7 lb, 14 oz

Emmett arrived on March 19, 2018 weighing 7 pounds, 14 ounces and measuring 20.5"!  Mom, Dad and Emmett are all doing well.  Just couldn't leave you stranded wondering about him.  This Grammie is over the moon in love with this little boy already :-))

our first photo of Emmett and Jessica

such a chubbie face :-)

resting in Mike's arms and ready for the drive home!

We are both so excited to be grandparents!  We're planning to drive our home to Maryland early this summer for a visit. 

He's Almost Here!

Last November I mentioned that we're going to be grandparents soon :-))  He's almost here! 

January 20th was the date of Jessica's surprise baby shower.  When I got the invitation I was heart broken.  She lives in Maryland and we live in California.  For kicks and giggles I looked online for airline tickets.  I could be in Maryland Friday afternoon, enjoy the party on Saturday and be back home late Sunday.  Just a few details to work out...  YIPPEE!!  I was going to be there to see her in all her girth :-))

My flight was leaving bright and early at 6:00am.  I'm not a morning person but you bet I was up and ready to go this time.  I had my bag packed the day before.  I was going to bring the essential minimums and avoid the hassle (and fees) of having a checked bag.

There wasn't much of a line for security, an added bonus of early departure, so I stepped right up to the TSA podium.  The agent told me I was pre-screened and to take the line on the far right.  While starting to take off my shoes, another person in line said I didn't need to. Another bonus for me :-)  I put my bags on the conveyor belt, walked through the scanner, picked up my purse and bag and was on my way to my gate.  Easy peasy is how I like it at 5 something in the morning!!

My one hour layover was in Salt Lake City.  Just enough time to get a sandwich and use the bathroom.  Soon we were boarding and heading to Baltimore.

I had a car reserved for the weekend.  Good thing too as Mike (my son in law) said he had a last minute interview and couldn't make it to pick me up.  Mike was in on the surprise and even had arranged a one night hotel room for me :-)

I arrived in Baltimore around 4:30, on a Friday afternoon, and had a long drive ahead of me.  No worries.  I enjoy driving and the traffic was only slow for a short distance.  By the time I made it to the hotel it was nearly 7pm.  But I had a mission.  Must.  Buy.  Baby.  Stuff. 

cuteness overload

Lucky for me, the Babies 'R Us store was practically next door to the hotel.  They lucked out when this Grammie entered.  I bought bibs, plenty of clothes to outfit twins, rattles, diapers, wipes, pacifiers, Mommy care items and even a diaper bag disguised as a backpack.  After my shopping spree it was time for a late dinner, wrap up the goodies and get to bed.  Tomorrow I get to see my girl :-))

Saturday I had a few hours to kill so I drove over towards Hannah's house where the shower was taking place.  I was still too early so I went to a nearby park to kill some time.  Hagerstown City Park is a large park in the center of town.  There is an amphitheater, several playgrounds, a pond, an art museum, hiking trails, a train museum and I was lucky enough to find a geocache in the park.

Jessica's friends had arranged a surprise party for her.  She had an idea so when she entered the house she wasn't really surprised.  When she saw me in the group she was quite surprised.  Success!  We hugged, we kissed, and then we took a selfie :-)

Grammie-to-be and Mom-to-be :-))

Mike is a paramedic.  He is currently interviewing at several medical schools.  He plans to study medicine and work as an emergency room doctor after graduation.  Although Mike was on duty that day, he managed to stop by and say hi to everyone and grab some lunch.  He was called to action halfway through the party and had to make his exit.  Our visit was brief as he also had to work Sunday.

Jessica had fun at her party, opening presents, tossing balloons with her feet, visiting with her friends and of course, eating the made from scratch cake baked by Stephanie.

After the shower Jessica and I made another trip to Babies 'R Us.  This time I let her pick some items that she needed but hadn't received as gifts or purchased herself.  Oh Boy, I think I may have already spoiled Emmett :-)  Mike was still working the last hours of his 24 hour shift so the two of us went to see Jumanji together.  How many years has it been since we went to the movies together?!  Sometime during our late night dinner Mike told Jessica that he had to stay at the station for another 24 hour shift.  Life as a first-responder isn't always perfectly timed.

Sunday was my departure day and it came too quickly.  Jessica and I went to grab some sandwiches at a nearby Quizno's before I drove back down to Baltimore.  Mike's station was across the street and we planned to stop in after we ate.  Unfortunately he was on a call.  So we hugged and said our see you laters and I was off.

Jessica started a private group on Facebook and she posts self portraits of her and Emmett most every week.  Here's the latest one taken March 2nd.  She sent me a text on the 8th and said at her appointment the NP said her body is getting ready for Emmett to make his debut.  She said she's tired and moody but doing well otherwise.  I know how she feels.

Emmett's official due date is March 12th, tomorrow.  Ron and I will be in Long Beach at the annual California Parks and Recreation Society Convention and Expo.  You can bet we'll keep our phones next to us until we get The Call!         

Long Time No See

Yes, it has been quite awhile...  I simply got too overwhelmed with life and the blog suffered.

Both Ron and I needed a break from the stress and decided to take a week long vacation between Christmas and New Year at the Escapees Park of the Sierras located in the foothills outside of Yosemite National Park.  You must be an Escapees member to stay there.  They have a first time visitors discount so our week was only $62 plus electricity.  We ran our electric fireplace the whole week and our bill was just $32!

The park sits on 160 acres, 40 of which remain undeveloped, in the Sierra Nevada foothills.  This a co-op park.  Each member of the park volunteers in various capacities to keep the park in good working order.  When one of the members takes their RV on the road that site is put into "rental status" and visiting Escapees members (like us) can stay in the park.  It's simply gorgeous here and we considered joining the co-op.  But not right now.  So maybe in the future this will be our home base...

there are plenty of open spaces in the park

complete with views too!

During our stay at Park of the Sierras we ventured out to nearby Yosemite and Bass Lake areas.

We entered the park from the south along highway 41.  We've never come in from this entrance.  The cost to get in was $30 per vehicle.  The 5 day pass would have been useful if we had planned to spend more time there.  No worries, we still enjoyed our day!  Not wanting to drive the additional hour to The Valley Floor (we've been there many times), we took another road.  We ended up driving through what looked like rental homes.  There was even a small school.  Perhaps this is were some of the seasonal workers live.  The road ended near some trails.  Hmm, wonder where this goes??

The trail wasn't exceptionally long but we did end up at some gorgeous waterfalls!  Of course we lingered and took plenty of photos :-)


The next day we decided not to revisit Yosemite and instead visit Bass Lake.  Plenty of areas to explore here too.  The lake was so low!

such a sad sight, we need more rain

 
According to the trail map there are some waterfalls around here somewhere.  Let's go see if we can find them.  Never did find the falls, but the adventure sure was fun!

what's that circle thing?

still not sure how it got there, but it looks interesting

the creek is flowing nicely

   
We left Park of the Sierras just before New Year's Eve.  The next day we awoke in a new park.  Still not back to Rocklin.  We decided to get a couple of slide repairs done while out and about.  This is, after all, how we plan to succeed with our 'working retirement' so why not make the most of it.  Nothing special here so no photos.  We did accomplish our goal of finishing the two slide repairs in two days so all is good.

Another Project Is In The Books

before

After our return back to Rocklin Ron began another home improvement project.

Each RV is unique.  The cabinets are different.  The closets are different.  If you've had more than one RV, you know the drill.

There simply wasn't anywhere to put the X-Box.  Roamin had a shelf under the TV with the stereo lower and to the left of the fireplace.  Raven has a completely different arrangement for the entertainment center.

Ron's solution: let's see what's behind there and maybe we can make it work.  Spoiler alert: it worked :-)


So on a January weekend while I was away from home (more to follow) Ron tore into the walls with his trusty tools.  He really does enjoy his DIY projects.  The pantry door came off, then he cut into the side of the cabinet behind the TV.  To his relief, there's plenty of room back there for him to make an added shelf for the X-Box.  

Measurements were taken.  Wood was purchased.  Wood stain was custom matched to the color of the faux paneling.  After many trips back and forth between the house and the shop Ron finally attached the finished shelf to the back side of the fireplace plywood! 

  

    

Each day when Ron began working on the area the fireplace was moved aside.

 Behind the fireplace there are plenty of wires.  That's also where the sub-woofer is mounted.  The fuse panel is under the pantry which adds to the quantity of wires.

The stereo was moved to the far left.  On the right is where the X-Box now resides.  The center cubbie holds our Roku and the X-Box controller.

Part of the idea is to never need to open up the space behind the TV again.  But in reality it's always a possibility.  To help accommodate this Ron made two hinged doors to close up the wall between the two areas.  Plus we don't want the pantry contents to fall into the abyss when we're moving :-)

The cabinet came with one shelf in the middle.  When Ron was done, he added two more shelves in there as well.  Now we have plenty of room for other stuff.  In the process we cleared two other small cabinets.   

after, just needs the trim put back in place

The project came out great!  The X-Box has a permanent home.  I have more open cabinets.  

It's a Win-Win :-)