How's It Going?

My first few days of retired life have been very pleasant.  On Monday, Bubba worked and I had the whole day to myself.  I got a pedicure and spent the morning shopping, mostly looking but I did get two new shirts to wear with jeans.

Tuesday, I washed several loads of clothes and spent time going through the boxes of stuff I cleaned out of my office at work.  I had a lot of pictures in frames of people I had worked with and I took those out of the frames and put them in an album.  Then I discarded a lot of old paperwork that I wouldn't need anymore. I also put out my fall decorations.  I walked on the treadmill which is something I'm going to try very hard to make a habit.

Wednesday, we went to Indian Pass to try some surf fishing and Bubba wanted to throw his cast net some.  We rode down on the beach which was fun and although we didn't catch any fish, the weather was beautiful and it was nice being outside to enjoy it.

I also walked on the treadmill and we rode our bicycles around the neighborhood some.

Tomorrow is a doctor's appointment for me and then we are going to buy groceries.

I love this life so far.  I wake up to the smell of coffee.  I have time to enjoy several cups before I get dressed.  I just feel free, like anything is a possibility.  We are planning our next camping trip and a trip to Baton Rouge to see family.  It's a good life.  I think I'm adjusting well.

That Day I've Been Waiting For

That day I've been waiting for finally arrived on Thursday, October 17, at approximately 10:30 AM.  Following a community breakfast event that I had promised my boss I would oversee, I was able to leave work for the last time.  The camper was hooked up and loaded.  All we had to do was change clothes and head out.  We had originally planned to meet Joe and Judy at the East Bank COE Campground but the government shut down caused us to change our plans and we met at Seminole State Park which is one of our favorites anyway.

About a week ago Bubba surprised me with a bicycle as a retirement gift.  I've been wanting one for a while.  Any one who says that not forgetting how to do something is like "riding a bicycle" is not exactly accurate.  I'm wobbly and if I look at something, I head towards it.  I'm getting a little better.  It is great exercise for me after years of sitting at a desk all day and I'm looking forward to riding around the various campgrounds we stay at on my shiny new orange bicycle.

The weather was pleasant and we spent time around the campfire catching up on all the news.

There were some s'mores and roasted marshmallows and boiled peanuts.
Guess who had marshmallows all over their face.

Our best meal, of course, was the fish that Bubba fried with the aid of his laser thermometer.  We had a platter full of flounder and mullet.

It just doesn't get any better than this.  Good food, good conversation, good times.  What a wonderful way to begin my retirement!

On the way home, we pulled into our favorite truck stop for lunch and discovered that we had another flat tire on the trailer.  Luckily we were in a good place for this to happen and it didn't take Bubba long to change it.  The trucker parked next to us offered to help although Bubba had the situation under control.  He gave me a pint of strawberries that he said were fresh from California.  We enjoyed them on our oatmeal later in the week.

This second flat helped us make the decision to replace all the tires on the trailer.  They don't have many miles on them, but they are old so that will be a priority next week.

Our Tennis Star

At the end of September, I took an extra day and we headed to Baton Rouge to spend a few days with family.  As usual Amelia seemed so happy to see us. She had a tennis lesson scheduled for Thursday afternoon and we were not going to go because last time she was more interested in what I was doing than what her teacher was saying.  She really wanted us to go and promised that she would pay attention.  It was really fun watching the little kids and their efforts to hit the ball.

She probably is better at this than I would be.  I really think her tennis outfit is cute, don't you?

After her lesson we stopped on a little bridge at the park for her to feed the turtles.  I've never seen so many turtles in one place before.  She was facinated by them.

In addition to watching a tennis lesson, we went to Chuck-E-Cheese on Friday for lunch.  I think we all enjoy this.  You get a meal and a lot of entertainment with a $20 investment.  That night when Amelia said her prayers, she said "And thank you for Chuck-E-Cheese coming and throwing out all those tickets for me to pick up."

Darryl began Saturday morning preparing to watch football in the afternoon.  I don't think he will miss a play with this set up.

Saturday evening we took Amelia to see "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" in 3D.  I was very proud of Bubba for going.  He hates animated movies.  I can't say that I loved the movie, but Amelia laughed out loud many times so I know that she did and that was what it was all about.

Our visit was over too soon and we headed home on Sunday.  That trip seems to get longer every time we make it.  We look forward to seeing them again in November.

Happy Birthday Bubba!

The morning of September 12 dawned bright and beautiful.  It was a special day.  Bubba was celebrating his big 70th birthday.  The birthday celebration was his choice -- he wanted to camp at Lake Seminole with Joe and Judy so that is what we were going to do.  This came as a big disappointment to Amy and me because we wanted to have a big family birthday dinner for him.  It was disappointing to Amelia because she stated that she wanted him to:
     Have a party and have 20 people come.  She said he needed
          20 party hats
               20 "Happy Birthday blowers"
                      Streamers
                            Pictures of Paw-Paw
                                  A Happy Birthday shirt for Paw-Paw.

Oh well, it was HIS birthday after all.  He ordered a new cast net for a birthday present and had already received it.  I had ordered him a coconut cake from a friend at work who has a bakery and that was going to be a surprise.  He loves coconut cake, but the ones I make are really rich so I was trying to get one similar to the ones his mother used to make.

My friend at work was supposed to call me when it arrived and I was going to go pick it up.  The plan was that I would tell Bubba I had to run back to work for just a few minutes to help her with a problem.  The call came and Bubba got so irritated because I was going back to work when we were supposed to be going camping.  He told me that if they could not do without me for just one day that I might as well get my retirement paperwork back and keep on working.  He was so annoyed that finally I just said, "Bubba, I'm going to pick up your birthday cake!"  "Oh," he said.  I came back with the most beautiful cake.  I'm sorry that I almost caused him to have a stroke.

Joe and Judy had arrived at Lake Seminole the night before.  We both had beautiful sites on the water.  After we got set up, we went over to their trailer where we enjoyed sandwiches and birthday cake for lunch.

Finally, he was surprised.  When he and Joe recently went kayaking with their sister, Azalea, at her lakeside home, he tried to get his kayak down to the water with a cart he had created using a handtruck with swim noodles attached to it.  Apparently Azalea thought his creation was pitiful because she called Joe and asked him to pick out a real kayak cart for Bubba and they could split the cost.

Bubba was surprised.  I was even surprised.  What a nice thing to do for their 70 year old brother.

The day included a call from Amy wishing him a happy birthday and then later a call from Amelia who sang "Happy Birthday" to him.  Their presents came in the mail earlier in the week.

We ate dinner that night at Papa Doc's Lakeside Grill.  This is the second time we've eaten there.  Both times have been really good.  We all ordered seafood and had a variety of delicious appetizers before the real food arrived.
We returned to camp and enjoyed visiting while we sat outside in Joe and Judy's screened "gazebo" which kept the bugs away.  Bubba truly enjoyed his birthday.  Thanks Joe and Judy for sharing with us.

In addition to several more really good meals, there was kayaking and fishing.

Some good relaxation.  Saturday was breezy and cool enough to make being outside comfortable.

All too soon, it was time to pack up and head for home.  The birthday cake was down to one last piece which Bubba was looking forward to eating for his breakfast.

Little bitty black ants were crawling on his cake.  I was going to throw it out, but he said he was going to eat it anyway and he did.  He said you couldn't even taste them.  I'm glad he enjoyed his birthday cake down to the very last bite.

It was a good weekend.  We're looking forward to being able to stay longer when I retire in October.  Every time we start home, we wish we could stay one more day.  Good times are ahead!

Just One of the Herd

Today was a day I had looked forward to for a long time.  It was the day I had marked on the calendar for going to the Social Security office and applying for my benefits.  I was excited, almost giddy.  I woke up at 4:00 this morning and could not go back to sleep.  The night before I had gathered all the documents and I was sure that I would have to produce.  I was ready.  I had read online that Friday was the best day to visit the Social Security office.  It was supposed to be their slowest day.  We arrived around 9:30.  Suffice it to say, it looked like this as we entered the waiting area.

It was packed.  All the chairs were filled and people were standing everywhere.  We took a number and I vowed that we were not leaving until I got what I had come for.  We waited and waited.  There were three windows and people were transacting their business with a person on the other side of the window.  How was I going to get all my questions answered like this?  Occasionally they would call someone to the back.  A big television screen in the front of the waiting area was proclaiming that you could do everything online, on your cell phone, or by phone.  I had already looked at doing it online, but we had the issue of Bubba getting set up for Medicare that I knew was not going to be something we could do online.

The room was filled with several annoying people.  There was one young man who wanted to shake hands and converse with everyone who entered.  Another disabled man was at one of the windows demanding to see a supervisor.  I heard a man behind me tell someone on his cell phone that he had been waiting two hours in "Social Security hell".

Finally my number was called and we went to window number two.  After giving the woman a little of my  information, she told me that I could call and complete the application for my benefits over the phone.  I couldn't believe it.  I waited an hour and a half to be told to call back.  I almost cried, but then she left the window for a minute and came back.  She was going to let me go back and see a real person to complete the process.  I don't know why she did that for me.  Maybe she saw how disappointed I was.  In any case, we waited standing for just a few more minutes and we were called by name and were allowed to enter into the office area.

The nicest lady helped us.  She answered all of our questions and got me signed up.  Bubba just has to mail in a form from my personnel office to get him into Medicare without a penalty.  

The sad thing is that she told us that they were moving to a new office soon and that when they did, they would all be behind windows like the three set up in the waiting area.  Even she was dismayed because it was going to be even more inpersonal.  I felt like I was part of a herd of cows all morning.

Finally we were finished and went to the Cheese Barn for a celebratory lunch.  I was exhausted and shaky.  I felt like I had been to the doctor and had some kind of surgery all morning.  When I got home, I slept for two hours in the recliner.

The good news is that I now know my official date.  I will officially retire from my job on October 31.  My last date at work may be October 17, but I will decide that a little later.  I know that being retired will require some getting used to, but I'm looking forward to being free to do what I want to do.  

It Finally Happened

Labor Day Weekend finds us with plans to venture into an area we have wanted to visit for a long time.  We headed for Cotton Hill Campground at Fort Gaines, Georgia.  This beautiful campground is on Lake Walter F. George which is also known as Lake Eufaula on the Alabama side.  This is the second Corps of Engineers campground we have stayed at and we have found both of them to be clean and well maintained.  The sites are paved so there is no problem getting level.

This was the view we enjoyed all weekend.

Saturday we got out and did some exploring.  We went into Eufaula which was about 30 minutes away and ate lunch.  We took a road that put us in a good location for a good photo op with the dam.

The weather forecast for the weekend was for rain.  It rained Friday night after we went to bed.  Then the rest of the weekend was pretty.  It was cool enough that we could enjoy sitting outside and the mosquitoes were not too bad.  We spent a lot of our time just reading.  We also played a rousing game of Scrabble and I finally beat Bubba by ten points.

We made some meal plans that didn't involve cooking outside due to the predicted bad weather.  We hardly ever forget any of our groceries because I make a list and we mark everything off as we pack it; however, as we began to get out the items needed for tacos I realized that we had forgotten the salsa.  We didn't have enough pioneer spirit to rough it and eat tacos without salsa so we got in the truck and drove seven miles to a little grocery store and bought the only jar of salsa they had and drove seven miles back.  It was worth it in my opinion.

We got up Monday morning and started home.  Our Magellan GPS died on us and we had to rely on a map and poorly marked roads to get home.  We realized that we made a wrong turn in Fort Gaines and were in the middle of nowhere when......it happened.  It was a loud and pop and Bubba said that we had blown a tire.  This was something he has dreaded every since we got the trailer.  Fortunately there was a paved driveway just ahead of us in front of a house and we pulled over on it and surveyed the damage.

As he started to change the tire, the young man from the house pulled up in his truck.  He got out and helped Bubba some with the task.  He was just as nice as he could be -- just an old country boy.  He was on his way to take some pears to his momma.  He gave us directions on how to get back to Highway 431 and we were home by noon and unpacked soon after.

Ever since we got the trailer, Bubba has worried about breaking down and having to deal with it.  It finally happened and was not the nightmare he had anticipated.  As we headed out he began to worry about what we would do if another tire went out and we didn't have a spare.  I told him that the chances of that happening twice in one morning were very slim and then I went to sleep without a worry in the world.  We all know that Bubba is a "glass half empty" kind of guy and I'm of the "glass half full" persuasion.  But, hey, it's worked for us for 47 years.  I will continue to work on him about this view until I win him over.  Wish me luck.

The Secret

Our outing to St. George Island and Manatee Springs was soon followed up by a visit from Amy and Amelia.  This was their last opportunity to come before schools starts for Amelia on August 20.  The day before their arrival I baked Amy a chocolate cake with seven layers and the richest, fudgiest frosting I had ever tasted --- and it was thick between the layers and the layers did not slide off on the counter when I wasn't looking.  In short, it was a good-looking cake.  In fact, it looked so good that Bubba and I just had to try a slice.  Bubba immediately pronounced it "too sweet".  I agreed, but not really.  Then I made a pound cake so that we would have an alternative dessert to the "too sweet" chocolate cake.  Y'all let me tell you the truth, that cake was addictive.  Amy and I could not leave it alone.  We left the pound cake for Bubba and stuck with the chocolate cake.  Amelia chose the white powdered sugar doughnuts for her sweet treat and really worked on them.

She was very pleased with the beds and immediately put her dolls, "Amelia" and "Lily" to bed in them.

When Bubba and I were pulling the beds out of the junk packed closet, I mentioned that there was a ladder that went with them.  Bubba didn't think we still had the ladder so we didn't pull everything out of the closet to look for it.  When Amelia talked to her dad on the phone, she told him about the beds and said, "I got bunk beds, but there is no ladder."  We were all surprised that she even thought about a ladder.  I mean, after all, it is not like the doll actually has to climb up on the bed.  Later that evening, I whispered a "secret" in her ear.  I told her that when Paw-Paw went to work on Monday, we would pull everything out of that junk closet and try to find the ladder.  She loved the idea of keeping a secret from Paw-Paw.  And on Monday we went to the closet to start the big secret search and after I had pulled out only two boxes, I looked over on a shelf and there was the ladder just lying there in plain sight.  I was relieved and Amelia was thrilled.  Now her bunk beds are complete

Although Amy probably doesn't believe this, we look forward to seeing her as well.  I try to fix some of her favorite "Momma" meals while she is with us.  In addition to the cake, I fixed Fried Chicken for one meal and Fried Shrimp for another.

We had several ideas about what we might do for entertainment.  We thought about going to Apalachicola for seafood, going to Shipwreck Island, or spending the night in the camper watching movies and eating popcorn.  Bubba voted thumbs down on most of these ideas.

In Bubba's defense, we really don't know a good seafood restaurant in Apalachicola, Shipwreck Island would be anticlimatic after Disneyland, and it was raining all the time which would have tracked a whole lot of mud into the camper.

Saturday night Amy, Amelia, and I went to Blountstown to eat at a new restaurant that I had been hearing good things about -- Tavern on the Hill.  Amy and I both ordered the rib-eye steak and it was seasoned well and was very tender.  Amelia had her usual grilled cheese.  There was a man playing acoustic guitar and that was a nice touch.

Amelia had spent the week before in California where she had been the center of attention as the only child with a group of Darryl's relatives who had gathered for his aunt's funeral.  While there she went to Disneyland and California Adventures.  By the time she made the trip to see us, she was tired.  I think she was happy to be just left alone to play.

On Tuesday before they left for home, Bubba wanted Amelia to go outside with him to look inside her tire swing.  A mama bird had built a nest there and Bubba had heard the little ones chirping when he went outside.

Amelia was so excited to see the little baby birds.  They were just little balls of down.  

This reminds me of a book I had when I was a little girl about Amelia's age.  I think the name of it was "Stepladder Babies".  I still remember the little poem that was on the first page of the book.                                     

                                                    We have a secret, just we three,
                                                       The robin, and I, and the sweet cherry-tree;
                                                         The bird told the tree, and the tree told me,
                                                            And nobody knows it but just us three.

This is a picture of the birds a week later. I wish Amelia was here to watch them grow.

I guess their visit mark the end of "summer". It is still raining and it is still hot. I'm back at work and things are back to normal for now. We have a couple of camping trips planned over the next month or so. We're hoping the weather will cooperate.

For those of you who thought my last blog was a little strange, I have to defend myself. I was attempting a different style of writing. I read a lot of books with two or three different things going on at the same so I was trying to be more creative. I guess I had better just stick to telling it like it is.

Can't Quit Thinking & Summer Vacation

I’m counting down.  I thought I had a realistic retirement date of November 1.  Now I’m not so sure.  Around the middle of July I called the Florida Retirement System for some information.  I wanted to find out exactly how much my pension would be each month if I retired on October 31.  They told me that they would send me that information in 4-6 weeks.  Can you believe that in this day of modern technology that it will take 4-6 weeks to get that information?  Of course I’ve already figured it myself based on a yearly statement I get, but I just wanted to get my figures confirmed.

Earlier in the summer we planned a vacation for the first week in August when we will celebrate our 47^th anniversary.  The first part of the week would be spent camping at St. George Island for three nights and then we planned to go down to Manatee Springs for three nights.  We invited Joe and Judy to join us, but they were only available for the time at St. George Island.  When we arrived, they were already there and we had lunch together.  Later that evening we went into East Point and had supper at The Hut Restaurant.

That evening Joe and Bubba planned to surf fish and Judy and I went along to watch.  The plan was to catch some minnows to fish with, but then Bubba began to catch some fish in his bait net including three mullet.  That gave Joe the fever so they both spent the rest of the time trying to catch mullet.

After calling about my state retirement, I decided to call the Social Security Administration to check on that as well as when would be my effective date for Medicare coverage.  That involved a phone system of pressing “1” for this and “3” for that, etc.  Finally I got a real person, but I’m pretty sure I got a dud.  Now I’m all confused about Medicare.  I’m reading that it will be effective on November 1 if my birthday is December 1.  I’m reading that, but he is not saying that.

On Saturday Bubba and Joe head out to do some fishing from their kayaks.  I sleep late and had just started getting dressed when I hear someone knocking on my door.  It is Judy.  Her hair dryer has caused a breaker to go out and when she went outside to check on it, she locked herself out.  Joe doesn’t have his phone with him and we all know that Bubba only turns his on when he wants to talk.  We sit and visit for a couple of hours waiting on the guys to return.  When they do, Bubba has caught a nice flounder so now our Alabama relatives have a good seafood supper in their future when they return home.

Early Sunday morning, Bubba and I head out for Manatee Springs.  We were supposed to stay at St. George Island another night, but apparently I got confused when making the reservations.  Luckily we were able to check into the spot we had already reserved at Manatee Springs a day early.  It was an uneventful trip.  Soon after getting everything set up at our site, Bubba headed for the springs for a dip.  He loves cold water.  I consider it painful, but I promise to go with him the next day.  

Our anniversary supper was at Bar-B-Q Bill’s in Chiefland.  I had googled restaurants before we left home and this one had many positive comments.  It was a good meal and we enjoyed it very much.

The following morning, I help Bubba launch the kayak and he paddles toward the Suwanee River.  It turns out that it is not that far so he returns and I take a turn with the kayak.  This was a good strategy because I got so hot paddling that I was even ready to get in the ice cold water of the spring.

After our morning at/in the spring, we returned to the camp site where Bubba grilled hot dogs for lunch and a ham steak for another meal.

Although my state retirement figures my service time right up to my last day, it appears that Social Security doesn’t work that way.  If I wait until December to draw my social security, I’ll get an extra $27 per month which doesn’t sound like much, but to me it sounds like a pedicure a month for the rest of my life.  (I believe I’ve mentioned before that I love my pedicures.)  Now what am I going to do?

On our earlier excursion into Chiefland, we saw a sign for Cedar Key.  Bubba said that he would be interested in going there.  We were expecting a little fishing town about like Apalachicola.  It was not.  It had some condos and some really old, old motels, but not the tourist type things we were expecting.  There was definitely a shortage of places to eat.  Bubba stopped at a convenience store for a recommendation on where we could find lunch.  We were directed to Annie’s Café.

It was a tin building without air conditioning.  I still can’t believe I ate there.  The lunch special was a Fried Pork Chop, Rice/Gravy, Cabbage, and a Roll.  Seafood was also on the menu, but it was expensive especially for a place without air conditioning.  Lunch was good and I was seated so I could keep an eye on the cook and she seemed to know her business.

I guess Bubba’s favorite thing about Manatee Springs is the cold water, but my favorite thing was the deer.  At one point, we had eight of them at our site.  You could walk around outside and they would just keep on standing there.  We were told upon checking into the park to not feed the deer so we didn’t, but I really wanted to so badly.  They are such beautiful animals.

Well, as usual, we got ready to come home before our time was up.  While we were eating breakfast Wednesday morning I asked Bubba if he was ready to go home.  I knew I was.  The heavy rain had pretty much messed up our camp site so it was no longer enjoyable to sit outside and we had spent as much time as we wanted swimming so we packed up and headed for home.  We camped five nights in a row which is our longest time ever.  It was a good time, but I’ve about decided that summer is just not the best time to camp.  It’s too hot outside to do much except swim and this year the mosquitoes are terrible.  I think the cooler months make the best camping trips.  We are already talking about some trips in the future.

I’ve got to quit worrying about a retirement date.  We’ll go to the Social Security office early in September and maybe I’ll get someone who can answer all the questions to my satisfaction.  I still enjoy my job so it’s not like I’m miserable.  I just have to be patient a little longer.

Question:  My little blog has over 2,000 page views.  There has to be more than just a few friends and relatives reading this.  I would love for you to comment and let me know how you came across my blog.  It is something that I started as a way of recording some of my experiences.  I enjoy writing it and I hope you enjoy it as well.

A Stitch in Time

It started raining right after we took Amelia home and it hasn’t stopped since.  I don’t believe we have had more than one or two days without rain since July 1.  There is water everywhere and the mosquitoes are out in full force.  And those one or two days occurred in the middle of the week not on the weekend so that has made the summer weekends pretty boring.  When I sit around and watch TV or read, I feel guilty like I should be doing something productive which has resulted in my floor being mopped more this summer than ever before.  It seemed futile to plan a camping trip in the midst of all this bad weather.

So you can imagine how quickly I moved to action when Amy casually asked me if I still had the doll bunk beds that she played with when she was a little girl.  Of course I have them!  I’ve saved them for the past 30 years just waiting for the day when she would ask for them.  Immediately I began to think about dragging out my 1975 sewing machine and making new mattresses, blankets, and pillows for the bed.  I used to sew a lot.  In fact I made Amy many outfits as well as clothing for myself.  I even made an ET costume that won a prize, but the sad truth is that I don’t consider myself much of a seamstress.  It always took me forever to make something and never came easily to me.  But I remember when I was a little girl, my Papa J. made me a doll cradle and my Granny made the mattress, pillow, and blankets for it.  They had three little granddaughters who were about the same age and this was our Christmas present from Papa and Granny.  It was special to me so I wanted to make these beds of Amy’s special for Amelia.

I surfed the internet until I found some simple directions.  Then I went to Hobby Lobby where I discovered that the 75 cent thread, I used to buy was now $2.39 per spool.  I chose the materials and went to work.

I cut the pieces for the mattress as directed – no problem.  Then I stitched the pieces together – no problem.  I stitched across each corner giving it a box look – no problem.  Then I stuffed it – no problem.  Then I realized that the internet directions were not going to work for these beds.  The mattresses were too thick so I had to pull out the stuffing and re-cut each piece; however, I must say that this did not take too much longer.

The next Saturday we returned to Hobby Lobby when I realized that the board that the mattress sits on needed to be pink since its original covering was red.  Thankfully, Paw-Paw handled this part of the project since it required measuring and gluing neither of which is my strong suit.

I took apart an old baby blanket, cut it in half and edged it with the same material I used on the mattresses.  It turned out pretty cute.  Pillows were made for each bed and finally it was done.  

The scraps were put away, the sewing machine went into the closet, and the floor was swept.  Project complete!  I was feeling pretty good and could hardly wait for Amelia to see it.  Then the call came….Amelia’s doll has a cat.  Could I make a bed for the cat also?  Oh my, here we go again!

The Good Times Continue

On Wednesday we set out bright and early for Frank Jackson State Park in Opp, Alabama.  This continues to be one of our favorite places to camp.  It is a park with everything important (a beautiful lake, full hook ups, and wifi).  It is also our favorite because it is located close to Joe and Judy.  Amelia was really looking forward to this trip because she was scheduled to have four days with her cousin, John.  You may remember John from a prior blog.  He is eight years old and Amelia loves him.  They play very well together probably due to his patience with his younger cousin.  We arrived and were setting up on our site when Joe and John drove up.  Of course, Amelia gave John a big hug which he politely endured.

After lunch at Joe and Judy's home, the kids spent the rest of the afternoon in the swimming pool.  Both love the water and it was nice to see them playing together while we sat in the shade ever watchful for their safety.  That night we went out to eat at a local restaurant.  (You can't rough it all the time, you know.)

The next day Judy and I took Amelia and John to Dothan.  We had a big day planned starting with lunch and fun at Chuck E. Cheese.  (You know they do have good pizza.)  This was followed with using all their tokens to play games.

John and Amelia have different "styles" when it comes to selecting what they want to do.  John studies the situation before he decides he wants to play. Amelia shoves the token in and worries about how to play after the game starts.

By the time they had used up their tokens, it was time to head out for the movie which was next on our agenda.  They cashed in their tokens for great prizes.  Amelia selected a little plastic bug and green fake teeth.  John (the big winner) got her a pink slinky with some of his winnings.  

Aren't these green teeth an appropriate prize for a sweet little girl?

I tried hard not to think about all the dirty hands that might have been involved in producing these things.

After stopping by the concession stand to purchase incredibly expensive popcorn and drinks, we settled in to watch the Disney movie, Epic.  I've linked to a review of the movie which is pretty much accurate; however, it did hold our attention.  In several places Amelia said she was scared and would climb into my lap, but afterwards she said she enjoyed the movie.

While we were away, Joe and Bubba kayaked on a portion of the Pea River.  Although the trip took only five hours, they encountered several rapids and this time Bubba had no option but to go over them along with his reckless younger brother.  Just look at that white water behind him!

This is a picture of Joe enjoying a delicious lunch of sardines... ugh!

We returned to our campsite on the lake where we were joined by Joe, Judy, and John for hamburgers.  Amelia helped a lot by carrying everything to the table and setting our places for our "picnic".

By this time we have had Amelia for six days and I can tell that she is beginning to miss her mom and dad a little.  That night after she was settled into her new Dora sleeping bag on her Dora sheets, she enjoyed a phone call with mom.

Amelia was listening to music on my i-pod while I was getting ready for bed.  By the time I finished, she was sound asleep without her story, her prayers, her "Jesus Love Me" or her hugs and kisses.  We had really had a busy day!  The next night she remembered that we hadn't had a story the night before, so we read two to make up for it.

Friday we went over to Joe and Judy's for a fish fry.  While I was trying to brush Amelia's hair, she was misbehaving and I asked her to stop twice.  The third time, I sent her to "time-out" on our bed in the back of the trailer.  She cried and carried on like I had beat her with a big stick.  (I always had my doubts about this "time-out" business before, but now I'm a believer.)  After several minutes of crying (me and her) she came out and told me she was sorry and we finished brushing her hair.  A popsicle made us both feel better.

Back at Joe and Judy's, the kids played games on the i-pad and the Wii. Finally Bubba had the fish fried and we sat down to a delicious meal of Fried Fish, Hushpuppies, Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Fried Onion Rings, Fresh Cucumbers and Tomatoes AND Judy had baked a lemon pie AND she had baked a seven layer chocolate cake.  

Amelia and John spent the afternoon in the swimming pool.  Both of them seem to prefer being under the water most of the time.  It was another great day.

Back at the camp site, Bubba took Amelia out in his kayak.  She loved looking at the lily pads and their blooms.

Amelia enjoyed paddling the kayak.  After Paw-Paw gave her some pointers, she was ready to do it on her own.

We were back at Joe and Judy's Saturday by lunch time.  This time Joe manned the grill.

As you can see, we had Grilled Chicken, Corn, and Zuchinni.  It was delicious! That afternoon (although we had already had chocolate cake for dessert), we had homemade ice cream.  John ate three bowls and announced he had a tummy ache.  Amelia ate two bowls.  She loved it.

Sunday morning while I was getting things inside the trailer ready to go, Amelia and Paw-Paw enjoyed some time together outside.

We thoroughly enjoyed these four days in Opp.  Joe and Judy are the most hospitable folks you would ever meet. Amelia enjoyed playing with John.  She says that he's her cousin and her friend.  It could not have been any better.

Back home on Sunday we got everything put up and resumed our normal life.  Amelia had her favorite meal -- pancakes, and this time she ate bacon with them.

On Monday I took Amelia out to where I work for a visit with my friend, Bridget, who was filling in for me.  I was so proud of her as she shook hands with my boss and the assistant warden.  She answered their questions and was very personable.  Afterwards she got to spend some time with her Aunt Ashley and cousins, Madison and Avery.

Tuesday we headed home with her.  Boy, were she and her mom glad to see each other.  I never saw so much hugging going on.  Amy had unpacked most of the boxes and had their new home looking great.  She had even taken time to bake a chocolate chip cookie cake and oatmeal cookies.  Then she insisted on paying for our dinner that night.  I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but not only is Amy a wonderful mother, she is a wonderful daughter as well.  We were so pleased to have Amelia with us for ten glorious days.  I can honestly say it was one of the best vacations I've ever had.  We're hoping that she and Amy will be able to spend a few days with us before school starts.