Tag Archives: Ohio

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2020 steph 2 Comments

Happy New Year, Happy New Decade (if you’re so inclined!) and Happy to be Home!

We had a perfectly marvelous (though somewhat exhausting) Christmas in Ohio.Â We have two families living in the Columbus, OH area and that includes 7 of 11 grandchildren. Phew! So many hugs and kisses! There were games to be played –

Cookies to be made –

Christmas pajamas to enjoyed-

Oh, and did I mention a couple of presents to be opened and enjoyed?

and perhaps the biggest Christmas surprise –

Introducing Oliver, the newest Conrad Granddog, who has joined the clan up in Marysville! Such excitement!

We only have one picture of the whole gang of us (taken at the Globetrotters Game)

And only one of all the grands together(minus Oliver!) clustered on the sofa during our joint gift exchange-

It was a wonderful 10 days filled with sweet memories that we will hold close in our hearts in the days to come. In the meanwhile, though, today was spent unpacking from our Christmas trip and wrapping up loose ends here at Camp Westminster to prepare for our departure tomorrow morning for points SOUTH! We’re heading to our January SOWER project at Sherry White Ministries in Wauchula, FL.

With two cameras and any number of cell phones snapping pictures during our Christmas holiday, you can be sure there are a couple more pictures that what I’ve shared here! If you’d like to see a selection of them (honest, I didn’t upload ALL of them!) you can check them out here! Happy Christmas viewing!

Happy New Year, friends!

Family and Friends, On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life

Leaving Waco

June 24, 2019 steph 4 Comments

It was hard to leave Waco.

Oh, it was emotionally hard to leave behind this house that we’d not only poured the last three months of our lives into but also a house that had been ‘in the family’ for 10 years. There are a lot of sweet memories and sweat equity in that home, and it was bittersweet to bid it that final farewell.

And of course it was heart-hard to leave behind our precious Waco family –

(Abigail missed this photo-op, but we’re sure gonna miss her too!) Especially with that 4th little Texas cowboy on the way!

But what I’m talkin’ about here is that it was PHYSICALLY hard to leave Waco!
We got a good early start out of the campground,

left the RV at the Sam’s Club parking lot and then went to the house to wait for a package. (We had placed the order before we realized we were going to be able to leave earlier than planned. Poor planning, I know.)
And then we waited.
We waited in the house.
We waited on the porch.

We waited in the truck.
And at 3:45 that brown truck finally arrived.

Finally, we were heading back to the RV to get hooked up and ON OUR WAY.
As I was pulling the truck behind Lizzie to get started, I had a brain hiccup and remembered I had left one last load of wash in the dryer. Back at the house. Yes, after sitting within 20 feet of the laundry room for a full 6 hours with no recall whatsoever that I had left the dryer going the night before, God (in His kindness but with a bit of humor) brought that to mind. So it was back to the house for me (Gary stayed at the rig to try and get her cooled off after sitting in the sun all day). I collected the wash (which was still a little damp – GAHHHHH), returned to the rig through rush hour traffic and FINALLY, at 6PM, we were on our way.
Ahhh…..
The rest of the trip had a few little hiccups –

and

and really and truly, too much traffic for my taste.

But we made it to Ohio

and spent the evening with these darling faces!

We’ll get to see the rest of the Ohio Grands before we head on to Montrose Bible Conference (our July and August SOWER project), but for now we’re thankful for the sweet respite and the joy of seeing family. We’re also thankful for safety on the roads, the spare fuel filter that allowed us to continue on our way (and for my guy who knew how to change it!), for cooler temps and for all the laundry being with us in Ohio!!
God is Good!!

Family and Friends, RV Life, The Adventure

Every Day in May

May 1, 2018 steph 1 Comment

Although at the moment we are sitting in the waiting room of the RV repair shop and don’t actually know what the next couple of days might bring, the month of May looks pretty clear for us. It seems like a good month to challenge myself to do a blog post “Every Day in May”. Since we just finished up a wonderful time with our grands in Ohio, I figured that would be a great place to start. Be prepared for extreme cuteness!

This is probably not new news to most of you, but just to refresh – we have 10 beautiful grandchildren! Seven of them live in the Columbus Ohio area, and we were blessed to be able to spend 5 busy days with them. The Marysville clan, 3 girls and 2 boys, are crazy busy this year. Sports schedules, art exhibits, sleepovers – we get exhausted just thinking about their busy schedule. Down with the Gahanna crew the kids’ schedule isn’t quite so crazy, but both parents are working, so it’s still a busy-busy place. We did have a super fun day with the two littlest who are not in school – Reis and Alexandra!

There was some Cross-Fit time-

Some picnic time –

And a great time at a nearby playground!

Once everyone got home from school (except for one that had a game and one that we pick-up on the way), we piled into the Conrad-mobile, and headed to the local Chick-f-La for dinner.

Yes, just Grams and Pops and 6 grands. And Oh, How Grand It Was!

(No worries – all children were returned to their respective parents unscathed.)
We were also able to get to a couple of the ball games, an art exhibit, and even had a lovely evening out with just the grown-ups. =)
I tried to get individual shots of each of these precious little (or not so little) ones – and was mostly successful! I had to snag one off of Facebook for Ellie B, and sweet Maddie wasn’t feeling well, so hence the blanket. But overall, I’m pretty sure I have some of the very cutest and talented grandkids on the planet!

We got to celebrate Gary’s birthday (actually we celebrated it at every opportunity)

and managed one group grand-kid photo with only a little bit of cajoling. (It did not seem prudent to ask that everyone actually have shirts on since we did this way past everyone’s bedtime!)

So there you have it – the Ohio visit in a nutshell!! Lots of hugs and kisses, some early season ball games (brrrrrr), plenty of indoor game playing and good quality time with the kids. It did this Gramma’s heart good!

Real-time update – the RV is out for a test drive, so we’re hopeful it was an easy adjustment and we’ll be on the road before too long. Hopefully with some money still in our pockets.

Thanks for stopping by – and stay tuned for the Every Day in May blogging extravaganza!

Family and Friends, On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, SOWER Projects, The Adventure

Catchin’ Up….Again!

September 30, 2017 steph Leave a comment

It’s times like this that I think I should just have a category called Catchin Up since it seems like I do an awful lot of that these days!There’s no point in apologizing for my 2 and a half weeks of silence, so I guess I’d better just get started – you know – catchin’ up.

The Ohio Family!
Our first stop in our drive west and south was Ohio, where two thirds of our family live. =)

We dropped the house off at a repair shop near Dayton to get some shiny new brakes, and headed to the kids with our suitcases and the truck. Since we were going to be house guests (and given our schedule) our visits were short but sweet(following the house guests and fish rule). But we managed to pack our days full of lots of fun, nonetheless!
First stop was with our Marysville clan –
There were countless games of Rummikub-

A couple Corn Hole tournaments –

A seven-year old’s birthday at the local crossfit gym-

Some birdhouse building

And even some felt crafting

Oh – and lest I forget – a fine display of gymnastics!

Hayley

Maddie

and Noah! They sure get good use out that blue gym mat!
Stories were read, snuggles were garnered, and saxophones were played.

It was a great visit all around!
By Monday we were off to Gahanna to see the rest of our Ohio family!
Since this visit happened mid-week, and folks were either working or in nursery school, we had a little more time to help out with some chores. There was a fence to fix (thanks to the neighbor’s tree falling on it over the summer)

and Gary decided he wanted to put a floor in the playhouse area of the swing set (our spring project!).

Fancy, right?
But even though we had our days mostly to ourselves, we still had some sweet visits with the kids and Mom and Dad. Pops pulled out the birdhouse project and everyone seemed to enjoy that little activity!

Before we knew it – it was time to pack up and head down the road.Â Next time we need to ignore the 3 Day House-Guests and Fish rule!!

But Texas and Gary’s first SOWER Board meeting was calling!

It was a mostly uneventful trip – just a bit to much construction and way too many trucks!!!
This last week we’ve been parked at the SOWER office while Gary went to 3 days of Trustee meetings while I stayed back at the rig (mostly) and caught up with life.

It was a good meeting and we thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with friends from when I took a turn on the board!

We finished off the week visiting several SOWER projects and then spent today wrapping up chores here (you should see how sparkling our ceiling fan is!!). Tomorrow we head to Waco, where the other 1/3 of our family live!!

So now I’m officially caught up – until I get totally absorbed in playing with the grandboys and catching up with friends in Waco. Oh well – you know I’ll be back eventually, right?

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2017, The Adventure, The Cabin

Speed blogging

June 10, 2017 steph 8 Comments

You’ve heard of “speed dating”, right? Well, hang on – here comes the speed blogging whirlwind!

Oakridge Ministries – Anadarko, OK Â 4/10 – 4/22
Great SOWER project! Wonderful time spent with friends, old and new, big electrical job completed, big drapery job hung and hemmed, house renovation begun, deck built and stained, many peanuts eaten.

Time with the Kids in Ohio – April 28 – May 8
Snuggles and giggles and swing sets and gymnastics and ballgames. So good to spend time with these littles and their parents!