The years are going by faster and faster.  We have just finished up our 4th year of retirement, and also our 4th year of Workamping at Eastgate in Harlingen.  It is a great place to work.  The park is full of wonderful friendly people.  I remember when we first started this, I felt like we were on vacation and it would soon be time to go home and back to work.  At some point I lost that feeling.  Now it is just a good feeling to know that type of working will never happen again.  What a great feeling knowing you NEVER, NEVER, have to put in 40 hours of work again.  Especially if your not happy with your job.  Now the job as Activity Director is lots of fun.  I am pretty much my own boss.  Its so nice to do something that people enjoy and appreciate what you are doing.  Rich also sets his own hours.   Some times he plays men’s pool in the mornings.  Now we are half way through our 5th season.  So the year of 2018 was another good year of firsts and fun times.

After the season was finished last April, we did a Cruise.  That was an item on our bucket list.  We boarded in Galveston and did a 7 day cruise on Royal Caribbean.   Ron, our new manager is also a Tour Director on the side.  He found a great cruise for us all to go on.  We went, Ron and Theresa and 4 couples from their hometown in Nebraska.  We sailed to Roatan, Costa Maya and Cozumel.  The day before we were to arrive in Roatan, another Cruise ship rammed into the docks and destroyed it…..Bummer…..So we didn’t get to port their.  But all in all it was a great trip….We surely will do another one in the future.   We went back home in May and worked Summer Camp again.

It is always fun to people watch and listen to the music.  We were Security Guards again for the 2nd year.  We still carry our Texas Security License Level 2.  That is always a wild and crazy week, but its also a fun way to see the Music fest and get paid for it also.

While we were home, we also celebrated 2 Graduations.  Cassidy graduated 8th grade and Carly graduated Kindergarten.  Carly had a really cute Graduation ceremony in Granville.  We celebrated with Tammy having a picnic.

Dee Dee’s 1st Birthday

We also got to meet our new Grand Dog, Dee Dee.  She is a Goldendoodle.  She is smaller than Dexter was and a very different personality.  But that is a good thing.  She will develop as her own self.  She was a year this past fall and they had a First Birthday for her.  She even had her own cake……She is loved just as much as Dexter had been.

Tina and Ed bought a new camper this year.  They all go to Wisconsin for family fishing trips with Ed’s Dad and family.  Now they are going camping more often.  Their having a lot of fun with it.

Tammy has her own type  of camping.  She loves tent camping and ruffing it.  She found a small pull trailer and painted it red to match her Jeep.  She packs it all up with her tent and all her supplies, including blow up kayaks.

Carly 7

Austin 8

Miley 10

Cassidy 14

Carly turned 6 last January and just now turned 7, Cassidy was 14 in March, and Cameron was 20 in June.  In November, Miley turned 10 and Austin was 8.  They are all growing up fast.

Carly, Austin and Miley all go to the same school system now.  Tina has Carly a lot because of Tammy, her mom’s work schedule at the hospital.  They all took some cute school pictures. Cameron is now working full time and learning about life and what it cost to live, and to buy the things you want…or need. Soon he will be 21…..Wow how the years have gone by. He was born the year I started at Advantage Logistics.

Class of 1968, Toluca High School, Toluca Illinois

Labor Day we had my 50 Class Reunion.  Can you imagine that?  We drove back and met in Toluca Illinois at Mona’s Italian Restaurant.   It is definitely a landmark to attend a 50th.  The majority of our classmates are still alive.  We have only lost 4.  It was good to see them all.  Some of them I hadn’t seen since we graduated in 1968,  The next day we took Carly and Cassidy to the Carnival in Toluca.  That is the traditional time that they Celebrate since I was a child.  So many memories of the carnivals and the parades through the years growing up.  The girls had fun on the rides, and of course theirs always the carny food.

Rich stayed in McNabb at Scotts and Brandy’s and worked the Harvest season.  This year he work out of the elevator, hauling to the river and the Ethanol plant.   Scott started his own project last fall.  He had no outside buildings so he finally built a pole barn.

It is a nice large shed to house his semi when necessary and all his toys.  Rich was able to help some while he was their.  He enjoyed watching it go up.  Scott put in hot water heat under the concrete floor.

It required tubes looped on the base of the floor so far apart.  They had to be tied off under and over to the grids.  The ends all ran to a center manifold where the water will be heated.  Rich helped Scott do this just before he left for Texas.

Scott was finally able to pour the concrete.  Our nephew from Chillicothe, Jonathan has a crew that does this.  So they all came up and did the pour.  Finally at Christmas it was dry enough to park on.  Well its a good thing, because the weather has turned bad.  He has parked almost everything in it that he could just so he wouldn’t have to clean the ice and snow off the windows…….not the tandem, no room for it….but all the rest of the toys.  Here is a before picture and an after picture…

Before

After

Something tells me he wish’s it was bigger.  Now Brandy can park in the house garage for the first time in 8 years.  

So Rich finally returned back down to Tx and our season started at the park.  Lots of planning began.  We had taken on the Entertainment this year.  We have a Show every Friday nite.  We went to 2 Showcases last January to pick out our performers.  Now it is checking with each one to make sure we are all on the same page.  Making sure we get all our posters for advertising in the park.  Also getting all our schedules for Entertainment, Dances, and Church Services sent in to all the papers.  It is more work than I thought, but we are having fun.  We asked Ron and Theresa to help, so Rich and Ron sell popcorn, soda, water, and Ice Cream bars.  We also added Dreamcycles.  Theresa and I sell tickets at the door.  So it has been a learning curve to accomplish all this in a timely manner and also count all the money and figure up their percent and pay them before they leave.  It is a good time seeing all the talent that comes down from Nashville, and Branson areas.  They do the Winter Texan, Rio Grande Circuit for 1 to 3 months putting on a show up to 5 and 6 times a week.

This is one of the Performers we booked….“Lawless and Mae”….They were such an amazing couple.  So friendly and down to earth…Just regular folk.  Ohhhh how talented.  They are from Nashville and are also recording artists.  They stayed 2 nites, had breakfast at the hall Saturday morning and sang at the church services Sunday morning.  They were so nice and are really enjoying the Rio Grande Valley.  Many of these performers leave the north because of the winter.  Branson pretty much shuts down.  They all go to Florida, Arizona or Texas. 

2018 is now over and we are pushing forward in 2019.

…….Another good Year……