Boise, Idaho: A Laid Back Vacation

Who would've thought we'd be so laid back? Here we are, still in Boise, kicking back and actually relaxing. Hopefully, many of you have started receiving some postcards from us. We have had busy fingers lately, realizing that we were lax on the first portion of our journey. We did, however, just receive a shipment from a client/friend of John's in Fredericksburg who was kind enough to make us personalized postcards that will leave us without excuse in the future!!!

We have done a little bit of exploration as we have been here a week now. We have a good grasp on the city lay out, have found the mall and a good cheap theatre. We went up into the hills one of our first days here and quickly found out that those are NOT the cheap seats in town! But the view of the city from there was very nice and we can understand why folks want to live there bad enough to pay for it. See...





The people in this town are refreshing. Everyone is so friendly, and they smile a lot. The merchants are more than fair, not charging us for finding non-existant problems on the RV. Even had one store manager just GIVE John a new water filter off the shelf because we were having trouble with our's hooking up properly. The church was great, too. It actually looked more like a food court when we first walked in. The sanctuary was separate and they had java and snacks, an info station and lots of tables and chairs and people talking and eating everywhere. The worship was top notch and so was the teaching. I think we are finding we like Vineyard churches- and not because of the food court!

We decided totake a road trip to see how long it takes to get to the local ski resort, Bogus Basin.



It has a designated road straight from the city, through the foothills to the mountains. It took us a about 30 minutes, but on a winter day would likely take much longer as it was by no means a straight shot! They also provide public transportation to and from the resort. We spoke to one woman here who told us that she sends her teens on the bus to the resort unescorted. She said it is very safe.

While we were there, a storm rolled in. You can see from the pics that it was quite ominous looking. It hailed/sleeted on us all the way back to the foothills, where it suddenly stopped. Funny how The valley and the foothills receive little if any precipitation all year.





It's considered a high desert here. The caretaker here at the RV resort said they had a "wet" spring, but it didn't rain a drop for 2 months after. Others we've spoken to say they generally get little rain or snow and if they do it is quite short lived. (So if you see green in the valley, it's NOT native. If it's not watered daily- it's gone! The mountains beyond the foothills have hydration, and therefore DO have green stuff!)

We did get to bike ride a couple of times. We biked on the Greenbelt for 12 miles one evening. It is a paved path (like the WO&D in DC) that goes along the river for 25 miles, criss-crossing the river over bridges, going through downtown and through neighborhoods. They have patrols on it that keep it clean and safe. It is well used, too. This town is very recreation oriented. I need to get some shots of it. It is really pretty to ride. There are certain weeds here in the valley that get spiked and hard as nails in the fall. They call them "goat heads", probably because they look a little like them. They popped 6 of our tires on the day we rode the Greenbelt! Now all of our tires have slime in them and we know to stay on the trail! (I stayed on the trail so mine were fine!)

We also did some real mountain biking- although it was only in the foothills! We drove up 8th street to the first of many public paking areas for the dirt trails (many on private land that the owners voluntarily let riders on). I should probably call them sand trails, as it is all sandy and nothing green but a few sagebrushes and hearty flowers.









If you look closely at the above pic, you'll see John on the road. We accidently missed our parking area and ended up at the technical riding parking lot. We wanted easier stuff, so the 4 guys took off down the dirt road we drove up and I followed in the Jeep, snapping a few photos along the way.







Got a couple of other scenery pics, but not much of the trails we rode. Just know they were sandy and lots of up hill! So much up hill, the boys tuckered out 2/3 of the way to the crestline and I had to take them back to the Jeep. John did the full loop. After you made it to the top, he got to ride the crest line a mile or so before getting the fun ride down. He loved it- even though he said it scared him a little when he caught air!

So, anyway, looks like we're here till Tuesday now. We had the Rv checked out for mechanical issues this week. We were afraid the alternator was going out and the brakes had air in the fluid. But upon checking, all is well. The only things we had to have fixed were the leak in the toilet seal, a minor gas leak on the stove and the handle on our refridgerator door. Then, we heard the generator making funny noises, so we had a mobile tech come check it out today and he let us know the starter is going out on it. He ordered the part, but it won't be in till Tuesday morning. He'll fix it and we'll be on our way knowing that the RV is in great shape for the remainder of our mountain adventures.

Oh, and John went on a men's retreat with a local Vineyard church. He left today and we'll get him at church Sunday morning. Say a prayer for God to speak to his heart this weekend. I'm sure he'll update when he returns.

I'll leave you with a view from Bogus Basin. Till later,

Steph

Boise Idaho

We've been here for a few days and I need to update the blog again! We arrived in Boise around 9pm local time on Thursday. We got settled at the campground and went to bed. Steph had a rough night and didn't sleep well. She felt very nauseous and wanted to hurl but never did. I let her sleep in on Friday morning! I got up and did school with the boys and kept them quiet so she could rest. After she got up, she was feeling much better. We went out and did some exploring. Initially - it seems like a decent town. It was a lot flatter than I expected - the mountains are just north of town - but the town itself is flat. We returned to the RV, had dinner and watched a few episodes of Enterprise.

On Saturday we did more exploring including checking out some homes on the hillside and mountainside. They ain't the cheap seats folks! Anything with a view was more than 750k!! Most were million + OUCH!! That's out of our range - now and forever!! I don't have any rich relatives likely to leave us a large inheritance, so....! We drove up to the ski resort. It's only 15 miles north of town but took us 30 minutes to get to just because the road is so winding! Seems to be a great local mountain - it's almost 5000 feet higher than the city - offerring 1800 feet of vertical to ride!! I'd love a chance to check it out under good conditions! It hailed on us up there. Weird weather in comparison to the valley. We stopped on the way back at TCBY and had a cup of frozen yogurt. Wow - that is soo good - it's been a looong time since I've had White Chocolate Mousse frozen yogurt. Yum! We returned to the RV, threw some Buffalo Burgers on the grill and then chilled with some LOST episodes and then watched Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. We enjoyed it, but it wasn't nearly as good as the audio book!

Today we got up and went to the Vineyard Christian Fellowship church right around the corner. It had been recomended by our pastor in Fredericksburg as well as our friends pastor in Birmingham. We were not disappointed! We went to lunch with Damian and Allison and their kids. They're a neat couple and were very patient - answering our questions about the area, the church, housing, employment, etc. After lunch, we drove around and looked at some houses. About 8 mile south of the city in a town called Kuna we found some incredible new housing for reasonable pricing. Like 2450 sq ft for 158k - yeah that kind of incredible. Boise is beginning a huge boom - the population is expected to double in the next 5-6 years! We came back to the RV and did video chats with the grandparents. It was nice to see and talk to them. Technology can be sooo nice!!

We'll be here for several more days - I'll update you again soon.

John

Pics that I promised

I promised pics and here they are. We made it to Boise and will be exploring for several days. I'll tell you all about it. In the meantime, enjoy the pics of the last 10 days!!

John

Badlands Redux

Mt Rushmore to Devils Tower

Yellowstone Page 1

Yellowstone Page 2

Yellowstone Page 3

Yellowstone Page 4

A Week at Yellowstone

I know it has been entirely too long since our last update and for that I apologize. The time that we spent at Yellowstone National Park was absolutely incredible. It was also a break from electronics - especially cell phones - as cell service was incredibly limited. The park is larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined - and I only found two places that gave me any kind of coverage. Add to that the fact that my laptop was acting up and refused to connect to the internet - even in those places. No radio stations and no TV signals. Truly a refuge apart from the rest of the world. I read a USA Today from cover to cover yesterday because I felt so disconnected (while doing laundry!)

Today we left the park and headed to Jackson Hole, Wyoming via Grand Tetons National Park. Internet access began working again once we had Verizon cell coverage so I was able to pull in email. Between Steph and I we had over 600 emails (most of them spam - but still a lot of mail to sort through!) So here's what I'm gonna do. I will write a few words and offer a few hilight pics tonite to hopefully whet your appetite and then provide more info and pics in the days to come. OK??!!

So things started over a week ago in South Dakota. Steph was feeling better and we took her back to the Badlands to explore with us. The next day we went to Mt Rushmore

We then visited Crazy Horse Memorial, Deadwood, Devils Tower and made our way across Wyoming to Yellowstone. It's a big park and there is so much to see. Here's a pic at Mammoth Hot Springs in the northern end of the park:

Of course no visit to Yellowstone would be complete without visiting Old Faithful.


Gotta love the hat that Alex picked out, don't you?? We ran into another family living in an RV and trying to decide where to call home. Our kids became fast friends and played frequently whenever we were in the campground. We're going to keep in touch and are invited to visit them wherever they settle.

Pictures are forthcoming, but did you know that we woke up on Saturday September 10th to an inch of snow on everything but the roads. Quite a shock to us!! Wasn't I just talking about the 105 temperatures in South Dakota last week??

The trip is not without it's educational opportunities. The boys have completed Junior Ranger programs at both Devils Tower and Yellowstone. The Yellowstone program was muc more intense - requiring a lot more work and thought from them as they visited the parks many exhibits. They were required to attend a ranger led program, partake in a hike and complete 5 to 7 pages in a guidebook (depending on age).

David was the first one done - on Sunday, so I took him to get his Junior Ranger award.

After that, I had promised to take him on a backcountry overnite hike. It seemed that the forecast was better for Sunday than Monday so we hurried and got ready and at 2pm Steph, Zach and Alex saw us off.

On her way back to the RV Steph got this very cool pic that I include here for you

The other two boys finished their Junior Ranger requirements and got their awards.

Then right outside the Ranger Station they were treated to a VERY rare but exciting treat - a momma and two grizzly cubs!!

It is sooo not fair. You need to understand that seeing a grizzly was one of my main goals for this trip to Yellowstone and in fact our backcountry hike was intended to aid in that, as it was to an area that 2 bears had been known to frequent. Yes we took safety precautions - but the extent of wildlife that David and I saw was a few deer. It started raining/sleeting around 3am for us. We packed up camp in the morning and began the 9.7 mile haul back to meet Steph. We were cold, wet and miserable just like I promised David we would be - but we had FUN and we did it. There's more to tell - but it will have to wait!

Today before we left, we visited the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. Steph led us on a huge descent of a hike to get a great view of the falls - and wow - what a view!!

And here's a great pic of the Tetons as we drove through.


So I help this helps bring you up to date on our adventures. Like I said, I'll get more info and pics here as soon as I can. That's all for tonite though - it's after midnight and I'm tired!!

John

South Dakota

I promised more pics and I am delivering!! However, due to the vast number of pics - you have to go to a different webpage. Sorry - but it seemed like the best way to do it.

Steph is feeling sick to her stomach today, so I took the boys to see the Badlands and left her to rest and recover in the air-conditioned RV (her choice!). It was 103 degrees here today so I thinks she was much more comfy than we were. I promised that we would go back when she was feeling better. The first three pages here are just today in the park. The fourth link is pics from the day before yesterday in Sioux Falls on the opposite side of the state.

Page 3 or PhotoAlbum10 as it is labelled represents the hike that we did to end our visit at the park today. According to what I read it was the roughest hike in the park. Only natural that I took my children there!! It was a 1.5 mile roundtrip with an incredible view as the payoff. We were safe the entire way - in fact I thought it was a relatively easy hike - with just enough adventure thrown in to satisfy. The boys really got into it and can't wait to go back for more!

Badlands Page 1

Badlands Page 2

Badlands Page 3

Sioux Falls

Hopefully tomorrow she is feeling better and everyone else is healthy. I asked the ranger at the park where to spot buffalo and he gave me some advice. I think that would be a neat experience for all of us tomorrow. Also i found out where there are some unpaved "roads" that are 4wd only - I'd love to explore some in the Jeep!! Maybe get to see some sights that others don't ever get to!

Well, our day is done. The kids are in bed and Steph has been there for hours. Her stomach is feeling better but she says that she feels weak and she has a monster headache. Lets see what the night brings. This is John signing off on another day of high adventure!! Goodnight all!!

Leaving Minnesota

I have no pictures to update you with this morning. Sorry about that. My laptop is kind of flaky right now - it took a dive off the kitchen counter during a highway exit.

Sunday evening we had dinner with Jean and Tim and family. Everybody had a good time - the kids went to a park right down the street to play baseball after dinner. It was good to spend time with old friends. Speaking of old friends, as you may know I was a youth pastor in Ohio many years ago. During that time I became friends with the youth pastor at another local church. He and I got together regularly to encourage each other and compare notes. Well, Efrem is now a senior pastor of a new church in Minneapolis - Alex and I got up and attended on Sunday morning. What an amazing experience. Multi - Ethnic and diverse including young and old. Efrem is really reaching out to the North Minneapolis community they are in and making a difference there. It seemed the most like what the church should be in today's society.

On Monday afternoon, we went to Efrem's office to get together and catch up. He went out of his way to clear some time so we could hang out! David was sick (puking all morning) so he stayed at the RV to rest. We spent time talking about how we had ended up in our current situations. What a great time with another good friend! Monday evening David was feeling much better so we went out and got him fitted for a backpack so he and I could do some backcountry camping - more on that in a bit.

Tuesday we went to Camping World in Rogers MN to straighten out a mixup from Kissimmee. We had been sold and we paid for a special All Terrain tow system - but discovered that what had been installed was a standard. The store in MN was out of stock of the All Terrain that we had paid for so they ended up upgrading us to the high-end All Terrain for no charge. We left then and went to get me fitted for a backpack - a time consuming process. We finally left the Twin Cities at 7pm with our destination being Moscow Iowa.

You see, our RV came with Automatic Levelling Jacks - just push a button and they extend and stabilize the RV when parked. It was a $4000.00 extra that was installed when the coach was originally purchased in 1992. Well it hasn't worked since we bought the RV last month. We tried to get it fixed in Florida, but they told us it had to go to the manufacturer in Moscow IA. Moscow is about 35 miles west of the Quad Cities.

So we arrived at HWH around 1AM and got a lovely few hours of sleep before they needed it to work on at 7:30 AM. It was finished at 2PM and cost about half of what I was willing to pay to get it fixed, so I'm happy. It makes a big difference in the feel of this thing while parked. It now feels like a house - solid!! We left Iowa and drove to Sioux Falls SD, where we are now parked at a WalMart!

We did see the major gas increase yesterday that everybody did - though maybe not quite as bad as some. I paid 2.89 per gallon last night for a fillup. I guess it could be worse and in fact is expected to be. The good news is that my gas mileage is increasing as I learn to leave the cruise control set at 58. That's a hard thing for me to do - but I'm adjusting.

I promise to have pics when I next update. Should be sometime tomorrow. More later folks!!

John

Minnesota

Wisconsin was a hit on the way to Minnesota (Wednesday) as we stopped for some fresh cheese. The guys loved taste testing all the different kinds of cheeses. On the way, Zach wanted to get a better view of the upcoming Land of 10,000 Lakes, so he stuck his head out the window and tried not to eat too many Wisconsin bugs. I took the pic via the rearview miror!



There is lots to see and do here in Minnesota! We are staying outside Minneapolis and totally loving the nostalgia of being in our college town. Thursday, the first full day here, we took David to see the apartment we took him home to when he was born, as well as the hospital I labored in for 26 hours to have him! We also stopped in to the college we attended and showed the boys around. After that, we took them to our favorite shake shop in Dinkytown, Annie's Parlour.





We all thoroughly enjoyed our malts! John got Oreo. I had chocolate mint. David chose peanut butter cup, while Zach had hot fudge. And, Alex? He just wanted plain vanilla!

From there, we drove south of town and spent the rest of the night exploring the Mall of America. Aside from the amusement park in the middle (which was way over our budget to enjoy), the boys favorite place way Legoland. There, they were able to build their own lego cars and race them down a ramp. It remined me of our Cub Scout Pinewood Derby!


Friday, we enoyed a leisurely morning. It had rained hard all night and our campsite was flooded-- no wonder they have so many lakes! It was 2 inches deep outside our door and we were grateful for the mat outside the steps. At 4 o'clock, we headed into downtown to look for the perfect scalper! We prayed before we got there that God would provide us the right tickets at the right price. He didn't disappoint us! We were able to get tickets between the 35 and 40 yard line, 19th row on the bottom level. Perfect seats! And, they were within our budget. John was in heaven on earth getting to see his Vikings beat the Chargers!





We all got into the Viking vibe, as we all donned proper attire. The boys got into the game and David was thrilled to have another dream of his come to life. He feels like he has gotten to do everything he wanted to on this visit to Minneapolis.



Yesterday, we met up with some old friends and went to a park for a couple of hours. It was great to see Jean and the kids after so many years. I'd never met her younger 3, but I remember babysitting Jenna! My she has grown! We are going back over to their home today for dinner with the whole family, including Tim. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a pic of the whole family.


After the park, we took off to Lake Calhoun for a bike ride around the park. It is a beautiful place to ride, walk, rollerblade, fishing or whatever. There were even windsurfers and small sailboats there. There is a great view of downtown over the water, too. John and I used to come here and watch sunsets over the water. It was very sentimental!



Even more nostalgic was our visit to Minnehaha Falls after our bike ride. John slid down these frozen fall in February of 1990. Let's just say it's amazing we have any children. He was a wild one back then!





Well, hope you enjoy the photos. We're off to finish laundry before we head over to Tim and Jean's. More later!

Steph

Chicago and onward!

Hitting the road again yesterday, we made it as far as Chicago. We had planned to stop in and meet a phone buddy of John's from when he worked at Direct Affect. John and Mike built a friendship from their many conversations whenever John had an order to place at CDW.
(BTW- If you ever need anything computer related, Mike is the guy to call! He is a terrific representitive of CDW and a great guy all around.)

We had dinner at a pizza place called Georgio's. It was recommended as the best in the area, and it didn't fall short of any expectations! We had more pizza than we could eat and will have plenty of road food today! Mike and Lori have a great family and it was fun to spend some time with them.


The boys hit it off with their kids and they seemed to have a lot of fun. In fact Zach had so much fun at the arcade area of Georgio's that he left his wallet! It had $80 in it (his birthday money). He didn't realize it was missing until we were getting ready to leave our friend's house after visiting for another hour. Mike and Lori and the kids were great at helping search for it at the house and in the van, but in the end it wasn't anywhere to be found. Mike and Lori even called Georgio's twice trying to see if they found it. Georgio's didn't know anything about it's whereabouts. So, when we left Mike and Lori's, we decided to go check the parking lot. It wasn't there but John and the boys met a couple coming out who helped walk Zach through where he last had it then sent him and Alex inside to look around the video games. Zach came running out a few minutes later, wallet in hand!! And it even had all of his money left in it. All we can say is what a miracle! Thank God for his grace on Zach!

Currently we are on the road to Minneapolis for a few days stay.

David is pretty stoked about getting to his birthplace. We are hoping to find some cheap scalper to be able to get tickets to the preseason Vikings game on Friday. It's something we all would love to do. From there, it's Sioux Falls, SD, and then the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore.

I am doing a little better every day. Still tired, but not nearly as anxious as I had been the last week. Still comes and goes but isn't as severe. I never, by the way, blacked out "for a few minutes" as my dh said earlier. It was only for a split second. I never hit the ground nor did I cut Alex's ear off with the scissors I was using to trim his hair. Anyway, I think I am doing better. The boys look good with their new hair cuts at least!



As far as living without John for a few days... it was sad to be without my best friend, but I survived. We kept busy mowing Grandma's lawn as well as going to Young's Dairy Farm (where we played putt-putt, hit 50 balls at the driving range, ate ice cream and fed goats). It was fun spending time with family.


We'll touch based once we're in Minnesota. Right now we are enjoying some real Wisconsin cheese curds and traveling on up the road. The weather is great and the windows are open. We're just happy living... Life is Good!

Steph

PS- Just for fun... Here is my brother Mike saying bye to John! Now John understands David challenging Goliath a little bit better...

Overdue Update

Allright - I understand that this update is long overdue. And for that I apologize. Let me bring you up to speed as best as I can.

I went to Virginia for several days (Sunday thru Thursday) and got a fair amount accomplished. My visit was hosted by Metalworks Graphics (www.metalworksgraphics.com) and let me say that Brian and Lori were wonderful hosts!! I was extremely grateful for their hospitality in putting me up and feeding me for four nights! I visited several clients in the area and earned a few dollars. I spent a day digging through our storage facility to find winter coats - I know it's hard to think about, but it has been dropping below freezing at Yellowstone this week. I also want to say thanks to Billy at Dynamic Designs for helping me out with a little sign project :

It just seemed like one of those things that was too good to pass up. Brian at Metalworks helped me with the design and layout and then Billy took it and cut it to a vinyl die-cut sticker. With his training class, I was able to apply it when I got back to Ohio with only a few mistakes that really aren't very noticeable. Don at Rainmaker Creative Company took me out to lunch when we finished his computer repairs. We enjoyed an Asian Buffet and then went to Gander Mountain where he offerred some advice on pistols. The last visit I made was to Mitchell Quik Print, where Wayne and Dave had me upgrade a few systems - adding an FTP Server and updating 2 other systems. Thanks to all of you guys for the work and friendship!!

I made a special stop at Glass and Powder Boardshop in Richmond to see my buddy Scott and update David's equipment. It is amazing how much my eldest has grown!! He's outgrown his previous snowboard setup, so I surprised him with a new one (hoping to put it to use on this trip!!) I also told David that this is probably the last setup that I will be buying for him - after this, he'll need to earn the money to pay for future upgrades. He's bummed about that, but he understands.

I left Virginia Thursday at 4pm - and arrived back in Ohio shortly after midnight. I was soo wired from caffeine on the trip thatI was still awake at 4 am. My tossing and turning woke Steph and triggered an anxiety attack in her - the worst in about a year. So I stayed up with her and we both finally passed out about an hour later. I feel so helpless in those situations, because there's really nothing that I can do other than just be there with her. Fortunately most of the time that's all she wants from me.

On Friday we got together with some of our best friends - Mark and Kate. They had just moved into their new house and we spent the evening with them there. They have 4 kids - and they get along great with our boys.

I've gotta say that it's great spending time with them. They are so encouraging and I always leave feeling better about life. We ended up returning to their place on Sunday afternoon so that I could help fix a computer for them. I was happy to help out my friends - especially considering they never ask us for anything!


Saturday I got the old stereo from my Thunderbird installed in the RV. Now I have CD and MP3 capabilities in here - not to mention that I also can hook my iPod or laptop up to the stereo system as well. Got the old and busted factory speakers replaced with the lovely Boston Acoustic speakers that were formerly in the T-Bird. After that, we drove to my grandmothers to install a mirror that was important to her. We then went back to Steph's parents to celebrate her brothers 45th birthday. While Steph, Dan and David played Civ 2 on the LAN, I retired to the RV to watch the latest episode of Rescue Me on the big screen.


So enough of my daily schedule - now to bring up another important note. Steph as you may know has MS. It's a nasty disease with no known cure that affects everyone differently. She has had an outbreak (or episode or whatever you want to call it!) twice in the past and it seems like the third is coming right now. The amount and severity of her anxiety attacks have increased (despite being on Zoloft for it) and Sunday morning she blacked out for a few minutes. She's scared - and frustrated. We would appreciate your prayers for peace and healing! We're going to press on with our plans - and just take things nice and slow - one day at a time. I may leave her in the RV to do some scrapbooking while the boys and I do some bike rides - but we'll make the best of every day!

Anyway - I believe this is the fast and dirty edition of the mzfit's update. Any questions? Ask us!! We'll respond. Thanks for reading - I need to crash now!! I'll have Steph post tomorrow to give her perspective on the last week.

John

This Week

So this is Friday and I haven't posted in a while. Tuesday thru today I have spent my days working on the RV. I replaced the water pump (that controls the internal faucets and stuff), rebuilt and insulated the doghouse, replaced the generators muffler and replaced the rotting wood that the extendable step attached to. Little stuff, but stuff that matters to us. I'd much rather do it here with the support and help of my father-in-law than somewhere out on the road!! At least we can cross those things off the list of potential problems to encounter in the forseeable future. That and these items make it a nicer place to live in! the cabin is cooler and quieter now that the doghouse is fixed good. The step doesn't have a mushy feeling to it - it feels quite solid (it should there's enough glue and screws in it!!) And it's nice to be able to flush the toilet!

Wednesday evening I went out with James again. We hit a comic book shop looking for the Serenity comic that is supposed to bridge the gap between the tv series Firefly and the upcoming movie Serenity. I got the last copy of book #2 out of 3. So I'm hunting for a copy of book 1. We had Chipotle for dinner and then went to the theater and saw the Island. It was a decent summer popcorn flick - didn't break any new ground really - but it didn't suck either! We then went back to his place and finished watching An Evening with Kevin Smith. I got home at quarter til 1 and got quite an earful about the late hour.

Thursday we joined my mom, Heather (my sister) and her best friend's son Cody at the Kettering Rec Center for some swimming. They had a few water slides and Alex did both the low and high diving boards (he'd previously never even been on 1 diving board). Sorry - I have no pics of the event - I was enjoying the cool water!

Today - Friday - I wrestled all day with the auto step - more specifically the wood that it bolts to. We ended up not getting together with Mark and Kate tonite (sorry guys!) but we did reschedule for next Friday. Instead we drove over to Vandalia to get gas (67 gallons - $160.00 - ouch!) and then went to Frickers for dinner. I love that place!!

I'm wiped out tired now - but thought that I'd update you all. I leave Sunday for Fredericksburg for a few days and Steph will stay here with the boys. I'll be back next Thursday. Maybe I'll even do another post from there??!!

Talk to you later!!

John

On a whim...

We decided to go jump in a lake. Lake Erie, that is! We stayed the night at Geneva State Park Sunday night and enjoyed a dip in the cool (76 degrees) water. Temperatures as a whole are nicer in upper Ohio and the nights feel like September.





It was great to have a campfire and actually enjoy it! We had s'mores and got a visit from a skunk while we sat outside. Thankfully, no one got sprayed!





On the way home we stopped at a local (Geneva, OH) vineyard. We enjoyed sitting around tasting a few wines and learning some of the finer points of what all that stuff means. We picked up a bottle or two and some fresh grape juice for the boys. It was an interesting experience!



Tonight, Monday, we stood in line for 2 1/2 hours for some locally famous Marion's pizza. It was their anniversary and pizzas were 1965 prices. We each ended up with our own pizzas for 2 bucks apiece! It was fun!





John is contemplating heading back to Virginia for a night or two. He has some clients that would like some attention and work done (Brian, Don and Rob)! The boys and I are going to stay here at my folks. He'll likely pull out of Dayton Sunday. We'll probably move on when he returns. Until then, our biggest adventure will likely be helping some good friends of ours move into their new home. We'll keep ya posted!

Steph