Friday - October 31

Bob: Happy Halloween to everyone. Not much going on today. Scott Crossley stopped this morning to bring Bonnie's sandals and pick up their beach umbrella. After Scott left Bonnie and I went for a walk then shopping this afternoon. Eddie took us out to A Taste of Italy tonight. Everyone had a wonderful pasta dinner except me. I opted for shrimp. Eddie was quite surprised I didn't order pasta. He said he would never forgive me for that.
Weather was beautiful today. Temperatures went to low 80s. Tonight it is cooling off to the 60s. Can't believe it is the end of October. Called Flo and Ken Loy in New Martinsville. We are headed there Monday. Hope to arrive by Tuesday.
Bonnie sends her love.

Thursday - October 30

Bob: We took some pictures of the sights of St. Augustine this morning before we started for Arcadia. Also stopped at Walgreens and got some eye drops recommended by the pharmacist for Bonnie. She says her eye is beginning to feel better already. Her eye has been swollen, itching and watering for several days now. Arrived in Arcadia a little past three.

Bonnie and I at the Old Jail

Old Jail Marker

Marker for Original Landing

Bonnie:  We had fun taking pictures of some of the places we didn't have time to see yesterday. We saw the lighthouse across the bridge, took a picture of Ponce de Leon's statue, and looked at St. Augustine's Oldest Jail. The first Ripley's "Believe It or Not" is also in St. Augustine so we took a picture of the outside.  We also went to see the oldest Catholic parish where there is a huge cross that is 200' tall. There is a beautiful, peaceful park there.  After that we left for Ed and Lorraine's and arrived about 3:30 this afternoon.

200 foot mission cross

Ripley's Believe It or Not

Wednesday - October 29

Bob: Started our sightseeing off with a trolley ride through historic St. Augustine. It was very informative and relaxing. When we finished we walked over to the Lightner Museum. Went through part of it then we had to hotfoot it over to Flagler College to do their 2:00 tour. Henry Flagler and John D. Rockerfeller were the founders of the Standard Oil Company. When Rockerfeller was asked if the Standard Oil company was the result of his thinking, he answered, "No, sir. I wish I had the brains to think of it. It was Henry M. Flagler." The college is pretty impressive as it includes the old Ponce de Leon Hotel. See pictures below. After that tour we went back to the Lightner Museum and then toured the Castillo de San Marcos, which is a fort built by Spain to protect its interests in Florida in the late 1600s. Then we went to dinner at the Raintree restaurant.

Entrance to Flagler College

One of the many Tiffany stained glass windows in the students dining area! These windows are valued in the millions. Antiques Roadshow has valued them "priceless".

Another hotel Flagler built.

Bonnie:  We are exhausted today after our tours, but it was worth it.  What an interesting city this is. There is much to see and we have only scratched the surface. It was 1513 that Ponce de Leon explored Florida and 1565 when Menendez settled St. Augustine.  The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. That's almost 100 years later! Something seems to be missing with the teaching of our history! Anyway, I am impressed with the Spanish influence here.
We saw some beautiful things at the museum and Flagler college, including the windows made of Tiffany glass. There was a large display of crystal in the museum that was awesome, too.  The fort we toured changed hands a number of times from Spanish to English, back to Spanish, and then to the US. All of these changes were done by treaty and not fighting.  No soldiers died! That's impressive.

Castillo de San Marcos

Castillo de San Marcos

Tuesday - October 28

Bob: Left Clermont about 9:50. It was hard to leave Lori, Scott and the kids. Drove to St. Augustine and spent the afternoon looking at the sights. Went to dinner at Harrys and had a great meal. It was recommended by the guy that set up our tours for tomorrow. Took some pictures but left the camera hookup in the car. Will add some pictures tomorrow night.


Bonnie:  St. Augustine is a quaint place right on the water.  It's America's oldest city--1545 was when the Spanish landed here.  Through the years many different people settled it--beginning with Ponce de Leon from Spain, to the British, to blacks from Africa, to people from the Mediterranean, such as Greece.  It  makes for great food options, that's for sure.  We will go on a bus tour tomorrow that will include the fort on the water where Ponce de Leon landed and other cool places.  More tomorrow.

Monday - October 27

Bob: Scott and I went for an hour bike ride this morning. Not as hilly here as Maryland and North Carolina. They have a nice trail that goes several miles and a lot of it is in the shade. In the afternoon Scott and I changed the oil in our truck and his Acadia. We sent Lori and Scott out for dinner. Nana had the kids out back while I was packing the back of the truck. We're getting ready to leave in the morning and head to St. Augustine. Will be there Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday we are going back to Arcadia and stay with Eddie and Lorraine till Monday morning. We hope to land in New Martinsville on Tuesday. Will leave New Martinsville next Friday and go to Sellersburg. Plans are to leave Sellersburg on Wednesday and arrive home Friday, November 14th.  Can't wait to do it all again!

Bonnie:  Lori and I did several fun things today.  We were going to go to "chapel" with Allie Jane, who goes to a Christian preschool, but it was cancelled for some reason.  So, we went to lunch with Jackson at his school.  Then we did some Christmas shopping and shopping for ourselves!!  You know how it is with women and shoes....  Anyway, three pairs of shoes later we picked up Allie Jane and made our way home. Lori and Scott went out to eat tonight and I just put Gwen and Allie Jane to bed. Now, Jackson wants to know how to play Mexican Train before he goes to bed! Have we started a tradition here???

Sunday - October 26

Bob: Went to church and then took a nap. After dinner Bonnie and I went on a walk around the neighborhood. Once the girls were in bed we played a game of Mexican Train, which Bonnie won. Everyone is happy for her.
We are trying to figure out where to go next and what would be the most efficient way to do it.

Bonnie: It is about time I won Mexican Train!!

Saturday - October 25

Bob: After being up to 3am I got up at 7:45. Thought Eddie wanted to clean and wax the cover for his pickup, but he decided not to do it before we ate. After we ate and set around for awhile he changed his mind about cleaning the cover. We washed it off twice and then put 2 coats of wax on it. Also cleaned the tire rims and Nerf bars on both trucks. Had to shower then and get ready to go back to Clermont.  Ate lunch and then left Arcadia about 1:10. We got to Clermont right before 3:30. Came back through Avon Lake, but that way has too many red lights to suit me.Went to the Fall Festival tonight at Lori's ward. Gwen was dressed as a cupcake; Allie as a witch; Jackson as a squire; Lori as a punk rocker; and Scott as Darth Vader.

Friday - October 24

Bob: Forgot to post a message last night as I was watching the NFL football game. We went to Port Charlotte yesterday with Eddie and Lorraine. She had a follow up appointment for her eye surgery. While in Port Charlotte we stopped at bicycle shop to get a brake for Lorraine's bike. Discovered today that they sold us the wrong brake.
Today Bonnie and I drove to Sarasota and took a driving tour of the beach area. It was very interesting. The beach area is about 25 miles long. We stopped at Bradenton Beach and walked in the Gulf. Water was very green and cool.

Bonnie:  We had a delicious meal at The Cracker Barrel yesterday too, although Bob just had a strawberry milkshake.  His food habits are really changing for some reason.  Is it because of retirement or his pre-diabetes? I have no idea and neither does he.  Oh, well...
We had a wonderful day seeing the Gulf of Mexico in the Sarasota region.  We visited three beaches-Bradenton, Coquina, and North Shore. I love the beaches here--the water is warm with very white sand.  And the colors of the water are beautiful--aqua, light and dark blue and green in various shades.  There is lots of wild life here, too. We saw cranes and lots of big and little seagulls on the beach.  Yesterday we saw 6 or 8 rabbits when we walked.  We also saw two cranes by the name of Lucy and Desi, as the local residents call them! Anyway, today was a lovely day.  When we got back to Ed and Loraine's she had made delicious vegetable soup. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

Coquina Beach

Beach at North Shore

Birds on dock at Bradenton Beach

Wednesday - October 22

Bob: Got up this morning and headed to Arcadia. Got there around 1:30. Not too hot today. Spent the rest of the day visiting. Bonnie and Lorraine went out to get lunch and then again later to pick up some items at Walmart. They brought back mostly nutritional items such as donuts, cookies, ice cream, bacon and eggs, etc. Planning on going to Port Charlotte tomorrow and out to eat at Cracker Barrel.
Forgot yesterday to add that we had some butterbeer in Harry Potter World. It's non-alcoholic, very sweet and comes in two styles, liquid or frozen. It tastes a lot like butterscotch. We liked the frozen better than the liquid.

Tuesday - October 21

Bob: Went to Universal Studio theme park today. A lot of walking, but the crowd wasn't big nor the weather too hot. Enjoyable day. Spent a lot of time looking at Harry Potter land. See pictures below.

Bonnie:  It's hard to explain the scope of Universal Studios Theme Park.  It has many different rides and activities dealing with things from Popeye, Spiderman and other/Marvel Comic Super Heroes to Dr. Suess, Lucille Ball, ET, and of course, Harry Potter Land.  We thought the best part was the ride inside Hogwarts, even though it was scary as all get out. We rode the Hogwarts Express twice because it connected the two parts of Harry Potter World. We saw the "sorting hat" and listened to Dumbledorf''s welcome to Hogwarts.  I encourage all Harry Potter fans to try to go if they can. What was also interesting were the number of people there from the British Isles.  It must be a popular place for them to go. We were there from about 9:00 am to 7:00 pm so it was a very long, very fun day. My feet are killing me!  But, I'm so glad we got to go.

Arriving at Universal

Getting off the Hogwarts Express

Lori and Bonnie in Diagon Alley

Head Goblin at Gringots

Monday - October 20

Bob: Up early and getting ready to go to the beach. Attended church yesterday and spent the day just relaxing. Played Mexican train after kids went to bed. With Scott's luck in this game we're encouraging him to try the lottery!! Planning on Harry Potter World tomorrow.

Bonnie:  I love the beaches here in Florida.  The water is warm and inviting.  And if you look carefully you can see jelly fish and sting ray fish.  Bob and I took a walk along the beach and must have seen 6 or 8 jelly fish washed up on the beach.  We also saw a sting ray!  It was a little one, thankfully!  Cocoa Beach, where we went, has showers and nice bathrooms which is also nice.  We were all quite tired when we got home.  It's surprising how tired you get.
Tonight just after our Family Home Evening we had a Skype visit with Jeff and Islena and their family.  I love Skype!!  It was great to see all of them.  Franklin has really grown tall. It makes me anxious to see them.  And just so our blog readers outside the family know, we are the proud grandparents of a new baby--Thea Love, daughter of Scott and Jenny.   I can't wait to hold her!  She looks so sweet.  We have 26 beautiful grand-children now.
Tomorrow, it's Harry Potter World.  Wednesday we will be going to Arcadia to see Eddie and Lorraine.  What a great time we are having!  Thank you, Lord, for families and all the many blessings you have given to us.

Saturday - October 18

Bob: Did not get anything posted yesterday as we were in route from North Carolina to Florida. Did not get to leave North Carolina until about 10:30. Got to Scott and Lori's just before 9:00. This morning we went to see Jackson's soccer game. His team won 2 - 0 and Jackson had one save as a goalie and two kicks towards the opponent's goal.

Bonnie:  It's so warm here, about 82 degrees!  We are planning our week and have several fun options which will include Lori, Bob and I going to Harry Potter World.  Lori says the kids are too scared of the rides but she wants to go anyway. I'm excited about that!  We also will go to the beach and go fishing one day and see St. Augustine one day.  It will be fun to visit with Bob's brother and sister-in-law, too.  More later.

Thursday - October 16

Bob: We have spent two restful days in North Carolina. Rode my bike for a little over an hour each day. Land is rolling, but not too steep. Not as bad as the one hill in Maryland. We'll see how I do in Florida. Went to Longhorn last night. We had a late dinner. Today we helped JoAnne close up the swimming pool at each home. Bonnie did the laundry for the last time. Packing things up and getting to ready to head out tomorrow morning. Bonnie is getting her hair done at 11:00 so I will pick her up and we'll be on our way. It looks like an 8 and 1/2 hour drive. It will be a long day.

Bonnie:  My appointment is at 9:00 in the morning, but it will be a fairly long one, so I envision us leaving about noon.  It's been a nice few days, just hanging out with JoAnne and Niels. This morning I went to water aerobics with JoAnne.  It was very fun and I enjoyed the exercise!  I would like to do it when I get back home.  I have no idea where it is offered, but I will find out. One of the things Bob will remember most about our visit with JoAnne and Niels will be their dogs, two bichon frieses, Duchess and Muffin.  Bob used to have two dogs the same kind and one of them was also called Muffin.  They loved Bob's tummy rubs and he loved teasing and playing with them.  They also have a horse and lots of land.  In fact, if anyone wants to buy a house  here, the Eskelsen's want to sell their other house.
I wish we could stay longer but I am also anxious to spend time with Lori, Scott and their kids, and also with Bob's brother and sister-in-law, Eddie and Lorraine.  Florida, here we come!

Tuesday - October 14

Bob: Spent the morning touring Monticello, plantation home of President Thomas Jefferson. We had planned to tour all floors in the home, but that tour was sold out. We only got to tour the first floor and the grounds. Also went on a 'tour' that talked about Jefferson and slavery that existed at Monticello. Jefferson of course is the author of the Declaration of Independence which states all men are created equal. However, Thomas Jefferson was a slave owner, having inherited slaves from both his father and father-in-law. Jefferson died a slave owner too. This puts Thomas Jefferson in a different position as far as some people are concerned. It was a problem that followed him throughout his lifetime, but he never quit advocating for the abolishment of slavery. It seems that he knew slavery was wrong, but would not give up the practice for financial reasons. He was also in a huge amount of debt. But as one person commented during the tour, "Have you ever known a politician to say one thing and do another?" Well spoken!!
After we left Monticello we drove to JoAnne and Niels' home in Concord, NC. Very beautiful drive through the mountains and countryside. Most of the drive was not on the interstates.
Bonnie says she really loved Monticello and wishes everyone the best. She's still talking to her sister and it's well  past my bedtime!

Monday - October 13

Bob: Left Dan and Misty's about 8:40 and arrived in Luray Caverns, which is in Virginia, about 11:00. Toured the caverns, antique cars/carriages museum, and the Luray Caverns' Museum. There are millions of dollars worth of antique cars at Luray Caverns. The caverns are privately owned and that family has spared no expense in purchasing antique cars. After that we drove across the Shenandoah Mountains to New Market and toured the museum there. Then we drove to Montpelier, home of James Madison, but it was closed on Monday. Arrived in Charlottesville around 7:30.
A bit of history on the caverns. They were discovered in 1878 by 3 individuals who in turn purchased the property at public auction. But because they hadn't told anybody about the caverns before the purchase they ended up being sued for fraud. And THEY LOST. After owning the caverns for 2 years the caverns were taken away from them and sold again. In 1905 the present owners bought the caverns.

Bonnie: We have seen some wonderful things. There are fantastic formations in Luray Caverns.The stalactites and stalagmites grow about 1 inch every 100 years! And what was fun was that we met a family from Utah there--Gunnison, in fact. It's a small world.
At the museum in New Market there were several different collections, including items from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War (New Market is the site of one of the battles fought) and World War II.  We learned another horrific fact about Hitler, trying to breed his "super" race by impregnating women, if they had the "pure" genetics. It didn't matter if the women were married or not. The babies were taken to be raised by the state when they were born. Imagine the challenge of doing those genealogies! Enough about that.
I have really enjoyed the beautiful countryside today. It seems that every day brings more color to the trees. I'm looking forward to seeing Monticello tomorrow. How blessed we are to live in this glorious land!

Those are not fried eggs!

A Reflecting Pool

L-29 Phaeton

1910 Buick

Sunday - October 12

Bob: Not much happening today. Got up very, very late. Church is at 1:00 and it is Fast Sunday. Packed the truck up as we're pulling out in the morning. Heading to Luray Caverns in Virginia and then we'll stay all night in Charlottesville, Va. Going to tour Monticello Tuesday morning and then head to Bonnie's sister's, JoAnne, in the afternoon. Saying good bye to everyone tonight.

Bonnie:  Bob and I are sleeping in later and later it seems.  Oh,well...the blessings of retirement, I guess :)  We enjoyed church today, even though it was our second fast Sunday for October.  The best part of the day was when Dan came back from home-teaching and made blueberry muffins.  He finished up the blueberries we brought from Canada.  They were delicious!  It was hard saying good-bye to Katie and Ammon tonight.  They will be gone by the time we get up.  Katie leaves for Seminary at 5:45 am and Ammon leaves at 6:45 am to catch the bus to school.  We plan on being up at 7 and leaving by 8:30 tomorrow so we can give our good-bye hugs to the other three kids then. Then, it's on to other adventures!

Saturday - October 11

Bob: Woke up late. The morning was cool and wet outside, but Bonnie, Ammon and I did manage to get in a 45 minute walk. In the afternoon Bonnie and I took Sarah, Michael and Reni to an interactive farm. There used to be a place called the "Enchanted Forest" near here. They shut down in the 1980s. The farm bought most of their exhibits and moved them to their place to go along with their farm animal exhibits. The kids got to see several farm animals, play on some fun outdoor toys and exhibits, go on a hay ride and pick out a pumpkin to bring home. Some pictures of below.

Little Toot Tug Boat

Crooked House

Friday - October 10

Bob: Slept in till after 8 this morning. Weather looked like rain so I didn't go for a bike ride. Decided to mow part of the field beside the house. It hadn't been mowed in a long time and the grass was pretty tall. Worked about 4 hours on it. Looks like I mowed about an acre. Some of the chutes of grass were over 2 feet tall. They didn't want to be knocked down. Several of them are still standing, but the regular grass got cut up.
This evening everyone went to see the new movie, "Meet the Mormons". It was very good with some tender spots. Would recommend it to everyone. After the movie Bonnie and I took Katie and Ammon to Katie's high schools home football game. Katie's team, Glenelg High School, won by a score of 35 - 6. The losing team was 5 - 0 entering tonight's game.
When we got home Michael was still up. He wanted me to read to him before he went to bed. He picked out a Calvin and Hobbs book for me to read. It was one of my favorites. I miss Calvin and Hobbs, especially their adventures with the baby sitter.

Bonnie:  "Meet The Mormons" is an excellent movie, very well done in my opinion.  If it's in your area be sure to see it!  Part of the proceeds go to the Red Cross, which is struggling financially right now, so it's a good way to spend your money!
Today I spent time helping Misty clean the house.  It's hard to keep up with 5 kids, 32 chickens and 1 husband!  And it's always more fun to clean someone else's house rather than my own.  Then I made an early dinner so we could make it to the movie on time.

Thursday - October 9

Bob: Sorry we didn't get anything posted yesterday. We got up early and headed to Philadelphia. By the time we got home last night we were too tired to write. Just said our good nights and went to bed.
There were some very interesting things we did see though.

Bonnie:  It was an eventful trip to say the least.  First of all, the truck was too tall to go into the parking garage so we had to go to an open lot belonging to the Holiday Inn Express.  It was about 30 minutes or more before the shuttle came to take us to the place to buy our bus tour tickets.  Then, because Bob had forgotten his jacket we sat down below in the bus, not on top where we could see everything.  It was harder to hear and we couldn't see out the windows very well because of mesh over the windows. But, it was an informative tour that gave us a good overview of Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love.  After our tour we went to the Visitor's Center for Independence Square.  Here we got tickets to see the place where the Declaration of Independence was signed as well the Constitution.  This was the best part of our visit for me.  I really enjoyed our tour guide.  It was wonderful to see exactly what it was like for the Founding Fathers.  We then viewed copies of the original documents made at that time to show the citizens.  We saw the Liberty Bell next and then headed for the Anglican Church where George Washington, Ben Franklin and several others of the Founding Fathers attended church when they were in Philadelphia.  We saw Washington's actual pew!  We headed back to our car, first eating an authentic Phily Cheese Steak sandwich and looking at Betsy Ross' home.  We didn't go inside because it closed at 5.  We also went down Elfreth's Alley, an authentic cobblestone street, very small with the houses all attached together and no front yards, much like it was in the 1700s. Much of old-town Philadelphia still is made up of original or very old buildings and streets. Then, we had our adventure going back!  We had to pay $16 at three different toll booths on the way up and didn't want to pay them going back so we tried to go back another way. This may not have been such a good idea!  We finally got home about 9 pm. But, it was an amazing experience.  I am so grateful for the early leaders of our country, who despite very big differences, came up with a workable plan that has made our country what it is today. I am proud to be an American!

Inside Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed

The Liberty Bell

George Washington's Pew in Christ's Church

(Parishioners paid for their pew space. Records validate who sat in which pew.)

Tuesday October 7

Bonnie: Not too much going on today. Bob helped to fix a water problem and I played with Reni at the park. I did some wash and we went to Walmart. We had pizza for dinner and that was about it.It was a nice, low-key kind of a day. One of the best things was that I heard from one of my grand-daughters that she is now Student Body President. What awesome news!

Bob: As Bonnie said, a low-key day. Almost like a day of fishing, but without a pole!! Did manage a one hour bike ride this morning and avoided the steep hills. Got the oil and filter so I could change it on the truck. Stopped off at a Chevrolet dealer before I changed the oil to ask him about the message on the truck's information system that says "Oil has 53% life remaining". He explained to me that there are many, many sensors on the newer vehicles that contribute information so you will know when to change the oil. He said to keep driving and wait till it says "change the oil". However, he cautioned, that I should check the oil level occasionally. Already did that this morning and it is at the "full" mark. So I don't have to change oil for a while yet. I did change it in Canada, but way too soon as there was over 50% life still remaining.
Another tender mercy came our way today. Sunday I emailed Patsy Jakob, Temiskaming Branch President's wife, and asked her if they had received any snow. She wrote back today and said they had not, but she needed to share something with us. She said that the other night she, Karl, Mason and Summer were sitting in the living room when, Daisy, their pet dog, began to bark. She said that the first thing Summer said was, "it's Bon (not misspelled) and Bonnie". Patsy said the kids still ask why we don't stop anymore. Made both Bonnie and I feel a little sad that we don't see them like we used to.

Monday - October 6

Bonnie:  Today we spent most of the day at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC.  There is so much there it would be hard to describe all of it.  How horrific was the Nazi Regime!  In one place there was a huge  pile of shoes of those gassed in the concentration camps. There was the explanation of how Hitler came to power. Unfortunately, it seems the United States did not respond to these atrocities soon enough. There was a boxcar where often as many as 100 men, women, and children were put to be transferred to the concentration camps.  After seeing all the horror, we learned about some of the heroes.  We saw one of the Danish water-crafts that took stow away Jews to Sweden and also about other countries that helped Jews escape.  I like how it ended, in the Hall of Remembrance.  It is circular and little lighted candles are all around the room, with one large candle in the center in remembrance of those who died.
We didn't have time to eat and got home about 7:00.  Thankfully, Misty had dinner waiting for us. After that we had a great Family Home Evening with ice cream for the treat.  A very good way to end the day.

Bob: It is hard to imagine man being that cruel to his fellow man. I felt so depressed after spending all afternoon in the museum. I would hope this kind of cruelty would never again be on this earth.
Below are pictures of some visitors we had while watching conference yesterday.

Part the 30 plus visitors that wandered by for conference!!

Sunday - October 5

Bob: We awoke at 8:00 today. Did my stretching and finally started on my bike ride at 9:20. I have mapped out a new route today and I'm determined not to get lost. After 40 minutes I arrived at the round about I was riding to. It was at this point yesterday that I realized I was on the wrong road. Today I am coming from the opposite direction and it is where I want to be. Took me another 25 minutes to get home. Thankfully I did not have to climb the big hill today. Now it's time for breakfast and pills.

Bonnie: Conference has been wonderful.  How I love our prophet, President Monson.  And the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was great as always.
I don't have much to report today other than that today my six-year old grandson whispered to me that he was growing a mustache, as he showed me the corners of his upper lip.  Sure enough it looked like he might be right.  So, I asked my 11-year old grandson if he was growing a mustache, too, and he said yes as he showed me his upper lip. Sure enough, I could see a faint dark line across his upper lip. I don't know if this is a Christensen trait or an Ellis trait. They both seem to be rather young, don't you think? I've decided to call them the mustache brothers!

Saturday - October 4

Bob: Can't believe it, but we slept in till 9:15 this morning. We did go to bed late--about midnight, and were awakened when the soft water system flushed. What a noise! Sounded like fire hoses were spraying.
I went for a bike ride after getting up. I ended up getting lost and had to back-track a couple of miles. Thankfully there wasn't another big hill to climb. The terrain is mostly rolling without much flat land. You continuously go up and down. Earlier there was one big hill to climb, but thankfully it wasn't a long climb like Ohio route 536 that I did in New Martinsville. I have mapped out another route tomorrow so I won't have to climb that big hill. I get to go down it tomorrow!!
Highlight of the day was General Conference. Elder Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve and  Elder Davies of the Presiding Bishopbric gave excellent talks on caring for the poor and the needy. Also, Elder Cook gave a great talk tonight in Priesthood session on decisions and choices. Hope my grandchildren were listening, especially those planning on missions. He made the point that you just don't show up for your mission. Much work needs to be done to get yourself ready.
In between the morning and afternoon sessions of conference Bonnie and I went to Walmart and Costco to get some donuts and muffins for everyone. After the Priesthood session Dan and I stopped and picked up 3 lbs. of bacon. We'll be having bacon and eggs pretty soon. Dan made an avocado omelet for me this morning after the bike ride. Delicious!!

Friday October 3

Bob: Went for a short walk with Bonnie this morning. Mostly rested today. Helped Misty put up a track in the girl's room to hang curtains from. Bonnie and I baby sat the kids while Dan and Misty went out for the evening. Had a rousing game of Mexican Train with Katie and Ammon.
Pictures of Daphne and Jon during their horseback riding lessons are below.

Daphne

Jon

Bonnie;  Chickens are funny animals!  You should have seen Bob, Sarah and Michael try to get Buster, one of the roosters, into the pen tonight.  The chickens headed to the pen about 6:45 or so, but Buster couldn't seem to find the opening. He got frustrated and took off under some bushes by the garage. Finally, Sarah and Michael surrounded him and Sarah managed to scoop him up and carry him to the pen. I don't know how good I'd be at raising chickens. Misty and Dan care for about 30 of them.  I really admire them for doing it.  I must admit they make good soup!
When we finally got downstairs to our room we found a beautiful looking picture colored by Sarah. She wants us to frame it, so that will happen as soon as we get home.

Thursday - October 2

Bob: Got up and took another long walk this morning. We left Chris and Suzy's just before 11:00 and drove overland to Gettysburg. It was much faster getting to Gettysburg this way instead of going to Chambersburg on the freeway and then to Gettysburg. We decided to do the AUTO tour today. I wanted to get some pictures of some of the monuments our tour guide talked about on Tuesday when we were there. Started the tour just before noon and we didn't get back to the Visitors Center until almost 3:00. When we finished there we headed overland to Misty's and got there about 4:30. Tonight was Serenity's birthday dinner so everyone had a good time telling her what they liked about her and what they wanted for her in the future.

Bonnie:  I think I must be the luckiest person in the world!  Bob and I are free to spend our time how we want and right now we are here with family we love, seeing wonderful historic places.  We love Gettysburg.  There is so much to learn there.  And this next week we will be seeing more historic places in Washington DC and Philadelphia.  More on that later, of course.
Misty has us using Katie's bedroom in the basement, which will be perfect for us  We have our own bathroom and closet.  Even though the room is unfinished it will do very well.
May the Lord's blessings be with you all!

Eternal Flame at Gettysburg

(Combined North and South Monument dedicated in 1938 by Franklin D. Roosevelt)

This is the Virginia Monument. Robert E. Lee is sitting on his horse Traveller.

Union General George Meade at Gettysburg on his horse Old Baldy

(He was the Union head man, who received command 3 days before the Gettysburg battle began)

Wednesday - October 1

Bob: Went for a long walk this morning with Bonnie. Later in the morning we went to Chambersburg and got a new phone. The phone cost 25.99 at Target plus tax. The same phone at the AT&T store cost 55.xx plus tax. Needless to say we got it at Target and had AT&T activate it. Spent the rest of the day with the grand-kids.

Bonnie: We've had a fun day with the grand-kids.  Since tonight was a Daddy-Daughter Date for Daphne and Young Womens for Evie, Bob and I took Jonathan to the playground and then for ice cream.  Jonathan helped us find the Italian Ice place he wanted us to go to. I gave each of the kids "snuggy-bugs" and good-night hugs.  It's hard to say good-bye when I see them so seldom.