Spending time with Bryan and Cheryl in Arkansas, Thanksgiving, time to head home (darn timelines) Russell and family in Florida

 We got to Bryan and Cheryl's house on Monday afternoon. We got caught up and enjoyed the afternoon. Cheryl made an awesome dinner of veggies and chicken breasts. I make something similar called unshish kebab. Oh so yummy. 

Happy Thanksgiving one and all. Egg nog and brandy to
start the day! :)

Eventually we went to bed, but again not too early. Love spending time with my son when I can get it! 

Cheryl and I went to town on day and turned out the consignment/thrift store had 50% off. Oh my! Seemed like the whole town was there! Great stuff and I found some goodies for me too. 

While we were there we were discussing the fact that Cheryl wanted a small kitchen table and in their area it would have to be really small. I gave her the table I found in Amarillo. Perfect fit! I ordered her a couple of retro chairs for her Christmas present. :) Made me happy she liked it and that it's a great fit. 💙

Thanksgiving Bryan made chicken breasts that were amazing and I added some sides to it. We started the day with egg nog and brandy as is tradition. Then some champagne and and great dinner! I could see this being a yearly tradition. 

Friday was spent just enjoying being there! We watched the Razorbacks play for awhile, but the game was terrible so Bryan started a fire outiside from stuff they've been cutting down to clear some land. 

Bryan got these pics of me with the pups (Raider)

Daisy Duke! 

Bryan, Cheryl and the boy next door, Braxton (?)

Another great fire!

Their Christmas tree. Cheryl found a tub yesterday so she
was able to personalize the tree 

Gracie did not want to get up this morning before we left LOL

They are in the process of clearing some land. Looks so 
much different than October!

Bryan and his dad 💙

Cheryl, Bryan and Me 💖

This morning it was time to head out. We want to be home on Saturday as we need Sunday to unload and anything else we need to do. Monday we will be spending the night in Carson City as Tuesday involves a very early appointment for Ken. 

We decided to take the backroads of Arkansas, glad we did as it was beautiful. Our 200 mile original trip ended up being 270+ and later than we planned. It's ok as we are in Texarkana at a KOA. $37.50 for full hookups which we needed tonight. Sweetest lady checked me in. I'd definitely do this again if needed. 

We had Happy Hour once Ken got us set up.  Thanks Bryan for sending dinner with us. Now to get this posted and get to bed. 

Such a great time, one more time in Arkansas with Bryan and Cheryl. Looking forward to after the first of the year we'll be back and there will be a wood stove project for Ken and Bryan. :) 

Had a great chat with Russell and Family on Thanksgiving. They are in Florida on vacation and having a wonderful time! Also talked with Eric later in the day and Grandma (Ken's mom). 

Aaron and Jacob! 

Sunday night's dinner! 

Russell and Lori, he enjoys his beard growing while on
vacation! LOL..

Lori, Aaron, Kenna, Jacob and Russell 💙

A walk along the beach, Aaron, Lori and Russell 💙
I am sure Kenna took the picture 💗

Have a wonderful evening everyone! Time to fall asleep to the sound of the rain on the roof 💙

Amarillo to Eufaula OK, then on to Heber Springs, Just enjoying our time. Looks like Russell is too!!

Sunday morning we left the KOA pretty early and I made some simple breakfast burritos to eat along the way. We love our Hot Logic that you plug into what used to be the cigarette lighter years ago. 

We scooted across Lake Eulaula and then just a nice drive towards Arkansas. Once we crossed the border the drive seemed to go quickly. 

Just out of Oklahoma City! Do you not love it?!!!

Had to have a picture since we are Marine Proud! 
He was sitting in the truck, but I didn't realize it until I finished
my pictures 😁

He passed us on the freeway and gave two double honks. 
Probably because we have our Proud Grandparents stickers
of Proud Marine and Proud Navy stickers. 💙💙

We arrived at Bryan's house just about 1400 hrs. 😊

We sat and talked and just enjoyed each other's company. Cheryl made an incredible dinner of chopped chicken breasts and veggies in the oven. Oh so good!! 

We had arrived to rain showers and they continued on throughout the evening. No complaints here! 

Bryan and I went to bed way too late. LOL. No matter how old your child is you still enjoy that one on one time! 💗💗

This morning (Tuesday) we got up and just enjoyed the slow time with nothing to do. We started the day with Cheryl's amazing banana bread with coffee. I think around 1000 I made us some breakfast. It was enough to hold us both through the day until dinner. 

Eventually Ken and I ran to Walmart to stock up on a few things. Or more.  

I made tacos for dinner tonight, so when we got back I went to the Mansion and prepped some stuff so at dinner just had to heat things and cook the shells. Easy. 

Bryan worked on clearing some land and made a bonfire tonight. It's cold and it's a damp cold. Around 2000 Ken and I joined Cheryl in the living room for the night. Bryan came in a little later after talking to Grandma (Ken's mom) for awhile. 

Jacob with  a fish

Bryan, Cheryl and Brantley (from next door) Great kid! 

Ken and Bryan outside by the fire. 

Seth, Mason, Dusty, Jesse and Terrance all at Dusty's house during the Raiders 
game! 

Aaron and Jacob fishing in Florida with their Dad, Russell

Dinner for Sunday night! 

Jacob, Lori and Russell. It' been 11 months since they've seen each other! 

Russell and Lori waiting to pick up Aaron and Kenna
at the airport! 


That's a wrap for tonight. Betime it's 2300 and I'm ready. Hoping you 
all have a great night! 

We're here in Amarillo, TX. Happy Birthday Jacob!

 Happy Champagne Saturday LOL. We decided to stay another day in Amarillo, TX before moving on. We'll be on the road tomorrow so Champagne Sunday wouldn't happen LOL. 

Happy Champagne Saturday! 

Brunch here in Amarillo...

We left our beautiful boon docking site Thursday morning in Utah and moved on. Had a great drive through AZ until we arrived late afternoon in Grants, NM. We stayed at an RV Park called Blue Spruce..$31.10 for water and electrical, dump available. We left there and ended up here in Amarillo, TX. 

Leaving our beautiful boondocking spot! 

We are at AOK RV Park. It's a Passport America Park, full hookups for $17.00 a night. No other amenities, but that's why we have the Mansion. We pulled into site 1A unhooked and then tried to hook up to electricity. None..long story short we are now in site 9. Actually better, as there are no close neighbors. 

Yesterday after a late breakfast we headed out to Amarillo. Stopped at 33 Market and got some Texas IPA's for Ken. Then on to old town for some antique shopping. 😊

Nice area, but the best place was Alley Katz. The shop was huge and decent prices. Found this cracked ice folding table for $65.00. Figured we couldn't get it home because we were pretty packed in the back of the truck. Ken figured it out though and now we have a new table 😊 Thinking we will re configure the front porch somehow to make it happen. 😀 He does love me 💙💙

I fell in love! 

After that we headed for The Big Texan Restaurant and had Dinner. Drinks were good and food was even better. Seems to be a tradition when we are in town. A good tradition! 😊

Is that not the cutes cowboy boot you've ever seen!!

I love the decorations!!!

We went back to camp, watched some tv and eventually called it a night. 

This morning I was up at 0307...awaked for along time so after falling back to sleep i was awake at 0730, started coffee and woke Ken at 0815. What!!!??? Yep. We had decided we weren't going anywhere today so why not let him sleep. 

Ken's barbecuing hamburgers tonight just because it's so nice here. 

Tomorrow we move on and plan on being at Bryan's Monday afternoon! We will have to leave Saturday or Sunday to head back home as there are Dr. appointments beginning of December. Hopefully that changes soon. 

Today is grandson Jacob's 22nd birthday and he's in Pensacola with his parents to celebrate. So hard to believe how old these grandchildren are, as I remember the day they were born. Love you Jacob! 

Nephew Jesse and Jacob..when he visited him overseas..

Have a great afternoon! Tomorrow we move on! 😀

Catch up..Arkansas Bound slower than the last two trips, Happy Birthday Seth, Owen and Marines! Russell and Lori are in Florida, Adam visits his parents one more time

 More than a week has passed since the last blog, so I'm starting from this last Sunday. I have a  hard time remembering yesterday so why try a whole week hahahah. 

FALL..Our beautiful Allissa is the perfect advertisement for FALL.
Her smile, a glass of wine in hand, a charcuterie board and that
beautiful tree behind her. Can it get anymore perfect than that!? 💖

Sunday we had our usual Champagne Sunday which was awesome. Made a good brunch and then I sat enjoying the outdoor fire until 1230. I knew I had some things to do, but not more than a couple of hours. 

My new glass for the Christmas season. Taking one to Cheryl 
too. Egg nog maybe? LOL. 

Ken wanted pizza on low carb tortilla, best one yet!

Once we were finished, we sat outside and enjoyed an evening fire! 

Reminds me of the one we had last night in campground. 

Monday morning we were out of the house and stopped next door to say good bye to Karen and the furry kids. Mugsy looked really sad and wouldn't even lift his head as I went over to hug him goodbye. :( 

Hit the road planning on heading towards Vegas and finding some place to stay the night. Right before we got to Tonopah Ken told me he'd been thinking someway different. We turned onto Highway 6 and then made a right later on 375 (The extraterrestrial highway). 

We stopped at the Aleinn and had our lunch in the Mansion! :)

There were chips added too. Yummy! It was special, our first
day on the road.
We added wine and a "beer"...

Got ourselves on the road and headed for Caliente, NV and Ryan Kershaw State Park to spend the night. We were the only ones there until after dark when an suv with a car top tent pulled up. Ken had made a great fire, but I was too lazy to go inside and get the phone. The only drawback to this park, there is no cell service at all! I wasn't able to let Ken's mom and others know where we were until after leaving this morning. 

Sunset was awesome! 

Some spots are huge! 

Just gorgeous mountains all around...

This morning while Ken was dumping I went and saw the Ranger on duty. We needed a new state parks pass as the one Ken had expired in September. When we got there last night, no one was on duty, so we paid the $25.00 for the night with electricity. Today the pass was $30.00 which will get us free camping (no hookups) or $10.00 with electrical. Can't beat that!

We headed out to Cedar City, Utah and then onto highway 14 which will take you to Cedar Breaks National Monument. We've been before and it's breathtaking, but so is this highway! 

This is across the road from where we are camped..reminds
of a Flintstone house..

We stopped and had another copycat lunch around 1400 (that was special too). We lost an hour entering Utah. Had a beautiful drive on 89A and now we're here boon docking in this amazing spot. Tomorrow we'll head towards Flagstaff and get on I 40 for a while. We've got a few things we want to do before we get to Arkansas 😀

Rock and stone house across the road from our boon docking
place. The grandkids always loved coming here! 

Those mountains would be climbed by grandkids while
i made lunch..such awesome memories. 

Friday, November 10th was the Marine Corps 248th Birthday. So of course our Marines had to celebrate. Every year Russell gets a bunch of Marines together at Old Town Pizza and they celebrate! This year Seth was able to join in too along with it being Seth's real birthday (22) ! It's also grand nephew's Owen 9th birthday!

That's our Marine! Ken made this picture his screensaver
because he looks so happy! Happy Birthday Marines!!

Melissa at front, John, Lori, Russell and Andrea 💖

John, Dylan, Seth (HappyBirthday 2 x) Russell 💙

Russell, Allissa, her friend and Antoine! 💙

MARINES!!!

At the end of the week Adam was able to spend a little more time with his parents in Arkansas before having to catch a plane back to CA on Sunday. 

Adam and Raider 💗

Russell and Lori are in Florida for a few weeks. They are spending the first week with friends and then will spend Jacob's birthday and Thanksgiving with him. Aaron and Kenna are flying in to have Thanksgiving there too. It'll be a great family reunion for them. 

Russell enjoyed his visit to Ace Hardware in Florida! 
100 round drum that shoots 45 acp! :) 

Do you think they're having fun! Russell, Dee, Katie, Sy and Lori

Russell enjoyed his first visit to Buc-ee's! 

Adam and Cheryl's mom, Linda

                                                                 Linda, Cheryl and Bryan💙

That's it for the catch up. Hate to think if I did last week too..LOL. 

Have a great evening. We're are certainly enjoying!