Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Twice As Nice!

November, 2010 – Really, really nice being back with our peeps in Texarkana, AR/TX (AR/TX =the Twice as Nice slogan)! Had a wonderful time with Gus, Edith, and other family and friends! (and doctors and dentists) Enjoyed a couple of great concerts while there, too. I think I could live there!!


Shady Pines
Shady Pines
11-1-10: Got to Texarkana and set up at Shady Pines. The foliage around there is really pretty! Colors really starting to pop.

Edith and Spice
11-2-10: After hanging out with Edith and meeting her new dog, Spice, we had supper at Chili's with David, Gus, Jakeb/Lacey, Lisa C, Marlyse, Laurie, Sherry/Billy. Fun! Great catching up!

Lisa and Me
"Niece" Keasha
11-4-10: David, Gus, Lisa and I went to a “downhere” concert at FBC. They rocked! Would def like to hear them again. One of the bands that opened for them was called Finding Favour. I think we'll be hearing more of them over the next few years. (thx again, Lisa, for getting me their autographed cd) Chris Sligh from American Idol also sang. Great to see Keasha/Dustin and Donna there! Fun night!!

11-8-10: Crystal made me, uh, I mean, let me host a jewelry party at her house tonite. She sells some really nice jewelry and several of my friends came out – it was great seeing them!

11-9-10: David, Edith, Jakeb, and I went to see Secretariat. Great movie!!

Rocky on the Inside
11-12-10: Took Rocky to a back specialist. Was hoping he could help David, too. LOL. He doesn't work on humans. He didn't recommend surgery on Rocky (whew!), because he couldn't guarantee it'd help. But he emailed us some great pix of his insides (see attached). Rocky is cool inside and out!

11-14-10: Cranford is sure preaching some powerful messages at Antioch Christian Church! Today was on positive thinking. Sigh. Ok, ok – we are starting to get it, Cran!

11-15-10: While at the clinic taking care of some of my appts, I ran into Janet – one of my good college friends! Haven't seen her in about 9 years! And neither of us live in Texarkana any more. Fun seeing her. Would've been more fun to run into each other at the mall or Chili's or something, but I guess at my age the clinic is becoming my new social locale.

11-16-10: Moved out to Lake Wright Patman – Clear Springs. It's amazingly pretty there! Crazy thing is that I lived in Texarkana for 50 plus years and never camped out there til we retired and started fulltiming. Beautiful trees, fall colors, deer, and the lake itself is just so pretty! Don't know that I ever appreciated the beauty of it before. So relaxing being out there! Good for the soul.

Mindy and Me
Patsy, Emily, and Gus at Agnew Concert
The Girls at Todd Agnew Concert
Todd Agnew and me
11-18-10: Caught up with Mindy today over lunch and then went to a Todd Agnew concert tonite at Faith Baptist on the AR side. David and I saw him last year and just really love his sound. Really blessed to have been able to share the night with Cranford/Kathey, Linda, Donna, Emily, Patsy, and David and Gus. And Laurie was there, too! Cranford made sure I got my pic taken with Todd afterwards. (see attached). Pocket Full of Rocks played also.

Campfire
11-19-10: Edith and I met Linda and Maxine for lunch. I could listen to Maxine's and Edith's travel stories all day! Those women are world travelers for sure! I learn so much from them! I hope someday to have their energy! College friends, Lisa and Debbie and their hubbies came out tonite and we sat around the campfire, ate chili, and laughed a lot! Mostly at Lisa's expense! What a blast!

Edith on 91st bday w/Rocky
Gus, Me, and Jakeb
11-20-10: Celebrated Edith's 91st bday!! David grilled burgers for her, Gus, Jakeb and had a campfire going because the forecast was for a cool, clear day. But it was overcast and cooooold! So we ate under blankets and then went inside to warm up. Yes, Cranford, I'm thankful for our blankets. And propane! Later a couple of third-graders decided to hang out with David and me around our fire. I think we reminded them of their grandparents. They found a mussel and eventually got their dad to open it. ICK!!!!! (see attached).

Sherry and Peanut
11-21-10: Had turkey and dressing today at Edith's. Yum! Jakeb, Lacey, and Gus joined us. Later Billy and Sherry set their camper up across the road from us at the lake. Always fun to have good friends near!

Sitting on the Dock of the Bay
My Rocky

Pelicans at Wright Patman
11-22-10: Rocky and I took a little walk to the dock today and saw something I'd never seen.(and I'm pretty sure Rocky never had either) A flock of about 1000 or so white pelicans! On the water. It was awesome! Watched them for about an hour. They would dip down into the water for fish (looked like a wave at a football game) and follow each other around in a circle, like a merry-go-round. It was so quiet out there except for them. Their “fishing” sounded like a waterfall! Several little black ducks nearby also.

Heron
A gray herron landed and hung out on the beach near us. I'd never heard their sounds before. Kind of a screaching quack sound. He seemed to want to make sure all the other wildlife knew he was about to land! Beautiful setting to watch them on the water with all the fall trees around.

11-23-10: Took Edith to hospital to have a heart procedure done. Thankfully, it went perfectly. She was knocked out for it. When she woke up a dr, nurse, and I were standing by her bed. She held up her hand and said “don't start yet, I'm still awake!” That cracked us up.  Gotta love anesthesia!!

Jeff and Crystal
Garry and Marlyse
Tonite David, Gus, and I met some of my work buddies (did I say “work”??? I haven't used that word in awhile!) for supper: Crystal/Jeff, Billy/Sherry, Marlyse/Garry. The acoustics were such in the restaurant that I couldn't hear much that was being said. But there was a lot of laughter, so I'm thinking we had fun!

11-24-10: David played golf today with Jakeb. I sat by the campfire most of the day – and went in and out cooking for Thanksgiving. So relaxing! Love being in the woods, near the water.

Marlee Kay
Nathan
Pam, Meleah, and Laci
Miller Goff
Will and Christena
My Brother and Me
Gus, the Outsider in the Longhorn shirt
11-25-10: Wonderful Thanksgiving Day at Bill/Pam's in Benton. 3 new babies were there since last year (Lauralei, Marlee Kay, and Ethan) and one new spouse (Christena). A new fiance' was going to be there (Jakeb's Lacey) but they had a blowout shortly after leaving Texarkana and didn't make it before most of us had to leave. Very happy they were not injured!

My Gus and Me
Bailey and Me
Bailey
11-26-10: Gus and I watched my granddog, Bailey, play in the lake today. She would run and jump off the dock and fetch sticks. Over and over and over. The pelicans were still out there, but she didn't seem concerned about them. Just wanted that stick! Then we took Bailey and Rocky on a trail. That's the best Rocky has been able to walk in awhile. Had supper at Amigo Juan's tonite with Cranford/Kathey and their sweet Bailey. Granddaughter, not granddog.

Lake Wright Patman
Clear Creek at Lake Wright Patman
David?
Rocky and Me
Kathey and Me
Me and the Preacher
Sweet!
Cranford and David
11-27-10: David, Rocky, and I walked 3 trails today. Really pretty day. Rocky was almost frisky. I may try some of his steroids! Watched most of the Razorback/LSU game at the Graves' house, visited Graham Crackers and got to see Russell/Alicia. Then spent the evening around Billy/Sherry's campfire. Gonna be hard to leave in a couple of days.

Bailey and Gus
11-28-10: Said our goodbyes today to Edith and Gus.

This has been an action-packed month! God has blessed us with such a wonderful family and so many good friends.
Back at JCRV
Getting re-aquainted with Boo Boo
12-1-10: Arrived today in the TX Hill Country. We are parked in a beautiful pecan orchard where the axis deer own the place! (same place we stayed last winter) This part of the state has so many exotic game ranches, a rich German heritage, and lots to learn. Getting to see my friends that I met here last year. Already played a couple of hands of “Panties” with Dee and Sarah. Rocky seemed to know where we were as soon as we pulled onto the road. He spotted the donkeys from last year: Boo-Boo, Sugarbaby, and Major. He got all excited as though he remembered them! Although he immediately got a foot full of burrs, he was eager to walk around and get re-aquainted with all the familiar smells. We are going to stay here December and January, so will send more info later.

Merry Christmas and safe holidays from

Hog Wild (go Sugar Bowl!) and Texarkana Baby (ever heard that song?)

Monday, November 1, 2010

The Land of Ahhh's.........


Kansas – the Land of Ahhh's. So wonderful to spend time with all my inlaws and grandkids. We got to celebrate 4 family bdays during the 3 weeks we were there, met a brand new great-niece – Abby -- and met a nephew's new bride, Shannon! We camped some with Doug, Sheila, and Heather Louise!

Ah -- “back home, in Arkansas”..... I had no idea how much I missed Arkansas until we got back into it! Since I lived in Arkansas the first 20 plus years of my life, it really does feel like I'm back home. It's beautiful, cozy, and there are no language barriers for me. Got to camp 2 weeks with Jerri and George. Rec'd a text from my first nephew – Jakeb – that he got engaged to Lacey, and met a new great-nephew-most-likely-to-be, Ethan – Laci's foster son.

More info in the travelog below:

The mtns surrounding Creede, CO
9-19-10: After a nice breakfast with Ann and David, we sadly departed Creede. Yep, I could live in Creede! Spent tonite in Lamar, CO. Small world – we parked right next to a couple we'd met at Creede: one of David's golfing buddies. Near Lamar, we saw a lot of farmland with signs that read “Not For Sale to Army”. Had to google that one!

9-20-10: Welp, I finally drove the rig!!!! I figured I could prob do it for about an hour. But after 15 minutes I handed the wheel back over to David. I'll try it again sometime, gotta get comfortable with that. But it was pretty windy and made me a little nervous. But I have that first time behind me! Haha.

Avery
Got set up at El Dorado State Park in Kansas and immediately went to see Justin and family. The grandsons are such a blast and such a blessing! They are 2 and 3 now and are growing and changing at a rapid rate. And of course, they are the smartest kids in the world! The new granddog (Great Dane) is soooo sweet! The boys have a map of the USA in their room and are marking the spots we visit. We both thought that was cool – and a great learning tool.

9-23-10: We had some fun family time with my David's brother, Doug and family this weekend as they set up their camper next door to us. Loved getting to hang out with them!

Heather Louise
Uncle Bug, Dodger, and Asher at EDSP
Asher studying the situation
Andrew heading down the slide
9-26-10: Remember the whistling preacher I wrote about in Creede? Well, we had another whistler today at Justin's little church. A boy, prob around 8 or 9, sat on the front row and whistled to “At the Cross”. Not really part of the program. Sooo funny and actually pretty good! Got to hear Brooke, our daughter-in-law, sing a solo:“In Remembrance”. And learned that Justin is about to become a deacon. We're pretty happy about that.

9-28-11:  Celebrated Justin's 28th at Red Lobster with him, Brooke, and the boys.  Our kids are sure getting old!!


The Dam Hill
9-29-10: David and I walked all the campground loops and also up the dam hill. Great walk! My hiking stick came in handy, once again.

9-30-10: We played 18 holes at Andover. Short course, great weather, and fun day! I think Kansas wind may be helpful to my game. If I'm hitting with it and not against it.

EDSP Trail
Me and Pippa
The McClintock's at Prairie Rose Chuckwagon
Mac's 80th

Dan and Abby

Chowing down


10-2-10: David and I walked the bike path into town and back. Got a pic by Pippa – she inspired me. LOL. Celebrated my father-in-law's (Mac) 80th bday tonite with a surprise party at the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon. His kids and grandkids came in from all over to share this night with him. The McClintock's love to laugh – at each other mostly. What a fun night.
I'm driving the wagon!
On the wagon
I got to “drive” the hay wagon – which was led by two of the widest horses I've ever seen.
Justin's stage debut
 Justin dazzled the crowd in a stick horse race against a lady from another group. (see pic).

Bryce and Shannon
We all met Bryce's new wife, Shannon for the first time.
Proud Great-Grandpa
Mac, Abby, and Bonnie
And what a blessing for Mac to get to meet Ryan's and Jen's baby, his new great-granddaughter, Abby, for his 80th bday! I sure missed Wanda, but could definitely feel her spirit there with all the laughter and love.

Asher
Andrew
10-3-10: After church, Justin brought his little family out to the camper. They decided this was the time to try to tent camp with our grandsons. Andrew was so excited. Once the tent was set up he plopped on the bed and said “this is just wonderful!”. And it was. Until about 2:00 a.m. Evidently, he and Asher kinda tag-teamed it on sleeping that night. But once Andrew started complaining of his tummy hurting, they decided to hop in the car and head home. He wasn't kidding. Got sick in the car as they drove away. But....

Justin, Brooke, and the boys
Ready to Roll with Grandpa
Asher
Bec and David
10-4-10: They came back today. We had so much fun riding bikes all over the campground, to Pippa, to the playground,

Grandpa and Andrew, Grammy and Asher
Justin, Brooke, and the boys
Justin, Brooke, Asher, Andrew at EDSP in KS
 to take pix by cool trees. They didn't try the overnight thing again.

10-6-10: We played 18 holes in Andover with Tiger Wood (Justin) and Rod. Fun day – the mood was set before the 1st tee box when Rod's bag fell off his cart. We were correct in thinking that might've been a sign. But we really had a blast!



10-8-10: Took Rocky back to vet for bloodwork. HE GOT HIS FIRST SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT! Woohoo. Didn't know dogs got those. He got it for being over 7 yrs old.

Linda Sue and Greg
Becky and David
Played 9 holes with Greg and Linda Sue. Fun!! Ok, I know it's a short course, but I broke 50 and birdied a hole! Been a long time since I've done that! Went to their house for chili and cinnemon rolls. That was a new combo for us. It was yummy!

Asher and Brooke
10-9-10:  Celebrated Brooke's 30th today at their church.


10-10-10: Got a text today from Linda W. at 10:10. Get it? 10:10 on 10-10-10. Thx Linda!
David and I started a new game to keep us amused while driving. When you see a sign that says “low shoulder”, ---- you guessed it ---- each dips one shoulder at the same time. I know what you're thinking, but I wasn't the nerd this time! David started it. Which made it even funnier.

10-11-10: Left for Smith Center, KS this morning. Saw miles and miles of stone post fences. I commented on how cool that was, and dang if I didn't find a postcard about it later. Never dreamed it'd be on postcards. Really interesting. (you might google it). Saw a full rainbow at the rv park!

Old Dutch Windmill in Smith Center, KS
10-12-10: Today is Gus' 27th bday and our one-year anniv of hitting the road. Can't believe he's that old and can't believe we've already been fulltiming for a year! We did a little exploring in Smith Center while camper was being serviced. Discovered an old Dutch windmill which was pretty awesome and a neat story with it. Went from there to Topeka through the beautiful Flint Hills. Gorgeous part of Kansas. Saw another brilliant rainbow. In the news: they are beginning to bring the Chilean miners up who've been trapped for 69 days! God is mighty good.

Golfing in Topeka
10-13-10: Played 18 holes in Topeka at a pretty course. Very hilly and lots of water hazards. Really had fun!

10-14-10: Headed to Beaver Lake, Horseshoe Bend, in NW Arkansas today. Took the Military Frontier Scenic Byway. Very nice visitor center on HWY 69 that provides much of the history of that area – near Pleasanton. Ever heard of the Marais des Cygne Massacre? Another sad story of the Civil War Era. Met Jerri and George at Beaver Lake. Beautiful, spacious campground. Great place for bike-riding. Whitetails everywhere. And it feels great to be back home in Arkansas!

Becky and Jerri at War Eagle, AR
10-15-10: Jerri and I went to War Eagle today. Really fun – and crowded! She introduced me to chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick. OMG!

Becky and David
Beckky, Rocky, and Jerri at the top of the trail
Jerri and George at Roaring River
Bec at Roaring River
10-18-10: Went w/ Jerri and George to Cassville/Roaring River State Park. Jerri, Rocky, and I took a short (but steep) hike up the hill above the spring. The temps are pretty warm here. Like 70's. Evidently, AR had a pretty dry summer. The foliage isn't what it usually is.
Becky and David at RR
Although we did see some brilliant maples and hickory trees.

Pea Ridge Battlefield

Overlooking the Battlefield at Pea Ridge - AR
Elkhorn Lodge at Pea Ridge
Pea Ridge Battlefield
 Toured Pea Ridge Battlefield. Beautiful spot and lots of history.

Taught them “Panties” tonite – they are in the club now. No George, I do not remember the score.

Becky at BSWRSP
10-20-10: All four of us went to Bull Shoals/White River State Park. Spending a week. Although the foliage is lacking this year, the drive was beautiful thru the Ozarks on 412. Love the Ozarks!!
Dam at Bull Shoals
Persimmon Tree at BSWRSP, AR
White River - AR
10-21-10: Jerri and I went shopping in Bull Shoals and Mtn Home today. I could def live in this neck of the woods!! Stopped at the state park visitor center. Great views. Lots of persimmon trees in the park. White River is a great flyfishing river, too!

10-24-10: David and I visited a Methodist church in Bull Shoals today. We really enjoyed it and felt like kids! Cuz we seriously were the youngest ones there!!! At the park we sat around with the leaves, acorns, and hickory nuts falling like rain. Red-headed woodpeckers galore! I love being in the woods in the Fall!

Lacey's and Jakeb's engagement
10-25-10: Jakeb reenacted his proposal to Lacy today at the drug rally in Texarkana – before hundreds of staff and students. Sooo sweet!!

Bec on Big Bluff Trail overlooking White River
The Birds
Jerri, Becky, and Lizzie riverside
Jerri, Lizzie (her dog), and I took a 1 ½ mile hike today. Went on the Big Bluff Trail to an overlook. Great view of the White River and Bull Shoals Dam. Saw a couple of deer. The buzzards are trying to take over. Today at our campsite, we watched them graze and perch on a tree. And now and then, get flushed out. It was very Hitchcock.

10-26-10: Had breakfast at Gaston's. Really neat atmosphere and right on the White River.

10-27-10: Left Bull Shoals to Hot Springs. Beautiful drive on Hwy 65: Ozarks, Buffalo River,Little Red River, Ouachitas, Kudzu, a little more foliage. Staying at an rv park called Cloud Nine. Nice little spot on top of a hill. The best part about it is that its about 12 miles down the road from my brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Pam. There is also a lady staying here who wintered down in TX at Johnson Creek where we wintered last year. Small world.

10-29-10: Met Laci's little Ethan tonite at supper! What a sweet doll. He's about 1. Can't send a pic yet because he's a foster. But it's very likely she'll get to adopt him. (Plz pray that she does). When they got him they decided he looks like David! And sure 'nuff, he does remind me so much of David's baby pix. And he's from Texarkana. Bill says now they know why David wanted to leave Texarkana. Very funny.

10-30-10: Spent the day at Bill and Pam's wonderful home (on a hill in the woods) and watched the Hogs beat Vanderbilt (or Vanderburg, as Pam calls it). Got to see Ethan dressed up in his turtle costume for Halloween – which was actually a costume for a dog. LOL

10-31-10: Went to church with Bill and Pam, Laci and Ethan. Great little contemporary Church of Christ. Music was powerful! Went to lunch at Mimi's afterward.
In LR
They had a sign outside that said “small plates from $2.99-$6.99. “ At Bill's suggestion, I tried to tell the server I was interested in purchasing some small plates but she didn't seem to know about that deal. Go figure.........

11-1-10: On to TX – Texarkana, that is. Looking forward to spending time with Gus, Edith, Jakeb/Lacey, and all our hometown peeps. Have some get-togethers planned, a “Downhere” concert at FBC, Thanksgiving at Bill and Pam's, and lots of rest and re-connecting. Will stay here most of November.

Will spend December and January in the Hill Country, at Johnson Creek like last year. Any of ya'll going to be in the Hill Country during those months??? Let us hear from you.


Thankful,


Grandpa and Grammy