Focht Family Blog

Thursday we decided we would drive to Jacksonville to pick up Nathan’s older sister from the airport. She was flying in for a birthday surprise for Nathan’s younger sister. We decided to do this so we could stop at Speedco in Brunswick to get the oil change because Cummins has been very busy and we weren’t sure we were going to be able to get an appointment there before we leave.

When they started to change the oil they told us that a collar was loose on the oil pan and we were leaking and they would not be able to change the oil because if they took the collar out, they wouldn’t be able to put it back in. We are not sure if it was them that loosened the collar since Nathan was under the coach on Thanksgiving and there were no oil leaks. However when we drove it to Cummins on Friday morning they noticed that all of the bolts on the oil pan had been torqued to much and had been driven into the pan while they were replacing the engine, so Wednesday we have to be at Cummins in Savannah all day while they put in a new oil pan. The fun never ends….

Funny how some times we go to a movie expecting to just watch a silly show and we can come out of it with such a powerful statement to how we should be living our lives! Today Nathan and I took the kids to a movie after church. It was Mr. Magorium’s Magical Emporium. The title of this post is a quote from the movie!

We had a fun time and the kids all seemed to enjoy it. I think they just enjoy being able to have a lunch of popcorn and coke every once and awhile. Nathan and I are busy planning our travels for after Christmas. We are putting together a list of places that are on our must-sees. So far we have decided that we will be going to the San Diego Zoo and Knott’s Berry Farm while in California. We also have Jelly Belly and Lego Land on our want to see list.

We have to be in San Diego January 10th and I just made reservations for Disney for March 10th so who knows what all will lie in between. We have also just made reservations to attend The Rally in Perry March 14th followed by a Jeep trip to Tellico. Looking forward to being back on the road. Only 1 month left to go….

We had Thanksgiving at Nathan’s parents house. His sister Christina and I made most of the meal to give his mom a break. Christina did most of the cooking. I made the mashed potatoes, the sweet potatoes and a small fruit salad without nuts for my mom. I was supposed to help his sister clean up afterward but Nathan had to take over for me because Timmy had a fever of 103 and wanted his mommy.

When we were visiting with my brother, his girls were under the weather so I think Timmy just caught their virus. His fever finally broke last night and he seems to be feeling better today. The funny part is that Samantha and Josh seem to be able to fight off the viruses easier. They have both been a little cranky and sleeping longer but the fever has been staying away from both of them.

It has been interesting watching how the immune system works with the kids. So far since we have been travleing they have not been sick except for the occassional sniffle here and there. This is the first fever we have had in 3 months! It is a nice change. I think Timmy is definitely the one who is more prone to catching things than his sister or brother are.

After we left Stone Mountain we went to Cumming to visit my brother and his family. On Monday night we went out to dinner with some of our friends from college. We hadn’t seen some of them since our wedding! We had a wonderful time. The waiter took a picture of all of us at the table and since Roy was trying to hide behind his wife, I also included a picture of just Roy and his wife Jennifer.

We stayed for the 3 nights in Atlanta at Twin Lakes RV Park. When I called to make the reservations, he apologized because he didn’t have any more full hookup sites left so we only had electric and water. Here is a picture I took of what was directly behind the RV. Do you think we had a bad spot????

We are now back in Statesboro. I will try to keep updates coming if we do anything of interest. The next trip we have planned is Disney in December!

After Stone Mountain we started driving towards Lake Lanier to drive through the lights. My brother and his family were going to join us but it was getting late and he and his girls were under the weather. We stopped at Chick-Fil-A (kid’s favorite) for dinner and then drove on. I LOVED being able to ride in the RV to look at the lights. The only thing that would have made it better would have been some Christmas music playing. Although when we went through the lights of the 12 Days of Christmas we sang the song until Misty started barking at us (not sure why?) :)

I opened my window and hung out of it to take pictures of some of our favorite light displays. Here are two Wizard of Oz displays. The first is of the tornado and the second is of Emerald City with the witch flying around it.

Next was a beautiful wreath and candles that Nathan stopped by so I could get a better picture.

Then there was a cute gingerbread house…

The last picture is one of a candy cane factory….

This prompted a discussion of whether or not anyone still makes candy canes by hand. Then that night, Nathan and I watched a show that showed a candy store that does tours in Denver that makes old-fashioned candies by hand including candy canes, so that will definitely be a stop when we go through Colorado.