Mexico to Missouri

We left Mexico about 8:45 AM Friday morning after getting Marlene's meds and headed north on 77. North of LaGrange Texas about 10 miles we witnessed a flying car. I am not kidding. An airborn car came across our lane in front of us. It had to be about 4 to 5 feet off the ground. There was a car behind a truck in front of us  so we do not know what precipatated the flying car and we have been speculating on it ever since. Butch slowed down thinking he would have to stop but there were others stopped already because there had been a previous accident as there were two young people wandering around their car and you could see their airbags had deployed. We do not know if the two incidents were connected. I would have stopped. I had some concern because I saw the flying car land. It hit very hard in the ditch and smoke immediately rolled out from beneath it.
That was quite exciting in a worrisome kind of way.

Then we had just come through Waco, looking for a motel to stay in when son Gary called to ask where we were. I took the opportunity to ask him to research on the computer, he is very good at that, a motel for us north of Waco. Preferably a Motel 6. He called back shortly as we were on the edge of Hillsboro TX to tell us there was a Motel 6 right there at Hillsboro!. He said Expedia suggests this one at Hillsboro and gives it a high rating. He gave us the exit number which happened to be 2 exits from where we were at that very minute! How good is that. We avoided being involved in a very bad accident by mere seconds and then received a phone call at exactly the right time. We are mighty fortunate people I tell you! Oh, and it was an excellent motel too.
Today we left Hillsboro very early and enjoyed a very smooth trip through Fort Worth, Texas. The best trip through there we have ever had(7:00 a m). While we were going through Fort Worth they had one of those Amber Alert messages that said an elderly couple had been reported missing driving a white Buick. I told Butch often times those alerts are slightly premature and the parents just forgot to check in with the kids. I also said I do not want to ever be the elderly couple in the white Buick. Butch said, "Oh, I don't know, I might like a white Buick."
We ran into bits of snow in north Texas and then more as we were in Oklahoma. All of this was old snow and none was on the roadways. Hope that continues but I hear that is not the case in Iowa. So after this message gets posted I must check the road conditions in Iowa.

We arrived in Lee's Summit Missouri at the Gary and Susan Brooker residence and have enjoyed a delicious South Beach supper.
Tomorrow we will venture even further north to the fine state of Iowa.
Till next time...

Leaving for Iowa

We will be going back to Iowa today. Butch's nephew Dan is not doing well so we are going to be with family during this difficult time.
We will be traveling by car and leaving the motorhome in Texas. That will be very different for us as we have not taken a long trip by car for over 10 years. Dealing with winter will be very different for us as well but we have had experience.
I am leaving my laptop in Texas and will be relying on my Kindle Fire. Blog entries will most likely be spasmodic at best although I do plan to keep you posted as much as possible.
Till next time...

Elise Xmas Videos...plus one old one.

Mostly Christmas but one old one from Amanda's camera
 Santa's Helper
 http://youtu.be/tfqDC4lEdBU

 Elise says No
 http://youtu.be/THJbn9JlWwo

Cool Cups
 http://youtu.be/pjqXafWn7oM 

Santa Gifts
 http://youtu.be/cAzRQPzbuE0

More Gifts
 http://youtu.be/3Fo38O8ZgZI

Elise showing Joy
http://youtu.be/_rc6JyRZw_8 

 Elise & Mommie with Playdoh
http://youtu.be/I-CMGKySki8

Cold front...

Butch is off to play pool in league and I would usually be on my walk but the thermometer is at a chilly 41 degrees so it will have to warm a bit before I venture forth. They say you burn far more calories in cold weather so maybe I need to get my slightly chubby behind out there anyway. We made it through Christmas with the diet habits intact. Butch is 3 lbs from his goal. (Of course he is!) I am at least 10 to 15 from mine. My resolve is still strong although the difficulty will increase with one of us on it and one not. I remind myself that being 10 to 15 away is certainly better than 30 to 35. All my friends were good to me and did not present me with sugary treats. I truly appreciated that very much. Well, it is time to remove myself from this computer screen and get to something constructive. Later...

Elise's Big Smile

I must say that Elise's big smile stayed with me all day yesterday. She is a happy little girl but I do not believe I have ever seen her smile so big. In talking to her grandpa last night he shared that she is into sharing these days. She will break off a piece of whatever she is eating and place it in front of you and says,"In case you change your mind later."

 

Ethan is ready for Santa

He is so excited. Those bright smiling faces are so fun to see.

Looks to me like Santa is on a diet.

Santa needs to shave

Elise has not liked beards I would say since birth. When her great grandpa picked her up she would touch his face and utter one word "shave". So when I saw what her mother had put on Facebook I simply had to share it.
Elise's mom, Amanda says,"What did Elise leave out for Santa?? Most children leave out cookies and milk, but not my girl. She insisted Santa needed a razor and shave gel because Santa needs to shave! She has told Santa that he needs to shave his whiskers because they are gross every time she sees one."

Christmas Eve 2012

From our sunny South Texas home to yours. I am perspiring as I write this and it takes a pretty good imagination for it to feel like Christmas. Do I miss being with the "kids" for Christmas?  The truth of the matter is the answer is a big old "YES". Some years more than others. Perhaps because it has been so many years away from them at this time of year. We try to make up for it in the warmer months but that can be hard too. We all lead such busy lives. I do look for it to get better. Our home in Jefferson is being built around a big expandable round table where we can all gather in one place at one time. That has been in my mind from the inception of the whole idea. So my hope is that we can have all of our celebrations rolled into one big one in the summer when we can all gather together. As always I feel that you keep up with us throughout the year through this blog. For many years I wrote a Christmas letter and mailed out nearly a hundred of them. In 2002 I started this blog and a couple of years after that I decided that most of you, if you had an interest, knew what we were doing, sometimes every day! The only negative to that is I may not hear from you and know what you are doing. So if you are so inclined let us know what you are up to wherever you may be. So we hope your Christmas is everything you want it to be this year and every year. Merry Christmas ya'all!!