Still in Arkansas

We went for a boat ride-ONE TIME. It was fun. Now the carberator is out. Always something... Had a great time camping at Lake Ouachita... until the rains came. Campers in Caddo Lake (about 15 miles away) were not so lucky. That is the area that has been on the news the last few days. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families that have been touched by this tragedy.

Staying at a friends house near Lake DeGray until Wednesday morning then we head back to Texas so we can be home for Father's Day.

We are at Kim's (my sister) house now visiting with family then heading to a fish fry this evening. Having a good time. Retirement is GREAT!

Life is changing. . .

Hi everybody!

I can't believe that it has been a year since our last post! It is amazing how time can get away from you. We have had a very busy year so I will attempt to catch everyone up. I appreciate the emails from friends and family but I don't always have the time to respond. We are getting ready to make a big change in our lives and this is a great time to keep you all updated.

I am not even going to try and recap the last year in chronological order. I can't even remember what I had for lunch today. My brain works much slower these days as my year and a half of "forced" retirement has left me quite laid back. Now, I know this is a shock to most of you. I still have my moments, you can ask James but I'm a mellow fellow these days.

The kids are both doing well. Nick will be starting his Jr. year at Texas A&M and will receive an Industrial Distribution degree. A few days before Christmas Nick proposed to Christina and they are planning a November 2012 wedding. A milestone in Nick's life was turning 30 in April. That's right - I said T-H-I-R-T-Y. How could that have happened? When old people tell you to enjoy the time with your kids, you better listen to them. It goes by way too fast. Nick has grown into an amazing man and always manages to make me laugh. He doesn't get to visit very often but we have a good time when he does come home.

Amanda graduated last May from Stephen F. Austin and is teaching at a daycare in the Dallas area. With the job market being so tough she is still trying to get into a school district. She has had several promising leads so we are hopeful for her. At the moment she is single and adjusting to life as a young adult. Amanda is more beautiful than ever and I miss my baby girl. Shiner is her 2 year old dauchsand, who is quite a character and provides us with entertainment . That would be our Granddog. We don't have any human babies yet for us to spoil rotten. It will be quite awhile before I get any. That's ok, for now I live vicariously through my friends and their grandkids.

James has been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and we are trying to deal with that along with the oesteoarthritis. We both try to keep ourselves as well educated as we can concerning all the health issues. He had a bad winter as it was much colder than usual. He is feeling better these days with the warm weather but still has times of severe pain. The hot tub seems to help his comfort level and when we are at home he is usually in it every evening. On really good days he is busy with chores and tries to fit a motorcycle ride in there somewhere.

I am doing fine. Retirement has agreed with me and I have enjoyed every minute. My health is OK and except for the intensive dental work (explanation in another blog) I am going through I can't complain. God has certainly blessed us this past year in many different unexpected ways. We have been able to help friends and family in various ways because we are not working and have the time. Adjusting to losing two full time incomes and trying to get by on James disability check has been challenging to say the least. We have tried to be fiscally responsible during our marriage and have learned that we can live so much simpler.

The decision to put our house on the market last April was with mixed feelings. The kids grew up there and we still have a wonderful neighborhood with the best neighbors. Tomorrow we will sign paperwork for a contract on the house. It is supposed to take almost 60 days to process the loan. So now we start the job of dismantling our home of 15 years. I have been purging and "streamlining" for over a year and am so glad I did. We plan on selling what we can and storing the rest. We are still not quite sure where we want to live and will be taking our time in finding our next place. In the meantime we have purchased James' Uncle JC's motorhome and plan on traveling some in between Dr. and Dentist appts.

We are in Hot Springs, Ark and plan to be here for an other 3 weeks. My friend Martha and her family flew to California for a reunion so James and I offered to take care of the 4 dogs (plus our 2), a cat and keep an eye on Granny (Martha's mom). James pulled the boat behind the motorhome and I drove in the truck with the motorcycle in the back. We each had a dog. It was quite a caravan. Our plan is to spend the rest of the time here on the lakes enjoying the beautiful scenery and fresh air (we won't miss the pollution of Houston).

I will try my best to keep this post updated and respond to messages the best I can.

July 2-Kari

We are getting ready to head to Lake Ouachita for the 4th. They have a great fireworks display and we will be out in the boat watching them. There will be 5 humans and 4 dogs sharing the cabin so we who knows what sort of interesting things are in store for us. James went out there yesterday to take some stuff out and came back with 5 ticks. Ticks and chiggers just seem to attach themselves to him when no one else gets bit.

The weather has cooled a little and it is very nice this morning. High today in the mid 90's. Kim (my sister) and her family will be heading to the Buffalo river on Sunday for a few days so we will come back into Hot Springs to stay at their house while they are gone. I am hoping to get some pictures posted when we get back.

As most of you know James has spent alot of time (and money) getting the boat back into working condition. There is still more work to be done but it is mostly cosmetic. The cabin will be totally redone and the instrument panel where all the gauges are will be new. Of course this will definitely have to be done after summer when it is cooler as we are going to attempt to do most of the work ourselves. The motor is finally working properly so at least we can get it out in the water and have fun. We spent about 2 hours on the water yesterday and the boat ran great! It is very fast so James is in heaven. It was fun zipping across the lake passing all the other boats.

Hope that everyone has a great holiday and you get to enjoy the four "F's"-family, friends, fun and fireworks!

June 27, 2009-Kari

Thanks to everyone for following along with our blog. Our last entry was May 6! We still have to post entries and pictures for the last few days of our trip. I'm thinking that right now that may not happen. We have been very busy since our return.

Nick earned an Associates in Business, was accepted at Texas A&M and will be getting a degree in Industrial Distribution. Christina, Nick's fiance, was accepted to Physicians Assistant School in Laredo, Tx. They are planning a wedding after they both graduate and get their careers started.

Amanda graduated cum laude from Stephen F. Austin and earned her Bachelors in Early Education. The graduation party was at Uncle Brent's (James brother). James cooked all the meat and outdid himself on the brisket. There was a keg of Shiner along with a ton of food and everyone seemed to have a good time. Brent's wife, Lisa took care of the decorations and the really cute, delicious cake. Amanda is presently living in Denton, Tx with cousin Christen and her husband Rick. She is seeking a teaching position somewhere in the Dallas area and we are excited about her starting a career (and of course, earning a paycheck).

We are in Hot Springs, Ark right now taking advantage of some down time. We had to bring the dogs with us as they were traumatized last time we traveled. My sister is gracious enough to let us keep the dogs at her house. Fortunately they have four dogs already so two more just makes it more of a party. Went to Drew's (our nephew) baseball game on Thurs night. It is the first game we have been able to see him play. We must have been good luck because they won!

Looking forward to some time on the lake this week. Weather forecast HOT- (105 today) so we are pretty much staying inside most of the day and try to spend a few hours in the evening outside.

Hope you have some fun plans for the summer. Enjoy! Will update blog when I can. Remember, if you become a follower you will recieve an email notification that there has been a new post. Contact me if you need help with this.

Day 21 JEST Evening

It has rained 9 days in a row. We have only been here two days and have been able to see 3 of the 19 Smithsonian Museums, took a nice long stroll down King street in Alexandria and today visited the Natural History Museum and took a 40 site bus tour of DC and the Arlington Cemetery. We stood in the rain to watch the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was very moving. An evening seafood snack and back to the B&B. It has been storming for about the last hour or so and the thunder is rolling for 20-30 seconds at a time.

Tomorrow morning we will be heading out of Alexandria and back to the same cabin in the woods that we stayed in on Sunday night. After all of this walking we are looking forward to the jacuzzi tub. My calves are killing me. James' knee isn't faring too well either. Ibuprofen for us tonight. We will stop at Washington's home, Mt Vernon, on our way out tomorrow. They are predicting rain again.

It's getting late so I will try to download some pictures tomorrow. Good night...

Day 21 JEST Morning

This funny thing has happened. As we are heading east our clothes are shrinking. It must be the humidity..................................ha! ha! You would think with all the walking that we have been doing that we would be dropping the weight but oh no, not us.............................You can't travel and not eat the foods of the region-OK, that's an excuse but a good one!

We decided to take our time this morning. We are tired from yesterday's long and rainy day and James' leg/back needs a rest. We have decided to take the Tourmobile today so that we can see as much as possible as we are leaving in the morning to head back towards Texas. 20 days to get here and 4 days to drive back home. I will have to keep James from stopping at all the sights. We really needed another month to see more but we have already done our part for the economy. We'll be eating beans and taters for awhile but it has been worth it.

The sun looks like it is trying to peek out and it is warmer today so we will be able to enjoy more. We have to get on the subway to get into DC and that is quite an experience in itself. We'll write more this evening.

Day 20 JEST

The Smithsonian museums were on the agenda for today. There is just so much to see and do we have to be very choosy about how we spend our time. We took the Metro into DC. We met a nice couple from Arizona that helped us navigate the metro system. We managed to get through the National Museum of American History, American Indian Museum and Air and Space Museum. We finished off the evening with a walk in Olde Towne Alexandria on King's Street down by the water. Ate at the famous Fish Market and got back to the room in time to watch American Idol. We are exhausted and should sleep very well tonight. Another long day tomorrow-we still have to decide what to do.