Where Are My Eyeglasses??

 I have at least a couple dozen pair of "Granny glasses." I try to keep one or two pair in every room in our house, plus the car and golf cart. For some reason, they never seem to be where I need them and tend to collect in various spots around the house. Oh well, thank you, Mr. Franklin, for inventing eye glasses and allowing me to read so many books these past 30 years.

Granddaughters Part 2

The second half of the girls' visit began with Camp Villages Meet the Dogs, followed by Archery.

The girls marching with Lollie during Meet the Dogs

Gracie had her face painted for Meet the Dogs

Kadin aiming her bow at the target

 On Friday, August 3, the four of us went to SeaWorld in Orlando. We saw several shows...dolphins, whales, sea lions, turtles. Kadin and Gracie wanted to ride the coasters but they were closed all afternoon due to lightning in the area. We were heading out of the park at 5 and Gracie noticed that Mante was open with no wait so they ran to get in line while I stayed with Arne. They came off that ride beaming and ready to go on the other coaster, Kraken. I decided to go on that one with them. While Mante is the touted ride for SeaWorld, the girls thought Kraken was better.

On the way home, we stopped at a restaurant in Wildwood for dinner to celebrate Arne's birthday. Kadin was halfway through her dinner when she felt sick and started shaking. I took her to the car and the shaking stopped. When we got home she went right to bed and slept ten hours. It dawned on me the next morning that she could have been suffering from dehydration. We were in the heat all day and she wouldn't drink as much water as I wanted her to drink. She said she woke up around 2 (AM) and her tongue was dry so she drank water. After that incident, it was easier for me to get her to drink water in place of soda.

Dolphin Show

Trainer "skiing" on backs of two dolphins

"One Ocean" starring Orcas

This whale did belly landing. Trainers cannot go into water with whales since trainer was killed last year.

On Saturday, the girls went to art class with Arne. Sunday, we went to contemporary church service and then girls went to basketball practice with me. Kadin had a melt-down and went off to sit in the corner of the gym. She wouldn't mind me and I was very glad Erik was flying in that night.

Monday, Gracie went to art with Arne. Kadin stayed home with her Dad. Tuesday afternoon, we headed for Tampa. We checked into our hotel around 3. The girls swam while Arne took a nap. At 4 PM, we headed over to Clearwater Beach on the gulf. Erik and the girls swam for a couple hours while Arne and I watched from the beach.

Clearwater Beach

Erik, Kadin and Gracie (cartwheel) in the surf

Keeping cool

Kadin doing a flip on bungee trampoline. She almost got three flips on one jump.

Gracie's flip.

Wednesday we went to Busch Gardens in Tampa. The girls, Erik and I rode several coasters and cooled off in the Congo River Rapids. I got totally soaked and didn't mind one bit as I stayed cool for the rest of the day. Arne took care of our belongings while we were on the rides.

Erik and Gracie with the "Tall People." They laughed that Erik was almost as tall as they.

Erik and Gracie thrown out of their jeep.

"Plunge from the sky on SheiKra, our ferocious, floorless dive coaster... Climb 200 feet to the edge of a pure 90-degree drop that inches you mercilessly over the edge—and stops..." Look above the greenery and you can see the car just hanging over the edge. We were in the front row. I didn't think I was going to like that part but it wasn't so bad. I would have gone again, if the line hadn't been so long. Because I was sitting away from the track, I felt like I was flying.

 Thursday morning, the girls went with me to drop Erik at the airport, ten mins. from our hotel, for his flight back to New Mexico. It was a short visit but we packed a lot into those three days. We checked out around 10:30 and were home early afternoon. I took the girls swimming around 4. This turned out to be there last swim as we had a thunderstorm Friday. We took them back to Sweet Tomatoes on Friday for our last dinner together.

Saturday morning, we (Gracie and I) got all their stuff together and packed. Kadin's not much help as she's not happy unless she has her hands on some technology, whether it's iPod, iPad or computer.

Their 4:30 flight didn't take off until 4:55. We are required to stay in the terminal until the flight takes off. Arne and I had a very nice, quiet ride back to The Villages. While we have lots of happy memories, three weeks was definitely too long for Kadin. Gracie, whom I was most worried about, did great. She and Grandpa had some special bonding as Gracie took home a beautiful watercolor of a turtle which Grandpa helped her paint.

Today we were back to our regular routine. For me that meant fitness center, church and basketball practice, followed by a trip to Walmart to pick up a roast chicken for dinner...

Granddaughters are here!

Last Monday, July 23, Arne and I drove to Orlando where we picked up Kadin and Gracie. Because I booked them on a nonstop from Albuquerque which didn't arrive until 11:40 PM, we didn't get home until 1:30 AM. Needless to say, I was dragging a little on Tuesday. The girls spent several hours at the pool while I read a book.

Wednesday, we took them to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. This was our second visit to the park which is 40 miles from here. There are lots of big shade trees, large variety of animals and it's very clean. The park's main attraction is the manatees which are brought to the springs because they are orphaned or injured. Hard to believe these large creatures eat romaine lettuce!

Thursday was swimming mid-day. Around 5, the girls and I picked up my friend, Ginny, and we headed to Spanish Springs Market Square for "Girls Night Out." This was a fund raiser for breast cancer. While it was very hot the first 30-40 minutes, we had a fun time, visiting all the stores and businesses on the list. These were turned in for a chance at 12 gift baskets, but we never received a call saying we were a winner. :-( It was a beautiful evening, nice for traveling in a 4-seater golf cart, which I had borrowed from a neighbor for the girls' visit.

Friday afternoon, Arne and I took the girls to see the Spiderman movie. Kadin said it was her favorite movie. (She must not see many movies.) Late afternoon, the girls swam for a couple hours.

Saturday was more swimming and then dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. The girls loved it and wanted to go back on Sunday.

Sunday, the girls went with me to basketball practice. I couldn't get over how much they've improved in a year, especially Kadin. Late Sunday afternoon...yes, you guessed it...swimming. Gracie probably shouldn't have gone as she'd been complaining off and on of sinus headache. That night she had a 101 fever so Monday morning I took her to Urgent Care. She's now on antibiotic for ten days.

This week, I had signed the girls up for several activities in Camp Villages. Monday afternoon, they had a craft project at She Scrapbooks. I didn't think this "mystery/school box" was worth the $17 I'd paid for each girl.

Tuesday morning was Kickball. The girls liked "batting" but Kadin mostly kicked dirt while "fielding." She did find a small, shiney rock, of which she was very proud. The afternoon activity was art with Grandpa.

Today, the four of us learned two hula dances. It was fun. Arne said it was the most fun of any of the activities we've done with the girls in the three years they've participated in Camp Villages. During the segment where the adults had to dance for the kids, Arne slipped on a red nose. The kids loved it. At 4, I took the girls back to She Scrapbooks and this activity was much better than the one on Monday. They were given a journal and materials with which to decorate it. They decorated some of the inside pages as well as the cover.

The girls' visit is now at mid-point...

Celebrating Our 49th

To celebrate our 49th wedding anniversary, Arne and I drove to Siesta Key, just south of Sarasota, on the Gulf side of Florida. Siesta Key claims to have the #1 beach in the USA. I didn't think it was better than others I've seen but maybe it's the fine, white sand which makes it #1. While the weather wasn't great, thanks to Tropical Storm Debby, we were able to walk on the beach Wednesday evening, as well as Thursday and Friday mornings.

On Thursday, we went to the Ringling Museums where we spent almost six hours. We spent a couple hours in the John and Mable Ringling Art Museum. It is a beautiful legacy which John left to the state of Florida after Mable died and they had no children. The 66 acre grounds consists of their art museum, two circus museums, Mable's rose garden and Ca' d'Zan, House of John, the mansion they completed just three years before Mable died at age 54. John Ringling was born in McGregor, Iowa but grew up in Baraboo, Wisconsin. I thoroughly enjoyed the history of the circus and John Ringling, the second youngest of six brothers. Only thing to ruin the day was a downpour around 3 PM which lasted for a couple hours.

On Friday, we stopped at an art store and then the Ringling College of Art bookstore, where Arne looked for art supplies and I ended up buying 9 books off the 75% off shelf. We then took a driving tour of Lido Key and Longboat Key, two more islands off the coast of Sarasota. We had our anniversary dinner at the Chart House on Longboat Key with a view of Sarasota Bay. I had fresh swordfish which was delicious.

We checked out of our resort before 10 Saturday morning and were home around 12:15 with no rain. Today, we have had rain ALL DAY! Right now there are tornado warnings not far from us. We are ready to head to our closet if necessary.

The Big 7-0!

On Thursday, June 14, Flag Day, yours truly celebrated a milestone. It was a memorable day, thanks to my wonderful husband. The day started with a few games of pickleball, a trip to the fitness center, with a manicure and pedicure finishing out the morning. The afternoon consisted of a massage and refreshing facial. The evening included dinner at Outback with Arne, my dear Villages friend, Ginny, and her husband, David. We came back to our house for cake, coffee and Amaretto.

Sister Marla sent me a lovely book with pictures of my trip to New Mexico and Arizona in early April where I did an early celebration with family and friends. I'm told the stars and arrows were chosen by Marla's 4-year-old granddaughter and Marla couldn't change it to a leather cover. Should I believe that story??

 Arne's latest orchid acquisition. Isn't it beautiful? And it has a scent!

Corvette Road Trip

The Corvette was in the "hospital" two weeks ago getting a new rear end. (I'm next) Last week, Arne had new tires put on so we decided to take a road trip and test out the new ride. Much smoother than before!

We drove to Orlando for a short visit with our niece Marla, nephew Stan, and their families. They are spending the week in a time share and visiting DisneyWorld and Sea World. Today was their day to just hang so a few hours with the old folks was on the docket. It was great to see them all...first time seeing Liam and Serena, the two youngest.

We left just as a storm was moving in so drove in rain and lightning for the first half hour getting out of Orlando. Other than that, it was a great afternoon.

California Cousins Visit

May 22, Marge and Eileen, cousins from Northern California, made the long trek to The Villages. For five days, we showed them our "town" as well as central Florida. They seemed to enjoy it and hopefully will come back one day.

We experienced our first tropical storm this past week. Fortunately, we had very little wind and much needed rain. Our ponds and lakes are once again filled to the brim.

 Marge and Eileen as we entered Homosassa Springs Nature Park

 Looks like a rock but actually a manatee.

 Manatees grow to over 1000 lbs. eating romaine??? They are vegetarians.

 Two of Arne's latest watercolors. Above is based on photo from Sedona.