Let’s Catch Up…

Well, let me see, if my calculations are correct, it has been about three weeks since my last blog.  And, after being prodded by several of my readers, I decided that I better try to catch up!

When I last blogged, we were on our way home from the Rio Grande Valley for the holiday season.  But, before landing at home, we spent a wonderful week at Cowtown RV Park with great friends.  I won’t relive that to you as…

Joe, Weldon, and JB, kept their blogs updated and you were all well informed of the fun we had while together.  The only thing I could add…is that Mark and I were so blessed to be able to spend Thanksgiving with in our hometown with a great bunch of friends.

The week passed by far to quick, and we soon found ourselves having to say  “see ya” until next time.

Mark and I traveled 3 miles east and settled in at Karen and Kenneth’s.  With Thanksgiving behind us, it was time to start with the Christmas decorations.

  So, it was out with

the tree and a

Santa here or there and I was done.

Then it was on to the shopping…and with list from five grandkids, it was going to take a little time.  Thank goodness for online shopping, which took care of several items I could not find.  Once all the shopping was finished, it was time to sort and

wrap.

And, thanks to

Kourtney, who with help from her mom, got the big tree decorated.  Now, I have a place to put all those gifts.

  She also did a great job helping her dad

decorate the outside.

She also put up her nativity set…not sure how the

donkey got the angel’s job!

With the decorating, shopping, and wrapping behind me, it was time for Mark and I to start all the annual doctor appointments.  Mark managed to get his done in two visits, while I am still visiting doctors, labs, and imaging centers.  Guess it takes a lot of routine maintenance as we age. But, I can’t complain…I do report that so far all is good and hope that the rest of the appointments turn out as well.  We are so thankful to be blessed with good health.

In addition to the routine maintenance for ourselves, Mark has been staying busy doing a little routine maintenance on the motor home.  He changed

 

water filters and drained the hot water heater so he could change

the anode rod.  I think it needed it!

He also has spent quite a bit of time researching a water softener for the motor home.  We hook up to so many different water systems across the country and, because we know that the water in the Rio Grande Valley is very hard, we decided it would be beneficial for us.  So, after much research, he decided on the

 

Mark 8000 from Flow Pur.  It, of course depends on the hardness of the water, but, it should take care of about 800 gallons of water before going through the regeneration process which operates with a box of table salt. We are certainly hoping it will do the trick for us…I will have to report back in a month or so.

His list of “to do’s” also included getting the cover for the Jeep repaired.  It had with wear become torn in a couple of spots.  John Brown has the same cover as we do, and he told Mark to ship it back to the company and they would repair it for no cost.  So, we did, and all it cost was the shipping.  It should arrive back to us “good as new” in the next few days.  Thanks John!  

Then, with that project behind him, he started researching a bike rack for the Jeep.  I have heard from a reindeer that Santa might be delivering us a couple of new bikes.

Then, there are those projects that just happen!  Yesterday, as Mark was going out the door, the

glass in the front screen just broke right in his hand.  Not the first time this has happened to us.  The first time, we sent to Tiffin for a new piece of glass.  This time, we went to Ajax Glass, a local company, here in town and are having them make us a plastic replacement section.  Hopefully, this will take care of the problem.

Even though our days have been filled with lots of projects and appointments, there have also been fun family times.  We enjoyed having our

great-nephew home from Colorado for Thanksgiving.  In this picture, he is singing a song about a turkey.  His grandma, my younger sister, had to help out just a little.  Great song, Kyle, Aunt DD and Uncle Mark were sure glad you got to be home for a few days.

Then, there has been hockey with our three grandsons…

Andrew is playing on his first organized team, while

 

Zachary is taking skating and stick and puck classes and…then there is

Caden, who thinks he is as big as the other boys.  He will be starting skating classes after the first of the year.

Lauren is still playing

 

volleyball and loving it.

Kourtney is just busy being

a princess…entertaining us with song and dance.

Everyone is out of school tomorrow, and, I am sure that between now and Christmas, our days will be filled with lots of fun.  We have a baking day and a sleepover planned…and who know what else make take place when the five of them get together.  But, that is what makes the holidays special to us.

For now, I think…we are caught up on the news from here.  And, as I close this blog post, we hope each of you are enjoying the Christmas season.

See you back here real soon.

And…the fun continued

After a great

game in College Station on Saturday night, Karen and Kenneth made it by to the RV Park around 1 am.  Way to go Aggies!

Yesterday, we had a leisure morning…Kourtney and Caden wanted homemade blueberry pancakes…of course they got them.  And, before we could get the last bite in, they were ready for another day in the park.

While Caden and Uncle Kenneth were off riding bikes, Kourtney decided she wanted to

  

climb in the tree.  Soon Caden returned

from his bike ride and decided to

 

join Kourtney in the tree.

Then, we need to check out

the water park…a little too cold today, but a promise was made that we would come back in the summer.

Well, that thought was soon put on hold and they were

 

off for

tee time at Boo Boo’s golf course.

Some of you golfers might need a lesson from

these two.

Well,

the form might not be great, but

the adventure was priceless.

We then managed to work in time for some grilled hot dogs, some afternoon football with the Dallas Cowboys , and naptime.

Wow…another great day!

Today, we enjoyed another leisure morning before starting the pick up and pack up process.  When it was time for Karen and Kenneth to head out,

these two needed to say their good-byes to Yogi and

catch a ride on the bus to Fort Worth with Poppa.

What a great weekend we had.  And, now, as we travel to Fort Worth, we are looking forward to time with family and friends.  We will be making our home at Cowtown RV Park this week, were we will be joined by Rod and Deb, JB and Brenda, Weldon and Sandy, and Joe and Sherri.

And, as we enter this week of Thanksgiving, we want to wish all of you a blessed holiday.  As we count our many blessings…we want you each to know that we are so blessed to be able to call each one of you family and friend.

Heading North

I know that this time of the year, North is not the direction to go.  However, when it gets to be Thanksgiving and Christmas time…this girl is going where family is.  And, besides that…North Texas isn’t really like going too far North…

At any rate, yesterday, in the warm sunshine of the RGV…

Mark enjoyed one last cup of coffee before

pulling out and hooking up.

We waved to several as we

left Lark Drive and headed out

83 and north on 281.

It wasn’t long until we were at the

Border Patrol check.  This was a pretty busy place yesterday.  We thank these folks for the job they are doing.

We enjoyed the afternoon, not much traffic, and soon found ourselves arriving in Victoria, Texas, were we planned an overnight stop.  When here, we choose the

Sam’s/Wal-Mart parking lot.  They are always very gracious about us staying on their lots.  And, I don’t know why they wouldn’t be…I mean after spending several dollars in both stores, we settled in for a good night’s sleep.

We were up and gone this morning before Sam’s opening.  And, once again, we headed up 77 North to Schulenburg, where we picked up I-10 East.

We made a stop at

this beautiful roadside park.  After a short break, we traveled on East to just past Sealy, which is almost to Brookshire.  There we picked up a small farm road and headed North…and only in Texas, would you have to stop for

a caravan of

covered wagons and horses.

And, only in Texas…do they start riding

at this age.

Thank goodness, at this point, we were only a few miles from

our destination.  We checked in and settled into

our site just in time.  It wasn’t long until Karen and Kenneth arrived to deliver

two hungry campers.

After unloading the car, Karen and Kenneth were back in the car and on their way back to College Station.  They were looking forward to spending the rest of the day with fellow Aggies, tail-gating and going to the A&M/Nebraska football game.  Gig Em’ Aggies!

Well, once the parents were gone, (LOL), we settled in to an afternoon of fun…we

rode bikes…

played in the comfy zone…

played hide and go seek…

waved to Cindy Bear…

went on a hayride and sang songs…

colored shirts…

helped Poppa wash the windshield…and

learned how to

make a great campfire!

Wow…and this was only day one of our trip North…and can’t wait for more just like it!

Looking Ahead…

Wow…this week has flown by.

After working so hard on the coach house, we finally have had time to just hang out.  The weather has been beautiful in the RGV this week.  We have enjoyed walks in the park, dips in the pool, pizza on the patio, visits with friends.  And, a special treat this morning was breakfast with the girls  at the Courtyard Cafe.  Afterwards, Pat, Linda, and I, decided we needed a nail appointment and a much needed pedicure. Wow, the week is almost gone.

And, now just as more and more folks arrive in the RGV, and our streets here at Retama begin to fill up, it has come time for us to hook up, and head North.

As, we look ahead…our travel plan will first take us to the Yogi Bear Park in Waller, Texas, where we plan to enjoy a couple of days with Kourtney and Caden…then it will be on to Fort Worth…where the pace will pick up.

Not only are we looking forward to time with family…we are also excited about spending a few days catching up with Rod and Deb and John and Brenda. We are also hoping that Joe and Sherri and maybe even Weldon and Sandy will be able to join us as well.  Gosh, this could be the making of a party!

So, for now, as this week draws to a close and we look forward, we invite you to travel with us and stayed tuned…for I am sure in the weeks ahead...there is an adventure in the making!