Still Waiting

Monday October 2- It's been a week and still nothing on the truck. The warranty people are taking there time, so can't get parts ordered. It's aggravating. Well we are settling in after moving to the second loop.  They do have 50 amp service which is good. The sites are closer together, that's bad. The shower house has been redone...that's good. I have been trying to get Miss Ruby a walk a couple times a day. She does pretty good on the leash. Sissy wanted to help with the walking. We also went on a bike ride with Hailey. She really likes her new bike. Jeff had to get the rig leveled a bit better. The day went quick. Hailey actually got Ruby to settle for a bit so she could hold her. That made Sissy's day. We left a little early for Hailey's gymnastics. I needed to get prescriptions and some popcorn to munch on while watching Hailey.

After we watched Hailey we took off for Coralville. Ashton is playing for the Iowa City Blizzard. It is his first practice. Both Seth and Katie were already there for a parents meeting. Jeff and I headed that way with Hailey. Happy that we will be able to see a few practices before we go. We won't be around to watch the games so we will settle for the practices now.

Practice was over at 8 and we headed for home. He did a good job tonight. Bonus there practice takes place in the mall....lots of eating places and a Whitey's...milkshakes!



Tuesday October 3-Today we had planned on going on a road trip with this rental car, but we both decided to abort that idea. We did go over to Marion and get some groceries. We are preparing to hit the road so we wanted to get plenty of meat. I had a list of things I needed to get done but somehow that didn't happen. We did get some rain around bed time and Miss Ruby was really confused with all the noise. She would come out of her kennel and stare up at the ceiling. She wasn't really scared just confused.

Wednesday October 4- Since I was lacking energy yesterday, I got started right away on my to do list. I'm suppose to bring treats to our Life Group tonight. I'm making hidden treasure cookies. Basically they are peanut butter cookies with a snickers inside, rolled in sugar, and drizzled with chocolate.
They are really good but not so healthy. Then I put it off long enough, time to defrost the freezer. This is not my favorite job but necessary. Jeff needed a haircut so I got that done. On a brighter note, the weather was extremely fallish. The leaves are falling, the sun is shining and the temperatures are mild. If all fall was like this, it would be my favorite time of year...oh the bugs would have to disappear too. Miss Ruby and I took advantage and took us a walk. She likes to find treasures along the way, her favorite is pinecones.

Thursday October 5- Today I continues working on my to do list. I got all the screens out and washed them. With the farmers in the fields, the bugs are getting chased out so they run to our homes...yuck. We got a surprise today, Mike and Sue Maerz met us in town for lunch. We went to Billy Sims BBQ. So that was a nice break. It's always good to visit with them and catch up. I think Jeff has given me his cold...great. After supper I took Jeff to Palo to join his guys to jam. I went in to Seth and Katie's. I brought my laundry. Both of them had obligations so I had to pick up Hailey at 9 from gymnastics. While I was waiting I made a sign on there chalkboard to celebrate opening night for the Blackhawks. While doing my laundry I got to watch the Blackhawks game as well. It turned out a huge win. I went to pick up Sis, then waited for Katie to bring Ashton home from hockey. Then I left for home.

Friday October 6-First I had to sing to Hailey because today is her birthday. Both Jeff and I felt really bad. We had talked about going in to Coralville because Trader Joe's opened up today. We abandoned that idea. We both hung around here resting up. The weather was perfect for that because it was rainy and cool. We left after supper, first we stopped to get our mail at Seth's. We also wished Hailey a Happy Birthday. Then we went downtown to the Paramount, we have tickets for the Avett Brothers. The place was sold out. There was some serious fans there. We have never seen them and I have to admit the circumstances could have been better. Jeff said the beer didn't even make him feel better. I really liked them but I have to admit I probably would have enjoyed it more if I was well. Here are a few shots.

Saturday October 7- It rained on and off most of the night. Jeff still is feeling sick. I decided to go to Trader Joe's. I called the girls to see if they wanted to go. I thought it might not be so busy because it's the Iowa Hawkeye's homecoming today. Well the game didn't have any effect on that brand new store. It was extremely packed. We found us a parking spot and went in. You could hardly get your cart down the aisle. We like to call that combat shopping. The shelves were a bit empty on some things. I had a list and I didn't get everything I wanted but still got plenty.

After dropping off everyone I went home and started to prepare food for our family dinner tomorrow. We wanted to have one more before we leave. Since we still haven't heard anything about our truck we might be here longer than expected.


Sunday October 8-When we got up the sun was shining but the temperatures were a bit chilly. We got ready to go to church. It is suppose to be our last Sunday...we'll see. I invited the kids again and Justin showed up, that was nice. Since we were going in to Seth and Katie's I decided to give Ruby's pen a good cleaning since she won't be using it. Then we loaded up the food, Miss Ruby and another load of laundry and went in. First we went to Justin and Molly's, he wanted some help to fix a framed jersey and lay out a collage for the basement. Then to Seth and Katie's, let the fun begin. The kids were jumping on the trampoline. That trampoline seems to be a win as a birthday gift.

After some trampoline time, playing bags and visiting we had supper. Everything was good. We also had great weather. Seth even got out his drone and got some unique pictures. We had fun.

After a full day we came back to the campground. Still the colds are holding on to us.


Monday October 9- Well it has been a full 2 weeks we have been without our truck. Jeff called the dealership first thing to check. Well, the parts are still not here. We found out we are going from GM parts, to a rebuilt part from somewhere in Texas. It took so long because they weren't done. Now the part is sitting in Illinois some where. Needless to say we were upset. Told them we would be in to talk to the service manager in a little bit. When we arrived we were met by they service manager but he didn't really know that much either. He took us to look at the truck and parts removed. Tried to explain away the problem. Then Jeff asked for a price list on the parts we are responsible for. We have an extended warranty with a $500 deductible. We were told that we are responsible for the fluids and the brakes that were ruined because of the wheel bearing failing and ruining the rear end. Well I got to asking questions about that cost and it went from about $1000 to a little below $500. I know nothing about diesel trucks and that is a scary thought. We have definitely lost trust and confidence in them. With our truck up on the lift tore up we are kind of screwed. We left there not really knowing much more. They again told us the part should be here tomorrow.

 Jeff went home and laid down, can't shake this cold. I decided to run to town and get some things done. I needed to get Ruby's dog food and some supplies for her. I wanted to get a baby gift for our new grand baby that will arrive in December. On the way to town the rental car started to chime. The a battery voltage warning showed up on the dashboard. I decided to stop at the rental car place to have them check it out. They gave me the thumbs up so off I went to get my running done. After all my chores were done I went to get Hailey and take her to gymnastics. Again this was suppose to be the last time.

After watching Hailey I took her home and dropped her off with her mom. Then I went to Ashton's hockey practice. Seth was helping on the ice tonight. Ashton did a good job tonight. This is a new team to him so he has to make new friends and learn there ways and plays. He was really listening well too.

I made my way home after the practice was over. I had a full day today for sure.


Tuesday October 10- It's rainy and cold this morning. Had to get Miss Ruby over to Center Point, she needed to get another shot at the vet.  Jeff called to see if our part had arrived......guess what, it's not there. They said they actually loaded it up to bring it but somehow it went to the wrong place. Really? This just keeps getting worse. We decided to notify G.M. and tell them what was going on.


Wednesday October 11-It was a long night with both of us coughing. It is raining out, cold, and gloomy. Jeff called up his Doctor to see if he could come in because he just can't get to feeling better. They told him she is not there anymore but he went in to see someone else. He has a lung infection. He got a couple prescriptions. Before coming home he stopped to see about the part...nope, it's not there yet. He came home and made some phone calls to the warranty place to ask some questions. He wanted all the correct information before confronting them again at the repair shop. Jeff went back in to see what he could do and finally they got the part around 1 o'clock. After some talking he came back. We never heard anything back so I guess they didn't get it finished yet. They said after the part was here it would be a 5 hour job to put everything back together.

Thursday October 12- Another gray day, along with our moods. Instead of calling Jeff thought he would just pop in and see. I went with him. When we got there we had a time finding a place to park. We ended up in the back right by the door where our truck was. It just happened to be up a little. We could see that the part was there still wrapped in plastic. Guess they haven't started yet. Well we went around front to see what they would say. They said he's been working on it. That's when we told them what we saw. Another discussion telling them how unsatisfied we were. They told us he was going to work on it all day. That we were top priority. That was funny. Went home after stopping to get a few supplies. Later in the day Jeff went back to see what if anything they got done. He said it looked like they were finishing up. He didn't go in. Later in the day they actually called to say it was finished. They told us that they would need to test drive it before giving it back.

Here is the picture of the new part that is waiting to be put back on

Friday October 13- The good news is we both coughed less and slept more. First thing Jeff did was call to see about the truck. Well the assistant service manager told Jeff there was a bit of a problem. You see they had quoted the warranty people a quote of 5 labor hours, now after the warranty people gave them a dollar amount they want to change it. They want to change it from 5 hours to 10 hours. What is bad about this is now that will add 24 to 48 hours for them to pay. Which means we can't get our truck until payment is received. Well needless to say that was not acceptable and Jeff said he would be right in. When he arrived they had brought in the manager of all these service centers...(9). Well first Jeff wanted to test drive the truck himself. They said he could but had to have someone with him. So the big shot went with. Jeff told them he wasn't leaving there without his truck. They again told him there policy was payment first. Well now comes the part about our part of the payment. We have a $500 deductible, plus fluids and the brakes on one side. Jeff told them that he wasn't paying anything. They said that just couldn't happen. Well I didn't go with him and after awhile waiting to hear I finally called. He said he would call me in a bit. Around 12:30 Jeff called and said he was on his way home....in the truck. He did what he said he would, he didn't pay anything for the truck. What was funny, they haven't even gotten any payment from the warranty company either because they changed the bill. That bill was denied. I'm sure they got the original quote, but not when we got the truck back. We still had an $800 plus rental car bill to pay. Oh my what an ordeal. We were both really relieved to have our vehicle back. Now we have to drive this thing to make sure it's ready for travel.

Saturday October 14- Got up today and it's not so bad out there. We had to go pick up the paperwork on the truck. We wanted the warranty paperwork on what they just did. Surprise it was all ready for him. Then we made a few stops...dropped off some things at Seth's. Then to Justin's to get Jeff's coat and keys he left there. Then we went to meet the Griffey's for lunch at Brogan's. Well on the way there the DEF lights came on. Oh my my can we catch a break....no.

Well regardless of that dumb light we still had a nice lunch and a good visit. They are campers as well and know these stories all to good. Everyone thinks you are on a permanent vacation...that's funny. We went home after and changed some plans. We are still leaving on Monday. We had to cancel the appointment in Indiana for the slide adjustment. We also made an appointment at a GM dealership in Davenport where we will be staying for the first leg of our trip. We will have them look at the light.


Sunday October 15- Brrrrr it's cold out there today. We got up and checked on the shower house. Took care of the dogs and headed to Coralville. First we are having breakfast out. Then heading over to the ice arena to watch Ashton play in his first and second games. They are playing his old team...It was nice to be able to watch him play an actual game. They started off really good the the other team got 2 quick goals and they just kind of gave up. Then came the second game. The coach must have really pumped them up because they came out and played great. They won the second game 5 to 1. Ashton even scored the last goal. What I like about this new team is they explain to the boys about sportsmanship. The coaches tell them they want to win but working hard and having teamwork is what we want to achieve.

We were so proud of how Ashton played. They really worked as a team and showed very good sportsmanship. We looked around the mall before heading out for lunch to celebrate.

Before going to the restaurant the kids wanted to get in this contraption to get blown around. Well since Ashton didn't have time for a shower thought it might blow some of that hockey stink off of him.

For lunch we went to The Vine...it's a sports bar and the kids love there wings. We had a nice lunch and then said our good byes. We are ready to go but it is always hard saying good bye to family.

Tomorrow we are hooking up and heading east.......Oh our DEF/Service engine soon light went out???

Puppies Are Hard Work

Monday September 18- Since the electric upgrade in our campground got pushed back we have decided to stay here instead of taking Wanda's spot in the 2nd loop. She is leaving today. We got rain last night. Ruby slept in til 6:15 today. She squeaked a couple times last night but went back to sleep. This puppy raising is like having a baby. Did she sleep all night, is she getting enough to eat, so many questions, you forget how much work they are. I forget about all that when she looks at me and gives me puppy kisses. She seems to like that playpen we got. We can keep her corralled. She has her kennel with a bed in it. She also has a potty pad that she uses most of the time. We can also keep her from things that will hurt her. It was a good investment for sure. Both of us realize its going to be a long process. We got some rain last night. It is cooler this morning but it's not going to last long. Going to get hot again. I decided to give Belle a haircut before the heat arrived. She sits really good but jerked and I cut her ear. I didn't even know I did it, until I saw blood on my hand. I felt so bad that I cut the grooming session short...figured it was good enough. We finished off the day with watching Hailey at gymnastics.

Tuesday September 19-It was a super foggy morning this morning. It looked really cool rising off the lake. Jeff and I decided to give a try to fixing the back left bigfoot again. It works really slow going down but coming up it's OK.  Jeff talked to the people at the bigfoot company. He described what was going on to them and they suggested that we drain the reservoir of the transmission fluid. We did that before and it did help some but not enough. We thought we would try it one more time. They suggested that it could take 2 or 3 times. We did it 3 times and aren't happy with the way it's working. We have an appointment in October to have it looked at. I also made a phone call today to Mark, a volunteer at Curry Hammock State Park in the Keys. I wanted to hear first hand what the park looked like after the hurricane. He was there when they evacuated. He has talked to them at the park and it doesn't sound good at all. We have since received a call from Reserve America cancelling are reservations in November. They said the park would be closed until the end of the year. Jeff got looking for a replacement park.


Wednesday September 20- We had to take Miss Ruby to the vet to get a shot today. She has gained 1/2 pound. It is going to be super hot out there today. It feels so weird this heat this late in September. I think everyone is ready for some fall temperatures. Before it got too hot Jeff went up on the roof to do his annual inspection. He found some cracks in the caulk that he fixed. We finished up the day with attending a life group. We joined knowing we wouldn't be able to finish up the session. The people at church assured us that wasn't a problem.

Thursday September 21- Thought we were going to get rain today but it stayed south of us. We made a trip to town to pick up a few groceries. We had lunch and watched the temperatures rise. Ashton has a football game at 4 today. Jeff took me in to Seth's to get a ride to the football game. He kept the truck to go to his Thursday night jam session in Palo. We arrived a bit late and they were getting smoked...24-0. After we got there they seemed to play a bit better because that was the score at the end of the game. It was still fun to support his team.

Seth brought me home and Jeff had already left for Palo. When he got home he said the truck was squeaking on the way home. He thought it might be the brakes. So he will set up an appointment to get the truck in soon. He got online and set up an appointment on Tuesday.

Friday September 22-Still so hot outside. It didn't even cool off any last night. It was hot first thing in the morning. The good news was at least there was a breeze. Perfect weather to dry clothes. I got busy doing the laundry. It didn't take long for them to dry. Stayed here and inside most of the day. Getting out to get the puppies there walks. Trying to keep this one from getting too lazy. I also made a cheesecake. I got a cheesecake mix and it is The Cheesecake Factory mix. It looked pretty good. We couldn't hardly wait for it to set up. It was a bit soft, but good.

Saturday September 23- Still another scorcher today. It got up to 94 degrees with humidity. It is suppose to be Fall...it doesn't feel like it, that's for sure. We got things ready for company. Tonight Ashton and Hailey are coming out to spend the night. We decided to make fish for supper. The fish Ashton and Papa caught at the fish-o-rama. Since it was so hot and humid, we had to entertain inside. We watched a movie, played wii and the Iowa Hawkeyes play. The Hawkeyes got beat in the last 4 seconds. It was a dream crusher for sure. Penn State was suppose to smoke us but it was so close the whole game. It was a bit crowded but we made out just fine.

Sunday September 24- We had to get going this morning. We had the kids to feed and had to be at church early to greet. We decided to go to Perkins before church for breakfast. We got to church right on time. The kids sat and were well behaved. After church we had planned to go watch Seth play hockey. The truck started making a weird sound so we just came home instead. Jeff got under the truck to see if he could see anything. He saw oil all over the tire, the exhaust , and the axle. He knew that didn't look good. He got online and moved the appointment up to Monday. Then he called Good Sam to try and get a tow for tomorrow. They don't schedule ahead.


Monday September 25- Both Jeff and I are concerned about the truck. We called Good Sam around 6 a.m. and they told us they would send us a text when they knew a time. We had our appointment at 8 a.m. and they told us our tow would arrive at 8:45. Well they arrived at 9:45. We called the dealership to tell them our circumstances. We watched as they loaded up our only mode of transportation. Jeff always said he loved his truck but as they were loading it up he said he might not love it as much.

We both just kind of waited and waited to hear something. He called once to tell us he needed to go into the differential. Jeff knew that wasn't good. That's when he started looking at our Good Sam extended warranty. We usually don't purchase them but on this truck we got the drive train warranty. We are glad we did. By the end of the day we found out that the whole rear end is pretty much ruined. The mechanic told us he contacted Good Sam, now we wait for them to send some one to give him the OK to order parts. It is just going to take quite a while to get everybody on the same page. So we are without a vehicle for a while. I had told Seth and Katie that we wouldn't be able to get Hailey to gymnastics or watch Ashton's football game. I also made arrangements for Katie to come out and get Jeff tomorrow and take him to the rental car place. It was a long day.....I think Miss Ruby had a pretty good day......she took a nap on my lap....bright spot in my day.

Tuesday September 26- Katie arrived around 7 a.m. and took Jeff in to town. He came home with a Chevy Malibu. When he got back I jumped in and ran to town. I needed to get some things. I went to Walmart to get the rest of the stuff I needed for Hailey's birthday. I went to the grocery store too. Then Jeff called and asked me to pick up a pizza from Tomasso. Since I was going there I stopped at the cupcake store because it was on the way. I needed something to cheer me up. Dave and Jane Griffey stopped by and we talked with them for awhile. We did find out that our truck will be in the shop for quite awhile. It's going to take time to get the ok to order the parts and to get the parts ordered. So now we have to figure out how we are going to move our rig to the 2nd camp loop. They are closing our loop October 2nd to start working on the electrical upgrade. Just more to think about.


Wednesday September 27-Today we had big plans. Jeff, Justin and I decided to get Hailey a new bike for her birthday. We are going shopping to look for that today. She just learned how to ride and the bike she has now is too small. We looked at a few places but didn't find what we were looking for. We still have to go to Toys-R-Us. We will have to do that tomorrow. We had lunch out and then went home to check on the pups. We had supper and back in to town for our life group.


Thursday September 28- It cooled off a bit which feels really good. We went to Toys-R-Us and found the bike, it was just what we were looking for. That's one thing off of my to do list. Came back to the campground and did some cleaning up. We are starting to put some things away, getting ready for the move. After supper we went in to Justin and Molly's house. Jeff was going to practice with Justin and Jordan. I went shopping for bike accessories. The good news Good Sam OK'd the fix, now they can get stuff ordered.


Friday September 29-I got up and started baking cakes. Hailey's birthday party is tomorrow and she picked emoji cakes. Lucky for me that was a pretty easy order. I did the baking this morning and would frost them later. We are going to The Amana Colonies today to meet up with Ron and Barbie Kelly. They are at a rally there. We are going for lunch and a bit of shopping. First we picked up our friends at the RV park. Off we go...first stop my favorite bakery. I got some crispies and cinnamon sugar bread...yum. Then to get a bite of lunch...Did I say that Oktoberfest  is going on?

We had a fun day visiting and catching up. It was a beautiful day too. After eating, shopping and talking we headed back to there RV park. Talked some more than headed back. When we got back Belle and Miss Ruby seemed to be OK. Mostly worried about Ruby. She was very excited when we got home. I took her out first thing. She was super wiggly and then it happened....I dropped her. She let out this horrible scream...I thought I had broke her neck. Jeff came running out of the rig because he heard her. I was very lucky she was OK, it scared me to death. After settling myself it was time for me to start frosting Hailey's cakes and cupcakes. This year she picked emoji cakes. I was happy about that. Pretty easy request.

I got everything frosted and wrapped, all ready for the party tomorrow. I also arranged for some friends to come and move our rig on Sunday. So a few things crossed off the list.


Saturday September 30- Ruby whined a few times last night. I have to be honest I was wondering if it was because of her fall. It was a bit cool this morning. We did some more packing up and checking things. It's been quite a while since we have moved this thing. I know we will be rusty. We just hung around here til time for the party. Jeff tagged us a site in the 2nd loop. The camp host site is being used. So we have a site for sure. We went to town about 3 o'clock. First we dropped off the cakes and cupcakes. Then we needed to go to the pet store to get Miss Ruby some more dog food. I also stopped at the store to get some stuff to make soup for our friends who are going to help us move. So thankful for them. Back to the party, Hailey really loved her cakes. She was very excited for her party. She already had gotten a trampoline. So the kids had plenty to do.

Playing on the new trampoline

Opening presents

Papa rolling in her new bike

Make a wish and blow out the candles

The party was successful and the weather was actually perfect. It was a great day. We left there and took Ruby home and checked on Belle. We gave them supper and went to watch Justin and Jordan play at Pitchers. It started at 6:30, so not to late for us old folk. The show was good, but the place was small. Jeff didn't get up to play with them this time because it was so crowded. We enjoyed the show.

We had a very full and busy day...time for bed.


Sunday October 1-I got up and put together soup for our dinner tonight...got to love them crock pots. I also made a pan of brownies. We had to get to church early because we are greeting again. This will be the last time for that, until we return in the spring. When we got home from church we got busy. We made some trips up to our new site, moving the smaller things. When the Griffey's showed up at 2:00 we were ready to move the rig. It went really smooth hooking up and getting it up there. The site Jeff picked was a bit tricky to back in to. It didn't go the first time but we did get it in there. We are now in site #70. The weather changed and it started to rain so had to rush so our company wouldn't get wet. The rain stopped and out we went. In the mean time Seth was bringing Hailey out because there is no school tomorrow. We all had soup and pie. They brought cherry pie and ice cream. It was a big load off our minds to be moved and settled in. Hailey was really tired because of her birthday party the night before. She had girls stay overnight so not much sleep was had. She went right to sleep. Another busy day, and weekend. Only have a little over a week left...hoping our truck gets fixed sooner than later....