Grandkid Fix, Roughing It and Not Roughing It

It was a nice ride into Page.  The resort sits on the edge of town had a nice pool, park and hiking trails.  We couldn't wait to see the kids, so we picked them up after dinner for a dessert date.  They wanted to go to a self-serve yogurt joint and get all of the fixings they coud fit in their cups!!  They are all getting so big...Dominic is 8, Nicolette, 7 and Joe, 5.  It was their last week of school and Dominic's last week of baseball, so they had plenty to tell us about and lots of plans to be made.  They couldn't wait to get to the RV to check out the park and pool and open all of the doors and drawers to see what cool stuff we had brought with us.  It is so much fun to be with them, catch up on their lives and feel of their love.  Our night ended too soon, but we made plans to see them Tuesday at the baseball game.

Dominic got to catch and watching him was a riot.  It didn't take too long for him to figure out if he took the mask off he could see where the pitcher was standing and had a better chance to at least get it close!!   For the first three innings they use a pitching machine and then they bring in the pitchers.  Whoever is ahead after 90 minutes wins.  Page is a small town, but has great schools and recreational facilities.  The field has a concession stand, and Joe and Nicolette have made friends with the lady who runs it.  They provide in-stand service so spectators don't have to miss a moment of excitement.  Joe handles sales and Nicolette is in charge of the money ("because she is so good at math!")

You have to love small town America.

We picked the kids up after school on Wednesday.  They couldn't wait to make art.  We worked on wooden boxes.  

Thursday was the last game of the season and the awards ceremony.  It was so good to be there and see Dominic play baseball and try to hit with his dad's bat.  I love being retired and being able to do things like this.

On Friday morning we hung out at their school for the end-of-year awards ceremonies.  All three kids are doing extremely well in school and were each the recipients of several medals.

We went on a fun hike when school was over.

What they loved the best was the indoor pool.  They could have stayed in there all day!

They made friends with some kids in the park, and then they were off!

They loved watching the Three Stooges movies and eating popcorn and had no trouble falling asleep.  On Saturday Papa made waffles for breakfast, we played LCR, went on another hike, barbecued lunch, went swimming, did art projects with their new friends, made pasta for dinner and squeezed in all the fun and memories we could before it was time to take them back home.

We went to church with them on Sunday and said our byes there.  We are already looking forward to next time...probably in October or November when Nicolette gets baptized.

We packed up and headed to the Virgin River Gorge in Arizona.  The ride was amazing.

Traffic was lighter than I expected for Memorial Day.  Our route took us through Arizona into Utah, back into Arizona into Utah again and finally back to Arizona.  We heard about this park from our parkneighbor in Page.  It is a BLM site with no hook ups, but the scenery is so beautiful you don't even miss TV.  

k

One major mishap...our refrigeration unit went out while were driving.  STINK.  There is amonia in the cooling system and it leaked out.  We had to drive back to St. George, Utah to buy ice.  It was only about 20 miles, and it gave us an opportunity to spend an afternoon in St. George.  It is a quaint little town, and we have several friends who have moved to that area. I can see what draws them there.

Since all of the grandkids call my dad Boompa, I had to snap a picture of this license plate I spied in the parking lot:

We stayed in the Virgin River Gorge for a couple nights then headed into Vegas to take advantage of our time-share owners weekend at The Jockey Club.  We parked the RV in a park, packed an overnight bag and headed into town.  

I love the shopping, the food, hotel lobbies, people watching, Fremont Street and the Bellagio Gardens in Vegas.

Two nights flew by and we were once again on the road headed to Rancho Cucamonga to catch up with Frank and Ann.   It is always a treat to spend time with family.

Stay tuned for more fun on the road.