And the cute little blonde is...

We had a really wonderful time when Valerie, Scott, Sophia and Naomi came to IL June 11-17 before they journeyed farther north to WI for a visit with Scott's family.




They got to Petersburg on MO, 6-11, and spent the night in the Brockman Bungalow. So nice having this extra B&B! On TU, Clay, Kim, Kenley and Chase came down and we had a rocking time watching the 2 1/2 year olds play together (they hadn't seen each other for over a year)
and the two 7-month olds check each other out for the first time. Tom and I were cracking up hearing the reactions of the parents when they saw their new niece and nephew for the 1st time.













Late TU afternoon, everyone packed up and headed to Bloomington w/the Lokker family moving into the Hotel Brockman
and the senior Brockman's taking our Suite up to the Comlara Park campground just a little bit north of B'ton. We stayed at the cg the rest of the week so we could have our monthly camp-out w/our camping buddies










Clay and Kim did a fantastic job keeping all of us entertained throughout the week w/trips to the Andersen pool and playground, the Miller Park Zoo, pool time and water table fun in their backyard, cook-outs, a Ladies Only luncheon, etc.















The 1st evening was a "trial and error" event w/Kenley and Sophia having their 1st "sleep over". Listening to the monitor was a hoot as Kenley kept trying to convince Sophia that they were to be quiet until the sun came up (poor baby sounded so tired) while Sophia was wound up and wanted to continue their conversation, play w/puzzles, etc. Once they FINALLY konked out, Grandpa and I headed to the campground as the 6 of us adults were exhausted...and this was only Day 1 of the Brockman/Lokker reunion! BTW, that was the only "sleep over" the rest of the week.


Before dinner at the cg SA evening, we were able to get some family pictures taken while all 10 of us were together. Thanks for your help, Jane! I just love family time and wish the 10 of us could get together more often but, for now, we'll just cherish every opportunity we get when schedules allow for a gathering of the troops.

The Monitor

Our little 16' camper is now functional, well almost, and has already had its first guests. Yep, the Monitor (aka Brockman Bungalow) is up and running.

After putting lots of blood, sweat and tears into it, the Monitor welcomed the young Brockman's over the weekend (May 25-27). Thanks to Clay and Kim, they provided some good input on a few items that would be convenient such as a clock and a shelf or wall cabinet in the bathroom. About the only major thing left for Tom to do is install a hot water heater so guests can have hot water. However, due to the VERY small shower(20x24), guests will probably prefer to use the one in our Suite. Since we're getting ready to head to Indiana, Michigan and Canada, our next guests (the young Lokker clan) might have to "rough it" and deal w/no hot water. Of course, w/the Monitor being on our back lot, it's not like they will have to walk very far to the Suite to wash up, do dishes, etc. It's been a good summer project for Tom and me and I am so glad we were able to work on the majority of it before these blasted upper 90 degree temps arrived. But, the air-conditioner in there cools it down very nicely. So, if any of you are ever in our neck of the woods, we'd love to have you stop by and stay awhile. Here are a few pictures of our very fun weekend w/Kenley, Chase, Clay & Kim. Since the campground pool isn't ready to be opened yet, we stayed cool w/Kenley & Chase's little pool, many popsicles and a whole lot of golf cart rides!

Chase wants to drive.

Kenley wants the horn to honk.

Chase relaxing at the playground.

And Kenley's first Smore.

Another update already!!

On 1/31 the four of us tried our hand with the Pinochle group that plays every Tuesday. Like the other card games you each put in a quarter at your starting table and after 4 hands the winners move to the next table and get a new partner with one of the losers at that table. At the end of 8 rounds the person at each table that has the highest score gets 75 cents and the one with the lowest score gets 25 cents. Lets just say that I didnt go home empty handed.

On Thursday the 1st we attended a spaghetti dinner to benefit the high school that is next to the campground. It is an annual event and the Mariachi band came and played and the studens serve the spaghetti. The food was very good but it took forever for the campground crew to dish it up. The poor students spent a lot of time standing around. We got there around 4:15 and didnt get done until about 7:30.

Friday we thought we might want to go see the rodeo in Los Fresnos and Tim wanted to check out a Harley shop in San Benito so we headed out around 4pm. We found the Harley shop but it didnt have the bargains Tim was expecting,(Hello, its a Harley shop). I had tried to buy tickets for the rodeo online and although it said that they were $13 in advance it wanted to charge $16 plus $1.50 handling fee so we decided to check at the fair. When we got there they were charging $16 and based on a review from one of the guys at the CG we decided to go see the Clydesdales and then leave.


We were signed up to go to the kite fest at South Padre Island on Sunday with people at the CG but because of the weather forcast we decided to go on our own Saturday. As we were getting ready to leave Tim said that a big storm was heading our way so we put stuff away and tied down our shelter and headed to the kite fest anyway. It was a perfect day!
And it was fun watching the aerobatic displays the kite fliers put on. If you look in the upper left hand section of the picture there are 10 kites that are in a formation. After we left we stopped in Port Isabel for an early dinner at Dirty Als Pelican Landing, it was good seafood except for the clam chowder. On the way home from there it rained like a flat cow peeing on a rock!!!!

There was a trivia night at the CG at 7 and since Tim was not feeling good I filled in for him with the Michigan/Texas group of 8. We were in 2nd or 3rd place for most of the game but won on the bonus question. They were giving 5 clues 1 at a time and you had to guess who or what it was. On the third clue one of the women in our group realized that it was Barbie (the doll). Her name is Barb and she collects Barbie dolls. We won $160!


Sunday was cold(50) and rainy so we stayed in and watched the Super Bowl commercials. Oh, and they cancelled the campground bus to the kite fest!

Today, Monday, 2/6, we had made plans to go to the "no name hamburger place" for lunch. Tim had somewhat recovered from his cold and the other 3 of us just had sniffles so we headed there about 10:45. It is just a small building with an OPEN sign in the window. Story goes that it had a sign but a storm blew it away so when we thought we were there we asked a group of seniors that just got out of a truck if this was the place. We had been told to order one hamburger and split it and when we saw them we knew why.
Notice the size of the hamburger in relation to the tray and the soda cans. We ordered onion rings and Tim & Trish ordered fries and we shared but didnt finish either one. when we got ready to leave we asked how much meat was in each burger and the gal said "they tell me it 1/2 pound but we dont weigh them and I think it over a pound". We agree!

The end of January

Well, we are at the end of our first month at the Alamo Rose CG in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas with our good friends Tim & Trish. We have been very busy playing - Euchre, card bingo, pegs & jokers and learning pinochle. Eating - soup, pizza party, ice cream every Sunday and the occasional potluck. We have been line dancing. It's available about 4-5 times a week and sight seeing.

We went to the RGV RV show in Mercedes and saw a couple of neat 5th wheels. A Redwood with a front living room and a Vision with basement storage almost the entire length of it.

We attended a welcome party at the clubhouse with quite a few local companies giving out stuff. At the nature table Cheryl took the opportunity to wrestle an alligator.
She doesnt look too nervous does she?

We went to Retama Village for their open house and to see Lex & Bonnie Fogg. They have a really nice RV port with a walled courtyard and small casita (house) attached. Its for sale for $230k. You could buy an RV lot for around $55-65k or go all the way up to an actual house in this development.

We went to the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle - National Shrine one Sunday with Trish, it was fun. They give tours and have a gift shop, a hotel, a restaurant and a Mariachi band instead of a choir. And of course afterwards we went to Shoneys for breakfast!

We have been to the movies a couple times. After the fist time, about $35, we discovered that Tuesday was $5 movies and $1 each for a small popcorn and small soda so we only go on Tuesdays from now on.

We met up with our old friends Bill & Nancy Knecht (Bill & I went in the Navy together) who just happen to own a place at the campground (Winter Ranch)we originally were supposed to be at.
All 6 of us went to the Riverside Club last Friday 1/27 and took an hour long boat ride on the Rio Grande, didnt see any bandidos but did see a couple of border patrol boats and a helicopter. Then Cheryl had some catfish and I had a HUGE pork tenderloin sandwich.

On Saturday 1/28 Cheryl went to her first and last "Ropa". They think its Spanish for clothes. There are several "stores" around and you basically go and dig through a mountain of clothes that is being piled up by endloader and what you pick out is weighed and you pay by the pound. Here they are on the top of the pile.

Yesterday 1/29 Tim & I went to a car show at the McAllen convention center. There were a lot of old cars there, most of which I remember when they were new! Outside they had a small carnival, an autocross and gas powered remote control cars drag racing. It was fun and we spent most of the day there.

Winter Texans

Yep, that's what you're called down here in southern Texas. I've slipped and used the "snowbird" word a couple of times and just got a blank look on people's faces.

December was a busy month. While in AL, we spent time w/friends from home, Bill & Carole Nerone. Mid-December through Christmas was a wonderful time in Bloomington, IL w/Clay, Kim, Kenley and the newest little Brockman, Chase.
Sure glad the weather cooperated while we travelled back and forth. The latter part of December was back in AL but with a trip mid-week to Ft. Walton Beach for Christmas w/Valerie, Scott, Sophia and sweet Naomi.
It was fun watching Sophia "help" everyone open Christmas gifts.

On Dec. 29th, we left for an easy 4 hour drive to meet up w/our MI friends, Tim & Trish, at the Ponchatrain Landing RV Park in New Orleans (aka Nawlins). However, it stretched out to about 8 hours due to a 40 car wreck that closed I-10 about 5 miles from our destination. We enjoyed walking around the Bourbon Street area and had some good jambalaya and catfish while Tom had a combo plate w/various creole things.

After a long 9-hour drive day, we all spent New Year's Eve at a cg in Victoria, TX and made it just in time for their potluck party. After filling our bellies and playing some Euchre, we left the clubhouse around 10 p.m. Since Tom and I have never slept through the midnight hour, we forced ourselves to watch TV. At the stroke of midnight, we kissed each other to ring in the New Year and were in bed by 12:10!

After a mix-up on Tim's campsite at the 1st cg here in Alamo, TX that we all made reservations for last March, we moved to the Alamo Rose RV Resort and are having a great time. Lots of very friendly people and plenty of stuff to keep us as busy or as laid-back as we want. It's great getting to spend the winter w/Tim & Trish. Always fun but I can't wait for us gals to get our mojo back on pegs & jokers and Euchre.

Made our first trip to Nuevo Progreso, MX on TU.
After doing some shopping we all had some good margaritas while listening to a band and watching a few people dance. We determined they have their happy hours at 1:00 to cater to us seniors, which is contrary to the happy hours in the states who cater to the "after work" crowd. But, we did enjoy our 2 for 1 drinks! Afterwards, we had some good authentic Mexican food before we paid our quarter to get back into the good ol' USA.