Ian's Adoption

Melissa sent me a video clip of the courtroom proceedings of Ian's actual final adoption. It is special to me, and I hope everyone that reads this is as moved as I am.

Saturday and Sunday, June 28 & 29, 2008

We woke up Saturday morning to cloudy skies threatening rain. Stella wanted to go out and cut the back yard in the morning while it was cool. I went out and helped her some but I had already cut the front grass yesterday, so my chores outside were done.

My friend Emile Humbert called around noon and wanted to meet us somewhere for supper. We agreed to meet at Landrys in Kemah about 4 o'clock. We met them right on time and had a great meal together. We walked around the Kemah boardwalk some after eating and marveled at the people out there riding the rides including the speed boat ride. A ride on the Joe's Crabshack/Landry's cigarette boat cost an adult $12.00. The ride lasts about 15 minutes and goes out into the ship channel before returning to the dock. There were over 100 people on the boat on each trip and they probably do three trips out an hour. How much money is that?

After walking around the boardwalk, we all went to our homes. I just about went to sleep at the computer, but the Police Dept. called and wanted me to come out to help in the investigation of an aggravated assault. I went to the Southeast Memorial Hospital where I met with teh victim and his girlfriend. It was a frustrating case and I didn't get home until after midnight. I'm glad I took my Garmin with me; I would have had a hard time finding the hospital without it.

Sunday morning we got up and Stella fixed us some breakfast. I laid around in the recliner-I'm really gonna miss that thing-and watched my Sunday morning shows. That is to say, I napped most of the morning. Stella got the clothes washed and folded. She got the clothes that belong in the trailer together and we'll take them out and put them away later this afternoon.

Kim called Stella about 10 o'clock and wanted to go shopping for the boys. Stella told her to come on by and pick her up, but it's 2:30 now and she hasn't shown up yet. Stella just told me she talked to her and she and Cameron laid down and went back to sleep. We'll probably go down there to their house later this afternoon. They still have a Father's Day card for me, so it will be another small celebration.

Another fun weekend at our cave.....

Friday June 27, 2008

I got off work today, Friday, and decided that Stella and I deserved a good mexican food meal. I called her and learned that she was on her way home anyway and she agreed that we should go out to eat tonight. Then I had the brilliant idea to call Phil, my brother, to see if they would like to meet us for supper. He moved to Dickinson (actually League City, but it's just outside of Dickinson) a year or so ago, and we don't get together often enough. He agreed to meet us but asked us to wait until 7 o'clock so Carol could get home from work. They brought their daughter Lindsay and her husband Mark and of course the new (two week old) baby Aric. His name is Aric (pronounced like Eric) Jacob and they refer to him as AJ.

We met at Mamacita's mexican restaurant on Nasa Rd. 1. It's been a long time since we ate there. They put us out on the covered and air conditioned patio and man, was it ever loud! There were a couple of large groups celebrating birthdays and since there were 9 of us, they put us out there with them. It was impossible to carry on a conversation at the table because of the noise. The food was good, but very expensive. I remember when we first started going to Mamacita's, it was a small restaurant with good food and great prices. It seems as though when a restaurant becomes popular, its a license to go up on the prices. I got a half-order of nachos and got 6 triangles of tortilla chip with some taco meat and beans and cheese for $6.95. A dollar apiece is outrageous to me. Stella wanted crispy tacos and found just the tacos on the ala carte menu but they were $3.50 each. She ended up with three tacos on a dinner plate which included rice and beans that cost $8.95.

I told Phil about our plans to retire next year and pointed out to him andt tomorrow makes exactly 14 months until I retire! I told him of our plans and the itenarary for the rest of the year after retirement. He said it sounds like fun to him! We can't wait.

Phil told me that Bobbye Sue, our sister, is supposed to come visit him for the 4th of July weekend. We haven't see her in several years after she moved away to Iowa, but shes back in Texas now and maybe we'll see her again sometime. We're going to be out of town at Rayford that weekend but maybe we'll see them another time.

Thats about all from here now.

Fuel, Miles Driven, Prices

Here are the boring statitistics for the trip:

1st stop: 224.4 miles 18.0 gals. 12.4 mpg $4.659
2nd stop: 215.3 18.6 11.5 4.699
3rd stop: 202 17.7 11.4 4.739
4th stop: 183.9 17.7 10.3 4.619
5th stop: 243.1 20.0 12.1 4.679
6th stop: 259.7 21.8 11.9 4.649

Totals: 1328.4 113.8 11.6 Avg. 4.66 Avg.

Trip Home, June 17, 2008

We got up pretty early on Tuesday morning to leave. Most of the outside chores had already been done. I ate one of the frozen breakfast sandwiches and we got away about 7:30. Since both Ricky and I had already filled up, we hit the road, but went out on the regular highway instead of the "back way" like we did when we came in last week. We had talked the night before about driving straight through back to Rayford, and we agreed to see how we felt after going through the rough stretch of roads, but we made good time and didn't have any problems. We stopped for fuel at a Wal Mart in Bryant Arkansas (183 miles using 17.7 gals of diesel, 10.3 MPG) and both Ricky and I decided that after breezing through the roughest part of the trip, making Rayford today wouldn't be a problem at all. Dee had called ahead and made a reservation at a small park in Marshall Texas for tonight and we decided that we would wait until we got to Texarkana to cancel the reservation.

Since we didn't stop for anything to eat, we pulled over into a Wal Mart in Marshall, but couldn't find anything in their deli that looked good, so we decided to push on further. We ended up in a Burger King in Henderson for our lunch because it was so hard to find parking for our rigs. It rained on us off and on all day, and it was raining when we stopped for lunch, but it wasn't bad going.

We stopped for fuel again in Tenaha at a little truck stop ( 243.1 miles using 20 gals. of diesel, 12.1 MPG). We had gotten separated from Ricky and Dee because my umbilical cord had come unplugged and I stopped to plug it back in. Ricky stopped for fuel after we did, so I pulled into the store to wait for them. The rest of the trip home was uneventful.

We pulled into Rayford about 8:30. It was good to be home again. It was a good trip and we had fun but it was good to be back. I hooked up the necessary utilities and we decided to go into the hot tub. Ricky was feeling bad, so he stayed in the rig, but Stella, Dee and I went to the tub for awhile. When I hit the bed later, I certainly didn't have to be rocked to sleep!

We got up the next morning and had our big breakfast that we had planned for Branson. Ricky still wasn't feeling well, and he made a doctor's appointment for the afternoon. We left for home around noon.

My last fill-up was the next day in Texas City. I went 259.7 miles using 21.8 gals. of fuel for 11.9 MPG. I will make another post for all the numbers.

Rallie's over, Monday June 16, 2008

We got up Monday morning, expecting to fix a big breakfast for us, but it was raining so we decided to go down to the rally hall again for breakfast. I'm glad we did because we got to meet Shane, the President of KOA. He actually came over to our table and sat with us while we all had breakfast. I found out later that the KOA's had a contest to see which park could make the largest donation to a foundation and the Branson park one the contest! In return for winning the contest, the president came to the park to do whatever work was needed for a week! I'm sure he didn't spend too much time cleaning the restrooms or showers, but at least he was in the park for a week. We met him again in the afternoon when they had an ice cream social to honor his coming to the park.

After breakfast we went downtown to ride the train from the old-town part of Branson. Along the way, we stopped at Wal Mart (first trip to Wally world all week, pretty much a record for us!) so I could get another memory stick for my camera. The other new one I had bought had gotten misplaced, so I picked up another one.

Upon arrival downtown, we got our train tickets and Dee needed to go to one of the sales kiosks to pick up something and after, we returned to an outdoor patio at the Irish Pub for lunch. Dee and I split a Rueben sandwich (delicious), Stella had bread pudding and Ricky had a chicken dish. It was good and just about the right amount of food before the train ride.

The train ride was okay, but nothing spectacular. The hills are heavily wooded and there is nothing much to see except some sights along the way that were pointed out by the trainmen. One of the sights was an old townsite that is nothing but ruins now. I can't say I would recommend the train ride to others, but the ride is on the old style Pullman cars and that's kind of interesting in itself. If you've never been on a train, this could be a good experience but the scenery is not too much.

After finishing the train ride, we returned to the park, intending to eat our steak dinner but no one was very hungry and we ended up ordering a pizza from the KOA office. It was good for a frozen pizza so we just hung out at our rigs, making preparations to leave early tomorrow morning. Ricky and I took the porch down and we both drained and cleaned our tanks. I put away the table and chairs and got everything outside ready to go tomorrow. It was a pretty night, cool and clear. We all regretted having to leave tomorrow.

Heartland Rally, Sunday June 15, 2008

Today is the past day of the Heartland rally in Branson. We got up and went down to the rally hall for our free breakfast, furnished by Heartland. It was a nice way to end the rally. We sat around and visited with some friends that we had met and talked to some of those that stayed with us.

We stayed around the park until around 11 o'clock and decided to drive around to some of the other RV parks in Branson. I wanted to go over to the ABC campground for two reasons; one to check it out for future reference for another trip into Branson and two, to try to find Howard and Linda Payne, some full-timing friends that we met a couple of years ago. They are a very interesting couple, having started full timing with no idea of what they were getting into. They started out with no experience as an RV'er and have done very well for themselves. They actually bought their 39' fifth wheel trailer without having a truck to get it home. Luckily they had ordered a new trailer and were able to order a truck too, which came in just before their trailer did, so it all worked out.Their website, www.rv-dreams.com is a very interesting read and I have kept up with them since meeting them at Thanksgiving, 2005 at Rayford. My friends Ted and Donna Rogers had found Howard and Linda's site and had been in touch with them and invited them to Rayford when the Boomers were having a gathering there. Linda and I sang karaoke one night at Rayford and I must say, she's got a much better voice than I do.....

We drove around and saw some of the other RV parks in and around Branson including the Tablerock State Park. The state park was okay, but some of the sites were under water because the lake was very high, probably because of all the rain upstream. They are typical state park sites with water and electricity but I'm not certain about sewer hookups. I could still stay there!

We returned to the sign man's store to get a small sign for Cassie. We had gotten one for all of the boys but had forgotten to get one for her. Her sign is in the shape of a dogbone and is very cute. We also had the guy add hooks onto the boy's tags so we can add them when they are with us and bought a metal frame that we can stick in the ground instead of hanging on the front of the fifth wheel hitch. It looks a little homier that way and when we are parked for a long time, it will become some more of our "yard art".

The first arrivals for the rally had gone to a famous restaurant in branson called Lambert's Throwed Rolls. Actually it's about 35 miles outside of Branson in another little town, so we decided to find one in town so we didn't have to drive. We found the Falls Creek restaurant thats about a mile from the park. We invited our friends Tom and Judy Atkinson and Jim and Sheila Gratz to go along with us. This place also features the "throwed rolls" which consists of a guy that comes around with hot yeast rolls just out of the oven who throws them to you at your table. We all had the chicken fried steak for Father's Day. This was a tradition for Ricky and Dee, so we just followed along.

We returned to the park for Jim and Sheila and Tom and Judy to go to a show featuring Six which is a group of six brothers who make music with no instruments, only their voices for instruments. We were told that it was a good show, but we didn't feel like going. The four of us went back to our trailers and sat outside talking and visiting.

Saturday June 14, 2008

On Saturday morning, the third and next-to-last day of the rally, we got up and went to the rally hall for breakfast. We then drove downtown to the old business district where there were a lot of older stores including a five and dime that was very interesting. We later rode the duck around the downtown area and went for a ride into the river. It was fun and the driver, Capt. Bubba, was very funny. It’s worth the money just to hear the humorous stories from Capt. Bubba and to blow the duck call at others around town.
While on our way back to the park, we stopped at a little group of businesses near the park, one of which was a sign maker. We picked out some RV-based signs to go around our sites and told him we would pick them up tomorrow. We also went to the Jigglin’ George store. This thing is a vibrating foot rest that is supposed to make everything in your body work better. It is also very expensive ($299)!! It’s a lot more than any of us wanted to pay. They also sell a large selection of the Croc brand plastic slip-on shoes. They sell varieties that we haven’t seen, so of course, Stella had to pick out a pair.
We went back to the park to clean up and attend the final night’s catered dinner of barbecue. After finishing up our delicious meal, we received our door prizes that had been bought for all of us. We won a stick-on window thermometer and a large can of Deep Woods Off spray. Both of them will come in handy. I had one of the thermometers one time, but left it on the window when we left the park and it blew off somewhere along the road. One of our friends, Bob and Christina Seamon won a 20” television for their trailer. We sat around to visit with friends in the rally hall after the meal and give-aways were over before retiring for the last night of the rally.
It really sucked that we were on the other side of the park from the rest of the group, but I guess that’s the way it goes. Our site was pretty bad, with a large drop off but we managed to get in and out without falling or breaking anything. It helped that someone left a wooden platform that we used as a bottom step.

Saturday June 14th, 2008

On Saturday morning, the third and next-to-last day of the rally, we got up and went to the rally hall for breakfast. We then drove downtown to the old business district where there were a lot of older stores including a five and dime that was very interesting. We later rode the duck around the downtown area and went for a ride into the river. It was fun and the driver, Capt. Bubba, was very funny. It’s worth the money just to hear the humorous stories from Capt. Bubba and to blow the duck call at others around town.
While on our way back to the park, we stopped at a little group of businesses near the park, one of which was a sign maker. We picked out some RV-based signs to go around our sites and told him we would pick them up tomorrow. We also went to the Jigglin’ George store. This thing is a vibrating foot rest that is supposed to make everything in your body work better. It is also very expensive ($299)!! It’s a lot more than any of us wanted to pay. They also sell a large selection of the Croc brand plastic slip-on shoes. They sell varieties that we haven’t seen, so of course, Stella had to pick out a pair.
We went back to the park to clean up and attend the final night’s catered dinner of barbecue. After finishing up our delicious meal, we received our door prizes that had been bought for all of us. We won a stick-on window thermometer and a large can of Deep Woods Off spray. Both of them will come in handy. I had one of the thermometers one time, but left it on the window when we left the park and it blew off somewhere along the road. One of our friends, Bob and Christina Seamon won a 20” television for their trailer. We sat around to visit with friends in the rally hall after the meal and give-aways were over before retiring for the last night of the rally.
It really sucked that we were on the other side of the park from the rest of the group, but I guess that’s the way it goes. Our site was pretty bad, with a large drop off but we managed to get in and out without falling or breaking anything. It helped that someone left a wooden platform that we used as a bottom step.

Heartland Rally, Saturday June 14, 2008

We all woke up Saturday morning and went down to the rally hall for breakfast.

Heartland Rally, Friday June 13th, 2008

I woke up about 7 Friday morning and went into the living room to watch some TV in the recliner. Boy I slept well last night. I always sleep well in the trailer but I was so tired last night I could have slept standing in a corner.

We went down to the rally hall and had breakfast, which is an every morngin deal in this park. There is a deluxe breakfast with eggs and choice of bacon or sausage and biscuits and gravy or all you can eat pancakes; all you can eat pancakes or biscuits and gravy. They put a price on each item so you can get just about any combination you want for your breakfast. It's all good and you
can eat all you want very reasonably. After returning to the trailer and getting cleaned up, we drove down to the main drag in Branson. Boy, they were right about the traffic! Bumper to bumper all the way to downtown. We didn't get out in the downtown area of shops and a mall along the river but made plans to come back tomorrow to check it out. We came back to the park to attend the Heartland Owners roundtable discussions of problems and issues about our trailers. This was moderated by Jim Beletti and one of the Heartland Area sales managers, Tim Koffman. All of our issues and questions were answered. Is there another manufacturer that allows their owners to meet and gripe about their trailers and the issues get fed back to the factory? I don't know of one....

After this session, I stayed for the Weigh-It session with Stacey Frank. He was very informative and it was interesting to hear. I plan to get a tire pressure monitiring system before we go on the road full time.

After that, Dee and I listened to the Geeks On Tour session. They told us about the Google Picasa photo image software. I listened for about 45 minutes but realized that the laptop belongs to Dr. Merritt, so I probably shouldn't add any software without permission. We will get our own laptop before we leave and I'll add it to that one. Picasa seems to be a very easy way to improve and catalog the images we take.

We returned to the trailer to shower and clean up for the Dixie Stampede show. We started to leave the park about 3:45 so we'd be there for the show to start at 5. We all arrived with no problem in vans furnished by the KOA and some rental vans that Heartland paid for. The show began with a juggler/magician that was a very good act. Then we all went upstairs for the main show. We went up with Jim and Sheila Gratz and Ricky and Dee, but another couple that is with the Heartland rally somehow got in line with us and because of a mistake in seating, Ricky and Dee had to sit in another row. The show takes pains to give out a certain number of numbered seat tickets to fit into each row and they try to keep all parties in a group together, but since there were over 120 in our group, it was impossible to keep all of us together. Ricky and Dee said their seats were all right but they sat next to a lady that just couldn't bring herself to eat with her fingers. Everything that is served is "finger food"; a Cornish game hen, a piece of roasted potato and an ear of corn was served. No eating utensils are furnished so this lady had to go without food. The show was great with lots and lots of livestock and tricks performed by the characters. It's amazing how close they can get the horses to come to the corners of the arena. Our seats were close to the entry doors for the actors and characters, so we got much closer than normal to the animals. We saw the Dixie Stampede in Pigeon Forge and the show was similar. This one used longhorn cattle while the one in PF used buffalo. All-in-all a very good show and worth every penny of the money. After the show we got on another van and returned to the park. Everyone drifted back to the rally hall where we sat around and visited with friends throughout the night. I guess it was around 11 when we got back to the trailer.

Another fun night in Branson!

Branson Arrival June 12th, 2008

Right up front, let me say that I need forgiveness for not keeping up with this blog daily. We have been so busy and I have been so tired at the end of each day, I just haven't kept the thing going the way I should have.

We left the Cloud Nine RV Park at 7:30 on the nose. We had our breakfast sandwiches this morning before we left, so we were ready to travel! After driving the 12 or so miles back to I-30, we continued our drive to Branson. We stopped at the Wal Mart in Benton Arkansas for fuel. This leg of the trip we went 224.4 miles using 18 gallons of diesel for a 12.5mpg average. Not too shabby considering we were pulling our home with us. As we drove through the northern part of Arkansas, we saw much tornado damage, including what appeared to be a school that had been flattened. I hope no one got hurt in the tornadoes.

We then began to drop down into a valley, going through about 40 miles of twisting, turning roads. The worst grades were about 19% but the old Duramax got us through them with no problem. I love that Allison transmission with the tow-haul mode. I don't really believe that anyone that has a truck with the towing mode on their truck needs anything else for braking. Our truck and trailer is very well matched and I don't think we need to consider anything else. Of course, if we decide to get a bigger trailer someday, we'll need a bigger truck. Ricky and Dee's rig is very good also, just using more diesel to get the job done. They need the bigger truck for their trailer. We stopped at a Wal Mart to take a break from the road after negotiating the road for so long. I think the worst thing about the unfamiliar road was the 18 wheelers that we held up because of being unfamiliar with the roads. When they passed us, they almost caused an accident two different times. Sorry about that truckers! In my opinion, that is why there is so much animosity between RV'ers and truckers. They feel like they own the road and have a right to get by us as needed so they can get down the road and make some money. Many of us RV'ers are retired and don't get in a hurry at all, or like us, are not familiar with what is coming at us around the next turn or bend in the road, so we drive very carefully and slow the truckers down. Again, sorry about that truckers!

We all thought our GPS units were freaking out when we were directed on a back road to the park, but we later learned that Gertrude (the name I gave our Garmin GPS) was just taking us off the main drag through Branson. Again we had to make a steep grade, but made it through with no problem. We arrived at the KOA about 2:30, tired but glad to be here. We got checked in with the office and picked up our rally packets. There were two bags inside the packet, one with information and one with our rally tickets and other information. Ricky and Dee's packets got separated somehow and they couldn't their tickets. Ricky went back down to the office and looked in the box and found their second packet, so all was well.

We walked around the park and discovered that we are on the back side of the park, away from the rally hall and the rest of the group. We walked over to the rally hall (KOA calls it the Convention Center) where we saw some of our friends. We got the low-down on the rest of today and returned to the trailer to prepare the food for the hamburger and hotdog supper that had been prepared for us. Stella had bought some potato salad at Wal Mart that looked pretty good. By the time we got back to the rally hall, there was a huge amount of food on the tables. We filled up four 8 foot tables with all kinds of food. I can tell that this is going to be another rally where we won't have to worry about going hungry. After supper, Jim Beletti gave us the agenda for the rest of the weekend. We visited with some of our friends and went back to the trailer about 8 o'clock. I sat down in the recliner about 8:30 and the next thing I remember is getting up at 1:30 to go to bed. I slept hard until about 7:30 Friday morning.

It was a good start to the rally

Branson Trip Departure

We drove up to Rayford Tuesday afternoon after work without incident. When we got to the park, Ricky and Dee were waiting for us so we could go to Donnelly's Pizza for supper. After a great meal, we came back to the park and sat outside talking about when we were going to leave. We decided to try to leave between 6 and 6:30, or just about daybreak. I woke about 4:30 and went outside to start my chores. Lo and behold, Ricky was up and was outside doing his own stuff.... We ended up pulling out about 10 minutes 'til 6.

We made good time along the way, and only had to make one "pit stop" for Stella at a rest area around Lufkin. Our next stop was at a Valero store in Marshal. We went 215.3 miles and used 18.6 gallons for a 11.5 average. Not too bad! Diesel there was $4.69. Yikes!!!

The Police Department emailed me with the results of a felony DWI case that I had been working on. The results were .223 blood alcohol level, taken about 6 hours after the arrest. I'm not sure what the suspect would have done if we had been able to take a breath sample, probably over .35 BAC.

We managed to freak out our GPS units somehow. Ricky and I have identical Garmin units, but for some reason, they tried to take us a different route than US 59. They finally got on track but still couldn't locate the Cloud Nine park where we stayed overnight. Maybe it was because the park is on a private road that doesn't show on the map.

We stopped for lunch at the "Arkansas-welcome" rest area. It's a very nice, very large rest area with plenty of parking. Stella and I had stopped here with the Boomers a couple of years ago when we went to Tennessee for the national rally. I believe we sat at the same tables that we sat at before. Cassie enjoyed being able to get out and stretch her legs a bit too while we ate.

We got here about 2:30. The park is right off US 70 outside of Hot Springs Arkansas. When you turn off the highway you immediately begin a long climb (about a 6-7% grade) up to the top of a hill. Ricky and Dee stayed here before and said it was beautiful. They were here in the fall, so the trees and everything were changing colors and made the views were better down into the valleys around the park. Now, the views are still there but all the trees are filled out and green. I saw one of the couples that were backed in, overlooking the valley sitting outside at the rear of their motorhome. I'm sure that there was probably some wildlife back in there to see, but we were in a pull through site with no views except the other rigs.

After hooking up the water and electricity, I came inside the trailer and laid on the couch and took about a hour's nap, in spite of the heat. I guess I needed it because I felt much better after. Stella made hamburgers for us and then Dee made us walk the nature trail. It was just before it started getting dark, and was a nice walk, but it's hot! We came back and sat around to cool off. We finally came in around 8:30 and after a cool shower, I crashed!

It was a great start for our first long road trip with the Bighorn. I think it's appropriate that we're going to the manufacturer-sponsored rally.

Preparation for Branson trip

We took the trailer to Rayford for the weekend and to get things ready to go to Branson on Wednesday morning. We got held up on the Beltway, so we were delayed in getting to the park Friday night. We brought the boys with us this weekend so they could have a weekend away to fish and swim. They insisted in going to Red Robin Friday night, so of course, we took them.

Saturday morning I got up and pulled everything out of the storage in the trailer to get everything arranged and more organized. Then in the afternoon, we went with Ricky and Dee to Best Buy to get us a GPS unit like the one Ricky just bought. I bought the Garmin 200W which is the wide-screen model. I did some research on the internet-thanks again Al Gore for inventing the Internet-and learned that this model is rated best for a unit to merely navigate without the bells and whistles. I don't really need bluetooth, my teeth are a pretty shade of green anyway, and I have a cell phone to call someone if I need to, so I went the cheap route and bought the Garmin. I almost got to use it Saturday night. I got called out for a sexual assault and tried to use the Garmin to find the Texas Children's hospital, but before I got too far out I was recalled and didn't have to go after all.

Sunday morning started out clear and hot already. I was walking around the park and saw an old friend, Ed Bowen out talking to another camper. We had a nice visit. I learned that Ed and Sharon have another year to work and then they plan to retire. He said he has made up his mind to buy an Escalade trailer and of course, will have to buy a bigger truck to pull it.

I'll post more if anything interesting happens on the way home this afternoon.

Weekend News

Well another weekend has come and gone. We got a lot accomplished; went to two of Cameron's baseball games. They won the first game which closed out the All Star season, but Saturday they got beat out in the first game of the playoffs. Cam has decided to keep playing this summer in another league. He just loves to play baseball and always has a smile on his face in the game. It doesn't matter where they put him, he's just glad to be playing.

We went to Sam's and bought essentials there. I looked at a Garmin 200W GPS unit. I came home and did some research on it and found that for a GPS that does nothing but navigation, they are hard to beat. I think it will come in handy in the future in our travels around the country. we will likely pick one up soon.

After that, we went to Wal Mart for groceries. We haven't been to the store in a couple of weeks or more, so we spent a lot more than normal but it was all stuff we needed. We bought a few items to take on the trip to Branson too, and are getting excited about the upcoming trip. The boys found out that we're going to Rayford next weekend and want to come along with us, so softies that we are, we agreed. It will be fun to bring them to the park. They will fish and swim all weekend, so they won't be much of a problem for us.

I got the truck all washed up and used some Ice clay bar on the hood and front fenders. I had some bad discoloration on the hood and some of the neighborhood kids egged my truck a couple of years ago and I missed a small area on the fender, but the clay bar did a good job of taking most of it off. I then used some spray wax that I had bought and it made the truck shine like a new one! After finishing up the wash/wax job we went to Kim's house where I swam with Cameron-Tyler said he didn't want to come back in the pool because he had spent a couple of hours in the pool before I got there. I didn't stay in very long, less than an hour, and still got the tingly scalp from the sun. Jeremy fixed some sausage on the grill along with corn and cole slaw. It was very good, as usual. Lucky for Kim that Jeremy's such a good cook. This is the last full week before vacation. With my luck something will come up at the last minute before we leave. I hope not.....

Signing off for now.