All good things.....

It is time for our winter in Florida to come to an end. Sometimes I still can't believe that we are so fortunate to be able to enjoy this time in our lives this way. We have had a wonderful time and I am already reminiscing over all of the good times we have had with the people in our lives.  We are very blessed!!!


Sandy Labram and Jim came for a visit right after our arrival and we joined them for a New Years Day party.

Ron and Diane Ruhlman and Faye joined us for the Christmas concert in Winter Park, peppermint ice cream included and R & D visited later for a night when they returned to Florida.

Keith and Julie Wang hosted us for a wonderful weekend in Naples. Remember the air boat ride!!

Phil and Doris Morrison joined us for dinner and toured Solivita after dark in the GTO.  It was a great double date.

BJ Johns drove over for the day, enjoyed the pool at the Palms and brought me up to date on all of the Tampa news.


Sandy Saunders took a day out of his vacation to spend time with his favorite cousin (my words).  It had been over ten years so we had lots of catching up to do.

Dan and Jeri Consla introduced us to the most recent members of their family, Harrison and Miranda and took us out to lunch.

Claire Ponsonby and I visited for a bit at the museum.

JoAnn and Don Cundy met us at Old Town, rode with us in parade.  The next day we bicycled through Solivita before touring the model homes.

Marianne Evans, Cheryl Rogers and BJ Herig met me for lunch at The Red Barn.  We made some new memories and shared some old ones.

Chuck and Karen Stevens hosted us for brunch on Easter Sunday and we toured around in the GTO. 

Riva Wallace and Tom McCree joined us for dinner. Riva joined us several weeks later at Old Town.
I have never been in a parade with a true princess before.


New local friends have invited us into their lives including:

Carrie and Lawrence Widener invited us to dinner and we loved getting to know them and more about First Presbyterian Church of Haines city.

Carol and Mike decided to try out Old Town with us and we enjoyed food, games,and the occasional win.

Candy and Darryl joined us for dinner and a concert at church by the Watoto Childrens Choir.  They are a beautiful group of children from Uganda who have lost one or both parents due to war or disease.  Before we left Kissimmee we went out in the GTO together and they treated us to ice cream.

Barb and Wayne went to Old Town for the ride of a lifetime and a great for a night of cards.

Don and Ann  are friends from pickleball who joined us for the tour of Old Town and the Snowbird Dinner/Dance. Don was especially great at helping me get John on the dance floor.

Myrna, Dick, Kerry and Dave joined us for dinner.  And you can always depend on Myrna and Kerry for the occasional party invitation.

Remember this moment.....

On a perfect spring evening, John was playing pickleball and I joined him to take some pictures.  Our time in Florida was coming to an end and I wanted to capture a few last minute shots.  As we sat on the bleachers waiting for his turn to come to play again, a woman that I have never seen before came up to us and asked if we wanted a picture together.  Unplanned, unsolicited, unprepared....she took a great picture of us.  I am still learning....that sometimes you need to just let life happen and watch for the unexpected plans that God has in store for you.   I am grateful to John for joining me on this incredible journey called life.

Easter celebration

What a gorgeous day to take a ride in a convertible!!  

After a wonderful worship service at First Presbyterian Church of Haines City, John and I traveled to be with friends Chuck and Karen for Easter brunch.  It was just too tempting to take the GTO and surprise them with a little spin and a journey back in time.  There is nothing quite like a wonderful meal, a beautiful day and time with good friends to make you aware of how very blessed we are.

Give Kids the World

John has been doing some volunteering this winter with a wonderful organization called GIVE KIDS THE WORLD.  From driving the shuttle to serving ice cream, he has enjoyed helping out.  GKTW provides a fantasy week for children with life threatening illnesses from all over the world .  Trips to any Disney theme park, parties, gifts and on and on are provided in a beautiful setting.

Watching a dream come true

Last weekend John participated in his first Solivita Classic Car Show.  There was a great turn out and he had a wonderful time talking with other car guys, checking out all of the beautiful vehicles on display and enjoying a gorgeous day.  No awards but he had a great time.  It is so much fun for me to watch him living a dream!!  He is a happy guy.

The things we love!

John and I decided to create a grouping of photos over our sofa of several of the places in Florida that we love.  We spent a wonderful day in Orlando taking a multitude of shots (after taking a photography class) and this is what we came up with for the first three photographs.

Lukas Nursery in Oviedo

Boston's Fish House - our very favorite eating spot

"Emily" - a sculpture from the Polasek Museum where I worked in Winter Park

A photo from Tampa will be added to finish the wall.

Old Town

I have realized that owning a classic car opens up a whole new world for enthusiasts.

 

For the past several weeks we have enjoyed Saturday night at Old Town, a tourist center where classic car enthusiasts gather every Saturday evening to show off their Classic cars followed by a parade after dark through the center of town.  It has been fun to share this crazy experience with several of our friends.

Wayne and Barb

Mike and Carol

Don and JoAnn

Ann & Don

Riva

And with this post our Old Town adventures come to an end.  We had a blast enjoying this experience with our friends.....and of course the highlight was the parade at the end of the night as more than a thousand parade watchers each Saturday night cheered us on.  The real question that remains is, which princess really wore the tiara?