Taylor Home Safe

We drove Taylor to the airport Wednesday afternoon. Forecast called for rain. Fortunately, it held off until his plane was in the air. We drove home in VERY HEAVY rain at times. Arne and I compared comments and actions of our delightful ADHD grandson. I had looked up ADHD and he definitely has many, if not most, of the characteristics...always talking, always moving, reminding me he's almost 16, but acting much younger...and that he's "a professional" in whatever...golf, driving, pickleball. I sit on a big ball while on my computer. While Taylor was here, that ball was all over the house, with Taylor rolling on it.

We both have a lot more sympathy for Lisa as this was our first time with just Taylor. I heard "Grandma" at least 50 times. And the questions!! He says he asks questions so he can learn things. OK. But some of the questions...How long does it take a man to get ready? (He thought I took entirely too long getting ready, especially when he was waiting for me to go with him so he could drive the golf cart.) Grandpa, is that a toupée? He gave us many laughs also with his wonderful sense of humor.

Lisa is planning to come out in October so we will see Taylor again then. At least, we can share the load. :-) Tomorrow night the girls come. Kadin is ADD but that's not so bad, since half our family is ADD. The hyperactivity is the killer for old people! Taylor warned me that the girls will be waking us up at 5AM. I said they would not...hope I'm right!

Taylor's Visit

Grandson Taylor, 15, or as he kept reminding me, almost 16, arrived in Orlando July 17. Since his flight didn't arrive until 11:40 PM, I got a room at a hotel near the airport. The next day, Monday,I took him to Kennedy Space Center which we toured for about 5 hours, arriving in The Villages around 6:30.

For the next three days, Taylor went with me to play pickleball. We played singles and he kept commenting on my long reach as not many balls got past me. It took Taylor three days to get used to the humidity as he constantly complained at how hot it was here. Wait a minute...Arizona is hot, isn't it?? Oh, yeah, HUMIDITY! Makes a difference when you're not used to it.

Thursday afternoon, the three of us went to see Transformers 3 in 3D. Taylor loved it, I thought it was OK and Arne thought it's never end.

Taylor brought his golf clubs and we planned to go out each evening after dinner, when golf is free on the executive courses. :-) However, the first three days he was too tired and the next two evenings had thunder storms. I finally took him on Saturday to play one of the Arnold Palmer Championship courses Saturday afternoon. It was hot but clouds help keep it bearable. While Taylor didn't beat me, as he predicted, he did have a great shot out of the sand on the Par 3 #8 and into the hole for Birdie. He was happy!!

Sunday morning Taylor and I left the house at 7:30 AM and headed for Universal Orlando. We spent almost 8 hours riding all kinds of coasters. The last one, Dragon Challenge in Wizarding World of Harry Potter, finished me. I was nauseated as the ride flung us up and around and back and forth. Taylor rode it three more times without me. For the day, I had 13 rides and Taylor 16. Three of those rides were water rides and by the end of the third one, I was COMPLETELY soaked. While I had a bad hair day, I actually stayed quite cool for the remainder of the afternoon.

The Incredible Hulk Coaster

Dragon Challenge
Today, Arne took Taylor to his art class where T behaved like a gentleman. I took him for an hour of pickleball and after dinner, Arne took him golfing. He should sleep well tonight. No special plans for tomorrow except steak for dinner. He flies back to Phoenix Wednesday afternoon. We then have three days to recoup before Kadin and Gracie fly in Saturday night...

Villages Pickleball Report on CBS

I love playing pickleball. There was a segment about pickleball in The Villages on CBS news which you can watch here. When I first started, I took a clinic last Fall from Coach Mo and also played a game with him one morning in May.

Pickleball Report on CBS

Independence Day!

July 5 is not only the anniversary of my father-in-law, Ralph Swensen's 100th birthday but it's an independence day of sorts for Casey Anthony. While I knew they couldn't find her guilty of first degree murder due to the lack of evidence, I never dreamed she would be found not guilty on all counts in the death of her daughter. She was responsible for her daughter at the time she "disappeared" and should be charged with something. While most mothers would have been frantic trying to find their daughter, this mother chose to party. Very sad for little Caylee.



On a happier note, Arne and I went to the Town Square last night for dinner and good music. This picture was taken last year. The two "tall people" on the right were present last night and I had on the same shirt so decided to use the same picture, since we didn't have a camera last night. :-)

My wound is pretty much healed so I started playing pickleball again. Played the last four days. Really enjoy it. I'm hosting Hand and Foot (card game) Thursday which has given me a good reason to finally clean house.

I'm happy to report that Erik is back home even though the fire is still burning on the other side of the mountains. While that's fortunate for Erik, it's not fortunate for the Indians who have sacred ground in that area.


The Villages continues to grow. While this video is a sales video, it gives an overview of The Villages lifestyle and the family who created it.