Summer Funtime...Family Reunion...Sheep Ranching...And Off Again!

I have so much to catch you up on!

Monday, July 29, we left Lubbock for Brownwood.  We spent just over three weeks at "The IC RV Heaven Spot", as my sister and I call the RV spot she and my brother-in-law have created for us there close to their house.  It was such a great, long time with the family.  It's been years and years since I've been able to spend such times with my family.  And Max has never been around them for such a length of time.  They make him feel so at home, though, that he loves, it too. 

Chapter One - Week of July 29

Our niece Buddie and niece-in-law Jessica are teachers, and they were still out of school for the summer so we were able to spend lots of time with them and their kids.  Brownwood has a nice mini-waterpark swimming pool, and we enjoyed that one afternoon.  Here's great-nephew Tommy showing off his prowess on the ropes course...

 

Uncle Max spent a little time in the shade with great niece Lynlee...

Many of you know that my nutty little sister is a Roller Derby queen.  "Mud" is her action name.  Her teammates tend to call her "Mama Mud" because she's one of the oldest on the team.  That doesn't slow her down a bit, and she has a blast with this derby stuff.  I admire her so much.  Her philosophy is age is only a number, and you're only as old as you feel.  She makes sure she never feels it!  I was able to attend one of her practice sessions.  Just watching made me hurt all over!

That's her in the red t-shirt and the blue helmet.

 

Look at that fancy footwork!

She's also a biking enthusiast (riding in the "Hotter 'n Hell" this weekend in Wichita Falls!).  We had the chance to get out a couple of mornings for a nice ride.  Nothing like her 40- or 50-milers, trust me.  But it was still awesome fun.  A few miles from their house there is what looks to be a paint donkey.  You just have to wonder how that creature came about.  With just the right pitch and tone to our donkey call, he came right up to see us.

Chapter Two - Week of August 4

The second week we were there, little brother Kerby, his wife Virginia and son Zachary came in for a visit from Ohio.  We don't get to see them very often, as you might imagine, so that was a real treat.  Big brother Terry and his wife Ranita own a house at Lake Brownwood as well as a nice boat so we got to spend some great times there swimming, relaxing, visitin' and having what we call "tubing wars".  One of Terry's greatest joys in life seems to be seeing just how far he can sling people off those tubes.  And it's obviously fun for the passengers because we keep coming back for more! 

Zachary and Tommy.  Tommy really loved having his other boy cousin there.

Sunny and mom Buddie.  She's only 2 years old but such a little water bug.

We start 'em young on those tubes!  That's Buddie and Sunny again with their hair just a'flyin'!  Sunny didn't want to stop.  She just loved it and had the biggest smile on her face.

And then there's Kerby.  He just loves that tubing, too.  Like the rest of us, it brings back lots of great childhood memories of weekends at the lake with Mom and Dad.  And like Terry, he's happiest when he's trying to dump someone off the tube.  :)

Our niece Stephanie, holding her own against ornery Uncle Kerby

I love this picture because it really shows some of the personality of each of these great kids.  I'm not sure what they had done--made headbands and bandages, I think.  Tommy and Sunny love to play soldier, and it looks like they drafted Lynlee and Stephanie to play along.  Tommy is obviously quite tickled about the whole thing; Lynlee plays along with anything her cousins want to do; Stephanie has such a sweet smile on her face and is so good with these kids; and Sunny is right in there with the gang but would much prefer you didn't necessarily document it with a photograph.  LOL!

Loved this pic, too.  Naptime for Sunny and Stephanie's puppy dog.  Isn't that the sweetest?!

Another bike ride, this time to include Kerby.  You can tell who the serious bike riders are and who's just tagging along for the fun of it.  Or torture.  Not sure which it is.  :)

The weekend of August 9-11, while Kerby and family were there, we had a family reunion.  (Yes, another!  LOL  We have two each year on my side of the family and love them!)  This one was with Mom's side of the family--the Thomases.  We've been having this reunion for about 40 years, and we just love it.  Every year it has been at Kirkland Docks at Lake Brownwood except for last year when Kirkland's ownership was in flux.  This year we were back at good ol' Kirkland's and loving it.   It's all about catching up on family news, eating LOTS of great food, and this year included a birthday party for nephew Jesse and little Lynlee as well as some pretty competitive ping pong for some...

As an added bonus, Karen had a real live derby bout!  Just about everyone at the reunion attended.  We made up quite a cheering section for her!



 

Virginia helped with the t-shirt and tchotchke sale the night before the bout.

And then the fun began...

 

For Kerby's sake I have to tell you I made the sign.  Kerby was just kind enough to hold it up for the picture.

 

Mud's team came out on top!  Of course. 
How could they not with such a cheering section?!

Then it was time for sad good-bye's with Kerby's family.  We needed one last picture with Zachary and Tommy..

 



And a good-bye photo of the family.  Sure enjoyed having you here!  Love you guys.  Come back soon!

 

 

Chapter Three - Week of  August 11

 

The week after the reunion, Max and I worked the sheep ranch while Greg and Karen took a little vacation and went to Port Aransas for a few days.  Those days were busy but uneventful, thank goodness!  They had a great time getting away for a few days, and were thrilled to be able to do something for them for once, as they have done so much for us since we've moved into this new lifestyle.

 

One Last Story...

 

We've had quite a time with the Turtle the last couple of weeks in regards to electrical and battery issues.  As is typical in life, everything was going fine one minute (or at least seemed), and then the next minute...BOOM.  Life changes.  In our case, we suddenly lost all power.  No electrical system whatsoever.  Not good when the days are over 100 degrees!  We finally found this.  It's the surge protector we plug into the pole outside wherever we hook up.  You'll note the big melted hole on the right.  Not good.

 

Plugged into the surge protector was this...

 

Yikes!  Completely burned up.  No wonder the thing didn't work!  The repairman said it was probably a combination of the heavy load we were running (air conditioners running full force because of the heat) combined with a loose wire.  You can bet from here on out, we'll be doing an occasional check of the new one to make sure all wires are secure.  (I recently read on an RV blog that pulling your rig down the road is like having an earthquake inside your house.  I get that!  :))

 

We were so thankful we had the surge protector, and we were so thankful that it didn't go past this point.  Everything in the Turtle was safe!

 

Anyway, we got this little problem fixed.  Then a few days later...BOOM.  This time it was everything associated with our 12-volt system.  Our converter bit the dust.  We have suspected since we bought the Turtle that the converter was going out, but then we would read things on the Internet or talk to people who said no, what it was doing was normal.  So we kept limping along. 

 

We made a mad dash to Granbury for another, and Max got it up and going.  (The 12-volt system runs most of the lights, the slide-outs and the awning.  And probably other stuff that I don't know about, understand, or am forgetting.)  So we got that fixed.

 

Then two days later...the day we were getting ready to pull out of the IC Heaven for points north...BOOM.  We couldn't pull the slides in.  Everything else 12-volt-related worked.  Sheez.  Not a position you want to be in when you're getting ready to hook up and pull out.  After another service call from the mobile RV technician, he found the problem, fixed it, and we were ready for the road.  In more ways than one.  :)  Too bad we can't take that little RV technician with us on the road!  Actually, the one I have in the driver's seat is pretty handy to have around.  Sure glad to have him along!

 

In honor of all this excessive "fun" we were having, Karen fixed us up with these. 

 

 

Before we left Lubbock, a friend of ours told Max, "Just remember, man--be the duck.  You're retired now.  Let it roll off."  Yes, sir!

 

The Last Chapter - Wednesday, August 21

 

We're finally headed down the road.  So far, everything is going well. All things electrical and battery-related are working fine.  The lights inside the Turtle are brighter than they have ever been, and we're seeing things at night we've never been able to see before.  How fun is that?!

 

We drove yesterday from Brownwood to Amarillo and spent the night at the Amarillo Ranch RV Park. 

 

Today we drove on to Raton, NM and are staying at the Cedar Rail RV Park and Campground at the top of Raton Pass.  The view outside our back window.  Nice! 

 

 

We had all the windows open this afternoon and did not have to listen to the thundering of those AC's.  Heaven!  Tonight the low is 57.  Can't wait.  Good sleeping weather!

 

Tomorrow we move on to Alamosa, CO.  More bear country.  More cool weather.  Sounds like we also might get into some rain.  Can't wait!

 

Until next time...take care!

 

Paula

 

Changed Plans Bring Out Hidden Gems

July 27, 2013

We've been in Lubbock since June 28.  As I said in my last post, Max's mom has been having some health issues.  She fell about mid-June.  She's 83 years old with osteoporosis, and falling is not a good thing.  She cracked two vertebra.  They didn't find them on x-ray the first trip to the ER.  After being sent home and spending a miserable week there, she called an ambulance to take her back to the hospital.  The second time, they did an MRI, found the problem, and did some sort of gluing procedure to repair the cracks.

They then sent her to a rehab center for therapy.  At the rehab center she contracted C-diff, an extremely contagious colon infection.  So back to the hospital she went with that.  She was one very sick lady for about 10 days with that stuff.  They had her in isolation and on all kinds of drugs.  We got back here in the midst of all that.  It was kind of scary to have to gown/glove/mask up in order to go in the room to see her. 

We finally got to take her home on July 8.  I stayed with her 24x7.  Max stayed during the day and came back out to the Turtle to spend the nights.  Home health care sent physical and occupational therapists, nurses and bathers to help take care of her, as well.  We also saw or talked to case workers, nursing supervisors and social workers.  All of those people were absolutely wonderful and did everything they could to help in all aspects of her recovery as well as to answer the myriad of questions we had.  Thank goodness for Medicare, and thank goodness for good home health care!

Last Wednesday Max's brother, Danny, flew in from Phoenix to join the party.  I left him at her house for the 24x7 duty, and Max and I would just go over during the day to help out as we could and figure out the next steps.

Figuring out those next steps was not an easy task.  My mother-in-law is a very independent lady and wants nothing more than to be in her home, taking care of herself.  Unfortunately, that just is not possible right now.  Thank goodness not only is she independent and determined, but she's also very intelligent.  It took her only a few short days to realize that at least for right now, she just can't do what she wants to do.  She needs help.  

Accepting that help was not an easy thing to do.  What an admirable lady though.  She spent one evening being kind of sad.  But then the very next morning she was all business and a bundle of energy, ready to pack her clothes.  I had to start making lists just to keep up with her!  

Her goal is to one day be back in her home and on her own.  Goals are good!  And that's what we will be working toward.  In the meantime, yesterday that brave 83-year-old stepped onto a plane...for the first time in her life...to fly back to Phoenix with Danny.  What a day for her!

She had such a big smile on her face!  And she's one of those people who rarely smiles in pictures, so this was great to see.

"The Boys", getting Mom all checked in.

Danny said she did pretty good on the flight, considering.  We were worried about take-offs and landings and how all that pressure would affect her back, but her words to me were, "Oh, it was about like riding in a car."  How about that?!  Of course, pain patches and pills can work wonders.  :)

They had a layover in Vegas and I was hoping she would get a chance to put a quarter in a slot machine, but she said they didn't have time.  It sounded like she was amazed at the crowd of people at the Vegas airport.  Of course, compared to the Lubbock airport, I can see how that might be!

Danny and his wife have a beautiful, large home outside of Phoenix, complete with a swimming pool.  We are hoping water therapy will really help to get her back on her feet and back to a point where she can live on her own again.

So....today we wrapped up some things at her house, Max got a Rhino bed liner put in his truck (It looks NICE!), and we've done a variety of this and that, getting ready to hit the road again on Monday. 

July was not spent doing what we had originally planned to do this summer...but we wouldn't have been any other place.  Plans change, and the good Lord knows what's best.  I really enjoyed getting to spend some one-on-one time with my mother-in-law.  She would get most talkative in the evenings after dinner, after Max would go home to the Turtle.  It is those times that I will treasure and remember the most because it was then when we really talked; it was then when I really got the opportunity to get to know her a bit. When she broke her shoulder last year and came to live with us for 6 weeks, we had some of that time, as well.  Neither were good circumstances for her. But making lemonade out of lemons can be a sweet experience.

Until next time....take care!

Paula

Back in Lubbock

July 4, 2013

Well, plans are made if no other reason than to be changed, right?  LOL  That's what we've found out, anyway. 

Max's mom is having some health issues and is in the hospital, so we're back in Lubbock to see what we can do to help.  Every day she seems to get a little bit better, and we are thankful.  She's a very strong-willed woman, and she wants nothing more than to get better and go home.  Having the right attitude goes a long way in healing, so we're counting on it. 

Right now we're planning to be here till probably the end of the month.  Hopefully by then she'll be back home and back to her old self.  Please pray with us that that happens.

In the meantime, we're just spending our days doing hospital visits, running errands and taking care of things for her and for us, visiting friends, and enjoying every day that there isn't a good ol' West Texas sandstorm.  :)

We hope you are all having a wonderful 4th of July! 

Until next time....take care!

Paula

NASA - Galveston

June 20 - 21, 2013

Thursday we were excited to tour NASA and Johnson Space Center.  We had read mixed reviews, some saying how good it was and others saying it had been commercialized and was really only for kids anymore.  Well...we're just big kids here so we thought why not give it a whirl?!  It was definitely worth it to us.  Very interesting and informative. 

The first section of the Space Center has definitely been designed for kids and no doubt is a blast for them.  The first thing we did, though, was head for the tram and the tour of Johnson Space Center.  We were rewarded with quite an experience.  We got to tour parts of the actual mission control center.  Very cool!

The actual room looked much smaller than it does in the movies.  Why is that not a surprise?  :)

The red phone is used to contact the Department of Defense in case of emergency.

And then rockets galore--up close and personal!

These suckers are B.I.G.!

It's amazing that out of all of this....

only part of this piece comes home.  The brown part you see here is the capsule we would always see at SPLASHDOWN.

One wall was dedicated to outlining the history of the Apollo missions.  Apparently the movie quote was not exactly correct.

To top off the tour, the tram drives by the Western Heritage Pavilion, known as the Longhorn Project. 

We did not expect to see longhorn cattle at Johnson Space Center.  Dedicated in May 2000, the Longhorn Project, developed jointly by the Johnson Space Center, the Clear Creek Independent School District, the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America, provides local high school students with a one-of-a-kind learning environment that combines Western heritage with state of the art technology. Who knew!





 

All in all, a great day!

 

Friday we drove down to Galveston to look around.

 

I asked Max to drive me by the Shriner's Children Hospital of Galveston.  When I was a year old, my mother and grandmother took me down there for eye surgery; Daddy stayed behind to work to pay for the surgery.  It's a huge complex, with John Sealy hospitals next door.  I was in awe to imagine my mother and grandmother, in 1962, driving all the way down to Galveston from Brownwood--by themselves with a baby--so I could undergo major eye surgery.  Galveston I'm sure was a big city to them, and this hospital is right in the middle of downtown.  I can only imagine what that surgery cost my parents, too, as I'm sure they had no insurance.  (Daddy was a self-employed farmer.)  To imagine what my life would have been like if they had not made such a sacrifice for me.  It was a humbling moment.

 

 

 

We then drove over to the waterfront and walked the docks.

 

And stopped to see a little movie called "The Great Storm"--the story of the 1900 hurricane that almost wiped Galveston off the map.  So interesting!  Imagine in that day and time they had no television, no weather radar, no warning.  It's a fascinating story.  A tough and determined people.

 

We ate a late lunch of absolutely delicious pizza at Nonna Tony's at Pier 21, drove over to check out the seawall they built after the 1900 hurricane...

 

 

and then headed home.  Another great day of making memories.

 

'Til next time...take care!

 

 



San Leon - Kemah

June 17 - 18, 2013

Monday
What an exciting moving day!  We took the Turtle on the ferry from Port Aransas over to Aransas Pass and then on to San Leon. We could have traveled back over the causeway to Corpus Christi and then up the coast but it would have added about 50 miles to our trip so we decided to give the ferry a go.  We had seen dump trucks make the trip as well as a number of other RV's, and Max had talked to the ferry guys who assured him it would be no problem, so we knew it could be done.  Nevertheless, it was a "sit on the edge of our seats" kind of moment.  When you pull your house onto a ferry, you're definitely praying it doesn't sink!  :)

Once we were safely on, I of course had to get out and snap a shot. A young couple next to us was smiling at me.  I told the woman, "We sure feel big on here!."  She said, "You ARE big.  But beautiful!"  Awwww, we think so, too.  :)

We made it off safe and sound and then on to our next stop--Bay RV Park at San Leon, TX.  It's an Escapee park and the rate is nice.  It's also much smaller and quieter than our last spot in Port Aransas, which is also a nice change. 

 



Tuesday
We plan to do a bit of sightseeing and visiting friends while we're here.  Today we drove over to Kemah, only about 10 miles away.  They have a wonderful little boardwalk area.  You can enjoy carnival-like rides, restaurants, an aquarium....

 

 

beautiful flowers....

 



and "feeding the fish".  For $.25, this is what you get.

Max tried feeding the fish but quickly found out the seagulls are much faster than the fish.  They were catching the food mid-air!

Throw it to me, mister!

Till next time, take care!