Grandkid’s Summer 2013 Vacation #2–Update #5

Monday was a different kind of day.  The kids actually decided that they wanted a day off from swimming…. which was a good thing because it looked like a thunderstorm day.

We went to Rachel’s house and dropped the kids off to play with her, while Patsy and I went shopping at Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart to restock the Bus before our trip on Tuesday to the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, AR.

We got back about1:00PM, and Deanne left to take her dog, Izzey, to the Vet for shots.  While she was gone, we all played with Rachel and some of the toys that we brought to her that used to belong to Aubrey.

I also caught her when she was quiet and restful………….

We had planned on a hamburger cookout at Deanne’s, but the weather was still stormy, so we opted to eat out again.  We went to a hamburger and shake place called “The Purple Cow”, a place where both Aubrey and Matthew had been before and liked it.  They have some of the best hamburgers in town, and make really good milk shakes, and in Aubrey’s case, purple ice cream!!

Of course, I took a couple of pictures of one of the sweetest and most beautiful granddaughters in the world………

After dinner, we said our goodbyes to Mike, Deanne and Rachel for two days, and went home to ready the Bus for the 100 mile trip to the Crater of Diamonds State Park on Tuesday for a two-day stay.  We will return to Little Rock to take care of Rachel again on the weekend.

Grandkid’s Summer 2013 Vacation #2–Update #4

On Sunday, our plan was to take the kids to the water park again while Deanne and Mike continued to work at the new house.  We woke up to the usual….. Aubrey and Matthew already awake, with Aubrey having her bed made up, and Matthew not in gear yet!!!!

Once we got the Bus in order, we headed over to Deanne and Mike’s to pick up Rachel.  This time, we forgot to pickup her life preserver, but we decided to go without it, and just watch her closer.  We spend only a short time at the kiddee pool, and then got some chairs around the wave pool………

Again, Rachel was not the least bit timid about the water, and actually seemed to enjoy going after the bubbles in the waves.   Surprisingly, she was also content with just sitting and watching the people around her.  She even went walking into the deeper water with her Poppaw….

Like Saturday, we stayed in the water for about 4—5 minutes, and then went home to rest.  We dropped Rachel off at her house, and then went to the Bus to get dressed for Sunday night dinner.  The restaurant that we originally chose was closed on Sunday night, so we ended at at NYPD Pizza, a place where we had eaten before.  Matthew had been wanting pizza for a couple of days, but he was confused by the pizzas being called “PIES” on the menu.  In addition to the Manhattan pizza (pepperoni, beef and bacon) that the kids had, they had other really good Italian dishes.  Mike and I had chicken parmesan and it was delicious!

Matthew continued to be confused and kept waiting for his Pie to come as a desert!!!!

To make the pizza, the chef tossed the dough for the crust to make the round shape.  The kitchen was directly behind Rachel.  It was hard to catch the tossing action with my iPhone camera, but they were making so many pizzas,  I managed to catch some of the dough in the air…….

I also focused on Rachel at dinner……….

After dinner, we went home to the Bus to rest up after a long day!!

Grandkid’s Summer 2013 Vacation #2–Update #3

On Saturday, we went back to the water park, and this time, we had Rachel with us.  We were not sure how she would react, as I have seen small kids absolutely refuse to go into the kid’s pool.  However, with Aubrey with her, she went right into the water:

She was having so much fun that we decided to put floatee’s on her and went to the wave pool:

Aubrey spent some time playing with Rachel and a lot of time riding the “wilder” slides with Matthew.  We hardly saw Matthew, except for the “every hour check-in’s” that we had him do with us.  After about 5 hours of water fun and heat, we went back to the Bus for a rest.  Rachel was totally wore out, and began to wake up after a 2 1/2 hour nap………….

Deanne and Mike spent the day working on their new house.

More on Sunday.

Grandkid’s Summer 2013 Vacation #2–Update #2

We left Atlanta State Park just before 9:00AM on Friday morning and arrived at North Little Rock Riverside RV Park at noon. 

After getting the Bus parked and hooked up, we headed to Deanne’s house to see Rachel.  Here are some up to date pictures of grandchild #3……..

After visiting with Aubrey and Matthew for a couple of hours, Rachel fell asleep, and we left to go to the Wild River Water Park, where the kid’s had season passes, and Patsy and I got in for free since we were over 60!!!

It is a really nice water park with a lot of attractions.   We got there at about 4:30PM, got our credentials (we had purchased the tickets on-line), and entered the park.  The kid’s rode several slides and hit the wave pool, before a thunder storm with lightening covered the area, and the park was shutdown for a while.  We left to get something to eat, and returned about an hour later and the park had re-opened!!

Here are some pictures of the kid’s having fun:

Three of the slides………….

The kid’s riding one of the slides………..

Aubrey and Matthew were plenty tired when we got back to the Bus tonight and are fast asleep as I type this blog.

Tomorrow, we will return to the water park, but this time, Rachel will be with her.  Deanne bought her a flotation device today.  We will all be at the water park, while Deanne and Mike will be working on finishing up some detail work on their new house!!

Later………….

Grandkid’s Summer 2013 Vacation #2–Update #1

We left home at 10:45AM on Thursday immediately after Aubrey finished up her Cheer Practice for the week.  We had a 400 mile to get to the Atlanta State Park, where I had a reservation. 

During the day, I had a good co-pilot………..

We arrived just after 6:00PM, and the site was waiting.   It was our first visit to this park, and it was a nice one.

While I got us hooked up, the kid’s saw a lot of pine cones and decided to collect a bag full.

To celebrate the end of a good travel day, Matthew had a cold (root)beer while watching “The Motive” on TV.

Tomorrow, we arrive at Little Rock!!

Grandkid’s Summer 2013 Vacation #2

On Thursday, we will leave on our 2nd summer trip with our grandkids.  This time, we will be traveling to Little Rock to visit with our third grandchild, Rachel.  Aubrey and Matthew have not seen her since last September, and are excited to see how much she has grown.

Matthew is, however, more excited about the season tickets that I purchased for him and Aubrey to Wild River Country in Little Rock.  We will be in Little Rock for about 6 days, and the season passes were less than the cost of two daily entries……… Now we can come and go as we please.  Seniors, like Patsy and I, are free!

On the  way to Little Rock, we plan to overnight at Atlanta State Park, near Atlanta, TX.  Also during this trip, we will spend two nights at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murphreesboro, AR.  This state park also has a nice water park.

The kids got here on Tuesday because Mom had a ‘work trip’ scheduled to go to Salt Lake City.  They went with us to get the Bus out of the storage garage, and they are really excited about the trip.  We have begun the packing this morining, and Matthew and I went to Wal-Mart to buy supplies for the trip…………. with him helping me, the supplies included some cookies, candy, root beer, etc.  I thought he was RIGHT!!  Since they have become ‘seasoned’ RV travelers, they are becoming helpful with the packing and make-ready, exclusive of the food choices!!!

Next post will come after we hit the highways!