Minnesota and Ohio – Summer 2017

Minnesota and Ohio – Summer 2017

Traveling
Seems like we just got back to Minnesota and we are already making plans for leaving in October.  Time flies when you are having so much fun!  We are so blessed with four beautiful grandkids and have been able to spend time with each of them this summer.  With Cate and Alex because they are getting older we went to movies (I love animated movies), Chuck E Cheese (only grandpa and grandma can take them there – lucky us) and parks and more parks. We enjoyed a day at the Minnesota Zoo with Alex, Amanda and Adalyn.  Cate and her Girl Scout troop hosted a Mother’s Day brunch which grandma was invited to. It made me realize just how grown up Cate is getting.  We had sleepovers with Cate and…
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Ohio – Summer/Fall 2016

Ohio – Summer/Fall 2016

Traveling
With a new granddaughter in Ohio we made four trips to Cincinnati over the summer and fall.  After our initiate meeting of our beautiful Vivian in June we went back in August for a short visit.  She had already changed in that short period of time.  It is so hard to leave but we knew we would be back soon.   We made the trip back to see how much she had grown in Sept.  Her smile and cooing were so precious.  I tried to get in as much “grandma” time as possible.   Vivian’s baptism was Oct 9th and we were able to make one more trip to Cincinnati to enjoy the celebration with Zach and Lauren.  It was really hard to leave knowing that we wouldn’t see them again until…
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Life is Good!

Life is Good!

Traveling
We have a new granddaughter – Vivian Eileen!   She was born June 1st (a few weeks early) weighing in at 6lbs 8oz and 19 inches long.  Of course she is absolutely beautiful and so tiny.  We arrived in Cincinnati on June 6th and stayed  three weeks.  We cherished every minute we could spend with Vivian, Lauren and Zach.  The kids were so tired, of course, but showing their fabulous parenting skills.  We even got to babysit one night for a few hours while they went out for a little dinner, a break they needed as do all new parents.  What a precious buddle of joy this new grandbaby brought into our lives.  It was hard to leave this little beauty.  The kids have been sending pictures and she is growing…
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Campground Etiquette

Traveling
Give me a minute while I hop onto my soapbox.  Joe and I have been campers for over forty years and looking back over those forty years things have really changed.  Campgrounds are getting busier especially on weekends.  Families are enjoying the great outdoors with bigger and better campers, their kids, their bikes, their dogs, and their fun which is great.  What they are forgetting is that other people are also camping next to them who don’t care to have their kids, their dogs, their loud music or televisions blaring into their campsite.  I wish when we checked into Winton Woods they would hand a list of “Campground Etiquette” to campers, not that they would read it.  Some campgrounds actually do include etiquette with their rules. Winton Woods County Campground…
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Ohio- Visiting Family

Ohio- Visiting Family

County Parks
We just spent nineteen days in Winton Woods Campground in the Cincinnati area.  This is always our “home” in Zach and Lauren’s area when visiting them.  We always leave there saying the same thing, nice park, a little too busy, too expensive, but our only option in that area.  One of the things we love about the campground is the 2 mile paved walking trail around Winton Lake. It was great spending time with our son Zach and his wife Lauren.  They love to find a new place for us to try for dinner and this time it was Terry’s Turf.  Their specialty is gourmet burgers which were truly yummy.  But as wonderful as the food was the ambiance was even better.  The place was very tiny, seating about 25…
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North to Ohio – Spring 2015

North to Ohio – Spring 2015

Traveling
  I’ll start this blog with how I ended the last one – Joe and I are celebrating today as we do every day that we have together.   We are thankful for having this opportunity to enjoy each other, seeing this beautiful country, for our health and the health and wellbeing of our children and grandchildren.  That said we send our prayers and ask our friends to send their prayers for our bother-in-law, Tom, who is have some very serious heart issues at the present time.  God be with him and his family. As we traveled to Ohio we spent several days in two of Louisiana’s beautiful state parks.  Our first stop was at Lake Claiborne SP in Homer, LA.  Absolutely beautiful park full of very large pine trees with…
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Fall colors/Ohio

Traveling
Joe and I just put on our long johns and wool slippers and are watching it sleet.  We are warm and safely off the road and are thankful that we aren’t in the cold and snow of Minnesota as most of our kids are. We have had the privilege of travelling in the Fall of the year and watching the spectacular color change as we have moved from state to state.  Starting off in Minnesota just as the leaves started to change, then into Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and then Ohio.  After leaving Ohio a few days ago we drove through the beautiful state of Kentucky and have settled in Tennessee for a few days.  The colors are coming to an end but the drive through the hills of Tennessee was…
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Ohio & Family

Traveling
Life is so good to us!  We can travel and see the country and also be able to spend time with our kids and have new adventures with them.  It was so good spending time with Zach and Lauren and of course their dogs, Hope, Harvey, and Jake.  We don’t get to spend enough time with Lauren in the two weeks we are in Cincinnati since her job takes her out of town during the week but we try to make it up over the weekends.  Joe and Zach caught a movie together and got in a little golf driving range time.  We took Hope, the Great Dane, for a few days while Zach was going to work on his house.  His ordered supplies didn’t come in so the project…
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On Our Way to Ohio

On Our Way to Ohio

Traveling
From Oklahoma we entered the state of Arkansas for the first time.  Our first stop was on the Arkansas River at an Army Corp of Engineer Campground call Toad Suck Ferry.   What an unusually name!  It is so unique that it is listed as the worst named town in the United States.  It really isn’t a town so much as a small community.  The name came many years ago when the steamboats were travelling down the Arkansas River and pulled over to the side of the river so the captain and crew could enjoy a beer or two at the local tavern.  The locals didn’t appreciate the rowdiness of the crew and would say “They suck on bottle ‘til they swell up like toads”.  Hence the name Toad Suck. A…
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