Indiana family gathering and graduation party...Finally all together.

We left Comlara County Park last Thursday after attending a cookout at Dad's Assisted Living home for Fathers Day. We had the rig closed up and ready to hitch up and dump as soon as we got back from the cookout. After the meal we visited a short time and got hitched up, dumped and on the road at about 3 pm CDT which meant that we were actually starting out at 4 pm EDT. We lost an hour. We took IL Route 24 across to IN and then headed north on I 65 to the IN Toll Road to the KOA in Granger, IN. We got there about 9 pm EDT. We decided not to go see our daughter that night and just got set up and relaxed. The weekend was going to be busy.

Site #37 at the KOA

 

 

The next day after getting around we headed over to our daughters to help them with last minute set up and preparation for the party on Saturday. Sommer's husbands family was there to help too. We got the lawn mowed, a couple plants planted and some cleaning. We had a nice visit with Todd's family that evening but we didn't stay too late. Saturday morning we arrived with some ice for the beverages and some snacks for the party. Around noon or so our daughter, Heather, Paul and Aiden rolled in from Streamwood. It just so happened that our son in Mesa, AZ decided to fly up for the weekend too. That was a great surprise. Chris flew into O'Hare Airport and stayed with Heather and Paul and rode with them to the party. It was so great having the whole family back together.

 

Father and son - Chris

Daughters...Heather and Sommer

The whole family

Heather, Chris, Glenda, Me and Sommer

 

Sommer rented a blow up water slide for the kids and the big kids got into the action too. It really kept the kids occupied ALL day long.

 

 

Aiden, youngest grandson, with his cool sunglasses

The older grandkids

Jasmyne, Caden and Brooklyne

 

Ryleigh the youngest granddaughter

Couldn't get enough of the water slide



 

 

We had a Corn hole(Bags) Tournament. I certainly did not win. Most everyone gave it a try.

 

Aiden liked just dropping them in the hole

Grandpa had to show him how it was done.

 

We had plenty of food and beverages and everyone had a great time. Todd's Mom, Barb, his Aunt, Ellie and Glenda worked hard at preparing the food and keeping everyone full. No problem there.

 

Later in the afternoon we got as many family photos as we could which included Todd's family too.

The whole crew except Todd, Sommer's husband. He was out getting more ice and we didn't realize it until too late.

Mother and son

Sommer enjoying some treats

Todd made it back with some style

This is the whole group of grandkids, nieces and nephews from both our family and Todd's

 



Heather, Chris, Paul and Aiden had to leave that evening. Aiden was really getting tired and it was hot and humid all day. Everyone was feeling the weather. We had a fire later that night with S'mores and enjoyed a nice cool evening.

Todd's family left on Sunday but we stayed around to help clean up and do some more visiting It helps when you don't have to leave to go back to work during the week. It also helps to have your home with you to relax and sleep in your own bed.

On Monday I took Caden and Brooklyne to the movie....Avengers - Age of Ultron. We like action movies and this one had plenty. Glenda continued to do some cleaning and our laundry. I'll take my job over hers any day. :-)

Tuesday night we took the family out to dinner at Salsa Mexican Grill. The Guacamole was very good and the food was excellent. When we got back to their home we said our goodbyes because we were leaving the next day. It was another whirlwind visit in Indiana. But it doesn't stop there. We'll be back later in July to help while Ryleigh is in summer school. Not sure now when we will get our summer trip in that we had planned but that's how retirement is and spending time with family. I know I'm leaving some things out of this post but everything happened so fast.

We are now in Geneseo, IL at the Geneseo Campground on the north side of the town. The Hennepin Canal path is next door and we plan to take a short tri to the Quad Cities(Davenport, IA, Bettendorf, IA, Moline, IL and Rock Island, IL). We hope to ride our bikes on the Great River Trail unless some of the parts are flooded. The trail follows the Mississippi River and sits in some low areas where flooding has occurred from all the rain. We were fortunate yesterday to arrive and set up before it rained again. Thank goodness the severe weather they predicted did not appear. We're here until July 1 and then back to Bloomington/Normal for about 10 days before heading back to IN as I mentioned.
Here are a few more random photos from last weekend.

 

Mason and Todd

I forgot to mention the party was for Mason, Todd's son, who graduated from college in April.

He's a great kid and I know he'll go far with what ever he pursues.

Congratulation Mason

 

Next post will be of our time in Geneseo, IL







   



Back at Comlara County Park....more visiting with friends

Well we've been back at Comlara County Park since we left Sycamore RV Resort and our visit with Aiden and his parents. We reserved a nice site in the front of the park, site #7, which was a pull through. We have been visiting with my Dad and brother off and on and I had a nice Facebook comment from a young lady, Kelli, who's family used to be patients of mine years ago when I was doing my Chiropractic thing. That was before I sold the practice and started working at Sate Farm Insurance. Well anyway, I posted a photo of our site and a comment about being back in town and she commented that she would like to come and stow away with us. So I said that would be fine just bring some S'mores. We commented back and forth and she said that she might come out to the park over the weekend with her little boy and her mother. Last weekend I got a message that she, her Mom and son would be out for sure. I got the fire going good and about 7 pm they arrived. As she got out of the car she said she had a surprise for me and out came her Dad. Now her Dad and I typically banter back and forth and give each other some good kidding. It was a very good surprise. So Larry, Trudy, Kelli and Logan came in to the rig for a tour. They were very surprised at the space and the amenities.

After the tour we headed out to the fire. We got the roasting sticks out and started working on the marshmallows. We had our S'mores and I had some extra marshmallows by themselves. We sat around the fire and caught up on what had been going on since we retired and headed out on our adventure. Larry and Trudy also work at State Farm but have been there may more years than me. They're getting close to their retirement but have no plans to try what we're doing. We know it's not for everyone.

Kelli playing with Logan 

Glenda and Trudy

Larry having a good laugh

Logan, Kelli, Larry and Trudy

 

As it got darker and we were full of S'mores and marshmallows, we noticed Logan was getting tired and his attention span was waning. He is only 3 years old so we said our goodbyes and "See you soon's". I got a nice family photo before they left. Looking forward to getting together again in the future. Thank you to the Rowold's for visiting.

 

Well on Monday we needed to dump our tanks and move to a new site....#94 in the back loop. It's a lot more open back there and less shade. It's a back in site but for some reason I was able to get it on the site on the first try. Unusual. The park has been pretty quiet this week. I think it's partly due to the on and off rain all week long and the high humidity. Fortunately since we left and returned the county has put some additional gravel on the site. It has made a HUGE difference.

 

After some heavy rain before gravel

Also the day after some heavy rain after gravel

 

When we pulled into the park last week and reserved site #7 we knew we would have to dump tanks and probably move to another site so we scouted out #94 to see if they had indeed put some gravel down. They did so when it was time to extend our stay we opted for #94. So nice to have few neighbors and lots of space. The only drawback has been that with the rain and humidity, we have been attacked and swarmed by gnats. Every evening about 6 pm they begin to swarm and it's impossible to sit outside unless you sit far away from the rig. With the off and on rain, gnats and the humidity, we opt for indoors in the evening. We don't get to keep the awning out very much either. That's disappointing because we feel the rig isn't home or inviting without the awning out.

 

All in all, we're happy with our choice of sites. We're in conversation mode to avoid dumping before we head back to Indiana on the 18th. Our daughter, Sommer, is having a party for her husband's son, Mason, who graduated from Davenport University in April. This is the first opportunity to have a celebration for both sides of the family to get together. In addition, Heather, Paul and Aiden will be coming for the day and we just heard(through the grapevine) that our son, Chris, in Mesa, AZ will be making an appearance. I'm really looking forward to getting all our kids together even for only one day. With everyone so busy and living so spread out it's hard to pull something like this off. I'm so grateful that we'll all be together. I'm also grateful that it will be Father's Day weekend. I couldn't ask for more.

 

Tomorrow I have a golf date with some old friends and hoping the rain will hold off until we're done. It's been some time since the last golf game. Good friends always makes things fun no matter how I play. Next week we celebrate Father's Day with Dad at the Assisted Living facility. Each year they have a nice cook out during the week of Father's Day and invite family. We've been able to attend each year so far that he's been there. Right after the cook out we hitch up and head to Indiana. I'm ready to get on the road. I've been working on a trip to the Quad Cities along the Mississippi River and then into IA and WI. Not sure of the dates yet but some time in July or early August. We need to add some new states to our total. Should be a great time with new places and faces. I'll keep you posted.

I almost forgot. Why did the turtle cross the road?  This one wanted to get to the other side. And he did......verrrrry sloooowly. 




Visiting grandkids in Indiana and Northern Illinois,,,,,so much fun

We made it out of our site at Comlara County Park and headed to Indiana to visit our grandkids there. Jasmyne had a high school dance recital and Brooklyne had an 8th grade band recital. We arrived at the Elkhart Campground just off exit 92 of the Indiana Toll Road. The Elkhart Campground has sites that are mainly grass and very close together. We were in site 740. They do try to space the rigs out every other site but when it gets busy they're spaced like sardines.

After getting set up we went over to our daughters home and hung out with the grandkids. Over the next few days we would be busy with recitals and doing some projects around their house. First we attended Brooklynes 8th grade band recital. She plays clarinet and she will be attending high school next year so this was a pretty big event. She played very well and we enjoyed the music and impressed with the overall skill of all the band members.

It was a little difficult getting a good photo of her playing with the music stands in front so I got a photo of the whole band. Then we geared up for Jasmynes dance recital a couple of days later. We also found out that Brooklyne had an 8th grade dance on the same night so Grandpa took Brooklyne to the dance and picked her up and then hustled over to the high school to see the last half of Jasmynes recital.

Brooklyne ready for the dance

Jasmyne is in the front row middle of photo

Jasmyne and her Mom

Grandpa and Jasmyne

Grandma and Jasmyne

 

Everyone had a great time and if I do say so myself.....Brooklyne and Jasmyne are very talented. It's so great that we can live this lifestyle and spend some quality time with family. Once things settled down we did some projects around our daughters house. Glenda did some de-cluttering of their basement and we put down some mulch around the sides of their home where they had planted some landscape. It really looked good afterwards .

 

 

Part of the family took a walk around the River walk area in downtown Mishawaka, IN along the St. Joseph River. It's a great place to get some exercise and enjoy the outdoors.

 

We walked along the river and found a nice area down from the River Walk. It was a rock grotto with flowing water and waterfalls.

Ryleigh

During our visit we made a trip to Rocket Science Ice Cream in Nappanee, IN. They make the ice cream in front of you with liquid nitrogen in a bowl. It is so delicious and creamy. Memorial Day evening we said our goodbyes and see you soon's and prepared for our trip to Northern IL to see our youngest grandson, Aiden and his parents.

We left Elkhart Campground and headed to Sycamore RV Resort in Sycamore, IL. We reserved a premium site near the lake at the park. Fortunately we were taken to a nice shaded site with few other rigs around us.

You can see how close the sites are

Nice view of the lake

Lake across the road from our site

 

 

As soon as we got set up we headed to our daughters house. We got to spend some time with the family before Aiden went to bed. Since our daughter and our SIL work we waited to get together again until Friday evening. We told them to plan a date night and we would do some baby sitting. So about 6 pm we got to their home and they took off for a nice dinner and drinks. The funny thing was....they were back about 10 pm. Just like married folks with kids they were too tired to be out any later. Since we knew we would be there late, we planned to stay over night in the spare bedroom. That way they could get up and go work out the next day too. We had so much fun with Aiden. We took him for a wagon ride and he got up into my truck to check it out.

 

During our babysitting evening we were told Aiden needed a bath so we attempted that and it went pretty well.

 

 

We got him into his pajamas and after some snacks and some TV, we put him to bed. He loves to look at his animal decorations on the walls in his room and loves to have several blankies in bed with him.

 

 

The next morning we helped with breakfast and Heather brought us some oatmeal from Starbucks and some coffee for me. Paul and Heather ran some errands in the afternoon and we just hung out playing with Aiden. On Sunday we invited them to come out to the RV park and see our home for the first time since we've had it. That's about a year now. Hard to get together when you're traveling and family still works. So they made the trip out to Sycamore, IL from Streamwood. About an hour drive. We had some steaks to grill, cooked some potato packets and cooked some corn on the cob. For dessert we had a no cook lemon meringue pie. It was a little tight but we found room for everyone.

 

Before dinner we sat out behind the rig in the sun. The wind was a little brisk after a front went through the day before with some rain. The sun felt good and Aiden loved playing in the grass. We bought a couple of balls and a Frisbee to play with. Aiden liked to throw the ball into the tree next to our site.

 

Heather, Paul and Siden

Aiden loved the ball

Ball in the tree

 

Aiden brought his John Deere mower and started mowing the grass around our site. I think he did a great job. ;-)

 



 

Well the sun started to set and the wind continued and it got colder so we headed inside and Aiden got interested in a kids show on TV.

 

After dinner we had some good conversation and we could tell Aiden was getting tired so we said our goodbyes and see you soon's and they headed back home. We're so glad we were able to get together and see how much Aiden is growing. He's also talking a blue streak and will say everything you say. We all have to be careful what we say. Ha-ha. Aiden has such a great disposition and we're so proud of the job his parents are doing in bringing up this little person. Can't wait to get back again. We're hoping to get them to come down to AZ some time this winter for a visit while we're there.

We're back in Central IL at Comlara County Park again. More visiting with my brother and Dad and seeing some friends.

 

We snagged a nice pull through electric/water site. We'll have to dump while we're here and probably move to another site since we're here for about 2 weeks before we head back to Indiana and then on to Michigan for a few weeks of traveling and sightseeing. Michigan will be a new state for us.

 

We have some doctor appts this week and Glenda got a new cut at the hair salon. Enjoying some down time after the whirlwind visiting in IN and Northern IL. Life is good.