Ada, Oklahoma

Monday April 27th

On Sunday we drove from Paducah, Kentucky, where Debbie went to a quilt show, to Little Rock, Arkansas. The weather was overcast, warm and humid. There was a heavy downpour as we drove through the Nashville area. So far we have avoided all the lightning, hail and tornadoes. We spent the night in the Camping World parking lot in North Little Rock. We pulled in around 4:30pm and found a fairly level parking spot. We ran the generator for several hours to keep the air conditioner on as it was 87 degrees out and we were sitting in the sun.

Today was another long drive from North Little Rock to Ada, Oklahoma. On the way we ran into a big traffic jam caused by a pickup truck fire that blocked all the south bound lanes. Ty's nap


was interrupted but you can barely tell by looking at him.


Ten degrees cooler and still overcast. We are staying at Twin Lakes RV park here in Ada. It's a small park with a very friendly owner, great WiFi and Cable.

Ty needs a stool if he wants to help fix dinner.


Tomorrow we will try to locate my mother's old house here in Ada and my grandparent's farm just outside the nearby community of Francis.

A Day at the Renaissance Fair

The Queen arrived just as we were entering the fair grounds, and she waved at us!


Lisa, Jim, Kayla and Emily talk with one of the shop keepers.



Kayla gets "Knighted" by the Queen.


Emily wants no part of the lady with the sword. Debbie told me they were being dubbed Ladies of the Queens Court. Lisa was dubbed for Emily.


"Norman's" on the prowl.


There was sword fighting.


We had to rest after all the fighting.


Kayla gets tattooed. Emily got one on her arm. And Dad also got one on his...

Getting Ready for the Renaissance Fair

Debbie started working on renaissance costumes for the grand kids somewhere between Texas and Florida. As soon as she heard there was going to be a fair while we were here. She made both dresses without a pattern based on measurements she got from Lisa, their mother, over the phone. All I can say is amazing. Here is the end results.

Emily

Kayla

The girls ready for the renaissance fair.


And a behind the scenes look.






Big sister with some words of wisdom.

Watching Emily or Modes of Transportation

Today Blake and I got to watch Emily. It was a gorgeous day to be outside. We started out with the Jeep and Blake and I following behind.


Fortunately the Jeep's battery ran out of juice before Blake and I did.


Emily moves to self-powered vehicles. Here she comes.




There she goes.


Now onto anther mode.


A chat with a neighbor.


Still time for a walk on the wall.

We all had a great day and a great neighborhood to have it in.

Blake and Stacy Arrive

Blake and Stacy arrived in Wake Forrest.


Stacy, Emily and Kayla at the kitchen table.


Debbie toiling over the hot stove.


Blake and Emily concentrating.

North Carolina III

St Patrick's Day and everyone is in green.



Friday was "Dads and Donuts" in Emily's class and "Grandpa" got to go too. Jimmy gives Emily a doughnut hole.


After doughnuts it was time for some games.



Meanwhile at home 'Buddy' is trying to get into trouble. He can almost reach one of the girls' toys.

Ah got it.

Ops. I wasn't really going to chew it. See, here it is.

North Carolina II

Well I've been busy with grand kids and have neglected updating the blog, but I have been taking pictures and will be catching up over the next few days. This is where we are staying. It looks like this some days but,


...it looks like this too often. This is a view of the storm approaching us that was producing tornado warnings for us and a few of them a little south of us.



We arrive at Jim's house in Wake Forrest just after Kayla got home from school. Emily only goes half a day and had been home a while. We drove over in the Jeep and the trip takes about an hour. Homework and table activities


Kayla studies.


Ty meets a friend at the campground.

North Carolina

March 13 (Friday)

We arrived in Wilson, NC today. Wilson is about 5o miles from Jimmy and Lisa's home in Wake Forrest but is the closest RV park we could find. It's about a 45 minute drive to their house. Part of the way is on a 70mph freeway. The rest is on two lane country roads. We weren't met by the Blue Bird of happiness but rather a red Cardinal in the trees in front of the RV. It turned out to be the red bird of "storms warnings" as we have now sat through two tornado watches in nearby counties and lots of rain and wind, but no hail or lighting (knock-on-wood).


We have standing water all around the Horizon but there are enough high spots to make it back and forth to the car and the ground is mostly grass or gravel so not much mud to deal with (unless you're not watching where your walking).

A few year ago now Debbie admired the Coke case that Rich was using under his steps. He had picked it up in Mexico. The inter ribbing is better than the ones used in the US and are able to support the middle when stepped on. His next trip he picked one up for Debbie and apparently smuggled it across the border. As you can see it has been a life saver here. Thanks Rich!