Good morning!
We had a busy past few days..... Megan and Jeff arrived right on time and no flight delays. We were so glad to see them . We talked to Erin and family yesterday morning... Santa arrived there in good shape! We missed them this year but hopefully next year we will be spending time with all of our kids together....
We had a "combined" dinner yesterday with our good friends, Gary/Angela,Bob and Jackie...I fixed strawberry pretzel salad, carrot cake and a Black cherry pie..... they fixed turkey, and the sides, green bean casserole and of course we had to much to eat. We ate in the Rec Hall at the park and had a nice visit and got to see others at the hall too who were gathering for the day.
Megan and I are getting ready to go shopping this morning, Bill is working and Jeff is playing golf with Bob and Gary.... so our day is almost full. Later this afternoon Darrin and Christina will be here for dinner..... we are grilling a pork loin.... and all the leftover salads and "stuff" we had yesterday!
We will be scouting around tomorrow for the day.... not sure where we are going....
Sunday we are driving up to Prescott to meet Jeff's parents for the day....we haven't seen them for a few years and looking forward to visiting with them.... Monday it is back to work for Bill and I, Jeff will be golfing in the morning and Megan is on her own until noon....they will leave around 2:30 for the airport. We arranged a shuttle service to pick them up at the airport and bring them right to our door and they will also pick them up MOnday and take them back to the airport.... what a deal! I know our weekend will be going by fast!
So that is about it around here!
Until next time!
BJ
Friday, December 26, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Sunday evening
A fast week has gone by! It rained last week about 2 days so that added to the "frenzy" of the week!
Last Monday after work I spent the afternoon working around here and then we went to eat dinner with our friends for Gary's birthday which was the week before. But with their busy schedule they have we had to wait a week! :) We ate at a restaurant called "Sweet Tomatoes"...it is a soup and salad restaurant and it was very good. We played Joker after supper.
Tuesday morning was work for us and Bill worked in the afternoon.... I went to ceramics and worked on my Christmas tree...it should be done this Tuesday....we went to eat supper at the clubhouse grill for Taco Tuesday and then played Joker again..
Wednesday after work I spent the afternoon doing some things around here.... the quilting group had their Christmas party and gift exchange...the guys went out for supper.... do you see a trend here???
Thursday was work in the morning and then went to return our humidifier we bought about 3 weeks ago.... we discovered that it was leaking and had leaked water on the carpet under the dining room table. We also made a stop at the glass shop to get some glass that Bill needed. We actually cooked at home that night!
Friday after work we had our stain glass class.... I am working on some cabeschon (spelling???) (necklaces) and Bill is working on a stain glass project. We also had a workkamper Christmas luncheon with the park to attend. After that we stopped to get Bob and Jackie and went to a store that was having a 50% off sale.... Jackie and I both came out with some bargains! We stopped at Texas Roadhouse for supper.
Saturday was spent doing laundry and working around here and doing some sewing....
Bill worked at the stain glass shop most of the afternoon.... we (the 6 of us) decided to go eat Mexican for supper so we did and then the Gish's met us here and we played Joker again.... can you see a trend here? :) We have a great time and love to see who is going to have flat tires in the morning! hahah!!!!
This morning we got around and went to church early and then met Bob and Jackie at the clubhouse ...yep for another meal out..... an omelet buffet...it was pretty good! We had to go to Walmart again and also Bill filled up with fuel at Fry's...it had been 1 month since he last put fuel in the truck.....not bad...and it was even down 35cents from last month! We paid $2.05 today with our card for diesel and gas is $1.49
Not bad!
I made some haystack "candy" and have been on the computer most of the afternoon and doing some things here.... now to get ready for the week ahead! We only have to work 4 days this week, so it is a 3 day week for me! I am taking off Friday also as Megan and Jeff will be here on Christmas morning! What a great Christms present! :)
So until next time!
BJ
Last Monday after work I spent the afternoon working around here and then we went to eat dinner with our friends for Gary's birthday which was the week before. But with their busy schedule they have we had to wait a week! :) We ate at a restaurant called "Sweet Tomatoes"...it is a soup and salad restaurant and it was very good. We played Joker after supper.
Tuesday morning was work for us and Bill worked in the afternoon.... I went to ceramics and worked on my Christmas tree...it should be done this Tuesday....we went to eat supper at the clubhouse grill for Taco Tuesday and then played Joker again..
Wednesday after work I spent the afternoon doing some things around here.... the quilting group had their Christmas party and gift exchange...the guys went out for supper.... do you see a trend here???
Thursday was work in the morning and then went to return our humidifier we bought about 3 weeks ago.... we discovered that it was leaking and had leaked water on the carpet under the dining room table. We also made a stop at the glass shop to get some glass that Bill needed. We actually cooked at home that night!
Friday after work we had our stain glass class.... I am working on some cabeschon (spelling???) (necklaces) and Bill is working on a stain glass project. We also had a workkamper Christmas luncheon with the park to attend. After that we stopped to get Bob and Jackie and went to a store that was having a 50% off sale.... Jackie and I both came out with some bargains! We stopped at Texas Roadhouse for supper.
Saturday was spent doing laundry and working around here and doing some sewing....
Bill worked at the stain glass shop most of the afternoon.... we (the 6 of us) decided to go eat Mexican for supper so we did and then the Gish's met us here and we played Joker again.... can you see a trend here? :) We have a great time and love to see who is going to have flat tires in the morning! hahah!!!!
This morning we got around and went to church early and then met Bob and Jackie at the clubhouse ...yep for another meal out..... an omelet buffet...it was pretty good! We had to go to Walmart again and also Bill filled up with fuel at Fry's...it had been 1 month since he last put fuel in the truck.....not bad...and it was even down 35cents from last month! We paid $2.05 today with our card for diesel and gas is $1.49
Not bad!
I made some haystack "candy" and have been on the computer most of the afternoon and doing some things here.... now to get ready for the week ahead! We only have to work 4 days this week, so it is a 3 day week for me! I am taking off Friday also as Megan and Jeff will be here on Christmas morning! What a great Christms present! :)
So until next time!
BJ
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Sunday evening
It is a cool evening and the weekend has been kind of cool also...... this past week has really flown by again....that is my only excuse! We have been so busy working and then something always creeps up in the afternoon and evening to delay my writing..... some days are just days of doing nothing and some we don't have an extra minute!
This past Friday late afternoon we went to the clubhouse grill for fried fish with our friends, Bob/Jackie and Howard/Mary. After that we went to the movie"Four Christmas's"...it was a funny movie!
Saturday morning, Jackie and I decided to go to a vendor fair or craft show at Paradise RV Resort. We found it in good shape and then stopped at a few other stores before going home. Saturday evening around 4 we got on a tour bus and rode to Mesa to the Organ Stop Pizza, the first stop. We had a great time with Bob/Jackie, Howard/Mary. Our second stop was at Mormon Temple which has thousands of lights and was beautifully decorated.....and so many people! Our last stop was at Glendale which is called Glendale Glitters...we were only able to drive through the downtown area which was very crowded and there wasn't anywhere for the bus to pull over and stop.... the downtown area was really decorated and the lights were so pretty......Glendale isn't too far from us.....
This morning after church we stopped at Kohl's to do some last shopping for the kids for Christmas and came home. Then Jackie,Angela and I went to run some errands at Target and Joann's. It was a fun afternoon but when I got home it was time to clean our coach up and get supper. I fixed fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn...it has been a long time since I have done that and it was great--if I say so myself! :)
We have a busy week ahead of us as we are doing something every afternoon and evening this week with friends..... stay tuned!
Until next time!
BJ
This past Friday late afternoon we went to the clubhouse grill for fried fish with our friends, Bob/Jackie and Howard/Mary. After that we went to the movie"Four Christmas's"...it was a funny movie!
Saturday morning, Jackie and I decided to go to a vendor fair or craft show at Paradise RV Resort. We found it in good shape and then stopped at a few other stores before going home. Saturday evening around 4 we got on a tour bus and rode to Mesa to the Organ Stop Pizza, the first stop. We had a great time with Bob/Jackie, Howard/Mary. Our second stop was at Mormon Temple which has thousands of lights and was beautifully decorated.....and so many people! Our last stop was at Glendale which is called Glendale Glitters...we were only able to drive through the downtown area which was very crowded and there wasn't anywhere for the bus to pull over and stop.... the downtown area was really decorated and the lights were so pretty......Glendale isn't too far from us.....
This morning after church we stopped at Kohl's to do some last shopping for the kids for Christmas and came home. Then Jackie,Angela and I went to run some errands at Target and Joann's. It was a fun afternoon but when I got home it was time to clean our coach up and get supper. I fixed fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn...it has been a long time since I have done that and it was great--if I say so myself! :)
We have a busy week ahead of us as we are doing something every afternoon and evening this week with friends..... stay tuned!
Until next time!
BJ
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The weeks seem to zip by....
So its 2 weeks since I have last written.... I have also had a cold, sinus infection and probably bronchitus the past couple of weeks..... FINALLY on Thanksgiving day I woke up feeling half "normal" :) The cough still lingers once in awhile but its almost gone.... this stuff is going around the park and I'm sure the laundry room is contagious of everything...like I was at school.....
We haven't done much the past couple of weeks except the normal "stuff" because I haven't felt well..... most days I spent at home on the couch after work....
We had planned to go to Wanda and Jim's house in Mesa to spend Thanksgiving with them and the girls but I had the crud so Bill went to the grocery store Wed.afternoon and got a turkey breast for our Thanksgiving..... Our neighbor next door came over that morning and invited us to have a potluck dinner with them and the other workkampers who were here.... so we took our turkey breast some dressing and a pie and had a nice dinner with them. We just hang around here the rest of the day.
Friday, after we got home from work we decided to go to the mall and think about beginning Christmas shopping. It was crazy! But we got a few things for us and decided what we are doing for the little ones. Megan is going to become my "personal shopper" this year....
Saturday morning we went to Joann's and then found Cabela's.... We also found a fantastic Mexican restaurant close to the Arizona Cardinals stadium....
Sunday after church we stopped by Walmart for groceries and our friends Bob and Jackie called and said they were going to come in a day early.... We were so happy to see them..... we all went out for supper together at the Clubhouse grill.... it was fun....
Last night, Angela and I and Mary fixed supper for everyone to welcome Bob and Jackie back.... Angela fixed chili and relishes, I fixed clam chowder and salmon dip and Mary fixed cornbread and pie..... we then played Joker to round out the evening..... it was a great evening.
This afternoon after working Jackie and I went to ceramics.... she was working on a Nativity set from last year and started a Christmas tree. I finished my ornaments for the grandkids and began a Christmas tree too.
We are going to meet Bob and Jackie for "Taco Tuesday" at the Clubhouse grill tonite for supper.....
That about sums up the past couple of weeks for us.....
We are doing great and work is going good for both of us.... the time has really flew by and the weeks seem to go by fast! Christmas will be here before we know it!
The weather has been great here...we did have rain last Wed/Thursday but the days are warming up so nicely around 75 or so and so clear! No complaints here!
Take care...
Until next time!
BJ
We haven't done much the past couple of weeks except the normal "stuff" because I haven't felt well..... most days I spent at home on the couch after work....
We had planned to go to Wanda and Jim's house in Mesa to spend Thanksgiving with them and the girls but I had the crud so Bill went to the grocery store Wed.afternoon and got a turkey breast for our Thanksgiving..... Our neighbor next door came over that morning and invited us to have a potluck dinner with them and the other workkampers who were here.... so we took our turkey breast some dressing and a pie and had a nice dinner with them. We just hang around here the rest of the day.
Friday, after we got home from work we decided to go to the mall and think about beginning Christmas shopping. It was crazy! But we got a few things for us and decided what we are doing for the little ones. Megan is going to become my "personal shopper" this year....
Saturday morning we went to Joann's and then found Cabela's.... We also found a fantastic Mexican restaurant close to the Arizona Cardinals stadium....
Sunday after church we stopped by Walmart for groceries and our friends Bob and Jackie called and said they were going to come in a day early.... We were so happy to see them..... we all went out for supper together at the Clubhouse grill.... it was fun....
Last night, Angela and I and Mary fixed supper for everyone to welcome Bob and Jackie back.... Angela fixed chili and relishes, I fixed clam chowder and salmon dip and Mary fixed cornbread and pie..... we then played Joker to round out the evening..... it was a great evening.
This afternoon after working Jackie and I went to ceramics.... she was working on a Nativity set from last year and started a Christmas tree. I finished my ornaments for the grandkids and began a Christmas tree too.
We are going to meet Bob and Jackie for "Taco Tuesday" at the Clubhouse grill tonite for supper.....
That about sums up the past couple of weeks for us.....
We are doing great and work is going good for both of us.... the time has really flew by and the weeks seem to go by fast! Christmas will be here before we know it!
The weather has been great here...we did have rain last Wed/Thursday but the days are warming up so nicely around 75 or so and so clear! No complaints here!
Take care...
Until next time!
BJ
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday evening catch up time
Sunday evening catch up time
A whole week has past since I last wrote and the week really flew by. We are enjoying our work and the time goes by fast. It seems we are settling in on a routine and then something changes that routine. Oh well.... nothing drastic happening anyway.
Bill works all day on Monday and Tuesday so I have my afternoon's to myself anyway. I went over to sew in the sewing room and the door was locked. So I went back to the office and got a key..now I can go sew and not wait for someone to let me in.
I came home and sewed for most of the afternoon....
Tuesday afternoon I went to a couple of quilt stores in Avondale area... Now I know where they are! It is amazing down here to me that they don't carry flannel.... guess there is not a need for it but the stores are full of leather coats and heavy coats and boots??? Go figure????? I would have thought they would be like Florida and have swimsuits all year round and summer clothing out most of the year. Tuesday for dinner we went to Taco Tuesday with Howard and Mary at the golf club/grill.....
Wednesday after lunch we decided to go swimming for a while.
Thursday after lunch, we went to Walmart and around to another quilt store looking for flannel. They had baby flannel but nothing for Christmas. I'm still searching....
Friday morning Bill cleaned and did some laundry while I worked.. When I got home we decided to go swimming again for the afternoon. The water is so warm and nice .....
Friday afternoon after we got home our neighbors Jack and Connie who are workkampers asked us to go to eat fish at the golf/club/grill.
Saturday morning we did some things around here and then decided to go try to find a grocery store that had just opened and had good produce...we went up to Bell Road which is a huge corridor that runs east to west through Phoenix.... we didn't find Trader Joe's but we will next time. Evidently we were just down the wrong road .....
We came home and had dinner. Gary/Angela and Howard/Mary came over for an evening of Joker.... the girls won! Yippeee!!!!
This morning after church our friends from Estes Park, Rod/Jane came over to spend the afternoon. They also met Gary/Angela at Hart Ranch in South Dakota so we all went out to eat a late lunch/early dinner...It was great visiting with them... They are working in Mesa at a large campground for the winter. After they left I finished a Christmas wreath I have been working on.... now to work on our quilt for our bed... I started it in Alaska.....
Well, that about does it for this week.... this next week will be a busy one with several things going on here in the park..... a movie Monday night, fashion show Wednesday afternoon..... and a quilting meeting also Wed. afternoon.Thursday evening for dinner they are having a "themed" dinner....it is Italian so we are having spaghetti. Bill starts his stained glass class on Friday also...
Until next time!
BJ
A whole week has past since I last wrote and the week really flew by. We are enjoying our work and the time goes by fast. It seems we are settling in on a routine and then something changes that routine. Oh well.... nothing drastic happening anyway.
Bill works all day on Monday and Tuesday so I have my afternoon's to myself anyway. I went over to sew in the sewing room and the door was locked. So I went back to the office and got a key..now I can go sew and not wait for someone to let me in.
I came home and sewed for most of the afternoon....
Tuesday afternoon I went to a couple of quilt stores in Avondale area... Now I know where they are! It is amazing down here to me that they don't carry flannel.... guess there is not a need for it but the stores are full of leather coats and heavy coats and boots??? Go figure????? I would have thought they would be like Florida and have swimsuits all year round and summer clothing out most of the year. Tuesday for dinner we went to Taco Tuesday with Howard and Mary at the golf club/grill.....
Wednesday after lunch we decided to go swimming for a while.
Thursday after lunch, we went to Walmart and around to another quilt store looking for flannel. They had baby flannel but nothing for Christmas. I'm still searching....
Friday morning Bill cleaned and did some laundry while I worked.. When I got home we decided to go swimming again for the afternoon. The water is so warm and nice .....
Friday afternoon after we got home our neighbors Jack and Connie who are workkampers asked us to go to eat fish at the golf/club/grill.
Saturday morning we did some things around here and then decided to go try to find a grocery store that had just opened and had good produce...we went up to Bell Road which is a huge corridor that runs east to west through Phoenix.... we didn't find Trader Joe's but we will next time. Evidently we were just down the wrong road .....
We came home and had dinner. Gary/Angela and Howard/Mary came over for an evening of Joker.... the girls won! Yippeee!!!!
This morning after church our friends from Estes Park, Rod/Jane came over to spend the afternoon. They also met Gary/Angela at Hart Ranch in South Dakota so we all went out to eat a late lunch/early dinner...It was great visiting with them... They are working in Mesa at a large campground for the winter. After they left I finished a Christmas wreath I have been working on.... now to work on our quilt for our bed... I started it in Alaska.....
Well, that about does it for this week.... this next week will be a busy one with several things going on here in the park..... a movie Monday night, fashion show Wednesday afternoon..... and a quilting meeting also Wed. afternoon.Thursday evening for dinner they are having a "themed" dinner....it is Italian so we are having spaghetti. Bill starts his stained glass class on Friday also...
Until next time!
BJ
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Sunday evening
Today has been a busy day..... the weekend is almost over and we begin our week again!
After church this am we drove to find the Walmart east of here (I think).... we found a Sam's and then realized the Walmart maybe didn't have groceries but looking for carefully it did. So we went to Fry's and got a few things. We had a workkamper potluck at 3 this afternoon..... Around 2:45 it began to RAIN!!!! It really clouded up and the wind began to blow... It even hailed small hail...... It is still windy and cool now.... needless to say.... we ate and then came home.... too bad because it was nice visiting with others....
So we are home for the evening..... Bill of course is flipping channels watching football.... what else is new??? :)
Erin called late this afternoon and I got to talk to the 2 grandsons.... Bryson.... who is 3..... we had this conversation..... Grandma...did you move the camper to Arizona? Yes, we did..... "Is that in the southwest?"... Yes it is.... "It's a long way, huh, Grandma?" So cute!!!! :) Brayden lost his front teeth so now he has 3 missing.....
Until next time!
BJ
After church this am we drove to find the Walmart east of here (I think).... we found a Sam's and then realized the Walmart maybe didn't have groceries but looking for carefully it did. So we went to Fry's and got a few things. We had a workkamper potluck at 3 this afternoon..... Around 2:45 it began to RAIN!!!! It really clouded up and the wind began to blow... It even hailed small hail...... It is still windy and cool now.... needless to say.... we ate and then came home.... too bad because it was nice visiting with others....
So we are home for the evening..... Bill of course is flipping channels watching football.... what else is new??? :)
Erin called late this afternoon and I got to talk to the 2 grandsons.... Bryson.... who is 3..... we had this conversation..... Grandma...did you move the camper to Arizona? Yes, we did..... "Is that in the southwest?"... Yes it is.... "It's a long way, huh, Grandma?" So cute!!!! :) Brayden lost his front teeth so now he has 3 missing.....
Until next time!
BJ
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Saturday evening
We made it through a fast week of gorgeous weather and nice temp's mixing working in between! :)
I began my job Tuesday morning with the gals who are Hispanic "training" me...... they don't speak much English so I was asking and reasking! if I understood them correctly.... my job isn't very hard at all .....I think I have "my system" down by now and have enjoyed visiting with the people who come into the laundry room. Across the laundry room is a building that holds 4 rooms--- billards, woodshop, ceramics, and lapidary/stained glass... I have to clean one of those rooms each day and then across that building to complete the "square" is the post office which is cleaned daily. It takes me almost 3 1/2 hrs. to clean them... that includes washing windows and mopping a room floor each day except for the billards and woodshop..... the billards room is carpeted and the woodshop takes care of its own room because of the sawdust. I only have 1 bathroom to clean and that isn't dirty at all.... so I feel pretty lucky to do what I am doing.
Bill has been painting this week and is beginning to paint the building's I just described.... he works 2 1/2 days and is off 4....not bad!
We have been swimming a few times this week and enjoying the hot tub... we have been riding our bikes for the most part.... until we talked to our nephew Darrin and he told us their company had a golf cart they don't use ....so we worked out a deal and Darrin "delivered" 'their/our' golf cart on Thursday!!!! I LOVE THAT GOLF CART! I am just not the most steady on that darn bike and I know we will love using the golf cart. ... esp. going to the pool when we have a bag with a noodle each and towels, etc. to take with us. Thanks Darrin! I told him he just doesn't know how his "OLD" aunt appreciates it!
I went to "Quilts of Valor" meeting on Thursday evening.... it is a group that puts quilts together to send to the Veterans and soldiers..... we got almost 2 quilt tops done the other night.... they are probably going to be lap top quilt sizes so they will go fast.
Friday afternoon we cleaned and finished our laundry and then since it was my birthday we went out to eat with Gary/Angela and another couple...Howard and Mary... we went to a Mexican restaurant called Arriba's. It was very good and we all got plenty of food! We came back here and played "joker"...the guys won 2 out of 3 games.... we will get them next time! It was a fun evening.
This am we got around and went with Gary/Angela to a craft show at Sun City West several miles from here.... It was amazing how big that place was..... and the things they made was so neat! The place reminded us of "The Villages" in Florida.
When we left there we went to the Flea Market in Goodyear... very disappointing....not much there and NOTHING like we saw in Ocala last year. So we got home around 2:30 today and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Late afternoon our nephew called, Jon from Michigan, and came by ...he had flown down to go to the car races here this weekend..... we had a great visit with him... We were glad to see him...it had been about 3 years since we had seen him.
So Bill is flipping football channels... now watching football..... I think it's time to sew!!!!
Have a good evening!
Until next time!
BJ
I began my job Tuesday morning with the gals who are Hispanic "training" me...... they don't speak much English so I was asking and reasking! if I understood them correctly.... my job isn't very hard at all .....I think I have "my system" down by now and have enjoyed visiting with the people who come into the laundry room. Across the laundry room is a building that holds 4 rooms--- billards, woodshop, ceramics, and lapidary/stained glass... I have to clean one of those rooms each day and then across that building to complete the "square" is the post office which is cleaned daily. It takes me almost 3 1/2 hrs. to clean them... that includes washing windows and mopping a room floor each day except for the billards and woodshop..... the billards room is carpeted and the woodshop takes care of its own room because of the sawdust. I only have 1 bathroom to clean and that isn't dirty at all.... so I feel pretty lucky to do what I am doing.
Bill has been painting this week and is beginning to paint the building's I just described.... he works 2 1/2 days and is off 4....not bad!
We have been swimming a few times this week and enjoying the hot tub... we have been riding our bikes for the most part.... until we talked to our nephew Darrin and he told us their company had a golf cart they don't use ....so we worked out a deal and Darrin "delivered" 'their/our' golf cart on Thursday!!!! I LOVE THAT GOLF CART! I am just not the most steady on that darn bike and I know we will love using the golf cart. ... esp. going to the pool when we have a bag with a noodle each and towels, etc. to take with us. Thanks Darrin! I told him he just doesn't know how his "OLD" aunt appreciates it!
I went to "Quilts of Valor" meeting on Thursday evening.... it is a group that puts quilts together to send to the Veterans and soldiers..... we got almost 2 quilt tops done the other night.... they are probably going to be lap top quilt sizes so they will go fast.
Friday afternoon we cleaned and finished our laundry and then since it was my birthday we went out to eat with Gary/Angela and another couple...Howard and Mary... we went to a Mexican restaurant called Arriba's. It was very good and we all got plenty of food! We came back here and played "joker"...the guys won 2 out of 3 games.... we will get them next time! It was a fun evening.
This am we got around and went with Gary/Angela to a craft show at Sun City West several miles from here.... It was amazing how big that place was..... and the things they made was so neat! The place reminded us of "The Villages" in Florida.
When we left there we went to the Flea Market in Goodyear... very disappointing....not much there and NOTHING like we saw in Ocala last year. So we got home around 2:30 today and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Late afternoon our nephew called, Jon from Michigan, and came by ...he had flown down to go to the car races here this weekend..... we had a great visit with him... We were glad to see him...it had been about 3 years since we had seen him.
So Bill is flipping football channels... now watching football..... I think it's time to sew!!!!
Have a good evening!
Until next time!
BJ
Monday, November 3, 2008
pictures
The bottom picture is the entrance to the Resort.
Some of the buildings in the main "quad" part
Some of the buildings in the main "quad" part
Monday
We have had a few busy but also relaxing days getting adjusted around here. Last Thursday we rode around the area with Gary and Angela with them showing us the grocery stores, shopping areas etc... then we went out for dinner at a restaurant called "Sweet Tomatoes"....its like a Soup and Salad place....it was very good!
Friday, Bill worked part of the day and then we went to the store and got some food! Found our way around and came home... we went swimming in the afternoon as it was pretty warm out ...95!
Saturday, we relaxed and just hung around here. We went over to the restaurant here for dinner with Gary and Angela. It was good and now we know what the menu is.
Sunday, I felt "under the weather" a little bit..not sure if it was something I ate or the ice cream from Sat. night.... anyway...slept most of the day after we got home from church.... Bill got to watch football all day!
Monday morning we were ready to go to work! We had a meeting and then a walking tour of the buildings in the "pod".... I was told I didn't need to work as the gals who were cleaning had probably already cleaned so I got to go home! Bill is working now 2 days a week from 8-4:30 and then 1/2 day on Wednesday and off Thursday and Friday. He will enjoy that as he can do some of the morning things he wanted to do.
This afternoon I found my way to a Jo-ann's store and came home in time to go to water aerobics with Angela at 3pm for an hour. The water is wonderful and it is so nice and warm!
So now it time for dinner and I'm fixing the ham I was going to fix yesterday but didn't.... Bill is thrilled! NOT!!! :) I fixed a casserole..... oh well...it supper!
I'm going to attach some pictures so you can see our "winter area ".... enjoy!
Until next time!
BJ
Thursday, October 30, 2008
We are settled in
Good morning!
Yesterday was a day that we just stayed here and got settled in in the morning.... got some of our things out and straightened things up in the rig. Our friend, Gary, came by and visited also. Bill called our nephew, Darrin, and he said he would come by in the afternoon. Darrin stopped by late afternoon and we had a great visit with him.... it was good seeing him again. He is busy and will be gone this weekend ATVing... we hope to see both he and Christina more often!
Bill's supervisor stopped by also and asked him if he wanted to work today and tomorrow so he started working already! He went to work at 10 and he may only work a couple of hours today and his 4 hours tomorrow. Me?.... I'm just messing around here...I have ridden the bike over and donated some books to the library here and signed up for the newspapers to be delivered.
We need to make a trip to Walmart or the grocery store and get some groceries...
We haven't even left the park yet! :)
It has been rather warm here.... 95 both days and I have turned the AC on already at 11 this morning...it seems about this time of the day it just turns HOT!!! It is supposed to cool down this weekend or next week... the morning's are fantastic! So nice and cool...we sat outside for a while this morning before Bill went to work.
Well, that about does it for now...not sure what the rest of the afternoon will bring! Stay tuned!
Until next time!
BJ
Yesterday was a day that we just stayed here and got settled in in the morning.... got some of our things out and straightened things up in the rig. Our friend, Gary, came by and visited also. Bill called our nephew, Darrin, and he said he would come by in the afternoon. Darrin stopped by late afternoon and we had a great visit with him.... it was good seeing him again. He is busy and will be gone this weekend ATVing... we hope to see both he and Christina more often!
Bill's supervisor stopped by also and asked him if he wanted to work today and tomorrow so he started working already! He went to work at 10 and he may only work a couple of hours today and his 4 hours tomorrow. Me?.... I'm just messing around here...I have ridden the bike over and donated some books to the library here and signed up for the newspapers to be delivered.
We need to make a trip to Walmart or the grocery store and get some groceries...
We haven't even left the park yet! :)
It has been rather warm here.... 95 both days and I have turned the AC on already at 11 this morning...it seems about this time of the day it just turns HOT!!! It is supposed to cool down this weekend or next week... the morning's are fantastic! So nice and cool...we sat outside for a while this morning before Bill went to work.
Well, that about does it for now...not sure what the rest of the afternoon will bring! Stay tuned!
Until next time!
BJ
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
WE are here!!!
We left Munds RV Park around 9 this am and got to EL Mirage around 11:15.... the roads of course were great and the traffic wasn't bad at all..... probably a good time to travel in Phoenix as they are doing a bunch of construction on I-17 south...making more lanes.
The park is just beautiful! We haven't seen all of it yet but the part we have seen is so pretty with all the landscaping.....
We got set up and settled in and met our neighbor next door. He works in Activities. All the workkampers are parked together in one area. We will begin Monday morning with an orientation and meeting.... we are looking forward to working here! The office staff seemed so nice....
After we settled in our friends came to see us, Gary and Angela Gish.... they winter here also. Later in the afternoon we went over to their place for supper and a few games of joker which I might have to say...the girls beat the guys by 1 game!
So that about does it for today.... I want to take some pictures of the area here and will post them as I can....
Until next time!
BJ
The park is just beautiful! We haven't seen all of it yet but the part we have seen is so pretty with all the landscaping.....
We got set up and settled in and met our neighbor next door. He works in Activities. All the workkampers are parked together in one area. We will begin Monday morning with an orientation and meeting.... we are looking forward to working here! The office staff seemed so nice....
After we settled in our friends came to see us, Gary and Angela Gish.... they winter here also. Later in the afternoon we went over to their place for supper and a few games of joker which I might have to say...the girls beat the guys by 1 game!
So that about does it for today.... I want to take some pictures of the area here and will post them as I can....
Until next time!
BJ
Monday, October 27, 2008
Gorgeous traveling day
We left Gallup around 9 this morning. The park wasn't too full yesterday afternoon early but by evening lots of travelers on the road. The park filled up pretty fast.
The Interstate in Arizona and New Mexico is so nice! So smooth and not much construction at tall. Certainly not like Louisiana! :)
We arrived at Munds Park south of Flagstaff around 12:30 today pacific time...we didn't realize we would have to change time zones again. So we stopped around 11 and had lunch! The weather is fantastic... it was around 75 here this afternoon. I have cleaned and done laundry and got our laundry almost done.
Munds Park is a nice RV park ...very large and they have lots of park models and many for sale. Sign of the times, maybe????? We have this portion of the park almost to ourselves.... park models around us but no other RV's so far. It is about 14 miles south of Flagstaff.
This is the last night of our journey to El Mirage... we should be there around noon tomorrow.
Until next time!
BJ
The Interstate in Arizona and New Mexico is so nice! So smooth and not much construction at tall. Certainly not like Louisiana! :)
We arrived at Munds Park south of Flagstaff around 12:30 today pacific time...we didn't realize we would have to change time zones again. So we stopped around 11 and had lunch! The weather is fantastic... it was around 75 here this afternoon. I have cleaned and done laundry and got our laundry almost done.
Munds Park is a nice RV park ...very large and they have lots of park models and many for sale. Sign of the times, maybe????? We have this portion of the park almost to ourselves.... park models around us but no other RV's so far. It is about 14 miles south of Flagstaff.
This is the last night of our journey to El Mirage... we should be there around noon tomorrow.
Until next time!
BJ
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Beautiful day in New Mexico
I need to update for a few days... our internet service has been kind of slow haven't been able to get on this site to say hi to you!
Friday morning we got up and around and took the bus to the downtown Plaza in Santa Fe. I was so surprised to see so many adobe type buildings but Bill reminded me we are in New Mexico! The old old buildings and the Plaza is in a square. Lots of Native Americans there peddling their wares! Lots of shops and stores to see. We also walked to the Lorreto Chapel which was gorgeous and amazing! The legend of how it was built was very interesting although we have heard it on the Discovery Channel and Travel channel and others who have been there. I have attached pictures of it and hope this will let me post...
We also walked to the Georgia O'Keefe museum.... now most of you know I am not into "art" and art galleries and neither is Bill ...so he tagged along....it was interesting and she seemed pretty much a "free spirit" for that time period..
After walking around for several hours we took the bus back to the RV park and relaxed for a while. Then we drove down to the Railroad depot area to go to a restaurant called "Thomasitas"...it was very crowded and was very good.... I think I have my "Mexican food" fix for a while!
Saturday morning we mainly hung around the camper so Bill could watch football..... he watched both Ks. teams lose. We went to Walmart and to Linen 'n things as they were closing out.... mostly picked over and not much left ....we left empty handed. Stopping also at the outlet mall and saw many shops closed there too so it was supper time and we stopped at Applebee's for supper.
Bill got to watch MORE football last night and I cut out fabric for a Christmas wreath I am going to start when we get to El Mirage.
We left around 9 this am and drove about 200 miles to Gallup, New Mexico... the day has been gorgeous and no wind at all.... and 75 degrees! Just about perfect!
We are in the USA RV Park in Gallup for the night where we will leave in the morning to go as far as south of Flagstaff... we decided to go short trips this time and not make such long days as we had the time.
So that is about it for now....
until next time!
BJ
Friday morning we got up and around and took the bus to the downtown Plaza in Santa Fe. I was so surprised to see so many adobe type buildings but Bill reminded me we are in New Mexico! The old old buildings and the Plaza is in a square. Lots of Native Americans there peddling their wares! Lots of shops and stores to see. We also walked to the Lorreto Chapel which was gorgeous and amazing! The legend of how it was built was very interesting although we have heard it on the Discovery Channel and Travel channel and others who have been there. I have attached pictures of it and hope this will let me post...
We also walked to the Georgia O'Keefe museum.... now most of you know I am not into "art" and art galleries and neither is Bill ...so he tagged along....it was interesting and she seemed pretty much a "free spirit" for that time period..
After walking around for several hours we took the bus back to the RV park and relaxed for a while. Then we drove down to the Railroad depot area to go to a restaurant called "Thomasitas"...it was very crowded and was very good.... I think I have my "Mexican food" fix for a while!
Saturday morning we mainly hung around the camper so Bill could watch football..... he watched both Ks. teams lose. We went to Walmart and to Linen 'n things as they were closing out.... mostly picked over and not much left ....we left empty handed. Stopping also at the outlet mall and saw many shops closed there too so it was supper time and we stopped at Applebee's for supper.
Bill got to watch MORE football last night and I cut out fabric for a Christmas wreath I am going to start when we get to El Mirage.
We left around 9 this am and drove about 200 miles to Gallup, New Mexico... the day has been gorgeous and no wind at all.... and 75 degrees! Just about perfect!
We are in the USA RV Park in Gallup for the night where we will leave in the morning to go as far as south of Flagstaff... we decided to go short trips this time and not make such long days as we had the time.
So that is about it for now....
until next time!
BJ
Thursday, October 23, 2008
We are in Santa Fe
We made it to Santa Fe around 2 this afternoon. The day was great for driving! The only wind we had was in a canyon. We thought we would maybe have some snow but the only snow we saw was a dusting on the roof's in Trinidad.
But let me back up a couple of days..... Tuesday morning we left and drove around Pueblo Lake with Charlotte and Andy....it was a pretty drive and the day was perfect for it! We stopped for lunch at a small family restaurant called "Pass Key"..it was very good! Then we drove back downtown to the riverwalk. Charlotte and I walked around it and then downtown to some shops. We found the guys parked down a few blocks. A storm came through about the time we came home but we went out to eat Mexican for supper. We were all stuffed by the time we got home! It became pretty chilly throughout the evening. But no snow.... Charlotte and I beat the guys in Joker that night!
Wednesday morning we sat around and decided to go to Walmart and the guys went to get fuel. We just spent the day at the house and relaxed. We fixed some halibut and salmon for supper. This time the guys beat us in Joker! Rats!
We got a good start this morning and got on the road around 9......
We are staying in tonite and I have a meatloaf for supper ready to bake..... tomorrow we will go downtown and scout around..... lots of things to see here for sure!
Until next time!
BJ
But let me back up a couple of days..... Tuesday morning we left and drove around Pueblo Lake with Charlotte and Andy....it was a pretty drive and the day was perfect for it! We stopped for lunch at a small family restaurant called "Pass Key"..it was very good! Then we drove back downtown to the riverwalk. Charlotte and I walked around it and then downtown to some shops. We found the guys parked down a few blocks. A storm came through about the time we came home but we went out to eat Mexican for supper. We were all stuffed by the time we got home! It became pretty chilly throughout the evening. But no snow.... Charlotte and I beat the guys in Joker that night!
Wednesday morning we sat around and decided to go to Walmart and the guys went to get fuel. We just spent the day at the house and relaxed. We fixed some halibut and salmon for supper. This time the guys beat us in Joker! Rats!
We got a good start this morning and got on the road around 9......
We are staying in tonite and I have a meatloaf for supper ready to bake..... tomorrow we will go downtown and scout around..... lots of things to see here for sure!
Until next time!
BJ
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
We made it to Pueblo
We got to Pueblo around 2:45 yesterday afternoon. The traffic on the highways weren't bad at all...most of the time on Hiway 96 we were the only ones! We left Great Bend around 9 and made pretty good time!
We are parked in Charlotte and Andy's driveway.... their driveway now has 2 nice long "drag" marks on it from the rear in drag "things"..... they have their truck in the garage,.... our RV, our truck and their car...... quite a sight I'm sure! But we are soo glad we are here and can spend time with them even for a few days. It rained after we arrived and then clears up....
Not sure what we are doing today so this will be short but wanted to let you know that we are on the way and this is our first stop!
Until next time!
BJ
We are parked in Charlotte and Andy's driveway.... their driveway now has 2 nice long "drag" marks on it from the rear in drag "things"..... they have their truck in the garage,.... our RV, our truck and their car...... quite a sight I'm sure! But we are soo glad we are here and can spend time with them even for a few days. It rained after we arrived and then clears up....
Not sure what we are doing today so this will be short but wanted to let you know that we are on the way and this is our first stop!
Until next time!
BJ
Sunday, October 19, 2008
We are on the road again
We sadly left Topeka this morning around 10 and got to Great Bend around 2:30 this afternoon.... it was very hard leaving the kids yesterday..... Brayden is old enough to understand we won't see them for several months.....
We drove into the wind or fought the wind across Ks. until we turned south into the wind.... we hope the snow that is forecasted for Ks. decides to hold off until we get farther south!
We had supper with our friends here tonite and thoroughly enjoyed beating the guys 2 games to 1 of Joker! :) Mike, ..those boards work pretty good! :) We had a great evening with them anyway! :)
So our plans are to leave in the morning to head west to Pueblo.....
Until next time!
BJ
We drove into the wind or fought the wind across Ks. until we turned south into the wind.... we hope the snow that is forecasted for Ks. decides to hold off until we get farther south!
We had supper with our friends here tonite and thoroughly enjoyed beating the guys 2 games to 1 of Joker! :) Mike, ..those boards work pretty good! :) We had a great evening with them anyway! :)
So our plans are to leave in the morning to head west to Pueblo.....
Until next time!
BJ
Saturday, October 18, 2008
I know..... days later again
Here it is another week gone by! We have been running as usual and the days mix into another......
Since last week we have had football games and last night added basketball games that Brayden has been in ...he is one busy guy!
I got my contacts and have gotten used to them although have been disappointed that I can't see very clear to look down....like watching Lauren sleep! or eating!!!! Distance wise they are fine..... just wearing the "readers" more than I thought I would have too..
Last Friday Bill had a chiropractor appt. in Auburn south of Topeka early in the morning so we went to his appt and then ran some errands. We had to go birthday shopping for Brayden...
Saturday morning Brayden had a football game at 11 so we went to his game and came home... Megan and Jeff came over around 9 and stayed with us and then we went to Erin's later for his lunch and birthday party. He was flying high with his friends and gifts he received!
Sunday morning after church we drove to Megan and Jeff's to take a couple of things to the shed and pick up some things.... one last trip..if we don't have it by now.... too late I guess! We were home relaxing and Jackie came by and wanted to know if we wanted to go to the movie"Appaloosa" and eat out after.... that is exactly what our plans were to do..... so we did.... we like the movie but was disappointed in the story line..... just wasn't the kind of movie we thought it was going to be.
Monday morning we went to Erin's so we could watch Lauren so she could take Bryson to the "pumpkin patch" at school. We spent the morning over there just doing our "Poppa and Grandma holding"..... That afternoon I had an eye checkup and everything looked great so he "let me go".....
Tuesday morning, Bill had a chiropractor appt. so we went to his appt. and thought we could go to the mall and walk around or something but nothing was open at 8:30 .... we went to Barnes and Noble...I can spend hours in that place! I had a dental appt. to get my stitches out at 10 and she took out what was left in...my teeth look good and am glad it is done!
Wednesday we didn't do much...the girls' and I had our "girls' lunch"...the last one for a while! Erin wanted to wash her comforter and we thought it would fit into the washers out here but it wouldn't so I left with her and we found one on 29th that worked...she took it home to dry it and then we met Megan for lunch at Old Chicago. That has been fun to do and I know next spring I would like to fit it in but Erin only has 1/2 hr. for lunch... Megan brought me home.. we said our goodby's then as they were leaving Thursday for the weekend. They went to Tenn. with some friends for the football game there. We went out to Topeka SteakHouse for supper with Bob/Jackie one last time for our "fried chicken night".... then they came over and played "joker" for the evening.
Thursday.... I'm not sure what I did Thursday! :) Got my cleaning done and laundry.. so I wouldn't have to do it this weekend...... We said our goodby's and see ya in Dec. to Bob and Jackie as they were leaving early Friday morning to go to Colorado for the K-State game.
Friday morning, Bill had another chiropractor appt. and I stayed home and just relaxed..... Mid-morning my brother and sister-in-law stopped by from Salina...We hadn't seen them since last Spring..... we had a great visit and it was wonderful visiting with them again. We went to lunch and Gail returned to Salina and Rick went onto Garnett to a shooting sports weekend shoot there.
This morning, Brayden had his last of the season football games... 9 and 10AM.... it was very foggy and cold.... of course he made a touchdown! ;) And when the games were over the sun finally came out! Bryson came home with us and is now napping.... we are going over to Erin's to eat "beer butt chicken" ...Bill has it on the grill now... we will say our goodby's today as we will be leaving for Great Bend Sunday morning....
Our plans are we will spend the night in Great Bend at Harper Camperland so they can look at the "hole" in the cap.... looks like the fiberglass has an "empty" space in it...hopefully they can fix it next spring or we might find someone in AZ. to fix it. We will leave Monday after that to go to Pueblo Co. so see Charlotte and Andy for a few days before heading south.
I will try to do a better job in the days coming up.... thank goodness I am writing in my "planner" what we have done each day or you would be SOL.... :)
Until next time!~~~ on the road!
BJ
Since last week we have had football games and last night added basketball games that Brayden has been in ...he is one busy guy!
I got my contacts and have gotten used to them although have been disappointed that I can't see very clear to look down....like watching Lauren sleep! or eating!!!! Distance wise they are fine..... just wearing the "readers" more than I thought I would have too..
Last Friday Bill had a chiropractor appt. in Auburn south of Topeka early in the morning so we went to his appt and then ran some errands. We had to go birthday shopping for Brayden...
Saturday morning Brayden had a football game at 11 so we went to his game and came home... Megan and Jeff came over around 9 and stayed with us and then we went to Erin's later for his lunch and birthday party. He was flying high with his friends and gifts he received!
Sunday morning after church we drove to Megan and Jeff's to take a couple of things to the shed and pick up some things.... one last trip..if we don't have it by now.... too late I guess! We were home relaxing and Jackie came by and wanted to know if we wanted to go to the movie"Appaloosa" and eat out after.... that is exactly what our plans were to do..... so we did.... we like the movie but was disappointed in the story line..... just wasn't the kind of movie we thought it was going to be.
Monday morning we went to Erin's so we could watch Lauren so she could take Bryson to the "pumpkin patch" at school. We spent the morning over there just doing our "Poppa and Grandma holding"..... That afternoon I had an eye checkup and everything looked great so he "let me go".....
Tuesday morning, Bill had a chiropractor appt. so we went to his appt. and thought we could go to the mall and walk around or something but nothing was open at 8:30 .... we went to Barnes and Noble...I can spend hours in that place! I had a dental appt. to get my stitches out at 10 and she took out what was left in...my teeth look good and am glad it is done!
Wednesday we didn't do much...the girls' and I had our "girls' lunch"...the last one for a while! Erin wanted to wash her comforter and we thought it would fit into the washers out here but it wouldn't so I left with her and we found one on 29th that worked...she took it home to dry it and then we met Megan for lunch at Old Chicago. That has been fun to do and I know next spring I would like to fit it in but Erin only has 1/2 hr. for lunch... Megan brought me home.. we said our goodby's then as they were leaving Thursday for the weekend. They went to Tenn. with some friends for the football game there. We went out to Topeka SteakHouse for supper with Bob/Jackie one last time for our "fried chicken night".... then they came over and played "joker" for the evening.
Thursday.... I'm not sure what I did Thursday! :) Got my cleaning done and laundry.. so I wouldn't have to do it this weekend...... We said our goodby's and see ya in Dec. to Bob and Jackie as they were leaving early Friday morning to go to Colorado for the K-State game.
Friday morning, Bill had another chiropractor appt. and I stayed home and just relaxed..... Mid-morning my brother and sister-in-law stopped by from Salina...We hadn't seen them since last Spring..... we had a great visit and it was wonderful visiting with them again. We went to lunch and Gail returned to Salina and Rick went onto Garnett to a shooting sports weekend shoot there.
This morning, Brayden had his last of the season football games... 9 and 10AM.... it was very foggy and cold.... of course he made a touchdown! ;) And when the games were over the sun finally came out! Bryson came home with us and is now napping.... we are going over to Erin's to eat "beer butt chicken" ...Bill has it on the grill now... we will say our goodby's today as we will be leaving for Great Bend Sunday morning....
Our plans are we will spend the night in Great Bend at Harper Camperland so they can look at the "hole" in the cap.... looks like the fiberglass has an "empty" space in it...hopefully they can fix it next spring or we might find someone in AZ. to fix it. We will leave Monday after that to go to Pueblo Co. so see Charlotte and Andy for a few days before heading south.
I will try to do a better job in the days coming up.... thank goodness I am writing in my "planner" what we have done each day or you would be SOL.... :)
Until next time!~~~ on the road!
BJ
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Thursday evening
It has been a busy couple of days filled with dr. appt.for me!!!!
Yesterday morning I had a dental appt. for the dentist to check my stitches and the sores in my mouth! She relieved me and said things looked good and they are SUPPOSED to look that bad! :) haha!!! She put some "gum" stuff on the front so now I am really not trying smile or move my mouth much! At least it helps relieve the sore on my lip where the stitches were rubbing..... oh the joys of dentistry! NOT AGAIN!!!!
After we left the dentist office we went to Bob/Jackie's new house so that Bill could help Bob lift a limestone sign post to their front yard. We messed around their house until lunch time and then went to eat lunch. I'm still on "soft" food....so a baked potato for me and Bill had the burger and fries at Wendy's. We came home and they went on their way.... I had to get some meds filled and so left to run some errands... you can't just run for a few minutes in Topeka..... it takes most of the afternoon so finally when I got home it was almost 4:30... We had supper and watched TV the rest of the evening.
This morning we went to the Eye dr. office so I could get my contacts..... they fit good and I could see very clear in the distance part but sure notice the difference with trying to read.... so we had to go to Walmart to get reading glasses and sunglasses....but first we stopped by Erin's so we could what her and Lauren were doing. It seemed Lauren had grown so much in just 3 days since we had seen her!!!! She is really filling out and growing....... I told Erin the other day we could almost put pigtails in her hair!!! :) After Walmart we stopped for lunch and then I had one more stop to make before we came home....the rest of the afternoon was spent setting my sewing machine up for embroidery and embroidering some Halloween sucker covers..trying them out and then I ran out of bobbin thread... so that will be another trip tomorrow.... tomorrow is Brayden's birthday so we are going birthday shopping in the morning after Bill goes to the chiropractor.... that will be our day....
We bought a new seat for the Megan's bike that I am using and so after supper Bill and I rode around the park where it is VERY flat! I am still skittish since not being on a bicycle for almost 18 years! The last time I was on one I had a bike wreck and fell off and had a concussion and broke my collar bone..... glad its flat here :) I could really tell the difference in my legs for sure! Talk about being out of shape! :)
So that is about it for this time.....
until next time!
BJ
Yesterday morning I had a dental appt. for the dentist to check my stitches and the sores in my mouth! She relieved me and said things looked good and they are SUPPOSED to look that bad! :) haha!!! She put some "gum" stuff on the front so now I am really not trying smile or move my mouth much! At least it helps relieve the sore on my lip where the stitches were rubbing..... oh the joys of dentistry! NOT AGAIN!!!!
After we left the dentist office we went to Bob/Jackie's new house so that Bill could help Bob lift a limestone sign post to their front yard. We messed around their house until lunch time and then went to eat lunch. I'm still on "soft" food....so a baked potato for me and Bill had the burger and fries at Wendy's. We came home and they went on their way.... I had to get some meds filled and so left to run some errands... you can't just run for a few minutes in Topeka..... it takes most of the afternoon so finally when I got home it was almost 4:30... We had supper and watched TV the rest of the evening.
This morning we went to the Eye dr. office so I could get my contacts..... they fit good and I could see very clear in the distance part but sure notice the difference with trying to read.... so we had to go to Walmart to get reading glasses and sunglasses....but first we stopped by Erin's so we could what her and Lauren were doing. It seemed Lauren had grown so much in just 3 days since we had seen her!!!! She is really filling out and growing....... I told Erin the other day we could almost put pigtails in her hair!!! :) After Walmart we stopped for lunch and then I had one more stop to make before we came home....the rest of the afternoon was spent setting my sewing machine up for embroidery and embroidering some Halloween sucker covers..trying them out and then I ran out of bobbin thread... so that will be another trip tomorrow.... tomorrow is Brayden's birthday so we are going birthday shopping in the morning after Bill goes to the chiropractor.... that will be our day....
We bought a new seat for the Megan's bike that I am using and so after supper Bill and I rode around the park where it is VERY flat! I am still skittish since not being on a bicycle for almost 18 years! The last time I was on one I had a bike wreck and fell off and had a concussion and broke my collar bone..... glad its flat here :) I could really tell the difference in my legs for sure! Talk about being out of shape! :)
So that is about it for this time.....
until next time!
BJ
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
I'm updating you while Bill is yelling at TV......
Of course he is watching the debates... :)
We are doing good for this time..... still dealing with the stitches and soreness in my mouth.... maybe I will lose some weight..... can't really chew much so lots of "soft" food..... and boy am I hungry for Mexican food and chips! haha!!! I have made an appt. tomorrow for her to check out my mouth as I have a sore on my bottom lip where the stitches are rubbing. I hope I don't have infection!
Last Thursday morning we got to watch our granddaughter while Erin went to the dentist.. she was soo good..... she is really filling out and beginning to smile and really hold her head up good. I hemmed Erin's slacks when she got back then after they left I had my eye appt. My contacts should be in maybe tomorrow.
Last Friday we spent most of the day with Bill's sister and brother-in-law....
we had a nice visit and rode around to Auburn and then to Paxico and had lunch.... it was good to see them again...maybe they will make it to Az. for Christmas....
We got the boys late Friday afternoon and then went to Glory Days Pizza for supper. They spent both weekend nights.. we went to Brayden's football game and got to watch him make a touchdown! What a star!!!! He was pretty excited!
We brought their bikes and 4 wheeler and then they rode these for a while in the afternoon.
Sunday morning at the 11:00 Mass Lauren was baptised. She wore the girls' baptism dress and my baby ring and her other grandma's bracelet ....she was all dressed up!
After church we went out to eat together with Ryan's family and ours for lunch.
When we got home we relaxed and then I started sewing while Bill watched football the rest of the day... I ran out of thread for the placemats so had to quit until I got more thread.
Monday morning we made a quick trip to Sam's and the fabric store and then I had to have my eyes dialated so he could check them... when we got home I was able to sew and got the placemats done last night! Yipppeee!!! they are done!!!!
Today our friends, Bob and Jackie, rode with us to Wichita to meet our friends, John and Patsy and also to meet the owners of the park where we will be working. Ron and Nancy also drove from McPherson to have lunch with us.We think we will really like working there. We had a great day and topped it off this evening with ice cream and playing joker..the guys won this time!
So that is our week so far...the rain has left after raining from the afternoon and evening while ending this morning ... it is cool and crisp out this evening.... fall is definitely in the air....
Have a good evening...
until next time....
BJ
We are doing good for this time..... still dealing with the stitches and soreness in my mouth.... maybe I will lose some weight..... can't really chew much so lots of "soft" food..... and boy am I hungry for Mexican food and chips! haha!!! I have made an appt. tomorrow for her to check out my mouth as I have a sore on my bottom lip where the stitches are rubbing. I hope I don't have infection!
Last Thursday morning we got to watch our granddaughter while Erin went to the dentist.. she was soo good..... she is really filling out and beginning to smile and really hold her head up good. I hemmed Erin's slacks when she got back then after they left I had my eye appt. My contacts should be in maybe tomorrow.
Last Friday we spent most of the day with Bill's sister and brother-in-law....
we had a nice visit and rode around to Auburn and then to Paxico and had lunch.... it was good to see them again...maybe they will make it to Az. for Christmas....
We got the boys late Friday afternoon and then went to Glory Days Pizza for supper. They spent both weekend nights.. we went to Brayden's football game and got to watch him make a touchdown! What a star!!!! He was pretty excited!
We brought their bikes and 4 wheeler and then they rode these for a while in the afternoon.
Sunday morning at the 11:00 Mass Lauren was baptised. She wore the girls' baptism dress and my baby ring and her other grandma's bracelet ....she was all dressed up!
After church we went out to eat together with Ryan's family and ours for lunch.
When we got home we relaxed and then I started sewing while Bill watched football the rest of the day... I ran out of thread for the placemats so had to quit until I got more thread.
Monday morning we made a quick trip to Sam's and the fabric store and then I had to have my eyes dialated so he could check them... when we got home I was able to sew and got the placemats done last night! Yipppeee!!! they are done!!!!
Today our friends, Bob and Jackie, rode with us to Wichita to meet our friends, John and Patsy and also to meet the owners of the park where we will be working. Ron and Nancy also drove from McPherson to have lunch with us.We think we will really like working there. We had a great day and topped it off this evening with ice cream and playing joker..the guys won this time!
So that is our week so far...the rain has left after raining from the afternoon and evening while ending this morning ... it is cool and crisp out this evening.... fall is definitely in the air....
Have a good evening...
until next time....
BJ
Thursday, October 2, 2008
time to catch up again!
I swear I don't know where the last 2 weeks have gone but we have been busy! So sorry for not writing sooner but every day I KNOW I should update this blog but I never get to it for some odd reason or another......
So in the past 2 weeks we have kept the boys each weekend at least one night....they have had fun staying with us and we certainly enjoyed them. This weekend we will keep them both nights so they can bring out their bicycles and 4 wheeler to ride..they loved doing that a couple of weekends back.
We have gone to Lawrence also to look for some more things to take and also store more things we don't really need. I found a tub of MORE "unfinished" sewing projects and so I sorted them out and I have high hopes of finishing them this winter.....
We have new tires on the truck so we are all set to travel.... they sure ride smoother than before! Guess it was time! Sure hated emptying the savings acct. for them though! haha!!!
Last Thursday I spent the day at the Fabric Corner here in Topeka embroidering "Sew for Red" on canvas bags for the Am. Heart Assoc. It was fun to do and I enjoyed getting my embroidery module back out again after being put away for several months.
This past Tuesday, I had some dental surgery done on my 2 bottom front teeth that were receding..so now I am sporting stitches on the roof of my mouth as that is where they "harvested" the tissue for the front teeth... so besides stitches on my teeth and the roof of my mouth..... I am now realizing how much of those muscles you use daily! :) I will wear these for 2 weeks then hopefully they will be healed... I am cutting everything up and eating slowly.... ever cut a hamburger up into small pieces for yourself and not a child?????
The weather here in Kansas has just been gorgeous! The evening's and nights are cool but the days have been wonderful! We hope they stay that way until we leave on Sunday, Oct. 19th.
I have been busy sewing also finally finishing some reversible placemats that I started with my friend, Nancy's, help. It is a quilt as you go and so when they are done all I have to do is add the binding and they are done. One side is fall and the other side is Christmas..... I had hopes of getting my quilt done for our bed but guess I will finish it when we get to Az.
So that about wraps up what we have been doing ...this week has been very hectic with the dentist and then today I saw the eye dr. Going to try contacts again..... its been almost 4 years at least since I've worn them so we will see how well I can adjust in a couple of weeks!
We are doing great and Bill has been holding down the fort while I have been going here and there....
I will try to do better.....
until next time!
stay in touch!
BJ
So in the past 2 weeks we have kept the boys each weekend at least one night....they have had fun staying with us and we certainly enjoyed them. This weekend we will keep them both nights so they can bring out their bicycles and 4 wheeler to ride..they loved doing that a couple of weekends back.
We have gone to Lawrence also to look for some more things to take and also store more things we don't really need. I found a tub of MORE "unfinished" sewing projects and so I sorted them out and I have high hopes of finishing them this winter.....
We have new tires on the truck so we are all set to travel.... they sure ride smoother than before! Guess it was time! Sure hated emptying the savings acct. for them though! haha!!!
Last Thursday I spent the day at the Fabric Corner here in Topeka embroidering "Sew for Red" on canvas bags for the Am. Heart Assoc. It was fun to do and I enjoyed getting my embroidery module back out again after being put away for several months.
This past Tuesday, I had some dental surgery done on my 2 bottom front teeth that were receding..so now I am sporting stitches on the roof of my mouth as that is where they "harvested" the tissue for the front teeth... so besides stitches on my teeth and the roof of my mouth..... I am now realizing how much of those muscles you use daily! :) I will wear these for 2 weeks then hopefully they will be healed... I am cutting everything up and eating slowly.... ever cut a hamburger up into small pieces for yourself and not a child?????
The weather here in Kansas has just been gorgeous! The evening's and nights are cool but the days have been wonderful! We hope they stay that way until we leave on Sunday, Oct. 19th.
I have been busy sewing also finally finishing some reversible placemats that I started with my friend, Nancy's, help. It is a quilt as you go and so when they are done all I have to do is add the binding and they are done. One side is fall and the other side is Christmas..... I had hopes of getting my quilt done for our bed but guess I will finish it when we get to Az.
So that about wraps up what we have been doing ...this week has been very hectic with the dentist and then today I saw the eye dr. Going to try contacts again..... its been almost 4 years at least since I've worn them so we will see how well I can adjust in a couple of weeks!
We are doing great and Bill has been holding down the fort while I have been going here and there....
I will try to do better.....
until next time!
stay in touch!
BJ
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Thursday evening
We got moved to another RV park yesterday morning leaving the beautiful view of the lake....we will miss the view but we LOVE this park...see pictures I have posted.
I wondered about the interstate traffic noise and it didn't bother us last night at all.
Today was our son-in-law's birthday so we went to Erin's this am for a visit and then decided to go out for lunch. We ate at Chili's. After lunch we stopped by our friend's Bob and Jackie's new house and visited there until almost 4:30. They invited us back for dessert at 6:30 and to meet their friends. It was a nice evening. They live in an older part of Topeka called College Hill and lots of houses were like ours was..... they have quite a bit of work to do on their house but it will come together I"m sure!
Not much planned tomorrow except keeping the little ones tomorrow night.
So that is about it for this time!
Until next time!
BJ
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
It's time to catch up again!
The weeks are slipping by so quickly....... sorry it's taken so long to post anything exciting in our lives! :)
We really haven't done much this past week although we did make a trip to Hutch to the State fair on Thursday. I thought sure it would rain on us all day at the fair but it held off until late afternoon. We left Wednesday afternoon to stay with our friends in McPherson. We didn't take our "home" with us and so we slept in their daughter's fifth wheel which was parked next to them. We left early Thursday am for breakfast then onto the fair. It seemed the numbers were down in the exhibits there also..... but it was a nice day to mill around as there weren't many people out and around. We met our friends from Madison for lunch and then again for supper. They had been to Sharon Springs to had their Hydro Hot fixed on their motorhome. So we had a nice visit with them. We ate supper then went back to McPherson which then we decided to go on back to Topeka instead of staying overnight. We are glad we did because it didn't hardly rain on us and boy was it raining on Friday morning when we got up! It rained all day Friday and Friday night. Saturday was a cloudy cool day and we spent it just relaxing around here. Sunday morning we went to church then came home as the girls and little ones came for lunch. Their hubby's were both gone to a golf tourneyment and the KC game. Late afternoon we decided to go to a movie that had just came out.... I had been soo hungry for popcorn! It was great and the movie "Righteous Kill" with Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro is fantastic! I told Bill that Al Pacino is my all time favorite actor but Boy does he look old! :)ha ha!!!
Monday morning, Bill helped our neighbor Bob move their stored things from a storage shed to their house they had just bought. He spent most of the day doing that and I had the day to myself except for having lunch with the girls....even Lauren joined us! It was nice and I really enjoyed that! Megan had only about an hour for lunch....so it was a quick one for her. Erin brought me home and then I sewed the rest of the afternoon.... having made 2 baby bibs and 2 pillowcases ... 1 for each of the boys from animal fabric I bought in Alaska for them.
We do have some news to share from last week....we have accepted a job for next summer in Wichita, KS. We decided to be closer to the kids next year and especially for Lauren's 1st birthday..... We are looking forward to being able to be fairly close within an hour of driving and still spending time with them. So we begin toward the end of April and will be done the middle of October. Our next year is planned out!
We are moving to another RV park in Topeka tomorrow morning and we are both looking forward to that. It is a new park and we will have FULL hookups with concrete pads! YIPPPEEEE!!!!! It is a very nice park and we can't wait!
Until next time!
BJ
We really haven't done much this past week although we did make a trip to Hutch to the State fair on Thursday. I thought sure it would rain on us all day at the fair but it held off until late afternoon. We left Wednesday afternoon to stay with our friends in McPherson. We didn't take our "home" with us and so we slept in their daughter's fifth wheel which was parked next to them. We left early Thursday am for breakfast then onto the fair. It seemed the numbers were down in the exhibits there also..... but it was a nice day to mill around as there weren't many people out and around. We met our friends from Madison for lunch and then again for supper. They had been to Sharon Springs to had their Hydro Hot fixed on their motorhome. So we had a nice visit with them. We ate supper then went back to McPherson which then we decided to go on back to Topeka instead of staying overnight. We are glad we did because it didn't hardly rain on us and boy was it raining on Friday morning when we got up! It rained all day Friday and Friday night. Saturday was a cloudy cool day and we spent it just relaxing around here. Sunday morning we went to church then came home as the girls and little ones came for lunch. Their hubby's were both gone to a golf tourneyment and the KC game. Late afternoon we decided to go to a movie that had just came out.... I had been soo hungry for popcorn! It was great and the movie "Righteous Kill" with Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro is fantastic! I told Bill that Al Pacino is my all time favorite actor but Boy does he look old! :)ha ha!!!
Monday morning, Bill helped our neighbor Bob move their stored things from a storage shed to their house they had just bought. He spent most of the day doing that and I had the day to myself except for having lunch with the girls....even Lauren joined us! It was nice and I really enjoyed that! Megan had only about an hour for lunch....so it was a quick one for her. Erin brought me home and then I sewed the rest of the afternoon.... having made 2 baby bibs and 2 pillowcases ... 1 for each of the boys from animal fabric I bought in Alaska for them.
We do have some news to share from last week....we have accepted a job for next summer in Wichita, KS. We decided to be closer to the kids next year and especially for Lauren's 1st birthday..... We are looking forward to being able to be fairly close within an hour of driving and still spending time with them. So we begin toward the end of April and will be done the middle of October. Our next year is planned out!
We are moving to another RV park in Topeka tomorrow morning and we are both looking forward to that. It is a new park and we will have FULL hookups with concrete pads! YIPPPEEEE!!!!! It is a very nice park and we can't wait!
Until next time!
BJ
Monday, September 8, 2008
A cloudy cool Monday
It has been over a week since I've last written..... the days have flown by and we have been on the run the whole time!
We spent a semi-quiet Labor Day weekend and enjoyed having the kids in and out for part of the weekend. The 2 grandsons spent the night with us on Sunday night.
On Tuesday our friends we saw in Rapid City got here for the rally. We had a nice evening visiting and playing joker with them and Bob and Jackie.
Wednesday Jackie and I ran some errands and when we got back the island in the middle of this area was full of Newmar's! We were so glad to see everyone and sat and visited and visited with everyone! There were 25 units here for the "State Rally" and we had a great weekend despite the rainy cool weather. The main event of the weekend was the "Huff 'nPuff"--- balloon launching and flying but since the weather was kind of iffy...they only flew the balloons on Friday night and Saturday morning. Saturday mid-morning it began to rain or drizzle so the balloons were cancelled for the rest of the weekend.
Our friends began leaving after breakfast and by 9:45 the park was almost empty of Newmar's. It was another cool Sunday and Erin/Ryan and family came out after they had finished their errands. We had grilled pork chops for lunch and then they went home for the little ones naps.
It really stormed and rained during the night or early this am. We lucked out and didn't get the wind or hail that other parts of Topeka did. It has been windy and cool all day long.... just a fall day!
We bought a new kitchen faucet this am...so Bill just got finished putting it in..... maybe no more leaking around the faucet with water when you turn on the faucet!!! Whoever designed those faucets we had didn't think that thought clearly for sure!
Well, that about catches us up for this week! I hope things will slow down for a few days now... I have my sewing table set back up....I hope I can begin to sew again..... lots of things to get caught up on!
Have a good week!
Until next time!
BJ
We spent a semi-quiet Labor Day weekend and enjoyed having the kids in and out for part of the weekend. The 2 grandsons spent the night with us on Sunday night.
On Tuesday our friends we saw in Rapid City got here for the rally. We had a nice evening visiting and playing joker with them and Bob and Jackie.
Wednesday Jackie and I ran some errands and when we got back the island in the middle of this area was full of Newmar's! We were so glad to see everyone and sat and visited and visited with everyone! There were 25 units here for the "State Rally" and we had a great weekend despite the rainy cool weather. The main event of the weekend was the "Huff 'nPuff"--- balloon launching and flying but since the weather was kind of iffy...they only flew the balloons on Friday night and Saturday morning. Saturday mid-morning it began to rain or drizzle so the balloons were cancelled for the rest of the weekend.
Our friends began leaving after breakfast and by 9:45 the park was almost empty of Newmar's. It was another cool Sunday and Erin/Ryan and family came out after they had finished their errands. We had grilled pork chops for lunch and then they went home for the little ones naps.
It really stormed and rained during the night or early this am. We lucked out and didn't get the wind or hail that other parts of Topeka did. It has been windy and cool all day long.... just a fall day!
We bought a new kitchen faucet this am...so Bill just got finished putting it in..... maybe no more leaking around the faucet with water when you turn on the faucet!!! Whoever designed those faucets we had didn't think that thought clearly for sure!
Well, that about catches us up for this week! I hope things will slow down for a few days now... I have my sewing table set back up....I hope I can begin to sew again..... lots of things to get caught up on!
Have a good week!
Until next time!
BJ
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
A week gone by already?
Good morning!
It has been a fast and furious week... We got settled in and have been working on the inside and outside of the coach. I did get started last Tuesday cleaning cabinets out and wiping them out. They weren't as dirty as I thought they would be but some were dirtier than others. Guess the dirt and dust doesn't decided which to go to for the best "hiding space".
Wednesday of last week, I finished cleaning all the cabinets and sorting through the closets of the "Alaska cool clothes" for the end of summer ones. It took almost all day doing that. We then went out to eat chicken with Megan at the Topeka Steak House. Yummy to say the least!
Thursday morning, Jackie came over and we decided to go to run a few errands and of course visit the quilt shop here. We called the guys and they met us for lunch then we finished our shopping. After I got home Bill and I had to run to the store and get a few things.
Friday was our "big" day! Erin had to be at the hospital at 7 so we kept the boys Thursday night. We got to the hospital around 9:30 and finally got to see her. She wasn't dialated too much but later in the morning things went fast. She had dialated from a 4 to having the baby in about 10 minutes. Lauren Kay Elizabeth was born at 12:04 PM . She weighed 6lbs. 11 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. She had a full head of hair just like her mom! She is so cute!!! She is doing good and likes to be held ALOT!!! :) Brayden wanted to hold her "16 hours" he said. :) Bryson wasn't sure what was going on but he liked having a baby sister.
Saturday we went to the farmers market here and then onto Salina to see Bill's sister who had back surgery on Thursday. She was moving slow but relieved it was over. Hopefully now she will have some relief. We stopped by the hospital on our way to Salina.
Sunday, we went to church and then went to Megan's for lunch. We had to go through some things at the shed and bring them back to Topeka to go through. We will have to do that again as we sort through things to take and store for the winter.
Monday, I went over to Erin's to do some much needed laundry and spend some time with Erin and the baby. They came home Saturday. I took a roast over and we put it in the crockpot and so we had supper over there Monday eve.
Tuesday, I finished cleaning here and Bill waxed the outside of the coach. Megan came by for lunch. It has been great having them in and out for a little bit at least. The rest of the afternoon I spent doing some sewing the Lauren. We had supper and then went with Bob and Jackie to get a Dairy Queen.
This morning has been just catching up with things inside here and Bill and Bob have made a trip over to an RV place that is closing out. Our big overhead light above the table burned out so he got some more bulbs to replace them. He is now outside on the roof walking around and waxing it. I will be glad when it is all done! It sounds like a giant walking around up there! :)
So that about catches us up for another week here. We will stay here in this spot until Monday and then we are moving to another area of the park for our State Newmar Rally. Looking forward to seeing our friends again and going to a rally this year!
Until next time!
BJ
It has been a fast and furious week... We got settled in and have been working on the inside and outside of the coach. I did get started last Tuesday cleaning cabinets out and wiping them out. They weren't as dirty as I thought they would be but some were dirtier than others. Guess the dirt and dust doesn't decided which to go to for the best "hiding space".
Wednesday of last week, I finished cleaning all the cabinets and sorting through the closets of the "Alaska cool clothes" for the end of summer ones. It took almost all day doing that. We then went out to eat chicken with Megan at the Topeka Steak House. Yummy to say the least!
Thursday morning, Jackie came over and we decided to go to run a few errands and of course visit the quilt shop here. We called the guys and they met us for lunch then we finished our shopping. After I got home Bill and I had to run to the store and get a few things.
Friday was our "big" day! Erin had to be at the hospital at 7 so we kept the boys Thursday night. We got to the hospital around 9:30 and finally got to see her. She wasn't dialated too much but later in the morning things went fast. She had dialated from a 4 to having the baby in about 10 minutes. Lauren Kay Elizabeth was born at 12:04 PM . She weighed 6lbs. 11 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. She had a full head of hair just like her mom! She is so cute!!! She is doing good and likes to be held ALOT!!! :) Brayden wanted to hold her "16 hours" he said. :) Bryson wasn't sure what was going on but he liked having a baby sister.
Saturday we went to the farmers market here and then onto Salina to see Bill's sister who had back surgery on Thursday. She was moving slow but relieved it was over. Hopefully now she will have some relief. We stopped by the hospital on our way to Salina.
Sunday, we went to church and then went to Megan's for lunch. We had to go through some things at the shed and bring them back to Topeka to go through. We will have to do that again as we sort through things to take and store for the winter.
Monday, I went over to Erin's to do some much needed laundry and spend some time with Erin and the baby. They came home Saturday. I took a roast over and we put it in the crockpot and so we had supper over there Monday eve.
Tuesday, I finished cleaning here and Bill waxed the outside of the coach. Megan came by for lunch. It has been great having them in and out for a little bit at least. The rest of the afternoon I spent doing some sewing the Lauren. We had supper and then went with Bob and Jackie to get a Dairy Queen.
This morning has been just catching up with things inside here and Bill and Bob have made a trip over to an RV place that is closing out. Our big overhead light above the table burned out so he got some more bulbs to replace them. He is now outside on the roof walking around and waxing it. I will be glad when it is all done! It sounds like a giant walking around up there! :)
So that about catches us up for another week here. We will stay here in this spot until Monday and then we are moving to another area of the park for our State Newmar Rally. Looking forward to seeing our friends again and going to a rally this year!
Until next time!
BJ
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
WE ARE BACK IN KANSAS, DOROTHY!
We left Sunday morning around 8 after saying goodbye to our friends, Linda/Larry and Gary and Angela.We had such a good time in Rapid City with the 6 of our friends. We really enjoyed being with you all!Thanks so much!
It was a gorgeous day to travel with no wind and the sun shining brightly but not too hot! We drove to Henderson, Nebraska which is about 7 miles west of York. We spent the night in a small campground there.
Monday morning, we drove into York and had breakfast...our last one on the road for this trip. So getting started around 9 we drove south back to Kansas! We crossed into Belleville around 10ish... then found Hiway 36 over to Hiawatha.
We got to Topeka around 1:30 yesterday afternoon. Our friends, Bob and Jackie, were here to greet us at Lake Shawnee...it was great to see them and set "our camp" up again! We got set up and visited for most of the afternoon catching up on this and that. Around 4 Megan came over to see us. She didn't stay too long as she needed to get home to let their dogs out. About 45 minutes later Ryan, Erin and the boys came over for supper. It was so good to see them all and have time with them. We have really missed them all. The little boys have really grown over the summer. Brayden wanted to spend the night last night but they will this weekend.
So we spent the rest of the evening after they left just relaxing. This morning we haven't accomplished as much as we had planned but I guess the day isn't over with yet.
After traveling 10,148 miles I guess we deserve a break! We feel so blessed that we were able to travel and go when and where we can. We saw some gorgeous scenery and realize there is so much of the US that we want to see and experience. We have only touched the surface so far. We were also very happy to be back in the "lower 48" ... just something about being closer to home and in the states made us appreciate what we have that much more.
So now I need to get busy today and begin some deep cleaning.... I can tell the cabinets still have the fine Alaska dirt waiting for me to find it! :)
Now our life will be back to the "normal daily stuff"..... but stay tuned.... when we would talk to some of you, you shared you had read the blog... we appreciate that and it encouraged me to write when I didn't have much to write! Please keep in touch!
Until next time!
BJ
It was a gorgeous day to travel with no wind and the sun shining brightly but not too hot! We drove to Henderson, Nebraska which is about 7 miles west of York. We spent the night in a small campground there.
Monday morning, we drove into York and had breakfast...our last one on the road for this trip. So getting started around 9 we drove south back to Kansas! We crossed into Belleville around 10ish... then found Hiway 36 over to Hiawatha.
We got to Topeka around 1:30 yesterday afternoon. Our friends, Bob and Jackie, were here to greet us at Lake Shawnee...it was great to see them and set "our camp" up again! We got set up and visited for most of the afternoon catching up on this and that. Around 4 Megan came over to see us. She didn't stay too long as she needed to get home to let their dogs out. About 45 minutes later Ryan, Erin and the boys came over for supper. It was so good to see them all and have time with them. We have really missed them all. The little boys have really grown over the summer. Brayden wanted to spend the night last night but they will this weekend.
So we spent the rest of the evening after they left just relaxing. This morning we haven't accomplished as much as we had planned but I guess the day isn't over with yet.
After traveling 10,148 miles I guess we deserve a break! We feel so blessed that we were able to travel and go when and where we can. We saw some gorgeous scenery and realize there is so much of the US that we want to see and experience. We have only touched the surface so far. We were also very happy to be back in the "lower 48" ... just something about being closer to home and in the states made us appreciate what we have that much more.
So now I need to get busy today and begin some deep cleaning.... I can tell the cabinets still have the fine Alaska dirt waiting for me to find it! :)
Now our life will be back to the "normal daily stuff"..... but stay tuned.... when we would talk to some of you, you shared you had read the blog... we appreciate that and it encouraged me to write when I didn't have much to write! Please keep in touch!
Until next time!
BJ
Saturday, August 16, 2008
A Beautiful Saturday in the Black Hills
The past few days we have been in and out and doing some sightseeing.
Thursday we washed the outside of the RV...it sure needed it. We finally got the "Alaska dirt" off of the outside. It looks much better and we will do a better job when we get to Topeka. After lunch we drove to Hot Springs and then to the Mammoth Sight. It was so neat! They have built a building around the archeological sight of Mammoth bones. They are still digging and have found about 50 mammoths so far. Just amazing!
After that we drove through Custer State Park and saw some buffaloes,deer and antelope. It was a nice ride for sure!
Friday morning, Angela and I went quilt shop "hopping". The quilt stores were great and it was hard to decide what was coming home with me! I got some fabric to make a Christmas wreath... I plan to get it done so I can put it in the picture window.
We didn't do much yesterday afternoon but laundry here. For supper, we went with our friends and her brother and their friends to a chuckwagon supper and show at the "Dances with Wolves" set. It has really changed since we were there before. They have added a chuckwagon and more gift shops. The show was good and the food was good too! We enjoyed the evening.
Today, Bill and I ran into Rapid City to the store and stopped by the Black Hills Gold store only to come home empty handed......
We had everyone over for supper tonite and we fixed halibut and Larry grilled steak. Each couple brought something so we had quite a feast! It was fun visiting with everyone and the weather has been just gorgeous today. Only got to about 80 or so.
We are leaving in the morning for Ks.... planning to get to York, Nebraska at least.
Stay tuned...we are almost home!
So until next time!
BJ
Thursday we washed the outside of the RV...it sure needed it. We finally got the "Alaska dirt" off of the outside. It looks much better and we will do a better job when we get to Topeka. After lunch we drove to Hot Springs and then to the Mammoth Sight. It was so neat! They have built a building around the archeological sight of Mammoth bones. They are still digging and have found about 50 mammoths so far. Just amazing!
After that we drove through Custer State Park and saw some buffaloes,deer and antelope. It was a nice ride for sure!
Friday morning, Angela and I went quilt shop "hopping". The quilt stores were great and it was hard to decide what was coming home with me! I got some fabric to make a Christmas wreath... I plan to get it done so I can put it in the picture window.
We didn't do much yesterday afternoon but laundry here. For supper, we went with our friends and her brother and their friends to a chuckwagon supper and show at the "Dances with Wolves" set. It has really changed since we were there before. They have added a chuckwagon and more gift shops. The show was good and the food was good too! We enjoyed the evening.
Today, Bill and I ran into Rapid City to the store and stopped by the Black Hills Gold store only to come home empty handed......
We had everyone over for supper tonite and we fixed halibut and Larry grilled steak. Each couple brought something so we had quite a feast! It was fun visiting with everyone and the weather has been just gorgeous today. Only got to about 80 or so.
We are leaving in the morning for Ks.... planning to get to York, Nebraska at least.
Stay tuned...we are almost home!
So until next time!
BJ
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Wednesday evening
We had a great day traveling and didn't leave until around 8:30 this am. Our next door neighbors in Buffalo were just beginning their new adventure of full timing. They had only been fulltimers for 12 days. They were from Oregon and wanting some info. about workkamping also. We can relate to all they are experiencing!
We got to Hart Ranch around 1 today and have had a busy and wonderful day seeing our friends again. It was great to visit with them and see how things were and are going with them. We are visiting with our friends from Stockton who have been fulltiming for over 7 years and are also part of our Newmar group. They also happen to have a Torrey Pine almost like ours! The outsides are the same but their floor plan is like our Kountry Star with the kitchen on the opposite side as ours. Also here are 2 couples who we worked with last summer at Elk Meadow in Estes Park. It was great to see them all and we grilled hamburgers and ate together, before the storm came!
Hart Ranch is a membership RV park with concrete drives and patios. The park from what we have seen of it so far is just beautiful! Can't wait to explore some more of it! It seems to be around 5-6 miles south of Rapid City.
Well, that is about it for today. Tomorrow we are going to the Hot springs and Mammouth fossils. Not sure what else is on the agenda!
Until next time!
BJ
We got to Hart Ranch around 1 today and have had a busy and wonderful day seeing our friends again. It was great to visit with them and see how things were and are going with them. We are visiting with our friends from Stockton who have been fulltiming for over 7 years and are also part of our Newmar group. They also happen to have a Torrey Pine almost like ours! The outsides are the same but their floor plan is like our Kountry Star with the kitchen on the opposite side as ours. Also here are 2 couples who we worked with last summer at Elk Meadow in Estes Park. It was great to see them all and we grilled hamburgers and ate together, before the storm came!
Hart Ranch is a membership RV park with concrete drives and patios. The park from what we have seen of it so far is just beautiful! Can't wait to explore some more of it! It seems to be around 5-6 miles south of Rapid City.
Well, that is about it for today. Tomorrow we are going to the Hot springs and Mammouth fossils. Not sure what else is on the agenda!
Until next time!
BJ
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Tuesday evening
We stayed an extra day in Bozeman, Montana yesterday because the motor for the slide out took lots longer than anticipated. They worked from 9AM -3:30PM yesterday and finally got the "shaft" part loosened enough to be able to get the new motor on. They found a screw that was screwed to the gear box from the outside and shorting the motor out. That had to have been done at the factory. So since it was so late we decided to stay another night. We left around 8 this am for Buffalo, Wyoming.
We got here around 1:30 today. It was a gorgeous day with very little wind and no clouds ! We went into town and washed the truck finally! We still have "Alaska dirt" on the coach but it will have to be there until we get back to Topeka. The coach is going to get a thorough cleaning next week for sure! We have had so many twists and turns that things are not setting straight in the closets.
We will leave in the morning for Rapid City,South Dakota to spend a few days with our friends at Hart Ranch. We are looking forward to visiting with them and catching up!
So until next time!
BJ
We got here around 1:30 today. It was a gorgeous day with very little wind and no clouds ! We went into town and washed the truck finally! We still have "Alaska dirt" on the coach but it will have to be there until we get back to Topeka. The coach is going to get a thorough cleaning next week for sure! We have had so many twists and turns that things are not setting straight in the closets.
We will leave in the morning for Rapid City,South Dakota to spend a few days with our friends at Hart Ranch. We are looking forward to visiting with them and catching up!
So until next time!
BJ
Sunday, August 10, 2008
We are back in the States!!!!
We made it to Bozeman, Montana today after driving from Fort Macleod, Alberta. We left around 7:30 this am after telling our friends goodbye. The drive today was so pretty and it was a GREAT feeling to be back in the US!!!! When the border patrol guard told us "Welcome home"....it was a great feeling!!!!
The drive south today from Great Falls was so pretty. It had a few canyons that wound around the Missouri River and down the mountain range. After we got to Helena we took a "side" highway 287.... it was a great FLAT road! It was a divided highway for most of the way and just great! We found our campground just as it began to rain big time this afternoon. So we just waited in the truck for it to stop in about 10 minutes! It has been cool this evening. The campground is called Bear Canyon Campground and it about 6 miles east of Bozeman but it is really nice. We have full hookups and a great view of the valley below us. We ate out this evening at Applebee's for supper. Haven't been to Applebee's all summer!
We will call in the morning to make an appt. for the camper to get the slide out motor fixed and then hopefully we will be on our way. If it is almost noon or so we may just stay here another day. We are not sure how far we will get tomorrow.
We have seen some gorgeous scenery of Upper North America but this is just so pretty with the trees and valley and fields below. We made a trip to Walmart today and we were just in heaven!!!! The prices were so low! hahaha!!!! After paying $6.49 for a chunk of cheese we got some today for $2.82!!!! Amazing!!!! Bananas were only 58 cents a lb!!!!! not 79 or 99 cents a pound!!! We are really going to appreciate the "lower prices" we haven't had for a couple of months! The wifi here is probably not the best but we are also using our Alltel internet now and we are zipping on this laptop! Are we back in "civilization"???? :) You really do take things for granted and appreciate the things you have!
It was wonderful talking to our kids today and catching up with them after a week of not talking to them. We should be back in Topeka by early next week.
So until next time!
BJ
The drive south today from Great Falls was so pretty. It had a few canyons that wound around the Missouri River and down the mountain range. After we got to Helena we took a "side" highway 287.... it was a great FLAT road! It was a divided highway for most of the way and just great! We found our campground just as it began to rain big time this afternoon. So we just waited in the truck for it to stop in about 10 minutes! It has been cool this evening. The campground is called Bear Canyon Campground and it about 6 miles east of Bozeman but it is really nice. We have full hookups and a great view of the valley below us. We ate out this evening at Applebee's for supper. Haven't been to Applebee's all summer!
We will call in the morning to make an appt. for the camper to get the slide out motor fixed and then hopefully we will be on our way. If it is almost noon or so we may just stay here another day. We are not sure how far we will get tomorrow.
We have seen some gorgeous scenery of Upper North America but this is just so pretty with the trees and valley and fields below. We made a trip to Walmart today and we were just in heaven!!!! The prices were so low! hahaha!!!! After paying $6.49 for a chunk of cheese we got some today for $2.82!!!! Amazing!!!! Bananas were only 58 cents a lb!!!!! not 79 or 99 cents a pound!!! We are really going to appreciate the "lower prices" we haven't had for a couple of months! The wifi here is probably not the best but we are also using our Alltel internet now and we are zipping on this laptop! Are we back in "civilization"???? :) You really do take things for granted and appreciate the things you have!
It was wonderful talking to our kids today and catching up with them after a week of not talking to them. We should be back in Topeka by early next week.
So until next time!
BJ
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Our last night in Canada
I wrote a long post last night and the internet at Hinton KOA was soooo sporadic and varied it didn't post! So frustrated.... I turned off the computer! So I need to catch up from last Monday...sorry it has taken so long to write but the service we have we had has been very very slow.
We left Dawson Creek on Wednesday. We decided to stay in Dawson another day after getting the hitch welded since it was mid morning anyway.... I think we all needed another day to rest up. So bright and early Wednesday morning we left Dawson Creek and drove to Hinton KOA just north of Jasper National Park. We learned that Jasper National Park and Banff National Park are almost connected via the "Icefield Parkway". We called right away to try to get into an RV park in Canmore but no space for us. So we decided to stay an extra couple of days at Hinton and drive back and forth. The KOA was a beautiful park and very nice .... the only downfall was the internet. They received their satellite service from Georgia!!!! SO it was SLOW!!!The road from Dawson Creek was a good road and from Grand Prairie it was very mountainous and the driving was long and hilly.
Thursday morning we drove down to Jasper and after lunch we reserved a van to take us to the Columbia Icefields. It was quite an experience! We drove to the Icefield Center and then got on a bus/coach to take us to the "Ice Explorer" which drives on the glacier. The Ice Explorer is a huge "bus" that has 5' tall tires on it..... It only goes 12 mph and it drove us to the glacier. We were able to get out onto the ice and explore for about 15 minutes. The ice on the glacier is about 1000 feet thick and it is melting. The water was perfectly clear and very cold. The ice was blue and felt just like walking on our backyard during the winter! haha!!!
Friday morning we went back down to Jasper and decided to go on the tram up above the town of Jasper. Our friends went but Bill and I ... ok....I decided I couldn't go up that thing..... I just couldn't see myself going up that high in that box..... so Bill and I waited and people watched while they did. They said the views were spectacular. We came back home and fixed fresh halibut for supper. It was wonderful!
This morning we got around early and left by 7 to drive down the Icefield parkway from Hinton to MacLeod, Alberta. It was about 375 miles today. We are out of the mountains and we should have divided highways the rest of our trip. I feel like I am back in some civiliation! haha!!! The drive today was very pretty but pretty much the same thing we have seen the past week. Can you tell we are getting tired of the mountains? They are just gorgeous but I guess we are tired of driving and traveling so long each day.
This is where we split in the morning from our friends from Stockton who have been with us since May 26. We have had a good time together and have planned this trip for so long and now its time to go our seperate ways.Time has gone by fast. They are going to Glacier National Park and Yellowstone and then down to see their new grandson in Colorado. We are leaving here in the morning to drive to Bozeman,Montana so we can be at a dealership on Monday to get our slide out motor replaced. Then we will drive onto Buffalo, Wyoming or part way on Monday depending on what time they are done with the motor repair.
In another post I will include pictures we have taken this past week. We have seen several bear, caribou, deer, elk, mountain goats and sheep this week.
So that catches us up on this past week.... hopefully now we will have better internet as we will be again able to use our cell phone service when we get back to the states. Yea!!!!
So until next time!
BJ
We left Dawson Creek on Wednesday. We decided to stay in Dawson another day after getting the hitch welded since it was mid morning anyway.... I think we all needed another day to rest up. So bright and early Wednesday morning we left Dawson Creek and drove to Hinton KOA just north of Jasper National Park. We learned that Jasper National Park and Banff National Park are almost connected via the "Icefield Parkway". We called right away to try to get into an RV park in Canmore but no space for us. So we decided to stay an extra couple of days at Hinton and drive back and forth. The KOA was a beautiful park and very nice .... the only downfall was the internet. They received their satellite service from Georgia!!!! SO it was SLOW!!!The road from Dawson Creek was a good road and from Grand Prairie it was very mountainous and the driving was long and hilly.
Thursday morning we drove down to Jasper and after lunch we reserved a van to take us to the Columbia Icefields. It was quite an experience! We drove to the Icefield Center and then got on a bus/coach to take us to the "Ice Explorer" which drives on the glacier. The Ice Explorer is a huge "bus" that has 5' tall tires on it..... It only goes 12 mph and it drove us to the glacier. We were able to get out onto the ice and explore for about 15 minutes. The ice on the glacier is about 1000 feet thick and it is melting. The water was perfectly clear and very cold. The ice was blue and felt just like walking on our backyard during the winter! haha!!!
Friday morning we went back down to Jasper and decided to go on the tram up above the town of Jasper. Our friends went but Bill and I ... ok....I decided I couldn't go up that thing..... I just couldn't see myself going up that high in that box..... so Bill and I waited and people watched while they did. They said the views were spectacular. We came back home and fixed fresh halibut for supper. It was wonderful!
This morning we got around early and left by 7 to drive down the Icefield parkway from Hinton to MacLeod, Alberta. It was about 375 miles today. We are out of the mountains and we should have divided highways the rest of our trip. I feel like I am back in some civiliation! haha!!! The drive today was very pretty but pretty much the same thing we have seen the past week. Can you tell we are getting tired of the mountains? They are just gorgeous but I guess we are tired of driving and traveling so long each day.
This is where we split in the morning from our friends from Stockton who have been with us since May 26. We have had a good time together and have planned this trip for so long and now its time to go our seperate ways.Time has gone by fast. They are going to Glacier National Park and Yellowstone and then down to see their new grandson in Colorado. We are leaving here in the morning to drive to Bozeman,Montana so we can be at a dealership on Monday to get our slide out motor replaced. Then we will drive onto Buffalo, Wyoming or part way on Monday depending on what time they are done with the motor repair.
In another post I will include pictures we have taken this past week. We have seen several bear, caribou, deer, elk, mountain goats and sheep this week.
So that catches us up on this past week.... hopefully now we will have better internet as we will be again able to use our cell phone service when we get back to the states. Yea!!!!
So until next time!
BJ
Monday, August 4, 2008
Monday evening I think????
I really had to look at the calendar today when we got Dawson Creek to see what day it was! We have traveled for 4 days at an average of about 400 miles per day... too damn many if you ask me,..... but I'm not driving! I think we are on the downhill slide now if nothing else happens..... now let me back up...
We drove from Whitehorse, Yukon Sunday to Liard Hot Springs, BC yesterday going ONLY 468 miles! It was a long long day! Lots of twists and turns and many many hills and mountains in the meantime. The roads have improved greatly since we came this same route in May and early June. We got to see a black bear, a huge Grizzly bear by the side of the road, caribou and and deer. The weather has been great and that helps things along tremendously. When we got to Liard Hot Springs which is a provincial park we had only elec. and water. Bill noticed when he let the big slide out it wasn't doing a normal sound....and then it quit. So we got the big slide out back in and locked it.... we will have to have Newmar find a dealer when we get to the states and get it fixed somehow.
We left around 7:30 this am and drove 388 miles today to Dawson Creek, BC. We are almost on the line of Alberta... we saw many deer in the road and also caribou out this am. We had some long pulls today and high hills. Thankfully the roads have improved since June so that helped. When got to the Mile O campground Bill noticed the top part of the hitch had a crack in it. Now in the morning we will have to call a place here in Dawson Creek to have them come weld it...hopefully we will be on the road tomorrow and not have to wait around till much later for them to come weld it. With all the bumps, permafrosts heaves, its a wonder and we are thankful that we found it now and not on the road when it fell off!
We will be going to Jasper, Alberta tomorrow and then onto Banff on Wed. if everything falls the right way. I just looked outside and 9:45PM and its dark out! We haven't had that since we left Ks in May!!!! Holy Cow! :)
It's nice and cool here which is great as we aren't ready to go back to the KS heat!!!! We haven't even had the AC turned on this new unit.... keep your fingers crossed!
Well, its time to close for now.....
Until next time!
BJ
We drove from Whitehorse, Yukon Sunday to Liard Hot Springs, BC yesterday going ONLY 468 miles! It was a long long day! Lots of twists and turns and many many hills and mountains in the meantime. The roads have improved greatly since we came this same route in May and early June. We got to see a black bear, a huge Grizzly bear by the side of the road, caribou and and deer. The weather has been great and that helps things along tremendously. When we got to Liard Hot Springs which is a provincial park we had only elec. and water. Bill noticed when he let the big slide out it wasn't doing a normal sound....and then it quit. So we got the big slide out back in and locked it.... we will have to have Newmar find a dealer when we get to the states and get it fixed somehow.
We left around 7:30 this am and drove 388 miles today to Dawson Creek, BC. We are almost on the line of Alberta... we saw many deer in the road and also caribou out this am. We had some long pulls today and high hills. Thankfully the roads have improved since June so that helped. When got to the Mile O campground Bill noticed the top part of the hitch had a crack in it. Now in the morning we will have to call a place here in Dawson Creek to have them come weld it...hopefully we will be on the road tomorrow and not have to wait around till much later for them to come weld it. With all the bumps, permafrosts heaves, its a wonder and we are thankful that we found it now and not on the road when it fell off!
We will be going to Jasper, Alberta tomorrow and then onto Banff on Wed. if everything falls the right way. I just looked outside and 9:45PM and its dark out! We haven't had that since we left Ks in May!!!! Holy Cow! :)
It's nice and cool here which is great as we aren't ready to go back to the KS heat!!!! We haven't even had the AC turned on this new unit.... keep your fingers crossed!
Well, its time to close for now.....
Until next time!
BJ
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Saturday evening in Whitehorse
We finally made it to Whitehorse, Yukon around 7:00 this evening. It has been along day. We left around 8:30 this am after eating breakfast at the Sourdough campground "cafe"... very good sourdough pancakes and biscuits and gravy. We ran into construction about 10 miles outside of Tok. It was mostly pavement breaks until we got into the "major" construction. That only lasted about 4 miles and we had to take it very very slow. Then the rest of the way was lots and lots of permafrost "rising's" out of the asphalt. Some were horrible but we could dodge them as there wasn't that much traffic on the road.
Once we got into Canada there was only 2 construction places and the biggest one was around the Kluane Lake where they are putting in a new bridge. Then it was pretty smooth sailing the rest of the way....chipped and sealed and a nice road. We traveled almost 400 miles today..... we just got home from eating supper and now its time for bed!
We are planning on leaving here at 8 in the morning then going to either Liard Hot Springs or farther depending on how tired we are..... we gained an hour today too so that made the day cut short! The temp's are rising also...we saw 73 for the first time this summer! :)
We also saw a small bear cub on the side of the road and a huge moose, and a silver fox..... yesterday we didn't see any animals.
So that's about it for now...I will get some pictures downloaded and share with you.
Until next time!
BJ
Once we got into Canada there was only 2 construction places and the biggest one was around the Kluane Lake where they are putting in a new bridge. Then it was pretty smooth sailing the rest of the way....chipped and sealed and a nice road. We traveled almost 400 miles today..... we just got home from eating supper and now its time for bed!
We are planning on leaving here at 8 in the morning then going to either Liard Hot Springs or farther depending on how tired we are..... we gained an hour today too so that made the day cut short! The temp's are rising also...we saw 73 for the first time this summer! :)
We also saw a small bear cub on the side of the road and a huge moose, and a silver fox..... yesterday we didn't see any animals.
So that's about it for now...I will get some pictures downloaded and share with you.
Until next time!
BJ
Friday, August 1, 2008
Tok
Just a quick note this evening....we are all very very tired and glad to be in Tok...it was a long day of driving and bumpy bumpy roads..... they wwere paved but just bumpy from permafrost....
We saw some gorgeous scenery today ...... saw a HUGE glacier.... will post pictures when we have better wifi and we are not outside dodging bugs!
Plan to go to Whitehorse tomorrow...only 300 miles instead of the 500 we did today!
Until next time
BJ
We saw some gorgeous scenery today ...... saw a HUGE glacier.... will post pictures when we have better wifi and we are not outside dodging bugs!
Plan to go to Whitehorse tomorrow...only 300 miles instead of the 500 we did today!
Until next time
BJ
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Our final day at Diamond M Ranch, July 31,2008
Our time here is almost over. We plan to leave around 7 in the morning to begin to head east. Don/Connie are going with us while Andy/Charlotte and Ron/Nancy are staying and moving to another RV park for a few days to fish. Our freezers are all full so guess they will be canning or smoking their fish they catch!
It is a gorgeous day today and high's are probably now in the 70's...first time since we have been here! We have been busy today putting things away and getting laundry caught up and put away. We went into town to go to the grocery store and made a few other stops. One is our new "favorite" place..you guessed it! The Moose is Loose Bakery! We had to get a roll and some cookies to snack on for the trip home. :)
Most of our work is done--Bill is napping... and we are having a halibut supper tonite! Our friends, Ron and Nancy have been busy today smoking halibut! We are going to have smoked, grilled and baked halibut tonite for supper. The rest of us will contribute whatever.... can't wait!
Our plans are to head to Tok,Alaska tomorrow ...it will be about 350 miles. They have wifi there as we stayed there before we went to Fairbanks. So we will be on the road again! We hope the weather stays with us but none of us are looking forward to the heat ..... we complain because its cool but don't want to go back to the heat either!
So until next time!
BJ
It is a gorgeous day today and high's are probably now in the 70's...first time since we have been here! We have been busy today putting things away and getting laundry caught up and put away. We went into town to go to the grocery store and made a few other stops. One is our new "favorite" place..you guessed it! The Moose is Loose Bakery! We had to get a roll and some cookies to snack on for the trip home. :)
Most of our work is done--Bill is napping... and we are having a halibut supper tonite! Our friends, Ron and Nancy have been busy today smoking halibut! We are going to have smoked, grilled and baked halibut tonite for supper. The rest of us will contribute whatever.... can't wait!
Our plans are to head to Tok,Alaska tomorrow ...it will be about 350 miles. They have wifi there as we stayed there before we went to Fairbanks. So we will be on the road again! We hope the weather stays with us but none of us are looking forward to the heat ..... we complain because its cool but don't want to go back to the heat either!
So until next time!
BJ
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday July 28
Monday morning rolled around and Jeff left with Andy and Don to go salmon fishing. They got back around 11 or so and Jeff got his limit of 3 salmon! Boy was he excited and so relieved to catch his fish! He cleaned them and we freezer packed them and of course he had to mark them "Special.... " Duncan's Kenai Salmon! Do you think he will ever open the package's??? HAHAHa, Jeff!
Megan, Bill and I went to the store for some more packing supplies and got a few groceries. We spent the day smoking some fish for the others and hanging out here with Charlotte and Connie too. The sun began to shine some and it was a pretty nice day.
Jeff had the fishing bug for sure and wanted to go out before they left around noon on Tuesday so he went out again Monday evening but didn't get anything. Good thing.... he had gotten his limit that morning! ;)
But Tuesday am he just knew he was going to get his limit again but he lost 3 big ones on the pole..... He was ready to stay for a few days longer but plans had been made so they got ready to leave. We took them to the visitors center in Kenai to meet their van/bus for the ride to Anchorage.
Bill smoked fish for the others the rest of the day and we just hung around here. Nancy came back from fishing so her and I rode to a quilt shop in the country.... it was sooo neat and way back in the woods! The lady had a really neat shop and I picked up some Alaska fabric to make some placemats..... another project to do!
We ate supper last night again outside as the day became just gorgeous! It was nice to sit outside and relax a little bit even after supper.
This am Ron/Nancy and her dad,Don and Andy went on another halibut charter with some friends of Ron/Nancy.... not sure where they are putting all their halibut they get as their freezers are full!
Well, that about sums up our past few days....the clouds are out a little bit today but the sun is still shining...it is too be nice the rest of the week....hope so as we will leave here early Friday am for Kansas.
Until next time!
BJ
Sunday's adventure/ Halibut fishing
Sunday morning we got up early and headed to Ninilchik around 40 miles south of here for our halibut cruise. We got to the charter office and waited until they arrived. They loaded our "stuff" up and off we went to the ocean! It was drizzling and continued for the rest of the day but not really heavy. We rode in a fairly large boat with 2 other girls joining the 4 of us. A funny thing they had the same last name as we did! Their parents live in Soldotna for about 2 months on the Kenai River and then spend the rest of the year in Lake Havusu, Az. Small world>>>> we think maybe they are related way down the line.....
Anyway.... we rode about 5 miles out or so but we could still see the Cook Inlet and the mountains all day. It became just cloudy at times but still very cool. We all wore our heavier coats....darn...I brought my earmuffs just for the cruise on Saturday and Sunday and then forgot to bring them! Bill still teases me about that! CRS!!!! :)
So the guide baited the hooks and 3# lead weight for us as we were fishing for halibut at the bottom of the ocean. One of the gals got a fish first. Then Jeff...he was sooo excited! I don't think he realized how much strength a 25# fish feels like!
Bill was next catching his fish and kept it although it was smaller. When I caught mine I was trying to take a picture of Bill's and the guide got mine and said I had a big fish on!!!! OH MY GOSH!!! I got a 55# halibut!Megan's fish were about in the 25# range and she wasn't sure she was going to get any! Finally they started to bite and we all got our limit of 2 each. What a lot of meat we got!
The rest of the fish were pretty good size...around the 20# range but my second fish was about a 45# halibut! Our freezer is now full of halibut from the 4 of us! Towards the end of the fishing the drizzle got heavier and heavier. We didn't care..we were so excited at having caught the halibut and being able to take some home. It was alot of fun and we all really enjoyed it!
Catching up again
I wrote last night and added pictures and then hit send... it didn't send. The wifi here in the park is becoming horrible after 4 PM ..... (time to leave,huh???)
It's ridiculous we can't get on and there are not that many in the park now. Oh well.....
So let me tell you about our weekend! We had a fantastic day on Seward. We left around 7:30AM and drove to Seward about 90miles from here. The day was cloudy and cool when we left and some drizzle. By the time we got to Seward the sun was beginning to shine and it was just cloudy with sun peeking through for the rest of the day! We got on the catamaran and found our places we felt we could see the best. Megan and Jeff stayed up on top mos of the time until it got colder.
We saw sea otters, Dall porpoises, a "superpod" of about 30 Killer whales,~~Wow! What a sight! ~~ Humpback whales, an eagle, Puffins, various species of sea gulls, jellyfish, Stellar sea lions rookery and some other birds I was able to mark off in my bird book!
Then we went to the Holgate Glacier! Wow! The pictures just do not do them justice! The ice is sooo blue and we stayed around 25 minutes or so and actually got to see it "calve"... break off into the ocean. There is where it got really cold and windy and we saw jellyfish! They told us the temp was around 40 but the water temp. was about 20 degrees. We got back to the docks around 5 and then ate supper and headed home. What a great day!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Friday night July 25
We have had a busy day today......
Thursday, Bill went fishing again and came home with nothing..... so many stories and guidance but nothing in the net..... some say the fish aren't in yet some say the weather is too cool yet.....
I cleaned most of the morning and got the laundry done...just everyday chores anymore! It rained and was cool all day so chili was on tap for supper! It was pretty good.
We went to the airport in Kenai to get Megan/Jeff around 11:30 last night and it was still light out! The plane was on time and it took only minutes to get their luggage and we left to go home! We set the bed up in the living room before we left so they could go to bed right when we got home. It was almost 12:30 before we settled down and we had an early morning this am. It is wonderful to have them here!!!
This am after we got around we went down to the fishing place where they go fishing so Jeff could try his luck fishing. It was shoulder to shoulder with people so we went to another place and Jeff got to try his luck. No luck for him either. The only thing he got was a wet wader! He took a deeper than he thought step and got his jeans etc. wet! We came back for lunch and then decided to go to Kenai so they could see the dipnetters fish. We watched them for about 45 minutes. We then drove to Soldotna to see the chainsaw "creations"... then came home. We all went out to eat for Charlotte's birthday..... a small restaurant about 3 miles from here. It was great...we all had good food!
Saturday, we are leaving around7:30 in the am to go to our Kenai Fjord tour for the day. We are all excited to do this! We hope to see whales and lots of other animals.
Sunday, we have chartered a halibut fishing trip.... so we will have a couple of busy days.... stay tuned!
Until next time!
BJ
Thursday, Bill went fishing again and came home with nothing..... so many stories and guidance but nothing in the net..... some say the fish aren't in yet some say the weather is too cool yet.....
I cleaned most of the morning and got the laundry done...just everyday chores anymore! It rained and was cool all day so chili was on tap for supper! It was pretty good.
We went to the airport in Kenai to get Megan/Jeff around 11:30 last night and it was still light out! The plane was on time and it took only minutes to get their luggage and we left to go home! We set the bed up in the living room before we left so they could go to bed right when we got home. It was almost 12:30 before we settled down and we had an early morning this am. It is wonderful to have them here!!!
This am after we got around we went down to the fishing place where they go fishing so Jeff could try his luck fishing. It was shoulder to shoulder with people so we went to another place and Jeff got to try his luck. No luck for him either. The only thing he got was a wet wader! He took a deeper than he thought step and got his jeans etc. wet! We came back for lunch and then decided to go to Kenai so they could see the dipnetters fish. We watched them for about 45 minutes. We then drove to Soldotna to see the chainsaw "creations"... then came home. We all went out to eat for Charlotte's birthday..... a small restaurant about 3 miles from here. It was great...we all had good food!
Saturday, we are leaving around7:30 in the am to go to our Kenai Fjord tour for the day. We are all excited to do this! We hope to see whales and lots of other animals.
Sunday, we have chartered a halibut fishing trip.... so we will have a couple of busy days.... stay tuned!
Until next time!
BJ
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Wednesday am, July 23
It is another cloudy rainy day in Alaska! But the weatherman said this weekend is to be nice again with the sun coming to visit! Yahoo!!!!
It has been cloudy since Monday and little sun....
Sunday evening we all decided to go try out Cold Stone Creamery in Soldatna after we ate supper. It was delicious!
Monday, the guys went fishing again and Bill didn't catch anything but the others didn't catch much either... the fish aren't finding them or something!
I sewed most of the afternoon and evening...it has been great having the sewing machine set up in the living room and being able to leave it up and not have to take it down every few days. I have gotten most of my projects done that I wanted to do here so that is an accomplishment! I started on some placemats that are called the "The Cotton Theory".... sew and quilt as you go so they are done when you have them together.... I am using fall fabric on one side and Christmas on the other.... in some different colors for me... getting out of my box actually! They are not hard to do but you have to really concentrate or lose your place!
Charlotte and I went to town yesterday morning and found a few Alaska gift shops..... we decided it was time for a donut at a bakery called "The Moose is Loose"....that place is heaven!!! So we were at the counter and the guys came in.... so they joined us before we seperated. Charlotte and I found some more souvenirs and also stopped at a greenhouse...OH MY GOSH!!!the flowers there were just gorgeous and so HUGE!!! The hanging baskets were taller than I am! They had so many different flowers in them and so pretty! I hope to get back there and take some pictures before we leave so I have proof! :) All the flowers here are so big and doing very well when the sun comes out to stay! You can tell a difference about their growing patterns when its rainy and cool.
The park had a potluck last night and of course it really began to rain when we headed over there for supper...so we ate salmon and then left.... they had it under a tent and it was cold and wet... the line of people was so long I'm surprised they had enough food left for everyone.....
Bill is fishing with the guys this am... Connie made it back from her visit with her new grandson and is sleeping right now.... She spent the night in the Anchorage airport and took a flight this am to Kenai. Anxious to talk to her and see pictures of the new little one.
So that is about our news for now.... have a good Wednesday or what is left of it for you!
Until next time!
BJ
It has been cloudy since Monday and little sun....
Sunday evening we all decided to go try out Cold Stone Creamery in Soldatna after we ate supper. It was delicious!
Monday, the guys went fishing again and Bill didn't catch anything but the others didn't catch much either... the fish aren't finding them or something!
I sewed most of the afternoon and evening...it has been great having the sewing machine set up in the living room and being able to leave it up and not have to take it down every few days. I have gotten most of my projects done that I wanted to do here so that is an accomplishment! I started on some placemats that are called the "The Cotton Theory".... sew and quilt as you go so they are done when you have them together.... I am using fall fabric on one side and Christmas on the other.... in some different colors for me... getting out of my box actually! They are not hard to do but you have to really concentrate or lose your place!
Charlotte and I went to town yesterday morning and found a few Alaska gift shops..... we decided it was time for a donut at a bakery called "The Moose is Loose"....that place is heaven!!! So we were at the counter and the guys came in.... so they joined us before we seperated. Charlotte and I found some more souvenirs and also stopped at a greenhouse...OH MY GOSH!!!the flowers there were just gorgeous and so HUGE!!! The hanging baskets were taller than I am! They had so many different flowers in them and so pretty! I hope to get back there and take some pictures before we leave so I have proof! :) All the flowers here are so big and doing very well when the sun comes out to stay! You can tell a difference about their growing patterns when its rainy and cool.
The park had a potluck last night and of course it really began to rain when we headed over there for supper...so we ate salmon and then left.... they had it under a tent and it was cold and wet... the line of people was so long I'm surprised they had enough food left for everyone.....
Bill is fishing with the guys this am... Connie made it back from her visit with her new grandson and is sleeping right now.... She spent the night in the Anchorage airport and took a flight this am to Kenai. Anxious to talk to her and see pictures of the new little one.
So that is about our news for now.... have a good Wednesday or what is left of it for you!
Until next time!
BJ
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)