Summer Vacation 2011, Drive by of the Arch and unwanted guests.

These were the views I got of the St Louis Arch, as Tim drove by at the rate of 75 mph. I had talked about going up to the top, what the pods were like and wanting pictures of it and he tells Bailey and I he didn't think we were serious. To say the least, he still hears us talking about our drive by of the Arch. We actually took a different route to be able to be so close and go to it and he still didn't STOP. These were the best shots Bailey could get, while dad was on a mission to get us close to our first destination.

Little did we know, we were going to have to go to 2 hotels in one night. Tim had checked us into a Drury INN, very nice looking and not cheap hotel for the night and had gone out to have a cigarette. I did my usual check beds, before anyone gets settled. Well, I found the dreaded bed bugs in one of the beds, he returned and immediately went and checked us out of the hotel. The girls and I, met hm downstairs and drove late into the night to find a new Holiday INN Express about an hour north to sleep for the night. We were ready to drive to Channahon if needed. Not a good way to start a vacation off. And the hotel lady, had the nerve to tell us they had never had a problem before. Total BS. No I didn't take any pictures of them.

Finally a POOL.

Tim finally caved and let us get a pool. Our yard had died and he was looking at getting it resodded, my comment was might as well get a pool now and not waste good sod later. Also, put in I was not living here another 10 - 12 tears, until retirement without a pool.

So, the pool was finished while we were on vacation and we are still trying to work all of the kinks out. It is kind of hard though , when the builder goes missing and no one knows how to get in touch with him. One major problem, is workers did, was cover our water meter in the alley. All is fine as long as we don't get a leak, that is the main shutoff. Have offered Tanner $100 to uncover it and clear away concrfet they put on top of it.

The kids have enjoyed the pool as well as mom and dad. We may invest in some solar panels to put on it , because the water right now is already to cold to get in. My sister, Pam, wants to know when the heater is being installed.

Another visit to Ft Worth/ Dallas and Longview,TX.

On the 4th of July, Bailey, Rieley and I, traveled to Ft Worth for docors appointments on Tues and Wed, plus having some tests run. On Tues morning, she had an EMG on her right arm, which she did not enjoy at all. This was followed by an MRI with contrast of her right shoulder, this involved having a needle stuck into her shoulder to put the contrast directly into the shoulder. We then went to Dr Conway's office and found out the appt for Wed was in Dallas and not Ft Worth. So, we checked out of the hotel bright and early to head into Dallas. We were told it would take us anywhere between 45 minutes and an hour and a half. Well, we sat in the van for over an hour because we were so early. We saw the PA for this dr and she did a thorough exam and wanted us to get an MRI of Bailey's neck. That got scheduled for 415 that afternoon. So, what else do you do to blow 5 hours, SHOP. They had an amazing mall right by where we were. We didn't even walk into one of the levels, being that the shops were all way out of our price range. After the MRI, we took off for Longview, TX. This is where Tim's brothers family lives and Bailey would spend the next 2 weeks with and Rieley and I had planned on heading back to Andrews on Fri. Well, those plans went out the window, when the PA called and said Dr Dossett wanted to see us back in Dallas on Fri morning at 930. Which meant we had to leave Longview, no later than 7am. We saw him and he said she has a dysfunction in her C2 and C3 area of her neck. So, she was put into a soft neck brace and we will head back to Dallas on Aug 8th, for injections of cortisone, with the second round 2 weeks later. After this was all scheduled, we headed back to Longview.
Rieley and I got up early Sat morning and headed back home, it was a long 8 hours of driving. Let me tell you this, TX is the most boring state of all to drive through. After we made it through Dallas, there isn't much to look at. Thank goodness for Sonic, their diet cokes and their ICE.
We had a nice visit wile there and will be returning there for a few days on our way back through to dallas for Bailey's injections. Rieley loved visiting and playing wiht all of her cousins.

Bailey retruns from Europe.

I think Bailey enjoyed her trip immensely. She has told us she wants to go back and can be our tour guide if we wish to go back with her. They traveled to alot of places in the 15 days she was gone. Her group wasn't as adventerous as others they were with, so she friended some of the kids from SC and FL, and did alot of things with them.

Peach Pie.

 Before

 During

After


Found this recipe in Southern Living this month and decided it needed to be made. After Rieley and I went to movie time at the library, we drove to Seminole, 30 minutes away and bought peaches at a farmer's market. It took awhile to make, but hoping it is worth it. Smells really yummy, hoping it tastes yummy too.

Fire Safety at the Library and some fun too.

Wednesday afternoon, Rieley and I went back to our local library for our local volunteer fire fighters to teach some fire safety. Rieley thought it was all great until the guys alarm went off when he didn't move and he let it get really loud. Fireman Buddy, who showed up in jeans, big belt buckle,cowboy boots and hat, then put on all of his equipment for the kids. There were lots of kids there, so it got a little loud but
Rieley learned the Stop Drop and Roll idea and some other safety tips. After they were done with their prexentation, they took the kids outside and let them play in the water from the fire hoses, as it was a little hot outside, about 98 degrees. Rieley is the one upfront with her ears covered, if I wasn't taking pictures, mine would have been covered too.

Father's Day 2011

Tim enjoyed Father's Day this year, I think. It started off with sleeping in until 7 a.m. , which is unheard of for him. Then him and Tanner, headed to the golf course to play a round of golf. After golf, he came home and had a few cold ones a nap and then dinner. While they were golfing, Rieley and I, went to church, made a Pig Pickin Cake and some chocolate chip cookies.

For dinner, daddy barbequed some ribeye steaks on the grill, while I did all of the other fixings. Then we had cake for dessert.

Rieley helped dad open his presents and finish the puzzle he was working on. We got Tim, a machine that will turn our old video tapes into DVD's, which will be nice to have.

Overall, daddy aka tim, had a good day.