Dallas Children's Museum

Today Addie took us to one of her favorite places, the Dallas Children's Museum.  Heather and Asher stayed at home, so it was just special time with Addie.  It was super!  We started in the play house and then moved to the play yard.  Here is Addie climbing through a spider web. Next, she dressed up and was a lady bug but was too quick for a photo. The museum was set up in a circular pattern and was fun even for grandparents.

One of Addie's favorite parts was the water table.  You have to wear a smock so you don't get too wet.  Addie really liked the small ducks.  She started collecting them as other kids put them down.  She had an arm full in no time.

We are still in limbo mode in Dallas.  We mailed the bill of sale to the lender and spoke with him today.  Friday we sign papers and Tuesday we should be good to go.  It seems like such a long process.  We are enjoying the grandchildren while we can and checking into RV Driving School.  

Baby Asher's First Photo Shoot

We headed back to Dallas on Friday, so Saturday morning we were there to help the kids with Asher's first photo shoot.  They went to Target and Robyn was awesome!  I was a little worried, because when we had Addie's one year old shoot at Target the girl was not kid friendly at all.

Asher will be three weeks old this Tuesday.  He is growing and changing daily and we are blessed to be able to see him on a more regular bases.

Addie, of course, was old enough to understand a photo shoot and wanted to be the star of the show.  Robyn, the photographer, was so wonderful to Addie, giving her the attention she needed but not neglecting the primary purpose of this shoot.  Is she not the cutest?!!!  I know you are getting sick of all this grandchildren dribble, but we'll be gone soon and then we will focus on other things.  Not as great of things, but more interesting to most of our readers.

                                 

Addie is a great big sister.  She loves her brother and is great with him.  This picture says it all. 

Great Day!!! New Motorhome and Lunch with Friends

On Tuesday we left Heather and the family and headed to Amarillo, Texas.  Bob had viewed a motorhome on Ebay and after it didn't sell, he contacted the owner about looking at it.  We had two more motorhomes to check out back in Tucson if this one didn't work out.  So we left Heather's not knowing whether we would return in a few days or in a few weeks, depending on if we headed on to Tucson.  We also had friends in Amarillo, who were young married in our church in Ventura twenty years ago.  Infact, Heather was in their wedding as a junior bridesmaid and walked down the aisle with Brad Feyma.  They made a very cute couple.  We made plans to have lunch with Bryan and Jenna Tackett on Wednesday after we had seen the motorhome.

We had a 9:00 a.m. appointment to view the motorhome.  Bob has been looking for a Tiffin for some time.  He has heard that Tiffin's are known for quality and good customer service.  (Besides, we met Bob Tiffin at the Pomono RV Show, in October.)  We arrived on time and I knew when we got out of the car that this was the one!  It is a 40' Tiffin Phaeton, 2004.  The people were so nice and walked us through every part of the motorhome.  Before we test drove the motorhome, Bob was in love with it and I was happy he was happy. 

Pralines, our sheltie, also like the fact that these people were dog lovers and accepted her with open arms.  Pralines was comfortable in the motorhome immediately.  She slept under the table on our test drive and when we got back and the slide was moved out, she didn't even move a muscle.

At almost 1:00 p.m. Bob had made arrangements to purchase the motorhome and we left to meet Jenna and Bryan for a later than planned lunch.  We drove to the Tackett's home to leave Pralines with their dog.  We met Jenna at the  Country Barn Steak House for a wonderful lunch.  They wanted to take us somewhere that we might not eat at in other cities.  It was delicious!!!!  We talked for several hours.  Even though it had been 20 years, it was like we saw them last Sunday.  They invited us to see their daughter Emily play basketball on Thursday night, Bryan is the coach. And then to see their son, Jonathan on Friday in his first play in a starring role.  Unfortunately, we had to get back to Dallas to arrange to get a tow package for our car but we hope to meet their children when we come back to Amarillo to pick up our motorhome.

Livingston, Houston, Father's Day and back to Dallas

Well it has been an eventful weekend.  Saturday we headed to Houston to check on a consignment lot that Bob had been following for several years, PPL.  We had been planning to stop here while we were so close.  Livingston is about an hour outside of Houston.  Following our GPS, we were given quite a tour of Houston, going around the city and paying toll three different times.  We are learning more and more how important it is to do your own routing and not to depend solely on our GPS.  It was very hot and PPL had many motorhomes that we were able to see, but none were the one, so we headed back to the motel.  We took a cool swim and then relaxed in the hot tub.

Sunday, we visited a United Methodist Church in Livingston, Texas.  The people were very friendly and the message was very encouraging.  It was about keeping on in the faith.  That God is never done with you and his plans in your life.  This was Father's Day and we counted our blessings of two wonderful children, Scot and Heather.  Heather's great husband Craig and our two precious grandchildren. 

We had lunch at Manny's Shrimp Boat.  My butterfly shrimp was awesome.  Bob tried grilled catfish.  He thought it was under cooked and has since learned he should have had fried catfish with cornmeal.  He will try again.

After we left Livingston, Texas on Sunday, we traveled back to Heather's house for a night on our way to look at a motorhome in Amarillo, Texas.

Florida's Kitchen

Today we became residence of Texas.  We had to get the car inspected at Kwik Kar, then get it registered.  Last we had to get our new driver's license.  That took about 2 hours in all, which wasn't as long as we feared.

Then we went out to Rainbow's End.  Rainbow's End is the Escapee's Headquarters.  This is the organization that is forwarding our mail.  It has a nice campgroup outside of Livingston and it has a care center, for RV'ers who need to be off the road for awhile, or who have retired for health reasons.

We were excited to get some mail, that will enable us to purchase our motorhome.  We thought it wouldn't come for another week or so, so getting it today was a real blessing.  It has changed our plans a little, as we were going to waste some time in southern Texas, in San Antonio until it arrived, but now....we are revamping plans.

Yesterday, I told you about Florida's Kitchen.  Well, we found it tonight.  It was worth the hunt.  Bob and I had ribs, which were wonderful.  The sauce was too good for a noncook like me to describe.  With our ribs we had potato salad and baked beans.  (They also came with white bread, onions, and pickles.)  We didn't know why, but the waitress said some people like to make sandwiches.  For dessert I had German Chocolate Cake and Bob had coconut cream pie with meringue.  We  had a choice of pecan pie, buttermilk pie, sweet potato pie, carrot cake, Italian cream cake, and more that I can't remember.  Florida's is not a place that looks inviting from the outside.

The parking lot was full and the people just kept coming through the door.  If you are ever in Livingston, Texas, this is the place to eat.  They also have catfish, but Bob nor I was brave enough to try catfish.  Maybe Sunday, when we hit Shrimp Boat Manny's for Father's Day.

Moving On

Asher is a week old now and he is looking at the world a little skeptical.  He does have the chunkiest cheeks I have ever seen.  He eats like a champ.  Waking mom up often.  Addie has become a big helper.  She wanted to hold Asher this morning, so tried to pull him from his swing.  Mom and grandma had Addie move her rocker over to Asher's swing and helped Addie lift Asher. As you can see in the picture, Asher was none too happy about this move.

Today was sad in one way but exciting in another. It was time to leave Heather's house and head to Livingston, Texas to register as Texas residents.  We took only our suitcases this time and Praline's things, leaving Heather all our bedding, extra clothes, and other necessities for the motorhome.  It is nice that we have a storage unit in their spare bedroom.  Actually it is Craig's office, but he has given it over to us for awhile, voluntarily I think.

This is Heather and Craig's house.  We just love their neighborhood.  It is tree lined and quiet.  Garages are all in the back, so the front of the houses are not cluttered with cars.  Wonder if we can park our motorhome at front.  There seems to be plenty of room.

Papa always cries when we leave Heather's, even though this time, we will return in a few weeks.  Addie takes after her grandmother and mother and didn't even want to hold still for a hug.  Papa captured her, but she wiggled free.

Livingston is only about 3 1/2 hours south of Dallas.  We arrived about 3:00 p.m. in time for Bob to watch the U.S. Open.  We tried to go to dinner at Florida's Kitchen, but with google and our Iphone and our GPS we couldn't find it.  We ended up at City Grill and although it had a few bad reviews on Yelps, we thought it was good and Bob would give it three stars.  We will try Florida's Kitchen tomorrow.  We were about a 1/2 mile from it when we gave up and decided to eat at City Grill.  We plan on staying in Livingston till Monday.  Tomorrow is registration day and then over the weekend we are going into Houston to an RV Dealer we have been following on the internet, PPL.  Ofcourse, we also will be watching the Open and the World Cup.  For a non-sport guy Bob sure follows alot of teams.  Tonight it is the Lakers and the Celtics in their final game.  We are not Texas residences till tomorrow, so we are hoping that the Lakers win.

Tour of Dallas Cowboy Stadium

Today, Bob and I went to the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas, just outside of Dallas.  We got our tickets from Groupons.  This is a site Heather introduced us to that has special coupons every day.  You select the city where you are, which is especially good for full-timers and see what is on special that day.  A few days ago, you could get VIP Tickets to tour the Dallas Cowboy Stadium for $15.00 each, usually they are $27.50.  The tickets are good till Dec. 31st.

The stadium opens at 10:00 a.m. and you start your  tour at the Pro Shop at Gate 1.  We got there about 10:45 a.m. and our tour started at 11:30 a.m.  We first learned a little history of the stadium and it is the largest everything, including it's 7 story HD television.  We got to tour the suites, press box, Cotton Bowl offices, cowboy's locker room, cheerleaders locker room, cowboy's interview room and went on to the field. 

Tony Roma's locker is pictured above.  Lots of people were taking pictures of it and trying of his uniform, helmet and shoes.The cheerleaders' lockers room was similar to the teams' locker room but had more mirrors. 

At the top of the stadium, Dr. Pepper has a section where for $30 you can stand and watch the games.  It had a few coaches and a food section and a beautiful view of the Ranger Stadium.  On the left is a picture of the Dr. Pepper"s end zone area and on the left is a view of the field from there.

For a little more more money you could get a field level suite.  They couldn't even quote us a price for that as it depends on the contract you sign.  It could be for 10, 15 or 20 years and the closer to the 50 yard line the more the suite costs.  I am pretty sure it is more than $30 a game.  The tour was about an hour and half ending with us getting our picture on the Dallas star, for free if you were on the VIP tour.  There was a self-guided tour available also for $17.50 and you could get a discount on it also.

House Full of Dogs

This is Sherlock.  He is Heather and Craig's dog and we have invaded his house.  He is the largest of the three dogs that are sharing space at the Wilson's home in Dallas. 

This is Bailey.  He runs the Wilson's house.  He is the smallest of the three dogs that are here.  Both he and Sherlock are squirrel hunters.  The Wilson's house has windows all around.  The dogs go from one window to another all day barking at the squirrels.

This is Pralines.  She is visiting the Wilson's home and travels with us in our CRV, waiting to get her new motorhome.  Pralines is perfect! (We may be slightly bias.)  She does not hunt squirrels.  Bailey and Sherlock have welcomed Pralines with the understanding that this is their house and she will not beg for food, eat their food, try to cuddle with the residents, etc.  Pralines just hides under the end tables or in her kennel.

The squirrel hunters bark, loud and long most of the day.  Addie and now Asher are used to it.  They sleep through the barking every day and night.  Bob, Pralines, and I are not used to it.  It does add to the confusion of the house, with three dogs barking, a newborn crying and a toddler testing boundaries. 

We have loved our visit, but it is getting time for us to leave.  Today both Pralines and Bailey went to get groomed.  With Sherlock being the only dog home the house was quiet, except for the 4 toddlers and two moms Heather had over for a Play Day.  Bob and I went to breakfast and then to The Half Price Book Store.  I am sure we will miss all this in a few weeks but I do feel like I need a vacation.

Asher comes home

Asher came home on Thursday, June 10th and the sleepless nights begin:)  Asher is a good eater and sleeps very well, just all day instead of at night.  Addie loves her new brother and is a great help.  I don't think she could have accepted him any better.

Now that Asher has arrived our hunt for the perfect motorhome intensifies.  We have found three that we are very interested in.  One is very close in Amarillo, Texas.  It is a 2004 Phaeton by Tiffin and it is probably Bob's favorite.  My favorite is a 2004 Santiam by Beaver, now Monaco, but it is in Chillicothe, Il, which is quite a drive if we decide we don't like it.  The last one is in Englewood, CO and is an Endeavor by Holiday Rambler 2003.  A week from now we will head to Livingston, Texas to become Texas residents.  We will register our car and get Texas driver's licenses.  I am please because we learned that we don't have to take a written or driving test as long as we have a current license from another state.

The US Open is on Father's Day, June 20th so we will stay in Livingston till after it is over and head out Monday to Amarillo.  We may visit Houston, Texas and visit PPL to check out their inventory. Check our blog to see how we fair in the final hunt for our motorhome.

Asher Arrives

 

On June 6, 2010, our second grandchild arrived in Dallas, Texas.  Bob and I both were there for the delivery and I got to cut the cord.  Asher Robert Wilson, (named after Bob) weighted 9lbs and 3 ozs and was 20  3/4" long.  He and mom were doing great!!!

Asher cleaned up real well.  He ended up having a little jaundice and had to have a light blanket, that made him look like a glowworm  Grandma sang "Glow little Glowworm, glimmer, glimmer!"  Most of you probably won't remember that song, but Grandma did.

Here is a shot of the Wilson Family.  Craig, Heather, big sister Addie and new arrival Asher.