Back at Thunderbird.

We returned to Thunderbird RV Resort on Tuesday. This is a nice park and we enjoy staying here, although we only sleep here. It is peaceful.

We spent Labor Day Weekend up at the lake with Fred, Becky, Lindsay and Fred's parents, Fred and Lurlene.The park is owned by the Sons of Norway and sits next to Lake Riley. The land is leased to the members of the Sons of Norway and they are allowed to make improvements to the lot.
There are many different structures on the lots, but are well maintained. Very eclectic.
It rained most of the weekend, but we still got to build a fire and enjoy the outside on all but one day. Sunday was a washout. We ate most of our meals outside and enjoyed each others company.
Monday was Lurlene's Birthday, so Brenda and Becky made a dump cake in the oven on Sunday. It is supposed to be made in a dutch oven over a hot coal bed, but the weather was so bad that we couldn't build a fire.Lindsay and her daddy played in the sandbox. Fred really is a good daddy and spends as much time with Lindsay as he can, as busy as he is now with school and work.
Binga, Lindsay's puppy, joined us at the lake. She really likes to play and run in the park. She is very obedient and comes when she is called.

Yesterday was Lindsay's first day at school. Brenda and Becky walked her to school and she said that she really enjoyed her first day. Brenda & Becky took pictures.
We now have HD in the coach. The installer tried to talk me out of it. He was emphatic about how hard it is to line up the dish. He had an instrument called a Bird Dog. It is a satellite finder that works to line up the dish to the proper satellites, there are 3.
The picture is sooooo much better now, and we kept the programming that we had only now it is in HD.
We will see if I can line up the dish without the Bird Dog. I looked online for a used one and they are pretty pricey. The receiver in the coach gives the parameters for setting the dish and I will try it by hand before we expend the money for that instrument.

I was here for the installation of the HD, so I didn't get to walk Lindsay to school yesterday. I am today.

Fred is getting off work early tomorrow, so we are planning to go fishing.
We have been several times and the fish don't seem to like what we are offering them or they don't like the presentation. We will try again tomorrow.

We have a trip planned to go down to Mt. St. Helens on Saturday, spend the night and be back in time to go to the circus on Sunday with the birthing class. We get a discount for group rates due to the number of people going. Another busy weekend planned.
We are hoping that Alex will get to join us for our trip to the mountain.

Ta ta for now.

More time with the family

We have been here for about 12 days now and quite a bit has happened.

Last Friday we had to move out of Thunderbird Resort because of the Evergreen State Fair.
They rent space out for the fairgoers and I guess some of the workers. There is not an RV space to be found in Monroe or close proximity.
The contract that we have with ROD (Thunderbird is a participating park) is that we can stay for 2 weeks and out for 7 days then back in for 2 weeks.

Fred's folks were kind enough to offer there yard & driveway to park in until we go to the lake. We just barely get off of the road, but they live at the end of a dead end street, so it is not a problem.
We will be here until Thursday, when we head up to the lake for 5 days. We then move back to Thunderbird for 2 weeks then leave for an extended trip to Magnolia, TX.
The Grannan's are such super people.

We are having a great time with the kids. Fred is very busy with work and school, but finds time to socialize with us.
He has until Monday for 2 classes (lots of homework), then he drops down to 1 class. It will be easier for him.

Becky is keeping us busy.
Sunday we went to the Fair and met some of the birthing class. We have heard about them since Lindsay was born, and it was good to put faces with names.
They get together for different functions several time a year. The kids enjoy each others company as well as the adults.
She is a good hostess, and keeps us occupied.

Alex came in on Friday and spent the weekend with us. It was a great time with him. He went to the fair with us and seemed to enjoy himself.
He left yesterday, but before he left, we got to spend some time together alone. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with him and discussing different things with him. That is something that we have not done in a very long time.
He has applied to Fedex and seems optimistic about getting hired. His film and television work is sporadic and he would like to have something more stable. We all wish him luck.

Heather is working most of the time and we have not seen her as much as we would like to.
She has found the time to cook for us. Night before last she made spaghetti for us and it was delicious. She made garlic bread and a salad.
She credits her mother for teaching her how to cook, but she has become quite a good cook herself.

Lindsay is such a joy. She is at a great age where she wants to be with her grandparents, and seems to really enjoy her Poppa and Grandpa. We rough house with her and she enjoys the physical contact.
It is such a pleasure to watch her interact with her grandpa. They are very close.
Her Grammy and Grandma have a different relationship.
Grammy plays games with her and sits next to her in the car as well as at home. Lindsay has taught Grammy how to use and play the Nintendo DS. I think it will help with Brenda's memory.
Lindsay rode with us in the motor home and Brenda played with her and kept her occupied.
Lindsay is a bundle of energy. After over 8 hours at the fair, I expected her to be just worn out when she got home. Quite the contrary. She was so full of energy and excitement, but when she stops, she crashes.
I just wish I had 1/4 of her energy.

I finished installing the new tvs. It was not as hard as I thought it might have been. I had thought about it for some time, and I had read somewhere how someone else had taken their old analog tvs out and replaced them with flat panel hdtv. There were pictures and a good description of the procedure. I couldn't find the article, but I modified the cabinet and installed them from memory.
Directv is coming to the park next Wednesday to install HDTV in the coach.
We have seen the on air digital broadcast and the picture is great.

Greg and Dawn came down to see us again on Sunday. They went to the fair with us and seemed to enjoy themselves. The 4 of us left early as we were tired and came back to Becky's house and played Mexican Train until it was time for the to head home. They are such a kick to be around.

We are such dingalings, that we forgot the camera in the coach all the time Alex was here, so no pictures.

Ta ta for now