August 15, 2007 Oh yes, more disasters are happening but we are tackling them as they come along. Can't remember if I put in another blog but Kim and Danny's wedding bands were too big when they put them on last week. Danny picked both rings up when we came down for the final count with the golf course, August 4th. That's when he picked them up and supposedly he had tried his on but Kim wasn't with him at the time, she was having her hair done by the lady that is doing all of hair for the wedding. Anyway, last Friday Danny called the jeweler and said they were too big and Pauline said bring them by Thursday when you come down and she will make sure they get fixed, if they really needed it. We left before them and when they got to Simi they went straight to the jewelers and Pauline had the day off and the owner that we know is on vacation. The jeweler has 2 shops and the one that helps Tom, the owner, was at the other shop on the other side of Simi. Kim's ring was suppose to be a size 6 1/2 but when measured it was 7 1/4 and Danny's was suppose to be size 9 but measured 10, boy did the jeweler screw up, which has never happened to us in the 20 years we have been going to them. There isn't enough time to fix them right so they ended up putting in fillers so they won't fall off their fingers and will have to fix them right after the honeymoon. That was disaster 1.
Disaster 2
Dave and Danny went to Northridge to pick up their tuxes, well, Dave's tux pants are CAPRI'S. They measure from the waist down and the measurement was suppose to be 43 inches but they made them 34 inches. Luckily, there was a lot of pant leg that they had seamed up so Dave had to leave it and they said by the time Danny comes back tonight with the best man Dave's pants should be fixed.
Disaster 3 (almost)
We left Valentine, our dog, at David Jr's this afternoon, their dog hutch we didn't think would be a problem. When we went by at 5, when they got home from work, Valley was in the house but Hutch was outside. David said that Hutch was being mean to Valley and wouldn't let her in the garage to lay down, that's why he was staying outside and Valley was in the house. I then took Valley to the coach, we have it parked at David's, to try and feed her. She didn't finish so we went back into David's and Jodi was just feeding Hutch in the kitchen so I put the rest of Valley's food down in another room. Hutch came running in so I went to pick up Valley's food and Hutch just attacked Valley but ended up biting me. I think Hutch was just doing a dominate thing, which the house is his territory, but thank goodness he didn't break the skin. Jodie and David felt so bad but it wasn't their fault, I called Joann, Vickey's mom, because she had said if we needed Valley could stay there, so that's where she is now. No other dogs, Joann has a doggy door so Valley can go in and out plus she gets to sleep in the bedroom with Joann.
That's it for now, Dave and I are in the hotel and Kim is in the ajoining room writing her vows. She and Danny met with the pastor tonight, we didn't get to go because of the ring screw up, Danny had the pastor while growing up and this was the 1st time Kim met him.
Let's see what happens tomorrow, I just can't wait.

August 15, 2007 another post. 1st of, I'm sure, many more almost disasters to happen, Danielle, one of the brides maids that flew in from Hawaii last night tried on her dress and it didn't fit. I believe a few blogs back I had mentioned that we picked the dress up in Northridge on our way to the bacheloreete party, that turned into a disaster. Danielle guessed on the size and she was really wrong, but thank goodness David's Bridal had one more dress like it and it was Danielle's size. One disaster avoided, how do you like my new word, disaster? Hope it's spelled right.
Picked up Kim's dress and they showed me how to tie up the back train, the slip part will be no problem it's the lace part that is a challenge, hopefully my niece, Marisa, will be able to help me.

August 15, 2007 I believe this will be my last blog for a little while. I know after the last blog I should have had writers cramps and taken at least another week off, no such luck. Yesterday, after the urgent care visit for Dave he then went to Kim's and started wrapping the presents, he didn't finish so he is there today finishing up. He did go to AAA and got the stuff for the airlines, so that's done and Kim doesn't havr to worry anymore. In the afternoon Kim and I had our hair done then Dave and I took Kim out to dinner, you know to talk about the "Birds and the Bees", ya, right, she still hasn't told us everything she knows.:) We just told her she is very lucky, Danny is a great guy, and we will always be there for her if anything should come up, except money issues, then they can call Danny's parents. Just kidding, they have to try and find us 1st. Anyway, it was a nice dinner and good conversation and all agreed very nervous. She still hasn't written down her vows yet, she said she has them in her head, but just hasn't written them down yet. Dave read me his speech again with the funny lines in it and he still couldn't get through it without tears. He said maybe after reading it a few more times he will get through it, sure but not at the wedding he won't. Kim has nails put on this afternoon then at 5pm we go and pick up her dress. Tonight we go over to the house and load up my car with all the wedding stuff then drive down to Simi tomorrow. I think that's about it, will write again after the wedding.

August 14, 2007 for once I have new news within the last couple days, you don't have to wait a week to hear from us. I left off on the last blog that we were going to Kim's for dinner, which we did, and went over everything we could think of. Wrapping the gifts for the wedding party, Dave's job, only because when he was a teen he had a job at a store where he worked in the wrapping department. Plus, if you really know Kim and I you know we prefer to give gifts in brown paper bags. We went over the sitting chart for the wedding and finalized it so Sunday Dave could take it to Kinko's to have it printed up.
Saturday we drove down for Marisa's baby shower, it took 3 hours to drive down, boy we hate that L.A. traffic, we stayed 3 hours and we got lucky on the way back and it took only 2 hours. The shower was very nice, just sorry we couldn't stay for the whole thing, but when you live so far away and have dogs waiting for you, oh well. We did have a great visit with people, and for at least 1 of the 3 hours we were there it took my mind off of the wedding. Talking to my brother Mike is always a good time. I even heard a story of Mike's nuts hanging out of his shorts at an Arborne party that Spanky thru at his house. Of course, Mike's comment was "Why was the bitch looking at my croutch anyway" it's my house and I can sit anyway I want. The bitch was Spanky's X - boss so who really cares anyway, but after that comment from Mike, Dave asked Mike not to wear shorts to the wedding.
Mike was asking "Danny" if he was going to be safe at the wedding with all of his family coming, Danny said "yea" just have a knife on you. Mike then told him he was going to come dressed as a Border Patrol Officer or an Immigration Officer, boy did we all laugh. On the drive home, after the shower, Danny made a comment that he didn't think that Uncle Mike liked him at first, Kim told him with the kidding that Uncle Mike is giving him, he is more then welcome in the family. That's what Danny thought too, when Mike doesn't give you a bad time "that means you are not welcome"
Sunday, I went over to Kim's early and we starting doing house cleaning, this way they don't have to come home to a dirty house. Our job was cleaning, Dave was going to Kinko's, then Dave and Danny worked on the plumbing/electrical stuff to get ready for the new Refrig. that Kim and Danny purchased. That night they came to our RV for dinner and go over everything again, this seems to be an never ending thing to do.
Today, Monday, at 8:30am we took Valley into the vet for a check-up and get her papers for Canada. Since we need original papers for her Rabies shot and we only had a copy faxed from our vet in Simi, which was good until April 2008, Dave said lets go ahead and get another shot for her a year early and have the original papers like we need. Valley had also started digging at her ear so when we took her in the vet looked at that too plus cut her nails. When we left Valley was acting very strange, she kept digging at her ear, kicking her legs, ect. very strange for her. When we got back to the coach she would run, lay down, kick her legs, run more, and pant a lot. I thought the vets had just really dug too much at her ear, and it was really bothering her. When we closed up the coach to take it to Stier’s RV, Valley ran back in the coach and left me standing outside, she has never done that. We were in a hurry so Dave said I'm leaving with Valley in the coach and I followed behind. When we got to Stier’s, he got out of the coach and said there is something wrong with Valley, she just can't hold still. He went into the Service Department and I went in to check on Valley, she was running back and forth and I saw blood on the floor. I checked her nails, thinking maybe the vet had cut them to short and she was bleeding from them but that wasn't it.(If you don't know, Dogs can bleed a lot, if you cut their nails too short) It was her left back paw she had split open because she kept kicking her legs out because she couldn't sit still. I got the leash on her and got her outside of the coach and she was a wild dog, I could not stop her movements. Dave was in the Service Department of Stier’s and I called him and said I was rushing Valley back to the Vets. I threw Valley in the back of the car and was trying to calm her down; when I grabbed her collar I could barely put my fingers between the collar and her skin. That's when it dawned on me she was having a reaction from the shot she had gotten. I looked at her and she was doubling in size, when we got back to the vets, we almost knocked some lady over because she was in the door way, I was yelling that Valley was having a reaction, they took one look and ran her to the back. Benadryl and cortisone shots and 30 minutes later Valley is a new dog, relaxed and sleepy. Most of the swelling had gone away except her paws, they looked like the size of a bears paws, and the vet said they will go back to normal after a couple hours.
Then we went to Kim's to drop Valley off and went to AAA to check on their airline flight, Kim was panicking about it, so we said we would check it out for her. Good thing too, after waiting forever, it seemed like, we finally got together with her travel agent and their airline package hadn't been shipped yet to AAA. Well, supposedly people with travel plans on that day had a computer glitch, and some of them didn't print out and of course Kim and Danny were one of them. They are over nighting them and will be in tomorrow, AAA will call us to come pick them up. Good thing Kim panicked. After that we went back to Kim’s and Dave mowed the lawn for Danny and I did some more cleaning for Kim. Then I loaded stuff up in the truck so we could take it to the dump for them. At the dump a door that we were throwing away fell out right on top of Dave’s foot, and of course we were both in sandals, it cut his toes. On the way back we stopped off at the insurance company to sign some papers. By the way, when we picked up our coach at 5pm they weren’t able to fix the awning either and wanted us to bring it back again, Dave said forget it, Monaco can fix it in December.
This morning when we got up Dave’s foot was all swollen and black and blue, he decided to go to urgent care to make sure it wasn’t broken, which I knew it wasn’t but better safe then sorry. The doctor said it was just badly bruised and if he is lucky the swelling will go down by Saturday, but doesn’t advise wearing the shoes the tux shop offers, great. Kim is going to shit when she hears this, she doesn’t know yet.
Today at 4 Kim and I are having our hair cut and I’m getting mine colored, tonight we take Kim to dinner, neither one of them would go for just Dad and Daughter dinner, so I guess I have to go.
That’s it for now.

August 10, 2007 Let me start off with "Happy Birthday Pop" hope you and mom are having a great time up in heaven. I know you guys will be watching over Kim and Danny next week when they get married, wish you both were still here.
Well, another week has gone by here in beautiful Bakersfield, 1 week and 1 day left before the wedding. I am getting to be a wreck, as soon as the eyes open in the morning the mind starts thinking wedding and there is no way in hell to get back to sleep, even if it is 4am. Oh, by the way, I'm not writing from the poor house yet because the golf course still hasn't sent me the final invoice, I'm sure I will probably get it later today. We did get the cake, DJ, Florist and Photographer paid in full, so my foot is only partly in the poor house, the golf course bill will put me all the way in.
On Tuesday we had taken the RV in again for the awning, which they couldn't figure out how to fix so Dave told them to put it back the way it was and we went and got it. This Monday Stiers RV is going to take a look at it and see if they can fix it, if not I guess next December when we are at the Monaco Facility in Florida they will have to fix it. I took my dress in to get pressed, we got the jelly belly's for the favors and tonight we go to Kim and Danny's to go over everything to make sure we are not missing anything. Next Wednesday we will load up my car with everything for the wedding and bring it all down with us on Thursday morning. Tuesday I have my hair cut and colored, Wednesday night we pick up Kim's dress. If anyone that reads this can think of anything that we might be forgetting please let us know.

August 3, 2007 at 3:00pm Dave was officially out of work and now retired. His last phone call was at 2:30pm and when that was done the owner of the company finally called him to wish him well, I guess. He offered to send the laptop back to the company that he has been using and she told him "no" you can keep it, big of her.
Tomorrow we head down to Simi Valley to meet with the Florist, to pay, the DJ, to pay, the cake baker, to pay, the photographer, to pay, the golf course, to pay, so needless to say on Monday I'll be going to Wal-mart to apply for a greeters job, or maybe just collect carts for them since I like to be outside. (just kidding, it's too hot in Bakersfield to be outside)
Dave wrote his 1st draft of his speech he is going to give at the wedding. He handed it to me and asked me to read it and he had left the room. After reading it, for a 1st draft it was very good, just needed some touch up, but I thought to myself, he will never get through this. When he came back I asked him to read it out loud to me so he could see the few mistakes for himself. As he was going through it he caught most of the mistakes, when he was done he put the paper down and started playing with his computer. He then turns to me and said "I'll never get through this" he already had tears in his eyes. I told him I knew he wasn't going to be able to so what he needs to do is add funny lines to it, which you know I'm good at, since I learned from the best, my brother Mike. He said he would try, so I'm sure I am going to maybe have to chip in with all the funny lines, but then again I'm sure I'll be crying too. We couldn't even make it through College Graduation without tears, I know we are big babies. This should be very interesting, I told Dave that I would like for Kim and I to give a speech too, together, but he said if we do something like that we had to do it sober, well that's out of the question on this big day, so I guess no speech. Let's see, if I remember right don't people give their speeches after dinner, let's see Dave make it that far into the wedding without a drink, we are going to be nervous wrecks.
I think that's it for now, Kim and Danny are coming over for dinner tonight to go over the final counts and celebrate Dave's retirement. I'll write later from the poor house.

August 2, 2007 Well tomorrow is the big day, "DAVE'S LAST DAY OF WORK". We all know he retired from his government job 5 years ago, after 36 yrs, but went right back to work the next day for a private contractor with the government doing the very same thing he was doing before. The reasons he went back to work were:
1. He was way too young to retire
2. Kim was still in college and we needed to pay for that
3. There was "NO WAY IN HELL" I was going to keep on working and support his ass.
So needless to say he said he would work for 5 more years until Kim was out of school. Last June was 5 years so he actually worked 2 months longer then he said he would, so tomorrow is the big day. What really pisses me off is he helped the 2 owners start this company off and do you think either one has called him, hell no. He is so fed up with everything, and I don't blame him, Allie the major owner(51%) is the one who really helped her get things started, it's just too bad she doesn't really realize what she is losing. He tried to get in touch with her, but she is such a spoiled bitch,what ever it's her loss.
Dave made the comment today to me that for the last 41 years every morning he knew what he had to do, even if it was a Saturday morning he knew he had to go back to work in 2 days. I told him, Saturday we go to Simi to finalize the wedding stuff and pay the cost for everything, Sunday is brunch, but he said the weekend isn't the big deal, it's going to be Monday.
Monday he is going to be totally lost and now the challange begins, I not only have to keep the dog and me entertained now I have to keep Dave entertained too.
Last April 1st was our 29th wedding anniversay, let us now see if we can make it to 30 years.

July 31, 2007
This afternoon Dave, Kim, and I went to see "Hairspray" with John Travolta, the movie was great. There are so many funny scenes that you didn't see on all the promos. One thing is that you have to like musicals, which we do. Anyway, just thought I would mention the movie, it is a worth see.
Tastyfood.tv is a website I found that has some good recipes, put on by everyday people, not the stars.

July 30, 2007 1st of all let me say "Happy 3rd Anniversary" to Marisa and Shawn, my niece and her husband. I know I just wrote yesterday, and we are still here in Bakersfield, but the way this morning started out I just had to share, hopefully our week won't be pissy all week.
Dave got up at 4:15a.m. this morning to go to the bathroom and I rolled over to my other side and looked at the clock, that's why I knew what time it was. Then I felt like Dave's side of the bed was very low (we have a select comfort mattress so we each have what number we sleep on) then I realized that I hadn't put air back in his side of the mattress when we got back from Yosemite. You see when you travel in high altitudes you have to let some of the air out of the mattresses so they won't explode. Anyway, I had reduced ours to 20 each and when we got back to Bakersfield, I refilled mine and forgot to do Dave's. You can only fill one side at a time and with getting everything set up I just forgot about Dave's side of the mattress. Anyway, when I felt like I was going to fall down on Dave's side I started laughing because then I remembered I hadn't filled his side. Next thing I know there was this loud noise and the coach moved, I thought maybe Valley had fallen on the bathroom floor but she was by my side of the bed, then Dave came out of the bathroom. I said "what the hell was that" he said I don't know, then dummy me said "did you fall" "yea right as if there is anywhere to fall in the bathroom" Dave said "NO" the toilet just blew up at me, I said "WHAT?" He then started hunting for his shorts and tank top so he could go outside and see what was up. I got up and checked the "black tank" button and it said 100, which means it is full. When he came back in he said he had left the "black tank valve" open a little bit which when that is done it was actually the spicket water was still filling the black tank instead of the fresh water tank. I think I understand it, anyway once he closed that valve the black drained down because it was all just water. He still had a mess to clean up in the bathroom, wash the rug, ect. needless to say we had gotten up then, so it was an early morning. This is Dave's last week of work, he quit his outside employment and Friday is his last day, it's been 5 yrs since he retired from the Government so it's time, I just hope how this week has started out isn't going to be a pissy week. Now you know why I keep using the work "pissy"(you know, I can hear my brother, Mike, laughing his ass off right now and can't wait to give Dave a bad time for it)

Sunday July 29, 2007 we are now back in Bakersfield at the same RV Park. We left this morning a little over an hour after Kim, Danny and the dogs left. Dave couldn't handle the thought of being a lone with me and Valley, just kidding, as usual the Thousand Trails Parks only have the 30 amps as I mentioned before, so the thought of staying one more day with only 1 air conditioner wasn't a happy thought. I wasn't able to do laundry either, I could but then we couldn't run the 1 air conditioner until it was done, so it was no big deal to leave a day eariler. Plus, we had already gone into Yosemite Park 2 days in a row, and I really didn't want to go back again.
Friday night Kim and Danny got there after 1 a.m. they got lost, but thank goodness they finally got there. Saturday morning we ran the dogs a little before locking them up in the motor home so we could go into Yosemite Village. I drove there, and at one point I stopped in the middle of the road because a squirrel was in the way, Dave starting yelling at me because of the car behind us, but thank goodness it was a slow and curvey area so I didn't get rear ended. I didn't want to hit a squirrel, Dave said it's just a rat with a bushy tail, oh well. We had a nice day, riding around the bus and stopping at different places to see the falls. In the afternoon we made it back to the car and sat down and had the snacks I had brought. After that we headed back to the coach, the dogs had been left long enough and everyone was hot and tired. Danny drove back and said "Kim and Jeri, I'm sorry, but if I see a squirrel in the road and there are cars behind us I'm not stopping" Kim said that was on his conscience, not ours.
When we got back Kim, Danny and I grabbed the dogs and took them down to the river, it was very hot and Valley was acting very strange. She would run to the shade and lay down real quick, she didn't want to walk at all, then at 1 spot she went to the bathroom and I thought that was what her problem was, not. Kim and Danny were ahead of us, I finally got Valley down to the river and she just layed down in the mud. She just wasn't getting up and walking, so Kim ran back to the RV to get my car so we could get Valley back and Danny went after her. The next thing I know Danny is running back by himself and is saying the RV is locked and Dave's not around, did I have my RV keys with me. I didn't because my purse was in the RV then here comes Kim in her car, she had put her keys in my car when we left, and when we got back thank goodness no one locked my car, so she was able to drive her car down to pick up Valley and me. When we got back to the RV Valley and I sat outside and Kim and Danny took their dogs looking for Dave, because we still couldn't get in the RV and it was 100 degrees outside. Kim finally came running back with the keys so we could get Valley back in the RV and I could go to the bathroom, I know Kim wouldn't want me to leave that out. Anyway, Valley is OK I truely believe she just can't handle the heat anymore and the hot ground is just way too much for her, because she has been fine every since. Dave even took her for a long walk this morning and in the cool weather she seems to be fine, so who knows, old age just sucks. Last night after a relaxing evening Dave BBQ'd chicken and zuccini, we had grilled onions and peppers and Kim's left over pasta salad for dinner and everything was real good. Then this morning we all got on the road back to Bakersfield and all made it safely.
THE END
Very exciting, right?

July 27, 2007 and we are here in Groveland Calif. right outside of Yosemite. We got here yesterday afternoon after taking our time driving here. We stopped at rest stops, then saw a sign for Bravo Farms, which is a store advertising "Handmade Cheese", olives, fruit, gifts ect. We decided to stop because one of the signs even said they have "cheese curds" which is what I used to get every time we went to Utah as I was growing up, I called it squeaky cheese. It's a store Ogden, I believe, we used to go to every time we went to see my grandparents, anyway, I was hoping it would be the same thing, but it wasn't. They were making cheese at the back of the store and it was a pretty neat store, we did get a couple things. If you ever pass thru Traver, Calif. stop at Bravo Farms, it is outside of Fresno by the way. The RV park is about 5 miles from Yosemite, then it's another 20 miles to Yosemite Village, which we drove to today and checked it out. Kim and Danny are driving up tonight so we were waiting for them before we went and saw all the falls. The 4 of us will leave early tomorrow and drive back to the Yosemite Village and take their free shuttle around the park. Kim is bringing her dogs with them so it should be real fun leaving 3 dogs locked up in the motor home, believe me there will be some hard feelings if my home gets destroyed. I'm sure everything will be fine, at Kim's house all they do is sleep when we are all gone, I always think the worst, that's just me. The weather here is just about as hot as Bakersfield except at night it really cools down which it doesn't do in Bakersfield. It's a good thing it does too because these stupid Thousand Trails RV parks we stay at are mostly 30 amps, so once again we can only run 1 air conditioner at a time. Last night we just opened up all the windows and turned our little fan on and it was perfect for sleeping and this morning the temp was 57 degrees, which we never had in Bakersfield. Of course the neighbors around us weren't too happy with our windows being open, because all the moaning, groaning and screaming going on kept them awake. I told them "OK, from now on I won't give Dave foot massages late at night to put him to sleep, I'll let the dog lick his toes and maybe that will relax him.". Just kidding, as if I'm going to give a foot massage, or Valley is going to lick feet.
That's it for now, by the way we have NO Cell Service so Dave had to go to the lodge here and use his computer as a phone he has something called SKYPE and he was able to attend his 2 early meetings this morning.

July 25, 2007 Wednesday, tomorrow we leave for Yosemite. I'll do a little recap of the last 3 days. Monday we showed up at Kim and Danny's at 6am to meet the roofers, they got started at about 6:30 and just our luck it was raining a little. Well the rain didn't last long but late in the afternoon it was threatening to have thunder storms. 100 degrees and we got rain, not that it cooled off any, but the work went on. The 1st group was the tear down group, scary looking guys, but they did one hell of a job. They were done in under 3 hours, and that house was a, I believe they call a shake roof, anyway the whole thing had to come down and new wood put up just to be able to put the shingles on. The company we used is "Fiddler on the Roof", the owner is maybe late 30's early 40's and runs a hell of a business, great work and has it done in 2 days. So Monday we were at Kim's all day, Tuesday we had to take the motor home again for the air conditioning at 8am so we got to the house about 8:30am and the roofers had already been there since 6am. Dave, Danny and I went to IHop for breakfast and while we were eating the RV placed called and said the air conditioning was finished. The awning is another story, they are shipping out a new unit and that will have to be taken care of when we get back. After breakfast Danny took Dave to pick up the RV then he had to go to work. I met Dave back at the RV park then back to Kim's until the roofers finished. They got done about 2pm and we headed back home to the RV. Today was get ready to get moving again, laundry, putting chairs and tables away, but 1st after I worked out at the gym we went and hit golf balls. Since we put everything away I contacted Kim and Danny to see if they wanted to go to dinner and talk about Yosemite. Since they are going to drive up on Friday night we wanted to give them directions to the place, plus it's a good excuse not to cook dinner. I believe that's it for now, will write when once we get to Yosemite.

Sunday July 22, 2007 another week has passed and we are still here in Bakersfield. I believe last I wrote was last Sunday, and Kim and I have had a full recovery. Tuesday we were both back working out at the gyms and Dave and I were back to hitting golf balls. Last Monday Dave and I went to see a lawyer about selling the house to Kim and Danny. Since no money was exchanging hands and we were playing banker we were just going to put their names on the "Deed" so it showed 4 owners and that way they could claim the interest on their taxes and it showed they were home owners on their credit. The lawyer said "not a good idea" for various reasons. She asked if I was the daughter and why didn't I get my own loan, "LOVE HER" Dave wasn't to happy about that. When we left he said it was because I had my hair colored and if she could really see my gray hair she wouldn't be saying that. Anyway, if anything happened to any of us, lawsuit ect. they could put a lien on the house and everyone could lose. She suggested doing a "lease option to buy" which is what we are going to do. The big thing is Dave and I have to keep the house in our name until next June so we don't have to pay capital gains. Then next June, hopefully rates will be better, then Kim and Danny can get their own loan and pay us off and be home owners.
That was last Monday, Tuesday I had a dentist appointment again. Wednesday we took our motor home in to have the air conditioning unit replaced plus the awning over the passenger door replaced. The new air unit that was shipped and installed was broken and the new awning didn't work. They had the coach all day and we stayed at Kim's, they ended up putting the old air unit back on and the company was shipping at another new unit. The awning is another problem, everyone knows the motor was bad but now it looks like the wiring that was done originally was bad too, so that's why the new awning doesn't work. Dave is still fighting with all the companies, and the coach goes back in next Tuesday and hopefully everything will be fixed then.
Thursday, we did some shopping at Costco and now we are proud new owners of a set of golf clubs, 18 in all, and a new bag to carry them in. We take a few lessons and I guess we think we are pros now, just kidding. We just got 1 set, men's, we will share for now until we really know if this is something we can do, it's been fun so far, at least on the driving range. Friday night after Kim and Danny's pre-wedding class we went hitting golf balls. Danny was really funny using the driver, it is so different from the 7 and 9 irons, he was swinging away, a few times, and missing the ball completely. We all got a good laugh, and boy was he sore the next day, after golf we went to a dinner. Saturday was Santiago's 1st birthday, that's Danny's nephew, who is going to be the ring bearer at the wedding. Dave and I had stuff to work on at home, wedding, travel plans, ect. so we didn't go, Kim and Danny had a good time. Dave and I bought a red wagon for Santiago to ride in at the wedding and got the material to make signs for the wedding, you know once you get off the freeway go this way signs. I kind of helped Dave put the wagon together, and kept telling him he was doing a good job on making the signs, which he was, but he stopped at 1 sign to make sure Kim would approve.
Now we are back to today, Sunday, I'm all caught up again. We met Kim and Danny for brunch, after they were done with church then went back to their house. Dave and Danny worked on fixing the gate that was put in by the asshole next door neighbor, old story I believe I wrote about in another blog, if not you didn't miss anything. Kim and I worked on cleaning out the garage and getting it ready for the roofers tomorrow. Since the whole roof is being taken down it will be one hell of a mess. The roofer said they will cover everything that is left in the garage, but Dave and I have been thru this before, so we were taking everything down from the rafters and putting it in the middle of the garage to be covered up. As Kim and I were looking around the garage, the main stuff we wanted to get down from the rafters was the Christmas stuff, she said she will get on the ladder and hand it down to me, wrong, and I should have trusted my instincts, but I let her go ahead and get on the ladder. After we got a few boxes down, next thing I know the ladder she was on almost hits me as it falls over and Kim is hanging on a garage rafter by one arm, I was moving so fast to grab her and all she is doing is laughing and saying "move the ladder and I'll jump down and don't tell Danny because he will be upset" Dave and Danny are working in the front yard and didn't even hear the ladder fall, which amazed me because the crash was so loud, at least Danny should have heard it I thought, we all know Dave has selective hearing when it involves me, but anyway, who was the 1st to run out and thank them for not coming to her rescue, KIM. I have to admit, in some ways she takes after me, make an announcement to make the ones you love fill bad for not being there when something was "kind of bad" happening to you. Kim and I finished the garage then went to Costco, while we were gone Dave and Danny took all the bottles, plastics, and cans that Kim and Danny save to the recycle place. As Dave and Danny were at the recycle place, they had managed to fill 2 trash cans full of plastics, and Danny was moving on to filling the glass cans, Dave moved the plastics over to the side. Danny then asked Dave if he got the recipe for the plastics and Dave said "No" well the recycle place by then had already emptied the plastics and Dave didn't know you were suppose to get a receipt before you walked away, needless to say Kim and Danny got screwed on about 10.00 bucks worth of plastics. Dave told Danny that he was sorry, but he didn't know the rules of the recycle place. Danny will learn, like the rest of us, don't ever leave Dave alone, he must be watched at all times, just kidding, you've got to love him.
I think that's about it for now, tomorrow new roof, Tuesday new air conditioner and awning, Wednesday get packed up because Thursday we are headed for YOSEMITE for a 5 day vacation, Kim, Danny and the dogs should be joining us for the weekend, last trip before the wedding. Bye for now.

Sunday July 15, 2007 Sunday early evening and I'm starting to feel human again, but I know Kim isn't yet, you see last night was her bachelorette party and it didn't end good. But I'll keep you in suspense and 1st get caught up on the rest of the week.
Wednesday we went to Kim's for dinner and Dave and Danny shaved Valley's hair off. It is so darn hot here that Danny decided to shave Chelsea and Toby, their 2 dogs, because there house was just full of dog hair. After seeing them I decided to have Valley shaved too, she looks so naked. Don't have to worry about dog hair anymore for a while.
Thursday, I had my dentist appointment, which went fine, had the teeth cleaned and back in March I had a filling fall out so once again, I'll go back and have it re-filled again, it hasn't bothered me so I didn't worry about it. Also, on Thursday the RV Park starting filling up, well we found out and RV Rally was happening here, I just love Rallies. By Friday night there were going to be 40 rigs here for the "Van Nuys Travelers" Rally. I think 10 showed up on Thursday, the rest were coming Friday. Some were older rigs, and I guess the group have been getting together for 20 yrs. plus. I must say after the first 10 rigs showed up I was kind of noticing something, no white folks, so I guess there was going to be no way Dave and I could join their chapter, which I was right, the whole chapter was black, or African American, what ever you want to call them, to me they were a great group to be with. On Friday, July 13th, Friday the 13th, was my brother's birthday, so Happy Belated Birthday now, anyway Kim and Danny were coming over for dinner. Kim and I were suppose to go to a self defense class at 7:30pm at their church, I think, but when they were on their way over all hell broke loose. Danielle, who is one of the brides maids, called Kim about when she would be flying home from Hawaii, that is where she is stationed, so Kim called David's Bridal to have Danielle's dress shipped to Bakersfield, David's Bridal said they didn't have Danielle registered. Kim was with Danielle, at the end of May, in Northridge's David's Bridal to help Danielle get registered. So then David's Bridal said they don't have anymore of the dresses, Kim went berserk. Her and Danny went to David's Bridal in Bakersfield and Kim got on the phone with the Northridge store, they ended up finding 2 of the dresses a size 8 and 12. She called Danielle in Hawaii and she had to run to a store to see what size she was, it seems she had gained a lot of weight since her breakup with her boyfriend but the Navy had put her on a diet too, but it ended up she is a size 8 again, so Kim purchased the dress over the phone and we had to pick it up this weekend. Well they got to our place late and self defense class was out of the question, we ate then went to the Bar and Grill in the park to try and get Kim calmed down. Kim had a lemon drop, a sweet martini, we then all got to talking to people in the place. When we starting walking back to the coach, the Van Nuys group had music playing and having a good time. We kind of joined in and hung around for about an hour, ladies were asking Kim about gastric bypass surgery, Danny was with someone else talking basketball and Dave and I were with another group just talking about RV's and they really loved the 1.5 million dollar neighbor we have. We all had a really good time, and Saturday the park was closing down the Bar and Grill for their big get together, which we were invited to, but Kim and I would be gone, and Dave and Danny already had plans to go to dinner then see Transformers movie.
Saturday was the big day, and I guess I have kept you in suspense long enough, but maybe just a little bit longer. Saturday Kim and I went to have a pedicure and a fill for my nails and a manicure for Kim. After that we went to the mall and had our makeup put on, they do it free right there in the mall and it was fun, fake eyelashes and everything. Dave and Danny were finishing shaving Valley, then taking a bunch of stuff to the dump. At 3:20 Kim had a hair appointment after that she picked me up then we went and picked up Magan at 4:30 and hit the road. We made it to David's Bridal at 6:05 pm and they closed at 6 but Kim called ahead and they said someone would be there so we could pick up Danielle's dress. After that we drove to the mall in Simi to drop Kim's rings off at the jewelers for sizing then the 3 of us went to Dave's BBQ, a new restaurant there, and had appetizers. At 7:45 we stopped and picked up my friend Vickey and headed to Tracy's for the party. We were having a real good time at Tracy's, with the hats and name tags we had to where. We had champagne with strawberries and they had some kind of rum drink if you wanted it. One of the games they planned was you had to go by the names that were on our tags and if you messed up you had to take a shot of either vodka or rum. These young girls were scaring me so I just didn't say any one's name, one game I was winning and Kim, Tracy, Aimee and Brandy kept losing. Tracy started having a hard time breathing so Kim started taking her shots for her, I wasn't getting caught at all until the end and I got busted about 3 times. The limo picked us up at around 10 pm and we went to Universal Studios to the Rumba Room for drinking and dancing. The ride there was fun there were 9 of us but at midnight we were calling 911. We ended up in St. Joseph's emergency room in Burbank the rest of the night. Kim got alcohol poisoning, we all went to the hospital, I called Danny he came down never could get hold of Dave. At about 1 or 2am the limo driving took everyone home and Danny and I stayed with her. Danny's parents came over too, which I'm sure Kim won't be to happy about when she can really think about it, how embarrassing. We really couldn't get Kim to wake up and she just kept having like mini seizers, her arms and head kept shaking back and forth. I went into the lobby about 5am to try and get some rest while Danny sat with her, then everyone figured out that it Kim could just get into a room away from all the noise she would rest and not shake so much. It was not a great hospital, she was in the hallway the whole time, so many cops around and bringing people into the ER room. I finally got in touch with Dave at 7am and he started to drive down, then the doctor said Kim could go home, even though she wasn't awake yet but he thought she would get better rest out of the ER, no shit sherlock, the place sucked. Danny went to get gas in the truck, I called Dave and told him to turn around because we were bringing her home. When I went back in the ER I was able to get Kim to wake up and start moving around a little. When Danny got back we got her loaded into the truck and hit the road for Bakersfield. Magan, Kim's friend who came with us, spent the night at Tracy's then she drove Kim's car home. Dave came and picked me and Valley up at Kim's when we got back and I went to sleep on the couch, but before we left Kim's her and Danny were already asleep on their couch. Fun night to start out with, but it sure didn't end up right, will talk to Kim tomorrow and see how she feels then. That's it for now, finally had a little excitement in our lives, but don't really want that kind of excitement.
Dave and I have decided it's not a good idea to have both of our phones plugged into the front of the coach while we sleep because with the fan on and the air conditioning running you can't hear the phone ring. Plus he has a new phone and discovered he had it programed to shut off, because of work between 11pm and 6am. that's another reason why I couldn't get in touch with him.

July 10, 2007 still here in Bakersfield. Haven't written since last Thursday so it's time to get caught up again with our exciting news. Today Dave went to Danny's Dentist, he had xrays taken and had his teeth cleaned, I go on Thursday. At 1pm I had to go to Kim's house and pick up the wedding dress and meet her at David's Bridal for the last minute alterations. After that Kim came over to our coach and went thru pictures and stayed for dinner. It's Danny's late night again, so he missed out. Going thru the pictures is something that Dave started, he wants to scan the ones we want and get rid of the physical pictures, so Kim had said she wanted to see the ones we were throwing away.
Let me do a quick recap of the last week, since our life is so exciting right now, just kidding.Last Thursday we went to the movies with Kim, which I already told you about. Bakersfields temperature was getting to 105 on Friday and our front air conditioning went out. It would come on for about 5 min. then the breaker would shut off. Dave got on the phone with anyone and everyone that had anything to do with the coach and mostly had to leave messages. Well, you know how well that went with him, so he kept calling back, thank god. He got a couple call backs but no one had anything on hand and would have to be ordered. Monaco said we have a 2 year warranty so that was not a problem, it was just finding someone that had another unit and who could install it. Anyway, later on Friday afternoon we just went and sat outside the coach because the way we are angled now we get afternoon shade and it wasn't too bad out there. That night though, we did go to the RV's restaurant and sat and had appetizers with beer and wine. Saturday, Kim called and wanted to know if we wanted to go to Tulare with her and Danny to do some shopping for Bridal and Groomsmen gifts, which we said yes. As soon as Dave and I left the coach to go to Kim's another place called him back about the air conditioning unit, as Dave talked to them they said they would be by at between 10 and 11:30 am. So needless to say, Dave stayed home while the 3 of us went shopping. Dave didn't miss anything, we didn't find anything for the wedding party but at least I got my shoes for the "Mother of the Bride" dress which was a great thing to find. Now all I need is a slip and I'm done, thank goodness, I thought for sure the shoes where going to be my down fall. When we got back from Tulare, Dave and Danny towed the truck to Sears, Dave towed and Danny sat in the truck to steer and brake, Kim and I followed behind. After that we went to a Mexican Restaurant for a late lunch, them we went to "Things Remembered" and found all the gifts for the wedding party, very nice things. Then that night we went and saw the Robin Williams movie "License to Wed" it was cute, I've seen better, Dave was OK with it when he was awake.
Sunday we went to breakfast after Kim and Danny got back from church, then at 3:30 we went to the circus, Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey which we haven't been to since Kim was a little one. We got there earlier enough to go on the floor area and see the clowns, elephant and other preformers. One clown liked Danny and was playing with his ear, while hiding behind him, then he starting playing "hide and go seek" with him and the anouncer came up and joined in. It was funny to watch, as long as they weren't messing with me. I think thats it for now, I hope anyone still reading this is still AWAKE. bye for now.

July 5, 2007 and we are now back in Bakersfield we got here yesterday afternoon. The last I wrote we were in Soledad Canyon we ended back in Bakersfield because of the heat and the Thousand Trails park we were at. I believe I said we were in the 30amp plug-ins, they do have 50amp but they are in places where there are a lot of trees and no cell phone service plus you have to pay xtra for the 50 amp. Anyway, on that Monday night, after dinner, I took Valley out for a walk. We walked down to a lower campsite where the theater is and it is a special site for permit camping, meaning big groups like boy scouts ect. As I'm walking Valley around I see sitting on the table where the theater is a Bobcat just sitting there looking at us. I made a u-turn and called Dave about if the park had said anything about Bobcats being here. He said they probably are and as I hang up I look up on the hill and there is another Bobcat following us, thank goodness Valley hadn't spotted either one of them so as I'm walking back to the coach Dave comes out and is going to the pool. Valley and I walked over with him but on the way, I spotted another Bobcat, 3 of them in less then an hour, pretty neat to see. Tuesday morning while Dave, Valley, and are are walking we see hawks, 4 of them, really big and one had a rabbit in it's claws and the others trying to take it away. Anyway, on our walk back we see this man packing up his coach to leave so Dave goes and asked him if he got cell service where he was at, the spot was sweet, trees and shade, and the guy said yes. We then went bike riding because we figured the guy would take another hour or so to pack up but when we went by him he was almost done so we hauled ass getting back to our coach and throwing chairs and tables in my car so we could drive back down and take the guys spot. After doing all this work to get the site, we only stay 1 day in it. It was so hot there in Soledad Canyon that we were running the generator for 8 to 10 hours, which runs on diesel fuel, because they only have 30amp hook-ups and we needed the generator to run both of our air conditioners that Dave finally figured out we were ending up spending 35 bucks a day even though it was free to stay at the campsite. He decided to go back to Bakersfield, at where we were before and pay them 35 bucks a day and have 50amp hookups and no generator running.
So as I said we got here yesterday and BBQ'd at Kim and Danny's for dinner then came back to the coach and watched the fireworks shows that were all around us, pretty neat. Today we went hitting golf balls again, which I don't think Dave will stick with, then went to get tickets for this weekend to the circus. This afternoon Kim, Dave and I went and saw Ratatouille, when Kim got off work, it's Danny's late day so he couldn't go, it was a pretty cute movie. That's it for now.

July 2, 2007 we are now at Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon in Acton Calif. we got here late yesterday afternoon.
Last Thursday we took the motor home into Cummins for it's yearly physical, you know oil change, engine check ect. we got it back around 3 pm and got on the road to Simi Valley. We parked in front of Brad and Diane's house, they had gone the day before and got us a parking permit for the time we would be there. Friday was body violation day for Dave and I, it started off at 8:30 am with me having to go have a mammogram. There is nothing better to start your day with having some female technician playing around with your boobs and getting them smashed by a machine. Then at 10 a.m. Dave and I had appointments for our yearly physicals, got I hate those stir ups. We didn't get out of there until 12:30 and since we had to fast for the physicals we were starving, so straight to a restaurant for breakfast/lunch. The rest of the day we just did some running around, then at 5pm we were over to John and Amy's who live next door to our old house. We stayed and visited for a while, the construction work they are having done is still going on but what is done is just beautiful. The contractor they have had said he would get the work done in 4 months but now it's been 1 year and 4 months. They kept adding stuff on to the job so it's not all the contractors fault, but for most of the job it's only been the contractor he doesn't have any employees. He does do excellent work but that's just too long for me to have my house torn up.
Saturday, Dave and Brad went boat diving off of Anacapa Islands and didn't get back until after 6pm, they had left at 5 a.m., so needless to say they were very tired. They said the weather was perfect and they had a good time on the 3 dives they went on, they passed on one of the dives because Dave was a little tired. On Saturday morning I took off and went and had my nails done and a pedicure. After that Diane and I went shopping at costco and after dropping off the stuff we took off and went to lunch. Then we drove to the golf course where the wedding will be so Diane could see the place then we went and looked at the model homes that are around that area. Pretty cheap, not, starting at 1.4 million the sales lady told us that they are also offering a 60K credit that we could use anyway that we wanted, you know for the loan or landscape work ect. she must have thought we were a couple lesbians because when we left she said she would like to see us in one of those houses. After that I dropped Diane back off at the house picked up Valentine and headed for Joann's house to visit with Vickey. Joann was gone to Palmdale so Vickey was there having a little pool party with Rene, Diane and Tony. I stayed for a couple hours then headed back to Diane's. When the boys got back we headed for El Patio and had a grand old time.
Brad and Diane on Sunday were going to the family storage locker and cleaning it out and moving everything to Simi and we told them we would help them out. Brad had rented a big U -haul truck on Friday so at least we would have that. Luckily Phil, showed up too, we had no idea how much stuff was in that storage locker. (Phil works for Brad and plus he is the one that took the diving lessons with Dave) I won't go into details but Brad's little brother was in charge of the locker and he is a drug attack and it was just full of shit. Because Brad and his sister's name were on the lease he had to clean it out because the bill hadn't been paid for almost a year. We ended up leaving at 6am and by noon Dave and I had to leave but at least we were almost done putting everything in Simi so Brad can go thru all the shit. When Dave and I left we had to go pick up my wedding ring at the jewelers, one of the diamonds had fallen out, then go by Jodi's sister's house because they were having Riley's birthday party there. We stayed maybe 1/2 hour at the party then got back hooked up the car to the RV and hit the road for where we are now. You know thank goodness we hurried up and got here to Acton because the weather is just about ready to kill us. Let's see today it is 102, our air conditioner can only keep the inside 20 degrees cooler then it is outside Dave said. Plus, at Thousand Trails most of the sites are only 30 amp, so we can't even run both air conditioners, and to do laundry you have to start it at 5 am before the air conditioner kicks on or else we have to turn the generator on. I think that's about it for now, I'm all caught up again, will write later.

June 27, 2007 plans have changed again. Well Santa Barbara is out for camping so I guess we will try Soledad Canyon again. A new motor home showed up here yesterday and as the man was setting up his tripod satellite dish Dave went over to talk to him. They were at the Santa Barbara 1000 Trails campsite where we were going and they told us they have no cell service there at all. If you leave the park and drive a little bit you can get cell service, well that isn't going to work for Dave since he is on conference calls throughout the day. Good thing we found out before we drove all the way there, now the only bad thing about Soledad Canyon is there is only one area that you get cell service really well and hopefully when we get there that area is open and not packed with RV's or trailers. Last time we were there if Dave walked to the back of the motor home he would lose the cell service but as long as he stayed up front he wouldn't lose his calls. Hum, maybe he just told me he lost the calls because he didn't want to sit in the back of the motor home where his office was at that time, we will see when we get back there.
I'm telling you it is killing us being back in Bakersfield or maybe just being back in California. Being in Bakersfield is costing us a fortune, I got my car fixed, remember the steering wheel that was broken when my brother, Marty, lost the keys to my car and had to get a locksmith out to re key it, The part cost $40 the labor was $200 and they kept my car for 2 days because once the cylinder was fixed it had to be re keyed again. When we had plumbing work done awhile a go the plumber had gone into the attic and said we had holes in our roof, so we had 2 different companies out yesterday to see if they could patch the holes. Both companies said the roof was shot and needed to be replaced. One bid was $8,400 the other was $8,900 so I'm sure you can guess who we went with, now that is really something we needed before paying for the wedding. I think that is about it for now, will do more complaining later and more updates.

June 26, 2007 it's been another week in Bakersfield, and I guess I should do another update. Kim said last night, to me, that I haven't been updating lately and I said we're in Bakersfield doing nothing, so there's nothing much to talk about.
The last blog I had mentioned that we had taken golf lessons, we had another lesson yesterday. Golf is a tough sport, there's a lot to remember, how to hold the club, the swing, keeping your eye on the ball ect. From last weeks lesson I was sorer on Thursday then on Wednesday but to tell the truth we are both still sore. Danny joined us on Thursday and has been practicing with us just about everyday, we even got Kim out there hitting the ball. Kim and Danny both said we can teach them what we learn that way they don't have to take lessons too. Last Wednesday Dave was too sore to go to Salsa dancing so we didn't go and this week is the last class so I know we won't go to that either. It doesn't break my heart like I had said before the teacher wasn't that good anyway. Last Saturday was Carla and Jessica's, Danny's nieces, birthday party, but it was also a 30th birthday party for Shawn, our nephew. So Dave and I drove to Palmdale to Danny's sister's house and visited for a little while then headed for Garden Grove for Shawn's party. That L.A. traffic just sucks, it took us over 2 hours to get there, I told them when we finally made it that this was the last time I make this drive. After the party Dave and I spent the night at Mike and Trini's house, we all sat up until after 11pm talking and laughing. Sunday morning we hit the road and drove to Simi Valley to pick up Dave's car keys and Kim's book that were at David Jr's house. We visited with David and Jodi, and went over the picture taking times for the wedding. We were going to go visit some people but we both were tired and wanted to get on the road to Bakersfield before the traffic got to bad. Besides on Saturday, before we left, Dave had picked up a sliding pull out shelve for the basement of the motor home and wanted to get back to install it. We went by Kim's to pick up Valley, since she stayed there for a sleep over, and Dave asked Danny if he would help him install the slider. We had planned on cooking dinner for them but it took Dave and Danny longer then they thought, so we ended up going out to Olive Garden, boy I sure love their Salad and bread sticks. So last night Danny came over after work and the 3 of us went to hit golf balls again while Kim was at her pump class. A little after 6 we all met at the motor home and fixed Fajitas and that's just about it for now. Very exciting stuff, this Thursday we take the motor home in for a tune-up and then head out for Simi. Dave and Brad go diving this Saturday then on Sunday we are going to Santa Barbara for a couple weeks.

June 19, 2007 almost another week has passed us by, boy time flies when you're here in Bakersfield, thank goodness too because it is darn hot here. Last weekend here at the RV park it was their Grand Opening, so they did a lot of advertising trying to get a lot of people here. They maybe almost filled up 1/2 of the resort, this place is really nice but not cheap they need to do better then that if they want to stay open and not have live-ins here. Of course too, this isn't the best time to camp in Bakersfield, it's darn hot here like I said earlier. All the balloons they had out kept popping because it was hot here last weekend. Enough of that.
Last Saturday was Kim's surprise graduation party, and Danny pulled it off, of course with a lot of help from family. The plan was to go to Danny's niece's birthday party at his parents house in North Hollywood, well, when Danny's sister sent Kim and Danny their invitation she put her Palmdale address by mistake, so we had to figure out how to fix that. Remember from the last blog Kim and I had been at the jewelers on Sunday, in Simi, looking for Danny's ring and I managed to tell Pauline that we would be back the following Saturday for Kim's surprise party. On Tuesday, like I said on the last blog, Dave and I drove to Thousand Oaks to meet with our financial advisor, on the drive back Danny called and said Kim doesn't want to drive down to the b/day party because she was tired of driving down every weekend so Danny could go by himself. When we got back Kim was at the motor home because we had asked her to come by and let Valley out since we were gone all day. We started talking about the weekend and she didn't know that Dave and I were going to go to the birthday party too with them, so I think that made her feel a little better about driving down south again. (I had also told her we hadn't seen Bibi's and Fernando's house yet in Palmdale and we were looking forward to it.) Now the next thing was to somehow change the b/day party to North Hollywood. Danny had Bibi call and say the party was in N. Hollywood because all of the kids friends were there, well Kim didn't answer her phone and Bibbi had left a message. When Kim got off work she called Bibbi back and Karla, the oldest, answered the phone and Kim said "so the parties at Grandma and Grandpa's" and Karla says "NO it's here at our house, Mom Kim thinks the party is at Grandma's but it's here" Bibi gets on the phone real fast and tells Kim they had to change it to N. Hollywood and the girls didn't know yet. Kim then calls me and said it isn't in Palmdale but N. Hollywood and since we are going down that way why don't we go by the jewelers for Danny's ring, then I said "that's a good idea" and since it is going to be Riley's birthday I need to drop off Riley's present so I don't have to mail it, she says no problem. (Riley is David's stepdaughter) As we are driving down she isn't to happy with me because I am driving slow, I told her I'm retired and am saving on gas. When we are going into Simi she wants to stop at David's because she has to go to the bathroom, we all say NO we will go at Macy's right by the jewelers. We all stalled as long as we could, even Pauline at the jewelers said "does she know yet" and I told her No go slow. Kim was very mad because we were running so late to get to Danny's parents house so when we got to David's she said just drop the presents off for Riley, we said No you can go in and at least say HI. As we got to the door and it opened and the people that were there yelled SURPRISE she was really surprised. Her mouth dropped open and she had a look like what in the hell is going on and we can't stay because we have a party to go to, until she saw Danny's niece's there. We got her and I have to say I don't really want to do that again, to much pressure and I don't need that anymore. It was a great party, Thank you to David and Jodi for hosting it, it was a lot of fun.
Now today, Dave and I took our 1st golfing lessons, I just know we will be hurting tomorrow, it was fun though. Last winter when we were here in Bakersfield the golf places we went into they all said "go to Jose's Golf Range" for lessons so that's what we did. The teacher is Chang Bok Kim and I can't understant a thing he says, he is the one that owns Jose's. The lessons went well though, at least for me, I have never done this before and he said I did really well, at least I think that's what he said. Will see tomorrow how sore I'm going to be, but I'll give it another try, the friends we are meeting in Canada, after the wedding, like golfing and would like to go golfing with them at some time. I think that's it for now, Valley ended up hurting her leg again trying to jump on the couch, and didn't quite make it, so she is limping more again, she just has to keep working on getting those leg muscles stronger.

June 13, 2007 another week has passed since I last wrote so I better get caught up again. Last Wednesday night we started the Salsa Dancing lessons, it was OK but the teacher is not very good. You could hardly hear her, she would show you a few steps then turn the music up louder, so then it was even harder to hear her. I thought for sure Dave was going to walk out, but he stayed. At one point she had you go in the middle of the room with 1 or 2 other couples and show everyone else all the steps she had been teaching, well there was NO WAY Dave was going in front of everyone, there was no way I was going to push him because then he would for sure quit the class. I really can't say for sure but my bet is tonight will probably be our last class if the teacher is as bad as she was last week.
Friday was Kim's pinning for nursing and she was allowed to have 3 people up front with her so it was Danny doing the pinning and Dave and I were there too. Well, Danny couldn't get the pin to cooperate so we were standing there and standing there with everyone waiting. I told Danny you don't have all day lets get moving. It ended up some other people took longer then us so we didn't feel so bad. Kim was number 2 and I think there was like 40 more after her, so it was quite awhile of sitting and watching nurses getting pinned. They also had other awards they were handing out too. It was just my luck the couple next to me, their daughter was #3 and every time they mentioned her name this lady would moan, I thought she was having all kinds of orgasms next to me, needless to say Danny and I kept laughing thru the whole thing. Danny's parents came up for the pinning, which was really nice of them to do, they had just planned to stay at Kim's until Sunday then they were taking off for Lemoore to go gambling. (now we know why Danny likes gambling) David Jr. came up too for the pinning and took pictures of the whole thing then afterwards we all went out to dinner.
Saturday was Kim's graduation, which was really long too, and of course when she walked up to get her diploma Dave and I starting crying, boy we are going to be big babies at the wedding, I can see it now. After the graduation Kim and Danny brought Danny's parents by our RV so they could see all the improvements we had done. Then we all went back to Kim's to BBQ chicken and visit, we took Valley over Kim's with us and she seemed to get around just fine with Chelsea and Toby.
Sunday Kim and I drove down to Simi so the girl Kim hired to do every one's make-up could put make-up on me so she would know what my skin was like and what would look good on me. Needless to say, there is not enough make-up in the world to ever make me look good. After that we went to the jewelers to look at some rings for Danny and ended up having to have one made because Danny is so darn picky, that's going to take about 4 weeks to do too. After that we headed back home because Valley was locked up in the coach because Dave and Danny had driven to Fresno to go to an RV Show. On the way back from Fresno they were stopping in Lemoore to go gambling with Danny's parents.
Yesterday, Tuesday, Dave and I drove down to Thousand Oaks to meet with our Financial Advisor. We wanted to make sure that we were OK on our finances with Dave quitting work in July, and he said we were good to go I don't know how but I'll believe him. After that we made doctor appointments, then at 2pm we went to watch Riley, David's step daughter, in a talent contest. She was singing, and she did a real good job too, we were lucky because she was the 1st one up so when she was done we could leave. We had to get back to Bakersfield and were trying to beat the traffic.
That's it, I'm all caught up again.

June 6, 2007 I just got done posting more pictures, mainly the ones from that wild life safari thing I went to in Oregon. I talked about how close the animals got to my car now you can see for yourselves.
June 2nd was Kim's bridal shower which was really nice, so many people showed up and most I haven't seen for a year. Tracy and Aimee did such a great job, I swear it was the best bridal shower I have ever been to. Thank you, you two, for doing all that you did for Kim, thank you to Tracy's mom, Yasmin, too.
June 2nd was also my Uncle Bob's 79th birthday, Happy belated birthday.
Sunday, June 3rd, Kim and I managed to get all the gifts, and boy she sure got a lot of really nice things too, we got them all put away in the spare bedroom closet. Danny's rule is nothing can be used until after they get back from their honeymoon, that way everything is new and unused when they start out together as husband and wife. (too bad neither of them are new and unused, ha ha)
That's all the exciting news I have for now except on Thursday evening Brad and Diane are stopping by with their motor home to stay for one night. Brad and Diane are our friends from Simi and Brad is the one who taught Dave how to scuba dive.
Tonight we start our Salsa Dancing lessons with Kim and Danny, should be really funny with my two left feet.

Friday early evening, June 1, 2007. June already, where has the year gone? It's been officially a year since we moved into the motor home, I've thought about the Simi house once and missed it but it didn't last long. All and all the time has flown by, I don't mind keeping this up for a while longer. Who knows, we might even make Dave's 5 year plan, but I'm not ready to hold my breath yet, but right now if we just keep moving I think I could go longer then 5 years. Maybe I'm afraid of stopping, if I do I would probably have to find a job and my only prospects would be a Wal-Mart greeter because at the end of this year I'm going to be 50 and who the hell wants to hire someone 50?

Anyway, I'll try and recap the week, since I last wrote, which I believe was Sunday.

Monday, May 28th, was Dave's "60th" birthday. Happy belated birthday to him, I was there so this is only a belated birthday wish for the blog. Anyway, I got him an ipod for his music to listen to when he starts walking with me, hint hint. He is going to retire again at the end of July so he has no excuse,( no, I can't go walking because I have morning meetings, won't work anymore). We went over to Kim and Danny's at 8 am so Dave and Danny could work on putting up the gate in the backyard so PG&E could get in the back yard and read the meter without the dogs attacking them. We have gotten warning notices from PG&E so this had to be done, bummer Dave had to work on it on his b/day. Monday night we all went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse so he could have his Prime rib dinner.

Tuesday, I went to JC Penney's, while Dave was working, looking for the "Mother of the Bride" dress. I had an idea of what Kim would like me to wear because we looked at some the Saturday before when we went to get the Flower Girls dresses. Well any way, I ended up purchasing "3" dresses at Penney's and told them when I paid for them that I would be bringing back at least 2 if not 3, it all depended on what my daughter liked, and they said No Problem.

On Wednesday early evening I went to the gym with Kim and I think she was trying to kill me, but it didn't work, we went to a kind of work out class. You do a lot of stretching, lunging with weights and abs, and if I must say I believe I kept up with the class. Even as fat as I am I did better then some of the girls that are 1/2 my age, they kept quitting and I didn't. Kim gave me a bad time because I was sweating so much but at least I kept up, she even said that to Danny and Dave, she didn't sweat at all but mom did. See if I go with her again.

When we got back from the workout, Kim and Danny fixed dinner then I went in and tried on my dresses for them to judge. Well needless to say the "Mother of the Bride" dress is picked out. Now that Dave has his tux measurements done and I have my dress picked out it is really starting to feel real to me.

Thursday Dave and I returned the dresses I wasn't going to keep and got some bridal gifts for the bridal shower on Saturday.

May 27, 2007, Sunday night. Kim and Danny left a little bit ago they came over for dinner and then some card games, god knows how Danny likes to gamble. (he lost most of the games, luckily it was just for fun no money involved)
Let me recap the last couple days, Thursday, when I last wrote, Kim had come over for dinner, Danny worked late, he works late Tuesday and Thursdays. Kim asked if we could switch cars so we could take her car in on Friday for an oil change, the Honda dealership is right down the street from us, and they have a jiffy service that does that stuff real fast. Well, like idiots, we agreed, when we went to drop it off it was not only due for an oil change but also almost due for filters, rotate tires, ect ect, she told us it was only going to cost 25.00 it ended up costing 295.00. She's not a stupid girl, she waits until we come into town then wham!! Just kidding she said she will pay us back, I sure hope so. Danny doesn't realize what a high maintance girl he is marrying, I wish him luck. (just kidding, or at least until the wedding ring is on her finger, Danny)
Friday night we went to a wine tasting event here in Bakersfield, which was real nice. So many different wines to try and cold and hot appitizers to go with it. It was a nice event to go too, I was surprised that Kim and Danny even drink wine, afterward we went to dinner then they drove us back to our coach. Saturday we all drove down to Northridge to get the men's tux measurements and get the flower girls fitted for their dresses. We ended up having to order the flower girl's dresses because they didn't have the right colors in, which was no big deal. So now the tux's are done, the flower girls, maids of honor and brides maid, so now it's the Mother of the Bride and Groom's Mother's dresses we have to work on. I haven't gotten anything yet and either has Kathy, Danny's mom. NO PROB, WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME.
I think that's it for now, will write later.

May 24, 2007 Thursday and we are here in Bakersfield, arrived last night, a day early. We will be staying at this new RV Park here, just opened a month ago, called "Bakersfield R.V. Resort". No live ins here, yet, they said they won't let people live here long term, will see, they all seem to say that when they 1st open. After a while they seem to give in because then they have a guaranteed income every month. Anyway, it's a real nice and clean park, has a pool, spa, small playground, laundry room, which I don't need anymore, and it even has "The Crest Bar and Grill" which we went to last night with Kim and Danny.
Last Tuesday we had gone wine tasting at some wineries in San Benito, after Dave finished his morning meetings, and of course we bought some. Wednesday morning I asked Dave if he wanted to go into Hollister and look for a graduation present for Kim and he came back with, why don't we leave now for Bakersfield so that's why we got here a day early. I guess we were too close to Bakersfield for him and Daddy wanted to see he baby girl, ha ha. Either that or he didn't want to go shopping for a present for her, who knows.
That's it for now, just wanted to give a short update. Since we are now in Bakersfield, until July 1st, I'm sure my updates will become shorter and shorter, I mean how much can I say about Bakersfield. P.S. Valley still hanging in there, walking better and better each day.

May 21, 2007 Monday afternoon and we are here in a Thousand Trails RV Park in Paicines Calif., which is right outside of San Benito. We got here yesterday early evening and this place is really big and dangerous. Dangerous because of all the ground squirrels, they are everywhere, needless to say if we let Valley out of the coach to lay outside she has to be chained up. Which last night after we got set up we sat outside and talked to a lady that works here, thank goodness for that chain for Valley, she would have been gone. These squirrels run all around you, Valley thought she had died and gone to heaven, she could easily blow out all her legs. Another thing you have to watch for is the Bobcats, and a mountain lion has been spotted so that's the one thing you really have to watch out for. The Bobcats, we were told, won't attack any humans but it's a different story for the mountain lion.
When I went walking this morning I saw a couple deers, lots of rabbits then I turned the corner and there was a Bobcat. The Bobcat just got down low and watched me walk by, it was a little scary. Later, after one of Dave's business calls, I got him to walk around and check out the place and we came to where the Bobcat was and there it was again. Dave was really surprised to see it he had said to me, right before that, the Bobcats only come out in the early morning and evenings but there it was. Bobcats are about 3x's the size of a regular cat, pretty neat to see up close and personal. Maybe I'll leave Valley outside the coach tonight then maybe I'll get to see a mountain lion, just kidding. That's about it for now.

Sunday May 20, 2007 we spent the night at Mountain Gate RV Park in Redding Calif.
Dave's flight didn't get into Eugene until 3:15a.m. so I never did go to bed because I was afraid I wouldn't wake up on time. I just kept dozing on and off in the living room with Valley. Although I was suppose to leave the coach at 2:15am but dozed off until 2:30am so was late picking him up. Dave slept a little bit on the way back to Sutherlin then a little bit more when we got back to the coach. When we got back to the coach it was almost 5a.m. so there was no way I was going to be able to sleep and since Dave had to drive he needed some sleep, actually he needed a lot of sleep but didn't get it. It was a really tuff drive to Redding, because we were both really tired, after Dave dozed for a second while driving he then decided to pull over at rest stops and walk around just about every time we saw one. Way too many hills to climb and steep down grades for me to be driving, so I just kept telling him to keep his eyes open.
This RV Park we are at is where we stayed last year when we went to the car races and they had a boat race too on the track, we had posted pictures about it. Anyway this time I didn't even look to see if they had car racing, there was no way we were going anywhere last night. Dave even fell asleep I believe at 6:30 pm and went to bed at 7:30pm and didn't get up until 5am this morning, boy that's a lot of sleep. We hit the road again this morning and are headed for Hollister Calif. where we will stay until Thursday, then on to Bakersfield.

Friday early evening May 18, 2007 let's see I haven't written since Tuesday it's time to get caught up again. Tuesday I did get my nails done and then just hung out at the rig. Wednesday when I was leaving for the dealership I couldn't turn the ignition on and when I pulled my key out, the knob on the ignition fell off. I was able then to start the car and go to the dealership where I sat for 4 1/2 hours. The "service engine soon" light was because of a leaking purge solinoid, which could wait to be fixed for when we got back to Bakersfield. The ignition switch was a damaged lock cylinder, and cover which the tech told me something had been done to the ignition area and was broken off. To fix it we need to have the whole ignition area we placed, which could wait for Bakersfield. So the only thing that was done was an oil change and the filters changed. When I told Dave about the ignition he said the locksmith that Marty got had broken the ignition, I had forgotten about the keys Marty had made. When I went to Marty's for breakfast, this morning after Valley's vet appointment, I asked Marty about the locksmith. He said he remembered the locksmith mentioning that he needed some glue, but didn't really think about what he needed glue for, that locksmith broke it and knew it but didn't say anything. Dave said we can't prove it so will see if we get it fixed in Bakersfield. Anyway, so my Wednesday was sitting at the dealership, Thursday I went to the Wildlife Safari in Winston Oregon. That was really neat, I have to say I got a little scared too. You actually drive thru the areas where the wild animals are, and in one area the Wildebeest or American Bison, can't remember which one, were right there in the road and wouldn't let you by. I was the only car there at first then others showed up after me, wait till you see the pictures I took, boy I hope they come out. I even got some pictures of the medical team working on a cheetah, don't know what was wrong but a lot of park ranger trucks were rushing to the area. While driving thru the wild animal park you are suppose to keep your windows closed and don't even think about getting out of your cars. It was fun. Valley had her last Oregon vet visit and she is doing OK for it only being 3 weeks, I got her xrays and medical records to take back with us. Dave called and his flights have been changed and now he doesn't get into Eugene until 2 a.m. Saturday, boy it's going to be a long night. I told him to call me from Vegas, to wake me up, and hopefully I'll make it to Eugene by 2am, will see.
Rob called today and Valley's new vest/sling finally showed up in Blaine Washington and since we are leaving tomorrow I asked him to send it to Bakersfield. That's it for now, will write more on Saturday or Sunday.

May 15, 2007 it's don't purchase gas today, per all the emails going around. I don't need any so I guess I'll participate. I'm still here in Sutherlin, last Sunday, Mother's Day, I drove Dave to the Eugene Airport so he could go to Virginia for the week, work meetings. He flies back in this Friday at 10:30 pm.
Before I go on I want to wish Brad Johnson, our friend and Dave's diving instructor, Happy Birthday. Last Saturday was Joann Fry's birthday, Happy Birthday to you too.
Sunday when I got back to the coach Valley and I got all caught up on the shows I had been recording. That was it, very exciting, all though in the late afternoon the sun did come out so Valley and I got to lay out a little bit.
Yesterday, Monday, we hung out again and the weather was in the 80's, that was really nice. The park here really started to fill up, so it was fun seeing all the coaches and trailers come in. While I was walking this morning I saw the sign for the Oregon Rogue River club, so that's why this place filled up yesterday. This morning also I drove into Roseburg to the GM Dealership, the "Service Engine Soon" light is lit on my car, the techs were gone to training school so I made an appointment for tomorrow morning. This afternoon I get my nails done and it's suppose to be another nice day so I get to lay out again. Not much news, sorry, will write later more.

May 12, 2007 we arrived at Hi-Way Haven RV Park in Sutherlin Oregon yesterday afternoon. We did drive thru Junction City and pick up our table then thru Eugene and picked up our new rugs. Everything looks great and today we drove into Roseburg and picked up a lamp, for Dave's desk, and a throw for the chair, we are really getting into this decorating stuff. Last night we had dinner at Marty's and it was unbelievable, the crab cakes and the fish tacos were Fabulous.
At 4:30, yesterday, Valley had her vet appointment, the vet took off the bandage and her poor foot was just raw on top. The bandage had gotten wet and started shreding on the bottom so Dave duck taped it, well that shouldn't have been done. It just kept all the moisture in there and just rubbed her foot raw, the vet said it's like a real bad diaper rash. She was shaking so much and in so much pain, I just couldn't take it. I wanted to put her down but Dave wasn't going for it so I walked out. She was nawing at her foot and if you stopped her she would just kick the wall because of the pain, I just couldn't stand watching it. The vet came back in and gave her another shot to calm her down then Dave brought her out to the car so I could sit with her in the back. Dave went back in and got more pain pills, antibiotics, and a spray to put on her foot if she starts digging at it. We then had to go get upsom salt to soak her foot in, boy was that fun to do when we got back to the coach. Then I filled her up with all the pills plus added 3 benadryl, then sprayed her foot and about 1/2 hour later she was sleeping. We put the cone on her and locked her in the bathroom and headed out for Marty's.
Today, like I said earlier, we went to Roseburg and shopped, then went to Oakland Oregon because they had a car show going on, great looking old old cars and trucks.
Valley's foot does look better today and she isn't licking it, but the walking isn't very good. When she had the bandage on at least she would walk on it, now she mostly limps, she doesn't want to put that foot really down yet. I'm sure it is still sore plus she doesn't have the protection of the bandage anymore, I'm still towel walking her, or I should say vest walking her and I have to do that for the next 4 weeks, at least. Dave ordered the correct back leg vest for Valley and had it delivered to Harrisburg but it didn't show up in time so we did a forwarding to Blaine, Washington. Then it didn't show up there either before we left so hopefully Kelli, Rosie or Robert can pick it up for us next week and get it to me before we leave Oregon. I should could use the correct vest, this one chokes her at times. Anyway, either way I believe this will be Valley's last trip in the coach, maybe I'll take Chelsey from Kim and she can have Valley back.
That's it for now.

MAY 11, 2007 got on the road around noon yesterday and stopped at 5 pm at Jantzen Beach RV Park in Portland Oregon. We stayed at this park last year and I think in just about the same space. Last year when we were here we drove into Portland because they were having an Italian festival going on with different kinds of food and wines. The weather is in the 70's which is just perfect, I don't know how we are going to handle the hot weather again once we get back to Bakersfield, it's been so long since we have had to be in the 100 degree stuff, I know Valley isn't going to be able to handle it. If it gets to 75 degrees she pants like crazy, oh well, will find out soon.
We head out of here and go to Junction City and pick up the new table we ordered from Davis Cabinets then stop in Eugene and pick up the new rugs we ordered. After that we head to Sutherlin to camp out for the week. Valley has a doctor appointment at 4:30 then after that Dave and I will go to Marty's for dinner. It's Mexican night, with fish tacos and crab cakes, should be great.
Black eye is almost all cleared up now, yea.

May 10, 2007 Still here in Birch Bay or at least until noon today then we head back to Oregon. Don't know yet if we will stop in Portland or Salem to spend the night then Friday we will end up in Sutherlin where I will stay for the week while Dave is in Virginia. Last night we went over to Bob and Rosie's for dinner, which we were late too because we had issues with Valley. It was a great dinner, thank you Rosie and Bob.
Yesterday Dave and I decided to go driving around and check out the beach area, in between his business calls, so we put Valley in the bathroom where she stays while we are out. I swear the leg that is injured and wrapped she tried to lick it off. She has enough skin problems anyway, so her skin is sensitive, but she licked it raw. So before we could go to Bob and Rosie's we had to get out her head cone to put on her and it took awhile to figure out how to put it together. So she was not only locked up in the bathroom with a wrapped up leg now she had to have the cone on, so she was really screwed. Friday afternoon she has another doctor appointment so we will see then how her leg is really doing, and hopefully the vet will take the wrap off.
That's about it for now.

Tuesday May 8, 2007 boy, haven't written now for over a week, I better get caught up.
We left Marty's on Tuesday to go pick up the coach from the tile store, they hadn't finished yet so we had to stick around. Marty and Dayna met us there to switch cars then at 7 pm we went back to Camp Monaco to spend the night. Wednesday Monaco installed our new camera and bathroom door but the motor for the door awning wasn't going to be in for another month so they said it was OK to get a dealer in Bakersfield to install the new motor when the new motor comes out in a month. Thursday morning we had to go back to the tile store because they still had some work to do, then over to the cabinet shop because they needed to do some touch up work then finally got headed for Washington at 1 pm. The new tile and carpet look great. New pictures are posted now on the website.
Before I forget, Valley is doing good still has the leg all wrapped up, but what a chore to get her in and out of the coach. I have to carry her out of the coach and carry her back in, boy is that work, all 67 pounds of her. Other then that she just lays on the couch all day but when Dave and I leave we lock her up in the bathroom so she can't walk around.
Thursday night we stopped at Rochester Washington to spend the night, and of course the first thing we did, after hooking up, was do our 1st load of laundry in the new washer/dryer. We looked pretty stupid standing there in the bedroom watching the washer for about 1/2 hour, Valley was watching from the couch in the living room. It worked really well and it only takes like 3 1/2 hours for the washing and drying. We have been doing a load everyday since.
We got to Birch Bay Washington late on Friday and talked to Rob about getting together on Sunday. Then after we got everything hooked up Dave decided to clean the windows and put the shades on since we were going to be here for a little while. I carried Valley outside and she layed down so I could help Dave put the window shades on. Well, as he was putting the big window shade on he asked me to get the windshield wiper out of the way. It was stuck behind the shade so as I was pulling, Dave moved the shade and the wiper came flying at me and hit me in the face. It hit me across the nose and left eye, I actually thought it broke my nose. Within seconds I had the biggest mouse under my eye and Dave said I better put ice on it, which I did, but on Saturday morning did I have a shiner. The picture is posted. Saturday we did house cleaning, and boy did it need it. There was so much dust from all the work being done and dirt from everyone trotting in and out of the coach from Monaco people, carpet/tile people and cabinet people. We did some running around and every store we went into I kept my dark glasses on so no one could see my eye, then came back and just relaxed finally in our new surroundings, and of course did more laundry.
Sunday we went out to dinner with Rosie, Bob, Rob, Kelli, Alex and Kelli's niece(sorry don't remember her name) We had a good Mexican meal and we talked for a long time, just catching up on stuff. After dinner Bob and Rosie came by the motorhome to check out the new updates we had done. I didn't know it but Bob and Rosie really want a motorhome, especially Rosie I think.
Monday we went to the car dealership and got another electric clicker to open the car for Dave then shopping for decorating the coach. Monday night we went to Kelli and Rob's for dinner, which was very nice of them, everyone was there except Kelli's niece and we talked for hours.
That's about it, I think, I'm finally caught up.

Got a call from Marty and the locksmith was able to make a key for the car, they even made another one for Dayna. Marty thinks he flushed the 1st set of keys down the toilet, all though, he said the toilet could barely flush a turd down so how in the hell could it flush keys down?
So next week we will have to go to a GM Dealer and get another automatic unlock gadget and the only other key that was lost (flushed) was the key to our truck in Bakersfield. We will have to get Kim or Danny to get another copy made before we return to California.
Hopefully by the end of next week we can go to Birmingham Washington for a week then I think I'll stay at a camp ground here in Sutherlin when Dave goes to Virginia, it was nice and safe and closer to Marty and the vet for Valley.
That's it for now again.