Time at Grandpa's.....

     We had such a good time visiting my parents and are thankful God has given us a life that allows us to spend so much time with people. Michael and Makayla did a fantastic job of taking turns walking the barn with grandpa every morning and helping him pick up floor eggs. Emily and Ethan took turns in the evening most days and Makayla often packed eggs in the evening.There was a little complaining but it was the perfect opportunity to teach that you just have to do it anyhow!

     I mentioned in my last post that dad's were remodeling their bedroom and bathroom. The men didn't get it finished but all the old stuff was torn out, pipes moved and new plumbing installed, new insulation in, and most of the drywall hung before we left. Like most remodel jobs, there was a few surprises and it took longer than anticipated.

One job involved cutting the cement to move the drains. Michael and Ethan were so happy to help when they put concrete in the holes.

     Instead of simply giving the children money or stuff, mom and dad chose to spend time with us and do something special. This was the second time they've treated us to Mayborn Museum and we loved it so much! Afterwards they treated us to Golden Corral where we properly stuffed ourselves.

The old church house in Historic Village. Ringing the bell is such fun!

Of course, one must always try out the pump!

This darling little cabin has always been my favorite.

Learning about bees and other pollinators.

The water tables are such a fascination for all ages.

Making ramps for pong-pong balls to roll down.

Ethan just couldn't wait for the cowboy room!

3 generations, all having a blast planting a little wheat along the chicken house :).

     My younger sisters were happy to babysit for us one Saturday so Eldon and I had a grand time in Waco. Harbor Freight, Thrift Store, Museum..... We texted friends who live nearby (BK and Emily, for those that went to HH with us) and decided to meet them at a steakhouse at 4:30. Eventually we went for dessert because we just weren't done talking. We finally left the frozen yogurt place around 8 with full bellies that hurt from laughing ( at least mine did).

The Texas Ranger Museum we went to had all sorts of cool knives and guns, not to mention history!

     One Tuesday afternoon mom and I loaded our girls up and went to Waco. After spending way to much time at Goodwill, we headed to the mall for food and more shopping. We had a fabulous time. Our deal of the day was saving over $300 at Bealls' when we purchased swimsuits off the $4 rack. Apparently they jack the prices way up before throwing a sale!

All of us..... mom is scurrying up behind us.

Ethan and Grandpa checking to see if the wheat is sprouting yet.

     So yes, there was sadness to leave but we're so excited to find out what the future holds. Florida bound!

2019 Wrap-up

     I love numbers and statistics so making spreadsheets and keeping them updated is such a joy 😁. I do my best to keep them 100% accurate but there may be a few mistakes. Here's the breakdown of our past year.

Miles traveled: 6,954 (This only includes towing miles from one destination to another)

National Parks and Monuments visited: 2 (This number is incredibly low compared to other years but we did more non-popular things like visiting an alligator farm, the Jelly Belly Factory, and other cool places.)

State Parks visited: 3

Miles hiked: 42

Nights with family or friends: 257

Nights at an RV park: 1

Nights boondocking (NO hook-ups): 31

Number of states we slept in: 20

Average cost per night: $3.75 (Note: this does NOT include the hours Eldon worked this summer in exchange for our site. It's hardly fair to count it though, since he enjoyed it so much. )

Nursing contracts: 3 (Started the year with a month left in Page, AZ,6 months in Baker, MT, and finished the year in Wichita Falls, TX)

Our 2019 basic route. Many places were left out because Google limited me but you get the general idea.

     Once again, we feel so blest for traveling mercies and safety. We've seen beautiful country and spent time with amazing people - what a gift!

     While it's nearly impossible to pick a favorite place, here's what each member of our family named as a highlight for this year.

Eldon: He wouldn't give me a solid answer but very possibly, making hay in Montana

Monica: Growing a garden again

Makayla : The Gulf of Mexico

Michael: Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Emily: Playing with the horses at the Standard's

Ethan: The Medora Musical

     And now, a random photo from each month. 

January. There are no words to describe the desert sunsets.

February. Gulf of Mexico at Holly Beach, LA

March. The farm Eldon grew up on.

April. Bum calves in Montana.

May. A week of relaxation in Missouri with the Beachy family.

June. Getting up close and personal with the bison at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

July. Acres and acres of hay to make.

August. Small town fairs are the best.

September. Our garden.

October. Helping Grandma Beachy make applesauce.

November. Sunset over Lake Arrowhead, TX.

December. Christmas lights in Wichita Falls, TX.

     We're excited to see what God has for us in 2020. Our plan is to head to Boynton Beach, FL in a few weeks where Eldon will be working for a friend doing RV repairs for a couple months. We've got a contract in Baker, MT from mid April to September but otherwise, our plans are jello.

Tentative 2020 route.

Thank-you for being our friends!

Christmas and Stuff

      Our last 2 weeks have been full of all the fun things around the holiday season. The children are thrilled to have a real vacation from school and have lots of sugary treats around. 

     On Christmas Day we left Wichita Falls and headed to my parents. Eldon had to return and work 6 days in a row to complete his contract but the children and I are staying at dad's. He was able to stay in the hospital's "motel" so it worked out well.

Gingerbread houses!

All color coordinated. Want to guess who did this one ? 😜

Birthday cupcakes for Jesus. Michael did the icing stars after I gave up and Emily did the sugar ones.

Brown for sin, red for Jesus' blood, and green for new life.

They received 1 small present Christmas Eve. Left to Right: Planner, huge magnet, lotion, and a hook. They were so excited!

We arrived at dad's just in time for lunch.

What a feast!

After lunch dad lit his old barn on fire. Old wood burns fast!

We did our gift exchange at dad's so they could share in the joy of watching the children's happiness.

Christmas lights at Hulen Park. It was freezing so we did a very quick walk through.

Emily and Michael discovered the Childcraft books that we used to spend hours reading.

They did a beautiful job of singing several songs to us. I must say, my favorite was their excellent imitation of Home Free's 'Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer'.

My gifts from the children. One of theirs was a DVD player for the truck so it's nice to have some new DVD's that we all enjoy :).

It is no secret that libraries are one of our favorite places.

The children loved "cooking" over the ashes of the barn for a few days.

Eldon shot a deer! 

Texas sunrises........

Ethan was quite pleased with his wife.

They made some very elaborate forts in the barn with egg flats.

Ethan loves "do not" signs right now. He made me a card with a "do not throw away" sign on it 😂.

I had to get a wisdom tooth pulled and when I came home, Eldon and the children had pulled out the couch and all the junk under it.

We replaced it with our reclining loveseat and absolutely love it! 

Not tired, just resting......resting sound asleep that is.

I took the children to Pizza Hut for their Book-It rewards. The current special is 2 medium 1 toppings for $5.99 each so I got that for Ethan and I. Leftovers!

Ethan taking pictures of his fire station.....Here you can see how we upcycled part of the old couch so we still have a little storage.

Trying to teach this one to comb her hair (Ethan's using my camera again)

     Other then that, we're doing all the normal purge/exchange of clothes, books, ect that happens whenever we're at our storage. Of course there is also some eye doctor and dentist appointments too. Michael and Makayla are taking turns getting up every morning at 6 to walk the barn with Grandpa and pick up the floor eggs. Emily and Ethan take a turn in the evenings while Makayla and Melody pack eggs. They have all admitted to enjoying the satisfaction of hard work and a job well done so that makes me happy. When Eldon gets back from Wichita Falls, him and dad will be continuing the remodel of their bedroom and bathroom. Last week they gutted the bathroom to the studs and cut the concrete to move some drains. 

     Have a blessed week!