Tuesday, April 22; Wednesday, April 23, and Thursday, April 24, 2014 - Ft. Hood RV Park, Ft. Hood, TX

Well, I have a lot to catch up on in this post.

Tuesday - After our coffee, breakfast and showers we headed to New Braunfels, TX this morning.  We have been wanting to go to Camping World to pick up a few things we needed for the RV, and to just look around.  Unfortunately the closest CW to us in in Rogers, AK so we wanted to take advantage of this opportunity.  Dean does not enjoy traveling the Interstates, so we took highway 281, which was a beautiful drive into the Hill Country of Texas.  You see so much more of the countryside on these local highways versus what always seems like the same old thing on the Interstate.  We enjoy the slower pace versus the rush, rush, rush!   There were still quite a few spring flowers along the highways and as I mentioned we began to see hills the further south we traveled.  One of the things we love most is passing through the towns and smaller cities along the way.  Often Dean finds he is looking at phone related equipment and I'm looking at parks, city halls, streetscapes, buildings, etc.  Just the way we roll!  You know old habits die hard!  Fortunately as we neared New Braunfels, the GPS route took us to Camping World via a frontage road leading into their parking lot without ever having to get on the Interstate.  This made my husband very happy!

We spent an hour or so looking around Camping World.  We found a few things we needed, and a few things that we just wanted, plus we checked prices for items on our wish list!  From Camping World we were going to try and find somewhere to eat lunch before we headed back to Killeen.  I mentioned to Dean that I had really hoped to at least drive through Gruene (pronounced Green), Texas before heading back.  I've heard so much about this neat little community and I thought it was fairly near to us.  As we approached a major intersection that would take us under the interstate to a large shopping center with numerous eating establishments, I noticed a sign that said "Historic Gruene Downtown District".  I was pretty excited to see the sign so soon after mentioning it and pointed it out to Dean in time for him to make the turn.  In about 7 minutes we were driving into Gruene, Texas.   As we drove down the first street right in front of us was Gruene Hall.  See picture below.

Gruene Hall was constructed in 1878, and is Texas' oldest continually operating and most famous dance hall.  The building is 6,000 sq. ft. with side flaps for open air dancing.  There is a bar, small stage and a large outdoor garden.  Gruene Hall is known as a destination tourist attraction and not only new artists but many well-known ones have played here over the years.  Stoney LaRue is scheduled to play there this weekend.  Some past performers you might recognize include Garth Brooks, George Strait, and Kris Kristofferson. 

I wish we would have had more time to spend here today.  We did take time to have lunch at the Gruene River Grill.  While this building was constructed more recently it had a very aged look to it.  There was outdoor patio seating overlooking the Guadalupe River.  Fortunately it was not too busy when we arrived so we were seated here along the patio with beautiful iron railings.  While waiting for our waiter to arrive we heard laughing and looked down to watch some kayaks, a small rubber boat and innertubes drift down the river.  From our table we could look right into the treetops that grew along the river below us. The weather was perfect for outdoor dining. Such a gorgeous day!

Entrance to the Gruene River Grill

 Innertubers floating down the Guadalupe River

Beautiful old trees outside of the Greune River Grill.  Aren't these beautiful?

Our dinner was very good.  I had a Sante Fe salad with grilled chicken and a spicy chipotle dressing.  Even though I did not need it, they had really mixed the dressing into the salad and every bit was delicious.  Dean enjoyed his choice of chicken friend steak with mashed potatoes and green beans.  Wonderful meal!

Afterwards, we drove down to take a closer look at the river.  It would be fun to take a leisurely float someday! 

There were many shops and antique stores that I would love to visit, but not this time.  It is definitely on our list for a return trip to Texas.

We headed home about 3:30 or so.  Matt called us as we were approaching Copperas Cove and wanted to know if we wanted to come over for supper.  Megan is a great cook so we were not going to turn them down!  Tonight the menu was fresh catfish with a cornmeal coating that she baked, and a yummy green salad with lots of extras (avocado, cranberries, nuts, cheese).  We had chocolate chip cookies for an after dinner snack.  Yummy!!!  We headed home about 8:00 or so since Matt and Megan are now back on the clock and have to be up for work in the morning.



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Wednesday morning  I decided I would start to plot our drive for the trip home.  We enjoy taking different routes traveling to and from a location if we can as we enjoy seeing new things.  We plan to travel 281 North to Bowie, Texas the first night and stay at a city park there.  From there we will travel to Norman, OK and stay in the Fairground RV Park.  Depending on when Joshua arrives we may make one more stop before we take the last leg of the trip back home to Oswego.  I would like to be home no later than early afternoon on Friday, May 2.   I decided about two months ago I was going to have a garage sale in conjunction with Oswego's city-wide sale, which is Saturday, May 3.  If we do not make it home by then my sister - Cindy; daughter - Misti; and niece - Nikki will handle it as they are also participating.

After I finished selecting our overnight stays for our return home, we had our cereal for breakfast and got our morning chores out of the way.  We then headed to Copperas Cove to pick up some groceries.  Matt and Megan are coming here for dinner tonight so I needed to pick up a few things.  After we returned and put things away we made a quick sandwich for lunch.

Tonight we are having grilled chicken, homemade macaroni & cheese, steamed broccoli & cauliflower, and garlic bread heated on the grill.  I am making a simple strawberry shortcake for dessert.  We bought some leg quarters and I had a few chicken tenders left so Dean grilled all of those.  It sure was good!  He is a great cook although he won't admit it!! 

We set outside while he grilled the chicken.  The weather is just perfect here right now - about mid-80's.  I can't believe that I've only worn capris 2 or 3 days since we left on March 31 and we are in TEXAS!!! and it's almost May.  I am so ready for summer and the lake.

After Megan and Matt arrived Megan told us they had some good news.  Her doctor told her at their appointment today that if they did not have anyone else come into delivery by this evening they may call her to come in tonight rather than waiting until tomorrow.  Sure enough about 7:30-8:00 she got the call.  They left to take care of a few things before they headed to the hospital. 

They spent the night at the hospital and assured us they would call if Joshua arrived that night or early morning.

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Thursday morning we were anxious to get to the hospital.  As you have probably figured out, no baby yet. It turned out to be a long day for Mom and Dad.  Fortunately, despite the fact things did not progress like everyone hoped, Megan was somewhat comfortable for most of the day and evening - as much as you can be laying in a hospital bed with intermittent contractions.  At about 10:00 we headed back to Bentley and went to bed with the idea we might get a anytime to head back to the hospital - however, that didn't happen.

 

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Early Friday morning - At about 2:45 a.m. Matt called to tell us that they were going to take the baby Cesarean.  We told him we would be there as soon as we could.  As we turned into the parking lot, Matt sent Dean a text telling us he was in the operating room waiting for them to bring Megan in and letting us know to go to the waiting room.  He will come and find us after Joshua arrives.

 

Little Joshua Dean Peine arrived at 3:27 a.m.  This "little" guy weighed in at 10 pounds, 5 ounces and was 21" long.  Needless to say, I think you can understand why a Cesarean was necessary.  He is just as cute and sweet as can be -- as you can see for yourself in the pictures below.

 

 First picture of Daddy-Matt Peine; Mommy-Megan Peine and Joshua Dean Peine.  April 25, 2014.

 First picture with proud Papa Dean Peine, Joshua's namesake.
 

I left my camera at the hospital with Matt and Megan and I wanted to include several pictures in this post, so that is the reason for the late posting.

 

We are so thankful that Mom and Joshua are doing so well and we Thank God for another special blessing to our family.  It was exciting to be here to share in Matt and Megan's experience as new parents and we feel so blessed for the opportunity to do that.  Matt was one proud Daddy!




Monday, April 21, 2014 - Ft Hood RV Park, Ft. Hood, TX

We were pretty lazy first thing this morning - taking our time getting around.  It's nice to do this once in awhile.  After breakfast we headed to Copperas Cove to take care of laundry.  I do miss my washer and dryer very much but I console myself with the fact it only took me 1.5 hours to do 4 loads of laundry.  I was able to read emails in between time so accomplished two things at once.  We returned to Bentley about 11:30 or so.  Fixed a quick lunch of sandwiches.  After lunch I put up clothes and put clean sheets on the bed, while Dean did the few dishes we had. 

Dean called Matt to see what was on the agenda for the day.  They had just returned from the errands they had scheduled this morning.  Megan took another non-stress test and all was well with it.  As it stands now, if she does not go into labor on her own, she will call the hospital on Thursday and they will determine if she will come in sometime that day or on Friday, based on the number of patients they have at the time.  So we will meet Joshua this week!!

Matt suggested another game of golf so we headed to their house.  It was quite a bit warmer today but we had a really good game until Hole 8 and things began going to pot.  Not sure if it was the clouds that began to head our way and the threat of rain, the guy behind us who seemed put out we weren't going fast enough or we were just tired.  Every bunch of high weeds, ponds of water and sand traps seemed to reach up and grab our golf balls.  Dean and I still ended the game at the same score as our previous game, 50, but I think we would have definitely improved that if we'd continued to play like we did on the first 7 holes.  There was some rain later, but not at the golf course (or at least while we were there).

Following the golf game, Dean told Matt and Megan we would take them to dinner - their choice.  We originally were headed to Belton to eat at the Dead Fish Grill, a restaurant at Belton Lake overlooking the water.  Before we left Killeen Dean asked if they were sure it was open - some restaurants close on Monday's.  Megan Googled it - thank goodness she did - it WAS closed on Monday's.  I was intrigued by the name of this place, so was disappointed.  Hopefully we can give it a try before we leave.

After that selection failed to work out, they suggested Red's Corner Grill.  This is a neat little family sports restaurant.  We all chose either burgers or cheesesteak.  All of the food was excellent, and VERY filling so we passed on the ice cream that Matt had suggested we get afterwards.  Good idea!  Over the bar area they had REDS spelled out as follows:  Relax - Eat - Drink - Sports.  

We went back to Matt & Megan's for a while.  Dean and Matt either watched TV or visited  -  not sure which because I could not keep my eyes open and neither could Megan.  We headed home about 8 or so.  We watched the end of Dancing with the Stars when we got back and then I headed to bed. 

Matt and Megan both have to go back to work tomorrow, so Dean and I are headed to New Braunfels, TX to Camping World and to take in a little sight seeing.  If I'm lucky maybe he'll stop at IKEA on the way back!!!!!  Stay tuned for new adventures! 

Saturday and Sunday, April 19 and 20, 2014 - Ft. Hood RV Park, Ft. Hood, Texas

Saturday, April 19
As you know if you read the previous post, Matt called Saturday morning to see if we wanted to go eat breakfast with them.  Neither of us hesitated for a moment.  Breakfast is Dean's favorite meal to eat at a restaurant.  We chose a Mexican Restaurant, Taqueria Guadalajara that we had visited on a previous trip and enjoyed. 

We met them at the Restaurant which was pretty close to us.  I cannot remember the name of the dish I ordered but it included scrambled eggs, mixed with Mexican sausage, broken tortilla shells with a cheese sauce over it.  Sides included corn tortillas, bacon, refried beans and potatoes, similar to home fries.  It was delicious.  Dean had an omelet with the same sides and wheat toast.  I really love this place and wish we had somewhere closer to home for Mexican breakfasts.  We miss Pepe's that was in Chetopa.

Matt and Megan needed to go to Sam's so we tagged along.  We no longer have a Sam's card so we enjoyed this little side trip.  I found some really nice plastic 22 oz. colored glasses.  These will be really nice to have when we have family dinners, since I am short on this size glass for iced tea.  We also purchased two large bags of salted almonds.  Dean goes through these pretty quick and we saved about $5 by purchasing these compared to what we normally get at Wal-mart.  It's always just fun to browse Sam's.  Side note:  Our second date, Dean and I went to Joplin and stopped at Sam's.  They were having a big "sample" day with various foods.  Dean had never been to a Sam's before and he thought this was a great date!  HAHA  He loves telling people our first date he took me to McDonald's and our second he took me to Sam's for dinner; and I still went out with him again! 

We went back to Matt and Megan's and hung out for awhile before we played golf at 2:15.  Shortly before we left we had a sandwich- we didn't need too much after that big breakfast, but it will be a while before dinner, so we didn't want to get hungry on the course.

Dean and I scrambled against Matt (to save time) and Megan rode along.  Dean and I had a score of 50 and Matt had a 46.  Matt was pleased since it was his first game of the year.   The golf course is called Stonetree.  The name comes from a large stone that is in a tree on the 6th hole.  I've included a picture of it and one of Dean and Matt discussing their next shot.  It's a beautiful course and we enjoy playing it.  Typically Matt and I play against Dean and Megan but Megan can't swing a golf club too well right now.  :)

You will have to click on this picture to enlarge it to see the stone in the street. 

 



I'm sure this was a very serious discussion!

 



Here is another picture of the Texas bluebonnets that was taken at a closer range than the previous one I posted.  The are pretty in this picture, but seeing an entire field or yard of these beauties is just amazing!

We hosted dinner tonight.  After the golf game we stopped by the commissary to pick up some groceries.  Dean was grilling.  We had rib-eye steaks, roasted potatoes on the grill and a salad. 

For those interested the roasted potato recipe is from my sister Cindy.  I tear off a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, spray it good with Pam (or similar type product), then add about two medium potatoes per person cut into bite sized chunks, add one or two onions (I cut them in half then quarter each half).  Add seasoning salt, pepper and dried parsley.  I added 3/4 stick of butter sliced into 1/2" pats then laid over the potatoes.  Seal your foil tightly along the length and then tightly fold in your ends.  Grill for approximately 1 hour, turning from side to side every 15 minutes.  Do not turn entirely upside down or you will lose all of your liquid.  You will lose some as it is, so don't worry.    These are so delicious! 

After we cleaned up the dishes, Matt suggested a game of Catch Phrase.  Did you know they have an app for your phone that you can use to play with a group--just like the actual game?  We played 3 games and I hate to admit that the guys won!  We had a great time though and laughed so hard I was just sure it would send Megan into labor - but no luck!!

The weather today was perfect.  Warm but a little overcast so it was very comfortable on the course.  it was a great day!

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Sunday, April 20

Easter Sunday.  We got around this morning as we were meeting Matt & Megan so we could attend church with them.  They have two services each Sunday and we chose the early service which started at 9:00.  We had to be at their house by 8:40 and it takes about 15 minutes to get there. 

From the outside you would not know the building was a church but it is very nice inside.  It's a good sized church with a wonderful group of musicians leading the music.  While the songs were a bit contemporary for me - the music itself was very good.  Their pastor had an excellent sermon and easily held my attention.  It seems if I sit still for very long I have a tendency to get that eye dropping disease and never once during his message did my mind wander or my head bob!  That is a good thing!

Megan had heard of a place having Easter brunch near them so we thought we would try it out.  She made reservations for noon, and we headed over about 11:40.  While it was good, it was not nearly as impressive as it sounded.  The prime rib and horseradish sauce was the best item, I think.  Desserts were not too bad.  It included breakfast items of scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes (which were pretty decent), bacon, link sausage, biscuits and gravy, and an omelet station.  There were a few pastries, prime rib, chicken fried steak, ham, cheese and fruit table, spinach/strawberry/feta cheese salad and peel and eat shrimp. 

After lunch we headed back to Bentley to change clothes and pick up a pork roast for dinner.  We are going to do laundry tomorrow and I wanted to check out a Laundromat in Copperas Cove since it is quite close to us.  After deciding which Laundromat we would use, we headed back to pick up the needed groceries.  A nice little rain storm came up so when we reached Wal-mart Dean was going to drop me at the front door - an idea that every other person in Copperas Cove must have had!  The rain let up enough I could finally just walk to the front door - good thing as we set waiting for traffic to let up so Dean could turn to drive in front of the store to drop me off for quite a while.  I wanted orange juice and a pork roast - sounds easy, right?  Found the OJ pretty quick and headed to the meat department.  There was only a small selection of pork roasts left and a lady was standing right over them checking each one out - for what seemed like SEVERAL long minutes.  I kept trying to look around her, finally decided on one and asked her to excuse me so I could grab my selection and be on my way.  She was still trying to decide when I moved on!!  I hurried towards the front of the store, so busy watching foot traffic so I could dodge children and carts that when I reached the front I realized I had gone the wrong direction and I was now at the back of the store again!  Only me!!  I finally make it to the front of the store, get in the express lane (one of two) and yes, you guessed it - it is the S----L-----O----------W lane!!!!!!!!   I am in the store so long to get two things that Dean finally calls me to see if I am okay.  I should never be allowed to go to the grocery store when we are in a hurry!!!!

We returned to Matt & Megan's.  Megan was taking a nap, so I put the pork roast on for dinner.  We are having pulled pork and some sides (to be determined).  I checked my emails and Facebook (with the help of Matt's internet connection since I cannot receive anything except phone calls and texts on my phone as I have used all of my data storage for the month.)  I had a lot of emails so I enjoyed the time to read my travel blogs and see what is going on at home (Facebook is nice for this).  Loved all of the Easter pictures that were posted by everyone!

After Megan got in her nap (she didn't sleep well last night so she really needed some rest), we visited for quite awhile while Dean and Matt looked at a couple of projects they are going to try and accomplish this week while we are here. 

We watched "Thor" - can you tell Matt likes movies?  It was okay - not nearly as good as Captain America.  Dinner of pulled pork, and sides of baked beans and Steamfresh peas was delicious.  After the movie was over we headed back to Bentley about 8:30.

Another nice day!

Friday, April 18, 2014 Ft. Hood RV Park, Ft. Hood, Texas

Good morning everyone!  Hope you are all doing well.

We had a slow start to our day yesterday, taking our time getting up, having our routine breakfast cereal, spending time on the computer and doing little "household chores".  Living in a small space I really like everything in it's place and it does not feel right to leave for the day without making sure that is taken care of.  When I do not have to rush - that's all the better.  Part of retirement to me is not "rushing" anymore.

As much as I loved my job, I have not missed it - which is a little surprising to me as it was so much a part of me.  But what I have found I do not miss is the anxiety I would sometimes feel, the neck aches from the stress, etc.  My neck no longer hurts (except from my head bobbing, when I fall asleep as Dean is driving, or trying to watch a movie - hahaha),  I no longer wear a mouthpiece at night to keep from grinding my teeth and I just don't feel like I'm always in a hurry because there was never enough time in the day to get things done.  I would not have traded the excitement of my job for anything - it was the best job in the world; however it was certainly time to lay it aside and move on and I'm thankful it has been such an easy transition. 

We had made plans to meet Matt and Megan about 11:00 today to go play my new favorite game.  Too bad we have to make the trip all the way to Texas in order to do this.  I know a few of you have heard about this and have even played it but for you golfers out there if you ever get the chance to play "Top Golf", do it!  It is just great fun.  I do not particularly care to go to a driving range and just hit golf balls one after the other.  But Top Golf changes that.  Matt drove us to Austin, Texas where Top Golf is located.  They also have one in Dallas and a few other locations around the US.  (Hey all, I just found out there is now one in Oklahoma City - woohoo!)

I've taken a few pictures and will explain more about it after each one.  As you near TG you can see their large nets long before you see the building. 

The facility is a large building, with three levels.  You can take your own clubs to use or you can use the clubs they have at each bay.  I'm not sure how many "bays" there are, but I would guess something like 30-40 on each level.  There are 3 levels that you can play from.  Yesterday we were on the mid-level.  Last time we were here we played from the lower level.  The side of the building that overlooks the outfield (215 yards deep) is open as you will see in the picture below.  Behind that you have an area to store your golf clubs (just like on the back of your golf cart), and a table that seats up to 6 people, similar to a bowling alley.   Anyone can play this game including children and you can play year-round no matter the weather (assuming weather conditions allow you to reach your destination)!  You pay by the hour.  Through the week (Mon-Thurs) it is $20/hour through 6pm.  Then the price increases to $40/hour until closing at 10pm.  On weekends (Fri-Sun) it is $20/hour through noon; and then $40/hour until closing. 

 Here is Dean taking some of his first shots.  You can see the dartboard-like targets in the ground.  You hit special golf balls that are microchipped.  The closer you get to the center or "bull's-eye" the more points you receive. 

This is where the golf balls are released.  At the top right you see a small hole.  You wave your club over this to release each ball.  We chose to hit 5 balls at a time with a total of 20 per player.  There is another screen where you change to the next player after each person completes their round,  I forgot to get a picture of it.

 

This is the scorecard for those playing.  If you click on the picture to enlarge it you can see I was able to stay with the guys somewhat.  I was quite pleased with the fact that I actually had a couple of shots that went beyond the brown and green target to roll into the blue.  I'm not sure either of them made it to the white target this time and I can assure you I never did.  We played 3 games and part of a 4th when our time ran out.  We chose to play for two hours.  Believe me - the time goes so fast.  I think even non-golfers would enjoy this game!

Another great thing, is they have a full food and beverage menu and the food is excellent!  You know how happy that makes me as a foodie!  Yesterday I had a turkey/avocado wrap and a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.  It was very, very good.  Later Megan ordered a donut hole type dessert, that comes with large syringes that you can infuse the donuts with either raspberry or chocolate sauce!  The donuts have a sugar type dusting over them after they have been deep fried.  Oh my gosh this is dessert heaven!  Each sauce had such a distinctive taste I could not decide which I liked best, so I guess next time I might need an order of my own to make a final determination!!  :)

I even took a picture of the dessert.  The donut holes were in the two silver cups and I laid one of the donuts on the syringes.  There was plenty of sauce for all of these donuts!

After this we headed back to Killeen.  I tried to talk Matt into stopping at IKEA but he just flew right on past that exit.  Hmmmm!  Do you think the guys are telling me something?  I have to tell you that we did stop here our first visit to see them shortly after they moved to the area almost two years ago.  He could not WAIT to get out of that store.  Guess I'll never get him to take me back again.  But ladies it is such a neat store.  Maybe this should be a road trip for us someday!

We hung out at Matt and Megan's for the rest of the evening.  Megan and I ran to the local grocery store (H.E.B.) which is wonderful.  I love huge grocery stores that offer a larger variety of things than we normally see at home.  Just looking is fun to me!  It takes so little to please me.  HAHAHAHA

Matt grilled hamburgers and they were delish!  For dessert, Megan had mini brownie cups that we placed in the bottom of a bowl, added vanilla ice cream and lots of chocolate syrup.  YUMMY!!  We seen a coffee flavored ice cream in the store - that I think would have also been very good on the brownies and to take it a step further how about a mashed up Heath bar along with it too. 

We then watched another movie at their house - Delivery Man with Vince Vaughn.  The father who discovered he had 533 children.  What I seen of the movie was really good - but unfortunately I did that bobbing head thing through most of it - yes my neck was a little sore this morning from that!  I would like to watch the rest of it someday!

Well, Matt just called and they want to go eat breakfast!  I'm not one to miss a meal, so Bentley is out!

Thursday, Apri 17, 2014 - Ft. Hood RV Park, Ft. Hood, Texas

Megan had to go in for a non-stress test her doctor wanted to do this morning at 10:00.  (By the way she passed this with flying colors- so no worries.)  Following that Matt & Megan had committed to attending a luncheon and advised they would be finished around 1:00 p.m.

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, Dean and I are looking for a small table to set between our recliners so we have a place for our coffee cups, phone or whatever other item might need to be laid beside us for awhile.  I mentioned this to the ladies at the Heartland Rally last week and someone suggested we go to Garden Ridge because they have tons of tables.  We were looking for something to do, so I Googled Garden Ridge and found there is one south of us near the Round Rock/Austin area, so off we go to check it out.  It was a very overcast morning today and it began to drizzle the closer we got to our destination, which was located in a very busy location (as in all kinds of exits, tiers of highways, etc.).  This is exactly the type of traffic Dean does not want to be in.  Fortunately, we were able to turn right off the road we were on into the Garden Ridge parking lot.

We must have looked at a hundred different tables but none of them were right.  They were either too big, too ugly (as in so poorly made I refused to pay even $25 for one) or too wobbly.  I think we have come to the conclusion that this is a job for "SuperDean" the builder!  I can have it special made, to my specifications.  With all of my add-in's - how long will it take? 

About noon we headed back to Killeen.  As we were coming upon IKEA, I mentioned I'd like to stop there.  Dean's head swung around and the look in his eyes was total fear - fear of traffic, fear of shopping or fear that I really meant it?  Well, I would really like to go to IKEA but I knew he had all of the traffic he could stand and we did need to get back so my response was - just kidding!  What a relief - you could see the look of fear be replaced with pure relief!!  I wish I could have captured his face on camera at my suggestion!

The bluebells along the highways are just stunning.  I tried to get some pictures but they did not turn out as good as I hoped due to the rain and the fact we were driving.  I will try to find an area where we can pull off the road and get some better shots, but just in case I will post the ones I took while returning to Killeen.

We decided we would grab something to eat when we got back to Killeen and were looking for some fast food when Matt called.  Dean told him we would find something to eat and then come on back - they suggested we just come over and have a sandwich at their house, so we did.  We visited for awhile and then decided to go see a movie, "Captain America."  Matt and Megan had seen it before but wanted to watch it again.  It was pretty good, as superhero movies go.  Dean and I decided to get a bucket of popcorn and two large drinks.  It's been awhile since we've gone to a show - and I can tell you, we would not get popcorn and drinks again - at least a large.  $19!!!!  That's almost as much as we have paid for most restaurant dinners (total for both of us) since we've been on the road.  This was a LONG movie - or maybe it was all of the previews (I didn't think they would ever end).  We arrived shortly before 3:00 and did not leave until after 5:30. 

Afterwards we went to Carolina Ale House for dinner.  I ordered fish tacos and Dean had fish and chips.  They were both very good.  CAH is a sports bar and their menu has a very nice selection to choose from.  It was our first time here and we will definitely visit one again.  Our food was brought to the table within 10 minutes or so of ordering.  We like that.

We returned to Matt & Megan's and watched another movie, "The Ugly Truth" with Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler.  It was a fun movie although I had a hard time staying awake.  I think I need to get up and move.  Sitting makes me tired! 

We headed home about 8:30 or so and I promptly went to bed!  See you tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014 Ft. Hood RV Park, Ft. Hood, Texas

We got around pretty early this morning since we needed to be ready to leave by 8:45 or so.  Megan called and wanted to know if we could come over a little earlier.  We had plenty of time so that was not a problem.  We picked her up and headed to Matt's headquarters where we visited with him for a while prior to the ceremony. 



Matt at his desk the last time as Commander.

The change of command ceremony was held outside.  Last week it would have been a nice warm day and the shade would have been much appreciated.  Today however, with the recent drop in temperatures it was a bit on the cool side, but not unbearable.  The ceremony was very nice and Matt did an outstanding job with his speech.  He had really nice comments for his soldiers.  I've added a few pictures of the ceremony.

 

 Changing of Commanders - Passing of the flag.

Matt giving his speech where he commended his soldiers.

Aren't these roses beautiful!  They gave these to Megan during the ceremony.

 



Afterwards we had lunch at McAllister's.  We really like this place.

Following lunch, Megan had a routine doctor's appointment so we parted ways for awhile, and we came back to the RV.  I updated the blog (previous posts) and a few things around here.  They came by after the doctor's visit and we hung out here until dinner.  Matt's unit honored him at a dinner at Giovanni's in Copperas Cove just west of where we are staying at Ft. Hood.  We have been there with Matt & Megan before, and as then - it was very good.  I ate so much I felt like I waddled out. 

Following the meal, they presented Matt with a framed banner of their unit and several had comments about Matt.  They were all very favorable.  They talked about his integrity, how he always wanted to do the right thing, his fairness, and a female soldier stated if she had a daughter in the military that she would wish her daughter to have a commander like Captain Peine.  As a mother, I can't think of anything more complimentary to say about your commander than that.  It was apparent they would miss him. 

Matt and Megan stayed at the house to visit for awhile afterwards.  It was a good day.  By the way, the doctor appointment outcome:  Baby is in position but nothing to indicate Joshua is ready to see us quite yet - few more days; but they did move up the date from April 27 to April 25 to start labor if Megan does not go into labor before then.   So we expect to meet little Joshua by April 25 unless he becomes anxious to meet us sooner - we can only hope!!!  Needless to say Joshua's impending arrival seems to be our topic of choice every day!  Papa and Nana are almost as excited as Mom and Dad!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014 Ft. Hood RV Park, Ft. Hood, Texas

We have a busy day ahead of us this morning!

Dean decided he wanted to go eat breakfast today rather than our normal Special K here at home!  Yea!  We weren't sure where to go so I Googled breakfasts in Killeen, Texas.  Found a website where a number of restaurants serving breakfast were listed.  Hallmark Restaurant sounded good and it was fairly close so we headed there at about 8:30.  They have a number of skillet dinners that sounded very good and we were really tempted; but since we seem to be getting more frugal with our money all the time, we went with the special for the day.  For $3.99 we had 3 pieces of bacon, two eggs, home fries and a nice big biscuit.  What a deal!  It was pretty good.  All in all our breakfast was less than $11 and we were quite full!

Next on the list was laundry.  Fortunately a Laundromat was very close.  We spent the next two hours getting that chore out of the way.   We were able to check our emails and Facebook in between washing and drying chores, so the time went fairly quick.

A stop at O'Reilly's to purchase some exhaust fluid for the truck and then our final stop at Walmart for a few groceries, Fish Oil and some birthday cards.  We headed back to the RV.  By then it was almost noon.  We made some sandwiches and ate some of the corn dip left over from the pot-luck dinner at the rally. 

We invited Matt & Megan over for dinner tonight as they have not yet seen the RV (at least the inside - Megan did see the outside yesterday).  I made chicken and rice which I knew was one of Matt's favorites so I had to get the chicken and sauce in the crock pot.  We rounded that off with brown rice and a salad with some add-in's of tomato, avocado, hard boiled egg, cranberries, walnuts and Parmesan cheese.  I decided to make an apple crisp for dessert.  We still have a little ice cream left over from our dinner with Larry & Verna that I want to get used up.  They arrived at about 5:30 and after a tour of Bentley we set down to dinner.  We had a nice evening catching up.  Matt's ceremony as outgoing commander is tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.  We will go by and pick up Megan and drive to Matt's headquarters where the ceremony will be held.  They left about 9:15 or so and we headed to bed soon after that.

More tomorrow!