Rudy Valentino

This is the Jones family kitten

His name is Valencia

You remember! The vet told them this little cutie cat
orange tabby kitten

was a girl, and she was named Valencia.

It turns out that she is a he ...

This kitty has a lot of personality and spunk
I have decided that since "she" is a "he"
I'm going to call him Mr. Valentino ...

Here is Mr. V licking the milk off of bear's face

How did milk get ON bear's face?
Ah, Nathan was feeding bear Nia's leftover bottle ...

Here is Rudy posing ever so nicely for his portrait
I know, I said I was going to call him

Mr. Valentino -- but Mr. Valentino's FIRST name was Rudy ...

Kitty really enjoys tangling himself up in the
window blind cords ...

Nathan is unbelievably rough with this cat!
Valencia takes it all in stride ...
But at the end of the day, it's Rachel she/he cuddles with.

A very nice, very beautiful, very relaxing day!

We decided to sleep in today and take it easy.
It was nice to think about NOT being on the road all day.
I woke up quite early, however, because I am a morning person.

Mr. Jones and I drove by Nick's Starbuck's store to say good morning
and then we went over to the apartment to play and visit and just spend our day.

Yesterday, I failed to get any pictures of Rachel with Nia...
look how sweet mother and daughter look together!
Here is Nathan helping with the dessert preparation
He is quite the helper!
He assisted us in making Orange Cream Squares!
Nathan was also able to multi-task
and figured out how to rock his sister with his foot,
"Vrooom" his cars, and lay down at the same time ...
nice job, Nathan! :)

Nicolas was home by 1:15 (he had opened the store this morning at 4:00 a.m.)
For lunch, we all enjoyed a delicious all-in-one pork chop bake
with green beans and rolls on the side.

Rachel had to take Baby Nia for her pediatric check-up this afternoon.
Nia needed some immunizations and just a general
well-baby check ... the doctor says she is doing great!
Nia weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz today!

Since we'd had a late and yummy lunch that was really more like a dinner,
we decided to pack a picnic and drive out to Galveston Island
to take a walk on the beach ... great idea!

It was a really balmy night ...

but so very beautiful ...

We walked quite a way down the beach
and back ...

I love Galveston Island
I love the wind and the waves
I love the sounds and smells of the sea ...

It's impossible to be anything but happy here!

Look how happy Nathan is -- swinging like a monkey

in-between his mommy and daddy!

We drove into Old Galveston to eat our picnic
We sat down in a park,
assembled our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
ate our potato chips
and drank our pepsi's and lemonade!
There is nothing like the simple pleasures of life, is there?

And God said, "Let the waters swarm with fish and other life.

"Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind."

"So God created great sea creatures
and every sort of fish
and every sort of bird.
And God saw that it was good."

Genesis 1:20-21

It was time to drive back to Webster.
I sat in the back seat of the van with Nathan.

We made animal noises all the way home --
monkeys, ducks, chicken, horses, cats, etc.

Nathan is very good at mimicking unusual sounds --
the goal was to keep Nathan awake in the car
so that he would be tired when we got home
and go more easily to bed ...

Mr. Jones and I didn't stay to see if this strategy worked.
We drove back to the hotel and pooped out! It worked for us!

Lafayette LA to Houston TX

Our newest grandchild

NIA MADELYNN!

She is so tiny and SO beautiful!

We left Lafayette, Louisiana, yesterday morning at our usual departure time. If you are ever driving through Lafayette and think you might want to check into the Microtel there, think again! I really only have a few criteria for hotels -- NO BUGS, must be clean, and no odors please! I don't think that's asking too much, do you? I think it is an added benefit if the place is a little bit pretty, but I'm really not all that fussy when it comes to that. The Microtel in Lafayette failed in all categories except the first and definitely most important one (no bugs). Plus, most of the lights in the room did not work! Its one redeeming feature was the free high-speed internet access, which is definitely better than the InTown Suites where we are presently staying...consequently, I am "blogging" over at Nick and Rachel's!

We only had about 100 miles of travel left in Louisiana, but we needed a bathroom break and so stopped at a Wendy's. When I got out of the van, I was attacked -- I'm serious -- by an entire host of FLYING insects (remember, I DO NOT like bugs!) -- it was like a PLAGUE! I could try to describe them to you, but here is a picture...they are about the size of a small house fly and two of them are attached to each other (I know, they are mating), but they are trying to maneuver in opposite directions! They were absolutely EVERYWHERE, all over the van, etc. We took off down the highway and they were smashing against the windshield (gross) and they would not wash off! We amazingly made it to the State of Texas in one piece, and stopped in at the Welcome Center to pick up some maps and literature about the great State of Texas... We discovered these insects were STILL with us. I asked a woman working in the Welcome Center what these lovely bugs were called, and she told me they were "Lovebugs!" How appropriate, but NO THANK-YOU!Here is a typically TEXAS bridge, absolutely mammoth. This one was traversing a river very near the Houston area, and all alongside the river were huge oil refineries, which I did not find very picturesque at all.

We finally arrived in Houston, well actually, Pasadena (where our hotel is located). We checked in, unpacked (since we are staying 8 days), and then drove to Webster to meet Nia! Here she is, sweet and beautiful! Nia MadelynnHere she is doing her stretching exercises!

When we arrived, Nathan wasn't so sure about us -- he had been to see us in Michigan, but I think he was a little bit worried we were taking him away! He finally relaxed and let Grandpa hold him...

Here is Grandpa with Nathan
Grandpa and Baby Nia
Grandpa has a special touch with newborns...

We visited for awhile at their apartment, but then decided to go to a toy store outlet to check out the sales there. We got a few nice toys for very good prices. Since it was well into dinner time, we stopped and ate at a place called Sudies, which boasts great fried catfish, etc. We had a very enjoyable and delicious meal. Nathan Paul, however, wasn't interested in food; nor was he agreeable to sitting in a high chair. He was pretty happy to sit with Nicolas while we ate.

Piggy back was even better!

After dinner, we went back to their apartment and Rachel and I looked through KRAFT Food & Family Magazines, picked out a couple of simple, easy-to-prepare but delicious-sounding recipes, made out a grocery list and went to the SuperTarget to shop! We left the men in charge of the wee folk!


I was really hoping to get back to the hotel last night and post these pictures, but like I said before, our internet didn't connect us to anything at all. We inquired about the problem this morning and found out it was because they do not have wireless internet! All we needed to do was to plug in our ethernet cable, and everything would be fine! I suppose we'll find out later tonight if it works. I have taken a few more pictures today that I'd like to share a bit later. So until then ...

Blythesville AR to Lafayette LA

Day Two of our travels is complete and we are resting tonight in Lafayette, Louisiana. I'm going to try to share some pictures of the journey with you and hope that I have better success at it than I did last night. I'm adjusting to the laptop quite slowly it seems and have a certain level of frustration with it; however, I'm going to make a good effort tonight and see what happens.

We left Blythesville this morning at 8:00 and were soon crossing the Mississippi River (again!) at Memphis, Tennessee. We drove a total of 12 miles through Tennessee, and then were welcomed to the State of Mississippi!

I love these bridges that cross the Mississippi!
They are so massive!
This was the nicest welcome center!
It was beautifully decorated like an old southern mansion,
dixie-style!

"You thrill me, O LORD, with all you have done for me!
I sing for joy because of what You have done." PSALM 92:4

Isn't this a beautiful butterfly?
Hasn't the LORD made such beautiful things?
I was so thankful to get this picture!

MYSTERY PHOTO
We were traveling along I-55, just a few minutes north of
Jackson and saw this monument!
It reminded us a lot of the Washington Monument in DC --
I googled a bunch of stuff tonight
to try to find out what this is, but I had no success!

Due to some train yard distractions, we missed our turn onto 55 in Jackson and had to turn around and catch it from a different angle. This could be construed to be a "misadventure", but I won't accuse Mr. Jones of that yet!

One of the thousands of tracks
Grandpa Jones loudly and jubilently pointed out
to me along the way ...

We drove the entire length of Mississippi. The scenery reminded me a lot of northern lower Michigan. It looked like they had just cut the highway right in the middle of a forest, and there were trees for mile after mile after mile -- fir trees, pine trees, willows -- beautiful, really. I thought there would be more cotton fields, but we really left those behind in Missouri and Arkansas. We crossed over many rivers, one of which was the Tallahatchie River, and I was reminded of the song "Ode to Billy Jo", that sad balad I used to enjoy so many years ago.

Before we knew it (practically), we were crossing over into Louisiana. We drove through Baton Rouge and AGAIN crossed the Mississippi River!

Crossing the Mississippi River AGAIN!

Downtown Baton Rouge

Between Baton Rouge and Lafayette (where we are now)
we drove on a 16 mile bridge across swamp and bayou...

We ended up driving just over eight hours today. We really weren't in any hurry and made several stops along the way. We finished reading through chapter six of Tom Sawyer! We have checked into our Microtel here in Lafayette, we have eaten a yummy dinner, and are now ready to read and retire -- oh! speaking of retirement ... listen to this! For the past two days of driving, I have stayed awake the entire time -- with the exception of one 20 minute snooze before dinner yesterday! That is totally unheard of for me! Do you think it is possible that three days of retirement has cured me of sleeping in a moving car? It's unlikely, but it sure has been nice to be awake!

"...Your unfailing love is higher than the heavens.
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
May Your glory shine over all the earth."

PSALM 108:4

Grand Rapids MI to Blythesville AR

I bet you are wondering where on earth Blythesville, Arkansas is -- I don't blame you! I never heard of the place until today -- but here we are! But I need to back up and start from the beginning.

Mr. Jones and I left Grand Rapids at 8:00 this morning. We made excellent time. We had a perfect day for traveling; a clear blue sky, nice and warm, and the traffic wasn't too bad either. Anyone who has driven this trip to Texas knows that the State of Illinois is a really long and boring state to drive through. I guess I agree to a certain point, but I like farms and fields and trees! And they are all in abundance throughout the drive in Illinois, so I didn't mind it one bit. The colors were so beautiful today and I saw the tallest black-eyed Susans growing along the highway that I have ever seen.

A pretty pathway at one of the many rest stops
we needed along the way ...

We made it to the Mississippi by 5:30 Michigan time

This is the bridge that takes you across the Mississippi
on I-57 into the state of Missouri

This is a field of cotton
Believe it or not, I have never seen a field of cotton before today!
How is that possible?
I grew up in Detroit! I am a city girl!
Anyway, I saw plenty of cotton today -- field after field,
mile after mile ...

We drove about 9.5 hours today
We decided to call it a day in Blythesville, Arkansas
because we were hungry and tired.
Can anyone tell me WHY Kansas is pronounced: KAN-SAS
and Arkansas is pronouced: AR-KAN-SAW?
I feel sorry for anyone learning the English language!
Our hotel is within walking distance of The Olympia Steakhouse
so we walked over and had fried catfish with all-you-can-eat
popcorn shrimp. YUM! Plus, the place was so pretty --
just like Greece, with beautiful paintings and pottery from there!

The food was good and the service was great

Well, this is the first time I haved tried to use the laptop.
Thankfully, Mr. Jones patiently showed me how to do the basics --
but now I am very content to shut it off and relax awhile!

Tomorrow, we head on down through the entire
State of Mississippi and to Louisiana -- two states I have never been in.
I'll try to touch base tomorrow night.

Let the Adventure Begin!

We are packed and ready to go! It's been a project! We have our maps, our state tour books, our Atlas and our laptop with some kind of global positioning program loaded and ready to go! Mr. Jones has printed out detailed maps of our journey with computer directions, etc., put them in page protectors, and organized them in a notebook. Do you think he might be Type-A? I have a label for these posts that I've titled: "Journeys and other Misadventures." I've only labeled one post so far with this label, and that was my vacation with my sister. However, to use the word "misadventure" and Mr. Jones in the same context would be incongruent (sorry, sis!). However, once we are on the road I will use that label for our travel pictures and stories (sorry, Mr. Jones).

It took me awhile to figure out how to pack everything, but I ended up with one very large bulging suitcase, one extremely full backpack, one book crate, one book bag, and my very special "Grandma's fun and games" bag pictured above. I have crayons, markers, coloring books, sticker books, Ed Emberly drawing books, children's games, story books, paper supplies, and various other art supplies all loaded inside! So just in case we have a rainy day or find ourselves a bit cranky or tired, we can just open up Grandma's special bag and do some fun stuff together! I can't wait!

Dylan and I and Shane and their dad shared a meal tonight at Fire Mountain, and then Shane came by to pick up Thomas K., who will be staying at his apartment while we are gone. It was so good to see Shane, and Dylan too.

We leave first thing in the morning. I'm going to try to be a better travel partner for Mr. Jones. Staying awake in the car is a real challenge for me, so I've decided to read "Tom Sawyer" to him on the trip down; and if I finish it, we'll read "Huck Finn" on the way back. It's about a 24 hour trip to Webster, and since we would like to arrive by about 2:00 pm Thursday afternoon, we'll try to get 9+ hours in tomorrow and Wednesday. We've been routed through Mississippi and Louisiana on one of our map programs, so we're going to try that instead of going through Texarkansas and on down. I've never been to either Mississippi or Louisiana, so I'm kind of looking forward to that! I'll try to post some pictures along the way, but since I've yet to use the laptop and I'm not sure we will have internet access at the hotel tomorrow night, it might be Thursday before I actually get to update our trip for you.

Another Split-Second Visit!

I would say I am almost getting used to these nano-second appearances by our Adam and Emily -- except, I'm not! Mr. Jones had e-mailed Adam a day or two ago with a computer issue; in reply, Adam phoned Thursday evening to say that since he and Emily were "coming home" this weekend, they could just talk face to face. Did you say you were coming home this weekend? If you call "coming home" arriving at 4:25 a.m., sleeping until noon (by necessity) and then turning around to return to the Twin Cities by 4:00 p.m., I guess I would agree. But you guys! Can't you ever stay longer than a blink of an eye?
Actually, they were coming to Grand Rapids to pick up Emily's "new" car; a 2001 Mercury Cougar with 5000 miles on it! They got a very good "family buy" that was such a good deal for them, and it is a beautiful vehicle. How happy!

This is Adam's 2007 Mustang. I didn't know that Mustang's were Adam's favorite car, but then you learn something new almost every day in this family! It's a very nice car as well. Their mission was accomplished -- all the paperwork for Emily's car was complete, and after sharing a spaghetti dinner with us, they headed home to Minnesota. If all goes as planned, Mr. Jones and I will be seeing them at their apartment four weeks from today! Drive careful you guys!