Tuesday October 1-The weather seems to be changing, it was really cool out there today. The leaves are starting to change as well. I finished the rest of the wood in our rig. Boy it sure made a big difference in how it looks. Its like we gave our woodwork a drink. It looks a lot richer. Our to do list is getting smaller.
Wednesday October 2-Today again it was really cool outside, good weather for soup. So we made soup. It was a slow day around the campground. I don't think anyone even used my shower house.
Thursday October 3-Today I got started making Hailey's birthday snacks. I made her sheet cake and when I flipped it out to cut out had a bit of a problem. The center of the cake stuck to the pan. I panicked at first but I could still make it work. So I cut out Olaf from the movie Frozen. I put it in the freezer so I could frost it later. We went into town. Jeff decided he wanted to get a shingles shot. He called the insurance company and they told him it would be paid for. He had tried before and they told him it would cost him $197.00. So this time he had a print out that said it was covered, well guess what....they said it would still cost $180.00. Well needless to say he didn't get the shot. When you here someone say its paid for its real hard to pay that much money. Decided to go in and watch Ashton's hockey practice, the last one we would get to see. He did really good, showed so much hustle and was really listening. Since we ate at Burger Fry last week and loved it we decided to get one more trip in there. It was extremely yummy....again. We even got a milkshake this time and it was homemade and so good.
Friday October 3-Brrrrrrr. Not only is it really cold and wet, its super windy. I made cupcakes for Hailey's birthday and also some princess orderves. Jeff and I went to the movie Gone Girl...it was really good. We had planned to go to the October Fest in the Amana Colonies tonight but it was so cold we cancelled. We did still drive over to pick up Jeff some beer from the brewery there. Jeff had it last year and they only make it for the October Fest. We stopped by Bushwood to have a drink with both boys. Somebody from there work was quitting. The grand kids were there too. How nice is it to be able to see them whenever you want. We are trying to soak up as much love as we can before taking off. We finished off the night with dinner out at The Butcher Block. Justin and Molly ate with us. We weren't very impressed with the food or the service. The company was good so that saved the night.
Saturday October 4-Big Day today,,, Its Hailey's 4th birthday party. I got up and got started frosting her cake first. Its Olaf the snowman from Frozen the movie. It was a fairly easy cake to decorate and I think it turned out really good. Next I had to frost all the cupcakes and make them pretty. We went over to the party early. Its still really cool out but at least the rain had moved out. When we arrived Hailey was all dressed up in her Elsa dress...a pretty little princess. She even showed a little excitement over her cake. The party was a big success...the weather was just chilly, the cakes turned out and I even got some good pictures this year. I sure felt great after I had the cake and cupcakes finished. Sissy got so many gifts and she is so animated when she opens them up. It really didn't matter what the gift was she loved them all. We left went home for a bit to take care of our babies. We have been leaving them a lot lately. The day wasn't finished yet. Jeff and I met Seth and Ashton at the stable to watch the Rough riders play. It was a real good game. We didn't know what we enjoyed more the game or watching Ashton. He was sitting down on the ice with some kids he knows from hockey. The camera man was there and Ashton did his best to be in every shot. They interviewed him, and put him on the big screen more than once. He participated in the Mac arena dance, the YMCA dance and the chicken dance. The best part was when the mascot Ricochet came out and started messing with him. The mascot sat on Ashton and Ashton pulled his tail. Then Ricochet took Ashton's shoe, smelled it and acted like he was gonna throw it on the ice. If the game wasn't entertaining enough watching Ashton was. It was a real fun night. To bad we wont be able to attend any more games this year.
Sunday October 5-Oh boy it was a lazy day....I don't think we did much. Picked up some stuff outside. Mostly we just rested up from that crazy busy weekend.
Monday October 6- Happy Birthday Hailey!! She is officially 4. It was a real busy day for us. First we had to take the dogs to the vet. It was time to get there vaccinations. Both dogs are doing good, but both have gained weight....it must be something in the water. The vet was in Center Point. We used them last year and really like them there. Stopped to fill up the truck up and headed back to the campground. I got busy...I needed to get the laundry done. Then we loaded up the bikes and cleaned up. We took a trip into town to say Happy Birthday to Sissy and to get our last kisses and hugs. While we were there Justin called to say that Jeff's package arrived. Jeff was excited for this package. It was the series of The Wonder Years. Had to go by and pick that up. Then we headed home.
Tuesday October 7-Another busy day....Started by cleaning the shower house, its been really easy lately cause nobody is using it. Then we started putting things away inside. I loaded a plastic tub with the things we are gonna leave here. Jeff took it up to the shed that Joan said we could use. Called Hickory Haven campground in Keokuk where we are heading next. They have plenty of spots. Then Jeff checked his email and saw that my new phone is going to the wrong address...we thought this was fixed...so that calls for another phone call to Verizon. Boy sometimes I think they just try to make things difficult. Well we think its fixed but no way really of knowing until Thursday, that's when its suppose to be arriving. Next we asked Joan to come join us for chili for lunch. She came and it was a nice visit. With fewer workers here now we haven't seen much of her. After she left...back to work. Loaded up the boats and decided to put the rugs away since they are nice and dry. I got a hammer to loosed the stakes with. I guess I'm not qualified to use a hammer because while I was trying to get one stake out I managed to hit myself in the mouth with the handle....ouch. I didn't make a sound after it happened. The first thing I did was check to make sure my teeth were still there...they were. Then I went in to get some ice and take a look, yep that's gonna leave a mark for sure. After about a 1/2 hour I went and showed Jeff...he agreed that I shouldn't use the hammer. I was just happy My teeth were ok.
Wednesday October 8-Jeff and I both woke up early...I guess we were both thinking to much. Then I remembered about the lunar eclipse.....BLOOD MOON. We went outside and took a look. Pretty cool. Both of us woke up super early so didn't have to rush to get ready to leave. We pulled out around 10 o'clock and dropped off some cookies at the office on our way out. It feels weird to be pulling the rig...its been awhile. We stopped once because one of the tire sensors went off again. Jeff wanted to make sure it was a false alarm, and it was. Didn't have any problem finding our campground because its located in our hometown. It was a nice day to travel and set up. We just happened to get the same spot we were in last spring. This campground is a good Sam park. We had a full hookup with 50 amp service. The antenna TV wasn't as good as we remembered. The park was fairly busy. They are housing some workers that are working at a new fertilizer plant in Weaver. Well we hit town and the running started. First we went and got supper at the Southside Boat club. They are serving Papa Chico tacos on Wednesday night. Its a favorite restaurant that used to be in town. Our boys use to bus tables there. Those tacos were as good as I remember. We stopped at the fire station and visited a bit before heading home. Jeff's brother Fritz who lives across the street came over and talked. We made the trip back because our niece, his daughter is getting married on Saturday.
Thursday October 9-Had a full schedule today, the bad news its rainy, I mean its pouring, its horrible. First we had to get prescriptions filled for Jeff. Then stopped by to see my sister Dru I gave her some quilt patterns to use. Next we met a friend for lunch, so nice to get caught up with her. We had an appointment with our financial guy, who just happens to be my old boss. So not only did we check on our mutual funds I got to visit with my old coworkers. So we were there for awhile. It just wouldn't quit raining. Stopped at the store before heading home. Then we went across the street to meet our nieces husband to be. Funny thing his name is Taylor, that just happens to be our nieces name too. We visited for a bit and headed home. Good news....my phone actually came...we thought that a miracle! So it was mailed to my sons house. He is coming to Keokuk to the wedding on Saturday so he will be bringing it to me....yeah!!
Friday October 10-Another day of running but its not raining at least. I had Jeff run me by Stan's Bakery, they have been here forever and by far make the best creme horns on the planet. Next stop was at the city offices to see about Jeff's health insurance and to pay for his life insurance. One more stop before heading home. It was to see Peggy Vass, she is the mother of my best friend all through grade school. I spent alot of time at her house when I was growing up. Jeff knew her from work. She was a dispatcher at the police department, which was in the same building as the fire station. She was happy to see us, and we were happy to see her too.
Saturday October 11-I had made plans to meet a friend at the local coffee shop, Java River. She was my best friend all thru grade school. We were also going to meet a friend from high school. I haven't seen her since I graduated. We had a great time sipping coffee and catching up with each other. The time flew by. Had to get home before Justin showed up. We got home and changed our clothes for the wedding. Justin and Molly arrived and we had to get to the church. The wedding was small but very nice, next drove to the reception at our old churches multi purpose building. There we got to meet and catch up with family and friends from church. Home after that. I got my new phone out but didn't get started on it yet, tomorrow we'll start on that. I'm sure it will be a pain, to late in the day for that.
Sunday October 12-Today we went back to our home church...NTCC. It always feels good to walk in there. They are in the middle of changing preachers. They have a new preacher but our old preacher doesn't officially retire til next week. He's been there for 40 years. Its good to come home to the church and people you know so well. I wanted to spend some more time with Judy before we take off so this afternoon was the only time left for that. We took a short road trip to find her a party outfit. We had a successful trip she found something to wear. It was pretty dreary outside but that didn't matter to us we just wanted to spend some time together. I did get most of my phone set up, with some problems but that's not surprising.
Monday October 13-Rain Rain Rain...We had planned to leave today but that was moved to tomorrow with this weather. I met again with John about my investments. I needed to mail in my old I phone, picked up a few groceries and caught up all the laundry. The campground here has a nice laundry facility. Now I think we are ready to move on down the road. Let the adventure begin.
