A Christmas Letter Blog

I decided to take a look back at 2015.  Here's a summary of some of the places we have been and people we have seen.  It's not at all inclusive of everything and everyone.  You'll have to go back to the blog posts if you want more detail.

January

We were in the Whale at Tier Drop RV Park in Wellton, Arizona last Jan.  Spring was already in bloom and we were enjoying warm weather, breath taking sunrises and sunsets and time spent walking and swimming.

February
February found us making a trip up to Las Vegas to see Mom and then seeing some friends along the way back home.  We drove through Havasu and took some time at the Lake on the way up.

Midge and Ray were parked in Mesa and we got to spend a little time with them.

We stopped in Wickenburg, AZ and visited with friends from Indiana that we meet a couple of years ago here in Arizona.  They fed us a wonderful lunch and then it was back to Wellton.

We enjoy wonderful fellowship of Christian Believers here in the Park.  We were honored to attend the wedding of our Pastor Lee to his wife, Vonnie.  They had both lost their first spouses and the Lord brought them together.  How blessed we are to know them and have them here at Tier Drop!

There are some very fun places to visit and lunch in this area.  We are 20 miles east of Yuma and our friend, Sheila took Al, Sandy, Craig and I out for a wonderful patio lunch.

March

We had spent two years in the Jayco Whale.  32' long and no slide outs.  We kept thinking that we would settle back into a home along the road SOMEWHERE.  But, how could we decide to stay in one place and not have time with family and friends?

We sold the Class C, Whale 1 to a couple here in the Park.  They took it up to Canada for their kids to use.  We found a Class A with two slide outs just twelve miles down the road.  We took a a couple of weeks to make the move from one to another.

Whale 2 was launched.  It needed some inside repairs, but we felt like we had moved into an apartment.

April
On April 6th, we headed out of AZ and spent some time with Mom in Las Vegas.

We stayed in Duck Creek RV Park about 12 miles from Mom.

On April 17 we were in Albuquerque, New Mexico and we attended a Christian Fellowship meeting with old friends that we have gotten to know over the years.

We were waiting for the weather to warm up a bit in Colorado before heading up that way.  We arrived in Cherry Creek State Park on April 22.  We attended some sporting activities with our Grand kids and had time for a nice picnic at the park.

Craig's brother, Jim and his wife Lynne came over for a nice visit one day.  We always enjoy our time together.

May

The State Parks allow a maximum stay of 14 days per month.  So we had to move out after two week across town to the Chatfield State Park. It's another very nice Park and we were able to attend more sporting activities that the grand kids were involved in.

It started to rain and the lakes and rivers began to overflow and we decided it was time to head out.  We had wanted to surprise my Mom for her 90th Birthday, but needed to keep it quiet and find a place to stay until it was time to head back down to Las Vegas.

We had heard that the Park Ranger at the San Louis State Park, CO needed some help for the busy Memorial Day weekend.  The Park is mainly used as an overflow area for visitors going to the Great Sand Dunes Park in Colorado.

We became the Campground Hosts and for a couple of days, we were the only ones there.  We stayed through the busy Holiday and then needed to head further south.

Ranger Art and Debbie

Craig had developed a Peri-anal abscess that was really giving him trouble and we knew that he was going to have to see a doctor.  We tried to figure out how to surprise Mom and get on down to Las Vegas and also find a doctor.  We drove down through Cortez and then into Williams, Arizona by the Grand Canyon and told mom that I was taking Craig to the VA.  She didn't realize that we were already back at Duck Creek, Nevada, and headed to the emergency room.

Poor Craig was ready for some relief and we still wanted to make it to surprise Mom at a lunch her friends had planned for her the next day.  So, he went the tough route of having them just lance the abcess right there in emergency.  They packed it and sent us on our way.

 So, the next day we were sitting at the table in the Bootlegger and surprised Mom.  We were so glad that we were able to be there.

We also went with the Vegas Gang to the Steak and Shake.

June
We left the RV Park and drove the car out to San Clemente, CA for our oldest grand daughter's High School Graduation.  Todd and his business partner had rented a nice home not far from the coast and we had a great time with Haley.

We packed up the Whale and headed east.  We stopped in to see Charlie who had been in the hospital the last time we went through, but was now out and feeling well enough for lunch out.

We made stops in Vernon and Hawkins, TX as we are always looking for a home on a lake.

July
We visited with friends that we met in Arizona at their home in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

The Fitzgeralds

My high school buddy lives in Keyesport, IL and we stopped by to see her.

Kathy and Betty

Winding our way back up to Indiana, we saw another family that we met while in Arizona a couple of years ago.  They have a beautiful place in North Salem, Indiana. We always enjoy our time with Ron and Carolyn and their daughter Tracy.

July 14th found us back in the Cedar Lake Ministries Camp Ground. It's close to our home town of Crown Point, Indiana.

The Lake County Court House that has been restored in Crown Point, Indiana has become a landmark.

We spent a month in the area spending time with family and friends.

Our oldest son, Todd.

Our son, Jeff was finishing a new sanctuary for his Church and we worked a few days with him. We were also able to get in some fishing.

 

Lunch out with some of my long-time friends.

Kathy, Debbie, Cindy and Denise

We also attended Craig's 50th Class Reunion of Crown Point High School. Ron Patz was a good friend of Craig's and was also a Groomsman in our wedding.  It was great to see him.
 

 There's always some sort of project where heads need to come together to resolve the issue.

Lunch out with three sisters and cousins

Aunt Pearl, Mom, Aunt Rosie, Craig, Marty, Debbie and Kathy
I am beginning to see why I have been fighting a weight battle again this year.  We have grazed across the country!

August
The first Sunday of August brings around the Hoffman Family Reunion.  Mom flew in from Las Vegas so she could take part.

Mom, Craig and Aunt Rosie

 There's always a bean bag tournament.

 And lots of food and visiting.

Jeff's family was having a new home built, so we helped them move out of their sold home and into an apartment before our last night in Indiana.  They are hopeful to be into their new home by Christmas. We celebrated with a DQ on the dock at Cedar Lake.

Krsiten, Todd, Kara, Jeff, Ty, Rachel and Craig

We received a call from Cherry Creek State Park back in Colorado that they had accepted our application to be Volunteers.  We had sought out the positions so we could stay for a longer period than the 14 day limit.  We both worked 20 hours a week as Gate Attendants and it allowed us lots of time to attend sporting events and see family and friends.  We stayed for 77 days.

September

There's all sorts of wildlife in the park.  This Buck was munching leaves just outside our window.

The Park is beautiful and we enjoyed the sights around us.

Zeke came to the dog park and posed for this photo.

October

Chuck and Pudge hosted a wonderful meal for the three brothers and their wives.

Pudge, Chuck, Jim, Lynne, Craig and Kathy

I turned 65 in October.  I had to postpone this nice dinner out for a week because I went in for emergency gall bladder surgery on Oct. 4th.  It all went well and I was in and out in one day and didn't have any issue afterward.  I was very thankful!!!

Birthday dinner out with Tana and Barry
There's always things to do.
Grandpa helped Cooper with his homework.

We attended several football and baseball games along with some cross-country meets.


Collin
Kyra and Carter

One of the reasons that we stayed so long in Colorado was to help Tana's family get moved into their new home and to help with the landscaping.  I was on strict "no lifting" orders, so I did most of the cooking and helped where I could.
All four of Tana's kids did a great job in moving in and helping with all of the landscaping!

Lots going on in landscaping the backyard of the new house.

The weather was so nice and we were so thankful.  But, we saw the snow starting to move in and there was bad weather coming in, so we knew it was time to pack up and head south for the winter.
In order to avoid a snow storm we decided to take the Whale all the way down I 25 to Las Cruses, New Mexico and then head west on I8.  The couple that we got to know while working at the State Park has a home in Arizona City and they invited us to stop by and were so kind to make us lunch.  We enjoyed seeing them and then got back on the road to make in on in to Tier Drop RV Park.

 Pat and Jim

November

We arrived in Wellton on Nov. 7th and spent some time setting up and settling in and visiting with our "Arizona Family".

Kathy, Craig, Sheila, Sandy and Al

Then, we drove up to Mom's in Las Vegas to spend Thanksgiving with her.  We left the whale parked. We have family that is going to meet us back in Las Vegas for Christmas, so we spent time baking and cooking over Thanksgiving.

We decided to eat Thanksgiving out with good friends.  It was a nice day.

Ray, Craig, Kathy, Mom and Midge

December

We spend our time at Tier Drop visiting with friends, having some great Christian Fellowship, walking and of coarse... eating.
Yesterday, our Canadian friends arrived and it was Lynn's Birthday so we had a little meal and party inside the whale.

Lynn, Sandy, Al, Craig and Greg.

Our hummingbird feeder with a sipper.

Mountains around us.

Christmas lights on the Whale

 While doing laundry one of the park residents was ironing.  She said she put on a hat because her hair was a mess, but I thought it was a great way to enjoy the task.

The sunrises and sunsets are so beautiful in the southwest... maybe it's the dust in the air.  It's been cooler and more windy this year, but I don't think we'll see any snow.  It is supposed to get near freezing tonight, though.

Praying if you made if to the end that you haven't been bored to tears, so you will see my thoughts for you.
Praying that you have a wonderful Christmas and a very blessed New Year!!!

Merry Christmas,
Kathy