Wednesday, we got up and went to the dentist. Rick had his check up and I was fitted for a crown. This is a revisit from last year and the new crown that came in was not the way it should have been and the dentist said I would have to have another one made. But we were leaving in 2 days and he said it could wait till we got back. The only way he let me go without the permanent crown was that I had just had a root canal done on that tooth. So anyway, I should go back next week to have the new crown put on. After that we went to Rick's parents house and his neice Jessie and her boyfriend Jamie were trimming all the trees and bushes outside his moms house. Now they really look nice. Mom had put a roast into the oven so we ate good that night. She was supposed to start her chemo pills on Monday but she said that she did not feel good and so did not start on the pills. Wonder if that was just an excuse not to take them. I know she is tired of feeling poorly. We got up early Thursday and Rick went in for a breathing test. This took almost 30-45 minutes and he said his throat hurt after the test and it bothered him all day. We then decided to stop at the golf course in Vermilion to hit a bucket of balls. Well, they had openings for golf so we played 18 holes of golf. Some holes were good and some were bad. That's about all I'll say about that. This golf course is the one Rick worked at when he was in high school. He was working there when we met. He came to pick me up for a date and smelled like gasoline. He had to syphon gas for one of the machines because someone had locked up the gas pumps and went home before the guys were done working. That was different, smelling gas all night. Needless to say, he didn't get kissed that night. We then went to Ponderosa for a late lunch. Talked to Mike, the manager and asked him how everything was. He said he was so blessed. His son Adam had been in the military and found out he had cancer. Well, he got out of the military and things weren't looking to good for him health wise with stage 4 cancer. Today he is studying at the Insitute of Culinary in Chicago and is training for a triathlon. God is so good. Rick then had another test and after that we went home to just relax. Today we will not do much but a few things around the camper.

Getting Blown Away!!!

Yesterday afternoon the wind started blowing. And it has been blowing ever since. This morning we got up and the wind was still blowing and it was cold. It only got up to 54 and with the wind blowing I'm sure the wind chill was 30. It sure felt like it. We went and did laundry and then stopped to get milk. Picked up our mail at the guard house and came back to spend the rest of the day inside where it is warm. Hopefully it will be nicer tomorrow. We go and have our dentist appointments and then we will stay the night at Rick's parents as he has a breathing test first thing Thursday morning. Then he has another appointment at 4:00 and then home. Oh, by the way, last Wed we dropped off our truck at the dealership to have some things checked out on it. Rick had been telling them everytime we took it in that there was an oil leak somewhare. Well, this morning they called to tell us that they found the oil leak and it will require pulling the engine to repair it with all new seals. This requires that they take the cab off to pull the engine. They should have it done by next Wed. Rick told them they had to get it done by June 6th because we are pulling out on the 8th to go to Indiana. But the diesel mechanic they have working on it is the best around. He has worked on our truck before. Then my sister Diana called and said they were going to buy a new Focus and what did they need to do to get our discount. So we got them that info and they should be driving there new car home soon. We talked about the reunion and she said they will be camping with us there. And the golf outing is the Friday before the reunion. I told her to include both of us in the outing. Well, thats all for now.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

Well, we have had a good time this past few days. Sat we didn't do a whole lot. We visited with our friends Mike and Denise in the morning. Then they went to the store before Denise went to a wedding and Mike took a nap. We had a nice dinner of steak and fried potatoes that I cooked on the grill in foil. It was a very easy meal to prepare and it tasted good also. After the dishes were done Rick went over to talk to Mike and I did my nails. I made the cherry fluff that Cathy Montgomery gave me for our dinner on Sunday. Sunday we got up and got ready to go to church. This was the first time back at our home church since we left Ohio the first of Sept of last year. It was so good to see old friends again and it was good to listen to the pastor with his message of the end times must be close by. A lot of people were gone for the holiday weekend so next Sunday we will see more of our friends. We then went over to Rachel's for dinner. We had ribs, baked potatoes, jello, deviled eggs and cherry fluff salad. JT went out to ride his bike after dinner. It was a gorgeous day to be outside, finally. Rachel came out and I made JT stop riding his bike so I could get a picture of both of them. I can't believe he is almost as tall as her. He is 12 and will be going into the 7th grade this fall. After visiting a while, we went to see Rick's parents. Now Rachel had asked Rick's mom if she was planning anything for Sunday and she said no. Then on Friday she called Rachel and said she was having everyone over about 2-3 for a cookout. Well, Rick called her on Sat and told her that we had already made plans with Rachel and we would be over after we had spent time with her and JT. So anyway, we took JT to his parent's house and Rachel would come later to pick him up. This is Rick's mom and dad. Dad has dementia and his mom has cancer. She is to start on chemo pills today. Rick's sister Rose said that they should know by Wed if she will be able to continue taking the pills or not. In the past the chemo has been what has almost killed her. She did not know we took this picture. She will not let you take her picture at all. Dad is getting worse and is falling down a lot. He should be wearing oxygen all the time but refuses to do so. We left there and went over to Rick's sister Roses' house to see her remodel on the kitchen. The new floor looks great. And when the new counter tops get put in, it will really look great. They plan to put it on the market next year. We then came home and went over to Mike and Denise's to sit by the campfire. We took hotdog's to cook over the fire and Denise had marshmallows. We sat and talked and realized that Denise and I had as much in common as Rick and Mike. Mike got up to get some more wood for the fire and said the trash dumpster was on fire. Well, since he is the Fire Chief of Mansfield and Rick is the retired Acting Fire Chief of Vermilion Township, they both went over to see what was going on. We had someone call 911 and then Rick came and got our 100' hose that we were not using at the time and someone else brought another hose and they started dumping water into the dumpster. Rick was in seventh heaven. It has been almost 2 years since he has fought a fire. He had to come home and take a shower before going to bed. By the time the Fire Dept got there, the fire was out. They made the comment that we didn't need them and Rick told them that they can do the report. (He hated doing the reports to the state.)Come to find out a couple of kids started the fire on purpose. What is the world coming to? We continued our visit. After a while we decided to go home to bed. Realized that it was almost midnight. Came home and watched TV for a little bit and then went to bed. The people across the way decided to stay up and outside and be real noisy. At 2:00 a.m. Rick called security to come and tell them to be quiet. Now I know why we like the 50+ parks. This week should be fairly quiet as most people only show up on the weekends until school is out. We got up today and said goodbye to Mike and Denise and to a few other people in the park and we have just been relaxing and watching TV.

Getting caught up

Hello, it's been a couple of days since I've written. Thursday we went to visit our accountant and our financial advisor. Not much bad news, so that was a relief. Friends of ours was supposed to be at the park today but they arrived late and we weren't sure we would see them until Friday. Mike showed up at our door and said they had made it. They have their camper here all the time for the summer and come up on weekends. So we went over there to get caught up on things and did not get back home till after 11:00. Yesterday, we went to the driving range to hit a bucket of balls. I had not been golfing in over a month. It took a little bit to get back into the "swing" of things. We then came and waited for Mike to get back from Mansfield. He had to go to a funeral viewing of an old friend. Mike and Denise are our friends that we met at our home park a couple of years ago. Mike and Rick hit it off real fast. Mike is the Fire Chief of Mansfield so they have a lot in common. We have so enjoyed there company. After Mike got back to the campground, we went to play nine holes of golf. Mike and Denise have not golfed in 2 years. We had a great time. Buddy, I hit a 58. I thought that was pretty good since it have been over a month since I played. I even hit 2 balls over the water at 2 different holes. I was thrilled at that! I did hit a couple of balls into the water also. This course is rolling hills and lots of water. It has a creek running thru plus ponds. This park gives us a discount because of the campground we are members of. $24.00 for both of us to golf and that includes the cart. Not bad. This morning we went over to visit with Mike and Denise. This is at their camper with their 6 month old scotty, Ashley. Ashley was feeling alot better than when we saw here Thursday because on Thursday she was spayed. Today she was real spunky. We left them and had lunch and then we drove around looking at different campgrounds. Came back and fixed fried potatoes in foil on the grill with a nice steak. I am now catching up on this blog and Rick is over talking to Mike. Tomorrow we get up and go to our old church and then over to Rachel's for dinner. She is going to fix ribs on the grill. Then we will go over to Rick's folks to visit before we head back up to our camper. Our grandson won his soccer game this morning, 7-2. Way to go JT!

Catching up

Tuesday we got up and I had lots of laundry to do. I did that and then went to get a hair cut. Back home by 1. Then we started unloading the things we don't need anymore to take back to our storage trailer to be put up for sale at a later date. We then went over to Rick's parents for dinner and a visit. Our daughter Rachel and grandson JT came over also. I can't believe how much JT has grown taller. He's 12 and is almost as tall as me. We had ribs, baked potatoes, green beans and applesauce for dinner. Yum, Yum. We gave some things to Rachel to take home. One of which was a chair massager. Well, after she got home and got ready to use it, she realized I didn't give her the plug part to plug into the wall. Oh well, I can't be perfect all the time! Told her I would give it to her at church on Sunday. After we left Mom and Dad's, we stopped at our friends house, Jon and Rich to put some things in the trailer. They have been so kind to let us park our trailer by their barn. They were just putting dinner on the table so we visited with them and ate a bite or 2 of egg rolls and salad. After we left there, it was after 9:30. Getting caught back up again is fun. Today we were up early for doctors appointments at 8:15. We knew they would want blood test so we did not eat breakfast. The doctors really were being thorough this time. I got off easy. Some blood test and thats all. Rick on the other hand, had blood test and then had to go eat and go back 2 hours later for more test. (This for sugar). Then he went to see a dermotoligist and he did a biopsy on his forehead for basal cell cancer. We won't know anything for about 2 weeks. Then he goes in for some breathing test and something else that slips the mind right now. Anyway, they are checking him for valley fever. In between doctors appointments, we had to take the truck in for some work. They will have it for a few days. No problem, since we have our Lincoln Town car to drive around. What a difference between the truck and the car. The seats are so much softer and it is soo quiet you can't tell it's running. And getting 21 mpg is great compared to the truck. When we were at Walmart filling the tank on the car, a young man from church, Andrew pulled up to get gas also. We haven't seen him since last fall. And then a young lady from church pulled up in her truck to get gas. We said we could have church at Walmart. That was really neat. When we were in town eating breakfast we looked around to see if there was anyone we new. I told Rick they may all be working. We stopped at the fire station and got to see all the township trustees and the township clerk who is also a dispatcher on the fire department. It was so good to see old friends. And of course the camera was in the car. Sorry LaVon. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LAVON. Sorry it's a day late. Tomorrow we go to talk to our financial advisor and our accountant. Wish us luck.

Home in Ohio

We finally arrived at our home park. The security guard at the gate was the same as when we left last year. They have a new gate that you have to swipe your card to get in. Since we have not been here to get a card, after Josh checked us in, he let us thru the gate. After we got set up, we went to the office and got our new cards so we can come and go as we please. We met a really nice couple from New York that pulled in about an hour after we did. They are on their way to Indiana to take their new Presidential 5'er to the manufacturer. I thought we had problems with our unit, but they couldn't even unhook because the landing gear does not work. Plus they have had water leakage inside when it rains and a whole lot more. Anyway, we left Zanesville and thought we could get up to Port Clinton on a quarter tank of fuel. It took us over half a tank. We had a head wind and after we got all settled we noticed that the exhaust pipe has all kinds of black soot on it. We figure the turbo is going bad again and that was why we only got 9 mph on this leg of the trip. But we already had an appointment to take the truck in for service on Wed. anyway. When we got to Zanesville, the wind was blowing like crazy, (Yes Barb the wind blows in OH also) and it was starting to rain. This park we stayed in was rated 4 W's in Woodalls. NO WAY!! The interior roads were dirt with very little stone and the site they put us in was on slanted ground. If you fell coming out the door, you would not have stopped till you were at the bottom of the hill. Well anyway, the wind was blowing, we thought the door was closed. The compartment door was open and a big gust of wind came and opened the entry door and it flew into the compartment door. Result- quarter size hole in entry door. But Rick said he can fix it and then when we go to the manufacturer in June, tell them to put a new stripe on the door. But the good news on that leg of the trip, we got to visit with my brother and sister-in-law. We had a real good visit. I do have pictures, but am to tired to find the connector for the camera tonight. Hopefully, we can get a good nights sleep. Tomorrow I have to get a hair cut and do some laundry. I think I'm almost out of towels. We went to Pizza Hut for dinner tonight and brought home leftovers. Tomorrow evening, we will go to Rick's parents for dinner. Doctors appts on Wed and dentist next week. Busy, busy, busy. Hope all is well with everyone. Rick talked to Bob this afternoon and they are still looking for a park for us to stay at when we get up there later this summer.

Friday

Today we got up late and lazed about a bit. We went to top off the fuel tank so we would be ready to move on in the morning. More campers came in today for the dragstrip. All with kids. Kelly and Ann came over after lunch and we went RV shopping (for them) and then we went out for dinner. When we got back to the camper Kelly and Rick got out first and Ann and I were sitting in their truck talking and then I heard Rick and could tell he was upset about something. We were gone about 3.5 hours and someone had taken a rock and marked an X on the back of our truck. We new it wasn'st there earlier because we had washed the truck before we left. We were not happy campers and now we know why we like the 50+ parks. No unsupervised kids!!! We emptied the tanks and are ready to pull out tomorrow. We will spend Sat and Sun in Zanesville OH.

Rainy Day

It started raining during the night and has been raining on and off all day. We went up to the office and asked for a local mom and pop restaurant to go have lunch. Bluff City Diner was the place to go. We went in and it's fairly small but there were 4 different specials for the day. We opted for the chicken and dumplings. It was home made and delicious. We then took a drive in the country and it was beautiful! Homes up on hilltops with gorgeous views of the river or countryside. Bob, this is for you. We found your next boat. As we passed this, we had to turn around to take a picture of it. Now it does look like it will float and there is a lake and a river near buy. Bob, if you would like, we can go see if it is for sale. But Rick thought of you as soon as he saw it. I'm sure it has an aft cabin and a galley. I didn't see a motor, though. You may have to hire a crew to row it down the river.

We went for a walk after dinner to take the garbage out. Now we are camped on the lower level of the campground and of course the garbage container is at the top level. Oh well, it was good exercise. We will settle in for a night of TV. Rick is practicing the guitar at this moment. He is getting pretty good. He has certain songs that he is learning to play.

Lovely day spent with friends

Today we got up and drove to Kelly and Ann's house to spend the day with them. We got there and started out by relaxing on their back porch. This is Ann on her back porch. It looks up onto the mountain. This is by the drive that goes to the garage. This picture does not do it justice. This is the view from the top of the driveway. They park their fifth wheel at the bottom and pack and unpack it with the truck. This is the view from about half way up the driveway. From this you can understand why they are not on the road full time. This place is so peaceful and serene. Rick and Kelly walking up to the house. Ann, Kelly and me by their back porch. We had a hobo dinner. This is where you get a piece of foil for each person and Ann put in onions, a big hamburger, sliced up potatoes, baby carrots, broccoli, and salt, pepper, and butter. Then you put it on the grill and cook until done. It was absolutely delicious! Then we sat on the front deck and it started to rain and it turned cold. When we left their house it was 59 and when we got back to the camper it was 66. I liked the 66 better. Kelly had taken us on a tour of the countryside and of course, I forgot my camera. On a lot of the roads, he had to put the Bronco in 4 wheel drive. Some of the roads were only wide enough for one vehicle and the edge was a drop off. But it was gorgeous. We understand totally as to why they stay here.

Site along the river

We have arrived in Bluff City, TN to visit our friends Kelly and Ann. We got a site overlooking the river and it is really pretty and peaceful. This is looking out our living room. This is from outside our door. The park is not real busy yet but the Bristol Speedway is have drag races this weekend so more people will be coming in. This next picture is where we stayed last night in Cleveland, TN. It was getting dark when we got there. It got down to 48 last night and it was 54 when we got ready to go on the road. We turned the heater on in the truck to take the chill off. I'm not ready for this cooler weather. We went to dinner with Ann and Kelly and they both had long pants and long sleeve shirts on. They said we reminded them on Tucson with us dressed in shorts.

This is the picture of the birthday boy and his wife. Josh and Autumn. And this is Josh and Jay. This was Sunday evening before we said our good-byes. We will miss them.

Now, on to some very important issues. Rick like to killed me this afternoon. After we got set up I went to fix us some lunch and realized that something had spilled all over the bottom of the frig. While I was cleaning it up and still trying to figure out what it was, he decided to open the freezer door. Now, we have been full-timing for over a year and we both know you don't open the freezer without being very careful from all the bouncing around from the trip. Needless to say, I was bombarded with TV dinners and frozen roast beef. The dinners weren't that bad but the pot roast really hurt. I mean, I cried, it hurt so much. So after lunch I laid down for a bit and Rick did the dishes. I think it was the guilt from hitting me over the head. But I did survive to tell the story and to hold this over his head, for awhile at least. LOL

We are in Tennessee

This morning we left sunny and warm Florida heading to visit with friends in Roan Mountain, TN. We got to Cleveland, TN and stopped for the night. About 4 hour trip tomorrow to the park we will be staying at. The drive up here was pretty but the wind was blowing (go figure). We started at 10.1 and then dropped down to 9.5 and then it fluctuated to around 9.9. Hopefully tomorrow the wind will not be as bad.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH

Today was Josh's 26th birthday besides being Mothers Day. We got up this morning and Rick made me french toast for breakfast. We lazed around for a while and watched TV until we went over to Josh's for a cookout. As Josh was cooking on the grill, Rick started pruning the bushes and trees around Josh's house. Then after dinner they kept on trimming. It really looks good now. Then Josh washed our truck. It was a payback for taking Josh to Ohio to get all the tools and the chair for them. Jay was so helpful at dinner time. He helped me set the table and was such a big boy. He even helped with taking the dirty plates off the table. Then after awhile he decided he didn't want to be good anymore. We will miss the two boys very much. We had such a good time with Jackson and with Jay when Jay was good. It was hard to say goodbye to the kids tonight. It has been fun seeing them. We will miss them all. I've got the stuff to put the pictures on the blog already packed away as we are leaving Florida in the morning. I will post pictures later. I may be off for a couple of days. It all depends.

Hot and Humid

Today was very hot and humid. It got up around 86 and you could hardly breathe when you were outside. There was a breeze but it didn't help. We went and bought Josh a birthday present and then we went onto Hurlburt Field to get pictures of the airplanes that are on display at the main gate. It was sobering to walk around and read the plaques about all of the fallen soldiers from WWI up to Iraq. I think we took about 40+ pictures. The bushes were gorgeous and in full bloom. Not sure what they are though.

This one made us think. Do the young people of today or even the old ones for that matter realize that freedom is not free. We have young men and women who put their life on the line everyday so that you and I have the freedom to say anything we want without fear of persecution? If you have never been in the military or have not ever known someone who has been in the military, you just don't realize the sacrifices that they give. We took this one to show the flowers again. Rick really liked this helicopter. It was huge!! It looks real mean. This was the most recent one that has been retired from active service. This one hit home. It was about the failed rescue attempt of our Hostages in Iran. Rick loaded up the ammo for this mission and to see it fail was disheartening.

After this we were going to go to Wal-mart for fuel and after reading LaVon's blog we decided to go and visit Linda and Ray who are workamping in the next town over from were we are staying. Sorry LaVon, I did not get a picture of them. We talked while they were working. Linda is really having a hard time with the old equipment and program for reservations and such. They tell her it will be upgraded in a couple of weeks. She says she's not sure if she will be able to hang in there or not. She said she does not need the stress. It was good to see them and they are looking good. We stopped at Wal-mart and paid 4.099 for diesel. OUCH!!!! Then we came home and had a nice dinner. I made macaroni salad for a cookout we are having at Josh's tomorrow. Besides it being Mothers Day it is also his birthday. I will definitely get his picture tomorrow.

God really does answer prayer

Today we went to Destin and went to the Bass Pro Shop to walk around. That store always has interesting items to see. We couldn't believe how the new tents are today. Very roomy and nice looking too. We found a wind chime made out of the ceramic plates and cups. It was really neat looking. We went to lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant for the last time as we will be leaving here Monday morning. We came back and just relaxed around the house till Josh could come over and sign us back on Hurlburt Field so we could go pay for 1 more day. We then went to the commissary so I could get milk and bread. We got some very good news about a prayer request we had asked people to pray for. This concerns our son and his career in the Air Force. This was a first step but it was a major one and Thanks for all that have prayed for him. Tonight Rick and Josh went fishing tonight at Autumns moms house. I don't know if Jackson went with them or not. Not much else happening but it was a great day.

Jackson's Field Day

Today we got up early and went to school. Actually to Jackson's school for the second grade field day. There was a lot of kids and each class had a different color shirt. Jackson's color was purple. He started out running the 100 yard dash. He came in second. He was a little upset but we told him he did great. Then there was the 400 yard dash and he was not entered into that one. So the next one was the 400 relay or baton race. He was the last of the 4 to run and he came in first. He was very excited about that! Then they started doing a lot of other activities. The sack race was fun to watch. Jackson did real good. Then it was time for the three legged race. You needed an adult to go with each child. So Pappy was recruited. I think we were the only set of grandparents there. They made a perfect team!! Then it was time to dress the teacher. This is how they looked after the kids got done with them. Jackson's teacher is the second from the right. Then it was time to pop the balloons. They had to run down to a chair and sit on the balloon to pop it. But there was a parent or grandparent in this case, with a bent paper clip to actually pop the balloon if needed. Rick would usually wait till they tried to jump on the balloon to pop it before he would hit it with the paperclip. It was fun to watch. Then came the Eglin water fall race. They had to fill a cup with water and run down to the other end and put it in a bottle of colored powder with a ping pong ball in it and the first team to get the ball out of the container wins. Well, guess what. Jackson's team won this event also. They also did tug of war and a parachute game. By time they were done everyone had had a great time. We went back to his classroom and visited with his teacher while the kids stayed out for PE. (Did they really need it after three and a half hours of field day?) We then went to lunch with him and sat with him and his girlfriend. She is pretty. And a lot of the kids in his class came up to us and told us how smart Jackson was and how he would always help the other kids. Well, this little guy was just picked for the gifted program at school. We are so proud of him!!! We then came home and crashed until it was time to go to dinner with Josh, Autumn, Jackson, Jay, Ron and Honey. Autumns parents are going to Mississippi tomorrow for Mothers Day weekend. And we will be gone before they come back. We had good barbeque. Now we are home just relaxing. What a busy day. Jackson was so tired at dinner and I didn't blame him. Good job and well done Jackson.

Dinner with the kids

Today we did some running around. We went over to Josh's house but he was slseeping and Autumn was at her moms so we didn't stop. Remember I said Josh and I went out to eat last night? Well, right after Josh left I had severe stomach cramps for a while and they lasted a couple of hours. Come to find out this morning that Josh ended up in the ER because he felt like he had food poisoning. We ate at IHOP, won't eat there again. He came home early from work and went to bed. After he got up he felt better. Autumn fixed lasagne for dinner and it was good. I picked up bread and salad and it was a great meal. Rick helped Josh get his lawn mowers working and Josh mowed and Rick raked and the place was looking good when they got done. Jay was being very bad tonight. Autumn was watching their friends little boy Dakota and Jay hit him in the head with a car and drew blood. Jay is such a handful. sometimes he is just plain mean. We will be praying for him and for the kids to have wisdom as to how to handle him. Then our daughter called later and she is having problems with her boy. Is there something in the water? We got our cupboard door fixed. Actually Rick fixed it and it is better then new. The park is starting to fill up so I hope they let us stay another day. We were supposed to leave on the 11th but are going to try to stay till the 12th. When we were looking at the park we will be staying in at Bristol TN, Rick realized it is in our Camp Club USA book and we will be getting half of the regular fee. That made us very happy campers. Rick has routed us up to TN and then on to OH. We will be busy with doctors and dentist appointments when we get up there. Plus we need to sell some more furniture and a four wheeler and possibly Rick's beloved Lincoln Towncar. That's all for now. Tomorrow we go to Jackson's field day event and will probably eat lunch with him. The field day is from 8:40 till noon. Then he has a test after lunch.

Very nice day

Today we got up and decided to go for a ride. We drove up thru Crestview and went to Holt. We were looking for a certain campground that had advertised for workampers but found the Eagles Landing RV park instead. Had a nice talk with the owners. This park is about 60 sites and is rather quiet and boring. Not even a pool. But the owners were real nice and we talked to 2 different people that had come for a couple of weeks and haven't left yet. One said that was 2 years ago and the other said he came last July and is still there. So that must say something for the people and the park. We then went to find a mailbox to mail out the Mother's Day cards and a birthday card for Rick's mom. After that we went to Ryan's for dinner. The Ryan's down here are so much better than the one in Fremont. We then came back and relaxed for awhile until it was time for my son, Josh, and myself to go out to dinner. We had such a nice visit. We talked about anything and everything. We then had to go to Home Depot because Rick called and said I needed to get some wood glue because the cabinet door and fallen apart. I had no idea what he was talking about until I got home. He said he went to close the bottom cabinet door under the sink and he noticed it didn't close all the way. It had just split. So I told him we will have to take a picture of it before he fixes it so we can let Carraige know. Another thing to add to the list. Our 1999 Carraige was built so much better than this one. But I love the room we have in this one. Anyway when we got home, Rick started playing the guitar. He told Josh he was learning "Puff the Magic Dragon" so he can play it for the kids. He's doing pretty good. He printed off some music and has that to practice with. He keeps complaining about his fingers hurting. Not sure if that will ever go away. On Thursday, we get to go to Jackson's school and watch his field day events. We were so pleased he asked us to go. So after that we will take him out to dinner. We have had our alone times with Jay but this will be our alone time with Jackson. I will try to remember to take the camera. Josh says it is so funny to watch the little kids running around and doing the different activities. Am looking forward to it. That's all for now.

Monday, Monday

Today we slept in. I went shopping and Rick stayed home. We took a walk this afternoon down by the water. It is such a peaceful place to just relax and think. We saw several crabs and what looked like jelly fish. Of course I left the camera at the camper. We have been here almost a month and I still haven't seen any dolphins. I hope I get to see one before we leave. Rick talked to the campground in Bluff City TN that we will be staying at when we go visit Kelly and Ann. They said they have plenty of room. When we leave there, we may stay in Zanesville OH and visit with my brother and his wife since we won't see them at the family reunion in July. They will be on a trip at that time. Not much going on.

Birthday celebrations

Today we went over to Josh's house for awhile. I went with Autumn to the commissary so she could get groceries. I picked up a few things myself. We then went over to Josh's in-laws to celebrate Autumns and Josh's birthdays. Autumns was April 26 and Josh's is May 11. Ron and Honey live on the bay and the scenery is beautiful. This was the sunset that they can see from their back deck. That boat dock is for their condo to use. Here is Ron and Rick talking on the deck after dinner. This is Jay and his best friend Dakota. Trying to get them both to pose at the same time was a real chore. Here are Josh, Autumn with their friends Ken and Allison. Autumn is in the pink, Josh is the one with what looks like a gun but in reality it is a type of fishing pole for kids that shoots out the hook into the water. Well, needless to say it was not working properly. So Josh, Rick, and Jackson went to the pier to go fishing. Rick caught something big that bent his pole in half before biting off the the hook, line and sinker. They never got to see what it was. Then Jackson got a tug on his line and it took his bait. Josh reeled in a catfish that was decent size but he threw him back. That was about all the action for the night. This was Jackson waiting for Josh to get his fishing pole ready. Another view of the setting sun. We got back home around 9:30 and now are just relaxing. It's hard to believe that we are on our last week here in Florida. We talked to Kelly and Ann and told them we will be seeing them around the 13th or 14th for a few days. We will be staying in Bluff City close to Bristol TN. Then we head back to Ohio. My how the time has flown.

Rainy day

Yesterday we did some running around and then we watched the boys so Josh and Autumn could have some time to themselves. We took the boys for a walk down by the water and of course Jackson immediately started looking for another set of bones. Did we mention that we have found an animal skull of some sort the other day that Jackson took into his school to find out what it was. Well, his teacher thinks the first one we found was from a sting ray. That was soo cool. Well, yesterday he found a huge one. So we brought that back and put it in a baggie so he could take it to school on Monday to see what animal that it was from. Jay kept wanting to follow Jackson but I wouldn't let him. The wind was blowing (See Barb, the wind blows in Floriday too) and I didn't have a change of clothes for him if he fell in the water. Anyway we stayed up late and slept in till 9:30. That is almost unheard of for us. But today was a gloomy day and the rain hadn't yet started when we decided to go to the mall. I needed new shoes and then on to AC Moore for more books on knitting. Well, we decided to take the umbrella into the mall with us and it was a good thing. After eating lunch at the food court we went to leave and it was pouring. Not just raining hard, but pouring! Rick, being the gentleman that he is, went out to the truck and came up to the door for me. I still got soaked, but not nearly as much had I walked out to the truck. We came back to the camper and the rain had let up a bit. Then Josh called to let us know that the dinner at Autumns moms was postponed until Sunday due to the weather. We were supposed to cook out and the guys were going to go fishing. Autumns mom lives on the bay and has a beautiful view from her back yard. I will definitely take pictures tomorrow. So Rick worked on trying to repair an old 35 mm camera and I did some knitting. Then we got a call from Darrell and Barbara. It was so good to talk to them. They are doing good and not working real hard. Yet! We hope to see them sometime soon. We really miss them. Then Rick's mom called and our daughter Rachel called. We will be going over to Josh's tomorrow before the cookout. Josh wants help working on his lawnmower. During the aftertoon the loudspeaker from the base kept saying "Lightning Warning" So we stayed indoors. But we did not have any bad weather like a lot of people. Thank goodness Jack and Cathy are ok. They were way to close for comfort to the tornado that hit Liberty MO. Snookie was the 500th person to view my blog. Rick told me to tell here that there was no prize for that tho. Way to go Snookie!!

Beach Day

Today we went to the beach. The wind was blowing hard enough to warrant a red flag warning at the beach. But we were starting to loose some of our Arizona tan and we needed to get it back before we head north to Ohio. So we went and laid out in the sun for awhile until the sun went away and the clouds moved in. We are supposed to get rain late Friday night and on into the weekend. This is at Narvarre Beach and this pier was never replaced after Hurricane Ivan hit it 4 years ago. The waves were about 3-5 foot waves and we saw about 4-5 boats cruising around fishing. They were rolling in the choppy water enough to know that I would have gotten sick if I were out there. I love the white sand here because it does not get hot when you walk on it. Before we left the area, we drove around the area to see the new construction that was going on. This blue house was really neat. This was another neat round house. The colors on these houses are really neat. Bright purple, pink, yellow, and even aqua. This is a picture of a restaurant that was on the island where we went to the beach. We then went out for a late lunch and then to Walmart to fill the tank on the truck. The next fill up will be for the trip up north. We came back and met the new neighbors across the street from us. They are from PA so we stopped to talk to them. We have lots of relatives in PA pretty close to where they are from.

Rick started looking for sheet music on the internet for his guitar. He found quite a few songs. He wants to find the song, Tennessee Waltz so he can learn that and surprise his Dad with it. That is his dad's favorite song. So far he hasn't found it yet. I'm still working on my knitting.