Little C turns 1, Family Time, and a Wedding!

Half of this post has been ready since mid July..oops! I know, I know but our electrical issues - read below!! The extreme makeover is almost finished. Furniture has been removed and cabinets installed. It makes me so happy! New Cabinets! Chairs moved. Now to find new pillows, throws, and roll out the new rug! I need better pictures to give you a real understanding of the 264 ft space.

Mid July we headed to Austin for Connor's first birthday party. I can't believe he is a year old! We stayed at Daniel's parents house and (as always) they spoiled us! I enjoyed Mary showing me all of her flower and vegetable gardens. She stuffed us full of fresh fruit, vegetables, and yummy cooking! We spent Saturday morning visiting and rearranging our storage unit. It was hot that day so I made the decision to just sell the removed furniture. Both pieces were in perfect condition and within 10 min on Craigslist they sold! Yippie! A friend of Daniel's family (of over 30 years) responded to the add, so we know it has another good RV residence! Small world!

On Saturday Ben and Ann had a birthday party for Connor. Several of their friends and neighbors helped celebrate!It was a lot of fun and the kids were so playing the Wii! They smoked the adults! My parents surprised Connor with a rocking horse and he loved it! After visiting, lunch, games, and presents it was time for cake madness. The cake mess was tame! Silly boy! He will learn! ;) Who doesn't like cake??

Saturday we had a barbecue at Daniel's parents before packing up and stopping off at Ben and Ann's before we hit the road. Connor was so funny playing with all his new toys! We had a great time everyone and can't wait to come back! The next weekend we headed to Fayetteville for Shannon and Jason's wedding. We had not been to NWA since November! Wowza! We packed so much into this trip. Saturday morning we were able to have breakfast with Kerryanne and Aaron at Mimi's. It was so much fun to catch up with you both. We love you guys and are so happy life works in its little ways!! After breakfast we headed over visit with Andrea, Marshall, A, and J. Oh my goodness did we have fun! I can't believe how much the kiddos have changed. I mean isn't he cute! I can't believe big sister is going to be in school this year!!!! I know, I know Andrea we need to come into town more than once a year! HA! We enjoyed so much visiting with your family(as we always do)! I wish it could have been longer and definitely more often! We love you and hope to see you again soon!

The wedding was perfect and always great to see a friend so in love. We enjoyed a fun evening catching up with everyone. It had been way too long!

The Happy Couple -Mr. and Mrs. CarrollLP, Shani, Cass, and Me

KD LadiesThese boys....The WengersThe Bashams and The Smiths

Future Mr. and Mrs. Hallmark! We are so happy for you guys!The Chagnons and newlywed Grunewalds

We closed down the reception and headed to Dickson to meet up with the bride and groom. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of them!! What was I thinking? Anyway, we had a blast and really hope to make it back again soon. Congrats Shannon and Jason we are so happy for you!

The next morning we headed up to Bella Vista to have breakfast with Cassie and Adam. I was excited to see their adorable house as well as catch up some more. It is so cute! Cassie and Adam we are so happy for you guys, thank you for the yummy brunch, and our babies enjoyed your backyard while we visited! After we headed over to Aaron and Kerryanne's place to say our final goodbyes. It was adorable as well and we loved getting to see your place! Thank you guys again!!!! Overall we had an amazing weekend seeing all our NWA friends. It is always a fast and furious trip when we come to town..so many people to see...so little time! NWA we will be back to visit again soon!

The last few weekends have been spent on the lake we are so close. Its so nice to have room to spread out, practice with Hershey, and enjoy the AC! Ha!
She is gearing up for competition!
This one is for Jill..a sunset picture at the lake!

Last week we moved parks as we were completely over the electrical issues at the old place. We dealt with the parks issues for a month and had enough. Long story we finally found a place about 20 miles outside of Wichita Falls. It is a further drive but in this case electricity is essential with the current 106 plus temperatures. I wish I could say the electrical issues were over..but they aren't. We have replaced the outside plug and now entire power cord- hey thanks old park we appreciate it! So we are still sweating but hey..ok no..no positive here! HA!

And finally Happy Anniversary to my parents! Recently they celebrated 37 years of wedded bliss!

I could not have asked for better parents! You are great teachers in the art of marriage! We love you!!!

Until next time!
loves!
M and D

Life is a highway....whew

To Everyone who has been waiting... ;)

***Sorry for the tiny pictures! I only have 2% of upload room left on Blogger! I need to order the blog in book form ASAP! Click on the pictures to make them viewable!***
ell, life's like a road that you travel on
There's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind.."

(Thanks Cass for the neat-o treat! I thought it added a nice little touch!)

Since my last post - as usual - we have been on the go. I have also been dealing with an increased number of migraines over the past several months. Which makes a girl sad..however with a new neurologist, complete new diet (as in all I can safely eat is organic chicken and spinach), and a new plan of action the intensity and frequency has decreased! Super happy face! Anyway, we have transitioned twice with the first in north Texas (kinda near Canton/Tyler) and now onto Burkburnett (near Wichita Falls, TX) in hopes to be close to the lake for the summer. We are at the mercy of open rotations and keeping our fingers crossed. Daniel is also going to back to school (MBA here he comes) and is doing great! I am so proud! We transitioned pretty quickly without much notice and spent the last few days in Santa Fe as always cramming places and things into our schedule. We watch the pilgrimage to Santuario de Chimayo, took a trip to Taos, NM, the mountains to play in the snow one last time, toured the historic district, played with the dogs, viewed Camel Rock, hit up the casinos, and said our goodbyes.
Taos, NM and town squareWhile in Taos we hit up the Earthship World Headquarters and all things outdoors! Earthship is a community that lives completely off the grid and and they build their homes out of recyclable materials! It was really neat!
Snowy Mountains!
Camel RockDog Park We left Santa Fe to make the endless drive to TX and as always had an eventful time. Thank you thieves for breaking into the Sequoia! Luckily nothing was stolen...a dog kennel can't fit through a window! HA! It was frustrating and I just do not understand vandalism or theft. We enjoyed so much dealing with the broken glass, covering up the window, and driving 9 hrs with high winds and rain..it made my weekend! We were able to stay with some great friends while we got things in order! Thanks R and R we appreciate it more thank you even know and our babies loved playing with yours! Reb-I have to apologize as I completely forgot to wish you a happy birthday on the blog and I forgot to take a picture at dinner! Well you know I love you!!

The north TX rotation was great. It was short assignment and we packed in as much as possible. Daniel and I were able to see several friends who honored us with a "Welcome the Basham's back to TX" dinner! Jill and Jay we had such a great time seeing you and really appreciated the dinner. It was so much fun!!

We were also able to get in some time with Daniel's family and had a fun night at a Rangers Game. We enjoyed being close enough to travel to the city, yet in the country to enjoy the lake and dirt track races. While in north TX Daniel and I went with our new friends for an experience I will not forget! Dirt track races!! Not sure how to explain them besides, loud, dirty, and quite entertaining! We had quite a bit of fun people watching! I was lucky enough to catch a shirt so I am a true fan now..ha!We even made a trip over to the stockyards in Fort Worth and ended up going to Billy Bobs. We had not been in several years and had a blast with our new friends Lisa and Ralph! That area is always a fun time! Daniel and I were so excited on Memorial weekend to meet up with family at PK lake! Calvin, Casey, and Glenn and family met us for a weekend of fun in the sun! Daniel and I have really enjoyed being close to family and friends for the summer!We had a great time and even ventured over to Hells Gate on Monday before heading home. In typical fashion we left talking about the next trip to the lake!

A few weekends ago we headed to Little Rock,AR, for Wendi and Nick's wedding reception. They recently got married on the beach in beautiful Maui and we were honored to be part of celebrating their marriage. Wendi we had a great time at your reception and you looked gorgeous! We are so happy to see you so in love! We were also able to visit and catch up with the Lipsey's, Smith's, Changon's, and the Curreri's. I am always amazed at how much the kids have grown! ;)Daniel and I had a great time and hope we can see you all again soon! > While in town we were able to meet up with my high school friend Stacy and her husband Chip as well as, see my daddy who was in Hot Springs for legal continuing education. We had a lot of fun catching up Stacy and Chip. Daddy we will see you soon!
Before leaving AR on Sunday I took Daniel to see the sites. It was so hot we actually cut the day a little short, but were able to see Little Rock Central High School, Capitol, downtown, and the River Walk. Daniel and I made a trip back to the ballpark to watch the Astros take on the Rangers. The Astro's are Daniel's favorite team and we were able to get amazing seats. I adore how we both have a complete love for all things sports and outdoors! I will say however, it was so hot that weekend we both thought we were going to melt! After the game we went to a Reckless Kelly concert and had a great time together! I love you Daniel and will go to a game anytime!!!Since my last post I celebrated another year in the dirty thirty era! I am now a plus one ;) Saturday Ben, Ann, Connor, and Ann's mom came up from Austin and we met them at my grandparents house. We enjoyed catching up and playing with Connor. He is about to be on the move! We had a yummy dinner at Babe's Chicken and oh my word - love it! HA! Daniel and I enjoyed visiting and can't wait to see you again! My actual birthday was shared with father's day and was spent swmming, lunching with my peeps at Chuy's, and relaxing! Daniel made the day special with cookies from Society Bakery that spelled out Happy Birthday Sissy (my parents nickname)! It was great to see Reb, Jill and Jay and have a little time to catch up. I got some great fun stuff! I am a very lucky girl to have amazing friends and family! Blessed! Oh and don't fear - so far the plus one year of the dirty thirties its bad or painful! HA!
As I am sure you guessed we headed back to the lake for the 4th of July! Casey and Calvin joined us and we had a blast!! We enjoyed the long weekend - grilling, swimming, watching fire works, and laughing. We headed to Hells Gate to watch the fireworks and spent the rest of the time relaxing in the sun! The fireworks were amazing and were some of the best I have seen!Hershey girl also got in several hours of good practice time! We can't wait to go back! Whew this is long! Daniel and I have also transitioned another time..to Wichita Falls. We knew it would be hard to leave north TX as we made some amazing friends. Typical for us we didn't leave without having a project! We decided to do a little Extreme Makeover 5th wheel style. We took out our dinnet area (table and chairs) and had cabinets installed! It went great and I am loving the extra space! Never underestimate what you can do in 400 square feet!!! HA!
This past Friday we went to dinner with our friends from north TX and said our goodbyes. We had some amazing seafood and spent the rest of the night hanging out. Our new location was a fairly short drive in comparison to some of the transitions in the past. We got on the road and shortly after had a blow out on the 5th wheel. We knew the tires blew out like semis but I just wish someone would have warned us the extensive damage that would occur.
Oh well I guess that is part of traveling. Life goes on and we didn't get hurt!

So far Wichita Falls is great! Daniel is really enjoying this rotation at an outpatient clinic and I am working at the gym teaching classes and training soon! So far so good! We are not completely satisfied with the current park in as the power will not stay on! Something about the current not being stable in our spot...Um..yea kinda important! Our plan is to either move spots or switch parks. Daniel and I are willing to do whatever it takes to stop sweating! ;)
We are excited to be close to spend time with friends and family for the summer! Get ready for some fun - grilling, pool time, and lake fun! I promise to be a better blogger as we finally have the laptop in our possession! We have a lot coming up and should be in this location for 3 months!
Hugs to all and we miss ya!
Daniel and Melissa