Christmas

Early Christmas gathering at Ben's new house:

On Christmas Eve a blizzard hit dropping first ice and then snow.  Accidents were happening everywhere, roads were closed, people spent the night in the local malls as they couldn't drive anywhere.  We decided on Christmas day to stay in and instead go to Billy's the next day.

Christmas with our family:

It was a perfect day.  Merry Christmas!

Making Christmas Presents

Gracie decided she wanted to make all of her Christmas presents this year.  When I gave her several choices, she chose learning to sew on the sewing machine.

The first project she completed was a baby blanket for Chi.

She then went on to make patchwork pillows for her mom and dad.  She also drew a picture on fabric and colored it.  I made it into a wall hanging for her.   I am so proud of her!!!

Gifts that Gracie made - two pillows for mom, two pillows for dad, wall hanging for mom and dad, necklace for Grandma Diana and potholder for Grandpa Bert:

Gifts that I made:

Part 2 of the Fall Trip

Our next stop was Whispering Pines RV Resort just north of Tyler, Texas.  We camped here for two weeks with Don and Juanette.

Two days after we arrived here Bill came down with the H1N1 Flu and was one sick puppy for about a week.  Luckily none of the rest of us came down with the flu.  I spent lots of time sitting outside with Juanette knitting and going for long walks with Don, Juanette and the dogs.

We got in a trip to the East Texas Oil Museum in Kilgore, Texas.  This was a great tribute to the oilmen of days gone by.

We also went on a walk at a nature preserve to visit the alligator and his friends.

We hiked down an old railroad right-of-way.

Time out to rest...

The beavers have been busy here...

One last rest before we head back to the car...

Time to say good-bye and move on to East Burns Run at Lake Texoma.  We stayed at this Corps Park for 6 nights.  This is where we spent Thanksgiving.

Notice Bill's short hair.  He went to a barber shop in a small town in Texas and asked for a trim.  He left with very little hair!!!

Ed came and stayed with us for a few days.  The guys fished, we went exploring below the dam ...

and went and visited the town of Wolfe City where Bill's relatives had once lived.

Sunsets over the water behind the motorhome were spectacular.  We sat out most evenings and watched the sky change color.

And then it was time to return home.

23 Day Fall Trip

We left home on November 4th for our longest trip yet in the motorhome.  We considered this a practice run to see if we could happily live in our small space.

We spent one night at Lake Eufaula State Park.  Then we went over to Raymond Gary State Park.  We fell in love with this small park nestled in the hills of southeastern Oklahoma. 

View from our front yard...

Once again, Bill spent some time fishing.

Hm, can you catch a bit bigger one for dinner?

And I spent some time exploring with the dogs...

and taking pictures.

We'll be back to this park!!!

Girls and the Science Museum

Before we left on our fall trip, we took the girls on a  trip to the Science Museum.

Sitting on the teeth!

Time to explore some more...

We learned about wind in a wind tunnel....

We played in the water....

Bubble fun for two....

Computer time with Grandpa...

Gracie's favorite part of the day was learning to ride a Segway.  In fact she had so much fun that she rode it five times!  She even learned how to ride it on the obstacle course.  Way to go, Gracie!!!

We all agreed that this was a fun day.  Two girls slept all the way home.