Adna - Property update

I uploaded the pictures to the blog site a week ago but the reception at our campground was so poor and slow that I'm just now getting back to it. We are now at Bob and Carole Tripp's house. I'll update all that later, back to the pictures.

This is our property in Adna, Washington (Chehalis address). The picture showing Duane weed whacking was taken before I went to CA. He went on and got so much more done while I was gone. He had 3/4 of the property mowed by the time I got back, but when I did, I took over the mowing and he dug out small and not so small tree stumps. Our goal was to get it all mowed and weed killer sprayed around the fence line before we left for the winter. We finished with a day to spare.

It was really alot of fun working on the property. We had a few problems with the lawnmower but they turned out to be pretty minor. Both belts ended up needing to be replaced. Of course we didn't do them at the same time, that would have been to easy.

The property now has access to the road. Or the road has access to the property. Either way the driveway is in. The permit we got from the county is officially for a road approach not a driveway, but it looks like a driveway to me. It goes for about 150' onto the the property so there is plenty of room to park the motor home.

Duane weed whacking

Before being mowed, and the big pile of debris waiting to be burned.

Mowed and unmowed sections

Joanne mowing. Picture isn't fuzzy, that's the dust and grass blowing around.

Duane showing me how to use the mower.

Joanne getting the hang of mowing.

Ditch drain pipe under our new driveway.

The road approach to the new driveway.

The motor home on the property the last few days we were in Washington.

Duane changing the belts on the lawnmower.

Julia's 8th Birthday

I missed Julia's actual birthday while I was in California, so we celebrated it a few days late. Duane and I went up to Sarah's for a few days leaving the motorhome at the Chehalis campground. The birthday celebration was fun. Julia choose to go to Denny's for her birthday dinner. As the pictures show she got a new bicycle, art supplies and Richard built for her the bunkbed/art center setup. It is totally cool. We brought Julia back with us to the motorhome for the weekend. She had been looking forward to another time with us for awhile.

Pictures

I have such a cute family that this blog is for all the pictures that weren't used in the previous blog. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!

Time Flies By

The first part of August found me going down to California, and I stayed for 5 weeks. Poor Duane, left all alone. While in CA, I was not idle. Besides helping Karen out, I found time to go to an Angels game with Shannon and Brandon, take Brandon to Knotts Berry Farm, and all of us went to Disneyland courtesy of Shannon. I also was able to go to lunch with friends. The boys did keep me busy with walks, going to the park and McDonalds to play. I was able to still be there for Brandon's first day of Kindergarten. I did need to get back to Duane, so back to Washington on Sept. 6. The 5 weeks flew by for me but not so much for Duane

Karen and Brandon
In class, time for us to leave
In line to go into class

Brandon all ready to go, first day of Kindergarten

Shannon, Karen, Brandon and Shane waiting in line for the ride "Toy Mania" in California Adventure
Brandon at Knotts Berry Farm
Shannon and Brandon at an Angels game
Brandon and Shane moved the toys from the shelves in a bookcase to pretend that the bookcase were bunkbeds.

Forks in the Road

We were traveling down the road of life, going around curves, up and down some hills when we came to a fork in the road.

The first one to come to a fork in the road of life was Karen. This happened on Aug 4. Karen and Rob are getting a divorce. Things are not going smoothly for Karen. Rob is being a major jerk. He sure was a wolf in sheep's clothing all these years.

I flew down to CA to help her and the boys on Aug. 5 and left Duane all the chores to do alone in Washington. Duane has been getting the property ready for the driveway to be put in. This entails weed whacking along the fence line, removing some fence and mowing the field. After getting the riding mower to work after a year of sitting, and many hours of riding around in large circles, he has gotten about half the field mowed. He says it looks great but I haven't seen it and when I get back it will be time to start all over again. It has been raining for the last 5 days so the rest of the mowing is waiting. The driveway is at this moment being put in. To bad I brought the camera with me, so no pictures.

Duane and I have also come to our own fork in the road, because family comes first. What does the future hold for us now????? Time will tell......!!!!!!!!

Bev and Mike's Visit

Bev and Mike arrived at Portland Airport Thursday night July 17, so down we went to pick up our new guests to our motorhome. Saturday down to Portland to visit Dan in the hospital. Afterwards Mike and Bev rented a car and went on down to Eugene, OR to visit Mike's son. Monday down to Portland to visit Dan in the Hospital and bring Mike and Bev back with us. We stopped and visited Mount St. Helens on our way back to the motorhome. Mount St. Helens was both very interesting and fascinating It was even a clear day. The next day was moving day. We needed to move from the Chehalis campground to another one about 20 miles away in Silver Creek. Bev and Mike got to experience what this entailed. After getting settled we headed out to the other side of Mount St. Helens to view the damage on that side but to no avail. It was closed. So a u-turn was made and off to Mount Rainier we went. This was not a clear day but a more typical Washington day. We never did see the top of Mount Rainier for all the clouds. There was snow still on the ground in places. Bev and Mike having just coming in from St. George with 100+ temp, weren't quite ready for this weather. Wednesday morning up at 3am to get Mike down to Portland Airport. He had an appointment in St. George so he had to leave a day early. Thursday we only had to get up at 4:30am to get Bev down to Portland Airport. We had a wonderful time with Bev and Mike. It was like we were on vacation also. We hadn't been sightseeing for awhile. We also had a good time playing on the Wii and Uno Attack.


Mike and Bev at Mount Rainier visitor center. Yes it's July

Tree snapped by the force of the Mount St. Helens eruption

Mount St. Helens

Bev and Mike with Mount St. Helens in the background

Way to go Dan !!!

As most of you know my brother Dan had surgery on April 9, to replace a heart valve. During surgery he had a mild stroke. He was working hard to recover from open heart surgery and the stroke when he found himself with decreasing energy instead of the hoped for increase. A few tests and doctor visits later it was found that the new valve was leaking. A new surgeon performed the repair and also repaired another valve discovered during surgery to be of some concern. Dan should be good to go for a long, long time now. You can see in the picture taken 5 days after surgery how well he looks. Way to go Dan!!!


Dan and Glenda at Providence Hospital in Portland,OR
This is the Monday after his second surgery on 7-16-08.