Tugwell- New driveway!

How exciting to get pictures today of the transformation of the logging road on our property into a real driveway. This work was done yesterday. There was a thunderstorm yesterday evening that dumped too much water for the crew to work today. Hopefully, they will be able to continue working tomorrow.

With the rest of the chirt packed down and the gravel added we should have a good driveway. Until now, the only way we could get to the logging road was with a 4 wheel drive truck. That place where you can see the pipe was really rough and bumpy. Which has been good because it has kept out people who shouldn't be there. I guess we're going to have to be thinking about putting up a gate now.

Thanks neighbors for sending us the pictures!!

Birthday party for MoRo and Dabby Do

The girls love Thomas the Train. This was their train cake.

Kisses anyone???

Daddy with MoRo.
Mom with Dabby Do. Daddy and his girls taking a break from jumping.

Auntie and their cousin who is just two days younger than Dabby Do.

This is their Mom's brother and their daughter.

I've been in trouble for not posting pictures from the girls recent birthday party.

MoRo turned 4 on July 7th and Dabby Do will be 2 on August 12.

We had a great time and I thought I share a few pictures from the party.

Play Ball

That's us up there in the stands waiting for MoRo to get to say "play ball". There was a rain delay and the stands weren't crowded right then. Our local FCRV camping group was with us.

Dabby Do is a little too hot to smile tonight!!

The kids are enjoying a snack...the second box of popcorn after the first fell and scattered.Mo Ro and Mom waiting for the big moment!
Finally, she's out on the field with the big girls. She'll be a cheerleader before we know it!!
What do you want to do?? "PLAY BALL"!
MoRo gets to pose with Cat Woman.

Saturday night of our camping week we went to watch the local Farm Team play ball.

MoRo was picked to be the one to say, "play ball" and start the game. Her Daddy was having to work and hated not to get to see her. So, he called Mommy's phone but the National Anthem was being sung so she didn't answer. Next, he called my phone. I just opened the phone so he could hear the anthem....but they were going to have MoRo next so I quickly told him I couldn't talk and hung up....all he wanted was for me to hold open the phone so he could hear her. He tried Buddy next but it was too late....I felt horrible when I realized I should have just left open the phone. But her Mommy got it on video and he got to watch that. Sorry son!!

We had fun and the home team won!!

Fun In Cedar Creek

MoRo loved the water...and eventually sat down completely!
Son #3 with Tug. It's a lot deeper than it looks....Tug's swimming.
Dabby Do was ready for a nap. She did have fun in the creek earlier but I was having trouble standing up on the rocks, holding Tug and managing the camera at the same time so I missed a shot of her when she was happy.

One of the fun things about our latest camping trip was getting to visit with family, especially two of our granddaughters. They spent one night with us in the RV and one fun afternoon walking in the creek.

When we build our house there, our son and his wife will be building on the property near us. How fun to get to be close enough to see the girls often and watch them grow. Our other near neighbors will be their other grandparents and our Alaska cruise pals.

Actually, we've started the first step toward getting our place built. Yesterday and today, the logging road is being turned into a driveway. Can't wait to get back up there to see what's been done. I believe that the drive is about 600 feet before it turns to the left toward where the house and out-building will be. Now we can drive in with a car and not need the 4 wheel drive truck. The goal is to be able to park the RV on the property where we can stay and check on building progress. A spot is also being cleared and readied as a place to park the RV.

PS...I decided I didn't like the girls insect blog names so I'm changing to their nicknames.

MoRo is 4 and will be starting Pre-K on Friday at Mommy's school.

Dabby Do 2nd birthday is in a couple of weeks!!

Siberian Husky Camper

Now that we're sort of empty nesters, we aren't camping with our sons much any more but we have a new camping partner, Tug, our Siberian Husky. We would have never pictured him as a suitable camping partner but after his "near death" experience of the spring, he's settled down and enjoys being with us in a CALM manner and we don't mind having him along.

I thought you'd like to see a few pictures of him enjoying the RV and Cedar Creek on our trip.

What a life he leads!!

And no, he doesn't ride up there when we're moving!!

Retirement Town

Buddy and I spent last week in the little town which will become our hometown before too much longer. We camped there on the banks of Cedar Creek only a couple of miles from our property.
It's such a peaceful valley, beautiful with crops looking mostly green this summer with more rain than the last few years. The soybeans were a lush green, cotton plants were blooming, and a funny looking corn like plant....Milo? Sorghum? Not sure what it is but there were fields of it looking more parched than the rest.

Our most exciting find was a field of tomatoes. We passed by a sign for "Tomatoes for Sale" and couldn't resist stopping for some homegrown ones. Now being from the big city we felt a little strange because there was no one there actually selling the vegetables. I got out and went over to the table and couldn't believe what I found. There was a box full of grocery bags, a sign saying that the vegetables were a dollar a pound, a scale and the biggest surprise of all, a gallon jar with money in it. Imagine!!! The honor system!! Someone trusted us to pick, weigh and put the money in the jar!! And that's just what we did. For a couple of folks that love home grown tomatoes and haven't had any this year, it was like being in a candy store. We walked the rows picking out some juicy red ones and others just turning red. We also picked some yellow squash. All together our sack weighed in at 12lbs. So, we opened up that jar and put in our money. We made a second trip on Saturday before heading home. It was wonderful!!

A friend sent me a picture he took while we were raiding the tomato patch.

Fourth of July- Lake house part 2

Grasshopper just never could quite belive that our pillow fish were not real. She kept showing us her finger where the fish had taken a nip. I'm sure she was hoping we'd give her a coveted "bambage" for her finger. The fish spent most of the holiday put away in the closet.

Niece and Uncle enjoying cartoons together.
All the girls love "Ethnic Santa" who sits on the hearth. We have quite a few pictures of the grandgirls sitting with him. He never seems to mind. Sometimes as we pass through the den we'll come on one of the girls taking a few quiet minutes sitting on the hearth and visiting with him.

Tug enjoying the boat. He's only seen snow a couple of times. He's a summer water sport dog.

The idea was to take a late quiet boat ride and the girls would fall asleep. That never happened!!

July Fly posing on the boat.

This really surprised us all. Grasshopper LOVED the jet ski. She and Papa Buddy made quite a few circles around the cove. She kept her hands up on the handles just like she was driving.

July Fly had a great time riding with her Mom.
And of course, Grasshopper had to get back on for another ride.

Today is Sunday and we're finishing up the not so fun part of going to the lake. We got quite a bit done last night so today isn't so bad. When everyone pitches in to clean up it makes the work go much faster. Thanks J.H.C. for all the hard work you did! The jet ski is loaded back on the trailer and will be heading to the shop for a tune-up. We're hoping to get the boat back on the lift but we're not having a good feeling about that. It was hard to get it off with the water down so low. This drought has finally hit our lake too. We'll probably have to leave it tied to the dock and come back and try again in a few days. What a great excuse to come back soon!!

I hope you enjoyed these pictures. There has been a little change of plans. We've decided not to go back tonight. We're going to take Son #4, "Trainman" back to his school and come back to spend the night here at the lake. Hopefully the traffic heading home will be much better in the morning....ahh, one more night at the lake. What can be better than that!

Granddaughter's Splinter

Mom checks out the foot.
Looks like a big one this time.

Papa and Mom work on the splinter.July Fly justs wants to know if it's out yet. She was brave! Princess Flower, do you remember all the splinters that Papa Buddy has had to take out of your feet?

It seems that every visit results in one of the girls getting a splinter in their foot from the dock. It's just so hard to keep shoes on them...summer is for going barefooted isn't it??

Papa is ready with his trusty knife and the first-aid kit. This visit's splinter winner is the July Fly!

4th of July- Lake House

July Fly is helping her Daddy drive the boat.
July Fly with her Nana (and our Alaska cruise pal).

Grasshopper isn't too happy about wearing a life jacket.

Tubing really wears them out!

Remember doing sparklers when you were a kid? The grandkids love them too.

Fourth of July at the lake house this year has been kind of a quiet affair but lots of fun, food, friends and family...just not a big crowd this year. Beautiful weather and terrific fireworks.

We've had a good time and enjoyed the water....swimming, floating, tubing, jet skiing, and canoeing. Picture 4 float chairs and a tube tied to the dock with us spending the afternoon enjoying floating around in our cove holding on to each other. Guess what! It's a wonderful way for a toddler to get a great nap rocking in the waves.

Princess Flower, Butterfly, Ladybug and Dragonfly....Your Granny T. and Papa really miss you being here with us this year. It just hasn't been the same with out you. See you in August.