We started off the month of August by taking a road trip to Eastland to meet Cathey and Jaycie. Jaycie's volleyball season was about to start, but we knew we could cram in some fun time for a few days. And, we did!
On the way back to Mineola, we took Jaycie on a side trip to Huguley Hospital in Fort Worth where almost 16 years ago she was born. This made a great photo op session, especially since we knew I was going to use at least one of the photos on her Dad's page when she turned 16.
Next, we parked down from Leah's house in Burleson, and sent Jaycie to the front door. Imagine Leah's surprise when she answered her door!
When Jaycie and Randi were little girls, they would get on the trailer hooked to the back of the RV and pretend it was their stage; so, for old times' sake, Jaycie acted out the "old days" at Our Little Lot at Lake Fork. Precious memories!
In Eastland, we spent the night at the Holiday Inn so that we could meet Cathey the next morning and get back to Yantis in time for Vacation Bible School. Since I have some kind of rash on my foot, I couldn't swim, but I sure could take pics. 
VBS at 1st Baptist Yantis lasted a 6 days and between Jim and me, we took tons of pics; but since this month has 35 collages as it is, we only documented VBS with one. 
We did it! On Friday, August 9th, we became the proud owners of a Can-Am that we named Taz...She just looks like the Tanzanian Devil. Anyway, these shots were obviously taken in the cycle shop parking lot, since we aren't wearing helmets.
Canton has a rather small but very fun water park named Splash Kingdom. It was the perfect place for us to spend a hot day with the kids! And...of course, more cycle rides!
Before taking Abby and Alexander back to Richardson, we took them to Tyler to the Brookshire Wildlife Museum. The kids had a grand time acting out their fear/reaction to the animals.
On Friday, August 16, we attended the Yantis Teacher Appreciation Breakfast at our church where we were in charge of the picture-taking.
Then it was time!!! We were packed and ready to jump on Taz and begin our adventure. We were riding Taz to Wisconsin!
Even with the late start to the day, we made it to a Days Inn in Jacksonville, Arkansas, before calling it a night.
On Saturday the 17th, we stopped at a Sonic in Walnut Ridge, AR for breakfast. The high school cheerleaders were raising money by washing windshields for customers so Jim made their day by asking them to clean Taz's windshield! This night we bunked at the Holiday Inn Express in Farmington, MO.
Sunday, the 18th, we stopped at Livingston, Illinois to attend the morning service at a small Baptist church we found on Yelp. There weren't more than 20 people in the congregation that morning and 6 of them were from the same family. As soon as the kids found out we were on a trike, they had to come out and take turns having their picture taken. The Hawthorne Suites in Bloomington, Illinois, was our home away from home this night.
The 19th was just a fun travel day. We deliberately called it a day early since are reservations in Waupaca didn't start until the 20th. We were to stay at the Best Western in Rockford, IL, but due to complications which just aren't worth mentioning, we moved across the street to the Baymont where we were greeted cheerfully!
The 20th of August we finally enter Wisconsin and arrive in Waupaca where we had reservations for the next three nights. As one can tell, we didn't burn the roads up getting here; but then, we weren't in a hurry!
Short phrases to explain our Wisconsin days... Fun! Entertaining! The Mudflappers water ski show.
Educational and interesting...The Union Star Cheese Factory in Zittau and the Hotel Fremont in Fremont.
Friendly, Caring, Fun, and Familiar...Gene and Carolyn's 50th wedding anniversary party on the Chain of Lakes.
After leaving Waupaca on the 22nd, Jim called a former student of his, Scott Hildebrand, who lives in Rochester, MN. Scott had said if we got around Rochester to give him a call so we decided that would make a great place to spend the night and have dinner with Scott and his family. (Scott, Kristine, Anelise the cutie with her blue hat! Even she likes Taz!)
Our next major stop was in Olathe, KS, to visit with Whitney, Jim and Jimmy. We know how to cram a lot of activities in just a few days! Memories are made of this!
From cheese curds and A and W Root Beer to shadow fun with pics, our days on the road brought much joy and happiness!
We returned home on Thursday, the 29th, very blessed with fun times, safe travels, wonderful friends and family.
Our maiden voyage on Taz encompassed 2,495 miles through 9 states (Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma) over an 18-day period...a good start!
We closed out the month on Saturday by having our special friends Michelle and Gene over for supper and visiting.
"When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or with gratitude." - Gilbert Keith Chesterton
Grateful for memories and being back home again in Mineola,
Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara, Mom, Grams
