More Heat and Humidity

Monday July 11- Slow to get started today, still wore out from that weekend. We had Hailey today and when we went outside this morning we found a couple little birds. It was really windy last night and I think they got blown out of there nest. Cute little things aren't they. We found out that they are cedar waxwings. Everytime we went outside they had found a new place to hang out. Hailey had to go out and check quite often. After hanging out the rest of the day we headed in to gymnastics. Hailey had to work on the beam today and she did great. We took her home after class and came home ourselves.

Tuesday July 12     I had alot of things to get done today. One of the most important things is to get the binding cut, pinned, and sewn on the quilt. It's the last step on this project. I also had things to get done around here. After lunch we went to town I started to look for decorations for the rehearsal dinner.


Wednesday July 13- Today is the day!! I finished the quilt! I have been quilting on it for 7 months. What a relief to have this finished. I will probably give it to them at the bridal shower. I don't think I can keep it a secret to wait for the wedding.

I went up to check on the second loop shower house because the other camphost is having some health issues.


Thursday July 14- Today was definately a lazy day. I did get my walk in, which I have been kind of skipping lately. It's hard when it's so hot. We decided to go in for supper before going to watch our son Justin play. We heard about a new pizza place,(new to us) Tomaso Pizza. We got in and placed our order. When the pizza came to the table it looked really good....it was really good.

It had the best crust ever. As I was eating my last piece I noticed I had either broke a tooth or lost part of a filling. I didn't even notice it. Also I'm really lucky because it doesn't hurt but it sure feels weird. After eating we went to The Blind Pig. That is were Wellstrung was playing. It was outside and the weather really was nice. It was a great place to listen to them. It was not crowded or loud just right.

Friday July 15-Went over to our son's house, we picked up there dog Noodles. She came to stay with us. They went to Chicago for the weekend. It's that time of year, the Blackhawks convention. They had a wonderful time. We have 3 dogs......

Noodles made herself at home and all 3 dogs got along great. Seth knows that I like to get pictures of them at the convention. He sends lots of pictures. I love that.

Saturday July 16- Boy was it a long night. All 3 dogs want to sleep in bed, needless to say I didn't get much sleep. Jeff and I are heading to Keokuk today. Jeff's 40th class reunion. We had to take Noodles to Justin's house. Didn't think 3 dogs in the rig all day would be a good idea. So after dropping her off we headed south to Keokuk.

We arrived at The Yacht Club. We were one of the first to arrive but it gave us time to visit with those there before everyone else arrived. It was a fun time. We got to visit with Jeff's classmates and alot of people that belong to the yacht club. Jeff got to see some from the fire department. I saw people I knew from the Y and from school. It was a really nice time. We stayed longer than we thought. I drove home in the dark. I'm not that good at night driving but at least I know the roads. We made it home safe and it was way later than our normal bedtime. We are old. It was well worth it.


Sunday July 17- Wow....we had some serious rain and wind last night. Jeff got up to check the radar. We got lucky not much damage to our park. Just some stuff blown over. Our park manager's hometown had some big damage. They finally said it was a tornado. A couple houses were destroyed. We were slow to get going and we still had some threatening weather heading towards us. We decided to hang around instead of going to church. We got lucky again, the bad weather stayed north of us. Seth, Katie and the kids made it home safe from Chicago. Seth is off work tomorrow so Hailey stayed home with dad.


Monday July 18- We have been having some issues with our mail, well not with our mail with people sending stuff to us. Jeff has been waiting for some important papers and the people that are suppose to be sending them haven't. He makes phone calls and nobody knows whats going on. It's been very aggravating. If you try to explain they either don't listen or don't care. We had to come to town to see if our mail had been delivered to Justin's. Waiting for some time sensitive mail. Well it wasn't there. Since we were in town went over to see the grand kids. Had to hear about there weekend. Ashton has been asking about launching his rocket. We have had lots of wind lately so we couldn't. Today the wind was non existant but the heat was killer. We gathered up the rockets, launch pad and went to Cherry Hill Park to blast off.

When we got there we noticed the wind had picked up just a bit. Jeff, Seth and Ashton had set up the launch pad. They thought they had made adjustments for the wind. Hailey wanted to push the button. Seth set up his go pro to get a closer view of lift off. We had a successful launch and all of us spotted the desending parachute. It looked good. What was so different this time was the rocket wasn't even coming down very fast. It was just hanging up there. Then we watched it catch a breeze and we knew we would never see that one again.



Tuesday July 19-Justin called this morning and said we had received some mail so we had to make a trip in to pick it up. When we got back the rain moved in and it rained most of the day. I decided to get my scrapbooking stuff out to keep me busy.


Wednesday July 20- Today we had an RV technician coming out to replace the center caps that they damaged when they were working on it. Jeff had the slides in, it jacked up, and the lug nuts loosened. When the tech got here they took off the tires, and they both new something wasn't right. One of the dust covers that seals the grease in and keeps dust and dirt out was completely off. Two others were bent so bad that they would have fallen off. We were very upset. It was a good thing we didn't travel too far before we found out about this. That could have been a HUGE problem. They took care of everything and refunded our money. We were so happy that they damaged the center caps because it showed us that bigger problem.

We spent most of the day dealing with this issue. We are very happy that this is behind us.


Thursday July 21- Today Jeff went in and got Ashton, they toured the YMCA. Jeff is going to join and take Ashton with him. Thought that would be a great way to spend time together. Since we are here for an extended period he could get into a good routine. We took Ashton out for breakfast and talked about the idea. Wanted to make sure he was all in. He thinks he wants to do it. We took him home and picked up a package that was mailed to his house. It's gifts for Molly's bridal shower from my sister. I took them home and wrapped them up. Did I mention that its hotter than blazes. With the heat index it's in the 100's. Way to hot. I don't remember it getting that hot up here.


Friday July 22- Jeff had an eye appointment today. Then we picked Ashton up and he and Jeff went to the Y to join up and work out. They took advantage of the weight room, the gym, and the pool. We dropped off Ashton and went for lunch and came home. It turned out to be another scorcher. It is so hot you can't hardly stand to be outside. Ready for a break in the weather.


Saturday July 23- Had a bridal shower to go to today. I went in to ride with Katie and Hailey. We left and headed to Van Horn and the community center. No problem there. It was a really nice place full of really nice people, celebrating a really special couple...I'm not biased....

The food was great and she really loved all her gifts. It was definitely a successful shower. Next event the rehearsal and then the big day....so exciting!


Sunday July 24- Today we went back to church, we have missed a couple weeks and I missed it. We came home after, didn't have to pick up Hailey because Seth is off tomorrow for his birthday and he will be taking Hailey to gymnastics. We  ad a quiet day at home...still really hot. We called Lenny to see what they were doing and ended up going to there place. Jeff brought his guitar. He and Lenny played some tunes. His wife Dawn and I talked quilting. She showed me what she is working on. I'm impressed, she just started quilting and I don't think I would tackle that project. They also gave us lots of tips on how to prepare some of the food I'm going to have for the rehearsal. I'm feeling a little better about preparing it all. We had a very nice evening with very nice people.

Summers Heating Up

Monday June 27- Like most Monday's it's Hailey day. We really enjoy having her so we can get some one on one time with her. Ashton was an only child for 5 years so we had lots of time with him. Now we can get that same time with Hailey. She is really easy to entertain. She helps me bake, likes to beat Papa at memory and really enjoys the park. We did all of those things this time plus she wanted to fish. We tried but had no luck.








































Tuesday June 28- Yesterday was all about Hailey, today all about Ashton. We are so lucky to be able to spend this time with the kids. We miss them when we are gone, so while we are here we like to make lots of memories. Today we are taking a road trip to Big Creek State Park which is just north of Des Moines. We packed up some food and went to pick up Ashton. He is really growing up fast. We thought he would sleep but he wanted to talk. He asked us to tell him stories about his dad. That was fun to do. Our biggest reason for coming here was they rented sailboats. Jeff went to inquire about renting a hobie 16 getaway. It was a beautiful day but the wind wasn't what we wanted. It wasn't a total bust cause we did have some wind. Jeff wanted more but Ashton was happy. Papa gave him his first sailing lesson and I think he liked it.

After sailing we hung out at the beach for awhile. Buses of kids kept showing up so after the 5th one pulled in we pulled out. Since we were so close to Des Moines we went in to make a few stops. We did an early supper at the Cheesecake Factory and stopped at Trader Joes, we have missed that place.




















It was long drive home and a long day, but it was a good one that's for sure. Everyone had fun but all were exhausted.


Friday July 1- It's a new month and the weather sure doesn't feel like July. It's wonderful out. We are going to have a family picnic on Sunday. We used these days to get food and stuff prepared. We have been enjoying our hummingbirds too. It's all I can do to keep there feeders filled. Some of them I fill every day. It's crazy fun to watch them.






















The park is full and the weather's is perfect. We just have been enjoying our surroundings. I have been working extra hard to finish this quilt. The weddings going to be here before we know it.


Sunday July 3- Its really a pretty day. I would even say its cool out there when the sun goes under a cloud. We went to church and got a surprise text from our niece Taylor, she and her husband are coming up and wanted to know if we could get together..? I told her the kids are coming out and join us as soon as you get to town. We got home and started getting things together when Justin & Molly showed up. They brought the fryer for cooking the fish. We got started cooking and here comes Seth & Katie with the kids. We had the bags out to play and Ashton's target for his bow and arrows. We wanted to make it a bit harder so we bought balloons to blow up and put on the target.

Everyone loved the fish and had a good time enjoying each other and the weather. Taylor and her husband Taylor and son Hudson showed up. It was good to see them and catch up.

It was a fun day with the family. We also had a baby in the mix...who doesn't love a baby?



Monday July 4- Happy 4th of July everyone!! Cedar Rapids has a big thing going on downtown to celebrate but we don't attend. It's just too busy for us. Jeff went golfing with Justin and Molly in the morning. I stayed back and finished marking the quilt. I'm so close to finishing the quilting part it's hard to pull myself away. When Jeff got back he took me to town to look for some shoes for the wedding.. I found them another thing crossed off of my list. We just had leftovers for supper. It was a good way for us to celebrate the special day.


Tuesday July 5- It's a hot one today. Katie had the day off so her and I went to the pool with Hailey. Jeff and Ashton went to a movie...Independance Day Resurgence. They saw it in 3D and Ashton loved it. Jeff thought it was OK. Another fun day...we are lucky.


Wednesday July 6-Boy did it rain last night. There was plenty of wind and lightning too. We went to the store today. It's really hot and humid. The park is a ghost town now. I got stuff at the store to get ready for this weekend. It's Molly's bachorette party in The Lake of the Ozarks. Then I finshed quilting the blocks only have the border to quilt before binding it.

Thursday July 7-It looked rainy this morning so I skipped my walk and packed up my stuff for the weekend. I also finished up the quilting. I'm so excited to get this quilt done. The binding will have to wait til next week.

 Friday July 8- Look out Lake of the Ozarks here come the Marlins. We all met at Justin and Molly's at 8 a.m., well almost all of us. We packed up all the suitcases, bags, food, coolers, and other stuff. We got in 2 vehicles and headed south. We had a condo just waiting for us to arrive. We got there about 1:30. We unloaded and got in touch with Tim and Sheila. They are friends of Tammy's (Molly's mom). They own a condo down here and also have a very nice boat that they offered up. Not only that they were awesome tour guides. We thought we would get to go out in the boat on Saturday, but they told us to come on over and go for a ride. So we jumped into our swim suits and headed over. I need to explain 1 thing.....I have never been to a bachorette party and not really sure what to expect.

Here's how we started out. The girls up front, the mom's in the back and Tim our trusty captain. It was a super nice boat and he gave us a nice afternoon of boating. We made our way over to a place called Coconuts and that's where the party really got going. The girls had fun and so did I. I just had my fun without so much alcohol.

By the time we got back to the condo it was 9 o'clock and we hadn't had supper so we ordered up some pizzas and called it a night. We have another day of boating tomorrow.

Saturday July 9-This time Tim and Sheila came and picked us up at our dock. Now that's service. We lucked out with the weather, it was calling for rain all weekend but luckily the weatherman was wrong.

We made the rounds here at the lake. Tim showed us around and found a place where we could jump in and cool off. We had a full day out on the water. Boy is this lake BUSY! We got back around 6 and everyone had to get gussied up for the night out on the town. I was ready in about 10 minutes the others took awhile. Everyone looked really good when we headed out the door.

As we where leaving to go to dinner we spotted some lightning in the distance but it never rained on us. We went to dinner at H Toad. It wasn't very good and the service wasn't good either. They had a couple different bands playing there that the girls liked. Then when I was ready to go home they decided to go to Shady Gators to listen to another band. It was a late night but I think everyone had a great time. That was a late night for me.

Sunday July 10- Even after getting to bed so late ....up early. We started packing everything up and cleaning up the place. We were on the road heading home before 9 a.m., that was a surprise. The weather was good until we got close to home and that's when the rain came in. Jeff was waiting for me when I got to Justin's. We stopped by Seth's to pick up Hailey and headed back. Jeff had a yummy roast in the crock pot. It was so good after a weekend of not much eating. After supper we got a phone call from Lenny. A friend from Palo. He and his wife Dawn came out for a visit. She and I talked quilting and the boys...guitar stuff. It was a nice way to end the evening and a busy weekend.