The Bailey Bunch

2012-02-10T15:49:00.001-07:00

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RANDY'S GRANDPARENTS

2012-02-10T15:42:00.001-07:00

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ENOCH CEMETARY

2012-02-10T14:15:00.005-07:00

AUNT EFFIE LIVED 100 YEARS 8 MONTHS

Today we were close to Enoch TX where Randy's dad grew up. We decided to stop by and visit the gravesites of his family. While we were there a couple that took care of the cemetary came by. They knew our family. His name was Noel Venn. He knew all about the area. He showed us where the church use to be by the tree at the back of the cemetary and accross the street in the wooded area was the school. We passed by the Gilmer courthouse where PaPa said the big Saturday activity was to walk to the courthouse from Enoch and go in the courthouse and flush the toliet and watch the water swirl around. It was a fun stop. What is also interesting is my mom grew up in Longview Tx which is a neighboring city. Her maiden name is Shipp we found some Shipps in the cemetary, however they we still living and had bought a plot.

We are off to Dallas area then to Little Rock Ak, then to Modesto Ca. Hopefully we will be in SLC soon.

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MY SUNSHINE

2011-12-25T11:48:00.001-07:00

Arny and I recorded the song "You Are My Sunshine" for Christmas for the grand kids. I sing that song to the grandkids all the time. Brooklyn has it memorised and sung it for me. Enjoy. We change the words a bit. And no I'm not posting my recording of the song. You're welcome.

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ALMOST THERE

2011-12-23T14:01:00.001-07:00

We are headed to Matt and Shari's for Christmas.

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2011-12-16T23:53:00.001-07:00

This is how I feel some mornings

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EARTHQUAKE

2011-12-01T12:17:00.001-07:00

Last night as I was sleeping I was dreaming we were having a earthquake. I was being thrown all around in the sleeper birth. Then I woke up and looked around and realised I was in the truck. We were on a really bumpy road. It was scary it seemed so real.

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THANKSGIVING IN MESA

2011-11-27T17:17:00.002-07:00

We went to Peter Piper Pizza. After words everyone came out to see the truck.

Granny and Uncle John in the truck

Granny, Jaxson, and Danny at PaPa's house.

We got to spend the holiday with the family in sunny Mesa AZ. Loni, Danny and Jaxson came down from Salt Lake City to spend time with us also. It was a fun time.

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DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS

2011-11-20T15:51:00.002-07:00

Today we are headed to Laredo TX. We have been driving through some pretty barren land. One nice thing is that is has been really warm. We have missed so much of the bad weather so far. We will make this drop off in Laredo then head to Mesa AZ for Thanksgiving

Randy heard a funny joke from our fellow driver friend Verlynn Dees, "if a man is alone in the forest and there is no woman there to hear what he says is he still wrong?"

DANG!!!!

2011-11-16T14:11:00.002-07:00

A police pulled me over just now right in front of this sign. I hope he believes in showing me some grace. My tandems were set to far back for this state. -Update- Grace will be purchased for $100. Isn't that saved by works?

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Hershey PA

2011-11-15T13:01:00.002-07:00

This is a street light in Hershey PA. They line the streets here. It looks like a Hershey Kiss. Some are silver, some are brown.

2011-11-15T10:51:00.001-07:00

We made a drop in Harrisburg PA yesterday and got some much needed rest. Our fridge went out, probally from all the bouncing, so we stopped at Home Depot to get a new one. Then we are off to pick up a load at the Hershey plant in Hershey PA and taking it to SC. I love going to the Hershey plant. It smells like you have died and gone to Heaven. I wish they gave the drivers samples ;)! The weather in the east has been so nice. We are really lucky, we have been missing all the bad weather. We just got approved to go to Mesa AZ for Thanksgiving, so we will be able to see the extended family. This will be our first holiday season to be away from our children and their familey's. I will let you know how that goes.

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11 11 11 11 11

2011-11-11T12:13:00.001-07:00

11:11 am on 11/11/11

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FILLER UP PLEASE

2011-11-10T14:49:00.002-07:00

I recently posted a picture of the gas pump totals after a half fill up. Now here is the whopping total to fill both tanks.

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WHAT'S WORSE THAN LOOKING IN YOUR MIRROR AND SEEING A COP CAR BEHIND YOU?

2011-11-10T14:37:00.003-07:00

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HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY LACEY!!!

2011-11-09T10:51:00.001-07:00

Lacey's finally here! Remember night 1990

Kash's Birth, Lacey and Loni.

Lacey and Lindsey stayed home from church and didn't want to get attached by aliens.

The Sister's

Lindsey, Granny, and Lacey

Poor Lacey.....Lindsey use to get her into all kinds of messes. This is Desitin.

Supercross

Happy Birthday Lacey! Thanks for coming to our family we have had some great times.

NEW YORK UPDATE

2011-11-09T09:54:00.000-07:00

We really wanted to spend some time with Matt's family. We were shooting for Halloween so we could go "trick-or-treating" with the girls. We dropped a trailer off in Buffalo and headed to Rochester about 75 miles away. We got about 35 miles and got a call from the shipper saying that we had forgotten to take our lock off the trailer. Dang. We had to drive all the way back and get our lock off, so by the time we did that, we missed going out "trick-or-treating". We also had some issues with our truck. The trouble lights have been going off. So we had the truck in the shop in Rochester. They fixed the problem and of course found some more. So we stayed the whole week with Matt and Shari. We had a great time as you can see below......

ARRIVING AT MATT AND SHARI'S HOUSE IN ROCHESTER, NY

2011-11-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

GRANDMA GETTING BROOKLYN OFF THE BUS

2011-11-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn loved it when Grandma got her from the bus. The bus stop is right in front of her door.

HALLOWEEN 2011

2011-11-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn and Taylor on Halloween

ERIE CANAL

2011-11-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

We were walking along the Erie Canal and this school rowing team was practicing.

Taylor is a active little girl.

Me and My little boy Matt.

THE CHILDREN'S MUSUEM

2011-11-08T15:19:00.000-07:00

Shari wanted us to go to the children's museum with them. Randy was not excited to go. Finally Shari said "we are going". So we went and had a great time. When we had to leave so Matt could get to class Randy didn't want to leave. This is definitely something we want to come back to and explore.

Taylor shopping at the Wegman's store

Matt in his Bakers Man hat.

Matt, Brooklyn, and me in the leaning house.

THE SACRED GROVE

2011-11-08T13:02:00.002-07:00

Sunday after church we drove to the sacred grove. It is about 35 min. from Matt and Shari's house.

Taylor told us "stinky" this is what we saw after.

Add caption

LUNCH ON THE GO

2011-10-27T13:46:00.001-06:00

People are wondering how I am able to keep my weight down and even loose weight while sitting on my behind all day. First I must admit I did a 28 day juice fast and lost weight. Then to maintain I have been good MOST of the time eating protiens, veggies, and fruit. This is my typical meal. Turkey meat with horseradish mustard, veggies with ranch dip, and an apple. For breakfast I have a greek yogurt plane, with oat bran, walnuts, cinnamon, vanilla, and splenda. I also eat sunflower seeds a lot to stay awake. We usually shop at Walmart for our food. If we eat at the truck stops I usually get a Subway sub or salad. I do get my occausional bag of M & M's.

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WHERE ARE WE TODAY

2011-10-27T13:31:00.001-06:00

We are picking up a load in the Kansas City area. This is us on a bridge crossing over the Missouri River. We are headed to Oregon. Then back east again hopefully, to spend Halloween with the grand kids in Rochester.

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OOPS AGAIN!

2011-10-26T16:46:00.001-06:00

THIS IS DEER FUR. YEP RANDY HIT A DEER. POOR DEER.

IT HIT OUR BUMPER AND TOOK OUT THE HEAD LIGHT.

THE LIGHT WAS ACTUALLY WORKING JUST THE LENS BROKE.

WE GOT NEW PARTS AT THE VOLVO STORE IN SIOUX CITY IA. (THANK YOU ENGLAND INSURANCE) RANDY DID HIS HANDY WORK AND PUT ALL THE PIECES BACK TOGETHER AGAIN HIMSELF SO WE DIDN'T HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER DAY FOR THEM TO FIX IT.

WAAALAAA!! ALL BETTER. NO MORE ZIP TIES

CAN YOU SAY "OUCH"

2011-10-26T16:16:00.001-06:00

This is how much it costs to fill one tank. We have 2. We hold about 220 gallons.

MOUNT RUSHMORE

2011-10-26T16:06:00.000-06:00

This was so awesome. This gave me the same sensation of wonder as when I saw the Grand Canyon, and Chichen Itza, for the first time.

Not one worker died while making this monument.

Hey Matt Bailey worked on Mount Rushmore!

This is the hall of flags.

This is what the finished Mount Rushmore should look like. It was never completed.

It was cold. Winter is on it's way!

This is the view that the Presidential faces are looking at.

This is the man that created Mount Rushmore. He was 58 when he started this project. This gave me hope that I can still do something grand before I bite the dust. He could be on one of those new Mormon ads. He would say " I'm a bust, the creator of Mount Rushmore, a father of 2 children and I'm a Mormon"

HELLO GOOD BUDDIES ANYONE OUT THERE?

2011-10-24T19:38:00.000-06:00

Is anyone reading this? Leave me some comments if you are. It keeps me encouraged to keep posting. If you have any questions feel free to ask also. We really are working along with all this playing, promise.

WENATCHEE RIVER

2011-10-23T19:31:00.001-06:00

Randy at the rivers edge. (Eating a apple).

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APPLE ORCHARD

2011-10-23T19:30:00.006-06:00

Wenatchee is the apple capital of the world. At least that is what is says on the sign coming into town.

WENATCHEE WASHINGTON

2011-10-23T18:01:00.001-06:00

We were able to go to church today at Wenatchee river ward. It has been a beautiful day. This is a beautiful city. One of my favorites.

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Arnica's Gig

2011-10-21T23:51:00.004-06:00

We got to go see Randys brother Arny perform with the band Stir Crazy in Washington.

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SALMON HATCHERY

2011-10-21T11:23:00.007-06:00

We watched the final moments of the 7 year life span of some salmon fish as they returned to their original birth place to spawn.

2011-10-20T17:41:00.007-06:00

TOUR MOVIE OF "BIG RED"

2011-10-20T09:42:00.000-06:00

CHICAGO

2011-10-19T19:17:00.012-06:00

DOWNTOWN CHICAGO. I LOVE THIS PLACE


				Lions and Tigers and Bears....Oh My RANDY WAS DRIVING LAST NIGHT NEAR COLUMBUS OHIO, WHEN HE SAW A DEAD ANIMAL ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. WE SEE LOTS OF DEER ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THIS LOOKED DIFFERENT TO HIM, IT HAD A LONG TAIL. AS HE DROVE BY HE NOTICED IT WAS AN AFRICAN LION. WHEN I WOKE UP HE TOLD ME ABOUT IT. I WAS THINKING "A LION IN OHIO?" WELL MOST OF YOU PROBABLY HEARD BY NOW ABOUT THE MAN THAT LET ALL OF THESE EXOTIC ANIMALS OUT, THEN KILLED HIMSELF. WELL RANDY SAW ONE OF THE LIONS THAT HAD BEEN HIT BY A CAR. WE LATER READ THAT THE LION WAS STILL ALIVE AT THAT POINT. THE POLICE HADN'T FINISHED IT OFF YET. GOOD THING WE DIDN'T GET OUT OF THE TRUCK TO LOOK AT IT!

OOPS

2011-10-19T19:09:00.005-06:00

OK SO.......WE PARKED FOR THE NIGHT AT A TRUCK STOP. AS I WAS BACKING OUT I HEARD A SCRAPPING NOISE. YOU MIGHT KNOW THE NOISE; WHEN YOU PARK OVER A CURB AND BACK OUT AND IT SCRAPES NO BIG DEAL. WELL WE FOUND OUT IN A SEMI IT IS A BIG DEAL, STOP AND LOOK! WELL WE DIDN'T STOP AND LOOK, AS WE WERE ENTERING THE ON RAMP WE COULD HEAR LOUD SCRAPPING, THEN WE HEARD SOMETHING FALL OFF, THEN WE HEARD THE TIRES RUN OVER SOMETHING. WHEN I COULD I PULLED OVER. RANDY RAN BACK (IN THE DARK) AND RETRIEVED OUR FRONT BUMPER, LICENSE PLATE AND ALL. OOPS. WE STOPPED AT A REST AREA AND RANDY DID HIS MCGYVER THING AND FIXED THE BUMPER BY DRILLING HOLES IN IT AND ZIP-TYING IT ON. YOU CAN SEE THE ZIP TIES BY HIS HAND. THANK GOODNESS FOR ZIP TIES AND DUCT TAPE.

AMISH COUNTRY MILLERSBURG OHIO

2011-10-19T18:54:00.002-06:00

We dropped a load off here. I was so impressed at how clean it was. Also we got there late in the night and all the stores alone the street had all of their merchandise still out on the porches of the stores.

OUR VISIT TO MY MISSION, ROANOKE VA

2011-10-19T18:41:00.004-06:00

This is where the mission home use to be in Roanoke. The church sold some of the land. There is now a retirement and rest home on part of the property and this chapel.

This door on the right is my first apt on my mission.

The famous Roanoke Star.

Randy and the Hoffmans

Me and the Hoffmans. This is a family I taught on my mission. They picked us up and gave us a tour of Roanoke. We spent the night with them and I got to take a bath in her huge tub. I must say, I miss my bath time in my big tub I use to have. People ask me if I miss any of the comforts of having a home. I tell them I miss my tub and I miss my lawn. I loved mowing the lawn. Other than that I love the freedom of not having a home and the stress of keeping up.

OOPS AGAIN!

2011-10-19T18:27:00.002-06:00

This is what happens when you listen exclusively to the GPS not your brain. I took a wrong turn and ended up on a country road.

Randy's version:

Dena woke me up with one of her "Randy??? I need your help....." and this is what I saw. We were on a dirt road in the middle of a corn field. With no place to turn around. I didn't know how far into it we were or even where any paved roads were. We had to drive around it (about 2 miles) to get back to pavement.

MORE VACATION PICTURES

2011-10-19T18:22:00.001-06:00


She's gone country! I'm just dressing the part of a trucker.

French Quarters. New Orleans

The Mississippi River

Shop in the French Quarters.

We stayed in New Orleans a day after our cruise to visit the French Quarters. The architecture of the French Quarters was beautiful. It's quite the party place and some VERY dicey areas. I actually was glad to get out of there after a hour or so.

CRUISE FROM NEW ORLEANS TO COSTA MAYA, ROATAN, BELIZE, COZUMEL

2011-09-21T08:06:00.003-06:00

This is a very rare encounter with a Hammerhead Shark while diving in Belize. Randy took this picture of me and a 15' hammerhead. It came to within 30' of us. We also had a dive master with us. The dive master has only seen 3 others in the 30 years he has been diving there.

FUTURE TRUCKER MOMMAS

2011-09-07T22:16:00.004-06:00

Shari, Brooklyn and Taylor (daughter-in-law and grand kids) came and visited us near Buffalo, NY. We took them to dinner and had a good time. Matt couldn't make it because of work.

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NEW YORK

2011-09-07T22:15:00.004-06:00

We got a good surprise today. Our route got changed at the last minute. Instead of going to Dallas they sent us to Buffalo area. That's about 1 hour from Matt and Shari and the 2 grankids. So Shari drove out with the kids and we got to go to dinner. It was a fun visit. Matt couldn't make it. We go to see him last week when he was in Salt Lake.

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2011-09-07T22:15:00.003-06:00

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Loading in Rexburg ID

2011-09-07T07:27:00.001-06:00

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2011-09-07T07:25:00.005-06:00

More taters

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2011-09-07T07:25:00.004-06:00

A warehouse full of Idaho Taters.

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TEN THINGS I HAVE LEARNED FROM TRUCKING

2011-09-07T06:57:00.001-06:00

1. America is really Beautiful.
2. The grain really looks like amber waves.
3. Port-a-pottys build internal pressure when driving in high elevation. This was a hard lesson to learn.
4. Yes! I do like being around my husband this much.
5. Most people in the world are nice, hard working, honest people.
6. I generally have to go to the potty every 4 hours.
7. Most people don't know how to merge onto a on ramp. They go way to slow, or stop.
8. Motorcycles don't have a chance if they crash on the freeway.
9. I couldn't do this job by myself. I need 2 things: my husband and the GPS
10. I'm surprised at how much I like this job.

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Downtown Pittsburgh

2011-09-07T06:28:00.004-06:00

We are in Pittsburgh this morning. Then we pick up aload here and head to Dallas.

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Pedi on the Road.

2011-09-05T15:45:00.001-06:00

I've been trying to keep up on the toes.

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Truck Stop

2011-09-05T15:42:00.002-06:00

My friend Maryann sent me a beautiful sunset picture from the beach in San Diego where she was visiting. In return I sent her a beautiful picture of the truck stop where we were staying.

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Omaha Zoo

2011-09-05T15:28:00.002-06:00

We had some extra time and decided to go to the zoo. If you get a chance to go here it's a great zoo.

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THE NET

2011-07-01T12:28:00.000-06:00

Randy made this "make shift" net out of rope. We store all of the important things we need to take with us on the top bunk. As I was driving and Randy was sleeping I kept hearing bumps and bangs, when I finished driving and stopped to see what the noises were, I saw we had a big pile of things that had fallen. (He is a heavy sleeper). They make a bunk net for the top bunk. We have one on the sleeper bunk below, that keeps you somewhat safe if you are sleeping and get in a accident. We tried to get one before we left for the top bunk but they didn't have any in stock. Hence the creation of Randy to keep things in place,

DOOBIE BROTHERS

2011-06-25T23:52:00.002-06:00

We got side tracked and stopped and saw the Doobie Brothers tonight. It was so fun. Off to Laredo now.

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OUR FIRST TRIP IN "BIG RED"

2011-06-25T16:12:00.003-06:00

We finally got out of SLC. We are headed to Laredo TX. So far it's been a great trip. Our truck runs so much smoother than anything we have driven before. We stopped in Monticello UT last night for some rest at a beautiful rest stop. If you're ever up that way be sure and stop there.
The funniest thing I saw today was a elderly man walking down the side of the highway holding the reins of his horse in one hand and rolling his oxygen tank in the other. He was just out for a stroll with his horse.
One nice thing is since we were in SLC for 6 weeks it gave the weather a chance to get all that rain finished.
We also got to make our first pizza in our toaster oven. It was good. Now we just need to try out biscuits in it. (Family joke)

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LINDZ MEETS "BIG RED"

2011-06-25T15:55:00.003-06:00

Lindsey came to see our new truck. We gave her the grand tour. Took about 10 minutes. haha

Grandmas Guppies

2011-06-20T22:00:00.003-06:00

We are still in Salt Lake City. Matt and Shari are visiting Utah. I got to go swim with all my grandkids.

Hopefully our truck and us will be on the road Wenesday.

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R V LIFE.

2011-06-14T20:55:00.001-06:00

We are still just hanging out in the parking lot at England waiting to get our truck on the road.

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The Swimming accident

2011-05-29T18:45:00.001-06:00

I hit my elbow going down a slide with my grandson.

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The accident

2011-05-18T16:50:00.000-06:00

This is the love kiss I gave this trailer with my trailer. Big oops.

It was a stupid accident. I should of been more careful.

2011-05-18T16:48:00.001-06:00

We have been driving for about 2 months now. We have been back and forth across the US many times. It's amazing how beautiful America is. With one exception. I 80 in Wyoming. When the wind blows it wants to throw you off the road. The ice on the roads is terrible. For the past few months we have been driving a red England truck. This is our truck at the rest stop. A lot of people tell us they look for us in the big trucks. We will be in a truck that has a trailer that has CR England written on the side. Randy is in AZ today getting surgery on his hand and when he is better he will pick out a truck for us to buy. When he gets it I will be able to tell you the color and truck number then you all can find us on the road.

At the worlds largest truck stop in Iowa. They have everything there.

They have 2 semi's in the building

I don't have any idea where this is at.

This is what was left after we sold everything. We also have our truck and RV. We live out of the RV at England parking lot.

This is Blue Moon ice cream only to be found in Wisconsin

Everyone asks us how we like driving. We like it. Sometimes we look at each other and can't believe we are doing this and like it. I guess we are just weird. It's fun to see all the country. It's nice if you loose something you have such a small area to find it in. Our luxury item is a port-a-potty. That has saved us many a time. You get to meet lots of different people. You learn lots of new words not spoken in Utah.....for example..... oh never mind. I can just say this and not get into to much trouble. "Me and my old man enjoy being together." The worst thing about trucking for me is, well there is 2. #1 is diarrhea. #2 is backing up. I will try and be better about updating my blog. We have been really busy.

Empty House

2011-04-10T17:33:00.000-06:00

2011-04-10T17:30:00.000-06:00

Can you see the crack in the screen? This should teach all of us not to tease Lindsey.

The End of A Era

2011-04-10T17:28:00.000-06:00

We took 3 tons of stuff to the dump. In this trip we dumped all of Randy's business stuff. 30 years worth of plans. Whew

MOVING

2011-04-09T23:42:00.000-06:00

Every night I say I'm going to update the blog but I'm just to tired. We have spent all week packing, dump runs, cleaning, painting, etc.... I will get you all updated soon as I recover.

Our New York Visit.

2011-03-26T23:30:00.000-06:00

Taylor didn't know who we were and cried when we held her. After a hour she was handing out kisses on demand.

2011-03-26T21:34:00.000-06:00

Grandpa and Grandma Bailey and Brooklyn Bailey

THIRD WEEK ON THE ROAD

2011-03-26T12:19:00.001-06:00

We got to visit with Matt and Shari and Brooklyn and Taylor this week. This is me and Taylor.

Brooklyn on the top bunk with her dog "pinkie winkie"

You can see how high the tractor ceiling is in this shot. Matt is 6' 4" and he has plenty of room.

Our big excitement this week was that our Trainer, Roy arranged for us to do a pick up close to Matt and Shari in New York as a surprise. So we called Matt and they drove about 2 hours and came to where we were picking up a load of peanut butter. We got to show them inside of the truck. "Big Red". Matt said it was good that Brooklyn got to see the inside of the truck because she couldn't quite grasp how we lived in the truck. She thought we lived in the trailer. Now she understands. We went to Denny's and visited for about 2 hours. It was so nice seeing all the family.

On our way home we saw a convoy of military vehicles and a helicopter escorting a semi transporting something of high security. There was about 20 armored cars with guns mounted on the top. I wonder what was in that trailer???

We also saw a bad accident involving two semi trucks. They shut down I 80 east to clean that one up. I think what happened was one truck ran into the back of the other one very hard and fast. It looked like a explosion.

We got a call from our driving trainer Bart this week. He monitors all the events of the truck from the home base at England in Salt Lake. I got a call that went something like this.... BART: Dena we have monitored your speed and in a three week period you have violated the speed limit 57 times. DENA: Wow is that a new record? BART: No DENA: oops I was told that the company policy is to drive 5 miles under the posted speed limit. BART: Not for trainees it's 60 mph. We just want you to be safe. DENA: OK I will slow it down to 60. Randy got the same call but Bart lost connection with Randy. The bottom line is we can't drive over 60 mps while in training. Bummer in a big truck like that it feels like you can get out and run faster than the truck is moving.

Next week is our last run with our trainer. We have been so blessed to have the trainer we have. We will test again after our final run then if/when we pass we will be given a company truck to drive for the next 2 months on our own. They will probally put a governer on the truck which regulates the speed. Untill next week..............

2011-03-21T09:54:00.000-06:00

Our home is on it's way to closing. We have to be out by May 2nd. Our RV has a new transmission and is ready to be our homestead. We will park it at the truck lot and live in it when we are home. Which won't be much.

Last week we went by the NFL hall of fame in Canton Ohio. It was a quick drive by on the freeway. I got to drive down Parley's Canyon with it's 6% grade. That was a fear of mine. But I did fine. We are doing better shifting. Randy is better than me. But I'm getting it. We have 2 more weeks with the trainer, then on our own for 8 weeks. Then we officially graduate. We are off again so toot a loo

2011-03-13T19:13:00.000-06:00

We had family day at the truck yard. Danny, Jaxson and Lacey came and checked out our rig.

2011-03-12T18:27:00.002-07:00

This bus took everyone to the DMV to get our real license after we all passed the road test

Our graduating class. After everyone got back from the DMV we got our certificate of compleation. We have 2 more phases untill we offically graduate.

These are a few of our friends from class. They all have stories and have come a long way. I wish them all the best.

This guy has the same name as my father who has passed away. When they said his name in class I knew it was a good omen.

This is my friend from Pheonix who just came here with a hoodie. She about froze. I brought her a warm coat.

Right after we graduated we found out we were leaving to Ohio with our new trainer. Our trainer is really nice. He was trainer of the year. He said when he first saw us he thought it was a joke. He said we are out of our element. He calles us Ward and June Cleaver from the 60's show "Leave it to Beaver". We call him Wally. We left Monday night in a snow storm. He drove us through the storm because we were driving on ice. SCARRY We drove to Ohio and dropped of the load then picked up another one and drove back to SLC. We got home Friday about 4pm. People always ask how do we sleep. Well I drive in the morning into the afternoon and Randy sits with me in the front while the trainer sleeps, then Randy and I would switch, then our trainer would drive through the night while Randy and I slept. We stopped to shower and fuel but were rolling all the other times. We will be doing the same route for 3 more weeks.

2011-03-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

We finished our classroom portion and are now in Phase one. We leave tonight for Idaho and pick up a trailer then deliver it to Cincinnati Ohio then back on Friday. I have a lot of pictures but don't have time to post. Here we gooooooooooo

2011-03-04T20:30:00.001-07:00

Today I think is Friday. I had two BIG tests left today. Randy only had one left. I had to do all the pre-trip inspection. This is where we have to make sure everything is properly mounted and secured and a lot of other safety checks on the whole rig. It takes about 1/2 hour in my case. I'm sure my tester was trying not to laugh when I accidentally called the air bags by my nick name "the utters", and the slack adjuster the thingy that is supposed to be at 90 degrees at the end of the push rod. We could miss 12 I think and I passed. I didn't ask how many I missed but I felt like I did pretty good. Randy really helped me by teaching me all the parts and how they worked so it all made sense when I look at things. After I did that we had a 40 minute to 1 hour road test. If your trailer wheels hit the curb it was a auto fail, if you stopped where you couldn't see the line, auto fail.... on and on. When I made it back to the yard and I was ready to be finished the tester said if you don't hit anything before we stop you passed. YEAH. Randy passed also. PARTY time. After all the people in the class finished testing we met back in the room and out of about 100 a week ago I counted 35 in the class. I say this again. So you all can understand if you think this is easy your are dead wrong. I am so thankful Randy and I did this together. He has help me so much. Specially the one day when I was to sick to get out of bed and he gently talked me into going.

Tomorrow we are in orientation Then graduation on Monday.

2011-03-03T20:49:00.003-07:00

This is Randy. Dena has done a great job documenting our adventure. She has learned so much and stuck with it when it would have been much easier to just give up, especially when she was so sick.

To what she has written, I might add that they separate husbands and wives for the in town training but keep them together for the 30 and 60 day out of town training phases. Now that we have completed the in town training we should be together the rest of the time. That is important to us. The weird part will be when we start driving together. I have never been in the truck with Dena while she is driving and visa versa. I have no idea how she is doing nor her of me. Will we be able to sleep while the other is driving? We'll see.

The hardest part of driving, for me, was also shifting. I have been shifting cars for 40 years and have had to totally reprogram my muscle memory to shift this new way. It's not a double clutch. That would have been easier. It is like Dena has sad. It's really hard to get used to. But I think I have it pretty good now. Also, the transmissions have a low and a high range. You go through gears 1-4 in the standard "H" pattern and then pull up on a little lever under the shift handle to go into high range and then shift gears 5-8 just like you did 1-4 (except you don't use 1st). The problem comes when you start down shifting and have to remember to push the lever back down to the low range gears when you go from 5th to 4th. Down shifting can also be a little tough as the transmission is not synchronized so you have to rev the engine to get the gears to mesh properly. All of this while you are trying to brake. Think about it. How do you brake and rev the engine at the same time without passing up the stop sign?

I am as excited as ever about getting out on the open road with my honey. What an adventure we are having!

2011-03-03T19:29:00.006-07:00

I'm alive!!! I got so sick. Most of the class and teachers are sick also. Standing out in the wind last Friday did some major damage to the class. Some were so sick they had to go home others were quarantined. If you miss one day they put you on what is call a "hold over", which means you will have to stay 1 more week to finish class. That in itself is enough to get you there even if you are on your death bed.
We have been out on the road around town all week. We learned shifting one day, turns the next, then city driving and mountains and freeway. Tomorrow we do our driving test. We have four students in our truck with the teacher. We take turns driving. I'm having the most difficult time with the shifting. It's different than what you are use to if you have driven a standard before. You clutch in to come out of gear into neutral, then from neutral the clutch is out and you rub the next gear and press gently on the gas peddle and it slips into gear. You can't shift on a turn or over a railroad track. That is a big NO NO on the driving test. If you run over the curb with the trailer wheels auto FAIL.
My brain is fried. I've lost 6 lbs since we started (which is a good thing). I just want to be done. On the first day I wanted to be up early so I would have plenty of time to be all cute and dressed nice. Second day pretty much the same. Third day same. Fourth day starting to take short cuts but still looking good. Fifth day just dress for warm who cares. Sixth day and on... get up as late as possible stuff the hair under a ski cap no make up and understand why all the girls get to that point.
"If", I mean "when", its all over tomorrow and I have passed all the testing I will be so glad we did this. It has not been easy. I couldn't have done this by myself nor would I want to. I'm so glad we are doing this together.
I will see if I can get Randy to write a post so you can get his perspective.

2011-02-27T19:26:00.003-07:00

Unfortunately we had to go to school today on Sunday. Another long day. I did the backing test and passed. WHEW!!!!! We are now working on the pre inspection test. That is all the part of the truck you have to inspect before you leave and after every stop. We heard the worst story today about how important it is to do the pre test. A man had been driving for a few years so he was an experienced driver. He got into some rain and was very tired so he stopped at a rest stop and slept for a few hours then jumped into the drivers set and took off. After driving down the road about 100 miles two sheriffs pulled up behind him with their lights on. He first thought they were going to pass him and were on their way to an accident. He realized they wanted him to stop. When he pulled over they told him a homeless guy had climbed under his truck to stay out of the rain and to sleep. When he took off, the guy's backpack got stuck in the rotating tires and they sucked him in and killed him. The driver was in his 30's and had a wife and 2 kids and was convicted for vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to 22 years.

On the happy side Randy met someone coming back to school after being out on his 30 day phase 1 training and said he loved it. He traveled all over the US.

We are hoping we get to NY so we can see Matt, Shari, Brooklyn, and Taylor. That would be so cool. I miss my Brooklyn so much.

2011-02-26T19:26:00.003-07:00

What a day!!! It was snowing today and we were outside most of the day. Randy and I came very prepared with all our snow gear so we stayed warm and toasty. Everyone keeps making fun of us how bundled up we are. I told Randy today the next person that makes fun of me I'm going to reply "This IS the Rockies" like in Dumb and Dumber.

Today we learned the third and final backing maneuver. Parallel parking. To me this was like birthing a baby, wondering how is this big head going to get out of this small hole. Sorry to be so graphic, but that was exactly what went through my mind. Here we have a 73 foot semi that has to fit in a 88 foot hole by parallel parking. You might be saying "Oh piece of cake". Haw!!! It brought me to tears. I was ready to quit. I had every know-it-all, red neck guy in the place telling me a different way to accomplish it that was "The right way". I finally chilled, and sat it out for a bit, and blubbered, then waited for Randy to pass off all his backing skills with flying colors, then he helped me. Well it worked. After most of the other people went to dinner Randy and I had a truck to ourselves and he talked me through it a time or two then I could do it good enough to feel like I can pass it off tomorrow. The written test and the backing skills are what has had me worried even before we started school. I passed the written test and feel really confident about the backing skills now. WHEW

2011-02-25T18:10:00.004-07:00

On the first day at England we did a lot of paper work and medical stuff to be able to get our medical release card. We had to have that card to present to the DMV to take our test. So the first thing we had to do was a drug test. We waited in a line and had to pee in a cup. I referred to the line as the pee line. Then we had to get a blood pressure and eye test. We then had to go out to the trailer pictured below and be able to do a duck walk under it and back. That was hard for me with my bad knee and the test I was most worried about. They had the back of the trailer open and we did more testing, getting in and out of it, and inside lifting weights 40 lbs over our head. Then we had to meet with the Dr and she went over any questions on the forms we filled out and general physical stuff. It took all day and some of the 2nd day.

This is waiting for the FUN physical. It wasn't to bad for me, I didn't have to turn and cough like the guys.

This is Randy waiting where the pee line was.

2011-02-25T17:45:00.003-07:00

Day two: Study, study, and more study. This is our teacher and classroom. The teacher's name is Jim. But after being in class one day I call him Job, as in the Bible Job. In my book God's greatest creation is the diversity of each human on this earth. Well in this class you see and hear it all. The variety of people and personalities, or the lack thereof, in some cases is amazing. It doesn't phase him. He just keeps on teaching in a patient, polite and respectful manner.

The big push on the first and second day is to get you ready to take the CDL exam on the 3rd day so you can get your permit and get out on the range and start learning to back up on the 4th day.

2011-02-25T17:24:00.003-07:00

Friday 25th of February. Today we learned how to back from one space to a space to our right and behind. If you follow the instruction it was not to bad. As soon as I tried it just by "feel" I didn't do so well. We both got to try 4 times. If we feel like we can do it tomorrow we can test and see if we pass. We did straight backing yesterday night. Randy and I are in different groups. There is about 10 groups of 5 to 6. So we stand out in the freezing cold wind. It's really cold for us and we live here and have winter ski clothes I feel for the people who thought just a hoodie would be warm enough. In their defense they probably don't even own a coat. Today was a hard day. I need a warm bath and an attitude change and REST. This up at 5am is killing me off.

The Adventure Begins.

2011-02-20T20:22:00.003-07:00

Randy and I have decided to make some BIG life changing decisions. NO we are not getting plastic surgery! (I wish! ) We decided we wanted to change Randy's profession and do something together. After much consideration we have decided to go into trucking. We will be team drivers. We start school tomorrow Morning at 6am. YIKES!!! We are use to; bed at 2 am and up at 10 am. I have all my essentials packed for our 5:30 am departure. Protein bars, water, almonds, protein drink, bananas, Excedrin, no dose, brush, hat, gloves, coat, lip stick, etc. I have been practicing the online CDL written test. Randy taught me how to back up the trailer, (which he is a pro at) in the Kmart parking lot. He said I did good. We shall see. He took me to "THE" school 2 weeks ago so I wouldn't be totally freaked out tomorrow. I was glad he prepared me. The first guy I met was a guy who had been driving for CR England for 18 months. I had a lot of questions for him to help ease my fears, but as soon as he look at me I knew I would be fine. He was cross eyed. I have nothing against cross eyed people I just knew if he could do it so could EYE.

So my friends and family, I will try to keep you all up to date on our outrageous and exciting adventure. Please forgive my lack of english and spelling skills and enjoy the ride with us.

2010-11-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

Lacey's ROTC gang got to run the BYU vs UTAH game ball. The BYU ROTC ran from BYU to the point of the mountain. Then UTAH ROTC ran from point of the mountain to Rice Eccles Stadium. They ran in groups and took turns following in 2 vans. So they would run then ride.

Water Park 2010

2010-11-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

When Brooklyn came this summer to visit we went to the water park in Alpine. The kids had a great time

2010-11-26T16:27:00.000-07:00

Making our Spooky ginger bread houses 2010

2010-11-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

Jaxson, Kash, Loni and I made these spooky gingerbread houses.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

We went to the neighbors farm and picked pumpkins for Halloween. Jaxson, Kash, and Grandma

PaPa's 80th Birthday Party

2010-11-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

I now know how to fit 80 candles on a birthday cake. You split them up on 4 cakes. We had so much fun being in Mesa with the family for Papa's 80th Birthday party.

Lacey at ROTC training

2010-11-26T12:21:00.000-07:00

LACEY IN HER ARMY UNIFORM

2010-08-22T19:58:00.000-06:00

Lacey got her uniform for ROTC. She is trying to get into the nursing program with the army. The goal is to be ready by January to enter Westminster. GO Lacey!!

2010-06-27T17:59:00.002-06:00

On Friday we went to Salt Lake to visit The Hoffman's. I taught them when I was on my mission in Roanoke Virginia. They just finished (Friday) serving their mission in the new Church Library. They have been here for a year and a half. We went to say our goodbye's. I will miss seeing them. It has been a wonderful experience to have them serving here. Shari's brother Adam is going to the mission the Hoffman's now live in. So we took Adam to meet them. Hopefully he will get to serve in Roanoke sometime and enjoy the Hoffman's like I have. Matt, Shari, Brooklyn and Baby Taylor.

Randy, Wilson Hoffman, And Matt.

This is the Hoffman's, Randy and I, Shari's brother Adam and their nephew Jake, Matt, Shari, and Brooklyn

2010-06-27T17:53:00.000-06:00

2010-06-27T17:35:00.002-06:00

Matt and Shari and the kids are here for 3 weeks. Saturday we had a fun day playing in the water. And celebrating a late Fathers day. We had a slip and slide (well 2 actually to make 1 long one), the hose under the trampoline, the sprinklers in the grass, water in Grandmas trailer to her tractor. Loni said "you might be a redneck when you fill the John Deer trailer with water to make a pool." I actually took the kids around the neighborhood for a ride in the trailer with the water still in it. We topped the night off with a Bonn fire and sommores. It was one of the perfect days I will always remember.

LINDSEY'S 21st BIRTHDAY PARTY

2010-04-27T22:34:00.002-06:00

Lindsey turned 21 on April 14th. We had a family party. Loni made her the coolest cake ever. We had a nice BBQ then played games. If you have ever seen Minute To Win It on TV, that is the type of games we played. We had to put pantie hoes over our head with a grapefruit in the leg and try to knock down 5 water bottles. Suck up cotton balls with your nose and transfer them to another bowl, and others. We had a fun time. Happy Birthday Lindsey

2010-04-27T22:25:00.000-06:00

2010-04-27T22:21:00.000-06:00

2010-04-27T22:16:00.000-06:00

2010-01-21T17:59:00.003-07:00

Here is the latest photos of our newest addition. Taylor Bailey. Matt and Shari and Brooklyn are in NY and we sure miss them. They will be coming to visit in March. We are so excited!!

Daddy (Matt) and his girls

2010-01-21T17:58:00.001-07:00