Christmas time!!

It is Christmas day and we have enjoyed breakfast, opened gifts and are headed to see JoAnn and Don Cundy.  I am delighted to be looking forward to good times and good food with good friends!!

But I will have to admit the holidays are sometimes hard for me.  As a child Christmas was a special time in our home which was filled with all of the smells and sounds, warmth and love of a hallmark movie. My mother loved Christmas and made it special for all of us.   Baking and wrapping went on for weeks, Christmas eve candlelight worship service, the stockings were hung by the chimney with care and the next day was filled with good food, thoughtful presents, and a day filled with family and holiday festivities   I tried to recreate that same sense of joy as the girls were growing and learning to love the holidays.

Now our celebrations are very different especially when we are away from family, but I am ever grateful..... to have my dear husband to share my life with, to have generous friends who invite us into their home and to still look forward to the joy we feel at the candlelight service on Christmas eve.

Thanksgiving and birthdays!!

We all gathered at Jenna and Jonn's house for Thanksgiving this year and it was simply wonderful!!  Then the following weekend we gathered again in Raleigh as we shared a celebration of Celia's and my birthday!  We have so much to be thankful for as we gather as a family and love and celebrate each other. 

 God has richly blessed us!!

Charleston with the Winnebago camping group!

We both love Charleston and were excited to join the Winnebago camping group for an October trip.  There were not a lot of pictures that came out of this trip but we had so much fun and enjoyed our time with Lauren Smith!!!

Beautiful backyard!!

Our back yard this fall was BEAUTIFUL!!  It has been a work in progress for 7 years now and finally the fruits of our labors are blooming.  It may seem like a small thing but I can't tell you how much we enjoyed this spectacular fall view!

But this was also the time when the back deck could no longer be ignored..... Thank goodness Christina and Billy carved out time in their busy schedules to lead the charge.  This project was farther outside our skill set than we knew and we were VERY grateful that Saunders and Saunders came to save the day!  We have such a beautiful deck  now!!

Celia and Lily for 2 whole weeks - lucky Nana and Papa!!

Elissa's new work schedule required more help with the girls so we were lucky enough to get 2 weeks with them.  Our first week was spent camping at Yogi in the Smokies in Cherokee,NC! The weather was great and the heated pool was a big hit!!  They went crazy with the nicknames at lunch one day, Lily is Peaches, Celia is Popcorn and Papa is Tostidos....mine is yet to be determined.

                                                            Oconaluftee Indian Village

                                                               Cherokee handiwork

                                                                  Sweet, sweet girls

The 2nd week we were back in Raleigh!!  The temperatures were crazy hot so inside activities were the order of the week!  My did we have a good time with them!  We are certainly blessed grandparents!!

                                                    Raleigh Museum of Natural Sciences

                                                  Who knew that we could still bowl?

                                                                    Trampoline fun!

Solar eclipse 2017

Greenville was actually right on the path of a complete solar eclipse and this was a big deal!!  The whole family came to town to experience this event.  We ate Moon Pies and Sun Chips ( and lots of other good food ) and waited for the sky to turn dark...and it really was an incredible experience.  Insects came out and it became cool and the darkness enveloped us.  So grateful that we got to share it together!!

                                                                 A bit of cousin time!!

                                                          Got to protect those eyes!!

                                                   Watching for the sky to change.....

                                                                  Any minute now...

Jack and Sam go camping... Cherokee, NC

                                                              Oconaluftee Indian Village

                                                            Yogi in the Smokies

                                                                    Creek walking!

                                                          Sam masters his bike!!!!

The guys love our camping time....heated pool, Exploding Kittens ( a crazy card game ) lots of time riding bikes, walking in the creek and exploring Cherokee. Sam actually asked to go biking one morning before breakfast!  And after lots of angst they admitted that they really enjoyed the Indian Village.  Sometimes you just have to trust Nana, she doesn't usually steer you wrong!!

We took a VACATION OF A LIFETIME!!

                                                            Hawaii!!!!!!! John's 50th state

We actually traveled for the entire month of May ……starting with a cruise with JoAnn and Don Cundy around the Hawaiian islands. Our ports included Oahu, Maui, Hilo and Kailua including Volcanoes National Park. After an additional 5 nights at sea the ship then landed in Vancouver where we rented a car and headed south.  Our first stop was Portland, OR, traveling down the Oregon coast and then San Francisco, CA.  Next came Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon and then on to Death Valley, Zion and Bryce National Parks. Our last night was in Las Vegas, NV where we visited the famous Bellagio Hotel.

1. Lodging in 9 different locations 
2. 4 rental cars - 3,400  miles in the last one alone
3. Visits with 3 of John's cousins which he hadn't seen in over 50 years
4. Visit with John's uncle
5. Took hundreds of pictures
6. 6 Lyft rides
7. Our climate varied from the 40's to 105 degrees ( Death Valley )
8. Our elevations ranged from 10,600 feet to - 276 feet ( below sea level )
9. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge (and back)

Traveling with our friends was wonderful!
Catching up with 3 of John’s cousins and an uncle was heartwarming!
The wonders of the National Parks each with their own incredible landscapes was awe inspiring!!
Time to travel with each other was marvelous!
 A trip that we will never forget...........

                                                                Our Hawaiian Luau

                                                            Volcanoes National Park

                                                                    Mt. Hood, OR

                                                       Walking the Golden Gate Bridge

                                                                         Yosemite

                                                           General Sherman - Sequoia

                                                                           Zion

                                                                             Bryce

                                                          Bellagio -  Las Vegas, NV

Elissa has a birthday!!

I love to celebrate my children!!  

But I really love the fact that they love to celebrate each other! 

 Elissa followed Krista into her 40's but instead of a BIG party she wanted a family gathering!  She knew that John and I were coming to Raleigh and we all went out to dinner, opened gifts and had  cake on her day!! Pretty typical right!! But what she didn't know was that Jenna and her family were driving to Raleigh on Saturday to surprise her with a day of family fun!  The surprise was a success, she loved all of it and we celebrated her in a BIG way!  Happy 40's sweetie!

What a wonderful winter!!!

When I look back at all of the great experiences that we have had and all of the wonderful friends that we have enjoyed spending time with it melts my heart.  I wish I had done a better job of  taking pictures but this photo gallery of our winter in Kissimmee will have to do! 

We are so incredibly blessed!!!!!!

Jeri Consla enjoying a ride in the GTO

Linda and Ken Beckham joined us for a weekend and a gorgeous day at Bok Tower Gardens

Lunches out at The Twisted Teapot, Cheddars and Lavender and Lace 

and of course shopping with Joan Rowan

A lovely visit with Keith and Julie Wang, wonderful food, a new pork chop recipe and good laughs

Lunch and shopping with JoAnn Cundy at The Red Barn

Mike and Marianne Jones gifted us with a visit.  What a wonderful time we had at the Chihuly Collections and glass blowing, St. Pete Beach, marvelous seafood at Shark Tales, bicycling and hot tubs and lots of great laughs.  Can't beat good friends!

 

It was time for John to take advantage of a gift card and ride in a race car at the Daytona Speedway!! Tom McRee was on board to take a ride too and the guys had a blast!!
 There is nothing like 170 miles an hour to get your heart pumping!! (or so I am told)

Phil and Doris Morrison invited us to visit them in Gainesville so we took them up on it!
 A visit to a nature preserve to check out the multitude of alligators, wild horses
 and buffalo made for a lovely day!

Dinner in Ocala with Riva Wallace ended our whirlwind weekend and
 we loved seeing her new place and catching up with she and Joy!

Matt and Rachel Matthews spent a night on their way to Sanibel
and it was marvelous time  to catch up with St. Giles and home!

Ron and Diane Ruhlman stopped by the next night before they headed  home.  We enjoyed seafood at Red Lobster and got to take in an evening at Old Town with a ride in the parade!

We sneaked in a camping trip to Ormand Beach for the weekend and got to enjoy a beautiful sunset and then off to a terrific seafood meal at Hulls Seafood!

Dinner with Ruth and Gary Swetnam at Misu Japanese Steak House before they headed north!

Our time in Florida is not complete unless we share the GTO and Old Town with a few friends.  This year Candy and Darryl Stanford joined us and right before we left Donna and Johnny O'Driscoll decided to come along for a ride.  Nothing quite like it!! 

Our time has come to an end!!  I think I hear our grandchildren are calling
 so it is time to head north,  but we had such a great time!!!!!

A BIRTHDAY is an amazing thing!

 

This is what 65 looks like!!!! 

  My brother, Bobby, told me that I was the only person that he had ever known that was excited to turn 65....and I really was!  The reasons are many: I am in good health, I am happy!!!,   I have a wonderful family, not perfect but wonderful!,  I am fortunate enough to have already gotten 10 more years on this earth than my mother, I now get medicare and pension monies, and I am so incredibly blessed and don't take that for granted!  But on this special day John, Krista, Elissa and Jenna put together a perfect celebration just for me and I loved every minute of it!

Mountain House, the whole family was there (Chip drove from Raleigh and back that same day), carrot cake, professional photographer, wonderful food, games about Nana, lots of LOVE and great fall weather!  I felt like the richest woman in the world!!!!