Wednesday December 30, 2020 The Museum of Rock'n Soul - Society Memphis Indoor Skatepark

This KOA is a good one.  If you are ever in the area, this is a nice campground.  BUT. . . I found out that Graceland has an RV park as well. If I 'd known that, I probably would have stayed there instead of here at the KOA. The Graceland campground is closer to Memphis and seems to have a lot of space.  But, this KOA is still good:)

Tuesday December 29, 2020 - Parkin Archeological State Park - Memphis Skate Park

Here we are in Tennessee!!!  The South is wonderful!! We are working our way back to the west coast!!

Monday December 28, 2020 - Mud Island Park and Bass Pro Shop

If you can find Taj in the picture, you win!!!!

Sunday December 27, 2020 Sunday in West Memphis

Today was Sunday!!  Our favorite rest day of the week!!  Unfortunately, the wards here aren't meeting because of Covid so we ended up watching our ward's Sacrament meeting and doing our own Sacrament.  First we started the day off with Book of Mormon movies, then our meetings, then Come Follow Me and then. . . I can't remember because I was sleeping. :)  hahaha

Saturday December 26, 2020 - Travel Day to Memphis Tennessee

After sleeping in, we packed up and left New Orleans for Memphis Tennessee.  We departed around 11 AM and arrived closer to 7 PM.  It was a long drive but we arrived safe and sound.  

Friday December 25, 2020 Merry Christmas from New Orleans

Merry Christmas from New Orleans!!!!

Santa got some yummy cookies tonight!!

Thursday December 24, 2020. Happy Christmas Eve

I got this scripture and thought in my email today.  I loved it.  It's a great reminder of how we can worship our Lord and Savior this Christmas!!

Wednesday December 23, 2020 French Quarter, Bourbon Street and Nathan King!!!

This morning Graham went with me on my run.  We found a trail that runs along the Mississippi.  We did a short run because I was feeling tired.  There were lots of bikers and runners on the trail.  We enjoyed each others company!!

Tuesday December 22, 2020 Travel Day to Louisiana

This morning we left Mississippi and drove towards Louisiana.  After about four hours of driving, we ended up in New Orleans at our KOA!  We are right by the Mississippi River again!!!

Monday December 21, 2020 - Skatepark and the Mississippi River Museum

Here are a few pictures super close to our campground.  The Mississippi River is literally over the hill from us.  There are Civil War signs all over the town.  This whole place was the battle field.  It has been really cool to be here.  

Sunday December 20, 2020 Church at the Lance's - Siege of Vicksburg

When I called the bishop yesterday of the Vicksburg ward, he informed me that they weren't having meetings because of Covid.  We were totally prepared to have our own family church in the trailer.  Then the Relief Society president of the ward called me and invited us to her house for a meeting and brunch. We were so in!!!!  This morning at 10:30 AM we went to the Lance's  house for a Sacrament Meeting.  Asher got to bless the sacrament and Graham helped to pass it.  Then we had brunch with them all.  It was so wonderful.  All the kids got along very well.  We ended up staying three hours before I realized it.  We all had a wonderful time.  Thank you so much Lance family for opening up your home to us and for making us feel very welcome.  

Saturday December 19, 2020 Travel Day to Vicksburg, Mississippi

This morning we left around 9:30 to make our way to Vicksburg, Mississippi.  Vicksburg is just west of Jackson.  I picked this spot so we could learn about the Siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War.  The maps show that it should have taken five hours and 42 minutes to get there.  With our lunch stop and other potty stops, we didn't pull into our campground until about 5:45 PM.  It was a long day of traveling but fortunately we arrived safe and sound!!  When we arrived, it was raining.  Scotty and I were outside in the rain trying to level Homie.  For some reason he didn't want to level himself today.  We had to level him manually.  It took so long.  By the time we were done, Scotty and I were both drenched.  Then guess what???  The rain stopped.  hahahahah.  We both laughed about that.   

Friday December 18, 2020 Desoto State Falls

Today was our last day in this gorgeous land. Scotty had time in his schedule today to  hike over to see Desoto Falls, so we saved it for today.  The falls are 107 feet tall.  They were named after a Spanish explorer.  The falls weren't Niagara Falls but they were still SO amazing.  

Thursday December 17, 2020 - Biking, Hiking, Waterfalls and Christmas Crafts!!

This morning was so cold!  

Last night before we went to bed, we unhooked all the water hoses from the trailer because the temps were going to drop.  We don't ever want our water hoses to freeze and then burst.  That would be bad. Our trailer is equipped  for extremely cold weather so I don't worry about the trailer much.  Just the hoses that are outside. We stayed at a comfortable 65 degrees inside the trailer, while it got down to 28 degrees outside.  I accidentally left a little bit of water in our water hose outside and it froze. We had to put it in the sun this morning and turn the water on to get the ice out.  Our California blood doesn't like cold temps very much :))).  But we LOVE the wooded trails here!!  

Wednesday December 16, 2020 Cathedral Cavern State Park - Alabama

How about a little "Then and Now" pictures!!!!!

My friend email me these pictures of Ash and Graham.  

It's absolutely crazy how fast time flies.  I just can't believe how big they are now.  

Tuesday December 15, 2020- Sweet Home Alabama!!!

Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama!  🎵🎵Where the sky's are so blue!!!  You know it!!!  We are at Desoto State Park AL.   I am so excited to explore this place!!  Pinterest said it is a must see:)))

Monday December 14, 2020 - Maintenance Day

Today was nothing exciting.  I seriously didn't take any pictures.  Silly me.  We needed today to get ready to travel tomorrow.  My "To-Do" list was very long.  It included: laundry, food planning, food shopping, washing the outside of Homie, cleaning the inside of Homie, school, Christmas planning and skate park after all the work was done.  The kids pitched in and help me get it all done.  Then to reward them, I took them to the local skate park.  That's about it.  We leave tomorrow for Alabama!!!  This place has been a wonderful stop.  We have loved the KOA here.  Now it's time to move on!!!

Sunday December 13, 2020 - Day of Rest and Fishing

Happy Sunday of rest!!! 

 That's what today was for us and Graham.  

We went to the ward in Macon GA today.  The ward was actually really big!!  We enjoyed the talks and meeting some members after. It has been such a blessing to be able to go to church on Sundays.  We love being members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!! 

Saturday December 12, 2020 Georgia Aquarium

Georgia Aquarium!!!!

                                         

Friday December 11, 2020- World of Coca-Cola

Welcome to World of Coca-Cola

Santa knows what's up!!!!

Thursday December 10, 2020 Local Skate Parks!!!

We used today to hit the local skate parks. 

 We were impressed. 

Asher found a skate park in Macon and I found one here in Forsyth.  We hit them both.  They were both great parks amazingly.  All three kids had fun.  We sure missed Graham.   

Wednesday December 9, 2020 - Zoo Atlanta

FORSYTH GEORGIA!!!!

Forsyth isn't the most amazing place we have been to but boy do I like it here.  The city has a great feeling and the people are so kind.  There is a certain charm that draws me.  They have many roads to run on and a great skate park.  Here are a few pictures from the city that I took. 

Please Meet Tony, Our 4th Angel of the Trip

This is Tony.  

He is a dive instructor in Florida and he is the amazing person that found Scotty's phone.  Scotty dropped his phone in the reef an hour off shore of Key West, while trying to help Taj get up the ladder to the boat.  The phone went down about 30 feet we think.  Tony was out diving and found it.  He then took the phone home and soaked it in fresh water.  Then he let the phone sit in rice to soak the water out.  At that point he some how found people off of the phone to call and try to connect with Scotty.  When Scotty finally connected with him, he was so amazing to mail it to us.  Thank you Tony for being our fourth "Angel" of our trip.  You truly have blessed us by everything you did to get the phone back to us. And, thank you for being an example of Christlike love.   

This is a picture that Tony sent us of the light house that was on the reef in the early 1900's.  This is the same location that we were snorkeling at.  

 

Tuesday December 8, 2020 - Grahams Surgery and an Oil Change

Surgery Day for Graham

Yet another miracle in our lives

Surgery day looked like this: Graham and Scotty got up early and prepared Graham to go.  He was instructed to shower with a certain type of soap and not to eat or drink after 8 AM.  Before they left for the hospital, Scotty and Abe gave Graham a priesthood blessing.  Then, they were off. . . . . 

Monday December 7, 2020 - Forsyth GA and Scotty/Graham Flew Away to VA

Sleeping at the Cracker Barrel was great.  We all slept well and no one bothered us. It rained all night but we didn't hear it.  When we woke up in the morning, we were surprised to see that it was 9 AM hahahah.  We were tired.  Then I looked at how far away we were from our campground and it turned out that we were only 18 miles away!!!  That was great!!!  Scotty drove so dang far the last two days!!!  So now, we needed to see if our campground would let us check in early.  Regular check in is at 12 and no one is letting you get an early check in because most campgrounds are so busy.  I chanced it and called the KOA anyways.  They were so nice and told me that we could go on over whenever we wanted to. I was shocked!!  That never happens.  So we left and made it to the campground around 12 PM.  Yet another blessing!!!

Sunday December 6, 2020 Church, Fast Sunday, Christmas Devotional and Traveling

We woke up to a beautiful Florida Sunday morning.  

I understand why Snow Birds come here for the winter months. 

 It's absolutely gorgeous.  

Saturday December 5, 2020 - Travel to Tampa and Clearwater Beach!!!

Hip Hip Hooray for a travel day away from Homestead!! hahaha.  We drove 6 hours up to Clearwater FL which is west of Tampa.  The drive was beautiful and we are loving Tampa Bay.  It has the coolest bridges and is oh so beautiful.  Why is water so gorgeous???  

PS. I love my Scotty 

Friday December 4, 2020- Last Day That We Have to Be Here

Ugggg!  Can we please leave this place already??  

Just a note to all of you who are following us to find places to explore,  Don't come here.  It's no fun.  We seriously tried today to find something to do but it was hopeless.  We packed up and drove to a local "beach".  It turned out to be a little pond that no one was allowed to swim in.  The pond was dirty and gross.  We decided to pass on it and left.  Then we looked for anything to do.  Nothing. This place is dead. We even asked Scotty if we could pack up and leave today so that we could have tomorrow to play in Tampa, but he couldn't because of work.  So we made the best of the day.  We finished school and made paper Christmas trees that look like snakes :))). We ate pizza and watched movies. We drove each other crazy and then drove each other crazy again:))). What a day!!!  

The next 3 days are travel days unfortunately.  

Tomorrow we leave for Tampa, then we drive up to the border of Georgia on Sunday.  Then Monday we drive into our campground just outside of Atlanta GA.  At that point, Scotty and Graham will fly out to Virginia to get Grahams surgery.  Fun right???  Oof. Wish us luck for the next 3 days!!  

Thursday December 3, 2020 - Biscayne National Park

Happy Thursday!!!

 Today we started off the day with our normal scripture study and school.  We finished school around noon and then we set sail to Biscayne National Park.  

On a side note, this city of Homestead and the campground we are in, are probably the most "unliked" of all the stops. We don't like the city here, we don't like the campground and honestly, it's a bit eerie here.  We only have today and tomorrow at this stop so we will try to stay safe and make the most of it here.  

On our next trip, we will skip this spot for sure.   

Wednesday December 2, 2020 School and more School

Today the kids did a lot of school and that is about it.  

Tuesday December 1, 2020 - Skate Park in Marathon and Travel Day

We got up early today to hit the skatepark that is here in Marathon before we took off.  The kids were super happy to scoot and I called it PE!!!  We had the whole skatepark to ourselves so the kids didn't have to worry about Taj snaking other people :))). PS.  Did any of you realize that we have been out on our trip for 6 months???  Holy Moly!!  We just looked at a calendar and were in shock the it's already been 6 months.  Crazy!!

Monday November 30, 2020- School and Not Much More in the Florida Keys

Here are a few pictures from the area that we are in. It's the best of the beach life!!!  The waters are gorgeous and the Skys are clear.  

Sunday November 29, 2020- Day of Serious Rest

The Florida Keys has a ward in Key West and a branch in Marathon.  Our campground is in Marathon so we went to the branch that was at 10 AM.  We loved it!!  They had 6 missionaries serving there.  Wow!!!  6 for a branch!!!  My guess is that they want to make it a ward.  The meeting was very lovely and Scotty got to give the closing prayer!!  The one thing we miss is serving in the church.  We miss our callings and the wonderful service that comes with those callings.