Tag: breast cancer survivor

June 1-3rd… A weekend with friends and family.

June 1st..

Friday is here! And this is the day my nephew Gray arrives. It is also the day that my friends Dustin and Sara join us.  Dustin also just got an RV and will be camping next door to us.

This is a morning view with Abby. 34075977_10156252671797988_1951036680014135296_n

Today was spent hanging out with Abby and relaxing. A day of solitude.

 

I kept lunch simple today. These are so good!

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Not much to tell about the afternoon because it was nothing but rest and solitude…

Mom and Gray arrived around 4:00.. The first thing he wanted to do was drive Spirit. He loved exploring the RV and the outdoors.

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Over the weekend, we met this amazing couple from Indiana.. Andy and Brandy. They were traveling back home from their trip to Galveston. They had two little dogs traveling with them also. Abby got to hang out with Bo Joe. They were traveling in a class A which was really cool. It looked just like the inside of a home. They spent Friday night and left Saturday afternoon. We had a great time getting to know them.

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Not long after Gray arrived, we had a nasty storm. The RV started rocking, the winds were tough, and there was waves on the water.

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But Gray didn’t mind, he just watched his movie… While I kicked back and had a cold beer. haha

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Dustin and Sara arrived in their class C RV. It was really cool to have some friends drive up and hang out doing the RVing too. This was a maiden voyage for them as well. Even though Dustin has been camping most of his life with his family in other types of campers.  We enjoyed great company, cold beer, and for supper Dustin grilled some steaks and veggies.

 

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Friday night sunset..

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This was our patio and view for the weekend…. Amazing! 34386179_10156258151612988_1869795058622922752_n

Friday night ended with Gray sleeping with me. Let me just say, sleeping with a 2 year old and a dog on a futon is not easy… Not much sleep! 🙂 The futon was comfortable with a busy toddler kicking all night. haha.

 

June 2…

Saturday morning sunrise, beautiful early morning scenes, and a crossword puzzle.

Life is good.

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Starting my day off with peace and quiet while Gray is sleeping. This is the best part of the day. A cup of Hazelnut coffee and a nice breeze off the water. It was foggy this morning but cleared up. About 80 degrees but heating up! Its gonna be a hot day!

Abby stayed cool in the baby pool!

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Dustin and Sara helped Gray catch a fish today. He loved it!

 

Random pictures from the day! Enjoying the little things is what makes life so much better.  Kids will always remember the fun times spent with them.

 

Gray loved the lights!

 

Saturday night we ate with Dustin and Sara. Dustin cooked hamburgers and hot dogs and grilled veggies. YUM!

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We hung out and enjoyed the company, good food, and hot weather.

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But the night wasn’t over…

Around 12:00am the weather channel alarm went off on my phone saying we were under a tornado warning and to find shelter immediately. I woke mom up and we took Gray and Abby to the closest rest area where we waited out the storm with 9 others. All scared. The park rangers did a great job alerting everyone to take cover. They also checked on all campers during and after the storm. We finally got to bed about 2am. The threat was over. I think Mother Nature broke us in good on our first weekend RVing,

Some of the wind damage in our camp.

 

But the next morning, God showed his grace and beauty…

We thanked God for the new day. It was 70 degrees, breezy, and beautiful.

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Gray and I spent time walking around with Abby Sunday morning.

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Gray loves Dee Dee hugs and kisses! 34382064_10156258143877988_2557871853351731200_n

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34415884_10156258777552988_4940542009195626496_n34303521_10156258777422988_1496087798124380160_n34366448_10156258777367988_1585655140604444672_nBefore it was time to go, we visited Dustin and Sara where they made some homemade waffles! And they were awesome, like the funnel cakes you get at the blues festival. Gray ate them right up!

 

Our cell phone service was out so we decided to come home before lunch. We didn’t want Gray’s parents worried about him. We had such an amazing time at Mississippi River State Park. This will definitely be a frequent place for us to camp since it is so close to home and easy to drive to. We met so many amazing and friendly people. We made memories with family and friends. And honestly, that is the best part. I hope Gray always will remember his camping adventures with his Dee Dee and Aunt Essie. We loved having him be a part of our first weekend RVing. I also loved having my sweet fur baby with me.

So… time to go home.

This is where Abby rode part of the way home. She is not a fan of riding on long trips.

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Time to close this first chapter of our RVing life.

Until the next great adventure..

xoxoxo,

a happy camper and her dog

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April 30, 2018- A Survivor and her Spirit

Today was the day I have been waiting on for over 20 years! I bought my first RV!

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She is a 2014 Itasca 31 footer. She has 28,000 miles. She is in great condition. 

Her name is SPIRIT! How fitting! A breast cancer Survivor and her SPIRIT! 

She has two slides, a bunkhouse, a sleeper above the cab and a bedroom in the back. Here are some pictures of the inside at time of purchase. 31659539_10156181881712988_3529668982153936896_n31671556_10156181881702988_4742213020900392960_n31518165_10156181881767988_7744883339672158208_n31681472_10156181881937988_5345752073126281216_n31673012_10156181881927988_3610944031275614208_n

I have found exactly the layout I am looking for. Of course, if you know me and my love for decorating, she will be painted on the inside and some minor upgrades before we begin our journey. I want her to feel like home! 

This has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. After cancer, you learn to embrace life and learn how precious time is. Time is truly priceless. And good health is also priceless. 

As we were leaving the dealership, Dreams by the Allman Brothers Band came on the radio. I knew then Dad was smiling down on this decision. ABB was his favorite band and we grew up listening to them. 

“Just one more mornin’, I had to wake up with the blues, pulled myself out of bed, and put on my walking shoes. And went up on the mountain to see what I could see…”

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I was smiling and singing Dreams loudly as we drove away with SPIRIT. 

I am wanting to see the world with my mom and Abby, my 9 year old shih tzu. Both have been with me through breast cancer in 2015-16 and the death of my Dad in 2011. If you don’t know me, I had breast cancer stage 3 three years ago. It was a tough battle. 8 rounds of chemo, 33 rounds of radiation. Losing my hair, being sick, having a hysterectomy after that… you get the message. The lesson here is to enjoy life and be grateful for health and happiness and family. And thank God for all his blessings. 

I am spending the next couple of weeks organizing and getting things ready for the first camping weekend. We are going to camp close to home so we can make sure everything works on RV and we practice learning how to use everything on it. There are a lot of things to learn! 

I am also learning how to blog. This is my first one! I am looking forward to taking many scenic pictures and traveling to some cool places. I hope to write and photo all the places I go and share my RV adventures with you. This blog will be a work in progress until I learn everything about blogging as well. I hope you will follow all of our adventures of the open road and seeing new places. I am making a list of places I want to see… Colorado, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Redwood Forest, Maine, Connecticut, etc… So many places to see! 

A little about me…. I am 46 years old, single with no kids but have 10 dogs at home! I am a Christian and love photography as a hobby. I also love to cook and eat! (I will be posting food pics as well on this journey). I am a mental health therapist and a dog rescuer. Both jobs can be difficult and stressful at times. But I love doing both. I have been a therapist for 18 years. And I founded Meals on Wheels for Helena West Helena Dogs around 8 years ago. It is a 501c3. You can find us on Facebook. This is a true passion and I also feel it is a calling to do this type of work. There will be trips in Spirit transporting dogs to forever homes during the year as well. I will blog about those dogs when we travel with them. 

But I will be taking breaks during the year from work and rescue work and traveling in SPIRIT with my dog and my mom to enjoy travel and adventures. 

SO.. stay tuned… I am getting SPIRIT ready for her first trip! It will be a local trip to either Bear Creek in Marianna Arkansas or Horseshoe Lake near West Memphis Arkansas.  The next blog will be about our first adventure! I am so excited that we are almost ready for traveling. 

This HAPPY CAMPER AND HER DOG are READY for the RV LIFE!

xoxo,

Leslie and Abby