As I was having my first cup of coffee I was taking a look at Facebook and the memories of eighteen years ago on the day that became known as 9-11 bombarded me with post after post. I was at work. Our Police Chief came in and asked if we were listening to a radio, then told us what was happening. I ran home to get our small portable TV so we could follow the news. We were all astounded and appalled at what had happened in our country. We felt such compassion for the people of New York and families that were affected all throughout our country by the horrible attack made that day to the United States.
We watched the History Channel off and on all day as they replayed much of what occurred throughout that day. I was glad they did this. While it's not something I enjoyed watching, I think it's important for us to remember it and not forget the many families and communities that were impacted.
Brett indicated the kids would be at the fairgrounds this morning for the band event somewhere around 9-10. We also have friends, Raymond and Carolyn, who are working at the RV Park during the State Fair and we wanted to stop to visit with them as well.
After parking just outside the RV Park, we walked in to the gate, where we saw Raymond right away. We visited with him for a few minutes before he walked to their motorhome to let Carolyn know we were here. We visited for awhile before we needed to head into the park and find out what we could about the band competition. I checked the State Fair app and found the location, and we could hear the bands playing before we could see it. There was plenty of seating so we moved into the bleachers.
While waiting, we started visiting with the couple next to us. We learned they RV'd for years. Judy told me they go to to Donna, TX for the winter. They recently sold their motorhome and bought a park model at Bit o Heaven. I enjoyed visiting with Judy. After awhile we noticed that some of the bands were not stopping at the arena to play, but were marching on. I went down and asked the gentlemen that was announcing when Columbus was supposed to arrive. He gave me a time, but he told me they were not performing in the arena, they were only going to march in the fairgrounds. (NOTE: Tucker told us later they were one of 3 bands that received a 1 rating at the band competition). We found them around 10 not too far from the Expo Center where Dacy will participate in the 4H Horse Show starting tomorrow.
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| Tucker |
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| Dacy |
Dean nor I even thought about putting our stadium seats in Bentley before we left, even though we knew we would be here for the horse shoe. It's a long three days sitting on hard metal seats, so we ended up going to Durham Sports and buying two cheaper seats that were on sale. Since we'll also be going to watch the grandkids' football games before we leave the area, we think it was worth the purchase.
It started warming up again this afternoon and it got even hotter inside Bentley. Dean pulled the covers off the air conditioner inside and discovered the filters needed to be cleaned. Unfortunately the filters really need to be replaced, so we just left the cover and filter off for the next few days, which did help a little. On the up side, the weather is supposed to change tomorrow with temperatures in the low 80's.
Thursday, September 12, 2019 - 4H Horse Show - First Day
We walked this morning. We made one loop around the park and as we started the second it started to rain, so we came back. At least it's a start!
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| Sunrise |
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| That's our Bentley in the middle from the other side of the park. |
I spent a while making more address changes. I only have a couple I will need to do when we return to Oswego. I have a mystery here in the RV. I bought a spray spot remover to use on the laundry and I can't find it. I was afraid it might have worked it's way to the back and fell behind the washing machine. It's bolted down so getting back there is not an easy thing to do. It dawned on me, why couldn't I take a picture with my camera and maybe that will solve the mystery.
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| Taken at the back, looking straight down. |
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| Reaching back on the left side and pointed to the right. It's not here ..... so where did it go? |
Dacy did not have a good day in her events. She was disappointed and we were disappointed for her. It was a long drive before they got here with little time to exercise her horse before the first event. We hope a good night's sleep for her and Margo will bring a better day tomorrow.
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| One of Dacy's horses. |
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| Our rig |
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| Brett's rental. |
Friday, September 13, 2019 - 2nd Day 4H Horse Show
Based on the past few years we expected to spend most of the day and evening at the Horse Show, but as it turned out Dacy was done before noon. She placed in Level II Horsemanship, and then she won Grand Champion in Junior Horse Western Pleasure (Horse 5 years and under).
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| Dacy with her Grand Champion ribbon, Mom Renae, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Terry. |
That was her last event of the day. Before we left, we told her we might not make it back in time to see her last event since we were going to watch Roman play football.
We were hungry when we left and we knew where we wanted to have lunch..... at The Kansas Pride Building in the fairgrounds. Brett was ready to go back, especially for their apple dumplings and ice cream. Dean had a bierock (something he has wanted to try for a long time) and I chose the hot roast beef sandwich. Dean was disappointed with his choice. He said there was too much bread and not enough filling. However, we shared an apple dumpling and ice cream and we both gave it a thumbs up!
Jarred texted he and Emerson were on their way to the fair. After lunch the five of us walked through several of the exhibit buildings until they arrived. Emerson wanted to go on the Sky Ride that takes you from one end of the fairgrounds to the other, so Papa said he would ride with her. Tucker and I followed them. Emerson turned around a few times to make sure we were still there. It was nice to see things from above. Not long after that Brett and family left and we enjoyed watching Emerson have a good time with rides and a treat.
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| Papa and Emerson - she's looking back at us. |
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| Seeing the fairgrounds from above |
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| How can you say know to that cute little face? |
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| Resting in the shade. |
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| Emerson bouncing away. |
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| Emerson - becoming Minnie Mouse! |
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| Ta-da!!!!! |
By 3:30 or so, you could tell her long day was starting to wear on her. She goes to pre-school until noon, so she'd already had a busy day before they arrived. As we walked along we came to a pond with little pedal boats, so Daddy and her rode in one while Papa and I watched from the bank.
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| Daddy and Emmy! |
Dean and I stopped to pick up our free ice cream from Dillon's as we left the park, then headed back to the campground. Brett was sitting outside, and Dean soon joined him. My back was really hurting from all of the sitting and walking. I just wanted to sit down for awhile. I can walk fast and my back doesn't hurt, but walking slow, then stopping and standing really takes a toll after awhile.
Dean came inside an hour or so later to see if I was ready to eat. Brett suggested Carriage Crossing in Yoder for dinner. They offer a family meal for $14.95 per person. It includes your drink, two meats (Fried chicken and roast beef) mashed potatoes and gravy (we had both white and brown), corn, green beans, bread and a piece of pie. Well, yes, we do! Where else can you eat for this price and get your drink and dessert included? It was all you could eat, but you could not take any leftovers home. I hated that we left one piece of chicken but we were all too full to even try to eat it. The corn tasted like it came right off the cob. We all had different kinds of pie - Dean had coconut cream, Brett had blueberry, Emilee had snickers, Tucker had Toll House and I had blackberry. Only Dean was disappointed with his choice of pie.
Dean got out his flame genie and we enjoyed sitting by the fire, visiting with each other for another hour or so. It started getting cold and I had to go in.
It wasn't long before Dean came in too. We set and watched TV for a short while before going to bed. He pulled his phone out to double check the time for Roman's football game tomorrow and found instead of at 9:30 it was at 12:30. Wow, that was great news! I was tired and needed to shower before we left. The thought of getting up and around so early after the past few days was not exactly something I was looking forward to it - but I would have done it if necessary. I asked Brett if he had a coffeemaker with him. Since they didn't, I invited them to come over in the morning for coffee.
Saturday, September 14, 2019 - Roman's Football Game, Abram's 12th birthday and Football Game - Our Neighbors Left While We Were Gone
I slept great last night. Dean said some neighbors around us were up late banging doors and talking. They woke him up a few times. I am so thankful I learned how well ear plugs work. I wear them every night now and I sleep even better than I did before I tried them. I've always been a light sleeper. Once Dean takes out his hearing aids, what he hears is usually limited, so they must have really been loud to wake him up.
After we had our coffee, I made a second pot. It was awhile before Brett and Tucker showed up - with the two cinnamon rolls they bought as we left Carriage Crossing last night. They shared the roll with Dean but I chose to have a meal replacement shake this morning. Emilee came over and we all visited for awhile. Brett and Emilee left and Tucker stayed and visited with Papa while I showered. We left for Wichita soon after, and arrived in plenty of time to eat a quick lunch at Freddie's. Then we stopped to get Abram a birthday card, before we headed to the football field to watch Roman's game.
We went to the wrong field - after we walked half way there we realized the kids were playing soccer not football, so we moved to the next school where the game was getting ready to start, but there was no parking left. We had to park a distance away and then walk back to the field. We definitely got our exercise this morning! Lol!
When Roman realized we were there during a break, he was surprised to see us. We sure enjoyed watching him play. He did a good job. One thing I enjoy most about his game is we are right at the edge of the field. I can take some really great pictures of him and see what is going on.
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| Roman is in the neon yellow socks |
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| I'm thirsty! |
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| Our handsome grandson. Happy 12th birthday Abram! |
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| Last play of the game and he caught the ball right in the chin/neck. He's tough! |
When we are at Abram's we are up in the grandstand, quite a ways from the field and it's difficult for me to see where he is during a play. I do take pictures, so later when I enlarge them on the computer, I occasionally find a good picture of him.
Heath and Abram had to leave a little early to take Abram home to get ready for his game at 3:00. He has to be at the field an hour prior to the start of the game.
After Roman's game we decided to stop at Quik Trip and get some ice tea. Not thinking we got the extra large cups for our tea and after we left I realized that was not a smart move on our part. It was so hot, the ice was already melting. The extra large cups are plastic instead of styrofoam. Dean wanted to stop at Walmart's in Goddard to get fuel for the truck. He asked me to see if they had any of the metal cups that are supposed to keep your drinks really cold. They did have some - Murphy USA - metal cups. I bought them and the clerk let me wash them there before I left. We poured our drinks in them. We drank all of the tea but we still had most of our ice left at the end of the game. Dean set his cup in the sink when we returned to Bentley. He wanted to let it set all night to see if the ice melted or not.
We made one last stop at Walmart to use their facilities and then we headed to the football field. We set in the car until Heath arrived and then we walked into the stands with him. Fortunately the game was at home, and we got to sit in the shade today versus in the direct sun like last week. With a nice wind, it wasn't bad today.
Abram played a good game and while his team did not win, they did score toward the end of the game.
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| Abram is on the left - the tallest on his team. |
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| Abram is the player in the blue above #44 below that is standing up, with black knee socks and Nike shoes. That's how we keep track of him. Their mom makes it easy with their socks! |
We said our goodbyes to everyone at the game, and gave Abram his birthday card.
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| Getting ready to leave. Twelve and look how tall he is already! |
Heath is taking him and some other boys to play paintball later this evening. They have a lot going on, so we headed back to the RV park. On the way back I asked Dean to stop at the fair one last time. I really wanted to buy a t-shirt while we were here. Since it was so late, I suggested we just have something to eat too. I've been wanting a Pronto Pup ever since I seen it advertised - a corn dog! It was really good and made me realize how much I miss having a Sonic corn dog once in awhile. Dean ordered some deep fried cheese curds. They were good, but just too much fried food for us. I only ate 2 or 3 and that was plenty for me.
Brett sent Dean a text during the game to let us know they were going to take the trailer back to Wichita and go on home. Before he left Lamar he found a water leak and someone was coming today to fix it. The guy called him and while he had fixed the leak, he said he had a pretty muddy mess. He wanted to get home to check on it.
Wow - what a beautiful evening it was and this is what we saw when we returned. The moon was amazing. I took a few pictures but it does not compare to the actual thing.
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| Moon on one side |
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| Sunset on the other |
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| Closeup of the moon |
We were both so tired from the past few weeks, we just set in our chairs until it was bedtime. Tomorrow we need to get some things done before we move to our next location on Monday.
Sunday, September 15, 2019 - Getting Things Done
As soon as I woke up I started the first load of clothes this morning - sheets, which was followed by towels and then white clothes. Dean left his cup out, so I opened it to see if the ice had melted overnight. There was still ice in it. I felt better about buying the cups after that. After breakfast I did the dishes, made the bed and then dusted the living room. It really needed it after all of the dust from the past two RV parks. Then I set down to work on the blog. At this point I am writing about our time in Wichita the 5th-8th of September.
Dean went out to use the air compressor to clean the air conditioners and see if that might be creating part of our cool air problem. After cleaning both units, and putting new filters back in the vents inside, we noticed a nice change in the temperature. We have stayed comfortable all day long and it was in the 90's this afternoon.
At 11:30, Dean asked me if I was getting hungry. Once in awhile he can make it to noon - but not often! Lol!!
After lunch, I dusted the bedroom, bathroom and the hallway going up the stairs. Then I was back to the blog. I think I might get it updated before we leave. I hope so!
Dean cleaned the vacuum out for me, including the filters, so I vacuumed this afternoon. Tomorrow when I shower I will clean the bathroom after I'm done. It has been a good productive day. Dean wanted to get another small fan to put in the RV. Today I really needed to use the one we had in the bathroom to help dry the clothes. It's too dusty here to hang clothes outside on my clothesline pole. It's too hot to keep the dryer going. Once we move the fan in the bathroom we miss the fan moving the air around in the living room, which keeps the room cooler. We found one the size we wanted at Lowe's, and it works very well. It has a little more power than the one we've had for several years.
After dinner and doing the dishes, I was back at the blog again. It's now 9:30 and I'm ready to quit for the night. I still need to add pictures, but I hope to do that while we are traveling to Grove, OK tomorrow. We will be camping with our Escapees group at Eagle's Landing for the week.
(Today is Sept 26 and I just got the pictures added this evening)! Bear with me!
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