Christmas in Helen

It's that time of year again - and it isn't really Christmas until we move into the cabin in Helen and get decorated.  Merry Christmas to everyone, and happy and healthy New Year!

The fireplace decorated for Christmas

All of the stockings - 14 this year!

Nanny Sue and Paw Paw with Jake

Once all of the kiddies get up here it will be complete chaos!   We'll post more later - and get our traditional picture of all of the kids on the stairs.

Christmas Day - our traditional picture with all the kids:

We can't believe how big they're all getting!

 Here is how it really is in the cabin - all six grand kids piling on top of Paw Paw!

We're having too much fun!

Lake Lanier Islands

Last week we went to Magical Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier Islands.  Mike built a "stock fence" in the truck bed so that the kids could stand up while we went through without going overboard.

They had a great time, and luckily it wasn't raining and it wasn't too cold!

In the back of the truck

The Whites in front of the Christmas Tree

Miscellaneous Stuff

We've been a little busy, babysitting, going to ball games, and participating in Octoberfest in Helen.

Here are some recent pictures:

The White family

Chase and Katie

Livie and Chase - I LOVE this one!

The Gaines boys in Helen

Pam and Sue in Helen

The covered bridge - we hiked in Smithgall Woods

Tail of the Dragon and Blue Ridge Parkway

We just had a 5 day, 1000 mile trip, and the best part was we got to squeeze in a day with Kim and Richard.

We left on Wednesday - a day earlier than planned because there was rain in the forecast and we didn't want to ride the Tail of the Dragon in the rain.

The Tail of the Dragon is US129 in North Carolina and Tennessee, and has 318 curves in 11 miles.  What a thrill!

10/16:  Mike had his ride - pegs dragging on the road, and I had my ride - pulling over for the crotch rockets and looking at the scenery.  We met at the bottom.

Mike coming 'round the curve

There he goes!

Here comes Sue - a few minutes behind

Whoo Hoo!!! WE DID IT

Thursday the 17th was a little over 100 miles to Johnson City, Tennessee all in the rain.  Luckily it wasn't cold, so it wasn't too bad.

Friday the 18th we rode to Salem, Virginia via US19 and US460 through the mountains of West Virginia and Virgina.  The colors were stunning.

Kim and Richard drove from Annapolis to meet us in Salem, and we had a fun weekend.  We went up to Mountain Lake Lodge for Octoberfest.

We stopped along the way for some wine tasting (what a surprise)

The view from the wine tasting deck was spectacular!

It was C-C-C-COLD out!!

Mountain Lake Lodge - Dirty Dancing was filmed around here!

The lodge had Octoberfest in the barn - it was fun - but drafty and cold!  We had brats and sauerkraut for dinner - and of course lots of beer.

Prost!

The band was great

Kim and Sue doing the Chicken Dance - having waaaaay too much fun! (We're moving so fast we're blurry!)

Kim and Richard doing the Polka

We all left on the 21st; Mike and I headed out to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The scenery and colors were breathtaking.  We rode from Roanoke to Sylva, North Carolina.  We broke it up into two days, spending the night in Blowing Rock, NC.  Once we left the Parkway, we had about 100 more miles to get back to Cleveland, GA where we stay for the fall.

Ready to go

Saying goodbye

On our way!

Blue Ridge Parkway Viaduct

View from Mt Pisgah Inn

What a GREAT trip!  

October Birthdays

Yesterday we were all over at Neil and Pam's to celebrate the October birthdays. Angie and Scott couldn't make it because Angie got sick, but the rest of us had a fun time.

Pictures, pictures, pictures:

Part of a redneck birthday party involves shooting guns:

And a campfire with S'Mores:

And birthday cake!

Branson, Missouri

We got to Branson on Wednesday the 25th.  We met friends Joe and Ellen DeRose here - we're all staying at the KOA.  They're staying in a cabin.  This is really a beautiful area - we've never been to the Ozarks before.

This is really a nice campground.  Our site is one of the deluxe sites - it has patio furniture and a fireplace.

Morning coffee

Joe's back went out, and the long drive from Arizona aggravated it, so he can hardly walk. We took him to the emergency room on Wednesday afternoon.  They gave him some pain killers.  He had a terrible night, so they went back to emergency on Thursday morning.  They gave him muscle relaxers and more pain killers, and told him to go home to see his doctor.  So they had to leave this morning. It was great to see them, but hard to see Joe in such pain.  It was a shame, they didn't get to enjoy the area.

Today after they left, we went to the Showboat Branson Belle, which is a paddle boat, with a dinner show.  We had dinner in the dining room that over looks the paddle wheels, and then after dinner got to walk around the boat.  Then we went to the show room, and boy was it a good show.  The gal they had played violin/fiddle, piano, sang like an angel (she was trained at Julliard), and then also did an acrobatic act where she wrapped herself in ribbons (climbing them like a rope), and played her violin in the air. It was something.  She said she learned to climb ropes when she was in basic training in the Army (after she graduated from Julliard).  What a gal!

Showboat Branson Belle

Tomorrow we head out, we'll be in Georgia on the 1st.  We take the rig in to get the slide worked on on the 2nd.  We can't wait to see the kids!

On the Road

We got all packed up on Friday - but first we had to squeeze in one more ride.  We rode through Spearfish Canyon - had breakfast at the Sugar Shack.  The colors are just starting to turn, but it was a great ride.  I'm glad we got to squeeze it in.

We had a problem getting the big slide in, so Toby and I pushed while Mike operated the button. We finally got it all the way in, and we're leaving it that way until we get to Georgia. It's very cozy in here.  We have an appointment on 10/2 at RV World of Georgia. I hope it doesn't take too long to fix - we have no place to stay!

We've been in North Platte for Saturday night and tonight visiting with Lee and Deb.   We'll be in Branson on Wednesday and can't wait to see Joe and Ellen.

More later!

Scott and Krisi's Wedding

On Labor Day weekend Scott and Krisi got married. I was lucky enough to be able to go, and it was a beautiful wedding - and fun!  They got married on the IU campus, which is where they met.  It was a lovely setting, and just perfect for them.

Here are some pictures of the day.

The shuttle to the wedding. 

Scott walks Kim down the aisle,

I love this one - Scott first sees Krisi

Taking their vows

The Taft cousins with PaPa Emmett

Activities in August

We've been pretty busy this month, between working and playing.

Sturgis was really busy - it seemed like a lot more bikes were here this year.  After bike week we rode into town to have a look and see what was on sale.  We stopped at the Full Throttle Saloon, nothing much was going on there except cleanup!

 We also had a rodeo out at Hart Ranch.  They used to have them here every year, so this year the theme was "The Return of the Rodeo".  It was fun, but only one cowboy rode 8 seconds in three nights, so next year they need to get some better talent!

The kids race for their shoes

It was Military Night - the Ellsworth AFB Color Guard

Last week we were going to ride Iron Mountain Road and Needles Highway - but it was raining and we didn't want to do all the curves in the rain.  We ended up having a picnic at Sylvan Lake, and then heading back to Hart Ranch - going around the weather.  We had fun anyway!

Cheers!