Adventures in Babysitting

Randy & I began a week of adventure this morning – staying with Reagan while her parents go on a trip to California for an early celebration of their tenth anniversary. With the exception of Monday and Monday night when Jason's mom comes to spend some time with Reagan, we'll be on duty until Saturday morning.

It doesn't take long to be reminded that I am 53, not 23! :) Reagan is a very busy almost-six year old and she keeps me moving. We've had a relatively quiet day today, but there is lots on the calendar for the coming week. :)

So. If you don't hear from me this week, I've probably passed out on the couch after putting Reagan to bed. :)

Oh! And it's the end of another month. Dag! The good thing about that is – Baby Guiler is almost here!! Just a couple more weeks until we meet her.

Until the next time . . .

A Mini Reunion

Well, not really a reunion – but meeting up with friends. ;) Darrell & Judy are on their way to Virginia from Maine, so a good place to stop was Pennsylvania! And we were very happy about that. They are camping in Jonestown, PA at Lickdale Campground which is about an hour and fifteen minutes north of us.

Yesterday Darrell & Judy drove down to visit with us. The only thing I really wanted to do was introduce them to Jason, Lindsay and Reagan. I think it's fun to meet each other's kids and family. We read so much about them in each other's blogs, so to meet them is kinda neat. We spent a few minutes at their house and Reagan entertained us with her humor. :)

We then went out to lunch at Isaac's, one of Randy's & my favorite places to eat lunch. It was a good meal, as usual, and of course, the conversation and time together was even better. :) After getting our bellies full, we made a quick stop to pick up a few groceries, then it was back to the RV for more chatting until it was time for D & J to hit the road back to Jonestown.

But, it wasn't a long separation as this morning Randy & I made the drive north to visit with Darrell & Judy at their place. Again, there wasn't nothing on the agenda except eating and visiting. We do that so well, why mess with a good thing??? :)

Lickdale Campground is very nice and easy to get to – right off I-81. It has lots of shade and there are RV sites that sit along a creek. I would love to have one of those!

D & J fed us real good – Darrell fired up the grill and threw some hot dogs and burgers on it. Judy made her famous potato salad (we were SO glad to finally have the privilege!) and corn on the cob rounded out the menu. All of it was very yummy. Don't think I want to see my blood sugar number tomorrow! :)

We chatted some more after lunch and then, about 4:00, it was time for us to hit the road. It was so good to see them again; it's gonna be awhile before we have the pleasure again – not 'til we get to the Plantation in December. But, you can bet there'll be lots of email and Facebook messages between now and then!

Nothin' planned for tomorrow, except a Zumba workout at Curves for me. We also need to pack up for our week at Reagan's beginning Saturday. Jason & Lins are going away for their 10^th anniversary celebration and we are on Reagan-watch.

Until the next time . . .

A Day at Whitaker Center

Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is in Harrisburg and it has a great science center so that was our destination today, along with Lindsay and Reagan.

We arrived about 10:30 and Reagan began her run. :) That girl is hard to keep up with!! The center has enough exhibits to keep both kids and their parents enthralled for several hours. Randy particularly enjoyed a special exhibit, CSI: Crime Scene Insects. It was a bit too gory for the rest of us. :)

About noon, we took a break for lunch. Once our tummies were filled, we spent another couple of hours exploring the rest of the exhibits.

Here are just a few pictures. If you're interested, you can see the rest of them on our Webshots site. It was a great day. :)

Tomorrow Darrell & Judy are coming to visit us!! They are on their was to Virginia to spend some time with their daughter and son-in-law, but we get them first. :)

Until the next time . . .

A Weekend Away

. . . but not very far away. On Friday, with the temperatures forecasted for triple digits, Randy & I packed up and went to Jason & Lindsay's for the weekend. By Thursday evening, two rigs had already come in and parked on either side of us. We knew that meant we'd have power issues all weekend long if we stayed at the campground. So, we turned everything off, put the A/C at 85* and the frig on propane and out the door we went.

Lindsay, Reagan and I had a lunch date on Friday with my niece, Lisa, and her three kids, Jimmy, Kylie and Kelsey. Life gets so dang busy that it's hard to get together with family – even when they live fairly close. And Reagan absolutely loves her cousins, so anytime she can see them, it's a treat. We made plans to meet halfway between Lindsay's & Lisa's at Isaac's Deli and Restaurant.

We had a great time, laughing and just enjoying being together. Lisa's kids are great kids – she and her husband, Jim, are doing a great job raising them. I am so proud of them!

Reagan even showed off her snaggle-toothedness!

Randy & I spent Saturday just hanging out at Jason & Lindsay's, doing much of what we'd have been had we been home in the rig. Jason, Lins, & Reagan were off for the day at a family gathering so we were left on our own.

Randy and Bolt, Jason & Lindsay’s dog, had a special moment out on the deck. :)

This morning we played hooky from church and the five of us went out to breakfast at Bob Evans (yummy!) and then went to Target and Borders. We were hoping to get some deals at Borders since they are closing, but I guess it's still too early for the kind of deals I was hoping for. :) To me, 10% off isn't much of a sale. There were some 40% off deals, but not many. Oh, well. We really didn't need to be spending the money anyway! :)

We are now back home, and it feels good. Randy commented he was so glad to be back in his recliner! :) We are grateful for Jason & Lindsay's generosity and hospitality, but as everyone knows, there's no place like home!

Until the next time . . .

Dang, It’s Hot Outside!

As has the rest of the country, we've been dealing with the heat – typically 90 degree temps. So grateful for air conditioning!!

Yesterday we went to the movies with Lindsay & Reagan to see Winnie the Pooh. It was a typical Pooh movie, filled with all the Pooh characters and their friendship. And it was just a little more than an hour long, that was nice. :)

After the movie, we went to Olive Garden for lunch. I fully intended to get the soup and salad lunch, but saw they now offer a lunch combo of a panini sandwich, salad and soup. Well, I should have stuck with my original plan. I didn't care much for the sandwich, it was mushy. Lindsay & Randy got the same combo, with different sandwiches, but they weren't any more impressed with the sandwiches than I was. AND I was kinda sick to my stomach the rest of the day! Note to self: stick with the original plan!

I did get out to Curves this morning and Randy went outside long enough to flush tanks and walk Blackie a couple of times, but that's been the extent of our productivity. It's just too dang hot to get motivated to do much. So, we're not. Because we don't have to!

That's it from south central PA. Until the next time . . .

Friday and Missing Out

Just after writing my last post about how we are just slowly going through life – WHAM! We had a big day yesterday. :) Isn't that how it always works?

I took Penny with me to Curves yesterday morning. She belongs to Gold's Gym at home in Maryland but wanted to give Curves a try. She said she liked it and wants to try a Zumba class.

Once I got home, I grabbed a shower, made myself presentable and Randy & I were back out the door, heading to Harrisburg. We were meeting our friend, Cheri, and her daughter, Courtney, for lunch. After lunch, we went back to their house to spend some time with Cheri's son, Marty, and his wife, Katie. Marty's a soldier in the Army, stationed in Alaska, but is on vacation. It was great to see them, as well.

From there, we headed to Lindsay's. Reagan had been in a drama camp all week and her end-of-camp presentation was at 3:30 yesterday afternoon. We left Cheri and the kids in plenty of time to get to Lindsay's so we could ride to the theater together – or so we thought. Ugh! I hate running late!! I always allow plenty of time to get somewhere, even if it means being early.

Well, needless to say, I didn't think it would take as long to get to Lindsay's as it was going to. We decided to just meet her at the theater. Our only concern was parking. When you drive a behemoth of a truck like we do, parking is always a concern. Thankfully, we arrived in plenty of time and we found a parking space with no problem. Whew! I did NOT want to face the wrath of Reagan if we had missed her performance! :)

Reagan's group had about 17 kids in it, ages 5 to 7 years old. They performed three songs with movements. Two of the songs were from musicals; “The Lonely Goatherd” from The Sound of Music and “Circle of Life” from The Lion King. They had made paper bag puppets for “The Lonely Goatherd” because in the movie marionettes were used.

Waiting to get started

Ready to take a bow

All the kids were cute and did a great job. Their teacher, Mr. Kevin, was fantastic – an over-the-top personality that is great with kids, but would probably drive adults crazy. :)

To end our busy day, Lindsay, Reagan, Randy & I went to the pool for DJ night. We spent a couple of hours enjoying the water and watching Reagan play with her friend, Dakota. Reagan is quite the fish. She loves the water!

 We had a fabulously busy day.

Today we got back to the quiet life. We've walked a couple of times, napped a bit, watched TV and I cross stitched some.

The “missing out” portion of the title of this post is that a baby shower was held for Samantha & Kevin today. In Kansas. Needless to say we couldn't attend. As disappointed as I was, I am so very grateful that Samantha's family is close by and they are taking great care of Sam & Kevin. They have taken Kevin in and love him as their own. What a gift that is. I can't wait to see pictures of the party!

Now, we're just waiting for the oppressive heat to come back, unfortunately. Until the next time . . .

Slowly Going Through Life

That's how our days go back – slowly and without excitement. And you know what? That's just fine with us. We like life to quietly move from day to day, without a lot of drama. :)

That's why there haven't been daily blog posts from me. I just don't find it interesting to write about getting up, going to Curves, reading, cross stitching & watching TV.. I figure you wouldn't find it interesting, either.

Most of this week has been about staying inside enjoying the comfort of air conditioning. We've had temps in the 90s until today. Today's high was just in the mid-80s. :) I'm not a fan of heat and humidity.

Last night Reagan spent the night with us. She's been attending a drama camp in the afternoon this week so she got here about 4:30. We spent about a half hour in the pool, then came home for dinner. We spent the rest of the evening watching Disney shows and playing UNO. The kid is good at UNO. :)

About 10:00 this morning, Reagan and I went to her house. She needed to get ready for her camp and I had laundry to do. Randy stayed home to clean and mow the yard. After I was done with the laundry, I made a trip to the grocery to pick up a few things and came on home.

Tomorrow we're going to meet our friend, Cheri, and her kids for lunch. Cheri's up here from South Carolina to visit her kids. We've been friends for a very long time. She lived here in PA until a year or so ago when her marriage broke up and she moved to SC. It's gonna be good to see her 'cause the last time we were together was in December when Randy & I were in Savannah.

Tomorrow afternoon we'll attend Reagan's drama camp presentation. That should be a hoot. I gotta be sure to get pictures of that!

Hope life is going well for you all, too. Until the next time . . .

Five Days in One Post – Yikes!

While I'm a little surprised that it's been five days since I last posted, there's a very good reason – there was nothing much to share! ;)

We had the pleasure of Reagan spending the night with us on Thursday. Her parents had a fabulous date night, going to dinner and then seeing Keith Urban in concert. They had a great time and so did we. Friday morning I went to Curves, then came home to see what mischief Reagan and I could get into. We went to the pool for a bit, then back home.

About 4pm, we took Reagan home and headed out for our weekend adventure.

The first stop on our adventure was our niece's home. Megan & Matt live in our hometown, Columbia, MD, and graciously allowed us to spend Friday night with them. Our “adopted” 'granddaughters, Kelly & Kate had a swim meet in Columbia, and since we needed to be there about 7:45am, it was easier to spend the night in town rather than making the hour and a half to two hour drive down Saturday morning.

We had a great time with Matt & Megan and their adorable 14 month old, Ryleigh. We ate Chinese food for dinner (note to self – shrimp fried rice is NOT a good choice for diabetics!!) and talked and laughed and watched Ryleigh be disgustingly cute. :)

Saturday morning the alarm went off at 6am – UGH! But, we needed to get out of the house and to the pool. Blackie hung out at Matt & Megan's while we spent the morning at the pool watching the swim meet. These meets are funny, in a way. There are fifty-some events (or more) and each event lasts less than five minutes; much less in some cases. Kelly & Kate were in a couple of the very first events and then we had to wait a hour or more for the next one. And it's so funny because we're talking and not paying any attention to the swimmers until OUR swimmers are competing. And then we run over to the pool, shouting our encouragement the entire time they are swimming. When the event is over? It's back to our chairs until the next time they are competing.

The girls did great in their individual events, and were very glad we had come. We were glad to be there, too.

It was about 11:30 when we got back to Matt & Megan's. We hung around for an hour or so, then it was for us to go to our next stop – my friend, Tricia's, where we'd be spending Saturday night.

Tricia and I have been friends for more than 21 years, ever since we worked together at an elementary in Columbia. When we are here in PA, we try to get together at least once each summer, and this was the weekend. Randy & I had a good time catching up with her and her significant other, Tom. For dinner, they wowed us with a simply scrumptious dinner of grilled salmon, salad, wild rice, and fresh asparagus. Very yummy. After dinner, we talked for awhile longer until we were ready for bed.

This morning, Tom & Tricia made us another great meal for breakfast; omlettes, bacon, sausage, and fresh strawberries and blueberries. Randy & I could sure get used to being spoiled like that. :) About 1pm, it was time to say good-bye. We hope to get one more visit in before we leave in September. But, it is so very nice to have friends with whom you are close enough that you just pick up where you left off, no matter how long it's been since you've seen one another.

Once we got home and unloaded the truck, it felt good to be back in our own space. We were treated so great by our hosts, Matt & Megan, and Tom & Tricia, but it is always nice to get back home.

We don't have much planned for this week, but I'm sure we'll find something to do!

Until the next time . . .

Back to the Routine

Yesterday we had a rather quiet 4^th. The morning was spent in the usual way – coffee, computers, and current events. (Like that alliteration? :) Finally, about 1:30 or so, we got ourselves together to go to Jason & Lindsay's for dinner.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Lindsay had invited (bribed?) Randy with dinner if he'd help Jason move some furniture. Of course, Randy would have helped no matter what, but dinner is always a nice gesture. :) So, Jason and Randy did their chore, while I played with Reagan.

For dinner, Jason grilled hot dogs and Lindsay made pasta salad and sauteed zucchini. A very scrumptious meal. Afterward we watched some TV, just marking time until it was dark enough to shoot off some fireworks. Finally, about 8:30, we decided it was time! (Plus, Reagan needed to get to bed!)

Jason did a good job of making a few fireworks go far. And it was just enough to make us all squeal with delight. 

And a beautiful end to another great day.

This morning it was back to the routine of life. We desperately needed to get to the grocery. Randy is very tired of eating chicken! So, after having breakfast at Bob Evans, it was off to WalMart. A couple of hours later, we were home and putting everything away. My least favorite domestic chore done for another month. :)

And that's it from here. Not much else to share. We're looking forward to the weekend 'cause we're going back to our hometown to visit with friends. We're also going to watch our “adopted” granddaughters compete in a swim meet. So, I should have something to share with you by the end of the weekend.

Until the next time . . .

A Holiday Weekend

We've had a good weekend thus far.

Of course, it started great on Friday – it was the first of the month and that means pay day! :) We had dentist appointments first thing on Friday, then we went to breakfast. From there, we went to the bank to refill the coffers (or envelopes, in our case). The afternoon was quiet and we ended up having an impromptu cook-out with Barry & Penny at their site. After filling our tummies, we sat and talked for a couple of hours until the bugs drove me home. :)

Saturday morning we went to breakfast with Barry & Penny. Barry had never been to Randy's favorite diner, White Horse Diner, so we figured it was time to introduce him. As we have always been, Barry was very pleased with his meal.

About 1:30, Lindsay, Reagan, Randy & I headed to Baltimore to attend my sister and bro-in-law's annual Fourth of July picnic. (Unfortunately, Jason wasn't with us, he went to the AT&T National golf tournament in Philly. He was missed!) They do a fabulous job of making everyone welcome and put on a delicious feast. Everyone brings a dish to share, but we all know the bulk of the work of a shindig like this falls on the hosts. But, Lou and Paula never blink; they just smile and make you feel like it's a piece of cake. Lou grills hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, ribs and chicken while Paula is inside making sure the food continues to flow.

We had a good time, as usual. We got to spend time with family with whom we don't get to spend much time.

Our grandniece, Ryleigh

Our grandnephew, CJ

I was really thrilled that our eldest, Ginny, and her family came.

It was great to hang out with her, her husband, Chuck, and our handsome grandson, Tommy. We don't see them often enough.

The day was ended with fireworks, which befitted the occasion. :)

We said our good-byes about 10pm and took a very tired little girlie, as well as ourselves, home.

This morning, after a slow start, we attended Church of the Open Door. We have passed this church for years as it is just across the street from WalMart. :) I'm not sure why we've not tried it before, but we finally did today. We really enjoyed it! It is a large church, with three worship services on Sunday morning. We attended the 11:00 service today, but will probably go to the 9:30 next time. The pastor gave a good, applicable message and the worship was good as well. Afterward, we stopped by the Information Center to get a visitor's package and were greeted by one of the pastors. He was very pleasant and seemed genuinely glad to have us there. I'm looking forward to going back.

The rest of our day has been spent in the A/C, in our recliners. What else is new! :) Tomorrow we're going to Jason & Lindsay's for a cook-out. Lindsay bribed Randy with food so he would come over and help Jason move some furniture. Of course, he would have done that without the bribe, but it never hurts!

I hope you're enjoying your long weekend. Please take a moment during your festivities to reflect on this great country of ours and how we came to be so great. And a great big THANK YOU to our military personnel and their families who fight to keep it great.

Until the next time . . .