Thursday, September 28........Up at 8am...we slept in a little. Had continental breakfast and left. As we were loading up, the rain started. AND IT DID NOT LET UP MOST OF THE DAY. As we were going through Knoxville, there was construction and it took us one and a half hour to go 2 miles. Then, at times, it was raining so hard, cars were pulling to the side of the road since they could not see. Other times, it was hailing and people were stopping under bridges and stopping so the cars were not damaged. So, the whole day was stressful with the rain, the trucks driving like crazy in the rain, and the construction. It seemed that every time we got ahead of the rain and it slowed or stopped, we needed fuel or we needed to go potty.......then by the time we were ready to go again, the rain caught up with us and it came with a vengeance. The rain was coming down so hard that you could not see too far in front of you. We should have been in Winston-Salem by 5pm and we didn't get here until 7pm! But we are here and ready to get some needed sleep. Neither of us have slept very well last night. Will update more later

Again........see you later.....Love you all,

DAD and MOM
Jerry & Barbara Northcutt

Saturday, September 23, 2006.....Up and got ready to go to Nathan's game in Westminister. Michelle, Ken, Jared and Brandon came to the game. Nathan played a good game and they won 14-0. We then went over to Michelle's house to see her house re-modeling. They re-did their kitchen by installing new cabinets, windows and sliders, new granite counters, new island, new flooring and tile. It all looked very very good. They have done so such to their house....it hardly looks like it did then they bought it. Great Job! Later in the afternoon, we headed to Santa Margarita for Brandon's football game. Brandon plays receiver and runs the plays into the game. No passes were thrown to him but he blocked well and helped the team. They lost 14-0.

Sunday....Up early as we went up to Lakewood to see Darlene and Wilbur and check on the dogs. We went to early service with them and then to Olive Gardens for lunch. We later went to their house to see our “kids”....Boomer and Cuddles! They went wild when we arrived and settled down in our laps. We visited for awhile and then headed home. We met Jim and Gigi as they shopped for an RV. We then went to the house to visit some more. Kim, Donny and the kids came by to visit. I went out to get some dinner at In and Out and promptly backed into Donny's car with Kim's car......My Bad! Now, we have to work with the insurances to get his car repaired! We did have a good visit, though.

Monday....We got up and started packing as our plans to fly back was changed to Monday afternoon. We packed and Kim came by to take us to the airport. We stopped at New Balance Outlet and I bought some new tennis shoes. We went to Bjs for lunch and then to the airport. Had a good flight, stopping at Dallas for a layover. Arrived in Oklahoma City at 11:45pm. My sister and brother-in-law picked us up. Back to the RV for sleep.

Tuesday....Today was packing day. We packed and then went into town to the Saturn dealer for a part, had lunch at Freddies Hamburger and Frozen Custard and then home. Jo Ann had cooked a roast dinner........yum....it was delicious. Early to bed so we could leave by 8am tomorrow.

Wednesday.....up early with breakfast at 7:30am, finish loading the car and left at 8am. We took a cooler and snacks and drove until we got to Nashville, TN where we are now. We had dinner at Cracker Barrel and settled in at Microtel Inn for the night. We talked to Tony via webcam and yahoo voice messenger. This is where we are now......will update.

Again........see you later.....Love you all,

DAD and MOM
Jerry & Barbara Northcutt

Saturday.....September 16....We went over to Byrl and Diana's house to visit and we went on a couple of errands with them and then headed to the park for a picnic. Tammy, neice, and her husband, Rod, and 3 kids (Kaylee, Joshua and Jacob) were there. Tammy is the interim children's pastor at the church. Rod's Aunt and Uncle were there also. We had a nice time of visiting and catching up. The kids had a great time playing and running. After a meal of chicken, BBQ pulled pork, baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad and cookies, we just sat around and "veggied" and talked. We left about dusk and headed back to the house and then to the RV.

Sunday......We met Diana and Bryl at their church and we had a good service. They go to a Baptist Church. The singing was excellant and the sermon was short but good. After service, we wemt to Golden Coral (buffet lunch) and Jackey (nephew) joined us. Another time of catching up with Jackey. He is a fine young man, works for IBM and is doing great. We went to Diana's home and another family joined us. Rodney (nephew), Missy and their one-year old daughter, Alexis, came to visit. Missy is the children's pastor at their church. Again, a time of catching up and visiting. Rod and Missy had to leave around 4pm so we said our goodbys and left also. It was a short visit but a good one. We went back to the RV and unhooked everything and hooked up the car and headed back to my sister's house. We were in rain most of the way and I wanted to get there before dark but we didn't quite make it in time. We stopped in Shawnee, OK and filled up the tank ($2.01 a gallon). We got home before Jo Ann and Johnny got home from church where they were having a weekend revival. We had everything hooked up by the time they returned.

Monday.....We had a lot to do today as we are leaving for Calif. tomorrow to see all the kids and grandkids. Barbara did all the wash, we took in the dogs to get a sedative for the flight and we packed for the trip. Busy all day.

Tuesday......Up very early at 3:45am to get ready drive in to catch a 6:30am flight. We drove our SUV and left keys at Jo Ann's house so she could pick it up later. The flight was good. We gave the pills to the dogs 30 minutes before flight and the flight to Dallas was uneventful and they did good. We had a two and a half layover in Dallas so the dogs just sat on our laps and watched the people. We had a good flight from Dallas to Ontario and the dogs were good. Boomer got a little ansy.....we think he had to go pee. But both made it OK. As soon as we got off the plane, Barbara took the dogs outside to a grass area and they peed and peed. Kim picked us up and we came home and glad to be home for awhile, even the dogs were glad to be home. We went out and had lunch with Kim and Donny and had a good visit. Jenny Brown came by to see us....enjoyed seeing her. We crashed early and slept in our OWN BED!

Wednesday......up late and Kim came by and we went and run some errands, had breakfast and arrived home early afternoon. Gigi came by and we had a great visit and later went out for dinner at BJs. Again, we crashed early.

Thursday......Barbara and Kim left to do some stuff and I headed to Lakewood to take the dogs to Darlene's house. She will keep them until we get back from the eastcoast. They were happy to see her, Wilbur and Twinkie...thier little dog. This afternoon, Chase and Jared both had a freshman football game at 3:15pm.......one in Corona, one in Fullerton. Barbara went to Chase's game in Corona. They played the Temescal Canyon and Corona won 21-7. Chase had several good runs but didn't score any touchdowns. I went to Fullerton and watched Jared's game. Of course, Ken and Michelle were there. His team lost 19-7 but Jared had a good game. He caught four passes and had a couple good runs after the catch. However, one of the catches didn't count as the defender grabbed out of his hands before he could tuck it in. We went home after the games and had a few leftovers from BJs.

Friday.....Catching up on some sleep.....got up and repaired some tile on the roof....Barbara had a hair appointment and I had a barber appointment......Barb got her nails done and he had a late lunch at Jack-In-The-Box......WOW! We came home and got ready for another football game. We went to the Santiago High School game and they lost to Temescal Canyon HS 28-20. It wasn't as close as the score. Temescal dominated most of the game and Santiago didn't get it together until late in the fourth quarter. I am at home do I will update as we will be busy the weekend. Tomorrow more football games.....

Again........see you later.....Love you all,

DAD and MOM
Jerry & Barbara Northcutt

Wednesday...Sept 13....continued....Boomer is almost back to normal..(Aren't you glad?) I was at McDonald reading my email and posting this post. I was caught up for awhile. We had a good time visiting with Tommy, Connie and Debbie. These are true friends that you can be away from for two years and pick up from where you left off. We had dinner at Mountain Mikes Steak house and went home to watch a little TV.

Thursday......We got up late and headed to Joplin so I could get online, buy a Doggie Travel Bag for Boomer and Cuddles. We will need it when we go to CA next week to see the boys play football. We found what we needed and went to Panera Bread for lunch and I got online and was able to hook up my webcam and talked a little to Tony....actually seeing him. A new toy! We went back to Miami and everyone but me played cards as I fooled around with my laptop.

Friday......Travel day. I set up the waffle maker and make waffles for everyone this morning. We then got our RV in order and everything unhooked and hooked and we headed to Tulsa. We arrived in Tulsa around 1:30pm, set up the RV and Diana (Barb's sister) arrived a liitle after 2pm......she took off early to be with us. I am now at Camille's Sidewalk Cafe going online to view email and update my blog. This will not be as long as I don't know when I will be online again. Will BLOG later......

Again........see you later.....Love you all,

DAD and MOM
Jerry & Barbara Northcutt

The blog below should start out as...Thursday, continued (September 7, 2006)...

Thursday, continued (August 7, 2006)......I went to the Cadillac dealership (I was told they were a Saturn dealership also) but they did not work on Saturn cars. Tomorrow, maybe. We found out some tragic news today. Lee Dow's (Jo Ann's son-in-law, Candy's husband) father, Rocky, was found slumped in his pickup outside his home. At this time, they don't know when he passed away or how long he was there or how it happened. I went back to the house and we had dinner and watched a little football. Candy was helping with the funeral arrangements and was not able to pick up Dallas, who was at Jo's house playing with the dogs. Johnny and Jeff took Dallas home. Rocky and Phyllis was supposed to be at Dallas' school tomorrow for Grandparents day. Pray for the families as it was a shock even tho Rocky had some heart problems. We came home and brought some rib bones from the BBQ at lunch for the dogs to chew on. Settled in for the night.

Friday......Up early....Johnny and Jeff went to Tulsa to deliver some steps, Barbara and Jo Ann went out shopping at Cracker Barrel porch sale and I headed to Saturn for service on my VUE. It took about 3 hours for the Vue to get finished. Jo and Barbara did a little shopping and I went to visit with Tony. He is feeling much better and we did a little running around and errands that needed to be done. We had some good time together and he showed me the inter workings of his web-based business. He has an Amazon store ( http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/my-zshop/S1A0TO6R8S1YMH/104-3516964-3036710 ) where he sells books, DVDs, etc. He does fairly well for the time he puts into it. Jo, Johnny, Jeff, Barbara and I met for dinner (not too good) and then went home. It was very cool (53 degrees) when we left and we forgot to turn on the AC for the dogs. The temp had gotten up to the mid 90s inside the RV and Boomer was especially hot and panting. He was lethargic and didn't want anything to do with us....mad at us for leaving him in a hot RV. He laid around the rest of the evening. I thought that I had dropped an Advil and he had found it.

Saturday.....Jeff had told us about an OkraFest in Checotah, OK so we decided to go and check it out. It is about a 2-hour drive. Boomer was still not feeling too well. The OkraFest was a small-town – closed main street – type of celebration/fair. They were supposed to feature okra but there was only one booth that had okra.......and it was good. We walked around all the booths and decided to eat there. We had lunch and then headed home. ANOTHER FLASH....We bought gas at Wal-Mart for $2.16! On the way home, we went by the Dow's residence and visited with Lee, Candy and the Dow family and offered our regrets for Rocky's passing. We arrived home and found Boomer still not feeling well. We settled in for the Oklahoma/Washington football game. It was a good day as OU won the game. Of course, the next game was Texas and Ohio State. We watched that game also. We were starting to get concerned about Boomer because he was not eating or drinking. I called our vet in CA and they were closed and had an emergency number to call. I called that number and they told me that Advil is very toxic to small dogs and he needed to see a doctor immediately (this was at 10pm). We searched around and found an all-night animal emergency center in Oklahoma City almost an hours drive. We headed that way. He was examined and they found a couple of things....he had elevated level of liver enzymes and he was constipated and dehydrated. The doctor recommended an overnight stay to get fluids, via and IV, into him and an enema to help clear the blockage. After a bunch of money, we left him and arrived at the RV a little after 2am and immediately went to bed.

Sunday.....The doctor called at 7:30am and said that Boomer was taking fluids and was a little more alert. But the enemas (2) had worked a little and found small pieces of bones – remember the BBQ bones on Thursday night! We slept in a little and arrived at church at about the time Dan started preaching. He preached on the 3rd World War....it was good and several responded for salvation. After church, we went to Hometown Buffet and then Barbara went with Jo and Johnny and I went to get Boomer. They wanted to Xray him again and keep him another night. I quizzed the doctor and he could not justify the need for the added expense for keeping him ($200+). They sent him home with antibiotics and he was tired. He had improved enough and the doctor reluctantly let him go. I brought him home and he has been sleeping since he arrived. Cuddles was glad to see him and welcomed him with a few kisses. We relaxed and watched him closely. Since Boomer is still groggy and still not eating and drinking much, we decided to stay home and not go to church in the evening. Jo and Johnny went and returned around 8:30pm. We watched the Manning brothers play football and then retired. Boomer slept in their playpen for the night.

Monday......Today, we get ready to travel tomorrow. However, Boomer is still not feeling well, eating, drinking or passing anything. We decided to take him to the local vet and have him checked out. He did Xray him (a lot cheaper) and found Boomer had a large blockage, including some bone fragments and it was too large for him to pass it. We agreed for the doctor to sedate him and bust up the blockage. He did and flushed him out and the doctor was surprised the amount of matter that was removed. We bought him home and we could tell that he was much better, more alert and more like himself. Barbara worked on cleaning the RV and washing clothes and I spent most of the day going back and forth to the vet. Peyton, grand nephew, had a football game tonight and we decided to go. He plays offensive tight end on the JV team. First game was the freshman game and Noble won. The second game was the the JV game and it was a good one....triple overtime! Peyton's team finally won it. After the game, we were late getting home.

Tuesday......Today is travel day. Up early to prepare breakfast. Jo Ann invited Jeff and Wake for Belgium Waffles and We had a good visit and meal. After breakfast, I unhooked everything and hooked the car and we left at around 11am. We stopped on the way to gas up.....$2.11 a gallon! We found a rest stop to dump our tanks, then found a Subway and had a sandwich. We arrived at Tommy and Connie Timmons' home at around 4:30pm. It has been three years since we had seen them and we had a good evening of catching up.

Wednesday....Boomer is almost back to normal..(Aren't you glad?) I am at McDonald reading my email and posting this post. I am caught up for awhile.

Again........see you later.....Love you all,

DAD and MOM
Jerry & Barbara Northcutt

Friday, September 1, 2006...Today is a travel day but first, one last visit with Shawn. BTW, Shawn looks good. He has lost 35 lbs and is expecting to lose more. We loaded up the RV, hooked up the car and left the RV park. It was a very nice place to stay....wireless, laundry facilities and nice pretty park. The park is behind a large plantation house. We don't know if the house is really old or someone built a large house plantation style. I'll find out and let you know. Anyway, here is a picture of the house. We left the plantation house and headed to Shawn's house. We met him for breakfast and really enjoyed our time with him as we caught up with ALL that is happening with him and Tim. Shawn is doing more video in his photography business. Last year, he made a DVD to accompany Tim's newest book. Tonight, he was video taping (three cameras) a young black lady in an intimate setting at a small club in downtown Dallas. Then, we headed to Oklahoma City and after stopping a couple of times, we arrived at my sister's home at around 3:30pm. We weaved in and out of the trees on their property to get our RV into position. She had prepared our dinner and we had a good meal and relaxed. I called Tony, my son, to set up our visit with him tomorrow. He was going to meet with us for breakfast but couldn't make it.

Saturday.....September 2, 2006....Sixty-seven years ago, a great thing happened. Twins were born to Evertt and Idell Northcutt on that fateful day. Today is our birthday, along with my older sister. Jo Ann and Jerry were born of Marva Dawn's third birthday.......A blessed event! So, we celebrated! We went to breakfast at PooBoys restaurant in Noble, Ok. All of Jo Ann's kids and grandkids were there to help us celebrate. We had a great time and a surprise visit from Sue and Bonnie, Jo Ann's closest friends. During the breakfast, Robert called me and told me he was taking Tony to the emergency room as his face and his tongue was swollen and he was in terrible pain. I asked Robert to keep us posted. After breakfast, we went back to the house and Bonnie came out for a short time. After our visit, we took Bonnie home stopped at Panera Bread to get online and check my email. We traveled back to the house and settled in for the night. I talked to Robert and the doctors admitted Tony into the hospital for blood work and checkup. Robert said he would call me after church and let me know what is happening.

Sunday.....Up and about to go to church. Just before we went into service, I followed up on a voice message from Pastor Randy in Louisiana and he was having problems with the sound and lights at the church. I gave him some suggestions and prayed that the service would go OK. We had a good service at Crossroads Cathedral in south Oklahoma City with Pastor Dan Sheaffer. After service, we went to eat at Buffet King, a Chinese restaurant. Robert called and told us that Tony was still in a lot of pain and the doctors have not decided what the problem is. After lunch, we went up to the hospital to see Tony. His face was swollen to the point of one eye was closed and he had a big sore in his mouth. No new news about his condition. Barbara and I stayed as long as we felt we could with his pain. After we left, we head home. We settled in for the night and didn't go to the evening service. Robert informed us that the doctors were keeping Tony overnight to more blood work and other tests.

Monday, Labor Day......Barbara and Jo Ann left for the Labor Day sales and I headed up to the hospital. I talked to Pastor Randy and he said he got everything to working except the lights and they had a good service. Tony's Mother and stepfather was there when I arrived. He looked a lot better and was feeling a little better. The swelling had gone down some. The doctors still could not agree on what the problem is. I visited for several hours and left around 7:00pm. I went home and we settled in for the night. We are getting a lot more rest here and enjoying it.

Tuesday.....We were up for a leisurely breakfast. Barbara cut my hair and we headed into OKC. We went to the wholesale house that we frequent while we are in OKC. We bought a few things and then headed to the hospital to see Tony. He has yet to get an answer from his doctor about his prognosis or what the problem is. He is starting to get quite frustrated and a little upset. We visited with him and headed home. Johnny (Jo Ann's husband) had prepared dinner for us and it was good. Jo Ann's grandson, Dallas, was there when we returned to play with Boomer and Cuddles. He could only play with them for 5 minutes as he had to go to football practice. After dinner, we relaxed and watched a movie and retired early.

Wednesday....Tony finally heard from his doctor and found that he had a bacterial infection from the sore in the roof of his mouth and it spread to his gums and his face. Once they drained the abscess from his mouth, the swelling started going down and he began to feel better. He was released today and went home. He was wiped out and so I will visit him tomorrow. Nothing much going on here in OK with us. Just visiting and relaxing.

Thursday....This morning, I changed the oil in my RV. I talked to Tony and we decided that I would give him a day to rest and recuperate before I visited. He is still a little weak from 5 days in the hospital. Tomorrow, I will go and visit. Jeff, my nephew, treated Barbara and I to lunch at Vans BBQ. It was good and the pecan pie was great. Barbara and the rest went to the house and I stayed back and went to Penera Bread to go online and update my blog. I am going to the Saturn dealership to get the Vue serviced. Now, I will update.

Again........see you later.....Love you all,

DAD and MOM
Jerry & Barbara Northcutt