Springtime In Iowa

Monday April 30- Well it's the end to another month. We usually are just arriving here, but we have already gotten settled in. The weather in Iowa is crazy..... this year has been really crazy. Today it is cool to start but it warmed up fairly fast. It was the wind that was ridiculous. When we have days like this I get into a cleaning mode. I go through cabinets and closets and clean them up. Toss our what we haven't used. It's amazing how your stuff seems to multiply. The good news is that it is starting to green up.

Tuesday May 1- Today it looks like rain. When I went out first thing in the morning I saw a huge full moon. What was special about today was I saw my first hummingbird today. I made sure to tell him to tell all his friends that the buffet is open. I can't wait for all his friends to show up. Since it did turn out to be a rainy day we went to town. Jeff went to a movie and I went to do some shopping. I got all the stuff I need to finish up Seth's t-shirt quilt. I just need to get to it. I picked Jeff up after the movie and we went to a furniture store. We are still looking for a new couch. It is really hard because not many places have the size we need. We have lots of things to deal with. We want it to fit when the slides are closed. Then we have to be able to get it in the door which is smaller than a normal door. Well Jeff went in here and thought he found one. When we went back, that one was sold so we did some more checking on the sizes and it looks like it will work. We will just have to order it. We didn't want that light of a color anyway. Before heading home we had one more stop to make, went to the Paramount to get tickets for a show. My friend Judy will be up that weekend so we got an extra for her. It should be a good time. To finish off this evening we met up with some friends, Janie and John Dean. We met them at Quinton's for dinner. They were full time Rvers but last year they stayed the winter in Cedar Rapids. We caught up with them. It was a nice evening.


Wednesday May 2- Again calling for more rain today. Last night we had a lot. When we went outside this morning we had a mess. With all the work they have done here we have lots of mud. Every time you walk on the rug outside the mud just comes up through it. Jeff took it up and moved it over were the grass was so he could hose it off. Then before anchoring it back down we put tarps under it. That really helped. I have been getting in a habit of taking Miss Ruby for a walk in the morning. With all the rain we have been getting we have to watch out for all the night crawlers. They are everywhere. It poured rain most all of the evening. The bad storms went south of us.


Thursday May 3- Today on the weather front we had serious fog. We have been cleaning the shower house up on the second camp loop until the host arrives. It is helping me to get my steps in. I walk up to clean it and then again to check on it later in the day. Jeff and I went back in to the furniture store to order the hide a bed. It will take 6 to 8 weeks for it to get here but that's ok we have waited this long. We made a couple stops at the grocery stores, also went to Billy Sims BBQ to get some meat for sandwiches. Jeff went in to Palo tonight to play guitar. We are watching the weather again, storms are heading our way again.

Friday May 4- Cleaned the shower house and took Ruby for a walk. When I walked by the host spot the first time nobody there. When I came back around there was Wanda. She just arrived. I stopped in to welcome her then let her get back to unpacking. Jeff helped her get her water hooked up. It seems her water isn't turned on because there is a problem with it. We have extra hose so she could hook up to another one. After we got her all set up we headed in to Seth and Katie's. We are picking up Hailey. She wants to stay over night. We had to take the truck in so we could grab her bike. We brought her back and first we made supper. After that she kept us super busy. We played games, colored, rode bikes and she even help me make some chex party mix.

Saturday May 5- Today was another busy day. Hailey had up doing something all day. We made breakfast to start. She helped me clean the shower house. Then we played inside and outside. We rode our bikes, played all the games we had, trac ball, we made a pot holder, back on the bikes, to the play ground and back. We had to go over to Justin and Molly's tonight to babysit. Hailey wanted to come to help. As I was getting ready Hailey had fell asleep watching cartoons. I guess we wore her out.

On our way to Justin's we stopped at got us a pizza at Roscoe's....it was really good. We arrived had our pizza and then we played with Maddyn. Hailey was right there to help me. She really had fun, we both did.

Sunday May 6- The host up on the second loop is now taking over her duties so  will have some free time. It's church day and we went over to pick up Ashton and Hailey. Went to church. After Jeff took his guitar to the guitar store to get something adjusted. The guitar tech wasn't in so we will have to bring it back another day.  We grabbed some lunch before taking the kids home. I brought the Easter egg stuff, so we had a late hunt. Justin, Molly and Maddyn came over too to look for eggs. It was really a nice day weather wise so that was good. Everyone found there eggs, and fun was had by all.

We headed back and had a full weekend for sure.


Monday May 7- I started off my day with a good walk with Ruby we are gradually making our walks longer. It is a pretty nice day today. When I got back I washed the car and cleaned out the inside. It looks like a new one. Jeff waxed it after I finished. It is so small that he couldn't believe how fast he waxed it. It sure isn't like waxing that truck.

We had a bite for lunch then we went back in to town to get Jeff's guitar fixed. Then we went to a movie , Chappaquiddick at the Collins Road Theater, it was ok. Before coming back home we went over to Seth's house to pick up our mail. We received our check for our broken RV window. It took extra long, not because of the RV park. First the mail to get it to our post office box. Then our mailing service mailed it to Florida after Jeff emailed then the address we wanted it sent to. We had to call down there and have them forward it to Iowa. I guess that priority mail that we paid for really didn't pay off. Well we got it and that's what counts. The Yogi Bear Park in Nashville where nothing but nice to work with. They even invited us to enjoy our next stay on them.

Tuesday May 8- Today our walk proved to be pretty interesting. I spotted a bald eagle carrying a fish and it was fairly low. You could see just how big they really are. It is a nice day today so I spent some time outside watching the birds. It has been crazy at our site. I have hummingbird feeders out, a gold finch sock, a suet. and a bird feeder. I also have added a bowl of grape jelly for the orioles. I tried the grape jelly thing before but really didn't see many orioles. Well this year is different, they are just going crazy. I have had 6 on one bowl. I also have one stuck on my window. It's fun watching them fight for that one. Then I look up in the trees and have seen 8 or 9 up there waiting there turn. It's so fun to watch them. My grandma Dodie would be proud. I'm going to give you just a small look at what I have been watching.

Ok, Ok, Ok, I know I have become that crazy bird lady. I love watching them. After supper tonight we went in to Justin's to watch their wedding video. The guy that did that did a really good job. Way better than pictures.

Wednesday May 9-This morning I started off my day without my coffee, I had to fast for blood work. I did fix me a cup to take with so after I would have it to enjoy. The good thing about that, Kathy's Pies is right across the street. I went over and purchased a bayou goo. It is our favorite and it was really good. Jeff used the instant pot for supper, he made sirloin tips, they were really good.

Thursday May 10- Today we worked on the front door. We fixed it when we were in Florida, but it has bubbles in it. Jeff got some more glue and we tried our best to get them out. Like everything else we do it didn't go that smooth but after a while we thought it looked better. We will see after it dries. Later on in the day Lenny called and he came out and visited with Jeff before they went down to Palo for their weekly jam session.


Friday May 11- Today was my doctor appointment. Our old Doctor moved so we have a new one. I think I like her. She seems really informed and explains everything. I ended up getting a shingles shot. They have a new one out now that is way more effective. I still have to get a follow up booster in 2-6 months. After we got out of there we went to another movie. This time we went to The Galaxy 16. They are remodeling the whole theater. It's really nice. We had recliners in there. The movie we saw today was Tulley. It wasn't what we expected but still ok.

We came home and later on Seth brought Ashton out to spend the night. We fixed supper, and it was really getting cooler out there. We stayed in and played some games. It was looking like rain too.


Saturday May 12- It rained quite a bit last night and the temperatures really dropped. Jeff made biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Then since the weather didn't cooperate we stayed in. We played Yahtzee and the boys played wii. After lunch we loaded up the car along with Ruby and we took off for Keokuk. My nephew is graduating and his party is tonight. We left early so we had time to stop and see Fritz and Shawn, Jeff's brother and his wife. Seth, Katie and Hailey met us there. We left there and headed to the party. We stopped and dropped off Ruby with our old neighbors. Fred and Mary, they were going to watch Ruby. She used to watch our dogs when we lived across the street from them. We went to the party and visited with friends and family. Jake had quite a party. Congrats to him. We stayed til about 8:30. We had a 2 hour drive to get back. I drove back and driving in the dark isn't my favorite. We made it home and I'm glad we went.

Sunday May 13- Happy Mother's Day! We spent our day at church. Then home to relax the day away. I heard from both of my boys. The day was very gray and very gloomy.

Cedar Rapids Here We Come

Saturday April 14- I wasn't sure we would be traveling this weekend. The forecast was horrible. It was calling for rain and thunderstorms on Saturday and snow and sleet on Sunday. When we got up first thing I did was check the radar. It looked clear, not even calling for rain til after 9 a.m.  Well Jeff wasn't making the trip until he was sure the park was open.  I called Justin to see if he would drive out there to make sure it was open, it was. We knew the water wasn't going to be on. We decided to stay at Morgan Creek which is a county park. It is closer to both of our boys. We could haul water and take showers at their houses. So we packed up what little we had out and headed north. I was watching the temperature drop as we drove. It did spit rain a little but what was bad was the wind. It was a  constant 30 mph winds at least. I had to keep both hands on the wheel at all times. We really lucked out, we got there, set up and the rain started coming down harder. So happy we didn't have to drive in that. We picked site #6, we backed right in and turned on the furnace. It was really cold in there. After setting up we went over to Seth and Katie's, to see Ashton and Hailey. We brought Miss Ruby to meet there new puppy Waffles. That was something to watch. Justin came over too. Molly and Maddyn are shopping. We will meet up with them later.

We decided to go get lunch at Bushwoods. We were hungry and the food was good. We came back and played with the kids awhile. Then we headed home for a while to take care of Belle and drop off Ruby. We had made plans to go to the very last hockey game of the season for the Roughriders. We had just enough time to go by Justin's so Papa could meet Maddyn.

 

 This was the first time Jeff got to see her. I haven't seen her since December, she has changed just a bit. We stayed long enough to get plenty of hugs.  After visiting for while we had to go get Ashton and Hailey. The game starts at 7 and we had to get tickets yet. We picked them up and headed to the stable. When we pulled in the parking lot we were all surprised by how many cars were there. Then when we got inside to get tickets the lines were probably 15 people deep. While waiting in line a man came up and gave me a voucher to get a free ticket. I gave it to Jeff and then Hailey and I got out of the way. When Jeff came back he said he got all three tickets for $16.75. It seems somebody gave him 2 more free tickets, ......jackpot. We found our seats and the game started. It was a great game and the crowd was on fire.  The kids sat and really watched the game.

Hailey managed to spot Ricochet, the mascot. We had to get a picture of that. It was a great night with the kids. The Roughriders ended the season with a 4-1 victory.


Sunday April 15- We had made plans to pick up the kids for church this morning. When we woke up boy did we have a surprise.....We had hail with a side of snow. It was also very cold out. We decided to cancel the church thing. They are calling for a big snowfall. Miss Ruby wasn't really sure about the white stuff..

The forecast was wrong, which made us happy. It quit snowing and warmed up. We had planned to get everyone together today for a meal. I didn't really want to go out and neither did anybody else. I thought it would be a good day for soup. I made some chili and chicken noodle soup to take to Justin's. Everyone showed up and it was nice because we didn't have to hurry to get out. We could visit all we wanted. It was a great day and the soups where really good too. It felt good to have everyone together under one roof.

Monday April 16- Today we had some phone calls to make. First we called Nashville to see how that is going. We had sent the estimates and was waiting to hear what was next. She, Michelle was very pleasant and told me that the check would be put in the mail today. Wow that was good. Then we had to call a vet in Vinton to get the dogs checked for heart worms. Our vet retired and we couldn't get any meds without the check up. We have that set up for Friday. It was really cold outside. We decided to make a trip out to Pleasant Creek to see the park and our camp loop after the upgrades. It looked like a beauty of a day until you stepped out of the car.....brrrrrr.

After driving around the park and our camp loop we went to the office to talk to Carl. We don't want to come out here until the water is on. It is a long drive to haul water. There is still one more cold front that is suppose to make it's way thru. We will stay put until that passes. On our way back we stopped in Palo to see Lenny and Dawn. They were home so we stopped to catch up. We heard about there winter and we shared about ours. When I got home I got out Maddyn's scrapbook and finished that up. Justin gave me pictures from her newborn photo shoot. Once I got started I didn't want to stop, so I was up later than normal.

Tuesday April 17- Today we just worked on getting some stuff done around here. Jeff was in need of a haircut, so got that done. Our grandson, Ashton has a school project he has been working on. He called and asked if I could help him make a quiver for his arrows he has made. I told him I would help if he needed to do it. I went and found some options. We also had lunch out at the Olive Garden. We had a gift card from Christmas. It is not my favorite place but today it was especially good. We went in to Seth and Katie's after supper. The kids are leaving tomorrow to go to Hawaii.So we got to see them before leaving. Katie's mom is coming to stay with Ashton and Hailey for the week.

Wednesday April 18- Today the weather was suppose to be horrible. They are calling for sleet, freezing rain, and then up to 6 inches of snow. Seth gives me a call in the morning and wants to know if I could come in and be there when the kids come home from school. He also wants me to stay over night. They didn't want Marilyn to have to drive in that crappy weather. She lives a ways away. We are only a couple minutes from them. I told them I would. We were lucky with the weather, we got a little but most of it went north of us. The kids came home from school and they were surprised to see me. I let Ashton pick out what he wanted to use for his project. Then he got started on that. He did a really good job. I took advantage of there washer and there bathtub. We even got the kids rooms cleaned up.


Thursday April 19- Did I mention along with the 2 kids they have 2 dogs? One of them is a
puppy, a huge puppy. Well there puppy likes to get up at 4:30 a.m. I don't sleep well in others beds so that 4:30 came super early to me. I got up and got the kids ready for school. Jeff came in and took Ashton to school. I walked Hailey over to her school, which just happens to be right behind there house.

Friday April 20- Boy did it get cold last night. It was in the 20's. We left at 8:30 to get the dogs to the vet on time. We have been there before but now it will be our vet when here in Iowa. I brought all there records and helped her understand them. Both dogs were tested for heart worms. They passed so now we can purchase them on line. That will be handy. While in there Carl messaged me saying the water is on and that we can come out anytime. So when we got home that's what we did. Didn't have much out, no water or sewer so that was easy. We made our way out there and pulled in to our site, #27. There is still some work that needs to be done, but our site was fine. We got all set up. We got a few more things out but still have things to get set up. We will have to get some of our stuff that we store at the kids house. For supper we went over to Justin and Molly's. We had got some homemade weiners, so we took those. I wanted to give them that scrapbook I made. We also got to play with the newest Marlin, Maddyn.

Saturday April 21- After walking Ruby I made my way up to the 2nd loops shower house. The host up there isn't there yet and ours in closed. We also have an empty loop because it is still not open. So we will be taking care of that shower house until the host arrives. We have some projects around here to do before our loop is open. There camp loop is almost full. It's not really that warm yet but I think the people in Iowa are ready to get out and start some camping. I made a quick trip in to town to get some supplies to get started on a T-shirt quilt for my son. I got back and then we went to Justin's. I was going to babysit for Maddyn and everyone else was going to the show. We had a great time Miss Maddyn and me. She was super good and a lot of fun to be with.

Sunday April 22- Since we didn't get the kids last week for church we told them to be ready and we would be over to get them this morning. When we arrived they were ready to go. So off we went.

It was nice to be back at River Of Life Church. The kids were good too. After church we went out for brunch at Perkins. Everyone had a great breakfast. Next stop was a furniture store. We have decided to replace our couch. We want something that will fit in the back when we close the slides. We are tired of moving it back and forth. We are even thinking about a sofa sleeper. Well living in a RV has plenty of challenges, especially finding a sofa that has a smaller depth. Then we have a smaller door to try to get it in. So we are taking our time. What is really bad is that we will probably have to special order it. If you order it and it doesn't fit you are just stuck. So we need to be sure.

I think the kids were really ready to be done furniture shopping. We left with some more options to think about. Took the kids home and made our way back to the campground.



Monday April 23- Today...get things done day. We decided to take back the fabric samples to the furniture store. Going to wait on the couch because we aren't sure it will fit in. A Walmart run, Aldi's, and Lowe's. Now we are looking for blinds. Ours are starting to act up. If you have these fold shades you know what I mean. We found some we really liked but boy ore they cashy. I used the price chart but there are lots of hidden expenses when you start figuring the price. We had him stop half way thru because it got to high. WOW...that's all I can say. We came home with a lot to think about and nothing purchased yet. So we will still be looking at options for a couch and blinds.


Tuesday April 24- Today I had to get up really early and get ready. I have to be over a Justin's at 7 a.m. I am going to watch Maddyn today. Their regular daycare lady is on vacation. When I got there she was still in bed. She gets up happy. We had a fun day together. She doesn't take many naps during the day. We took a couple walks and did some playing. Jeff came over around lunch time. He brought the truck in because he was going to pick up our stored stuff at Seth's house. He watched Maddyn while I went to pick up my prescriptions. While Maddyn took a short nap I used there big living room floor to lay our the blocks for a T-shirt quilt I'm trying to put together. It's impossible at our place with the small floor and Miss Ruby. The afternoon went by quick we even went for a walk. Dad came home and relieved me from my babysitting duties. We had a fun day together.

Wednesday April 25- Today it is still chilly out there. I went to take Ruby for a walk but had to come back cause my feet were freezing. Let it warm a little then I started putting up my hummingbird feeders. I want them ready when my hummingbirds come back. We called our mail service to see if our check from Yogi Bear in Nashville has arrived. Nope, oh no I don't want to have to deal with the mail again. I called them but they weren't available so I left a message. She messaged me right back and after some going back and forth I decided to give it a couple more days. Hope it shows up and didn't get lost. I sat outside and worked on quilting a quilt I have been working on for over a year. It is really hard to hand quilt because the puppy liked to chew on the batting.


Thursday April 26- Another day of daycare for Maddyn. I arrived around 7 and she was already up and happy to see me. I brought my laundry and my camera to see if I could get some good pictures of our princess. I took her for a walk in the morning and after a real quick nap I got some pictures. She was very cooperative...and happy.

She really didn't take much of a nap but more like little power naps. I tried another photo session in the afternoon. As I was laying down on the floor a lady poked her head in the back door telling me that the dogs had gotten out. Well the door goes to the garage and I had the big garage door open so I'm guessing the wind blowed open the door. So I panicked grabbed the baby, put her in the stroller and away we went to hunt down the beasts. I spotted Barkley following a couple walking. He was just prancing behind them like he knew who they were. They heard me yelling at him and stopped. He stopped too and then started coming to me. I also found Bella. So here I am with a stroller and trying to capture 2 dogs. Oh did I tell you I didn't grab any leashes? So I put Barkley the weiner dog in the compartment under the stroller and carried Bella. Oh boy what an ordeal. At least we all came home unharmed. Wow that was a close one.

I also got lots of really good pictures too. Oh and our mail service called...we have recieved our check for our broken window. I messaged Michelle at Yogi Bear and thanked her. Before heading home I stopped by Seth's to pick up our heart worm medicine for the dogs. I had the evening to myself because Jeff went in to Palo for his Thursday jam session.

Friday April 27- Today I started off by calling and singing to my best friend Judy, it's her birthday. Jeff wanted to go get some guitar strings because he broke some last night. While he was in the guitar store I went to Gordmans. I don't usually like that store but today I found the pet section and so many t-shirts for Ruby. Well I found plenty I wanted but only got 3. They were also very inexpensive...win win. We went for lunch at Emil's Hideaway. Jeff got some taco chili, I had chicken tenders. Our lunch was really great. They even have Kathy's pies. So we got a piece to share for dessert. It was YUM!

We came back to the campground after lunch. We are going back in tonight to watch Justin play at Chrome Horse. In the afternoon the Griffey's came by and we visited with them for a bit. The camp out here quite often. The just got a new RV and are going to pick it up on Wednesday. Nice to see them and catch up. One of the positives of this life style....all the people you meet. Then when you get back to there area you get to reconnect. The evening was spent at the Chrome Horse watching Wellstrung.. While we were there I get a message from Seth, he is still in Hawaii, mom can you call me. I went outside and called he said there flight tomorrow had been canceled. They found another flight but need me to go relieve Marilyn tomorrow. So that's my plan tomorrow.

Saturday April 28- I started the day cleaning the shower house. On my walk back I got a call from Amanda, she is volunteering in Curry Hammock. One of our favorite spots. She told me that they already love it there. We caught up and promised to keep in touch. I got back to our site and got busy putting up and filling up my bird feeders. We haven't really seen any birds yet but I want to be ready when they get here. We left to go to see the kids and give Marilyn a break. We watched them jump on the trampoline and Jeff fixed Ashton's bike.

We went to get an early supper at Ruby's Pizzeria. Since it was a weird time there wasn't a soul there. We ordered our pizza and while waiting a man came in asking for money so he could get something to eat. Boy that was weird, we told the people at the restaurant that it happened. Well we waited for our pizza and when we got it, it wasn't what we had thought we ordered. Nobody liked it. It had lots of sauce on top. When we ordered it that was one thing we said we didn't want. We wanted a thick crust sausage pizza. We didn't really understand Chicago style or Detroit style. Just a thick sausage pizza. Needless to say not a good experience today. Back to the kids house and more jumping on the trampoline. There parents should be here by 10 tonight. Jeff went back to take care of the dogs. He was coming back to pick me up when they got home. Well Jeff misplaced the keys so for a while I thought I would be spending the night. He found them, the kids made it home safe and all was good.

Sunday April 29- Such a busy week today I'm not doing much of anything. It is sunny out but really cool, especially the wind. We just watched as all the campers are leaving the park...