When Shayla Married Danny

May 31, 2014.

The day I became Mrs. Danny Box, Jr.

I have to say the whole weekend of our wedding was everything I expected and MORE!  I gotta give a huge shout-out to my family for making it all possible!  Since Danny and I were on the road, they took over the planning and they did an amazing job!  We could not have pulled off such a beautiful event without them!  From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!

Ok, now on to the good stuff!  We got our pictures in and I've been anxious to share a few of them with you all!  Our photographer was Keshia Schnider.  She and her husband Aaron did a fabulous job!  They were very professional and easy to work with.  I would highly recommend her!  Thank you to my sister/bridesmaid Holly for doing the research and finding Keshia!

Some of the detail on my dress.

I absolutely LOVED my bouquet from Jan's Flowers in Minco!  She did a wonderful job on all the flowers!  Plus, she's a joy to work with!

Anyone who knows me knows I'm NOT a high heels kind of gal so I opted for sparkly Toms!  The key belonged to my Nana.  I found it in an old tin cup of hers that I have.  It has various odd and ends in it.  I saw the key and decided to wear it in my shoe when I got married.  She never got to meet Danny but I am absolutely certain she would have loved him.  She told me once while she was laying in a hospital bed that I would someday find someone to love me unconditionally and treat me the way I deserved to be treated.  Once again, my Nana was right.  ;-)

I love this shot of our rings and the marriage license.

This is probably my favorite 'getting ready shot.'  My sister has always been there for me and there is no one else I would rather have standing up next to me while I married the man of my dreams!  Sisters Sanders 'til the END!!!!!  ;-)

Danny and the kids:  Alyssa, Danny III and Aaron.

Me and my bridesmaids:  Alyssa and Holly.

A pre-wedding bridal shot.

A pre-wedding groom shot.  Seriously can't believe I'm married to such a handsome man!!

Danny and his groomsmen:  Aaron and Danny III

I love this 'around the door' shot of us before the wedding.  It was so comforting to feel my groom squeezing my hand.  Getting closer!!!!

Drey and Olivia, the cutest little ring bearer and flower girl!  They were convinced this was their wedding, not mine and Danny's!

Here comes the bride!  Escorted by my Daddy Bill.  I came down the aisle to one of my favorite songs by Billy Joel called "You're My Home."  The song suits Danny and I so very well.

My beautiful and talented friend Camille Harp played a Chris Knight song called "Saved By Love."  She put her own unique spin on it and it was absolutely perfect.

I love this picture of Danny and I enjoying Camille's singing.  It was nice to just soak in the moment.

Our minister was Ezell Nelson from New Life Church in Chickasha.  This is the third time Ezell has officiated a wedding for our family.  He is such an amazing person and pastor!

You may kiss your bride!!

Finally we are husband and wife!!!  I swear this smile was on Danny's face the entire day!  Pure happiness :)

Here's a few post-wedding bride and groom shots:

Such an amazing day.  It went off pretty much perfectly!  The reception at the USAO ballroom was a blast!  The staff over there are exceptional!  They take care of everything in such a professional manner!

Thank you to my friends who attended.  I know who my true friends are.  I wish we could have spent more time with each of you but please know your being there meant the world to us!

Thank you to our families.   Some travelled a great distance to celebrate with us.  We love you and appreciate you!  We are always here for you, in good times and bad.

At certain points in my life, I wondered if I would ever meet the right man and get married.  Sometimes the prospect just seemed absolutely hopeless.  I was 35 years old when I met Danny.  I had decided to just focus on myself and let the chips fall where they may and then literally I turned around and there he was.  We met at a time in both our lives when we needed to be saved.  The circumstances weren't perfect but it worked out perfectly.  He is the most honest, genuine, caring, loving, hard working person I have ever known.  His love for me is overwhelming and he never misses an opportunity to let me know how beautiful I am and how much he loves me.  We are not perfect people but we are perfect for each other.

I am blessed beyond compare.



Cheers!!!

Following the ghost of Roy Orbison.

We started this line tramp adventure in Vernon, Texas on March 20, 2013.  I did a little research on the town of Vernon and discovered it was the birthplace of Roy Orbison on April 23, 1936.  My Nana was a big fan of Roy Orbison so I grew up listening to his music.

We arrived at our current location in Wink, Texas this past Sunday.  Yesterday I was out driving around and checking out this tiny Texas town.  I came upon a little white building with a big mural of Roy Orbison on the side.  I did a little research and guess what?  Wink was his boyhood home!  According to his Wikipedia page, the family left Vernon during the Great Depression in search of work.  They moved to Fort Worth where young Roy attended elementary school until a polio scare prompted a move back to Vernon.  The family later moved to Wink.  Orbison described Wink as  "football, oil fields, oil, grease and sand"

While attending Wink High School, Roy and some friends formed a band called The Wink Westerners.  He would eventually graduate from Wink High School.

What a crazy coincidence, huh?

Here is the Roy Orbison mural that grabbed my attention.  Upon further exploration, I discovered the building is actually the Roy Orbison Museum.  The museum is open by appointment only and I do plan on calling up there one day and taking a look around!

Here's a short video montage I found on You Tube.  A sneak peak inside the Roy Orbison Museum!

Here are a few pictures I took yesterday:

In 1988, Orbison was brought back to rock-n-roll prominence by being a part of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys alongside Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.  Roy died of a heart attack on December 6, 1988.  As a tribute to him, the video for "End of the Line" shows his guitar rocking in a rocking chair and a brief shot of a framed photo of him.  I remember instantly loving the Traveling Wilburys when this song came out!  Greatness!!!!

Cheers!

A couple of camper tips!

Happy beautiful Saturday everyone!  It is indeed lovely here in west Texas today!!  Looking at a high around 66 degrees today and no wind!

The weather is lovely, the scenery…..not so much……..but more on that later ;-)

I thought I'd share with you a couple of 'inventions' I've come up with while living in our 5th wheel.  We've been on the road 'tramping' for almost a year now and I've learned a lot about utilizing space and keeping things organized!  These two things are key when living life on the road in a camper!  I think these two little ideas can also work well in your home!

Danny has several belts and they are a real pain to keep organized and looking neat!  I've tried hanging them on hangers in the closet and rolling them up and storing them in the top of the closet but it just seems to always end up in a mess!  So here's what I came up with:

I up-cycled a full size coffee can into a belt storage container!  Just roll up your belts and stack them inside.  I was able to fit five of Danny's belts into the container and still get the lid on.  If I had some craft supplies here with me I'd probably dress up the can a bit.  I'm thinking I might save that as a project for Alyssa to do when she's with us for the summer.  She loves doing art projects!!

My little belt can keeps all those unruly belts tamed and fits nicely in a cabinet or closet!

We like to recycle plastic grocery bags for things like lining the bathroom trash can or picking up Jaye's dog poo outside the camper.  Storing all those saved plastic bags can be a pain so I up-cycled a used disinfectant wipe container into a plastic bag keeper!  Check it out:

I wash out the container and soak the label off, let it dry then stuff it full of plastic bags!  I like it because it's durable and it stores nicely in a drawer.

I also keep one under the back seat of our truck in case we need a sack for trash while traveling.

So there you go!  A couple of camper tips that you could also use at home!

A quick update on us:  we are currently in Big Spring, Texas.  I would love to show you lots of pretty pictures but we're in west Texas so there's not much to see.  LOL!!

We're staying at Texas RV Park just outside of Big Spring.

Danny is finishing up a job here in Big Spring.  Within the next week he'll be getting on with another company and we'll be moving to Wink, TX which is about 123 miles west/southwest of here.

That's all I've got for today folks!  Enjoy your weekend!

Cheers!!

Home again, home again jiggity jig!!

Happy holidays faithful readers!

Just wanted to take a time out from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season to give everyone a quick update on my lineman and I!

We came home from Kansas City for Thanksgiving.  We traveled to my Aunt Lisa and Uncle Bill's place in Briscoe, TX for Thanksgiving dinner.  It was nice to be surrounded by family as we had dealt with a difficult family situation that week.  I won't go so far as to say we 'celebrated' Thanksgiving. It was more like we 'got through it' and made the best of it.  The highlight of it all was watching Olivia, Tripp and Drey play and laugh together.  Seeing those three cousins interact really soothes an aching heart.

Danny and I had stopped in Kellyville, OK on the way home and picked up D3.  It was nice to spend time with our oldest and have him for Thanksgiving.

After Thanksgiving, Danny and D3 went back to KC and drug our 5th wheel home.  We decided our time there was finished and it was time to move on down the line.  We had a little mini-break at home and on December 5th Danny left out for Little Rock for storm work caused by Winter Storm Cleon.   He returned home on December 8th and left out again on December 11th to start a job in Big Spring, Texas.  We've had our camper parked through all this but plan on hooking up again and dragging it down to Big Spring after the holidays.

Aaron and Alyssa arrived in Oklahoma today!  Aaron drove them down and they are at Danny's parents house in Broken Arrow.  Uncle Corey went to Kellyville and picked up D3 so he is with his brother and sister.  Danny is working tomorrow and then will make the 5 1/2 hour drive home and we'll head to Tulsa on Christmas Eve!

I've got all our Christmas shopping finished, wrapped and ready to deliver!  It was quite the whirlwind of shopping since we've been so busy lately!  We are both really looking forward to having our three kids under one roof for Christmas.  I remember how Malcolm used to just walk around with a huge smile when Heath, Holly and I were all home for the holidays.  I know now just how good that feeling is and why the smile couldn't be wiped from his face.

Next week will bring the annual Simmons Family Christmas Eve party, Christmas, wedding band/ring shopping, getting the boys fitted for tuxedos and Christmas with my family at my brother Heath's house.  Then it's back to Chickasha for a few days at our home with our kids.  They will go back home a few days after the new year and then it's back to Texas in the camper for me and Danny!

Wow!  This makes me tired just reading through all this!  Haha!!

From our family to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Cheers!

Lake Paradise

Greetings from Missouri!

On September 12, we moved from Cottonwood Camping in Bonner Springs, KS to the absolutely beautiful Lake Paradise Resort in Lone Jack, MO.  This is the best RV park we've staying in so far!  Yeah, I know, this is only the third park we've been at but it is seriously beautiful!!

Lake Paradise is between Lone Jack and Oak Grove.  We are about 30 minutes from downtown Kansas City.

Obviously, you can see why I hand picked this spot for our camper!  The views are absolutely spectacular and so is the fishing!

We have discovered that Jaye is obsessed with fishing!  Anytime Danny gets the fishing poles out she goes crazy!  She will follow him all over the lake and wait patiently for him to land a fish so she can try and help him pull it out of the water.

When not fishing, Jaye is perfectly content to sit in her window seat behind the couch and enjoy the view!

We've been lucky enough to have some family come up to see us recently.  Danny's brother Corey came up several weekends ago and this last weekend, some of my family came up in the motor coach.  We left Oklahoma back in August and it was nice to see our families again.  We are, however, planning on going back to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving!  We sure miss everyone, but we know we are out here for a reason!  We have plans and goals for our future and we will do what it takes to make our dreams come true!

I'm still loving life on the road in our camper with Danny.  Many people ask me if I get bored but honestly, I stay pretty busy!  Danny and I love being together every day.  In our first three years together, we spent a lot of time apart so we cherish our time together.  The sacrifices we make are worth it.  We have an incredibly strong bond and it gets stronger every day!  

Next month is the one year anniversary of our engagement, can you believe it??  My little wedding planners back home in Oklahoma are handling the details for me and for that I'm thankful!  I'm not too picky about stuff and I don't like dealing with all the little details so I'm happy to let them take over!  I know it is going to be beautiful!

Well, that's all I have for now.  I hope you're all safe and happy wherever you are and I hope you're enjoying this lovely fall weather!  Take care and we'll see you soon!

Cheers!

Greetings from Kansas!

Well hello there faithful readers!  Sorry it's been so long since I posted.....life has been a little busy around here!

On August 6th, we arrived at the Cottonwood RV Park in Bonner Springs, KS.  We've had Aaron and Alyssa this summer.  They travelled along with us in Aaron's car and then headed on to South Dakota the next day.  They made it safely home that evening!  Alyssa started back to school at St. Joe's on August 12 and Aaron will start college at South Dakota State University on August 26th.  We had such a wonderful summer with the kids!  Alyssa will be coming back to spend Christmas with us.  Aaron mentioned that he might bring her down here for Christmas so we're keeping our fingers crossed that we get to see them both over the holidays!

Life is slowly settling back into place here in the 'trailerhood.'  ;-)    Our neighbor in the camper next door told us, 'if you're gonna have an RV, you're gonna be an RV mechanic.'  We are learning that lesson rather quickly!  We bought a brand new surge protector in OKC and when we plugged it in here we discovered that it was wired wrong at the factory!  Right after that our converter went out.  The converter converts AC power to DC power so none of our DC powered stuff in the camper would work.  It also affected our battery in the camper.........it wouldn't stay charged so every evening we'd have to hook up jumper cables to the pick-up and charge the battery otherwise all our lights would start to fade and the carbon monoxide detector would start going off!

It seems lately with the camper and our vehicles we've had nothing but bad luck!  The streak can end now as far as I'm concerned!

I love the area we're in now!  We are a 20 minute drive from downtown Kansas City, MO.  We are less than 4 miles from the Kansas Speedway and a super-cool shopping area called The Legends.  Last weekend they were having a GRANDAM racing event at the speedway and we could hear them going round and round!  Bruce Jenner was even there racing a Lamborghini!

Here's our home on wheels in her new spot!  We can actually leave the awning out without fear of it getting ripped off by hurricane force Texas winds!

This is the view from the nose of our camper!  Just over that hill is Bonner Springs but you'd never know it from where we are!  It is so quiet and peaceful but all the advantages of the big city are just minutes away!

Danny started back to work last week.  He is working for PAR.

Another cool thing about working here is that Danny is actually considered a 'local' since he is out of IBEW Local 53 in Kansas City.

Here is a picture of the Local 53 building.  I was excited to finally get to see it in person!  This area is a VERY pro union area unlike Oklahoma and Texas.  Oklahoma and Texas, of course, have unions but they are not very strong unions.  Since being with Danny I have learned so much about the union and what they stand for.  I have a very strong sense of union pride and I appreciate, not just what they do for us, but what they do for all American workers!  The IBEW has provided us with a very good life and I will never take them for granted!

Of course, Jaye is with us and loving it!  This is her overlooking downtown Kansas City from Local 53.  She is such an amazing traveling dog!  Nothing phases her, she is always up for an adventure!  If she thinks you are going somewhere she will do whatever it takes to get to come along for the ride!  She's my little saving grace while Danny is at work.  Life would be much more boring without her and her silly ways!

I hope you are all doing well!  We miss our family and friends but we sure do love life on the road!  We will probably be here until the end end of the year so if you want to take a road trip we'd love to see you!  There is so much to do around this area!  Until next time, take care!!

Cheers!

Shayla

Last few days in Texas

Hello all!!

Just a quick update on us:  this is our last week in Vernon, TX!  Not sure exactly what day we'll be headed back to Oklahoma but it will be this week.  A few days ago, it got up to 112 degrees here so I think we're getting out just in time!

We'll be taking our camper back home and dropping it off.  Then it's off to pick up Aaron for the summer (Alyssa is already here, she's currently staying with family in Tulsa).  We'll either be meeting Aaron in Kansas or Nebraska, then we're headed for Manitou Springs, Colorado for the Box family vacation!  Sure will be nice to enjoy the cooler temperatures of Colorado!  After working in the wind and heat of Texas, I know Danny is ready for cooler weather!

We will probably have the kids until mid July.  Got some work to do on the car we bought for Aaron and we also hope to share some fun times with friends and family!  After that, we will decide where we'll be off to next!  For the rest of the summer it will probably be someplace with cooler weather!  Danny has mentioned work in Montana but we shall see.  Of course, I'm still pulling for New Jersey!

We hope all is well where you are and we hope to see you soon!

Cheers!
Shayla