Welcome to the world Miss Avery Grace Kay! Russell and Lori visit for the weekend! :)

Avery Grace Kay entered the world on May 8th at 0400! Seth and Holly's world will never be the same! 💗 She came via C Section (not expected) weighing 8 lbs 10 ounces and 21 inches long. 

The little family is doing just fine and came home yesterday! So as you would expect there is a picture overload coming up! LOL. 

Mom Holly and her baby girl 💕

Seth and his baby girl who's a redhead just like dad! 💙

Oh that face! Guess I'm a little prejudiced! 💗

Grandma Christina! 💗

The little family! 💖

                                                                         💙         

Grandpa Eric! 💙

Right now she's all Seth except for her little rosebud mouth!
💗

Here she's home with her protector Travis 💕

Another picture of Avery at home 💗 I could look at 
pictures all day! Great Grandpa and Great Grandma are thrilled 
for this new title! 💗

Now back to the weekend. Adam left Friday morning heading to work

in Pioneer, CA. 

We ran to Total Wine in Reno for supplies and then Walmart in Carson

City for food LOL.  Had a nice lunch at Betsy's before heading home. 

Unloaded groceries and got a few munchies made for later. Some I did on Thursday so it wasn't too difficult. 

Russell and Lori got here around 2100 I believe and we all headed for the outdoor kitchen to have some munchies and adult beverages. Well, we ended up staying up until 0230 or so just talking and enjoying the company. 

Ken, Lori and Russell 

Saturday morning Russell and Lori hadn't slept much because I went out about 0840 and they were sitting in the sunshine since way earlier than what I made it out. Biscuits, gravy and eggs for breakfast and got the day started. Not much really going on. It was a nice one though. 

In the afternoon they took the Can AM out for awhile and had a nice ride! Lori had never been out in the BLM so Russell showed her the sights. 

Out by the old mine near a "race track" where we used to take the 

grandkids. Top of the hill! 

Out by Pumpkin Hollow Mine (Copper) 

They found a nice clean pipe LOL 

They were lucky to see this guy! I haven't ever seen one 

out on a ride 

Top of the mountain looking down to our neighborhood 💖

                                          Our sunset Saturday night 

Saturday night I made Super Burritos for dinner. So a nice night in the outdoor

kitchen once again. It seems that's where we spend most of the time when we have company :) 

Sunday morning I knew it was time for them to get ready to go home, so I got started on egg mc muffin sandwiches. Karen came over to visit for a bit and had a virgin Bloody Mary.  Then she was off to her mom's. 

Lori and I indulged a bit with mimosas. Well, probably more than a bit haha. Ken had one and then changed to Bloody Mary's for 1 or 2. Russell was driving, so not so much. They left here later than what Russell wanted, but it was Mother's Day. He had to work on Monday, Lori didn't. 

We continued our day in the outdoor kitchen. Ken barbecued some delicious pork chops that had been marinating for a few days. YUM! Heard from all my boys and some others so it was a great day! 

Monday I admit other than changing bedding and washing a few loads I wasn't a bundle of energy. So pretty much a nice Monday. First day of turning on the air conditioner. A few more days of heat and then it'll cool to more seasonal temps. 

Today I was more myself so got some things done! Ken's next door right now putting in a water heater in the new outdoor bathroom John's been building.

 

Tomorrow we head for Carson City for Ken's dermatology appointment. Then we'll see what we can get accomplished before heading home. 

Life is great here at our house! So blessed! 💗

Have a great evening! 

Seth and Holly maternity pictures! Happy Birthday Allissa! Company coming :)

Seth and Holly had maternity pictures done and I just had to share! Her due date is the 8th so any day now little Avery Grace will come into this world and we couldn't be any more excited! Obviously LOL. 💖

We're so happy that Eric and Christina will enjoy the joys of being a grandparent for the first time! I know we've loved being grandparents for 27 years now!

 

We've mostly been home since we got back from the Arkansas trip. We finally got the bunkhouse painted and it looks so good. Took more paint than we originally thought as the wood just sucked it up! Mostly done by hand as the roller just wouldn't get it all! 

Our sweet  Allissa turned 25 on the 2nd 
of May. She had her family down in
San Diego to help her celebrate 💗

My sister, Linda and her grandson Owen. He ran the 
Chicken Run with his dad Dusty. 😀

Dusty and Owen running the Chicken Run 

I love this picture of Eric and Christina (except for the reflection) They were
out to see Creed Fisher in Roseville, CA. He's definitely one of our favorites 
too! 💖

Of course, Champagne Sunday

Ken changed his up for the 2nd round. They always look

so good, but I can't get over the taste! LOL. 

Some of our little keepsakes going across the front
of our little bar area in the outdoor kitchen 😀

Grandson Adam is coming tonight after he gets off work. He'll be here until Friday morning when he'll leave here and go straight to work. He's got about a 2 1/2 drive from his station in Pioneer, CA. Glad he wants to come spend a little time with us. 

He's bringing his new bike he bought himself while in Bend, Oregon last 
week. I think he called it a gravel bike (?) said it'll be perfect for our
roads out here. 

We had a nice surprise phone call over the weekend. Russell and Lori are coming out this Friday night and they'll head home Sunday after breakfast. Possibly John and Andrea could be along too. (🤞) Happy mom and dad here! 

Mason and Chloe will be out the middle of the month too! :) 

Just about time to get some lunch together for the two of us. Skies are finally clearing here and warming is expected from here on out! 😁

Yerington to Arkansas and back! Happy Birthday Eric, Adam and Bryan!

Tuesday, April 14th we pulled into Bryan and Cheryl's place around 1500 hrs or so. Spent the afternoon visiting and Bryan barbecued some delicious hot dogs and hot links. 

Cheryl's flowers are really starting to bloom :)

Visiting in Arkansas 
Birthday boy today 53 years young!
How did that happen!!? 

Ken enjoying his beer on the front porch! :)

Bottom line, since it's 2 weeks plus later, I'm forgetting what all we did. LOL. I know Ken and I went to Searcy to see what we could find for Bryan's birthday which is today. 

Thursday we went to my sister Wendy's house and Ken and Bryan put together a crib for her grandchildren that will be in Arkansas shortly, Hoping so. They did a few other things for her, she and I visited. 

One night Bryan barbecued a delicious tri tip. He certainly knows what he's doing!  

Bryan prepping the delicious tri tip 

Saturday morning, we picked up Wendy and headed to Greers Ferry for breakfast. A very nice drive about 30 minutes away.  We went to Bentley's Restaurant. We've been there before for lunch.  We definitely won't be back for breakfast. You'd think in the heart of the south that they'd know how to make biscuits and gravy. They don't. The biscuits were good but the gravy OH NO! LOL. 

Saturday night I made all the fixings for Super Burritos. This was a favorite when our kids were growing up. We definitely enjoyed. Wendy came over too. Lots of goodbye hugs when she left as we were leaving Sunday morning.

Ken's plate, all the fixings for a Super Burrito but he ate his as an
El Sombrero open face..

My sister, Wendy 💖

We didn't know how we were going home, but Ken had said he'd like to see where my dad grew up. We were there in 1985 when we came out to Arkansas with my parents on our summer vacation. 

We left Bryan's about 1000 hrs on Sunday morning. Hugs all around and we'll see them again in the Fall. 

We headed towards Russellville and found Ball Hill Cemetery. My grandparents are buried there and a plaque for my daddy. There's lots of Maggards buried there (my grandmother's maiden name). I was there in 2008 with Bryan, Cheryl and Adam when we went to Kansas for my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. 

We found the graves pretty quickly and looked around the cemetery. A nice, quiet place. 

All his brothers and sisters pooled $$ and had this plaque
put next to his parents 💖 Daddy and mom are buried at the 
National Cemetery in Dixon, CA 

My Arkansas grandparents 

After leaving there we headed for Fort Douglas, Arkansas where my daddy grew up. He didn't leave his home place until he got drafted in 1942. A beautiful drive in the Ozarks. 

Luckily I saw the Fort Douglas Cemetery on the side of the road. We got out and looked around. I saw lot's of family names. There's a lot of Phillips family members buried there. 

The one way bridge on the way to Fort Douglas 

Big Piney Creek (where Daddy learned to swim) 

The cemeteries all have a beautiful covered area where
services are held 

Lots of Phillips are buried here

Daddy's cousin Annabelle. She lived back in the Ozarks in
a country cabin until she had to go to a nursing home. 
We visited  her home in 1970 and 1985. Boy could she whip
up the best fried potatoes I've ever had along with ham. 

We drove on hoping something would look familiar or there'd be signs telling us where we were. We looked for Signs pinpointing the old schoolhouse or something. There wasn't. :( Still, a gorgeous drive for us. 

We ended up spending the night in Van Buren, Arkansas, a first for us. 

After a good night's sleep we headed for Queen Wilhelmina State Park in the heart of the Ozarks. We were there back in 2012 or so and camped. This year was just for a beautiful drive to get us into Oklahoma. 

View from a beautiful road side rest...

At the roadside rest. WHY???!!! 💔

Queen Wilhelmina Lodge..

Arkansas River 

We spent the 20th near the Oklahoma /Texas border. Enjoyed the Best Western and its fabulous breakfast. Now they know how to make biscuits and gravy. 😍 I don't eat it very often, so when I splurge I want it yummy! 

We ended our drive at The Big Texan in Amarillo. A delicious linner and way too much! 

Chicken fried chicken! Huge and Delicious! Ken's meal

Fajita quesadilla, huge baked potato and a garden salad. Alot of this meal 
went to the next motel! 

Spent the night at La Quinta Mid City in Amarillo. A very nice remodeled motel for a very reasonable price. 

Wednesday night found us in Salida, Colorado. We stayed at the American Motor Inn a classic remodeled motel. We stayed there last April too. 

Every room is decorated a little differently, keeping with the
retro theme 

Before checking in we decided to check out old downtown Salida. We found  a brewery and had a beer. We only stayed for one, as that's all they have and I'm not a big beer person. Cute place though. 

The beautiful Arkansas River 

We walked the downtown and found a restaurant /bar and sat looking at the Arkansas River. Lovely.  A glass of wine for me and a beer for Ken then we checked in at the motel. 

Up in the morning, ready to continue our drive across Colorado and then into Utah. Two of our favorite states as the views are incredible! We hoped to make Salina, Utah and we did. Had a nice night at the Super 8 there. Another remodeled motel, the room was huge. 

Blue Mesa Reservoir looking really sad. First time we saw
it the lake was full really full. Last few years it's really going 
down. Colorado has had some sad winters lately. Still
a beautiful blue. 

Going up the mountain outside Green River, Utah. So
spectacular for miles and miles 

Friday morning I set the GPS for our home address. Ken thought we'd stay in Ely, NV but I knew different. We got to Ely about 1100 hrs. Way too early to stop as we've been there done that in Ely. If we were camping that'd be different. 

Pulled into our driveway at 1743. We unloaded a few things and then headed next door for Happy Hour with John and Karen. The pups were happy to see us too! 

Well, when I started this blog I thought I'd break it into two posts. Well, before I knew it I guess I forgot that's what I wanted to do! If you got this far, thanks for reading! 

Love going, but love having this place to come home to! Our most expensive gas was here in NV. $4.94 in Tonopah when we left. $4.84 in Ely, NV coming home. Cheapest was Bucc ee's Amarillo on the way there $3.22, OK border $3.15 coming home. 

Celebrated 2 birthdays in the time we were gone. 

Our middle son, Eric turned 51 on the 19th 

Grandson, Adam turned 27 on the 21st 

Today our oldest Bryan turns 53! Happy Birthday boys! 💙

Today we are home for Champagne Sunday! Last Sunday we were traveling the Ozarks. It's time to get this party started! Happy Sunday everyone! 🍸🥂🍔🍟