Reagan's 3rd Birthday and We Say Good-bye

Yesterday was a full day! It started with continued preparations for travel. Since it was not raining, we decided to go ahead and close up the living room slides and get that area ready. As with most of the wives who full-time, my job is to secure all of the inside items and put the furniture in travel position. While I was doing that, Randy was doing the outside jobs - wiping off the slides, storing items, getting the hitch into the truck, etc.

A little after 10:30am we headed out to Lindsay's for Reagan's party. Although the party wasn't to start until 1pm, I was to be on Reagan duty (read: keep her out of Lindsay's way) and Randy was on "extra hands" duty.

Before we got to Lins', however, we topped off the fuel 'cause we didn't know what prices were going to be out on the road since Ike apparently has taken a toll on the oil rigs in the Gulf. We had filled up Wednesday on the way home from the RV show because we found a station with diesel for $3.97/gallon!!! We couldn't believe it! But, between Wednesday and yesterday we logged another 100 or so miles, so we figured we'd fill it up to brim again. We got diesel for $4.19 (not the same station) and were happy with that. It's still better than $5!

Once we arrived at Lindsay's, we jumped in with both feet! Reagan was raring to go. She was so excited about her birthday. As I walked in the door, she did greet me with hug, but then it was "Did you bring me a present???" And teasing her a bit about why I should have brought her a present, I gave it to her and she was a happy girl. She and I then proceeded to play until guests began arriving; then, Reagan began her hostess duties. :)

As usual, Lindsay did a marvelous job with the party. She is so darn creative. Each year she has a theme for Reagan's party, and this year was a garden party. There were butterflies and flowers for decorations, dirt cake for the dessert, and pails with flower seeds and flower cookies as goody bags for the kids. And there was a pinata for the kids! She found one that had strings to pull to spill the goodies instead of using a stick/bat - figured that was MUCH safer with a bunch of little ones. She's a smart girl, my daughter. :) Everyone had a great time - adults and kids alike.

The Birthday Girl
The setting
Pinata!
Blowing out the candles
Beautiful family

All too soon it was time for our good-byes. We had stayed well past everyone else 'cause I wanted some time with the kids before we left. But, it was going to be "quiet time" for Reagan and I figured she'd settled down much better if she didn't have an audience. ('Cause let me tell you, she loves an audience!!) This is always the hardest part of traveling - saying good-bye. UGH! I'm okay once we're on the road, but looking at those faces and leaving them, I just don't like it. But, we persevered, got great big hugs and waved good-bye and blew kisses and, as we pulled away, I cried. Not a lot, but I did. But, then again, I always do. And that's okay, I'm allowed.

We are now officially "on the road again." :) We are traveling along US 30 in PA heading west to Ohio. We'll stop in Cambridge for the night and then continue on I-70 to Celina, OH where we'll hang until Friday morning. We are attending the Eastern Gypsy Journal Rally. Darrel & Judy will be there, too! I'm sure I'll have stories for you this week.

Until the next time . . .