Last Post From Pleasant Creek

Monday September 30- Last day of the month..it's starting to really feel like Fall. I didn't want to get up out of bed today. Hung around here all day today, working on inside stuff. I did pictures, the blog, and did some drawing up of birthday cakes I will need to make before leaving. We had some visitors later on. The Griffey's came over and talked. They have been extra busy since pulling in. They have sold there house and are trying to get things finished up.


Tuesday October 1- A new month, and it always seems like we are ready to go. We don't want to leave the family but we are ready to move on. The weather starts cooling off and I'm not a fan of cold weather. Today on the other hand didn't feel like fall, it's really warm out there today. Today we went back to help at the food pantry. After Jeff went to the movie, it is movie day. I went shopping for stuff to put on Hailey's candy cake. I'm looking for pretty candy and lollipops to decorate it. I also got stuff for Maddyn's cake. I think I got everything I needed with even a few neat surprises. While I was shopping around I received a call from the park ranger. He told us that a camper had called with concerns. It seems someone was scoping out around our place. The ranger checked out our place and stopped the guy to see what he had to say. So he had all his info if anything was missing. When we got back everything was fine. So that was a big relief. I can't believe how hot and humid it is. We have had some crazy weather thats for sure. After supper we watched the weather roll in. With it being so hot and humid you can expect crazy stuff. Well after the sirens went off we knew what we had to do. We made our way up to the shower house. It just cut loose and poured. The wind was crazy as well. We kept our eyes on the radar. It looked pretty scary but we avoided a lot of it. We also had hail. It makes a horrible sound in your rig.

Wednesday October 2- It rained most of the night. This morning I went back in to help at the food pantry. I took the truck so when I got back Jeff could change the oil in it. It did quit raining long enough for him to do that. It started raining again and it just wouldn't stop. It's cooling off too. We decided to go check out the new establishment in Palo. We have been driving by there for weeks watching the place coming together. The grand opening is this weekend but we saw online that it is open. The place is called Whiskey River, they have a 2 for 1 happy hour special from 3-6. It is really a nice place inside, bigger than it looks from the outside. We started with an appetizer, of cheese sticks, which were half price too. Jeff is not a big fan of them but they were really good. We also got some chicken tenders, they weren't our favorite. The menu wasn't complete yet, we will go back again.

Thursday October 3- It's really chilly out there today. We decided to make a trip in to Ketlesons to look at campers. No we aren't getting a new one. We are just seeing what is out there in case we decide to do something different some day. The weather was so crappy we didn't want to hang out inside all day. After looking around and actually talking to a salesman that actually knew stuff we went in to town. I told Justin about some bumble bee attire at the dollar store. Maddyn wants to be a bee for halloween. I think I can make something for her. I picked up that stuff and had to get some other things. We came home and I made chili for supper.

Friday October 4- It was down right cold this morning. It got down in the 40's last night. We are taking care of both shower houses now. So after getting those both done I started making Hailey's birthday cake. I am making a 2 layer cake with lots of decorations on top. When the 2 layers were done they didn't look tall enough so I made another layer. That made it a lot better. I waited for the cakes to cool. Then I stacked them, frosted them and added the candy. Instead of putting all the sucker sticks into the cake, I inserted straws in the cake so the sucker sticks stayed clean. I also could keep the heavy ones out for traveling. It turned out great I think. I hope Hailey likes, that's all that matters.

After getting the cake finished we went to town for supper out. We ate at Outback. Our meal was very good, we hadn't been there for awhile and everything was great including the service. After we headed to The Stable....it's opening night for the Roughriders. When we pulled in to the parking lot I thought the place was going to be packed with all the cars. All the cars were there for the high school football game next door. We got inside found our seats and enjoyed the game. They really played well and went home with a win ....8-4...go riders!!!!

Saturday October 5- We were woke up last night to rain. It continued most of the day. It was a really crappy day. What made it bad was it was Hailey's birthday party today. I managed to get the cake out in between rains. She is just having some friends come over. We just kind of crashed that party. We stayed long enough to sing Happy Birthday and watch her open the gifts. We ordered her a vanity that just got here yesterday. We had planned to have it put together but that didn't happen. She just had to see the picture on the box. She loved the cake and was having a great time with her friends.

 Sunday October 6- Happy Birthday #9.....to Hailey. We went to church and after came home. We called Hailey to sing.....again. She was super excited today. She went and picked out her new pet.....a hamster named Cheesy. She told us she went in the store and instantly fell in love. That poor hamster she is not going to leave him alone.....

Monday October 7- Well this will be our last week here. After cleaning the shower houses I marked the rest of my quilt for quilting. Jeff went up on the roof to clean it. It is still chilly but we are actually seeing sunshine today. That was good, it seems like it's been a while. After lunch we went in to Seth and Katie's. I had lots of laundry to do. We also told Hailey we would put her vanity together. Ashton was there and helped papa. When Hailey got home she liked her vanity. Then Papa took Ashton driving. He has his driving permit. With our little clown car we thought that would be a bonus for him.

When Ashton and Papa got home we decided to take the kids to supper. We don't have much time left with them. We went to Culvers for supper. Then we brought Ashton home and we went to watch Hailey at her gymnastics. We haven't seen the new building yet and it has been awhile since we have been to watch her. The building is very nice and a lot better for watching. We watched her work on the beam. We didn't stay for the whole thing cause it lasts 3 hours. We have noticed more improvement. I can only imagine how much she will improve by the time we get back.

Tuesday October 8- Today was food pantry day. Then after it was time to do the Christmas shopping for the kids. I'm getting them 3 gifts each. Then you wrap them and stack them to look like snowmen. We went to Target and got the girls gifts, Ashton is a little harder cause of his age...he will get cash. Then I went to get the rest of the stuff for Maddyn's Halloween costume, I'm also going to get netting for Justin to be a bee keeper. I got everything I needed and we came on home. I wrapped up the Christmas gifts. Then I started making a black and yellow tutu for Maddyn. Justin called us to say he took his weiner dog Barkley out and he was running and went down. He had to take him to the vet. He has somehow damaged his back and doesn't have any movement in his back legs. They are going to try to keep him still with some meds and hoping that scar  tissue will build up and he can get some movement back. The poor thing isn't that old.

Wednesday October 9- I went back in to the food pantry today. After I went to Walmart to get the rest of the Christmas stuff, including cash. Well I didn't have my newest pin so that idea was foiled. I came on home. It was pretty nice out so we loaded the kayaks, and I took apart my swing chair and loaded it up. We are suppose to have some rain and really cold temps coming.

Thursday October 10- It rained last night and when we woke up, it was still raining. We went to Scott's Restaurant to meet Linda and Mike. They are from church and invited us out for breakfast. It was nice to have some time to visit. We just see them at church and there's never much time. This was our first time here and the food and service were really good. Our company was especially nice. Before heading back we had to stop and get cash so I can finish that up. We loaded up Maddyn's Christmas gifts, her birthday gift and her Halloween stuff. Jeff is going to help Justin take the band equipment to Kinnick Stadium. They are playing before the game this Saturday. I stayed and watched Maddyn. I had to bribe her to try on her Halloween stuff. We didn't put everything on, just the stuff I made in case I needed to alter it.

I think it is going to be so cute. Everything fit pretty good. I worked on Justin's bee keepers hat. Molly found some bees so I got to add them on the hat and Maddyn's shoes. When the guys got back Jeff and I went for dinner at The Texas Roadhouse. The place was super busy but we got right in and our dinner was yummy.

Friday October 11- It was some kind of cold out there this morning, in the 30's. Jeff unhooked the water last night in preparation of a freeze. When I got up I got busy making Maddyn's almost 2 birthday cake. I'm making her a bumble bee cake. I got the cakes baked, cooled and ready to frost. I made up my frosting and got started making the bee come to life. It was pretty easy to make and I think it is super cute. We will see what Maddyn thinks.

While I was making this cake I noticed a little bit of sunshine poking through. Then I look up again and it is gray, windy and.....wait for it.....snowing....WHAT! After cleaning up the baking mess I got busy giving myself a haircut. Then we went in to have a almost 2 birthday party for Maddyn. We decided to get some chili out of the freezer to have for supper. We arrived about 5 o'clock and Maddyn seemed to be a bit grumpy. Well we changed that mood fairly quick. We gave her, her gift and she seemed pretty excited about opening it. When we got it open and up she was ectstatic. I never dreamed she would love a shark tent so much. She wanted to get right in there and didn't want anybody else to come in. She moved in some blankets, books and her backpack. She loves it.

After opening the gift it was time for supper. I heated up the chili. We ate then got the cake ready. We added a couple candles and sang Happy Birthday. She liked the cake but wasn't sure about the lit candles. She kept saying hot, hot, hot. We sang, she didn't blow but she did know she wanted a piece of yellow cake. 

Well after cake we cleaned her up and it was time to put her to bed. Then the tent we got, that practically pops up by itself had to be put away. I had already done it and let me tell you it goes up way easier than putting it down. I let Jeff, Molly and Justin try, which was pretty funny. I finally got it put back away but it wasn't easy and I think some luck played into it. So that was the end of the evening and we headed home.

Saturday October 12- Oh my it's another cold one. I'm sending the day here at the camper. Jeff is going to Kinnick Stadium to watch Wellstrung play pregame. Then they get to watch the game from a really nice area. It is away from the crowds. Before the game I got a call from Justin to say they had an incident with there dog Barkley, he almost chewed his foot off because he had no feeling from his injury earlier in the week. So Justin had to call the vet and after a lot of thinking, they had to put him down. It was a very sad decision. We will miss Barkley the wonder dog.

The guys left early to head to Iowa City for the game. It is always a crazy place down there. They had VIP parking and got to get in early too. They only had to play for 1 hour before the game. I think they had a blast. This was Jeff's first game at the stadium. I managed to get some pictures that my other son Seth took.

The game was close but in the end the Hawkeyes loss.....While Jeff was in Iowa City I was at home. We had some of the strongest winds We have had all year. The rig was a shaking. The dogs even was barking a few times.

Sunday October 13- Our last full day here at the park. We got up and ready for church. We had to greet today so we got there early. After church we headed to Coralville to meet Seth, Katie and the kids for lunch. We had some time to spare so before going to the restaurant we stopped at Trader Joe's to get a few groceries for the road trip. Then we met the kids at Wig & Pen. They tell us there pizza is really good and they were right. We had to wait for a bit for a table. Then before our pizza we got some mozzarella sticks...which were super yummy. When the pizza arrived it was really good too. We had a very nice lunch with them all.

After we ate we left with the kids with us. Seth and Katie needed to go to a visitation. We took the kids back home. We also dropped off there Christmas gifts before we headed back home. We just stayed around there the rest of the night. We didn't get back together with Justin, Molly and Maddyn because they had a birthday party and the same visitation. So we face timed them. Tomorrow we will begin our trip toward warmer weather. We had a great season here and will really miss all the family. Until next time...........

Summer/Fall???

Monday September 16- Stay home day. I had cleaning to do. First the shower house then I did some drawers. I like to go through and toss stuff every once in a while. Makes me feel good. I also cleaned the appliances. I got a part ordered fro Maddyn's horse we got her. It was suppose to neigh and go clip clop when they ride it, hers did not. We had a little bit of a surprise today. We had Pam and Marty stop by and visit. They use to camp at this park a lot but now they have a volunteer position at another park. We haven't seen them all season. It was nice to catch up with them. It was also a hot one out there....summer like.


Tuesday September 17- Today we went in to the church to help out with the food pantry. We get food given by different vendors. We get it packed up and ready for distribution tomorrow. After finishing we stopped and picked up some supplies. First we went to Thiesens. This is what I saw walking in.

I don't know how many of you have tried this pretzels but they are awesome........I'm not even a pretzel fan. Our son had some and told me to try them. I did and boy was that a mistake, they are addictive. We also stopped at Target before making our way back. Again, feeling like summer. When I got home I did some laundry while it was so warm out and breezy. Didn't take any tie to dry. I also gave Belle her haircut. It was quite a chore. It was warm out there but we found a shady spot.


Wednesday September 18- Another hot one...I went in to help at the food pantry. I had never made it in on Wednesday. They asked because some regulars were gone on vacation. I went but Jeff had to take both dogs to the vet. Time for shots and they needed heart worm meds. Stayed around here the rest of the day. We had some weather roll in later in the afternoon.

On the radar it looked like it was going to be really bad but it broke up before it made it here. On another note it is Wednesday and we still have 2 walk in sites available. That hasn't happened all year.


Thursday September 19- Woke up to a really rainy day. I also noticed Miss Ruby was not herself. She didn't bark at all, not even at Belle. She was also very quiet, didn't eat her food. She just wanted to lay around. I picked her up and she actually would let me snuggle her. She doesn't let you snuggle her unless it's her idea. I picked her up and she was so snugly. I held her most of the morning. I felt bad sitting her down. So that's what I did most of the day. I looked up to see if those shots could cause this. It isn't that uncommon for that so that made me feel a little better. We just watched her real close.

Friday September 20- Jeff got up and started the truck up and the light came on AGAIN. So we called the dealership and see if he could bring it right over. The last time it went off before we could get there. So he took it over, on his way over the DEF light came on too. Well they told Jeff it is not under warranty but that's not what the book says. They also extended the warranty on the DEF stuff. Well Jeff left the truck and came on back. We will see what comes of that. We hope it's covered because it will be over $600.00. In the afternoon I took Jeff over to Justin's so he could ride down to his show tonight. I'm going to wait for Judy to get here before I go. While I was in town I went ahead and picked up my prescriptions. I also grabbed me a sandwich and went home to wait for Judy to arrive. When she got here, her and I went down to Dirty Shirley's to watch Wellstrung. Jeff was there and so was Jan and Jerry. Judy's sister and her husband. They are camping at another park and we planned on getting together. It was a fun night but a late one for us.

Saturday September 21- Morning came quick. It is a gray day...kind of like Fall. It is the first day of Fall. The park is just about full. After taking care of the shower house we got ready to take Jeff over to pick up the truck. They called yesterday later in the afternoon but Jeff was gone so I told them we would be over in the morning to get it. I guess it was covered because there was no bill. So that is good. We went to town for a bit. Judy wanted to go to Sam's. We got a few things. We found a really cute kitchen set for Maddyn's Christmas. Then we came back home for just a little bit. We ate and then we went in the The Stable...hockey season is here...well preseason any how. We met Jan and Jerry. Seth and the kids came too. We found our seats, which was super easy cause there weren't that many people there. It was a fun game for sure. It was very close the whole game.

With about 3 minutes left the other team tied it up. So at the end of regulation it was tied. Then they had a 5 minute 3 on 3 that ended in a tie. So next they had a shoot out....Riders WIN!!!!! So exciting.
When we left there it felt really late. The funny thing was the game started at 4.....usually they start at 7. I think all of us could have went home and went to sleep. That didn't happen. It was an earlier night than last night that was sure.

Sunday September 22- It rained all night long and was still going when we got up. It pretty much rained on and off all day. We got dressed and went to church. Our lead Pastor announced that he would be stepping down in 2 years. They will move Marcus up. After church we came on home to fix a nice lunch before Judy had to head for home. After eating we cleaned up the mess and visited until Judy had to go. She really likes her quilt I made for her.

Monday September 23- Big Day today. Jeff and I are heading to Clear Lake Iowa to watch Robert Plant perform at The Surf Ballroom. We decided to take Ruby with us because we can crate her. Belle on the other hand has never been crated and barks a lot at hotels. We took her over to Justin's and dropped her off. There dogs are crated during the day so she didn't have to deal with them all day. She is kind of a recluse. Not really liking other dogs. Then we went on our way. After having a fall like weekend today....summer again. We arrived in Clear Lake and got lunch at Culver's they have seating outside and it was shady. Then I looked up and our hotel is right behind Culver's. So after eating we went and checked in. We set up Ruby's crate and left her there to go and see where this place is located. It is just right up the road a bit. We went in and looked a bit but we couldn't see much because they had some of it closed down doing sound check stuff.

 Then we went back to get Ruby. She was whining. Never done that before. We both noticed she wasn't all that comfy here. We decided to take her with us and go downtown. Thought if we walked her around and got her tired out she would sleep when we go to the show. We walked her down by the water and around the nice little downtown. Went back to the hotel and tried to get Ruby comfy there. Jeff went and got us something to eat and brought it back to the room. Then it was time to head to the show. We tucked Ruby in to her crate, gave her a cookie and told her we would be right back. What we had going for us was most of the people staying here tonight were also at the show.

We drove to the venue and found a place to park. We waited in line but it moved fairly quickly. Then we got in and we are going to be standing. We knew that but now we could see what it would be like. We looked around of a lot of the memories on the walls. We found were they are selling t-shirts and we both got one. Then we found a spot where we thought we could stay and watch the show. This is a super neat venue with lots of history. This is the place that Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper performed before getting in that plane and crashing not far from here....the day the music died. They don't make places like this anymore that's for sure. We noticed that all the people working the show where really friendly. Jeff said he never had to wait in line for a drink. The prices were surprisingly low. Our son Seth bought us the tickets for our mother/father's day gifts. We waited for the show to start and the people just kept coming in. The place was packed by the time it started. It was a wonderful show, the sound was great and most of the crowd were having fun without being rude. It was a bit warm in there. Since it was such a small place it was easy to get out and back to our hotel. It was a nice night. When we got back I thought I heard Ruby but we didn't have a note on our door or message on the phone so I guess she behaved. She really surprised us with the way she acted. We thought it wouldn't bother her but I think it did.

Tuesday September 24- Woke up to Justin's morning call. Both of us slept really good in this bed, which is weird cause we usually hate hotel beds. The hotel offered breakfast so we had a bite to eat before loading up to go. Before heading toward home we decided to go see the crash site of the Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, and Richie Valens. We had gotten a map to give us directions to get there. It is on private property. It is marked by a giant pair of glasses. Then you park your car along the road and walk back about 1/2 mile to the actual site. It was a beauty of a day. They really had it maintained nice. Someone is mowing the path. So Jeff, I and Ruby made our way back to take a look.

We took off for home making a stop in Cedar Falls for coffee. We got home and unloaded all our stuff. Jeff went over and got Belle. She was super glad to see us. Justin told us she acted weird. I guess our dogs are home bodies. Made us some soup for supper. We were both ready for some home cooking.

Wednesday September 25- Today we started the process of getting stuff put away for the winter. Jeff washed both of the vehicles. We loaded up the big chairs that we leave at the kids place. We actually gave them to them this year. I also put away some of the stuff I have outside for decorations. I guess I'm getting ready to go. We are going to drop off this stuff then we will be watching Maddyn tonight. So our next stop was Justin and Molly's house to spend some time with Maddyn. We brought over her new kitchen set. Thought we could start putting it together when she went to bed. After her supper Jeff took her for a bike ride...she likes that.

We also took her down to ride her rocking horse. It has the sound in it now. I think she likes it too.
After she went to bed I went down and took all the pieces of that kitchen set out. It was pretty overwhelming with all the pieces and all the instructions. Needless we didn't get much done on it. Jeff thinks he needs to start early on that. So maybe another day.


Thursday September 26- It was a cool one out there this morning. I took Ruby for a walk and stopped to talk to Jim, another volunteer up on the 2nd loop. He told me Wanda left. Hmmm didn't know that. When I got back we went to town to get some groceries. Jeff stopped at Goodyear to see about getting the oil changed in the car. They said they could do it today at 2:30. We decided to hang around and get it done before going home. We went to the brand new Farm & Fleet. It was big....not my favorite store but I'm sure others will enjoy. Well we made a few other stops before going back to Goodyear. Well when Jeff went to drop it off there was a bit of a mix up. They had advertised on the board out front that oil changes for $30.00 ours was going to be 80. We use synthetic oil so it is going to be way more. Well we changed our minds and headed back. We put stuff away and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. We had new neighbors pull in behind us. The Griffey's are back. They used to camp here a lot but this year they had a volunteer position in Minnesota. They are finished and sold there home. Now they have to get rid of everything inside before closing on the house. So we said hi and let the get set up. We had plans to go to North Liberty tonight and listen to Wellstrung. They are playing at a new spot for them, The Tin Roost. They played on the patio and it was a really nice area and the weather turned out perfect too.

We had supper there and the food was great. This is a really nice spot and the crowd was great for a Thursday. We stayed til they were done and drove Justin home.

Friday September 27- We were woke up last night by Belle. She isn't feeling well. We got up and kept a close eye on her. She was sick all day long. It was a cool rainy day today too. We had planned on going to Justin's early today to put together that kitchen set but with Belle we didn't want to leave her that long. We went over late in the afternoon and I picked up all the pieces and put them back in the box. We are taking it back. We left there and went to get Hailey. She is going to spend the weekend with us. We haven't seen much of them with school going on. We got Sis and took her home. Belle seems to be a bit better but we still are watching her close. Hailey wanted tenderloins for supper so we made that and ate. It was so crappy outside that we stayed in. We played old maid and slap jack.

Saturday September 28- Belle slept way better last night. I'm not sure I did. We got up early and made Hailey breakfast. After eating and cleaning up the mess I showed Hailey how to play solitaire.
She caught on fairly quickly and thought it was fun....anything to get her off that phone.

We got ready to go to town. We are going to Seth's place to watch the Hawkeye's play. It was a blow out. With a big win. It was good we went in because Hailey forgot to pack everything she needed. When we went to get her stuff I got a look at her room. So before leaving we got busy finding the floor. That girl is messy. Before coming home we stopped at the store so Hailey could pick out something for supper. She picked out hamburgers. We didn't have any lunch so we at a really early supper. We hung around here the rest of the day....it feels like Fall, so we had us a campfire.

Sunday September 29- Our dogs were up early because we took them out early because rain rolled in. It was a chilly morning. We got ready for church. We left early because we are greeting, Hailey helped. Then after church, it was food truck Sunday so we stayed and had tacos. The food was really good. The weather, not so much. It was cool, gray and misting rain. The prepared for that, they had canopies set up. After that we left to go to Hailey's other grandma's open house. She is selling her home of 30 years and wanted one more get together before that happens. We visited for a bit then made our way back. It is a very gray, wet day. So in closing this post it is feeling like fall. Tomorrow it is suppose to be sunny and it the upper 80's. I'll let you know next time.