Catch up post..Good bye Jacob..a little project for Ken :)

Friday morning we got ourselves up at 0500 to get ourselves out the door close to 0700.  I made breakfast burritos to eat in the truck along the way.  We wanted to get to Washoe Valley around 0900 to meet Sammy the firewood guy.  

We got there and he and his worker were hard at splitting wood. They were already sweating pretty good and it was 0900!  He's a great guy and Ken really likes the quality of the wood he sells.  This was pine and it's for burning outdoors or camping.  We'll be back later for almond for the wood stove in the house.  

Once they got it loaded up we headed back home. For once we didn't need to stop anywhere else.  We were back home around 1130. Not bad. 😁

I knew Jacob was heading for the airport a little later, so I gave him a quick text. I could have called, but I knew my voice would break, so this was safer💙
His new adventure begins! 

Such a cute photo from their photo shoot.  Allissa and Jacob 💗

Allissa and Jacob saying good bye at the airport...

Russell and Lori saying good bye to their Sailor..

Jacob and Allissa

I know he's not happy, but when he gets to Italy he has to quarantine in a hotel for 14 days. Hopefully it'll go swiftly for him.  

Russell and Jacob got to go fishing with Jimmy a friend of theirs..fun was had!

Nice catch! All catch and release! Scott's Flat lake a smoky day...

I had been marinating some pork so Ken was planning on barbecuing them. Later in the afternoon we sat outside and enjoyed Happy Hour.  It's still hot in the afternoons, but cool mornings and evenings. 

We had a delicious dinner of pork and some stir fried fresh veggies. Yum. 

 Saturday we took our time getting started. We were both awake around 0320 and that took awhile to get back to sleep. It was around 0600 when I awoke and started the coffee.  

It was a mostly stay at home day.  Ken went next door and checked on Karen's place, brought the mail in and checked all the sprinklers and timers. All good.  They'll be home later in the evening. We sure miss them when they're gone. 

We had a long lunch at home of salad. Ken wanted to go to town to get some $$ I was going to start cleaning out the kitchen cabinets. He talked me out of it so i rode along with him. 

On FB there was a group called "Play Music on the Porch". The concept was all around the world, on the 29th to play music on the porch. Well, we have a porch and we have music so we joined in..(of course we do this most evenings) most people actually played an instrument haha. I mention this only because it was amazing to see such great posts of people around the world, doing something so simple and smiling! Just made my 💖 feel good! Thanks Georgine for pointing out this event! 💙  A great Saturday. 

Sunday morning we headed out to have breakfast with Joe, Stacey, Rylee and Susan (Stacey's mom).  Everyone was there except Joe who had gotten called out Saturday evening for the Slink Fire near the Marine Corps Cold Weather Training Center.  The fire is still raging on as of this am. Stay safe, Joe. 

 I decided to make some low carb stuffed bell peppers for dinner. I've been eating that way for the last couple of years but first time I've made them for Ken without rice (!) oh my! I like getting dinner done while it's still cool and then we just pop it in the microwave. Update: He really liked them! 

From our drive home the other day...Lake Tahoe..

No idea where that pole came from..weird.;

I was working on this overdue post when John tested and invited us for Happy Hour so we headed over.  Wonderful catching up with such great friends and neighbors. 

I decided to change the green guest room around. It's the only room that I can change anything around, so I like to do it once in awhile just for fun! haha. I finished getting some pictures up on the walls and of course gave it a good cleaning.  

Seth 💙 I need to steal some pictures of Seth and Holly from FB..

Jacob 💙

It's a small room but works for company..

Got a new project for Ken..the dresser on the right will be turned into a small pantry.  These are mostly
empty or full of junk so stay turned..LOL..and he said yesterday he's running out of projects. I don't think so! 😉

A few catch up pics from when Adam and Erin were here...

Adam and Erin heading out in the Can AM..

Bye guys!

Later in the day they went out Adam took the 400...

Erin took the Can Am..

So here it is Monday morning August 31st! WE'll head out later to Gardnerville for a little Walmart shopping, Dollar Tree (for reading glasses for me) and Raley's for prescription pick up. Have a great day! 

Adam and Erin Visit! Saying good bye to Jacob :(

Adam and Erin got here on Sunday at about 2000 which is what he said...Long day of driving for the kids but good they are young!! I had enchiladas and coleslaw which we enjoyed.  Chatted a while to hear about their trip to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone! Sounds like an awesome time they had. Yellowstone and Tetons are a couple of our favorite places! 

Monday morning after breakfast the kids took the Can AM out for a bit. They loved it.  Ken took the truck to Reno and picked up the Mansion. Now we can go! I ran to Raleys for a few things and then it was just an easy day.  Ken barbecued chicken which was awesome! Erin took the Can Am out and Adam took the 400.  They were gone for quite a while and enjoyed the ride! I got stuff for beer margaritas thinking Erin would like them and she did.  Ken even had one!  Haven't made them in over a year I'm thinking. They were so good, Thanks Deb! 

Tuesday morning after breakfast it was time for the kids to head home :(  It was wonderful they were here for two nights!  They left around 0900 and were home around 1300.  Adam was starting  a new job for CA State Parks at Coloma on Wednesday. 

Was a very LAZY day for me. We had taken the kids to Dini's for breakfast.  Once we got home Ken laid on the bed and stayed there for quite awhile haha.  I was on the couch in the living room and had a nice day. I read, relaxed and enjoyed. Haven't done that for a long time!! Once in a while it catches up to you I'm thinking! Leftovers for dinner. There are no pictures of the kids riding..as my battery is dead and Ken is in bed...batteries are in the garage...tomorrow! 

Wednesday was another day at home.  Ken worked outside for quite awhile getting things done! He moved the toy hauler to its home. He replaced the vent in the toy hauler.I baked some things as we were out of treats for our coffee..oh no! haha. 

Thursday morning we headed out about 0730.  Dropped off my tire at Discount Tire in Carson City to be fixed. ( NO Charge).. Then we headed to Carmichael, CA and Garcia's to have a 1300 lunch with Jacob.  We got there about 1245...perfect.  We headed to the patio, as that's all CA allows right now.  Our favorite, Chris was our server..YES!! Small patio area, but he made it work for the 6 of us! He brought us a glass of wine and a beer while we waited for the kids to arrive.  

Hugging my grandson goodbye for 3 years! Hoping to get over to visit him! My heart 💙

It was an awesome lunch and company!  Out in the parking lot, hugs happened. I can't believe we have a grandson headed to Italy for 3 years and in the Navy and he's only 18! We have Seth in the Marines..what happened to these little boys!?  We are so proud of the choices they have made.  My heart hurts for Russell and Lori, they are so proud but I can't imagine tomorrow as they put Jacob on the plane for Italy...I told Lori today..what I feel as a grandparent..but as a parent..💗💙 tomorrow will be tough for them, Allissa and Jacob. 💗😔

Jacob, Allissa and Lori..💙

Lori, Aaron, Ken, Jacob and Allissa 💙

We are so proud of you Jacob!

We left them and drove home. Ken took us on Highway 267 which took us through North Lake Tahoe for a change. What a beautiful drive! 

Truckee, CA.they require outside dining and boy do they have a lot of it!

We are headed to Washoe Valley to pick up some firewood tomorrow morning! Have a great rest of the evening..time for bed! 

Jacob's Welcome Home Party!

We got to Rocklin and our motel just a little after 1500 on Friday.  Checked in and the a/c going strong.  Hot and smoky conditions over there.  A little before 17000 we headed to Russell and Lori's house. 

We got there just a few minutes after 1700 and lots of people were already there. Nice to see so many turn out to celebrate Jacob!  Russell smoked a ton of chicken and beans.  There was salads as a side dish. Believe me, no one went away hungry!  

Gotta love this sign!!

Nice conversations everywhere!

Gabi, Jacob, Jiri, Ellie, neighbors forever! 💖

Lori and Allissa...

Neighbor across the street brought this cake over for Jacob. She's known him since
he was little :) 

Aren't they adorable?!!!

A little later in the evening Jacob said he had something for Papa and me.  Turns out he had sent it to Russell's house quite a while ago. Kinda funny..he told them he was sending something to the house, but it wasn't for them it was for Grandma 💙💖  We are so touched that he did this for us.  Can't help but look at it and smile! 
💙

Beautiful canvas print! Thank you Jacob! 💙

We left about 2015 to head back to the hotel room as neither of us like driving after dark anymore.  We're hoping to see Jacob one more time this week before he leaves, maybe take him and Allissa to lunch somewhere. They've got a busy schedule, but we're hoping! 

WE left he hotel room on Sunday morning.  Luckily I took hard boiled eggs, bread and the toaster.  The hotel has a continental breakfast (a good one actually) but because of the virus they're not serving it now. Actually, pool and fitness center are also closed along with the lobby. You check in through their night check in. We went by Placer County Fairgrounds to check out their RV Park..what a joke. 10 spots or so, like a parking lot and lots of people obviously living there. No thanks. 

We went to Raley's in Gardnerville to pick up pills and then it was just after 1300. Headed for CVI for our linner.  We haven't been there since January, but it was delicious and some of our servers are still there so that's nice. 

Home and the day was done.  We did spend some time out front enjoying a nice evening. 

Sunday morning we slept in until 0630 and then enjoyed catching up with our blogging friends.  Got ourselves going and before you know it the day is done once again.  I made enchiladas and coleslaw for dinner tonight.  We're expecting Adam and Erin later.  They are on their way home from Yellowstone and are spending the night here before heading home tomorrow.  Looking forward to seeing them 😍

Have a great evening!

Aaron goes home, saw Jacob for a few minutes..Can AM, grocery shopping, headed to CA this morning

Wednesday morning we all left here about 0700.  Ken had an appointment for the Tundra to get the last 2 steps put on and I was taking Aaron home later.  Aaron and I were in the Patriot where we picked up Ken from Custom Trucks in Carson City.  

From there we headed to Betsy's Big Kitchen in another part of the city.  We all filled our tummies and then headed back to Custom Trucks as they were just finishing up.  Ken headed to Gardnerville to pick up his eye drops from Raleys and Aaron and I headed to Antelope, Ca.  

Nice but smoky drive down I80.  The back up on roadwork wasn't too bad so we got there around 1330.  Jacob and Allissa weren't there but knowing young people didn't really expect them to be :) 

I came out from the bathroom to say good bye to Aaron, when who steps out from around the corner and says, "Hi Grandma!"...Jacob!  Well, a few tears were shed as I hugged him and didn't want to let him go! 💙💙  We enjoyed about 15 minutes of chit chat before saying good bye.  We'll see him Friday evening. 

About two miles from their house, a light went on in the car saying low tire. Uh oh.  I pulled over and sure didn't see a low tire, but after driving a bit I changed my mind and started the drive on I 80 instead of Highway 50.  I figured if I had a problem 80 had more exits and pull offs than 50.  I called Ken to tell him, so if he needed to come he would know.  

I pulled over several times on the way home and didn't notice anything so I arrived home about 1800 or so.  We enjoyed Happy Hour and then dinner.  We called it a night pretty early. Thursday morning Ken found a rivet in my driver's side rear tire so that'll have to be changed out.  

Thursday morning we headed for Reno. The Can AM was ready for pick up! Ken dropped me at Winco which I haven't been since all this virus crap started.  No line outside so  I can shop.  I wouldn't have waited if there was one. Stocked up on everything to the tune of $236.00.  Should last awhile. Much more for the money!

Ken picked up the Can AM while I shopped and let me know when he was in the parking lot.  He came inside and bagged the groceries while I put them on the belt. 

The Can AM was smoking pretty badly, they had let it run after replacing a spark plug and oil but it was just idling so a run in the desert hopefully would make a difference. After we got home and put away all the groceries Ken unloaded it and boy was it smoking!! Ken took off for the BLM and by the time he came home it was perfect once again!  YAY!  We weren't sure what it would cost, but $269.00 out the door not too bad. Would be a lot worse if the smoking hadn't stopped! 

We enjoyed our evening out side and Stacey from next door came over for a bit to visit.  Dinner and a relaxing evening. 

I made a broccoli bacon salad to take to Lori and Russells Friday. They are hosting a Welcome Home Party before Jacob heads to Italy at the end of next week.  We got a room in Rocklin for Friday night and will head home Saturday.  

The Mansion is ready to be picked up Monday morning at 0900.  Now we are trying to decide where we want to go! I'm leaning toward Bear Lake State Park, Utah/Idaho border.  We were headed there earlier in the summer, but temps were cool and we'd like to do some kayaking.  

So here we are Friday morning and thought I'd get a blog posted as I'm sure the next one will have pictures.  Because of all the smoke this morning, internet and posting pictures just isn't cooperating. We are really socked in from the fires in CA!  Pictures will have to wait.  

Best get a move on as the morning is flying!  Have a great one!  

Best in the desert..Adam and Erin visit..Jacob and Russell fishing in Alabama

It was a busy weekend but a good one. Ken was out at the Best in the Desert for two nights and he took some pictures so I could see what happened out there. 

For the last few of years Johnny (Vega is his last name)
has had shirts made for everyone in his "party".  All custom made with his and Joel's rigs..places they go.
His "home" and I love 2020 in red, white and blue!  Very special! 

Aaron got through his 3 days of online schooling just fine. I feel for the little ones having to do this.  If Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot and grocery store workers have been working this whole time, why not teachers? Done. 

The race was on Friday with the different classes leaving Pahrump, NV at different times. They end in the town of Dayton, NV over 500 miles in the day. 

Toy Hauler in Silver Springs...

Johnny's home away from home!

Our sunset from home! Here you can forget the craziness of the rest of the country! 

For the last couple of years..Johnny (Vega is his last name) has shirts made for everyone..love this w 2020 in
red, white and blue. Pictures of his and Joels rides. Very customized shirts..

Ken got home Saturday morning just about 1000, leaving the toy hauler in Silver Springs and just bringing home the Dodge. 

Set up in the desert, waiting for the race to come through!

Lots of $$$ in toys!

See the low flying helicopter..some rigs have them to tell them what's in front of them. That way they
know how fast they can go! 

He went REALLY FAST!

I'm guessing that's who sponsors this truck! Woohoo!

Adam and Erin were coming for the night on their way to Yellowstone, so we were looking forward to seeing them.  They arrived just about 1330 and Adam headed straight for the fridge and the sandwich i had made him. LOL..I quickly made one for Erin as I wasn't sure what she wanted on hers.  We enjoyed chit chatting for awhile. 

Later in the afternoon, Erin, Adam and Aaron headed out on the quads. It was Erin's first time riding/driving one and she really enjoyed it. 

Pretty close to the action! 

Adam taking Erin around the property...

Erin on her own..she loved it!

Aaron gonna show em how it's done!

Ken explaining a few things..

Adam..

Off they go! Nice to have BLM  so close!

After they got back Ken got started on the Papa Burgers and I had the fries and onion rings going. It was a delicious dinner for sure. 

Adam and Erin 💖

Enjoyed each other's company for a while and then it was time to head to bed.  I knew they were going to be up early on Sunday morning to get an early start heading to Craters of the Moon for their next stop.  

After pancakes and bacon they were ready to go. They actually got out of here just a little after 0800. I heard last night they made it to their destination for the night. 

Adam and Erin = Happiness! 

Getting ready to head out!

After they left, Ken and I headed out to Silver Springs to get the truck and toy hauler.  Our friends were already gone, headed back to the Auburn, CA area. Can't say as I blame them as it was HOT! Aaron never knew we were gone LOL. 

Later in the afternoon we were treated to lots of lightning and thunder into the evening. Rain in buckets poured down. Doesn't happen too ofter out here, so we enjoy it when we get it.  The only downside, we lost power a few times with the longest probably being 1/2 hour. It was noticeable though as it was still very hot! 

Luckily I had Aaron's dinner all done, so he was able to enjoy his chicken fried pork chops, mashed potatoes and green beans. He was happy.  Ken and I ate later. 

This morning we were up about 0530 and visited with our blogging friends. Later in the morning I made some coffee treats for Ken and me.  Everything muffins (except sugar) for Ken and my peanut butter flourless muffins. Now we get a nice snack with our coffees. 

After that I went ahead and cooked the chicken that will go with the rest of dinner. That way I'm not heating the kitchen when temps are close to 100. A quick run to Raley's of course and then that's it. Too hot and muggy to be outside. We're hearing thunder outside and a few sprinkles. We'll see what happens. Not much LOL!  I tried to post this last night but Blogger wasn't cooperating.

Stole a few pictures from FB of Jacob and Russell out on a fishing boat in Alabama. Looks like a great time was had by the both of them!  Jacob and Allissa headed home to CA yesterday.  We will see them later this week for sure! 

Jacob 💙

Gorgeous sunrise! 

Russell 

💙

Have a wonderful Tuesday!