We have been debating on when to leave.  It seems to keep storming.  The roads dry up and then another wave comes through.  It was suppose to rain all weekend until next Thursday.  We finally decided on Sunday to take off as it was cloudy but not raining.  I packed up the inside.  You have to take everything off the counters that will fall……. nothing left.  My clock has to come down, take the big TV off the dash, and lock up all the drawers and cabinets.  They will come open when you drive.  After awhile you learn what has to be secured.  Rich had to pack up everything outside.  The smoker, bikes, chairs, mat, and unhook the sewer, water hoses, and electric.  Even the cable….. lol….. Everything has a place.  Then the good byes.  We have gotten really close friends with our neighbors across the street on Albatross Lane.  Ken and Roberta, have the 2 birds.  They were tattoo artists in Missouri before retiring.  They have some beautiful tattoo work.

They have a little gazebo that is decorated so festive.  Its lined with netting, flowers and shells.  She wanted some flamingos, but couldn’t find any around.   Well a pair showed up mysteriously from New York….lol….and don’t they look at home….

I also made her a stepping stone.  I thought about it for quite awhile.  It had to be special for Roberta, as she is a very special lady.  She took care of Kitty last Christmas when we went to San Antonio.  She loves animals, birds, any form of nature.  She speaks to them…..And she really does read their mind.  They communicate.  She is an exceptional person.  I told her one time that she was unique…..lol…Hoping she wasn’t offended, because I fell so honored that we were neighbors and we grew to know each other.  So I designed it with her in mind.   The reds and blues and yellow for her babies, and the mirror to reflect the sun.  She said the 4 strips reflect the 4 directions and the winds.

Here are her babies……Maui her Parrot….and little Love Love her Cockatoo with the broken legs…..Love Love was playing with my necklace…. These guys are the luckiest birds.  They have a wonderful home, and they give them such pleasure and love in return….

So time to hook up now and leave.   Ken and Roberta came out to say good bye and also Dave and Twila, the resident Chaplin.  They were leaving the next morning for Minnesota.  It was sad, but we will all be back again next fall.   But Ken and Roberta will stay and take care of Albatross Lane….They are permanent residents…So finally off we drove, waving Good Bye……The park is now so Empty…..

On the way to Corpus Christy we had to go through Border Patrol.  They have cameras set up on the approach.  They have a dog sniffing and ask you if your an American Citizen.   So many illegals these days. …..How do you like my birds on the dash…..lol…. We spent the first night at the Walmart Parking Lot….lol…Where else do you stay when you need supplies.  Of course, go in shopping and come out and enjoy their parking lot.

Today we went through down town Houston at noon.  Wasn’t to bad.  Went past the Minute Maid Arena,  Home of the Houston Astos.  Finally we were out of Texas for the first time in almost 5 months.  Louisiana here we come……

Traveled through Lake Charles, across the bridge.  They had a nice boat dock area and a great beach…..

Onward to the east on I 10 and through Swamp Country….miles and miles of elevated roads…

How about Whiskey Bay…..The swamps go on for miles and miles…..check out the dirt on the window…lol

Finally here we are tonight….Between Baton Rouge and Slidell Louisiana…..another Truck stop….but that’s ok…..we have everything we need….hot water heater….shower….potty….refrigerator….AC….Tv….and a generator to make it all work….so why pay camping fees….So tomorrow it on to Slidell and heading north….We are going to visit some really good friends that we haven’t seen in probably 10 years or more in Tennessee…..

Poor Kitty, he had a rough start again….He was really scared when we left, but he is back in the swing of things today.   But never the less, he was so so tired…………Good Nite…

Lol…It seems like I keep saying that doesn’t it…Today is your special day….lol…Yes, all 3 kids Birthdays are so close together.  Accident? ….That’s what I say.  Scott is the last one…THE BABY…I was the baby also, and I use to just HATE that, when my parents called me the baby of the family.

Scott was born on a Saturday afternoon April 10 1982.  Just before I found out I was pregnant, we moved to a larger house across town.  We went from 2 bedrooms to 3.  Whew…at last, more room.  Then I found out we were pregnant.  I wasn’t working anymore after Tina was born, but I was doing some babysitting to bring in some money.  During the pregnancy, when I went to the doctor, I was approached by the nurse wondering if I would mind having a nursing student from the Jr. College nursing program follow me during all check ups, and witness the birth.   I said sure, I didn’t care.  So the next visit I was set up with the student.  Her name was Pat Tonioni from Standard.  At the time I didn’t know her, but it turns out that I know her granddaughter now.  Niki Tonioni is a Good friend of Tina’s and is Tina’s boss at the courthouse.   Small world.  Right.  Well she followed along at every visit until Easter weekend, which was late that year.  She wanted to head south to her family for the holidays.  She took the risk of going, hoping I would wait till after Easter.   Well, It just didn’t work that way.  Saturday morning, it was time.  On our way, we decided to ask our good friends, Bob and Carol Burke if their daughter, Pam, would like to come and watch….hahaha….corny aren’t we…..and so she did.   Pam was just a teenager in high school.   What better way to learn about the consequenses of birth control.  lol.  Along came Scott not long after 1 pm.  Fast as usual.  Finally a Boy.   7lb. 11 oz.  The biggest one yet…..So now we were finally done….I hoped…and we were….

Of course he was bald too.   He was more the rolly polly of the 3 while he was a baby.  He finally started growing hair around 2….

The girls had so much fun with him.  They would pick him up and pull him around.  I remember wondering when he would walk.  but why should he……They did everything for him…..As he grew older, he thinned out.  Scott turned out to be the skinny one of the 3…..lol….

Along came Kindergarten.  He was always such a ham.  He went to Florida with dad and bought the Hog Shirt and Hat.   He thought he was so …..COOL….

He played T Ball but wasn’t in to sports.  Not even in grade or High School.  As he grew, we found out that every electronic device he got his hands on, he would tear apart.  VCRs, TVs, Radios, you name it…It went to pieces.  Then he started in on bicycles.  He would find broken ones and take them apart and make some really weird bikes.  I remember one time he told me he was going to start a bike shop.  lol.

Finally he was old enough to mow grass.  Oh how he loved to drive the John Deere rider.

Finally he graduated and entered High School.

He went on a trip with his dad one summer to Sturgis on the Harley.  That set the precedent for the future.  His love of bikes.  When he got his liscense to drive, I can’t even list all his cars.   Always working on them, and still tearing them apart…..but not as bad….

He also decided he loved to snow ski.  He really became pretty good at it.  He went on many trips until just a few years ago.   He fell and must have gotten a concussion.  He lost several days he never remembered.  I don’t think he has been skiing since.

Scott finally Graduated from Putnam County High in 2001.  He has had some bad luck, some his fault some not.  But it has all made him a better man.  He has learned so much since graduation.  Scott lost his arm in an Industrial accident in 2004.  He has so excelled in life since.  He picked himself up and became a better man and has learned so much.  Nothing has defeated him.  He now has a small trucking company, Scottys Trucking…. But continues to try new things in life.  lol.

He tried Scottys Party Bus….lol…It was fun while it lasted….

Scott and his Girlfriend Brandy have been together for 4 or so years now.

He still loves his bikes….

Now he’s off to something ……NEW…..One Pawz’s Pub………lol…Get the name…He has just bought the little bar in McNabb.  It was Kathy’s before.   So if your ever in McNabb Ill. Population 350, stop in One Paw’z Pub.   You won’t miss it.

But the one thing were most proud of is how he has rallied to help his sister Tammy to achieve her dream.  Words can’t explain what him and Brandy also,  has done for her.  Tina also, both were their by her side for the years it took for her to graduate.   And still they have their moments………..

But still they are close………How Lucky We Are As Parents……………

April 6, 1978, was 37 years ago.  It is so shocking to think it has been that long.  Tammy was born on a Saturday morning 1:37 am.  She was 6 lbs and 19 inches long.  She was our first child.  I was working at Toluca Garment.   We were so poor.  lol.  No insurance.  We were going to move from Oglesby to McNabb.  We rented a little house from Gertie and Buck Buckingham.  They were remodeling it.  Rich had just started to work for Sandberg Trucking the summer before.  Tammy was not due for 3 weeks.  We had started to move a few things and then I went to the doctor that day.  Dr. Farley and his Midwife, Mary Bradish said I was retaining so much water, that they wanted to induce me.   Grrrrrrrrrrr……..so off we went to the hospital that evening….once they broke my water, 4 hours later, Tammy was born.   It was a tough 4 hours as this was the first time I had ever experienced childbirth.  lol…..But now I realize that it wasn’t all that bad.   Only 4 hours, that’s pretty good.  In the meantime at home, Rich and his friends moved us to our new house.   lol.   When we came home, I didn’t have a clue where anything was.  The kitchen had been put away.  But it was all done.   Tammy was so tiny and cute…………and bald……….lol.   but then that’s how they all turn out to be….Buck and Gertie just loved her to pieces.  They never had any kids so Tammy became theirs also.  As she grew, they would take her everywhere, shopping, to the coffee shop, boating, even on a trip to Gerties moms one weekend in southern Illinois.

When Tina was born 2 years later, she was the best sister ever.  All she wanted to do is help.

As Tammy grew, she had the most beautiful blonde hair.  It was so pale blonde in the summer with a hint of curl.  She has her dads skin, she tans beautifully.  Tammy really wasn’t into sports.  She played girls softball one summer but didn’t really enjoy it.  When she was around 4 or 5, I enrolled her in Jodi’s Dance School…..

They did floor tumbling and also trampoline.  She was in it for 2 years.  Tammy also had a paper route as she grew older and she detasseled for Griffiths seed company.  She did that every summer till she was old enough to get her license and get a real job.  When she got their check at the end of the season, I make her spend half on school clothes and the other half she could spend on what ever she wanted.  It was like Christmas to the kids.  She would buy all the latest electronics.  Boom Boxes were big, cassettes were the latest thing.  Vcrs and all those video tapes…..

When the New Kids On The Block became famous, she became so infatuated with them.  I would take her and her good friend Jamie Myres to the concerts that came to our area.   Her walls in her room were just full off all their posters.  She bought all their music, videos, clothes, anything to do with them.  Even today, her and Jamie are still fans.

Several years ago, when the NKOTB made a come back, the girls went again several times.  They even went Rockford and took their other good friend from school Angie Reynolds and relived the old times..

Tammy graduated in 1996.

Her first child Cameron was born in 1998.  Then along came Cassidy in 2004.  During that time she held several jobs.  She worked for Starved Rock Trolley part time for a summer.  I thought that was pretty cool.

She would take the guests from Starved Rock Lodge over to Utica and The Lock and Dam.  She started working for Ryder Bus Service that was later bought out by First Student.  She was a bus driver and later went into the office and became dispatcher, and sub driver.  The employees all became family.  They were all very close to each other.  Tammy decided she wanted to become a nurse, so Rita her boss arranged that she could begin her classes and move her hours around according to her classes.  They were ALL SO SUPPORTIVE of her and her future plans.  Around the time she was ready to move on to the full time nursing school, First Student lost their contracts.  It was great timing for her.  On to Peoria and she enrolled fulltime in St Francis Nursing School…………..  Surprise, along came Carly……………….  But with all her support of family and her wonderful friends, she only lost 1 semester.  Rita even came and babysat Carly for the first few months.  What wonderful friends and family First Student were.   We had a Diaper Baby shower, and she received diapers for almost 2 years.  Amazing.  We all had our duties to help.  I did a lot of babysitting after work.  Tina was always their on call.  She took the kids a lot on weekends so Tammy could study, and Brandy and Scott had their evening also.  Brandy would pick Carly up from day care and Tammy would pick her up on the way home.   Betty’s Daycare, wow what a wonderful friend she was.  Betty was so good also.  She let Tammy leave Carly at many times whether it was really early and sometimes late.  Finally Tammy Graduated in May 2014 with her Bachelors in Nursing, and Cameron presented her with her diploma…..What an honor..

……Tammy Bergen BSN…..

Today we are all so Proud of her.   She has done this because she truly wanted it and strived to make it happen.  So much hard work.  Every time she hit a wall, she stepped back and picked up the pieces and continued.

Today she has a job at Mendota Nursing Home.    She loves it.  She loves helping people and all her co-workers love her.  We are all So PROUD OF YOU TAMMY……..It made everything we all did to help so so worth it, to see you                       “Happy”

…….You Achieved your Goal…….

…….Something only you could do for yourself…….