Christmas Catch Up

 We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas this year and are enjoying their holidays. Ours were spent with family here in Oklahoma City, where all but one of our kids were able to attend, needless to say, we had a houseful. Like most all Christmas Days, we opened presents............

 Cooked and ate till our tummy's bulged...............

 And just spent the day enjoying each others company.

 We did go out to dinner a couple of times during the week with the kids. Here we are at a really good and authentic local German Restaurant and Brew House, you can see how terrible the beer was......lol.

 On a sadder note, poor Scrappy had his first official Vet visit. Seems he got a scratch on his little eye which became all yucky.

However the vet gave him some ointment and said he would be fine in a week or so. We were so worried it may have been something worse. While we were there he also got his second round of puppy shots and a physical. Other than he eye thing, he's a healthy, happy little Scrappy Doo.

It's New Years Eve and we'll be spending at our kids house, popping a bottle or two of bubbly and ringing in the New Year there.

Hope everyone has a Happy and Safe New Year and as they say.................See Ya Next Year!!!

OKC National Memorial & Museum

09:01, 19 Apr 1995, Domestic Terrorism struck Oklahoma City, OK, with the Bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. 168 individuals were killed, including 19 children, this memorial and museum honors them.

 Yesterday, we all took a trip to downtown OKC, to visit the Memorial and Museum. It was cloudy, misting and very cold, but we had a very moving experience. The grounds consist of a Reflecting Pond with large walls at each end. A grassy area containing 168 bronze, stone and glass chairs, representing each victim. an Orchard, large Elm tree as well as the Museum itself.

 The Field of Empty Chairs, each adorned with a Christmas Wreath for the holidays.

 The Museum is housed in the building that was across the street from the Federal Building, it also sustained substantial damage from the blast.

 The museum is very well done and the displays bring out many different feelings as you walk through it. Above is a collection of key chains recovered from the rubble. There are several displays showing a collection of items found at the site, toys, watches, etc. Very moving.

 Stuffed toy found at the site. Remember there were 2 child filled Day Care centers in the building at the time of the blast.

 The original flags that were flying at the Federal Building on that day.

 Original damage sustained by the building which now house's the museum and made part of the exhibit.

 The memorial grounds as seen from the museum.

 Children's area in front of the museum. The tiles on the wall were given to the museum, each contains a child's hand print.

 The Survivor Tree, A large Elm Tree which stood in the parking lot across from the Federal Building and now stands as part of the memorial.

Part of the original fence installed to protect the blast site, still stands as a place for people to leave mementos and well wishes.

It was good to see the Memorial and Museum and it evoked many different feelings in all of us. It's good to remember. We had a great visit, even if it was bitterly cold, burrrrrrrrrrrr. After the visit, t was home to a good hot meal and good conversation.

Until next time.....................we'll see you then.

Santa Came Early

 We put up our Christmas decorations the other day, lights, garlin, , various decorations and of course our little Christmas Tree. Apparently Santa was so impressed, he left us a new dining room set, right under the Christmas Tree!!!

Ok, well it was a nice thought, actually we were out Christmas shopping with Josh and Kaileigh. They were looking for a new dining set for their home and we ran across this little jewel at just the right price. We had been wanting to replace our bar heigth set with a lower regular height one. Do you realize just how difficult it is to find furniture that will fit into an RV, we have been looking all over to no avail. This set turned out to fit just right, it came with 4 chairs, but we gave two of them to the kids so they'll have extra, it's light weight and very well built.

Santa has been good to us this year already, he has allowed us to spend Christmas with our family, meet new soon to be family, and of course dropping off our new dinette set.

Merry Christmas all, we hope your holidays are going as good as ours!!!

OKC II

 We've been having a great time visiting with the family and getting ready for the holidays. Having dinner each night with Kaileigh, Josh and assorted other family members as they stop by

 Of curse in preparation for Christmas, there is the ever popular tree trimming, and this year we got to help.

 Scrappy Doo modeling the latest in Grand Daughter presents. She's been wanting a bike for some time now, so she'll be stylin as a Princess Biker.

Josh is in the USAF here at Tinker and the other day he took us to a Moose Milk Christmas Party being put on by the Canadian Air Force stationed here at Tinker. The party was held out on the flightline, so no pictures allowed. I did get to sample a couple of beers brought in from Canada, and the Moose Milk was quite the interesting drink. I know it contains assorted liquors and ice cream. It tasted alot like a White Russian with nutmeg sprinkled on top. Maybe one of our Canadian friends can chime in with just what the ingredients are, I sure would be interested to know.

That's it for now, as we spend the days here in OKC enjoying ourselves and visiting everyone

OKC

 With our goodbyes said and Austin in our rearview mirror, we had Dallas in our sights for the day. Our mission, to pick up our daughter at DFW and then spend the evening with Kayla and Chris. The mission went off with precise military precision. Hit the campground, check; Unhook set up, check; fight traffic to the airport, check; picked up Kaileigh, check, arrive at Kayla's for dinner, yummmm.

 Fat, Dumb and Happy after dinner.................of course fat being a figure of speech......had to clarify that for the ladies you know. We had a nice visit with Chris and Kayla, but we were off and running the next morning as Kaileigh had to get home to OKC for a finals test.

We are here at the Tinker AFB campground. They had plenty of open spaces and we scored one right on the lake, nice. We've been spending the last couple of days catching up with family, so not much in the way of exciting travel. We maybe getting out and about a little bit while ww are here, but mostly it will be about the holidays and spending time with family.

We would like to say hi to our new followers, we are glad you enjoy our blog enough to follow along with us on our travels, and of course to all of you who check in on us to see what were up to. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!!!

Christmas Festivities in Small Town USA

 A cold, cloudy and windy day brought the holiday season into town yesterday, Budafest here in Buda, TX. began. We gathered up our Niece and Nephew and headed to downtown for the parade.

 We also let the kids pick out a unique Christmas gift for their parents from one of the many vendors along the parade route.

 They had a ball shopping and looking at all the different and unusual items for sale.

In my usual fashion, I had the camera with me, but got so wrapped up in the festivities, I forgot to take very many pictures. We had fun with the kids and they had fun watching the parade, getting candy and shopping for mom and dad. George and Steph come home tonight from their couples retreat, hopefully refreshed and rejuvenated. This was their first vacation without the youngins. As much as we love our kids, it's nice to have some alone time also.

Tomorrow we leave the Austin area for Dallas and to pick up Sheryl's daughter Kaileigh from the DFW airport. We'll be visiting Kayla and Chris while we are there for a couple of days. Then off to spend the Christmas holidays in OKC.

So, until we see you again from Dallas, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours........

Texas BBQ and Scrappy Doo Too!!!

 If you are a fan of "The Food Network" then you have probably seen or heard of the Salt Lick BBQ near Austin, TX. Well we had, and since we are here just outside Austin and it just happens to be down the street a bit from us, BBQ for lunch was in order.

 The Salt Lick is known for Good BBQ, but mainly for the open pit in the middle of the kitchen, just inside the front door. The sausage is hung over the pit for hours until time to serve. When you first walk in you are hit with that great BBQ smell and then get to see your meal right on the pit.

 One of the pit masters serving up some yummies.

 The final stage in the process, Pork Ribs, Brisket and Smoked Sausage.........man it was good. They serve it up with German Potato Salad, Cole Slaw and Baked Beans, more than enough food to keep you happy and your tummy stuffed!!!  In our travels we have had a chance to eat at several places featured and recommended on the Food Network, and have mostly been disappointed, However we were pleasantly surprised by the Salt Lick. So if you are in the Austin area, point your ride towards Driftwood, TX and give it a go, you'll surly enjoy yourself.

 We are staying here in the Austin area with Sheryl's bother and family. They have a couple of Shiatsu dogs which had a litter of puppy's not to long ago and all the puppy's were sold. Well, it just happened that one of the puppies was returned, because he didn't get along with their other pups. Of course you can see where this is heading......................yup Sheryl fell head over heels for the little guy, and I must say he tugged at my heart strings also. So after a couple of days trying my best to hold out, I finally caved and we now have a new member of our clan..............Scrappy Doo!!!

He is just too cute for words, and has taken to following me everywhere, as well as making my slippers his favorite sleeping spot. He'll be a welcome companion during our travels and I'm sure many hours of entertainment and love. Welcome to the family Scrappy!!!

Cross Country Catch Up.......Whew

With the wedding over and the new couple on their way to honeymoon bliss, it was time to make our escape from the Miami area rat race. Since we had come down the east coast of FL, we thought we'd travel up the west coast for a little change of scenery. At around 10:00 it was off across Alligator Alley and the Florida Everglades. Of course in typical tourist fashion, we didn't know I-75 was a toll road until it was too late, (and we don't carry cash on us) it was a mad scramble for the laundry change cup to scrounge enough to pay the toll. We also ran across several more toll roads that have sprung up since I lived in FL many moon ago, and decided we must avoid these next time as you can go broke pretty quickly.

Our hasty escape, landed us in the Tampa Bay area and the RV Park at Tyndall AFB. Original plans had been to stay the night and move on, however a couple of things changed our mind. First, after the crazed week of wedding hustle and bustle, a couple of days off were in order.

the next reason to stay a day or two longer was the blown tire we were informed about when coming through the main gate. We figured it had happened coming over the Tampa Bay bridge, we hear what sounded like something falling over in the back of the truck, but didn't see or feel anything wrong so we pressed on. From what I've seen and heard from others, we were really lucky no damage was done to the rig during the blow out.

So with having to find a new tire and the rainy day we had, a couple of days off is just what the doctor ordered. The sunsets were great as usual. The RV park at Tyndall AFB is really nice, even with 200+ spots. They have activities for the RVers as well as several discounts around the base. This is also quite a popular place for winter RVers, even with the 200+ spaces they already have a 200 person waiting list for next year. Guess we won't be headed back here again anytime soon.

Something you don't see everyday, we spotted a few of these while poking around the marina by the park.

After a couple of days of much needed R & R, it was off again. Next stop, Apalachicola and the best raw oyster bar we've ever had. We stopped here last year and just had to come back. I had a dozen raw, which you actually get 14-16, and Sheryl ordered up a dozen (15) Rockefeller style, along with a couple of beers after a long travel day, we were in heaven.

We had gotten in pretty late and not wanting to mess with finding a campground, the folks at Papa Joe's let us dry camp in the parking lot for the night. The food and folks here at Papa Joe's are great and also RV friendly, so if you are in need of some of the best oysters around, drop in and you won't be disappointed.

The rest of the travel days were pretty uneventful, standard overnight stops at standard RV parks. We are now in Austin, TX for a week or so visiting Sheryl's Brother and his wife. You maybe asking so why the mad dash across the south again, well, there's a method to our madness. We were asked by Sheryl's brother if we would watch their house and kids while they went on a couples vacation. The date just happened to be right after the Miami wedding, but that's ok, it's good to see them again and have a week or so off.

Were now all caught up, we'll be getting out and seeing the Austin area a bit while were here, so stay tuned for more from the Texas Hill Country.

Presenting Mr & Mrs Michael & Jamie Lehmann

Our son Michael and his beautiful girlfriend Jamie were wed 26 Nov 2011

But of course all the festivities leading up to the blissful marriage began a couple of days prior. First there was everyones favorite the Rehearsal (held the day before, so us old folks can remember what to do)

Followed by the ever popular Rehearsal Dinner, a favorite of the grooms parents, since we have to pay for it. Michael and Jamie found a nice setting at the Yardhouse here in North Miami. The weather was perfect for outdoor dining.

The next day, all the ladies were off to become more beautiful than they already are, hair, make-up and of course nails.

The Newlywed couple.

 The Bridal Party

 Sheryl, Myself, Michael and his mother Mary.

 Parents of the Bride, Joe and Wendy.

The wedding went off beautifully, a nice chapel ceremony with the reverend being a friend of Jamie's family, made it very personal and unique.

Ahhhhh the reception...............wow what can be said, it was a great time. Held at a Florida Nature Conservatory it was of course a beautiful setting and the inside was decorated in pinks and white. I must give Micheal and the wedding party a at-a-boy for some of the unique ways they did the speeches and the Guarder Removal. Even the DJ/MC said they had never seen anything like it before, and that it was great!!!

We had a great time here in the Miami area. meeting new family and just gerenaly having a good time. We'll be off again and headed north along the west coast, so stay tuned for more.

I'll leave you with one last parting shot of Michael and myself, GQing it. So until next time, keep Lovin Your Life as we do ours!!!