Saturday, May 24, 2008

Moving into a new RV


What a mess!



Yup, this all came out of the fifth wheel


Our faithful Montana is already sold!


We love our new Allegro with the bunks but it won't be carrying as much cargo as our trips will be shorter. We're excited about traveling together again.

Fifth Grade Class Trip

The fifth grade class of Wetumpka Intermediate School visited American Village near Montevallo, Alabama. They had been studying the American Revolution. The village characters re-enacted the events that they had been studying and had the students play the parts of some of the main characters. It was a great way to learn about American History.


The colonists gathered to complain about taxes and unite against the British.


Paul Revere's home


The troops move forward.




The campus is really beautiful and well-maintained.


Loading a musket had to be done quickly.


Some of the spectators.




The colonists rebel.


A guy and his friends


Look who's holding the sword. Click on the picture to make it bigger.


That looks like a broomstick that Daniel's holding, but it's really a musket!


The teachers were chosen to be captains.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Our new motorhome

We've traded in our faithful Montana fifth wheel for a new Allegro Open Road motorhome, 35 QBA. It has four slides, two bunks, and five TVs and/or DVD players. Our wheelchair van has been adapted so we can tow it with all four wheels down. This means that the three of us can all travel together. Daniel's wheelchair will travel safe and dry inside the van. We are so thankful for this new method of travel.

The Navigator's chair with built in computer table and handy outlets.


Daniel and Grandma are enjoying their first breakfast as motorhome travelers.


Looking good beside the lake.


And you have to be sure to take time to walk the dog.....


Having fun in the neighborhood, er, campground


Inside the motorhome





A happy new motorhome traveler

Pictures from Illinois, Dec. 2007


Our family gathered in Illinois in December for the funeral of Judy's dad.
Lisa, Terri, Judy, Glen (front row)
Boyd and Brett (back row)


Boyd and Maggie after a romp in the snow


Judy and sister Jan


Judy's siblings, Owen and Jan


Cousins John, Brett, and Todd

Daniel


On his way to first base.


Proudly holding the neighbor's granddaughter.


Daniel and his friend Lindsey


A bunch of silly boys!


Another Awards Day for our Honor student

Family pics


Our granson, Daniel, who can't take his eyes off the TV to give Grandma a real smile.


Greta doesn't have any trouble relaxing.


Who said this isn't a double recliner?


Aunt Terri and Daniel at the rodeo.


Our honor student! Congratulations, Daniel!

Judy's old homesteads


Recently our son and his wife, Boyd and Lisa, visited Aurora, Illinois, where I lived the first ten years of my life and one other year when I was about 30 years old and the mother of four. The house below is on Lancaster Avenue, across from Greenman School. The children and I lived here when Glen was overseas while in the Air Force. We bought the house from my aunt and uncle who had lived in it most of their married life.

Below on the right, we think, is the house on Charles Street where we lived when I was born a few years ago (in the forties). When my mother, father, and brother, Owen, lived there the house did not have the large front addition that it now has. It was a tiny house with only two bedrooms. We moved to Fordham Avenue when I was five years old.


This two story house is where we moved when I was five years old until we moved to Newark, Illinois, when I had just turned ten years old. I remember many fun times while we lived here in part because I had two best friends on that block, both named Mary. Another life-changing event was the addition of a baby sister, Jan, just months after we moved. Her anticipated arrival was most likely the reason we moved into a larger house.


We lived in the lower level. The door on the right side leads to an upstairs apartment. Dad had put limestone slabs across the front of the house to make two raised flower beds. Now they are gone, but only recently. The big tree on the right is a spruce tree whose branches used to touch the ground. My fondest memories were eating grapes and pears that grew in the back yard as well as swinging on the tire swing after picking flowers off the hollyhock plants. My least favorite memory might be watching the chickens after my mom cut off their heads in the backyard. She was an old farm girl, after all. I always wondered what happened to that old turkey gobbler that we were hand feeding in the cage in the garage. After Thanksgiving, we couldn't find him!

Moki Dugway



Moki Dugway is a road that goes up the edge of the cliffs just outside the west end of Valley of the Gods. We found it by accident while we were boondocking at Gooseneck State Park, which is another do-not-miss place to visit. The drive up the cliffs is awesome. You can't even see the road or believe that one exists until you start the trip upwards. There's not much to see at the top of the cliffs where you find yourselves on a plateau.

Only for the adventuresome!




We moved over for this guy!
Fortunately, we were on the lower end of the roadway.




Fortunately, there are a few places to pull over.

Not everyone made it down the hill via the road.


The views are spectacular!