Time to Say Good-Bye

Before I forget Emily, Isabel and Eli got a cat, well a kitten really, if it lives to be a cat it will be because of its ability to find hiding places. Have you ever seen kids carrying a cat. It is draped over their arm and looks like it will be squeezed to death. The kids seem to like it so I guess it will be ok. Emily does clean the litter box so that is a plus.

Well we didn’t buy a motor home last week in our trip to Lincoln but we did find one we liked a lot. It was new so now I have to find a used one with similar floor plan and one we can afford.

Sarah had a tooth bothering her, she just had them cleaned earlier in the month, the dentist put something on the tooth and said it would be fine. The best part is there was no charge. I guess I will have to go to them for my dental work, that is as long as they give me the happy gas, I have to have the gas or I can’t do it, I tell them up front I am a BIG BABY when it comes to the dentist.

We met our realtor Bob Pew and his wife Laurie at Paradise Bakery for lunch on Thursday. They are great people, I have some concerns about the closing on the house when we are gone but he says not to worry, it a can be done. I believe him.

Friday was spent with the kids at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, http://www.valaspumpkinpatch.com/, this is the third or fourth year we have gone, the kids like it so it is an annual event.

Saturday no soccer but Marie & Daniel took part in a church sponsored event to help the poor in downtown Omaha, so we babysat the kids with Eddy & Elia. It was a “Convoy of Hope” event, they are “one of the world's finest disaster relief organizations, we will provide groceries, shoes, haircuts, a health fair, family portraits, live entertainment, lunch and prayer to thousands of neighbors”. There were people standing in line, in the rain, at 7:30 am and the event didn’t start until 10 am. This just goes to show even though the government has said for years they are taking care of the poor, it doesn’t seem like they are doing a very good job of it.

Sunday was a afternoon full of softball. Isabel had a game at 12:50 pm, followed by Emily’s double hitter. We finished about 4:45, what a great time watching the little ones play softball.

We were all invited over to Marie’s parents home, Eddy & Elia, for dinner. What great parents, the food was great and before long it was time to say good-bye. I hope we will see them when we drive back to Omaha on Oct 11 for Sarah to attend a day long session of classes on the 12th to be able to renew her beautician’s license.

Today I have removed the branches from the top of the slides, aired up the tires, and dumped the black tank. I did find out I have a problem with my air compressor, it leaks air when it gets to 100# of pressure, so I have something amiss with the compressor. I may wait until we get to AZ to get it fixed, we’ll see.

We finally made it to Gerda’s German restaurant. Last Wednesday we went to Gerda's with Ernie & Shirley’s and it was great.  We each had something different and for dessert I had German Chocolate cake, it was absolutely fantastic. So I guess the third time is a charm.

Tomorrow we leave for Griff’s RV park and we will be there until the 15th.

So until later – Dreams Do Come True.

Last Days in Gretna

I have been told that I have not posted a blog for a while, in fact I thought I had, but in checking it appears I have been remiss in my blogging duties. So here goes a catch up of sorts.

We have been to the soccer games for all three grandkids, Emily, Isabel and Eli. They aren’t actually games as instructional sessions to learn how to play soccer. I especially like to watch Eli, at three he is a hoot to watch. He’ll stand around and watch the other kids and then all of a sudden he is doing everything the other kids are doing. I guess he wants to make sure he gets it correct. Isabel is like a gazelle; she can outrun her older sister and holds her own in the soccer arena once she gets going. Emily is going to be tall, she is skinny as a rail and I believe will be quite a bit taller than Marie. Se we spend Saturday mornings at soccer and most of Sundays at softball.

Eli isn’t playing softball yet he just walks around eating apple slices his grandmother Elia brings for him. Emily and Isabel play, they are on different teams, because of age, and they plan at different times, all games are on Sunday, so it is a day of softball. I get a kick out of watching them; there are times they are very attentive to what is going on in the game and other times when they aren’t paying any attention at all. Of course, this is true with most of the members of both teams. I remember coaching this age for one year only, I didn’t have the patience with the kids. So I am a good spectator, just as at Mason and Madyson’s games I don’t yell any more. I figure I embarrassed their dads so I can be quiet now.

I know most of you don’t want to hear about our eating out but I am going to tell you anyway.

Saturday, the seventh, we went John & Cyndi Cline’s house and then over to Leach RV and Camping World. I believe I have mentioned we are looking at motor homes to see if we want to move into one of them. Anyway, Leach RV was having an open house with free hotdogs, who can say no to free hotdogs? I offered to buy but John wouldn’t see it so he bought. I didn’t argue I was getting a free meal, life is good isn’t it.

Even though we didn’t find an RV we wanted to buy we had a great time with John and Cyndi.

I had my annual physical at the VA here in Omaha; I transferred my records to the VA here from Des Moines. I got a clean bill of health, other than the annual reminder to lose weight. I keep trying and I would lose weight if it wasn’t for food.

Tuesday, the 10th, we met our realtor, Bob Pew, at the townhome builder’s model home and had a visit with the builder’s agent. Long story short our place won’t be finished until at least December. Oh well, at least we have a place to stay.

We went out to eat with my aunt and uncle, Ernie and Shirley Ertz, we wanted to go to Greda’s German restaurant, we had gone there to eat on our last visit and the place was closed so we figured we would try again. I checked their website for their times etc and knew they should be open. We get there and pull up in front and there is a sign on the door saying On Vacation, Gone Fishing. I hadn’t thought of that, should have called first. Oh well, we found another place to eat and then had desert at Whitefield’s, it is a bakery/restaurant, the bakery items are out of this world. We are going to try the German place one more time before we leave next week.

We met Rusty Cain, great nephew, for lunch at Whole Foods store. The food was very good, a little expensive but good. I did try to find Russ & Frank’s BBQ sauce but they didn’t have any on the shelf. So I asked a couple of guys working there about it and they said we have ordered it but haven’t received the product, so maybe they will have it in the near future. (Russ, I will need to get a mild and medium when we see you in a week or so.)

Saturday was Eli’s third birthday so he had a nice party with cake and ice cream. I don’t know how many were at his party but there were a bunch of kids. We had a lot of fun.

Today, Cyndi and John picked us up and we went to Leach RV in Lincoln to look at motor homes. They have a nice inventory; of course, we were looking at new ones. We found a Georgetown, 2013, with a floor plan we both liked but the price was more than we want to pay, so now I will see if that floor plan is in older units. We had lunch and then went looking for the Licorice International store in the Haymarket area of Lincoln. This store, www.licoriceinternational.com, has licorice from all over the world. Of course, I had to buy some; I bought from Germany and Britain.

Then it was back home and a bit of rest.

We leave here Oct 1 and go to Griff’s RV Park in Des Moines. Sarah has doctor appointments and with a clean bill of health we will be heading south on the 15th. We plan to spend a few days in the Kansas City area to visit Steve, Lynne and family. Then to the Excel service center for some minor adjustments on the camper and then head south. Our plan is to be in Mesa on or before Nov 1.

That about raps it up for this post, remember

Dreams Do Come True.

West Omaha KOA, Gretna, NE

We left Wisconsin on Tuesday and made our way to West Omaha KOA. It was a long trip, 481 miles and as full timer knows that is a full day. We don’t like more than 250-300 miles in a given day and that is only when necessary. I like to start out about 8:30 and arrive no later than 3:30 pm; most of our trips are in that category. Anyway, we arrived safely and totally set up within an hour, then it was time to relax and that is what I did.

We had a great time in Wisconsin, we got to see a lot of the folks we knew when we lived there and we missed a few but we will try to see them next year.

Here is a recap of what we did the last couple of weeks we were in Wisconsin.

August 20, we met Betty, Linda, Jane, Jenny, Judy and their husbands, for lunch, these ladies worked for us when we owned Mason de Ville Beauty Salon in Sun Prairie, the salon is no longer there but these women meet regularly and asked Sarah and I to join them. We have met Betty & Glen each year for the past three, I believe, and this year the others joined us.

At the risk of hearing from my kids concerning my always talking about food, we ate at a very good restaurant, 1855 Saloon and Grill, http://1855saloongrill.com/, in Cottage Grove, WI.

That night Mason had a football game so we had to go see him play, he did very well. He plays the right tackle position, although I believe a week later he may have been at the guard position, I forgot to ask.

August 22, we met Robert, Sarah, Mason and Madyson for lunch at Red Robin, Robert was there on his lunch hour. Robert went back to work and the rest of us went to the supply store, Sarah Ann stocks up on the family’s shampoo etc. The grandkids and I went down to the bird store, they sell bird supplies, stands feeders etc., we didn’t buy anything but had fun looking.

That night we met Joyce and Wayne Knapton at 1855 Saloon and Grill for dinner. I had written 5:30 for our time and it should have been 5:00, my apologizes. We had a great time catching up on kids etc. We have met Joyce the last couple of years for lunch in Madison but Wayne was never able to join us, this year he could and it was great seeing him and Joyce.

August 24, spent time at Robert and Sarah Ann’s, didn’t do much but it was fun being around the kids.

August 26, we met Lan and Gail Waddell at Paddy Coughlin Pub in Ft Atkinson, WI for dinner. It had been eight years or more since we had seen them, it was great to see them. The food here was great and the conversation was even better.

August 27 we got to see Dick and Teri, Sarah Ann's parents, we were all going to Mason's football game but it was canceled due to it being too hot outside. It is always good to see them, Dick was in the Air Force and went to Vietnam the same as I did. The conversation is always interesting when we get together.

August 26, 28, 29, 30, we spent part or most of the day with Mason and Madyson. Some days Sarah Ann worked the full day others not or Robert came home early or worked from home. We did this last year also, Sarah Ann is a teacher and she has to get her classroom ready for her first graders so we stay with Mason and Madyson. We enjoy it and it gives Sarah Ann the time she needs to get things ready for the school year.

It is interesting to me to see how much the grandkids change each time we see them. All of them from the 21 year old to the 3 year old, they all change from year to year and it is fun and interesting to see the growth and development of their personalities and intellect.

So, we are now in Omaha and our sports plate is full again with softball and soccer. I am looking forward to seeing all of it, Emily is playing softball again this year and Isabel is playing softball for the first time this year, should be fun. Eli is going to play soccer; he is or will be three so that will really be fun to watch.

Update on the house, we are meeting with the builder’s agent next week to make sure we get some of the things we want done to it done, it won’t be finished until December at the earliest, it actually makes no difference to us because we won’t be here anyway so the longer it takes now the better. I do want it done before April 1, 2014. Sarah and I went out to look at what has been done so far and as with all buildings, the foundation looks smaller than the end product will be but it does make you want to go, “Wait a minute this isn’t as big as we want”, it is, the finished product will be good.

I finished a book last week, don’t remember the name of it, it was about this librarian in MN who had two cats follow her home and they had “special powers”, it was a fun book and the ending was a bit different than I expected.

Currently I am reading “Driving Loyalty” by Kirk Kazanjian, it is about Enterprise Rent a Car company, I received the book free when I was driving for them. It is interesting and would be even more interesting or maybe pertinent if I was still working but a good read never the less.

That is it for now, until next time,

Dreams Do Come True.