2012 with the Traveling Longdogs

Willy, Gretchen, and Harley decided that if I wasn't going to do a year in review, they would do it for me.

Move over you two, there is always room for one more!

Is it time to play ball now?  What do you mean later?

What do you mean you have other dog friends Birdie!

I saw her first, she's my Birdie.

I love you Steve.  I think Harley was the one that did it.

Come on Morgan.  Get with the program.

Move over Harley, you can't hog the whole bed.  I get to sleep with the kids too.  You boys can have the kids.  I'm sleeping with Steve on the couch.

Feet, Morgan, feet.  How is a girl to sleep?

Wake me up when we get there.  I'm just resting my eyes.

How did I end up down here?  Watch the feet Morgan.

Is she serious about this?

Let me tell you what those boys are up to Cameron.  They are going to be in big trouble.

You guys are going to be in such big trouble!

I'm telling Mom.  You better get over here right now.

Give it a rest Gretchen.

Willy, Gretchen is such a tattle tale.

Keep quiet Harley.  I'm watching that cat.

Oh, Willy, you are so handsome.

I said I'm busy right now Gretchen.

We're ready, can't we leave now?

Nothing like watching a movie with friends.

I just love going on a walk.

I found one over here Steve.  How come the kids aren't helping?

Oh boy, "On the road again, I just love to be on the road again!"

No thanks, I don't need my crate.  I'm very comfortable right here.  Go away!

Are you sure the RV is still back there Mom?

Of course it's back there Harley.  Can we have a rest stop now?

Oh my goodness, that car came way too close.

Really, you brought a monkey with you?  Really????  Three dachshunds weren't enough for you?

Mom, this monkey is in my chair, I mean your chair.  Make him move.

A little privacy pleeese.  We are trying to nap.

We could use a blankie here.

Where is that blankie?

Hi Birdie.  We love you too.

I think that is about it for us.  It was a great year.  We need more RV trips though.

"THE END"

P.S.  Willy here.  That is not a picture of me!  I do not carry my own bags!  How embarrassing for him.  My Mom would not make me do that plus I am a lot better looking.  Happy New Year.

Ready for the New RVing Year

Our New Year's Eve was pretty quiet.  We rented three movies.  We watched two of them and one on TV which kept us up to 1 AM!  The next morning we finished off the third movie.  We decided to go ahead and take the Christmas decorations down.  I was okay with that since DH was willing to help.  He doesn't like to put the decorations on the tree or take them off but I was happy to do that while he scrubbed down the tile and  cleaned spots on the carpet as well as vacuuming.  Between the two of us, we managed to get everything back to normal.  We carried all the other decorations upstairs and I packed them up the next morning and stored them back in the closet.

Christmas was very good to me and some of the items are for the RV.  First of all, many of you know that I belong to a group called the Pink FlaminGoes.  My friend Susan (What's Up with Susan and Company) brought me this great Celtic Pink Flamingo needlepoint pillow that she made when she joined us for Christmas dinner.  She did a great job and it will look great in the RV and the next Get-Together.

Willy was busy checking out the other items for the RV.  This vent insulator will come in handy for cold or heat.  Surge Guards are expensive but one bad electrical problem can do in most of your electrical system.  I just wish they made them more easy to secure.  I couldn't see where one of the wired in ones would work in my 5th wheel.  The final item was a folding compact RV broom.  It angles different ways so I am hoping it will also work to brush off the slide-outs.

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year whether you are full-timers or just able to RV part-time like me.  Enjoy your travels and keep in touch.

Bean Bag Toss Anyone?

Steve and Helen bought one game for the whole family and it got put to good use while they were all here.  Some people call it the Bean Bag Game and some call it the Corn Hole Game but it is getting to be pretty popular.  There are two "boards" and 4 bean bags for each team.  In this case, the boards fold in half lengthwise.  Steve wanted it to fit in the RV, he thinks ahead.  They played this game in Florida at a friends house a couple of summers ago.  Those boards were home made and very heavy.  Steve said that some of the guys built this game to play while he was in Afghanistan.  Anyway, Cameron really liked it and was pretty good even though he was only 7 at the time.  The "girls" team was sizing up the opposition.

Steve and Cameron were ready.

I'm not sure if Steve was cheering or he just threw the ball for Harley.  You can believe that Harley was right there in the thick of things.  He didn't try to get the bean bags but he kept trying to get the kids to throw his ball instead.

Morgan checking to see if she hit the board.

It's a fun game for all ages.  Give it a try if you have a chance.

Christmas with Family and Friends

We had a wonderful Christmas dinner.  Oh, the food was good but the company was even better.  In addition to our son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Helen, as well as Cameron and Morgan, we were also joined by Margareta and Susan.  Both ladies are RVing friends of mine and it was great to have them with us.

Once again, Helen jumped up to man the camera.  There would have been more pictures of the food but everyone was too eager to dig in.  Helen does a lot of things really well and having her around to help with getting dinner ready was wonderful.  It meant that neither one of us was worn to a frazzle and everything was ready right on time.  Here is to many more dinners fixed and celebrated together Helen.

It would have been nice to have our other son and daughter-in-law, Brian and Lorri, and Zoe, Kirsten, and Mike with us as well.  Maybe one of these years.  Family, good friends, good foods, good times......it doesn't get better than this.   Hope you had a wonderful day too.

Christmas Morning Arrives

Christmas morning and who was up first???  That would be Grandpa of course.  Any other day, he is the last one up but he said he couldn't sleep.  I think he likes Christmas.  So when the kids woke up, the Christmas lights were all on.  Morgan came flying in to wake up her Dad but she got the wrong room so I got her first excited squealing.  Then she was off to wake up her Dad and Helen.  Funny how they took a while to pull themselves together and get downstairs.

Dave said Willy made a beeline for the "doggy stocking" when he let the three dachsies out of their crates.  I guess he could smell the doggy treats.  Gretchen is heading down with hers and Willy is just getting his.  I think Harley was first so he was already down.

Cameron found a Yoda in his stocking.  So did Grandpa....they have interests in common.  Harley was a lot more interested in whatever Steve had in his other hand.

 I think this is a package of beef jerky which Cameron loves.

Ouch, scary picture.  Gretchen wanted to help me look in my stocking.

Then it was on to the presents under the tree.  Steve likes to hand them out so everyone gets one before we start opening them.

Steve and Helen will have lots of ornaments when they finally put up their own tree next year.

Cameron was excited about his fleece pajamas.

Morgan will be busy this afternoon.   She is our little artist.

Steve will be nice and warm riding his motorcycle in chilly weather now.  Can you see my present in the background?

The grand kids are always happy with whatever they get.  Their Dad and brother were the same way.  Fortunately, we have never had to get through one of those melt-downs some kids have when they didn't get a particular present they thought they just had to have.

Morgan loves getting clothes.

Hmmmm.  A sleeping bag.  Oh boy, this will work for camping.

Morgan got fleece pajamas too.

Another sleeping bag!  Harley told Morgan he would fit right inside with her just fine.

This was a present for the whole family from grandparents down to grandchildren.  It's a bean bag game (also sometimes called the corn hole game).  They already planned on how it would fit into Grandma's RV when they go camping this summer.

Steve and Helen got Cameron this Bey Blades set.  Steve thought it was kind of dumb but he knew that Cameron liked it.  The two of them played it continuously and, the day after Christmas, Steve was back at Walmart buying another top so he would be able to beat Cameron occasionally.

And where was Helen while this was all going on........oh, she was there.......but she was hiding behind the camera.  She took most of these pictures which is why it looks like she was missing in action.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah or whatever and however you celebrate...we hope it was just as wonderful as our Christmas.