Reagan (6.75 years) played great together. Jackson was at camp when we arrived and then went back this morning, so he didn't get as much play time in with the other two, but Reagan and Colton had a blast together. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Jackson. Not sure how that happened!

Mike loves to get his “Reagan fix” as he calls it. Not having a little girl of his own, he really enjoys the time he gets with Reagan as well as the nieces in his family.  And the feeling is mutual. Reagan loves Mr. Mike.

 

 

Loved being part of this time with Lindsay and Jennette.  Thanks, girls!

 

 

 

And while I was having a good time away, Randy was hard at work here at home. He cleaned the carpet in the RV. And in 90 degree heat, too! Have I mentioned what a guy I'm married to? He's the best!

This weekend we're going back to Columbia, where we spent the first 19 years of our married life. You know – that life we had before we went on the road. We're going to attend our “adopted” granddaughters', Kelly and Kate, swim meet and then go out to lunch with them afterward. On Sunday we'll attend our former church and, hopefully, see a bunch of old friends there. Should be a fun time.

Until the next time . . .

Dutch Wonderland

Yesterday eight of us piled into two vans and headed to a fabulous amusement park in Lancaster, PA – Dutch Wonderland (DW). Unlike so many parks that have small sections set aside for younger kids, this park is all about the young kids! There are very few rides that even the really little guys have to pass by. So, when you have a two year old in your gang, that makes this park the best.

And that's what we had. Our gang consisted of Randy and me; Lindsay and Reagan, my sister, Paula; and her daughter, Megan and husband, Matt, and their two year old, Ryleigh. Yeah, our family has a “herd” mentality at times! :)

While the weather wasn't looking too cooperative as we left home in the rain, we were determined to have a good time no matter what. To ease our concern, DW has a rain guarantee. Can you believe that! Yep, if it rains constantly for one hour during your visit, you can redeem a one day pass from Guest Services for another visit. Now, that's customer service!

But, we were very fortunate. The rain stopped by the time we arrived and only spit a few times while we were there. It was overcast, but that worked in our favor – the temps stayed comfortable and the crowds stayed away!

It was such a fun day. This was Ryleigh's first time at an amusement park and I am so glad we got to share it with her. She was a trooper, too. She doesn't like being confined to a stroller, so she walked virtually the entire time. And we were there more than four hours! Reagan loved being the big cousin. She showed Ryleigh just how to enjoy an amusement park. She even went on the littler kids' rides with Ryleigh. (Many of the rides say that the little guys need a “responsible rider” with them and we adults figured Reagan was probably the most responsible one in our group!!)

So, here are a few pictures of our day. Hope looking at the joy on Reagan's and Ryleigh's faces brings a smile to yours today!

And . . . we’re off!

      

One last hug good-bye

This morning I'm off to eye doctor again. It's my yearly field vision test that I need to do because of the glaucoma. Not my favorite test at all – too many bright lights. Oh, well. Gotta do it.

Until the next time . . .

An All-around Good Day

Yeah, I know it's Father's Day, but I figured half the blog world would have posts with that in the title somehow. So, I figured I'd be a little different – what else is new! ;)

And I think it's been a good Father's Day for Randy. We got out of the house early to attend the 9am worship service with Jason & Lindsay at their church. Because of the size of the church you have to get there at least 20 to 30 minutes before service starts in order to get a parking place! Now, that's a happening church! Therefore, we were out the door at 8am.

After service, we caravanned over to Bob Evans for a Father's Day breakfast. As always, the meal was tasty and the company even sweeter. (There is a balloon guy there every Sunday, hence the flamingo on top of Reagan’s head.)

We said good-bye to the kids after breakfast and we headed home. Once there, it didn't take us long to get out of our “church clothes” and into our lounging clothes. Then, we found our way to the recliners. :)

But, before we could really get into our relaxing mode, we had one more thing to do. Sam had texted me last night letting me know that Kevin wanted us to get on Skype today. I launched the program and before I was really ready, there he was! Technology is phenomenal – allowing us to communicate with our deployed soldier. We couldn't video chat due to his lousy internet connection, but we were able to text via Skype. We had a good fifteen minute or so conversation during which he bid his dad a happy Father's Day. We were also able to “hear” that he's doing well. A soothing balm to a mother's (and father's) heart. And we were sure to bid Kevin a happy Father's Day as he celebrates his first of many. His little one likes to play in the dirt (and eat a little bit of it, too)!

Randy heard from our oldest, Ginny, via email and Facebook. She sent him a Cracker Barrel gift card – does she know her dad or what! :)

Our kids are the greatest.

I also called my daddy to wish him a happy Father's Day. I am blessed to have my daddy in fairly good health and pretty active. He is a great man and I love being his daughter.

I hope that all you dads have had a good day celebrating. And we need to remember that there are guys out there for whom this day is painful, for different reasons. To those guys, I pray that you know that THE Father loves you.

Until the next time . . .

Last Few Days

The last few days have been a bit crazy; busy, but not really. Confused? Yeah, I know. That's how I feel, too. :)

After our long day on Tuesday, going to the Crayola Factory which was a two hour drive one way, the last thing I really wanted to do was get back in the truck for another two hour drive. But, that's exactly what we did on Wednesday. And it was soooooo worth it!

You see, my cousin and her husband were in the US from Wales. They were here for the wedding of my cousin's college roommateI haven't seen her in five years so driving a couple of hours to have lunch together was nothing. My cousin, Lou, is an American and she married Tim 27 years ago and moved to Wales. We laugh about it because prior to that, she'd hardly ever left Washington, DC much less the country!!

Anyway, we drove from Dover, PA to Silver Spring, MD to meet Tim & Lou as they had taken the Metro from Alexandria VA up. (An aside: if you're in the DC area, the Metro is THE way to get around!) The toughest part about the trip was finding a place to park our behemoth truck in the congested city. But, we found a parking garage with a seven foot clearance and that's what we needed!

Once we'd met up, we found a Mexican restaurant within walking distance and proceeded to spend the next THREE hours talking! I don't know that surprised me, after all it had been five years since we'd seen one another. Anyway, we had a wonderful afternoon. Lou and I had been pretty close growing up as we were the only cousins our age. And having Facebook to keep in touch has been great, too. Hopefully, it won't be another five years, but if it is, that's okay 'cause we're still family.

Thursday was a very different kind of day. It started with picking up our new glasses. And yes, we still look pretty darn good. :) Then, it was on to the dentist so I could have my tooth extracted. It wasn't too bad, although the tooth did not want to come out! But, I love our dentist. He is such a nice man. He even called me later in the afternoon to be sure I was doing okay!

After the dentist, we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some soft foods. I never thought about that!Then, we went to Lindsay's to do our laundry. I was doing pretty good, still pretty numb most of the afternoon, so that was good.

Once the numbing wore off, I was quite sore and have been until today. I was also quite a bit “off my feed” so to speak. And I didn't expect that at all. Today I'm feeling more like myself, but still not quite there. Hopefully, tomorrow will be even better. I just have to get used to this hole in my mouth (notice I didn't say in my head!!)

Yesterday we lounged around all day. The RV repairman did come and replace our slide toppers, so that's the last of the repairs we'd planned this summer. And the money we'd saved this winter is gone, so there can be no more repairs!

This morning, we up early and went out for breakfast then to the grocery store. Getting to WalMart before 9am on a Saturday is perfect! No lines, not many people. Home before 10:30am. Tomorrow we'll meet Jason, Lins & Reagan for church and lunch after to celebrate Father's Day.

There, now you’re all caught up on us. Don’t you feel better now? :)

Until the next time . . .

Crayola Factory

If you have kids or grandkids and ever intend to be in the Philadelphia area, you have to go to the Crayola Factory. This is a place where creativity is encouraged and being messy is okay! And it's priced right for families – just $12/person, ages 2 – 64. You can also search online for discounts. Our daughter found a deal for us – four tickets for $20! There is a parking garage just across the street and it cost us $8 for about 3.5 hours. Not a bad deal.

Plus, there is a Mickey D's onsite, if that floats your boat. Or, you can bring your own lunch as there is an area in which you can settle yourselves and eat.

The staff is fantastic. I didn't see anyone who seemed at all impatient with kids or their parents. And believe me, there were situations where that would have been justified. Considering many of the staff are young people, early twenties I'd say, I think that's pretty incredible.

Okay, I'm gonna stop talking and just share some pictures. And these aren’t all that I took ‘cause I didn’t want to bore you. :) There are many stations that allow kids to work with paint, modeling clay, melted crayons, and more. Enjoy!

Being welcomed to the Factory

 

How crayons & markers are made

    

A crayon station, of course!

Creating a spacesuit

                   

Some buddies we met along the way

 

The end of a colorful day

Until the next time . . .

And the Quiet Continues

We've had a very quiet start to our week, just continuing the quiet of the weekend. We have just been enjoying the pleasure of being home.

I did walk three miles today, though! ;)

We're still waiting to hear from the dealer that the wheel has come in so we can take the truck in for its final fix of the summer. (At least I hope it's the final fix!!) We were hoping it would come in today so we could drop the truck off to be fixed tomorrow while we are visiting the Crayola Factory with Lins and Reagan. Oh, well. It'll get fixed at some point in time.

So, we just relax in our recliners and enjoy life. Tough, huh?

Until the next time . . .

A Quiet Weekend

Yes, that's what we're having. This morning I made a yummy breakfast of scrapple and eggs for us and we've been just relaxing and watching TV all day. Not bad. I'm thinking we earned it after the last few days of activity.

In my last post, I didn't mention that on the way home from picking up the truck, we were in a car accident! Lindsay, Reagan and I were on our way back to their house after dropping Randy at the dealership. We were sitting still in rush hour traffic when we were hit from behind by a woman trying to change lanes. She hit us quite hard, too. Thankfully, the three of us are fine. Lindsay's van needs a bit of a makeover, but that's what insurance is for!

Thursday Reagan came for a sleepover. It's always busy when she's here. :) She doesn't let me get away with hanging out in my recliner. We played at the park, checked on the goats and bunnies, played with dominoes, read books and watched TV. Such a joy to be able to spend time with her.

Friday we took Reagan home about lunchtime. After we ate, Lindsay, Reagan, Randy & I went to see Madagascar 3. It was a cute movie. Randy & I hadn't seen the first two, but I think we got the idea. :)

And that's why we're enjoying our down time.

We did have visitors today, though. Shari, a woman who we attended church with years ago, and her husband, Michael, have become seasonal campers here at Cedar Lake. One of their kids and his family live in Dover and they were looking for a campground near the kids, so of course I recommended Cedar Lake. They love it here! It was great to see Shari and meet her husband. We look forward to seeing them often this summer.

Nothing on the agenda until Tuesday when we visit the Crayola Factory in Philly with Lindsay & Reagan. And that's okay with us!

Until the next time . . .

And Life Goes On . . .

Yesterday morning started early – we were out the door before 6:30am to get blood work done. Once that was done, it was on to breakfast. After all, we'd fasted all night before having the blood work done, right? :)

After ensuring that we wouldn't go hungry for at least a few hours, we went to Target to pick up the toaster oven we decided we needed. (Needed? Okay,wanted.) My mom and Lindsay use theirs all the time and I figure it would a lot nicer than heating up the whole RV with the oven during the summer. We'll see how it goes.

From Target, it was time for our annual eye doctor appointments. We were seeing a new doctor and I was hoping we'd like him. We did. The practice is a busy one, with several locations, so I was a bit concerned about feeling like we were part of an assembly line. And we did not. The staff is very personable and thorough. Of course, we both needed new glasses. So very grateful for our vision insurance! We only paid about $500 for two pair of glasses and both of our exams. I'm okay with that.

Our next stop was WalMart. I'm not sure we can go a week without a stop at WalMart. :) Anyway, we needed to pick up our prescription refills.

With that, all of our errands were done for the day. And it was only 11:00am! :)

Now, it was time for some fun, so we were off to Lindsay's. Since we had to put the truck in the shop on Wednesday (today) and Lindsay was going to follow Randy to the shop to bring him back home, it was decided we'd spend Tuesday night at her house. Jason is out of town this week, so we'd also be giving Lins a hand with Reagan. A win/win for all!

Beautiful skies out Lindsay’s backyard

Lots of fun family time abounded last night and today.

 

The county library here always has a summer activity for kids to pursue. They have to go hunting for certain items. And Reagan loves these activities! This year they have to find different constellations that are located in various local parks. There are clues to be followed and trails to be walked. It's really neat.

Since the afternoon was so beautiful, we decided to get started on the activity. Today we hunted for Pegasus and found it!

 

 

We also ran into one of Reagan's good friends, Logan, at the park.

Then it was time to pick up the truck, but of course, it couldn't go as planned. Just as we headed to the shop, we got a call that when the tires were being balanced, it was found that the right passenger tire wheel is bent. That means they couldn't balance them for the alignment that needed to be done. So a new wheel has to be ordered and put on before the alignment can be done. All of the other work had been completed.

So we picked up the truck, paid the $1547 for the completed work and will wait for the new wheel to arrive (hopefully by Monday) and take the truck back in for the alignment.

Ugh! It's never easy, is it? And we get to pay them an additional $1100! YAY for us.

However, I reminded myself that this is why we workamped over the winter, so we would have the money needed for repairs. And I also thanked God that we do have the money necessary. We may not have a lot left over, but we have what we need. And isn't that what He promises? Yes, it is. So, I am determined to be grateful for that and trust Him for the future.

Sorry, didn't mean for this post to be so long. If you've read to this point, thanks! More to share tomorrow when Reagan comes for a sleepover!

Until the next time . . .

Busy Monday

After a very relaxing weekend in which the most strenuous thing we did was go to church yesterday. For most of the weekend, we just relaxed at home.

Today, however, was busy. I was up early, a few minutes before six, for some reason. But, that was good. I had my quiet time and then got in 2 miles of walking.

By 8:30 we were out the door, headed to the dentist. This was our semi-annual check-up, but I also knew I had a tooth in trouble. I've been nursing a toothache since February, wanting to have my dentist deal with it instead of going to someone I didn't know in Florida. Very wrong decision.

My tooth was abscessed. Ugh. That means a root canal and then a crown. So, we made the necessary appointments and went on our way to more errands and another doctor's appointment for our annual physicals.

Along the way, we discussed this root canal business. It's not cheap – and we have dental insurance. So, I called the dentist to see if he would just pull the tooth instead. Although that would not be his first recommendation, he was not opposed to doing that, so that I decided that's what I wanted. Instead of having the root canal and subsequent crown, I'm going to have the tooth pulled and be done with it.

Our annual physicals showed us to be in good health. We have to have some blood work done, as usual, and will do that tomorrow morning. We gotta go out anyway because we have one more doctor visit to finish out the annual check-ups – this time eye exams.

We finally got home about 4:30. Whew. And tomorrow promises to be a bit busy, too. But, hey! We're retired; what else do we have to do! :)

Until the next time . . .

And Another Month Begins

After getting less than two and a half hours of sleep, I was back up before the alarm went off at 6:30 this morning. Not sure why I couldn't sleep last night, it was just one of those nights. I did get a jump on the monthly financial updating, though. :)

I have to admit that I do not miss our monthly bank run on the first of the month. Switching to credit card use versus cash transactions means we don't have to go to the bank. Other than the couple of glitches we experienced back in April when we made the switch, we really like the convenience of using the credit card. And we've made more than $75 in rewards in just two months. That's not a bad deal!

So, our only first-of-the-month errand we needed to run today was to the grocery. Since that was all we had to do, we figured we needed to have a good breakfast before storming the doors of WalMart. Hey, any excuse, right? :)

We didn't have to buy a lot of groceries 'cause we hadn't been living in the RV for the last couple of weeks. And we had eaten out a lot in May, so we didn't go through a lot of our freezer inventory. We got out of the grocery for under $210! That's pretty darn good for us.

Back home, Randy & I separated the ground beef into four packages and did the same with the rotisserie chicken. Once that was done and the rest of the groceries were put away, it was only around noon. We had the rest of the day to chill.

And so we did.

Now we're still catching up on our DVR'd programs, watching the radar as we're under a tornado watch, and listening to the intermittent rain and thunder. It's supposed to be stormy all night.

Tomorrow – nothing! We've got nothing planned. Gonna enjoy that.

Until the next time . . .