Sep 18, 2012 - Clinton, MS: Family Days are Great

On Sunday we drove almost 450 miles from Macon to Clinton, MS so we could visit with Chad, Katherine, and Avery. Avery is now 29 months old and every time we see her, she has grown up a little bit more. She is very verbal, imaginative and inquisitive, and it is so much fun to spend time with her. Of course, since she is two, she also can be quite stubborn! I took care of her both Monday and Tuesday to give her local grandmother a break, and found out it is quite tiring to play with a little one all day long, especially since Avery had...

Jul 2, 2012 - Day 11

Springridge RV park in Clinton MS is rated as a 2011 Good Sam Top Rated Park. It is no such thing. Stay away! Lots of swamp and battle sites on the Trace around Jackson. Port Gibson-the city too pretty to burn. Even Sherman spared it after the battle. Also Battle of Raymond. Both fell before Vicksburg culmination. Rocky Springs is a ghost town that had 2600 people before the war. They are still using a church and cemetery from 1830. AAron and Cheryl Willis are from Clinton. Called and se photos to them.

Jul 1, 2012 - Day 10

Left 1000 Trails for Tupelo down the trace. Visited many trails, lakes and historical spots. Alabama tornado damage was massive. It went on for at least 7 miles and was over a mile wide! Glad it hit in 2011. Got to campground in Tupelo, and they said they didn't have a spot. Supposedly did not write it down even though I had him repeat it. Decided to go on to Jackson (Clinton) MS. Enjoyed the Trace on the way with the dogs and in the coach.

Apr 7, 2012 - Avery's Second Birthday Party and Easter Visit

Avery turned two years old on April 4, 2012. Katherine and Chad hosted a birthday party at a local Clinton park for family and friends on the Saturday following her actual birthday. Avery enjoyed herself immensely, playing on the playground equipment with other kids and then enjoying her gifts and food. We are very happy we were able to be in MS for the event and also for Easter Day. We stayed at a nearby RV park for a week and a half. Fred took a few days to go up to Clarksdale and attend a Blues Festival and I enjoyed taking care of Avery...

Dec 29, 2011 - Christmas in MS with our children and grandchild

We spent a wonderful week in Clinton, MS with Katherine, Chad, and terrific little 20 month old Avery. We enjoyed their new home that they finished in the late spring, and were so happy that Will was able to join us for Christmas as well this year. He was supposed to get to visit for one evening and four days, but a snowstorm in Colorado cut his visit to only an evening and two full days. We were so glad he was able to come even for such a short visit! Avery understood more about Christmas this year, even though she seemed a little nervous...

Dec 25, 2011 - Christmas in MS with our children and grandchild

We are always happy campers when we get to visit family, and this Christmas was no exception. Will ran into winter problems again this year, so his visit was truncated to some extent once more - next year I think we may go back to celebrating "Thanksmas" in November to avoid the hassles of snow storms in Colorado! Anyway, we had lots of fun... especially watching little Avery enjoying her Christmas! At almost 20 months, she really enjoyed opening her gifts and playing with them!

Oct 5, 2011 - in Clinton, MS for Katherine's surgery

We stayed in MS from mid August to early October to help out after Katherine had major back surgery. It was great that Fred and I could be some help to Chad and Katherine while she recuperated, and of course, we loved watching Avery for the two months we were there! I am including a few photos of Avery during this time period. Katherine went back to work part time at the beginning of November, and now is back full time. She was a real trooper recovering from a big back surgery and Chad provided super support. Avery was just a lot of fun!!

Apr 17, 2011 - Tornado

Our trip from Foley, Al to Jackson, MS was uneventful, just the way we like all of our trips to be. We are staying at Springridge RV Park in Clinton, MS just west of Jackson and right off of I-20, a major interstate through Mississippi for four nights. It is a nice park with all the necessary amenities; there is a large mobile home park around the smaller RV area. The RV area is all blacktopped and has about 40 sites. It is not anywhere that you would want to stay for a whole season but just fine for a few days. We had been doing the usual...

Apr 10, 2011 - Avery's First Birthday

So hard to believe that an entire year has gone by, but since Avery is walking (running), climbing, and beginning to talk, I guess it has been a full year! I am posting a bunch of photos from this weekend with Avery, Katherine, and Chad - it was such fun to share in Avery's birthday party!

Apr 7, 2011 - Green Overload

This morning, we headed in a northeast direction on the Natchez Trace, a trail from Natchez to Nashville that has been used by Indians, traders, trappers, hunters, etc. for years that has been turned into a roadway and a national park. The trace is marked by a series of milepost markers beginning in Natchez and ending at marker 444 in Nashville. -- In the 1700's, the trail was used by French and Spanish explorers. Prior to that, it was a well known hunting trail for the Indians of the area. In the late 1700's, farmers from the Ohio valley...

Mar 1, 2011 - More Fun with Avery

We had another wonderful weekend visiting Chad, Katherine and Avery in Clinton on our way back to Texas. Katherine and Chad have been very busy “growing” their new home. When we left after Christmas, the framing was still in process. Now the exterior of the home is bricked and the sheetrock inside is nearly done as well. Katherine and Chad both stay very busy and involved in the house construction! Chad cleans up the work site and puts all the debris into a giant dumpster; I do not think I have ever seen as clean a house building site as...

Dec 25, 2010 - Avery's First Christmas

I know I have posted too many photos, but after all, it was Avery's first Christmas and I wanted to record it! These photos were taken from Christmas Eve through Dec. 29 when we sadly had to say goodbye for a couple months. We are pretty sure Avery will be walking the next time we see her, since she is standing alone now and waking along the furniture quite well. I have several cute videos of her walking behind her push toy and also riding her rocking horse, but they are too large to load into this journal and I do not know how to make them...