Month: December 2021

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Hanukkah and Christmas Farm

As I have mentioned before my son-in-law is Jewish and we love having the opportunity to be part of his culture. Oliver is going to a Jewish preschool and when they opened the doors for a Hanukkah celebration I was thrilled to be able to attend. It was really fun seeing all the little kids and although Oliver was somewhat shy that day he came out of his shell enough to show us around. The rooms were absolutely terrific and I loved the artwork and I was so glad we were able to attend.

Loved this

Lee loves taking Oliver on errands with him and when they are out and about sometimes they will stop by and see Grammy. Oliver is fascinated with my computer and loves to “type” things and I got this great picture of him contributing. They never stay long but its a wonderful treat on a work day.

I live for the weekends though when I really get to spend some time with him and I always try to find something special. Last weekend I came across a Christmas party at a local petting zoo farm and we decided to try it out. Initially it didn’t look that great but it turned out to be very fun although Oliver wanted nothing to do with Santa Claus. After a couple of attempts I did get him to take a pony ride though and that was an absolute blast. Nothing wears you out quite like keeping up with a two year old though and we were all pooped out by the end!

We actually got to ride a party bus from the parking lot. They covered the “stripper” pole with garland which cracked us up
First time on the pony was a no
Not interested in bouncy house either
He loved these little guys though
And the sandbox was a big hit
Chickens
Sweet donkey
Huge piggy
The baby goats were awesome
Had to get a yummy cookie
This was as close as we got to Santa Claus
Oliver loves little babie
These are super cute
The bus ride may have been his favorite
Second time on a pony was a win!

Kyrston really wanted a Santa picture, but that wasn’t happening. Thankfully they had an old truck with Christmas stuff and since Oliver loves trucks he was happy to pose some for us. We had a lovely time, although it’s weird being outside at Christmas with it being so warm. I do miss the snow (just a little) this time of year.

Sweet boy

I don’t want to forget about Elliott though. He’s growing like crazy and Kat has been sending pictures and some video. Here are a couple of my favorites.

He loves this old fashioned keys Grammy sent him
They have LOTS of snow in Minnesota
Kat and Elliott in front of their tree

Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
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Oliver and Pappy and Grammy

When we first became grandparents I really wanted to wait for Oliver to pick a name for us. Unfortunately that didn’t work out so well, so we started nudging him in a general direction. Ultimately we landed on Pappy and Grammy and hearing him say our names is amazing!! While I was with my Mom Lee spent a ton of one on one time with him and that continued when I came back. There were so many small trips (each one really special) that I decided to share them all here. None of these are in any particular order but will give you a feel for the fun the last two weeks.

Oliver hanging out at the campground. which has a great playground. Jack gets a little pouty.

One of the reasons I cam back early was the participate in decorating the tree. Kyrston got a big tree for herself and Jeremy and a little one for Oliver and it was very fun helping him decorate. I guess after we left the ornaments went flying but it was super cool while it lasted.

  • Olivers little tree
  • All the stuff!!
  • Oliver even had his own tree topper
  • The star on top is the one we had when the kids were small so glad it still works!
  • Since Jeremy is Jewish I had this made!

One of the things Oliver loves to do is run errands. Lee took him tons of places while I was gone and we took him shopping a couple of times when I got back. The cool thing about 2 year old short attention span is you can literally buy the toy he just played with (put in a separate cart) and he doesn’t really get it. We always made sure to buy him something small he could play with so he largely ignored the stuff in boxes. The one thing I couldn’t find was an age appropriate pirate ship but Lee found a practically new one on FB marketplace and it only costs $15…SCORE!!!!!

  • Testing out a drum kit
  • Lee loved the tool sets
  • This almost led to an accident!!
  • Always time for ice cream
  • or pineapple
  • This was a toy we let him take home
  • Honestly not sure why we buy him toys when he has fun with a bag
  • Pirate ship!!!

The best trip though was when Oliver and Pappy went to the beach together. I was working that day and they were gone for hours. Time at the ocean and then some geocaching later. They had an awesome day and Lee wore him out! No small feat for a 53 year old.

  • Joe Cool ready for his roadtrip
  • He was tentative at first
  • That didn’t last long
  • Quick stop to look at some construction
  • He needed a change!
  • Learning about geocaching
  • Jack for some reason decided to climb this tree
  • Treasure
  • Conked out!!

Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.
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November 2021 Budget

Big UGGG for the month of November as we spent over $10K. The main reasons for this were I took a trip to see my Mom down in Florida and we decided to buy all of our Christmas presents in November because of concern of supply chain issues. The gifts alone were $2274 but if you take that (and the meals) out of the equation it was a pretty standard month See below for more details.

Campground Fees – We are spending a ridiculous amount of money on the KOA we are staying at but since it is only 4 miles from my daughter and there are hardly any places to stay here it is worth it.

Cigarettes – This category is actually for my Vape Juice and since the best prices I can find are here in Charleston I took advantage of pricing and discounts to buy most of a years supply all at one time. It will definitely save me money in the long run.

Travel Transportation – This $521 was for my flight and expenses associated with that travel.

Truck Fuel – Truck fuel is insane right now and even though we aren’t driving much we are still paying top dollar. Unfortunately there are no EFS truck stops near us so no big discounts. After doing some research Lee spent $55 on a BJ’s membership because their basic price is 30 cents cheaper than anywhere else. He also got a no annual fee credit card through them which gives us another 10 cents a gallon off.

Truck Maintenance – Lee took the truck in for an oil change and had some minor repairs done.

We don’t have too many months like this but they do happen. Thankfully bonus time is right around the corner and my company had a good year.

Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.
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First Time in Venice (Florida)

Two years ago right before COVID really hit in the US my Mom moved from Myrtle Beach to Venice Florida. Closing on two houses in a 30 day period is no mean feat under normal circumstances, but she did it in the middle of a pandemic and despite the challenges managed to move to Venice right before things got really bad. Unfortunately although her brother lived there, right when she arrived no vaccines were available and everyone was social distancing so she was in a new place without any of the traditional means of meeting new people.

Thankfully the folks in her condo complex were really great and with some inventive social distancing (carport happy hour) she managed to meet some folks. Then over time they all got vaccinated so things loosened up even more and at the time of this writing she has made lots of friends, found a church, and has a schedule of activities that makes me tired!

Because of a variety of factors though I had not been able to see her new place, so when her plans opened up for Thanksgiving and I had a few extra vacation days I decided to drive down. Well that was my initial plan but it was going to cost $650 for a rental car for 5 days (4X the amount for a non holiday week) and despite my misgivings I looked for flights. Ultimately I found a round trip fare through Charlotte (no way was I messing with Atlanta) for $345 through American Airlines into Tampa and I booked it. Mom was nice enough to drive the 1hr and 15 minutes to come pick me up and over the next few days I got to see how she lived.

I absolutely loved her new condo which has a screened in front porch AND back porch and beautiful high ceilings. It backs up to a nature preserve so no one is behind her and at night we could hear the rustling in the wilderness. Made me glad we were on the second floor.

  • Very high ceiling this picture doesn’t do it justice
  • Front porch
  • Cool reading alcove off the kitchen
  • Huge back porch
  • With the washer and dryer behind the doors on the porch.
I loved that the dryer was outside for both noise reduction and less heat

By choice we ate out almost every day (she cooked Thanksgiving dinner) and I tried several new places. We also had a chance to see my Dad’s sister and brother-in-law and my mom’s brother. I have family on both sides in Venice which is pretty cool.

  • Mom eats here every Sunday after church
  • Love me some gulf shrimp
Eating Italian at Angelo’s with my Dad’s sister Susie and her husband Don. This is my Dad’s favorite place when he is in town and he was super jealous when I sent him a pic. The waiter was kind enough to include himself in our selfie which cracked me up!
  • Sharky’s
  • This strawberry shortcake was amazing
Mom and I ate at Sharkey’s with my RVing friends Gene and Eileen. They settled in Venice a few years back.
Thanksgiving dinner with Uncle Larry and Mom. Nice having Mom’s cooking for the holiday.

Despite the evidence, we didn’t just eat though. We visited a very cool Amish farmers market (yes there are Mennonites who winter in Venice Florida) , we went to the ocean and the pier. We also went to a couple of thrift stores and even hit up the outlet store on Weds so I could get a new piece of luggage. It was alot of fun seeing the area and I really like that Venice isn’t super overdeveloped.

  • Mom and I getting pedicures
  • The farmers market
  • The prices and product were AMAZING!
  • My Uncle Larrys house
  • Beautiful unspoiled beach
  • Nice walks through the dunes
  • The pier was great
  • Croquet is very popular and everyone wears white. I was surprised to learn Gene and Eileen are playing!
  • The outlet mall
  • Serves beer…well its Florida 🙂
  • Love my new Samsonite

It was great seeing Mom and most importantly I now feel really comfortable that she is in a safe place. I know she thinks I am silly for worrying, but hey that’s what daughters do. At least this one does!

Supporting our Blog

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

  • You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
  • You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes.