We're back

Thursday, April 30, 2009


We made it back, only to find out the world is spazzing out about the flu outbreak. We weren't even aware of it until our next to last day. Anyway, to all of our loyal readers, we are back in the States, tanned, tired and very pleased with the trip. Donna is busy sorting over 500 pictures and will soon post multiple blog entries. That's Kathi and Duane Hicks (our double wedding partners) with us at dinner. I will be prepping the rig for our trip west, saying so long to our east coast family and friends.

Going Offline!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Just a quick note....we head out at O'dark thirty in the morning for our honeymoon in Cabo. No phone and no Internet so we won't be back online until April 30th. Ya'll have fun...we plan to!! WHOO-HOO!!!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

Wii Fit Fun

Monday, April 20, 2009

Just a quick note to let everyone know we got our Wii Fit a couple of weeks ago and we love it. We are both out of shape and always have great intentions of walking and exercising more. The most walking we end up doing is when we are sightseeing...and we know that's not enough.

Enter the Wii Fit. We've been reading about how much fun they are and that they have done wonders in nursing homes, etc. We had polled our readers to see if other RVers were using it and found out they were.

I did some price checking and found a great price from Amazon.com, shipped from Target. It included everything we needed to get started. We both love it...makes it fun to exercise and you get to challenge yourself (and your partner, if you are really serious....hee-hee). We've both lost a few pounds and definitely have noticed increased flexibility. We have a long way to go...three weddings and my being sick have slowed us down but once we get back from Cabo we'll be hitting it again.

So if you're thinking about it...check it out. I think you'll like it!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

The roller coaster of life...

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Time to catch everyone up to date....

Quick flashback to the Sunday after Melissa's wedding...we met up with four friends for lunch at Cracker Barrel. Earl & Pauline and Kathi & Duane, who were to be married on Saturday. They also are the couple going to Cabo with us...their honeymoon. They were to be our witnesses for our wedding in Cabo. After lunch, at which Melissa & Mike had joined us briefly, the 6 of us headed to a local outlet mall in search of some Docker style pants for Duane to take to Cabo.

While wandering the stores and chatting, we had a little more discussion about the problems we were running into in trying to arrange our Cabo wedding. The legalities were a breeze, it was the cost that was staggering. All the packages were geared to small weddings with 15-25 people and were way more than what we wanted. We had pretty much resigned ourselves to a civil ceremony when we came back to MD. Next thing we know, we're invited to have our wedding along with Kathi & Duane....the only thing they needed to do was check with the minister.

After assuring ourselves that this was truly what they both wanted, we were ecstatic. Not only would we be getting married with friends present, we could have a few family members as well. Everyone was sworn to secrecy and we headed home, very excited about our upcoming wedding day! After the initial disaster of the dress I had ordered not arriving, followed by the excitement of finding the perfect rings, topped by the wedding not being in Cabo..we were feeling pretty good.

On Monday, Melissa and her new husband, Mike, headed to Ocean City for a short honeymoon and we headed over to house & pet sit for them. By mid-week it was apparent I had picked up a cold..as had the brother of the groom. Gotta love these germs...LOL!



On Thursday we heard from Melissa that Mike had been to the ER the night before and they were headed home. We waited till they arrived and headed back to our home (sub2 home, that is). I was feeling no better so rested a bit before dinner out with friends that night. We shared our upcoming wedding date surprise and showed off our new rings.



On Friday we prepared to head to Lorton, VA where we would spend Fri & Sat nights at the Comfort Inn, just around the corner from the Legion Hall where the wedding would be held. First thing we discovered was that the directions that were printed on the invitation, were incorrect. We texted corrections to the few family members we had arriving and called Duane to start notifying any friends/family on his side. LOL! After checking into the hotel we headed downtown with Duane to get our license (no waiting period, no residency requirement and no blood tests needed...NICE!).

During lunch we got our next surprise....our friend Earl had lost the brakes in his motorhome as he was driving down to VA for the wedding. Fortunately he had another couple with him and a little over the phone troubleshooting was done between Stu, Duane, Earl & Jerry. They decided it sounded like the master cylinder had gone bad. We headed out to find a replacement before dropping Duane at home (he had to go to work). Since I still felt really bad, Stu dropped me at the hotel before heading off to find Earl & Jerry and hopefully getting the brake issue resolved.

Well, before that happened we had double bad news....Melissa had taken Mike to the ER locally and they were admitting him to the hospital. We knew all we could do was pray for some recovery for him...his battle is a long one. Then we heard from his other daughter, Heather, and her boyfriend's ex's family had an unexpected death. They were watching three kids other than their own two...we assured them kids were okay and hoped they could all make it. Sigh...

Stu finally arrived back at the hotel.....with a black eye. Oh yeah...a real shiner....one of the hazards of mechanic's work...and no, the brakes weren't fixed. The master cylinder was the wrong one. Earl ended up calling his road service and having the RV towed to a dealership in Manassas, VA. What a day!!! We did get to have dinner with my youngest daughter, her husband and three grandbabies.

Saturday we slept in, taking our time getting ready for the day. Stu ran out to pick up a few things and also informed me that he ran into my son & his wife in the lobby along with several of his friends who were checking into their rooms. Getting harder and harder to keep the surprise...but we kept working on it.

Because the wedding planning was for Kathi & Duane's wedding, we kept our part understated. Hawaiian shirts and khaki pants with silk leis for us and those in our wedding party (Stu's oldest daughter stood for him and my youngest stood for me, my two granddaughters gave me away). Their wedding was more formal although not traditional since it was not a first wedding for them either. I love the contrast of the two in this wedding shot!



The wedding wasn't as big a surprise as planned since someone as the hotel desk mentioned a double wedding, but it was big enough for us. LOL! Everything went wonderfully, including Duane's sister picking us up a little bride-groom and a garter for me. Kathi had already arranged for my daisies - my flower of choice.

We got hugs, kisses; we danced, laughed; we ate, drank; we shared cake, memories. Then we topped it all off with the most wonderful marshmallow fight! Yup, you read that right...we had run into this in Cancun at Senor' Frog's and loved it. I am SO not a food fight person but this is pretty much a no muss-no fuss event. The kids started handing out the Zip-lock bags filled with pink & white marshmallows. All the formal things were over, the crowd was mellow and all it took was one toss.... Next thing we know the room in fully involved...even the three guys from the caterers joined in. For 5 minutes a soft, sweet chaos ruled....it was amazing. Unfortunately there are no photos since we were all too busy having fun! When the song changed, Stu got everyone to stop and pick it all up. Perfect!! [more photos at SmugMug]



So, three weddings in two weeks and on Wednesday we leave for a week in Cabo for a double honeymoon. We're all looking forward to it...and I'm really glad that I'm starting to feel more like me (spent most of this past week sleeping & taking meds). Needless to say, no blogging or real Internet access until we get back on April 29th (actually the 30th since our flight arrives after 11pm on the 29th).

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

We haven't forgotten you!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Honest....we haven't. We've had a lot going on since Melissa's wedding and toss in that I got a horrible chest cold that is only now starting to improve a bit. I haven't been up to more than a very brief computer check daily (if that). I hope to catch everyone up to date by this weekend...lots of photos and news!!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

Helping out....

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Those of us living the RV lifestyle know how hard the community of Elkhart, IN has been hit with closures and layoffs. One company has found a way to help alleviate that a little...but our help is needed. Read this blog then check out the manufacturers website - watch all the display on the right. Some nice stuff there! Then spread the word to everyone you know...we can help, even if just a little!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

Quick update!!!

Monday, April 6, 2009

Let's see...wedding number one is over and a resounding success. You can see the pics at SmugMug. I took them at the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, prep for the wedding and the reception (left the ceremony to the professionals...LOL!)



The happy kids are now in Ocean City on their honeymoon and we are house/pet sitting for a couple of days. For those who aren't aware, our new son-in-law is also fighting for his life. He was diagnosed with malignant melanoma and continues his battle. You can follow his story and cheer him and Melissa on by following their journal at CaringBridge.

This week is checkup week....for Stu. Annual doctor and dental appointments will occupy our spare time. We'll intersperse that by going to lunch with friends as we did on Sunday. A few errands here and there will top it all off....well, until Saturday when we attend the wedding of Stu's best friend, Duane, and his lovely fiance, Kathi. A lot of other friends will be there and we're excited....they are also going to Cabo with us....WE'RE excited!

Taxes are done and filed...so nice to find someone competent to handle them for us and a definite weight off our backs. We both have refunds coming, mine is minimal but Stu's is a bit larger. He has ordered a backup camera setup for the RV. It's something we really need and I know he'll have "fun" installing it.

So signing out for now...oh, we got diesel for $2.11 but most places are running closer to $2.20. Hard to see after about $1.80-1.90 while we were in Texas.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

Babies always grow up....

Friday, April 3, 2009

Tomorrow is the big day....Stu's youngest daughter, Melissa, is getting married. Tonight is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I know everyone is getting excited!

Yesterday we ran errands all day, picked up Olivia (Stu's grandbaby by his oldest daughter), had dinner with his sister-in-law and then Livie spent the night (she's all legs, thank goodness for the foldout sofa in this RV). This morning we did WiiFit together (okay, so she watched until Stu got her doing the bowling & baseball...LOL!) Then it was time to clean up and I snagged this cute photo of him doing her hair.

Sunday we have dinner with good friends, two of whom are getting married next Saturday (they are also going to Cabo with us). Busy, busy weekend....

Well, it's time to get ready to head out to pick up Stu's tux, our wedding bands and head to the rehearsal!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

Pushme-Pullyu

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Remember the "Pushme-Pullyu" from Dr. Doolittle? The Pushme-Pullyu animal was always heading in the opposite direction at the same time, because he had one head on one end of his body and another head on the opposite end of his body. Well there is a real life correlation for many of us. Check out this blog: The Biggest Waste of Time. (No, this isn't an April Fool's joke....LOL!)

On a side note, we finally got our Wii Fit hooked up. We both love it. I did 20 minutes and Stu did 30. You have to stop yourself from overdoing because 1) it is fun and 2) you're competing with yourself. I have high hopes for us with this setup!!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

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