Playin Catch-Up and Merry Christmas to All

MERRY CHRISTMAS Everyone!!!, ok, so it's a few days late, wow where does the time go!! We'll play catch up and get in all the news that's fit to print since the last posting. Well, it's Christmas time, this year Sheryls new found son (Joeseph)and his wife (Audrey) came in, as well as Kailiegh and our little one Claria. Chris couldn't make it as he was on call. We actually celebrated Christmas on Sunday insted of Tuesday, because Joe and Audrey could only stay for the weekend. We opened presents and had Christmas dinner (Ham and all the fixin's) yummy, yummy, and just had a great visit with everyone. Kailiegh and Claria did get to stay for a few more days, it has been nice having them around, and Sheryl gets to play Gama that much longer :)

Here is the gang siting in the present opening aftermath, it was a good old fashioned Christmas this year, few presents and more about spending time together.

Our Christmas Photo.

Even the house was in the Christmas spirit, all decorated up.
We did have quite the northern storm roll in, 40-50 mph winds, poor Xmas decorations just couldn't stand up to the on slot, the storm brought a couple inches of snow also, but it quickly melted off as the next day was quite warm, got to love this north Texas weather!!!About mid December we started seeing the geese come in for their pit stop while heading further south. You can hear the honking as they fly by, seems as if there are geese everywhere one minute and the next their gone.

Been keeping myself busy, one more step toward the future and our travels. Been working on a storage system for the jeep, as you can imagine there's not much room for taking all you need for a few days out and about. With the seat removed, I put down a wood sub floor to level out the seat belts and other humps and bumps. Then found a great deal on a ATV cargo basket at work, so it is being fabricated to make a second level for more storage. Everything is removable, so we can still carry a passenger or two.

Ok, not much else has happened, just work, lots of it for me, and Sheryl seems extra busy at the ER (gee put a little ice on the roads and.......lets just say job security for her....lol) Now were getting ready for New Years, so until we see you next year, keep Lovin Your Life!!!

Jeep Club Xmas Party and a FIRE!!!!

The Jeep Club held it's annual Christmas Party (OK, I know it wouldn't be a semi annual one!!!...lol) anyway, we attended and had a ball. The party was catered by a local BBQ joint...can you say YUMMY!! ate till we were stuffed!! Most everyone brought a dessert and as you can tell by the picture, there was quite a variety and everything was good, well as much of it as I could taste anyway. Everyone was required to bring a gift, wrapped but un-named, we all drew numbers and in order came up and picked a present from under the tree. The present was opened in front of everyone to see. You are probably wondering why the gift was opened for all to see, well it is so when your turn comes, you have the option of getting a gift from under the tree or stealing one that someone else had already gotten. Well as the night wore on lots of gifts were stolen back and forth, all in good fun. Sheryl had her gift stolen 4 times, even the one she really wanted (the stick horsey) which she promptly stole back, (see the look of joy in her eye as she poses with her loot, the horsey.....lol Fun was had by all and we had a great time, meeting new people and making new friends.
A few days later I got off work and headed over to say hey to Jackie at his shop across from Gander Mountain. We were just a chit chatting and happened to look outside to the sight above, seems a little grass fire (ok, a big grass fire!!) had started across the way. Later it was learned, 500 acres had burned along with a barn. A man and his son were in the barn, but noticed the fire coming there way and made a hasty retreat. To put the fire in perspective, the small buildings to the right are the hospitals where Sheryl works. Thank goodness the wind was not blowing in that direction or in the direction of Gander Mountain.

The rest of the week has been getting ready for Christmas, decorate the house (pictures to come) shopping and more shopping. More to come next time on the Xmas prelude. So until later take care and love your life, it's the only one you have!!!

First Snow, Wedding and a Parade!!!

Sheryl and I both had to work Thanksgiving day, well, Sheryl thought she had to work, she was given the day of as soon as she got to work, (heck why call and bother us with that news when we can have her come in and waist her day!!!) anyway, Sheryl headed up to southern Kansas to spend Thanksgiving with her family and I followed later after work. The day after Thanksgiving came quite a surprise, a fresh snowfall, about 3 inches worth, sure was a sight to see, nothing like fresh snow on the ground before it becomes trampled with modern day life (footprints, car tracks, snow plows, you get the picture) Sure glad it decided to wait till after we both arrived. Sheryl had a great time spending Thanksgiving with her family and getting to visit her mom.

The day after Thanksgiving one of Sheryl's nieces got married in one of the family homes. It was a nice simple ceremony with several guests and lots of family in attendance. I had to head back home Friday night for work early Sat morning. Sheryl stayed and visited with everyone until Sunday when she too returned home. Friday night was quite the drive home with many of the rural roads not yet plowed, made me wish I had Jeep for the trip, however the Volvo did well with only a couple of lost traction moments.

Friday night, Nov 30, Amarillo held it's annual Parade of Lights downtown, and as always the Jeep Club showed up to partake in the festivities!!! I had a blond moment as it were, thought the parade was on Saturday night (which I would have had to work) so I didn't have Jeep prepared for the parade. Found out it was Friday night at the last minute, so hopped in Jeep headed downtown and lended my support by cheering them on from the sidelines. After the parade several of us met for dinner at a local BBQ joint, ahhh good food and good company, what more could you ask for!! Life is good, so as you have heard before keep lovin your life also!!!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Yes indeed, another year older and another year wiser (ok, well older anyway....lol) 49 years ago, I was born a poor black child (oh wait, that was from a Steve Martin movie...lol) I was born in Indiana, where we promptly moved to Florida, I joined the Air Force after a brief stint in FL law enforcement and here I am with a beautiful, wonderful lady and just lovin our life...hmmmm where have I heard that before??????...lol Speaking of the wonderful lady, she arranged quite the birthday surprise, a nice romantic dinner at a Japanese Steak house, a luxury suite at the best hotel in town, Champagne in the room.....yes, quite the evening....won't go into any more details as I'm sure you get the rest!!!! :) To sum it up, it was a really great birthday!!!

Notice anything different about Jeep?? well she has a new smile on the front, if you didn't notice then check the parade pic's, go ahead I'll wait.........................................yes she has a new bumper!! It was custom made by a friend of mine (Jackie) who owns a Jeep and Fabrication business, he does great work. Next project for Jackie is to cover Jeeps rear with a new bumper and tire carrier, but that will be a little bit down the road.


Better late than never, see the new flag on the house, yup same one Jeep carried in the Veterans Day parade, well, finally got around to putting it on the house, we have been wanting to put one up for a while, so here it is.

That's it for this addition, you all take care, where ever you may be, and love your life as we do ours!!!

Veterans Day Parade and Old Jeep Visit

Quite the busy weekend it was this Veterans Day holiday. Ok, back up a few days, we attended our first Jeep Club meeting http://www.jeepexclusive.net/index.htm the bylaws say you have to attend a meeting and a function before you can actually join, so the Veterans Day parade made the function also. We are joining the club to meet new people and travel to new places while jeeping, so far it is working out great as you will soon see. Above is Jeep all dressed up for the parade.

We were toward the back of the line, but still in the middle of the action!!

Sheryl got a kick out of the old Air Force tow vehicle, it headed the club in the parade, and yup it's a Jeep!!!

There were 20 plus jeeps from the club in the parade, we were stacked 3 wide at the beginning, however, pulled into a singe file line for the parade.

Boys will be Boys as these two tried to impress the judges as well as have alittle fun.

Well they must have impressed the judges a little as we won 3rd place out of over 80 entries.
After the parade, we all headed over to Jackie Wrights garage for a BBQ and all around good time. We met several nice people and had some good ole burgers and fixins. Jackie is the one who put the lift on Jeep and I do have to say, he is one of the nicest and most honest people we have ever met.

The parade was on Saturday, on Sunday we traveled with some club members to the booming metropolis of Hart Texas, a little town in the middle nowhere USA. to met a man who had a few old Jeeps we were told. We thought it would be fun and at least see a new town. Little did we know the surprise we were in for!!! This man had 10-15 sheds, barns and trailers on is farm all loaded with old jeeps, old John Deer tractors and antique cars. They were in different stages of restoration, or just sitting around the property.

Each building held at least three of these tractors.

We ran across this old Jeep truck, yes it is a JEEP, no one from the club had ever seen or even heard of a Jeep like this and he had 4 of them, Wow what a treat!!!

Sheryl was like a kid in a candy store, these old trucks and cars brought back memories from her childhood on the family farm, she was having a ball playing on them, you should have seen the big smile on her face. It was great to see her laughing and having fun!!

How about this gem, you cold just imagine the town doctor riding down main street in the 1800s in his fancy carriage.

Sheryl wasn't the only one having fun, I was just amazed at what this old gentleman had collected over the years. Each time we opened a shed, it was like Christmas!!!

Even had several old signs in one of his many garages.

What a great day we had, spent over three hours just looking at all he had to offer. Before heading home we all went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. Wow, what a weekend, this is what life is all about, meeting new good people, seeing new and exciting things and just lovin life. That's it for this episode, so as we alwasy say, Keep Lovin your Life as we do Ours.

Pirates of the Canyon

Last weekend was the 2nd Amarillo Balloon Festival, this year 22 balloonist participated compared with only 6 last year, lets hope it keeps growing!!! The main events are held at the Tradewinds airport Friday and Saturday, but culminates at Palo Duro Canyon on Sunday morning with a sunrise lift off from the canyon floor. Sheryl and I were up bright and early to catch the festivities at the canyon. Now we both have seen balloon launches before, but something about watching them take off from the canyon floor and with the canyon walls as a back drop, it was truly a site to see. The only glitch in the system was after only 3 pictures the camera died!!! and of course we didn't bring extra batteries, even though yours truly set them out to be taken....boy getting older sucks!!! Well we did get a couple of shots as you can see, so the rest of the time we just enjoyed the experience. After the last launch, we took a drive around the park and did a short hike before heading home.

Halloween was pretty uneventful, Cassie dressed up and helped out at her school with a Halloween party for the local little ones.

Today we are dog sitting, our neighbor was involved in a motorcycle accident and is in the hospital for a few days, so we are helping our with the dogs so Julie can spend time with Brandon at the hospital and not have to worry.

Sheryl is back to work full swing and is looking and feeling better and better each day. That's it for now from Lehmann land, take care and keep enjoying your life as we do ours!!!

Gangs All Here

Busy week or so, Sheryl went in for a surgical procedure, which will remain a private matter for now, other than to say all went well and she is doing very good. The family from Oklahoma came in as well as her sister, to be with her before and after her stay in the hospital.
One nice surprise was her son, who was able to come in also. With-out getting into detail, Sheryl was recently reunited with her son after not seeing him for 23 years. There has been a flood of emotions for the past month or so, while they have been getting in touch, mostly good emotions, which has been great for both of them. Joesph, was able to come out for a couple of days to be there for his mom during her procedure, it sure is great to see them together and watch their bond grow.

That has been the extent of the past couple of weeks, so as I always say, love your life as we do ours, and ours just keeps getting better every day!!!

Gangs Trip to OKC

Sheryl headed out a week before us to be there for the birth and to help Kaileigh with the baby for the first few days (Oh how Sheryl lovvvvvves being a Gama). We (me and Cassie headed out the following weekend for a couple of days to see the new lttle addition, and let me tell you, she's as cute as can be and as tiny as a peanut....hence her little nickname from Chris...Peanut...lol. This was all a couple of weeks ago, and yes I know I should have updated sooner, by what can I say......ok, sorry, but thats it....lol.

Clara had her first doctors visit today, 1 Oct 07, and she is doing just fine, she has even gained a whole pound!!! so she is growing and the doctor is happy with her progess. We should get to see the little one again pretty soon as Chris, Kaileigh and Clara should be coming out this weekend for a visit. It will be cool to see the little peanut getting bigger.

Last weekend we all headed out to the Canadian river for a little four wheelin, and boy am I glad I had Sheryl and Cassie along, besides from just having a good time, they made a great counter weight, when I almost put poor jeep on it side, by the time I stopped in a washout, to see if we could make it across, we were balancing on two wheels, and would have gone all the way over had the ladies not been in the passanger seats!!!! Thank goodness for little girls as the saying goes!!!

Thats it for now, will try and update more often as I should be, so until then...love your life as we do ours....how could we not with the new little peanut......:)

It,s A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!

Little Clara was born yesterday at 4:56pm with whopping weight of 4 pounds 6 ounces!! she is 18 inches long and cute as cute can be!!! Of course this is coming from proud grandparents....and we are just a little predigest....lol Speaking of proud just check out the pic's of mom and dad with the little one.......to cute for words!!! You may be saying wow, 4 pounds is a small baby, and yes it is, as Clara had to make a early appearance, due to a little mommy/baby distress, but both are fine now and hope to be coming home soon (that's when the real fun begins....lol) Sheryl actually got to be in the delivery room along with Chris, kinda unusual, but Sheryl worked her magic and was allowed to be there, what a special moment for a mom to experience, the birth of her grand daughter.
On a side note and one that just came to me, little Clara was born on a special day in our history, what a fitting tribute to the resilience of the American spirit, with mom and dad both in the Air Force, this turned a day of remembrance into a day of joy and happiness.
God bless Kaileigh, Chris and little Clara

Sept 11

It is Sept 11, a day we should all remember and take a few minute out of our busy day to think about the events of that fateful day in our history. Got a call from Kayla, actually came in two parts, #1, Just called to say I love you and was thinking about on this day....awww that was great to hear....:) Part Deux, was why haven't you updated your blog!!!.....got tickled on that one, so here is the update, yes it's a day late, but as they say better late than never!!!

Kaileighs Baby Shower

This weekend, we (Sheryl) threw a baby shower for her daughter and what a gala event it turned out to be!!! We had friends and family from as far away as Kansas show up to celebrate the coming of the newest addition to the family, Clara Deann Miller. Sheryl did a great job with decorating the house and making sure everyone had a good time. The cake was hand made by my honey, how about that decorating job, don't think a pro could have done much better, especially with the little pink alien child....lol. As with most all showers Kaileigh and Chris came away with lots-o-loot to start the Little one off on the right track. While the ladies all were inside doing the shower thing, the men were outside grilling and getting ready for the after shower feast. Pulled pork was the delicacy of the day, along with grilled corn on the cob and roasted red pepper and garlic potato's.....yummy. Most everyone headed out after dinner except for the happy couple and a grandma who stayed the night and our neighbor who stayed for a bit. We all hung out on the back porch and had a good visit and just relaxed after the chaos of the day and week leading up to it.

The following days were back to work and general day to day life. We have also been doing a lot of thinking concerning the type of RV we will be looking to buy (seems like our minds change like our underwear.....lol) in the lost post we talked about getting a really nice coach, however, along with a really nice coach comes a really nice price and for that Sheryl would have to work much more than we would both want her to. We have decided to look at an older (but still nice) coach for much less money and have more time and money to play, plus the option to work an extra assignment sometime and take special trips to anywhere in the world we want to go....ahhh what a life it will be!!!

Ok, another week down, we may hit the lake this weekend and get the kayaks wet again, so will fill you in on that adventure next time.....until then, take care.

Block Party

Another week of work ended and a weekend of fun began!!! A really nice couple one street over from us, organized a neighborhood block party, and they did a really nice job. All that was required was to bring a covered dish, so as you could imagine there was a lot of food (boy was there!!!) Sheryl did up her famous Artichoke/Spinage dip (yummmmmy.) There was a sign in sheet, name tags, lots of good folks and lots of fun. The street was blocked off and there was even a band!! and for just two guys, they were actually pretty good. We met some new people and hopefully some new friends. The evening weather cooperated with beautiful temps and a nice breeze.

Tuesday, Sheryl and I both had the day off, so we decided to head down to Lubbock to have Zoom, Zooms oil changed, no appointment required as they always say when we call down to the Volvo dealer. Well of course you know why I put in that last statement........yup, drove all the way down (120 miles) and you guessed, sorry were all booked up......abit miffed to say the least, but got over it (what, was I going to be mad all day, naw.) While we were in Lubbock, we wanted to check out an RV dealer who handles Newmar Coaches, so off we went to find the dealer, wasn't to hard, right off the loop. Wow, we looked at some of the new coaches, and damn there nice. Sheryl had never been in a Newmar product before (one of the better brands) and she sure was taken by how nice they were, we actually found a really great coach in our price range, too bad it's not time to by yet. Well as I said in the last post, Newmar or Tiffin, we can't go wrong either way. After we finished up their, it was off to the mall (got to keep mama happy) spent some time there just window shopping, headed over to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then the return trip home.

Poor Sheryl, shes got so many things spinning around in her little head and with 09 seeming so far away, she is having a bit of a time keeping our RV dream alive in her head....I can understand, so I do what I can to remind her it's really not that far off and will be here before we know it, so hang in there baby...Fridays coming!!!

Cassie is talking about going in the Army when she graduates high school, they are the only service with a veterinary program, and take care of all the services dogs. She loves animals so it will be a good way for her to get on her feet after high school, learn a trade, earn a paycheck and become an independent woman.

Ok, enough for now, Keileigh and Chris will be coming in this weekend for her baby shower, so more to come on that, so keep lovin your life and see ya next time!!!

Lazy, Lazy, Lazy!!!

Yes yes, I know, what no postings for a while??, too lazy to get up off your duff and type a little??... yup, that's it. Just haven't felt like updating, plus not a lot to write about....until now!!! Ok, maybe not a lot, but something at least....lol.

Last weekend we went to visit Sheryl's mom in Kansas, she is doing well, however the heat was pretty intense and the humidity was killer!! Who ever says dry heat/wet heat whats the difference has never been in one of the two, I'll take the dry heat anytime!!! We had a nice visit, and ate some great food, compliments of yours truly!!!!! Hate to brag but did some grilling to die for. Simple hamburgers, beans and other fixins Sat night and a mixed grill for lunch on Sunday, corn on the cob, baked potato's and fresh green beans from our garden...yum yum!!!

While we were there, Sheryl's niece Breanna came over with her Little one as well as with her other nieces little in tow. Sheryl's brother Curtis keep the wee little one happy, while Michaela played in the water hose, having more fun than you could imagine.

During the past couple of weeks we have also looked at several motorhomes, we have a Tiffin dealer right down the street, trying to decide on brands and what we can and can not live with out. Well, yesterday, we went to the dealer and found he had several new pre-owned motorhomes on the lot, so we decided to take a look. Well, we just happen to find that the Tiffin Allegro Bus and Phaton (both diesel units) have everything we have been loking for as well as floorplans we both like. So our short short list in now narrowed down to the two Tiffin models and also the Newmar Dutch Star. We have both heard so much good about Tiffin and Newmar, we knew we wanted to look at those manufactures (we have looked at many others in the past and not been that impressed.) How lucky we were to have the Tiffin dealer right down the street, and as luck would have it, they are looking at becoming a Newmar dealer also. There pricing is very competitive, if not better than what we see on line so often, some folks are very proud of their vehicles and most are way over priced. So, what does all that mean, you maybe asking yourself, well, for us it means one step closer to our dream, and one less thing to worry about now that we have narrowed the search. Just a matter of finding whats available when we are ready to buy.

My daughter Kayla will be in Reno Nevada this weekend competing in the U.S. Woman's National Bowling Tournament, it won't be televised, but you can watch via web cam (isn't technology great!!!) So we'll be watching when we can and cheering her on!!!

So that's it from the Lehmann clan for now, take care and keep lovin your life as we do ours.