Our New Grand-daughter---March 26,2008

ANNIKA LYNN FRASER

Calgary,Alberta

March 26,2008 @ 6:24 a.m.

6 lbs. 14 oz. 47 cm. long

Brother: Liam

Proud Parents: Derek & Carol

Proud Grandparents: Ralph & Marie

Las Vegas to Home--- March 17th to 23rd

March 17th --- Happy St. Patrick's Day

We left Las Vegas at 9:30 am heading for Mesquite, Nevada but decided to keep heading north toward home. Some Irish Luck!---We stopped in Beaver, Utah for diesel and the attendant noticed our RV tire threads were separating on a couple of the tires. In 35 minutes, 4 new tires were installed and balanced--an accident was avoided. We arrived at Willard Bay one hour north of Salt Lake City at 7:30 pm. We had a Patty's Day dinner and slept in our 5th wheel in the Flying J parking lot. 5 Deg. C.

March 18th

Ralph winterized our 5 th wheel and we were on the road again at 7 am. There was snow in the mountains but the highways were good especially through the Monida pass (a area that can be treacherous). We hit some snow flurries around Pocatello--nothing major. We pulled into a Flying J in Great Falls, Montana at 4 pm. We made some phone calls and had supper--gave our extra booze to the waitress. Around 10:00 pm it got extremely windy and started to rain heavy
(turned into snow during the night). Over 40 eighteen wheelers and a dozen RV'S stayed the night at the Flying J.

March 19th

We had breakfast at the Flying J and left on our last leg of our journey at 9:30 am. We had no trouble at the US/Canada border. Just as we were turning north onto highway #2 near Fort Mcleod we were stopped by the Highway Patrol Sheriff for speeding (lucky day again-- just a warning. We did not see the 60km sign from 100km ). We arrived home in Calgary around 4 pm--- Safe and Sound---9,000km more on our truck since Jan. 2-08. We visited Derek,Carol and Liam in the evening. Carol is ready to pop (c-section scheduled for April 2nd but don't think she will make it). Liam is saying alot of words and is a sweetheart.

March 20th to 23rd

We phoned Karilee in Australia on Good Friday.She is doing well and having a great time. We got word that evening that Mom was in hospital for a few days. She had low hemoglobin. After some blood transfusions she is feeling better and stronger. Happy 82nd Birthday, Mom on March 27th. On Saturday the 22nd we enjoyed having Liam while Derek and Carol got alot of things done. Happy Easter---Derek and Carol had Carol's Mom and us for dinner on Sunday. Liam loved hunting for Easter eggs and riding his new red Radio Flyer tricycle from Grampa and Nana.
We have had a wonderful winter in southern USA and we will do it again next winter.

Thanks for reading our blog. Your e-mails and comments were appreciated. It's great to be home--seeing Liam, family and friends. We are excited about our new upcoming grandchild.

We will keep you posted. Love and happy travels. Keep in touch.

Apache Junction to Las Vegas--Mar.13-16

March 13th

I had my nails done and uploaded some photos to the blog. Bev and Gerald came over to our resort and spent the afternoon with us. Cloudy but warm 27 Deg. C.

March 14th

We spent about three hours at the Mesa swap meet--some good bargains but lots of people.

We did some shopping at Target and Costco in Mesa. We had dinner at Arizona Joe's--good meal and great entertainment in the bar. Ralph and John had a game of pool before bedtime. A bit windy but warm.

March 15th

Did laundry and grocery shopping. We picked up a double stroller for Derek and Carol (they will need it soon). We spent the afternoon on the patio of Filly's Bar and Grill with the Fernquists and Brooks. Neat atmosphere ---28 Deg. C., band playing ,dancing,horses at the hitching post with the Superstition Mountains in the background. We went to the free "going home" dinner (bbq pork on a bun)at the resort. I won a door prize(a kokopelle ornament). We packed up to head home.

March 16th

Homeward bound. We said goodbye to John and Lynda ( they are staying another week).We left Apache Junction at 7:30 a.m.We arrived in Las Vegas Sam's Town RV Park at 2:30 pm. It was a cool cloudy day with a bit of rain 16 deg.C--great for travelling. Nicer in the afternoon. We walked to the casino,had the $9.99 buffet and played some slots. We are watching the weather reports and hoping we have good roads on our travels home.Hope we can get internet the rest of the way too.