Summers winding down.....

Monday August 18, My best friend Judy received a call from her mothers assisted living saying she fell. We packed up Judy to get her on the road..disappointed she had to leave early, but happy her mom was ok. My son Seth nominated us for the ice bucket challenge for ALS, so we knew we wouldn't wimp out on a challenge. We did the challenge and donated online. Jeff went to movie " The Giver" while I ran some errands.

Tuesday & Wednesday it was gloomy and cloudy.....perfect weather to quilt , I finished Ashton's birthday gift which was a big load off my mind. I did have a week to spare. Jeff got in touch with Janie & John trying to get together once more before they take off back on the road. Set up to meet them tomorrow.

Thursday, There is hardly anybody at the campground, so makes for a quiet week. We headed into town to meet our friends for dinner at White Star. They enjoyed happy hour and had dinner. I had crispy chicken with the cheesy potatoes. I loved it, I had that before and couldn't wait to enjoy it again. After we finished eating we decided to move our party to another spot. We walked to a bar called Rocks. Since the flood this city has really worked on the downtown area. It's really nice now. For Thursday night the place was hopping. One of the draws is the mechanical bull. We didn't partake but there were plenty who did....Ones that had been partying harder and longer then us. It was really fun. We said our goodbyes and wished them happy trails.

Our weekend consisted of grocery shopping, a trip to Lowes and Hobby Lobby. Jeff has been helping our younger son work on his basement. So some of that shopping was to help him get everything he needed. The weather for the weekend went from smoking hot to humid and rain. We went back to church Sunday at the Cedar Rapids Family church, we like the church and the welcoming feel they show. 

Monday we were surprised to get a call from Ashton, this is his last day of summer vacation. Seth took the day off to spend the day with him. They invited us to go to a movie, so guess what, we went to a movie..."Into the Storm". It was pretty good,I knew there was a good reason I don't like storms.

Tuesday August 26, Woke up to the camper shaking because of the wind. Jeff had already looked at the radar, he told me we have weather coming. I grabbed my stuff and my dog and headed to the shower house. It looked really bad, we got lucky though mostly just rain and some wind. After seeing that movie yesterday I wasn't taking any chances.

 

We went to town to have our eye appointments. We made them with a new eye Doctor.  He's from our hometown Keokuk Iowa, and went to school with our boys. He did an excellent job and we will definitely go back. Well that's one more thing off our to do list.

Wednesday Jeff got a call that our new 17.5 wheels and tires are here. He ordered them a couple of days ago from Trailer Tire and Wheel and had them shipped to the Fed Ex Distribution center in Urbana.  It saved us some money on shipping. It was only about 10 miles away and so easy to pick up. They even used there forklift to put in the back of our truck. Another  job I did today was defrost the freezer. It had gotten really frosted up. The ice maker wasn't making ice it was so bad. I got it all defrosted and the ice maker worked, so happy about that. Then we put on our new tires. I was really surprised that it went so smooth, no issues. Another task crossed off the list.

Thursday August 28, It was a rainy day and I was kinda bored so I decided to cut my hair. I've done this before but I couldn't remember which comb to use, well I grabbed the wrong one so needless to say its shorter than normal... Good news is it will grow back...

Jeff decided he wants to do a bit more remodeling. Wants to add a light to the ceiling fan. Something that should be so easy right.... Well the wiring that's up there for the light isn't hooked up so it didn't work. Gonna have to do a bit of research before we can get that put up. It was so gloomy and cool that Jeff decided to make some homemade chicken noodle soup. It was yummy, I guess I'm ready for some cooler temps for a bit. 

Friday, it's suppose to be clear today til after supper so I thought I better get the laundry done. We don't have a dryer on board so it all depends on the weather. Also it was Jeff's turn for a haircut, so I took care of that. We purchased a new rug for outside, our other one was just falling apart. We put it down, love it it's super big. My last task to do today was to get my grandsons birthday cake made and put in the freezer for frosting later. I make there cakes every year and I always put a lot if pressure on myself but in the end it always turns out.

Saturday August 30......It's opening day for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Kick off was at 11:01. We were invited to Seth & Katie's for breakfast. I made some homemade cinnamon rolls to take..we enjoyed breakfast burritos and some had bloody Mary's. They say Katie makes really good ones. The Hawkeyes won, closer than we thought but a win. While I was over there and had help, we put up the pictures and shelves in Ashton's room. It's part of his birthday present. I painted one wall and got some Blackhawk pics to put up. It looks good. We headed home to see how everything was going at the campground. It is a holiday weekend, but with that being said it sure is a quiet bunch.....that's great.

Sunday August 31, I made cupcakes today for the party tomorrow. It's a really nice day so Katie and the kids came out. Us girls went to the beach. Jeff & Ashton put together a new balsa wood plane. They didn't get to fly it much cause it was so windy. Glad that we got one more beach day in.

Monday Labor Day...and that means one thing PARTY!  Ashton was born on Labor Day so it's not technically his birthday but usually have his party on this day. The first thing to do was get his cake frosted. He wanted a Stanley Cup Cake this year do that's what I did. After that was finished I frosted those cupcakes too. The party started at 1, so we headed over around 12:30. It was a wonderful day weather wise. Everyone had a great time. He got lots of great gifts and the cake was good. A good time was had by all. Came back home and relaxed, the park had cleared out and party & cake number one done. I can relax til October and Haileys cake and party.

Is this Iowa??

Monday July, 28- We have been enjoying this weather...it's not typical for Iowa but we aren't complaining. The temps have been lower that normal and the humidity is lower as well. We have been doing some cleaning and maintenance Jeff replaced the rest if the seals on the slides. He's also cleaned and caulked the roof. Besides working around the place we also enjoyed sitting outside, reading, walking and meeting new people. We have friendly folk here in Iowa. As the weekend rolled around we went to the farmers market in downtown Cedar Rapids. They happen on the 1st & 3rd Saturdays of the month. Well good news at the market it's peak sweet corn season and we found some that turned out to be the best we had all summer. We ended this day with a trip over to Squaw Creek park to have dinner with our friends John & Janie, other full time RVers. It was a wonderful evening by the campfire visiting.

Jeff and I decided to do a little remodeling to our rig...besides our new recliners we replaced our wooden refrigerator panels with stainless. We love that. We also put a new backsplash behind the stove. Not a lot but we are pleased with the changes.

Wednesday August 6, we made a trip to Letts,  Iowa to visit a friend from high school. He called a week ago to catch up with Jeff. We decided a trip to talk to him in person was necessary. It was nice to see him and visit about old times.

Thursday we had a special visitor... Our granddaughter came to stay. We took her to the Collins Road Theater. They have free kids movies weekdays at 10 a.m. all  summer. We arrived early and boy was that a good idea. That place was packed. They have 5 theaters and everyone of them were full. They say if the theaters are full that's 900 people. Kids get in free and adults pay $1.00. We had never taken Hailey to the show, she did real good all except when Sparkles the clown showed up. She is not to excited about clowns. The movie was Mr. Peabody and Sherman....Sissy called it Mr. Peepotty....so that was funny.

Friday was Sissy Day. We played outside with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and frisbee. Painted her toes and walked around the campground. She decided the afternoon would be spent on the beach. Her & I walked down and spent some time in the water and in the sand.

The weekend was spent hanging around the campground. Sunday Seth, Katie, Ashton & Hailey came out to go to the beach. The sun spent most of the time behind the clouds but the kids didn't care they had fun. Ashton stayed with us because he has hockey camp and we are going to take him and pick him up.

Monday August 11, we took Ashton to hockey camp, he was really excited about going. At first there was a problem because the ice wasn't ready but they worked hard to get it ready for the afternoon ice time. We stayed in town while he was at camp. Took advantage of there washer & dryer, washed my sheets. Jeff washed the truck. I went to get some red paint for our grandsons bedroom wall. It's to go with the quilt I'm making for him. It took them 3 trys to get a paint look red.

Tuesday dropped off Ashton at camp and  went to Seth's. I taped off the woodwork so I could start painting. Before painting I went to Morgan Creek Campground to visit with Pat the campground host, that's one thing I miss about staying put....can't visit with those we've met there. It was good to see her and see her great grand kids... They've grown. Came back and started painting. I'm covering stripes so it's going to take lots of coats. We picked up Ashton and he is loving his camp.

Wednesday again with the hockey camp. Then over to continue with the painting. I know I gave that wall at least 8 coats. It looks pretty good though. We collected our hockey player and brought him home. Seth's taking the day off tomorrow to go watch Ashton at camp, it's the last day. 

Thursday we stayed home, we've been running all week so we had things to get done around here. I even got to spend some time at the beach.

Friday our younger son Justin took the day off to work on his basement floor. Jeff went over to help. We had a late lunch, I went to get groceries, pick up Ashton to stay the night. We decided since having such a late lunch we would have popcorn and root beer floats for supper. It's great to be a grown up!

Saturday my best friend came for a visit, she and I went to the outlet mall for a little retail therapy. Jeff & Ashton stayed home for some guy time. It's seems Ashton been playing with this balsa plane they purchased at the hardware store. He loved it and Papa lost it. Judy and I went thru that mall in record time. It wasn't really so much about the shopping, just being together. Had supper here and just hung out.

Sunday August 17, We got up early to go down to the beach. The park is hosting a triathalon. It's 2 different ones, a shorter one and a 1/2 tri.. We wanted to watch the swim. For the 1/2 tri, they swam 1000 meters, biked 56 miles then ran 13 miles...yikes!!! When I first got up it was really foggy but by the time the swim started at 7:30 it cleared some. We watched them take off on there bikes. Then we came back for brunch and headed back down to watch some of the runners cross the finish line. The weather was really pretty good for them until right towards the end when the clouds broke and the sun showed up. Then it was hot. I was really impressed with the whole thing. I could never do that. Again we stayed around here for supper. Then Judy and I walked around the other campground loops. I also showed her the cabins. Another good day... Not doing much but enjoying time with friends. It's always good to have company... Especially my best friend.

Summer Continues....

Monday after the big holiday weekend and the shower house showed it. With all the rain these knats just don't want to go away. When you leave the lights on all night in the shower house that's where those pests like to go...what a mess so many bugs. That's one of our duties as hosts, to take care of the shower house. The park cleared out and it's very quiet again. It was cleaning day. We also had company coming for supper (stir fry) so had to do lots of vegetable cutting. Our friends John & Janie came over for an evening of food, beverage and conversation. It was a great night. That's a benefit of this way of living... Meeting people, making new friends and comparing adventures. It's always good to get together and tonight was no exception.

The fun continues, we headed into town (Cedar Rapids)on Tuesday to get our grandson Ashton. We went to breakfast first, he picked IHOP. We were surprised to learn it was there 56th anniversary so to celebrate they offered a short stack for $.56, well that was a no brainier on what to order we all had short stacks. Then we took Ashton to hockey. They are offering a drop in hockey so the kids can keep up there skills over the summer. Ashton came home with us. We went for a nice bike ride all around the park. The bugs were still horrible so sitting outside was not much fun. We went in and watched a movie....a much better option. 

Wednesday we planned to get Ashton back out in the kayaks, this time we were gonna get the sails out and Papa was gonna give him a sailing lesson. We both were impressed with how good he listened and understood. He had a blast. We met Seth, Katie & Hailey at Brogans in Palo for supper..good pizza.

Thursday I met a good friend from my work for lunch. She brought her boys up for football camp. So while they worked on there football skills we got to catch up on each other's life's. It was really good to see her. She was the best part of my job.

Friday my friend Teri, was back, this time she came to the campground with her husband and youngest son. More visiting. I wish that was a career option (visiting) cause I would do really good in that job. We had supper at our sons (Justin's), we ate and watched a movie before heading back home.

The weekend...Saturday Hailey called to ask us to join her and Seth for lunch at Red Lobster, well Jeff doesn't refuse that offer ever. Ashton and his mom Katie were in Des Moines at a color run. So Seth was getting to spend some time alone time with Sissy. The weather the rest of the day was rainy, we made it a movie day. Sunday was still cloudy we watched everyone pull out. We decided to rearrange our furniture. When we ordered our 5th wheel we ordered it  without furniture and purchased our own. Our recliners are super comfy but extremely large. Since we have landed here for so long we decided to change things up. Since our chairs are so large we had to put away a couple of the dinette chairs to make it work. We like the new set up but think we need smaller recliners.

New week, new plan. Gonna try to get back to walking everyday, I haven't been doing that since I broke my toe but I think that excuse is no longer valid. It felt good to get out and walk. This is a beautiful park so my scenery is awesome.

Tuesday, a day of running. Not like jogging or anything but to get some groceries, etc.  We stopped at Menards to look for some stain or polish to help hide some of the gigs on our furniture. I got some little samples to take home. We really don't want to sand and re stain it just want to restore some of the shine. Next we spotted a furniture store...we decided to look inside just to see if they had any recliners that would work. Well my husband had already done some pricing research on line so he kinda knew what prices would be. Well guess what...we walked out of there with 2 new lazy boy recliners. That didn't take long. Now to sell our big chairs. We had an interesting thing happen this evening. Jeff noticed that someone was outside taking pictures of our camper. He went out to investigate...we had some people from India checking out our rig. The one fellow was living in Cedar Rapids and his brother came from India for a visit. He was trying to explain about camping. We let them come in to see our happy home. That doesn't happen everyday.. Never know what will happen next. By the looks on there faces I'm not sure they totally got it.

Wednesday Jeff started replacing the seals on the slides, it was easier to replace then we anticipated. Our maintenance list is getting smaller. The day was a pretty one. We had unexpected visitors tonight....Lenny & Dawn a couple from Palo stopped by to visit. He's a retired firefighter so they have a lot to talk about.  Another fine couple we would have never met if not for this wacky lifestyle.

Thursday another beauty of a day. Jeff and Ashton had a date for a movie...the newest of the Planet of the Apes.... In 3-D. They loved it

Friday we decided to finally get the kayaks out. We really haven't had a day on the water. It was a perfect day, warm, calm, and not to hot. We took a tour around the whole lake.... It was really nice. We walked the dogs and stopped to visit with yet another wonderful camping couple , Katie & John, there are sure a lot of nice people out there.

Saturday we loaded up our old recliners to deliver to our son (Justin ) he wanted them for his basement. Then we decided to try a new restaurant in Cedar Rapids. Cheddars, it was busy and neither of us were impressed. Then we went to pick up our new recliners. Both of us were hoping we would like them. They definitely are smaller, they match fine but the best thing is the amount of space they save. It seems so much more roomy. 

Sunday we visited a new church....CR Family Church. We felt very welcome and the worship was great and so was the message. I think we found  church that will work for us. Stopped by Morgan Creek Campground to see John & Janie. They were there so we visited a bit before heading home.

Monday we had a repair guy from Ketelsons  to look at our A.C. Unit in the bedroom. What a great experience was that. He was friendly, knowledgeable and quick. He new what was wrong and had it fixed in no time. It's good to know there is a RV place that does good work so close. 

The rest of the week it went from blazing hot & humid to awesome summer weather. It's been in the upper 70's and lower 80's with hardly any humidity... Who likes this weather?....we do! We took advantage of the weather and cut Belle's hair, gave dogs baths and enjoyed sitting outside.

Friday July 25th our son Seth's 35th birthday. We took him and his family to Red Lobster for a birthday extravaganza. The he bought new furniture so we picked it up and delivered to there house. First we had to remove the old and then replace with the new...everyone was happy. We finished the night with another trip to uptown Friday nights. We went with Justin and Molly. After we had seen enough music we went to get a bite to eat. The kids had to have a running race... We watched. Went to a bar and had appetizers. The best part was watching Justin and Molly ride the bull, kinda funny!

Sissy Saturday, she came out cause the kids are renting a boat on Coralville lake. We let her be in charge of our day. First breakfast, Minnie Mouse pancakes, then a walk around the campground. After lunch we went into Palo to a splash pad. She played there for about 15 minutes. Into town to get her bike and let there dog Noodles out. While in Cedar Rapids we decided,(she decided ) to go to Orange Leaf for some frozen yogurt....yum from everyone. We came home and she helped me make chocolate chip cookies. We had supper she picked a movie to watch and the day was gone.

Sunday we went back to church and this time we took Hailey with us. We really liked it again. So happy that we found a church that fits. We took Hailey home came back home and enjoyed the rest of the day. During our walk this evening I had to wear a sweatshirt and it rained on us a bit... We wanted to go see the new dock they put in. The place is pretty empty but I'm sure it won't last long.

Stormy Weather

Started off the week alright but Monday evening spent a lot of time in the shower house... We've had some serious storms, warnings and rain. The rivers are full and people are thinking about previous years. It seems like we are always watching the weather cause if we aren't getting a storm they aren't far away from here. Keeping us on our toes. You really need to be aware of the weather when living in a RV.

Friday June 20, My best friend came up for the weekend. She's never been to this park. Most of the time we just sat and visited. The weather was really good for us. Saturday morning we headed into town to try our luck at the farmers market. It was super busy again. We found some good things to purchase. Some of the stuff we included in our dinner plans.....(Apple pie) for dessert. Well our dinner plans changed cause we went back into town and met Justin & Molly for a late lunch...so just had popcorn for supper along with a movie ( Castaway). Since we didn't have supper and had it mostly ready we  had a big lunch on Sunday before Judy headed home. Went into see the grand kids cause Hailey kinda likes Judy. The weather started looking bad so  we got Judy on the road. She did run into some rain but made it home to Keokuk before the big storm hit.

Monday the gloomy weather continued so I stayed in and did some cleaning. I have started a quilt for my grandsons birthday, I got the top put together but to put the back and batting together I needed a bigger space. It dried up enough outside that I used our outside rug. I got that all pinned together and ready to start quilting.

Wednesday June 25, it was Ashton's last hockey practice so we made it  a point to go. He did great! Celebrated with pizza at Godfathers after practice.

Thursday June 26, the park is full for the weekend. We had plans to go to the BBQ roundup. It's happening downtown at the new amphitheater. They had lots of different vendors to choose from. Jeff was partial to the fresh peach bread pudding, I had a pulled pork sandwich, it was good. Then I spotted these spiral potatoes that looked delicious....I got some of them. Then we stayed and listened to some music. The weather held off... No rain.:)

Friday and Saturday it rained, felt bad for all the campers here. On Sunday I tried a couple new recipes...pulled pork and cheesy potatoes. I got the recipes off of Pinterest....love Pinterest!! Our pork called for coke and liquid smoke, the best pulled pork I've ever made. Gonna use that recipe again for sure.

Monday June 30, Started off hot and humid...we had lots of rain last night. I heard on the weather news that Cedar Rapids had 13.69 inches of rain this June, that broke a record from 1969 of 11.25...we have had so much rain. It's expected to rain again today.. We watched the weather and a big storms heading our way. We ended up heading into Seth's cause he was at home watching his basement.(flooding) the storm rolled thru about 3:00. It was a big one. They didn't get any damage, but other areas of Cedar Rapids did. Lots of people without power. We decided to head back home and see how the park looked. We drive thru the town of Palo, oh my my I bet there was a tree down in every yard. It was a mess. Drove up to the park and everything looked fine...yeah! We didn't have any power though. When the power goes out here you don't have water. The use a well and need a pump to pump it.  Back into town we went. The power came on at 1:34a.m. We considered ourselves very lucky. Some of the folks in Palo didn't have power for a couple days. 

The park filled up by Monday for the holiday weekend. The campers were here but no people in them yet. We had a visitor on Wednesday, Hailey came back with us and spent the night. The best thing about being close to the kids. When I took Hailey back home we spent Thursday afternoon at the Cherry Hill Pool. It was a beauty of a day. It's cooler than normal and no humidity today. 

Friday the 4th of July....you couldn't have asked for better weather, low 80's and no humidity. Jeff & I took the kayaks down to the lake. We claimed a picnic table and waited for the family to show up. Seth, Katie & the kids took the boats out. We had some chairs and we just enjoyed the day. They went over to the beach for awhile, but the dogs aren't allowed so I stayed with them. Justin & Molly came out as well. They stuck around for a late lunch before heading out. We didn't head in to watch the fireworks. We watched them on TV. Saturday it rained most of the day, I guess we are paying for that beautiful 4th. 

To finish off our holiday weekend we drove to Keokuk. We stopped by and got the grand kids. My nephew Todd and his wife Jen, and son JT came to visit. We met them for breakfast and visited. It seems a pool party was in the plans. Went to my nieces house and the rest of the family came. The kids had a great time. The cousins took off with Hailey, Ashton played with the boy cousins. When the big kids got in the water they tossed the kids in the air to do flips. The kids didn't want to leave that's for sure. The good news was both were extremely tired and slept most of the ride home. We got back just in time for a severe thunder storm warning. We stayed a bit at Seth's til the weather passed. Boy what a busy weekend...sure had lots of fun.

Bring on Summer

Saturday June 7th was the opening of Cedar Rapids farmers market. It happens right in the downtown area and it's huge. You can find just about anything there. They offer produce, flowers, spices, meats, wines, crafts and every kind of eats a foodie would want. Jeff likes to get his honey there, also elk meat sticks and his favorite spice Jonesyz. It was unbelievably packed there. So crowded we pretty much got we wanted and escaped. Went with our daughter in law and the grand kids. As we were leaving there was a guy up on some steps making these huge bubbles. We called him the bubble man. The kids loved chasing down the bubbles and popping them. We let them play at that then left. They definitely offer something for everyone.

We finished this day out with a trip to Iowa City to see Steve Earle and the Dukes.  It was a little iffy cause we had a storm roll thru and wasn't sure if it was still on because it was outside. We decided to go, the concert happened but some of the equipment had gotten wet so they had to make a change. To our surprise Steve Earle came out and played solo....no Dukes. It was a really good show and the only drawback was driving home in the dark...we made it safe so it was a good day.

Sunday June 8th was family fun day. Both boys came out, but at different meals. For lunch Seth, Katie & the kids came out. We played outside with a huge glider and ate a yummy lunch. Then for supper Justin came out with his friend Molly. We enjoyed another good meal. We got to see both boys, maybe next time we can get them together for one meal.

We are still pretty empty during the week so our duties are light. I started a new quilt, got it cut out and laid out.... I love it already. I worked on that a lot this week, I got it all sewed together but put it away for quilting at a later date. Jeff has been working on maintenance of the camper. He drained and cleaned the water tanks, also worked on lubricating the slide seals .

Thursday June 12, was the last day of school (they had lots if snow days this year) We went and got Ashton to spend the night. On our way back stopped at Morgan Creek county park and saw that John & Janie are camping there. We stopped and visited awhile before heading back. We had a celebration supper, celebrating schools out. We were busy the next day with fishing, biking and even a little time at the beach. Always a good time with Ashton. Just having him around makes for a fun day.

Friday June 13, We took Ashton home and headed to downtown Cedar Rapids for another uptown Friday night. This one was a bit more special cause our son Justin was playing at 5 p.m. There band Well Strung sounded really good and I'm not just saying that because I'm partial...they were great! After Jeff and I walked to a restaurant for supper. It was White Star, my meal was really good, Jeff's pick wasn't as wonderful. He'll be ordering what I had next time. I ordered crunchy chicken with cheesy potatoes... On my so yummy. 

Saturday June 14th we had plans for dinner at Seth & Katie's. I made stuff to take, we dropped it off and went to a movie." That Fault With Our Stars"...it was really good but a tear jerker. After headed over for supper, the guys watched the fights. The girls worked on some decorations for an upcoming wedding.

Sunday June 15, Happy Fathers Day...the boys & kids were going to Air E -Fex trampoline park. We watched them have a wonderful time. Justin had us over for breakfast but somehow I ended up behind the stove. It's really nice to be close to the family, we get to join in on all of this fun actives.

Company's Coming

After the busy holiday weekend things got pretty quiet around here. We enjoy quiet. Jeff has been working on his maintenance list he has for our camper. We started the week with some scary weather, had some serious wind and hail. I really don't like hail. After the storm passes we were blessed with a pretty rainbow. When the weathers good Jeff has been working on our hitch, cleaning it up. Also he changed the transmission fluid in the truck. It's hard to get things done outside because of the bugs. They are horrible. The other hosts up here told us to get some absorbine jr., that stuff really works, who would of thought.

 We had a really nice day and I thought the beach sounded like a good idea, well as I rode my bike down I spotted 4 buses...(school field trip) needless to say I didn't stay long, it was not a good beach day.

Then we were getting ready for a busy weekend. Jeff's brother and his wife are coming up to the park. They have reserved one of the cabins here. They are little log cabins, with a futon, bunk beds, a frig,microwave and an air conditioner. They arrived  Friday around 6. We got them settled into there cabin then went into town to eat. We had some excitement to start it off. Some how Shawn stepped in doggie doo, then got in our truck. When we got to the restaurant we cleaned that up. In the restaurant she spills a glass of water, so we left a good impression there. We wanted them to eat at Brogans since we were so impressed with there food.  Again the food was delicious. Went in to see Seth and Katie and watch the Blackhawks win!  

Saturday was a busy day....Fritz & Shawn came down and we sat outside and enjoyed the weather. We fixed lunch here then decided to do a movie. Went and saw Million Dollar Arm. We all liked that movie, really a pleasant surprise. Then we met our other son Justin & his girlfriend Molly back at the Brogans for another supper. This time pizza. It was a little late so we hung around and watched some karaoke...kinda fun. 

Sunday was a huge day here at the park. They are hosting a jr. triathlon  (pigman). It started at 7:30a.m. I was up super early cause my dog wasn't acting right, so I got up with her at 4a.m. People started pulling in at 5a.m. They say they had like 900 participates. It was crazy busy here. We walked down after it was over, still busy. They had perfect weather to run it in. We said our goodbyes to Fritz & Shawn and watched the park clear out.

We had more company showing up this evening. Brand new full timers Al & Nancy Moander. They arrived around 6. We let them get set up and made arrangements to get together tomorrow. I brought supper to them and we visited a little. It's nice to see the excitement they have getting started on there new adventure. 

More company, we got an early call, Haileys got a fever and so she's coming out for the day. I hate seeing the kids sick but boy does she get snuggly when she doesn't feel well. She did good all day then after her nap more fever and she didn't do so well...:( Katie came and got her. We went back to Moanders for margaritas and wish them good luck on there journey.

Wednesday, got an early call, both kids are sick so we headed into there house to watch them. We knew Ashton didn't feel good when he stayed on the couch all day and didn't ask to eat. Again after naps Hailey's fever was back so Katie took them to the Doctor, both have strep....yikes.

We finished up the week with a trip downtown to Cedar Rapids. They have a music festival called Uptown Friday Nights...it's a beautiful venue and the bands sounded good. They offer beverages and snacks there. The weather was great. It started off a little warm but turned out really nice. We went with Justin & Molly and after went for dinner at Jerseys. We got burgers and they were so yummy. We called it a night and headed back to our home sweet home.

Memorial Weekend Before/After

The weekend before Memorial Day was fairly busy here. It was decent weather wise with some sun and warmer temps. We went to a new restaurant to us...Brogans. It's just down the hill in Palo. My son use to live in Palo and told us it was good. We went there to try the pizza but saw the chicken and ordered it instead. So good and inexpensive. I think it's the best broasted chicken ever. We also went to see our sons brand new car. It's there first new car and are excited. I remember the first car we purchased, it was a big deal.

In this neck of the woods it's mushroom season. We aren't good at finding them but my boys have some friends that are willing to share. So Jeff has been enjoying those, I don't care for them but most folks do. It's quite a chore to hunt them down. Most people have there spots but aren't willing to share that information. What I don't like about hunting for them is the ticks. You have to go into the woods and the ticks are thick.  So I skipped this activity this year.

 Most of the week leading up to the big weekend was nice. We had some weather roll in but for the most part it was nice. Both Jeff and I are ready for some better temps. Starting on Monday people have started rolling in to secure a spot. In our camp loop it's about half first come the other are reservable.

Pleasant Creek Lake

 On Wednesday I ran my baby toe into the door and ouch!!! I think it's broke and it hurts. We also headed back to Brogans for pizza, they have special on Wednesday a large pizza for a medium price. When they say large they mean LARGE... Jeff got taco on his half and said it was extremely delicious. Next time we come for pizza we are bringing more people.

Thursday was a busy evening for us, we had lots of people knocking on our door asking questions. Most were looking for campsites but we are full and have been since Tuesday. Our schnauzer Belle doesn't really like it when people knock on the door. We are trying to get her more acceptable to that. Not working well yet.

Another kinda exciting thing.....one day as we were driving into the park I noticed some  little animals in some brush out in this field. I asked Jeff to stop. We watched and they were baby foxes. We were in the truck and they were a ways away but I had my camera. I got some pictures. It was hard to get good pictures because of the distance but I tried. They were so cute. So now we keep our eyes open hoping to see them again.

Friday we got to attend our grandsons program from his after school program. We haven't been able to attend many functions at school so that was nice. Most of them sang but he choose not to. I was ready with camera in hand... What's up with giving them the choice? We didn't do too much over the holiday weekend. This park was hopping. Even the beach was getting used. Even with all the people things ran smooth in our loop. On Monday a lot  of the campers headed out early. The park was still busy, with people swimming,fishing,boating and picnicking. It's a big day. Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all the veterans that enable us to live in this great country. Your service to our country is greatly appreciated!!! Your sacrifice not forgotten.