"Of Course, We'll Watch the Kids!"

We had some really fun times during our stay in Dickinson.  Being 25 minutes away from Chris, Angie and the grandkids was great.

One of the first things we did was take advantage of the pool a the RV park.







Then, we had lunch with Caleb at his school.

One weekend, we spent a day at Dewberry Farms.  Hannah in the Pumpkin Patch

Caleb firing the Apple Blaster

There were slides and rides and bouncing and lots of fun things for the kids to do.

And when we weren't going places, they could ride their scooters in the RV Park

We went with them for Trick-or-Treating                                   Hannah was Moana and Caleb was a                                                                                       Minecraft Zombie - Chris made the costume out                                                                                       of cardboard boxes.

                                                                                   
November arrived and with it a trip to Hawaii.  Maui, to be exact.  It was one of those things where they make you a deal you can't refuse in exchange for listening to a sales presentation.So we got the frequent flyer miles together, spent the night with Brian in Arlington, and flew out of DFW.  The sales presentation was supposed to be 90 minutes.  We made sure he knew we were not buying anything and we cut it down to 45 minutes.









So then we had time for a day at the beach,

a snorkel trip, a "glass bottom boat" tour, zip lining, a walking tour of historic Lahaina, 
















In front of the Banyon tree in Lahaina during our walking tour.

Jane made the news: the only tourist in 100 years to be attacked by a shark during our walking tour of Lahaina.
After 3 days, he belched and she was back.




OK - maybe this was at the aquarium.

We toured a lavender farm high up in the mountains.

Jane on the zip line.

Doesn't that look like fun?


After the walking tour, I did a little shopping and when I returned to the park where I had left Jim, I found him napping on a bench.  It was a relaxing time.  Five days of vacation from our everyday vacation.  We had a small suite - kitchen, washer, dryer, ocean views, whirlpool tub - it was a good trip.  Another night with Brian then back to Dickinson.










We went to Hannah's 5th birthday party the day we got back.  My baby granddaughter is five, sassy, opinionated, hilarious, brilliant, beautiful and sweet.

The day after her birthday party, we took her to see Disney on Ice.

Next up, a week of keeping the grands during a not-so-great weather time.  We saw a couple movies, went bumper-bowling (only one dropping the ball on the toe incident), took the kids to Luby's for lunch.....us and all the other grandparents in town.  Turns out kids eat free on Wednesday and Saturday. WooHoo!


When we got a break in the weather, we went to Art in the Park in Friendswood and spent a lot of time at a couple of playgrounds.

















Caleb is standing beside a "tree" that is actually a man in a very elaborate costume who was walking around at Art in the Park.

 For Thanksgiving, we ate with Chris, Angie and the kids at noon.  They made the turkey, I made some sides and desserts and we had a wonderful meal.  Then we came back to the house and they went to Chris' parents to eat again.

On December first, we left Dickinson and arrived in San Benito, Texas for a month at Fun and Sun RV Resort.  Of course, Jim jumped right into pickleball (indoor courts) and after some physical therapy for his shoulder while we were in Dickinson, he decided to try to play softball for the first time in a long time.  I started line dancing classes but could not make myself go to pool exercise classes in the very chilly weather.  OK, it snowed, it was just plain cold weather.  We had hoped for warmth in the Rio Grande Valley, but we did not get it.


 Everyone was here for Christmas!  The day the Lynches arrived the weather was very warm, but it went downhill from there.  We rented a vacant fifth wheel across from us for them to stay in so sleeping wouldn't be quite so crowded and it worked out great.  They put the kids to bed at night then came back over to play cards and hang out.  Every morning we heard a little knock on the door and opened it to find early bird Hannah standing outside.  We put her in bed with us and played and talked till she was ready for breakfast.

                                                                    One day was nice enough to get in some pool time.






Brian came down the morning of Christmas Eve and stayed till the evening of Christmas day.  By Christmas Eve the weather had warmed a bit and we spent a few hours at the heated pool. Christmas day, the park had a potluck dinner.  We all got lots to eat and it was really good.  The day after Christmas, we went to South Padre Island for the afternoon.  The kids played on the beach and , of course, built a sand castle with Grampa.  The water was soooo cold but we waded a little. 

New Year's Eve was spent at a dance here at the park.  A whole lot of us old folks made it to midnight!  I say old folks because this is an Encore Park, age restricted, over 55 only.  There are 10 of these Encore Parks in the RGV.  We plan to check out some of the others while we are here so we can make plans for next year.  We have heard conflicting reports concerning this weather.  Colder than normal, about the same as usual, this never happens.........etc.  While Jim was waiting to get the propane tank filled the other day, a man in line said he only wore a coat one day last year.  A couple we met at a dance said they have been here three times and the weather has been awful every time. We have now wintered in Texas, Florida and Arizona.  Good and bad things in all three places.  One thing that has been consistently good is the people we have met.   So many people from so many places with so many stories.  They have been friendly, helpful and fun.

On January first, we packed up to go 8 miles down the road to another Encore park for a three month stay.  As we were about to leave, we tried to put the bedroom slide in and it refused.  No matter what we did, it refused.  A repairman is coming tomorrow.  We hope he can replace the slide motor and we can be moving on.  Some friends we met at the park in Tucson last winter are already at Tropic Winds in Harlingen and we are supposed to be there too.  Once more our RV has changed our plans.  Hoping the technician who comes tomorrow is a genius and can figure out how to change out an unreachable motor on an unmovable slide.  High hopes!!   Well, the technician came and tried everything he could think of and nothing worked.  He came to the conclusion that we needed a new motor.....and.....they don't work on motors.  A week later another technician from a different company was scheduled to arrive and I decided that since the weather had warmed quite a bit, I would try the slide again.  Worked like a charm.  I had already told Jim I thought the problem was the extreme cold but I had no way to prove it....until it worked when it warmed up.  So the tech looked at it, said he didn't see any problems and left.  Then we packed up again and left.  Funny story....after we arrived at Tropic Winds, Jim told me I should try my magic touch on the awning that hadn't worked for at least a month and I did and it worked.  An RV is a strange animal indeed.