Little Bean is a GIRL!

Yes, just like the storybook character of Little Bean, our Little Bean is a girl! Kenley Faith decided Jan. 20th was a bit too long to stay cooped up so she made her entrance on Dec. 27th, which was just fine w/Mommy, who kept poking her Christmas Day telling her it was OK to come out. Clay was OK w/that too once he found out she was perfectly normal. Mommy and baby did great and Daddy was a big help too...and didn't even need to sit down from the "dizzies"! Way to go!!!

Grandpa and I went to the hospital last MO to see everyone and we'll be going back up SA or SU to see Kenley in her own nursery, which is quite cute w/all of the bright primary colors.

This is going to be so much fun watching Kenley and her 2-month older cousin, Sophia, grow up together. Hopefully, sometime down the road, they'll live closer to each other so they can become the best of friends. But, in the meantime, it appears there will be a lot of Web cam visits going on.

What a way to end the year 2009...two grandchildren and only 2 months apart. Too wonderful!

Here's wishing everyone a healthy and happy 2010!

Boo, Gobble Gobble and Ho, Ho, Ho!

That's right, we've made it through Halloween, Thanksgiving and the SMIC Christmas party. Time is sure flying when I stop to think that this time next year we SHOULD be in sunny WARM Florida...woo hoo!!

Let me back up. Halloween was a DELIGHTFUL day that began w/4 of our friends helping us move from the cg to Springfield for the winter. I feel like a bear in hibernation. The 2 B/R townhouse is old and, since 3 walls are exposed to the elements, it gets quite chilly in there. We're starting to get used to wearing double sox, sweaters and pulling blankets up to our chins...and that's while watching TV!

Truly, the DELIGHTFUL part came late that morning when our 1st grandchild, Sophia, made an early appearance. All went well for her and Mommy. The new Papa and I had a good long-distance cry for joy as I absorbed all of the vitals of our little darlin'. A couple weeks later, Grandpa & I went to TX to see all 3 of them and I have since learned that "Butterfly Kisses" are NOT soft, tiny kisses. They are a weird way to "kiss" someone, so I'll just stick w/soft, tiny kisses!

From TX Tom and I went to AZ to pick up my sister and the 3 of us went to San Diego, CA for a few days. HEADS UP...if you DON'T have kids or if anyone in your party does NOT like the zoo or possibly going to Legoland, it's a pretty boring town. We were able to stay busy the first 2 days but struggled to stay busy the 3rd day. The 4th day was our drive back to AZ w/Micki & Don fixing a YUMMY Thanksgiving dinner. Don put the turkey in early TH morning and when the 3 of us arrived, Micki and I put the rest of the meal together in a RECORD 1 HOUR TIME! No "all day in the kitchen" that day!

Christmas is going to be here in a few more days so we've been staying busy shopping. Clay & Kim came down last weekend and endured the craziness on the west side of town. However, they were good sports because they knew dinner was going to be a treat...at TX Roadhouse...go figure!

In addition to Christmas drawing near, our 2nd grandchild's arrival is drawing near as well. We are getting excited about Little Bean's Jan. 20th due date, so we'll see if Baby B will make an early appearance like Baby L did. The only thing that really matters is that Little Bean will be a healthy baby and Mommy will fly through the birthing process w/flying colors.

Oh yeah...we're down to a little more than 10 months away from retirement/semi-retirement! That sounds SO good!

12 To Go!

You know, I would probably do more posts except this goofy thing doesn't always allow me to do that when I'm ready! After several attempts the last 3 days, THIS time when I signed in, it went right to "New Post". Now, how simple is that and why can't it do that every time? My dear, sweet hubby has been patient w/me and trying to help me figure it out so I thank him "big time" for that.

So, be that as it may, I am excited that our official countdown has begun and we, hopefully, have 12 more months to work full-time before retiring (or semi-retire should we decide we're too bored not working at all). Several retired friends have said "You'll be surprised how fast this next year will go by." I'm starting to believe that! Tomorrow we head to TX to see our first grandchild who, by the way, will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. This new Grandma is so giddy w/anticipation of holding her, hugging her and kissing her w/little butterfly kisses. And, he may not admit to it, but Grandpa has been all smiles ever since her arrival.

From TX, we'll venture over to AZ and CA to do some sightseeing before heading home in a couple weeks. That gets us to December and, as everyone knows, that particular month is ALWAYS busy, busy, busy. Before we know it, we'll be ringing in the New Year in January, go to FL in Feb and, oh my gosh, that will take us to March, which should be a quiet month before we start our camping season in April.

So, I guess our friends are right...it sounds like 2010 will go fast and we'll be retired before we know it. Woo hoo!!!

Honey Bun Has a Name!

Our beautiful, precious granddaughter has arrived so I will probably no longer call her "Honey Bun". Her name is Sophia Lynne and, if I decide to give her a nickname, it might possibly be "Little Pumpkin" or "Punkin" since she was born on Halloween Day. What fun it will be at birthday parties for her since the "theme" has already been set!

We were awakened at 5:25 am SA w/Val telling us they were at the hospital. At 8 a.m. we met the Williams and Selvaggio's for breakfast at Gilmore's then moved all the stuff we thought we'd need from Petersburg to our "winter resort" in Spfld. They all left by 11:30 so I went to Meijer's (ha, Kimmie!) and just as I pulled into a pkg spot, Scott called. While he and I both kept crying tears of joy, I eventually got the scoop from him on how Valerie was doing, the weight and measurements of their sweet baby and then asked her name. I think SOPHIA LYNNE has a very nice sound to it.

Grandpa and I plan to get to TX on Nov. 15th, unless the kids decide they need us before then. I can't wait to spend a week down there to hug her, kiss her, cradle her..... Need I say more? I am one happy and EXCITED grandma! Oh yeah, Grandpa is a happy camper as well. He's been smiling ever since he got the call, especially since he got the scoop before I did!
draft

Slowing down

Well, after a CRAZY September and October, our hectic schedule might actually be starting to slow down a bit since our travels and camping season 2009 are officially over. That is, until we make a very special trip to TX in several more weeks to welcome our 1st grandchild then mosey on up to AZ and possibly CA.

In Sept. we had a very nice long weekend attending the Williams wedding in WI, enjoying some wonderful fish at the annual Wms fish fry the following weekend, camping w/SVC in Carlock, IL (except for the gnat plague) and topping the month off by hosting the SOITC IL State Rally group in Ashland, IL.

This month has been a bit calmer as our only outing was this past weekend when SVC camped down at Ramsey State Park. And, we'll be temporarily moving into a townhouse in Spfld. on the 31st.

Of course, Nov. might be pretty wild too. Let's see...the Beth Moore conf. Nov. 6-7, a Christmas shopping spree Nov. 14, then waiting for the phone call from TX to head down there. Wow...we never have a dull moment do we?

Back to 4

The "Sangamon Valley Campers Club" is back to only 4 families in our group as Wayne & Twila move to TN the end of this month. I know we are a tight-knit group but maybe we can rally the troops and get some new members in our circle of friends. Way back when the Brockman's, Williams', Osborne's, Hursts, Sipes, etc. were members we had about 15-16 families.

Nonetheless, we all still have a fun time together and enjoyed last weekend up at Kamp Komfort in Carlock. What made it extra special was having Clay & Kim and Todd & Susie join us SA. I think W&T enjoyed their "parting" gift and sure hope they learn to love their new home in Crossville.

Little Bean

OK, seeing a real life sonogram last Friday was way cool, especially since it was our Little Bean! The technician was very good about explaining different body parts ie heart (and she even turned up the volume so we could all hear it, which was quite strong and fast!), the profile, baby's face and diaphragm (sure, whatever you say!), tiny feet and hands. It was a great experience that I am so happy Clay & Kim shared w/Grandma Coleman and me.

The afternoon flew by w/us gals going fabric shopping afterwards. My dil (daughter-in-law) let me pick out fabric for a bag she's going to make me for Christmas and I can't wait to see the finished product.

My afternoon in Bloomington ended w/saying good-bye to Tom & Clay's FAVORITE recliner, Big Orange. It sprung a spring so it has been replaced w/Big Brown. Hopefully, the kids will get used to the new chair quickly so Clay won't keep pouting!

Babies!

Well, to update everyone, I had a great long weekend w/Valerie and Kim in Omaha for Valerie's baby shower on Aug. 15. We had a fun and yummy meal at The Melting Pot that FR evening, which I think our guys would enjoy. The "Fondue Feast" included the appetizer, main entree and dessert. Kind of pricey, but well worth it! On SA, Ana & Sharon put on a terrific shower for Val and "Honey Bun". It was great seeing so many of Valerie's friends and Scott's family again. SA night the Brockman/Lokker gang walked around Old Town and had dinner at Upstream. What a super fun weekend, especially being w/my 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren.

I just read a most beautiful blog that my dil posted this morning. Made me cry, but in a good way! And, I'm totally anxious about going up to Bloomington this afternoon. Clay & Kim have invited Verna and me to go w/them for the sonogram this afternoon. Since I have never seen an actual sonogram done (only the black "souvenir" pix), I'm super excited about this adventure!

Tom and I are so blessed to be having 2 grandchildren 2 months apart. And, of course, if all goes as planned and we retire in Oct. 2010, we'll get to spend part of the summer w/the Brockman family and part of the winter w/the Lokker family. God is so good...all the time!

Funny blogs

From CB - I am having way too much fun reading stories about my 2 grandbabies and their mommies and daddies and can't wait for the first baby shower in 1 1/2 weeks! Woo hoo!!

Last night, I finished my Lokker wedding scrapbook (which was almost 1 1/2 years ago), so now I'm buying papers, stickers, etc. to start preparing for our 2 winter arrivals.

Mr. B's cataract surgery went very well TU so he'll have no excuse to not see what antics his grandchildren are doing. :-)

Oops!

OK, still learning the tricks of the trade. As you can see, I didn't realize I had to put in a title so half of my comments yesterday are in the left margin. What can I say? I'm definitely a work in progress!

Hi all! It appears I, too, will be blogging via T&C's Excellent Adventure. Of course, Mr. B said it all about last weekend. Our next adventure will be to Clinton Lake, minus yours truly as I will be heading to a wonderfully exciting event in NE.

Campout weekend

Went to 'Bo' Woods corps of engineers campground at Lake Shelbyville this weekend with our small group. Got there on friday afternoon and boy was it humid. After getting all set up and getting the bikes off the front of the camper I had to sit in the a/c for a little while to stop sweating. Then I had to change ALL my clothes because they were soaked. Williams, Selvaggios & us all arrived within a few minutes of each other and we all came a different direction. Bruce worked his regular shift and didnt get there until about 5:45. Then we all loaded up and went to Yoders Amish Kitchen in Arthur for supper. Good food on the buffet and several buggies tied to the rails at the end of the parking lot. Went back and had a campfire and watched the clouds roll in. Had one heck of a thunderstorm during the night. Saturday we just sat around until we all decided to go to the Dairy Queen in Shelbyville for lunch. Pat said that they saw it on their way to the campground and thought it was only about 8 miles away. 28 miles later we arrived at DQ. We postponed potluck that night until 7 (too much good food as usual) and then while we we setting around the campfire Bruce said that he heard on the news that the space station and shuttle would be passing over that night. After spotting several airplanes going over Bruce said 'there it is'. We are pretty sure we saw it. It looked like 2 stars close together moving really fast. There were some whispy clouds but we got a pretty good look at it. Today we had the usual hot dog lunch and then headed home.
This evening we went to see The Proposal and it was really good. Saw some previews of another Sandra Bullock movie coming out in March and it looked real funny too.

Ft Lauderdale

Here we all are enjoying Fathers day at Catfish Deweys restaurant. Micki found out about pg Kim when she gave Clay his 'father to be' days card. We spent most of the day at the beach. The next day we went to the beach and enjoyed the record high for the day. It also tied the all time record high for Ft.Lauderdale. A paltry 100 degrees, we've been hotter than than in Illinois. That pretty much sums up the vacation, played in the water every day but one. Ate lots of good seafood. I even had 3 fish tacos.

The Adventure begins

We sold our house in March and closed at the end of April. Then we moved into our 2005 Mobile Suites 5th wheel RV at the N.S.P.O.A. campground at Petersburg Illinois. We own 2 lots and have been trying to get them completed to our liking. For the month of May it pretty much just rained so we didnt get anything done. We started June with a little work on the second lot which is going to be our parking and large storage shed area.This included having our large tree in the middle of the 2 lots taken down because it was falling apart and half dead from the fire. It was removed while we were in Goshen Indiana for a week for our Suite Owners international rally. then the next weekend it was off to Prairie Pines campground in Rantoul Il for our monthly campout with our friends. So now we can start to work. Nope heading to Ft. Lauderdale Fl for a week with Clay & Kim & our future 2nd grandbaby. The pre blog future 1st grandbaby is coming from Scott & Val. So we are paitiently waiting for both!

In the beginning

Hello, just want to see how this blogging thing works.