Fun in Florida

Since the weather has improved here we have really been enjoying the outdoors. Jack has been cleaning on the fifth wheel. He usually just works on it a little each day so it not too much of a chore at once. He got the roof all cleaned and then started on the sides. It is looking real nice. The neighbors are giving a hard time about making them feel guilty about cleaning theirs.

A week ago Thursday, we went to LaBelle to visit our friends, Don and Linda. We had lunch at a good bar-a-que place and then drove over towards Ft. Myers to see the manatees. There is a power plant next to a river - so the power plant discharges warm water and the manatees come to the warm water. The day we were there - there were about 25 - 30 manatees in this small area. It was very interesting to see them - there were babies as well as very large ones. Hoping to post some pictures.

We got back into our square dancing last week. It was fun to get back to this and see the people we danced with last year. They are having it at another RV park just down the road. We have also been walking and riding our bikes.

Last Saturday night, we went to the famous Spaghetti Dinner here in the park. It was delicious. There is a small group here in the park that cook everything - homemade sauce, etc. We had around 300 people attend it and each person got 4 meatballs so this is not a small project but they pulled it off wonderfully.

Last Saturday, we went over to Myakka City to see the Herrmann's Lipizzan Stallions. This is their winter training area. These are beautiful horses and they perform really great. The show was about hour and half long. They had a good crowd. This group comes into Kansas City but we had never been able to go to them so were glad that we made it over to see them. Hope to get some pictures posted later.

Next week Jack and I are going on a cruise out of Miami. We leave on Monday and get back next Saturday. We are going to the Caribbean with stops at Key West and Cayman Islands. Since we are so close to Miami it is crazy not to take advantage of driving to get on a ship. Brandy will be taking her vacation at the "Dog Haus" which is a pet resort here in Lake Placid.

Friday is my birthday and we are going to celebrate it by going to the outlets in Bradenton. As most people know me - that is my way of celebrating "shopping"!! DeAnn sure knows this!! Wish you were here to go with me. Next year, maybe we will be together to celebrate.

Sunshine and Warm in Florida

The warm and sunshine is back in Florida!! Yes, thank goodness it is back in the 70s and sunny again. Since Tuesday we have had wonderful Florida weather like it should be here. Hopefully, the cold weather is gone for good.

We have been out and about checking the area over. We have gone into Sebring a couple times to Walmart and to the computer store. Did some shopping there too.

On Friday, Jack and I went into Tampa to the Florida RV Show (Wendy thought about you guys). Last year Wendy and Rick went with us to this. This show is very large - over 1200 models and lots of vendors, etc. We walked our legs off and saw a lot of new things. One of the models we went through was the new Montana model for 2010 and it had five slides with a loft living area. This was a different layout than most fifth wheels but looked like it would be nice. Jack and I was surprised about how many of the models had SOLD signs on them. So I guess people are still buying their RVs.

Friday night the park had some entertainment. It was a Elvis impersonator and a comedian. They were both very good. We remembered them from last year. They have been performing for a number of years in Nashville and Pigeon Forge.

We have been watching the football playoff games this weekend. Looks like Minnesota is going to be playing the Saints next weekend. I was rooting for Brett (the old man) to make it.

Brrrrr......in Florida

Florida had snow in the panhandle yesterday. Thank goodness where we are located which is in the southern part it didn't do anything like that but it has been cooler than normal by 15 - 20 degrees. The poor farmers (strawberries mainly) have had a terrible week trying to keep their berries warm. We have had a couple of nice days with high 60s/low 70s with sunshine but it has been cloudy and cool most of the week. The forecast for next week is showing a big improvement so hopefully once we get through this week it will turn around.

We have been talking with our kids and KC is really getting hit with the winter weather. They have already had 20 inches of snow and the temps have been very low (-5) and the side roads are terrible. Our grandchildren have been out of school since December 22. If they don't get back before long, they will be going to school through June which they won't like. But the forecast for next week is better - suppose to warm above freezing for a few days which will be nice. It hasn't been above since before Christmas. So Florida weather is great!!

We haven't had the best start to our stay in Florida. I had an attack of diverticulitis (colon infection) and ended up in the ER for 8 hours on the night of New Year's Day. What a way to start the year!! Don't recommend that for anyone. But I got all checked out and got medicine and am feeling better by now. So I haven't done much this week. Hoping to get back to our activities, etc., next week.

Our friends that we met here last year, Don and Linda, called us on Wednesday and said they were coming by to visit. It was great to see them. We went out to eat with them and our other friends, Dave and Becky. It was great to catch up with them.

Arrived in Florida!

We left KC on Monday, December 28, with 11 inches of snow and drifts up to our mailbox, and got to Florida, on Wednesday, December 30. We had good weather all the way down - it was three hard days of driving but we made it without any problems. Glad to be here. It was 77 degrees and sunny when we arrived; yesterday it was 78 degrees and sunny. Today it is partly cloudy with some rain but the temp is around 62 so that is good compared to back home which is about 10 degrees today.

Yesterday Jack got the trailer all set up with everything and I worked inside to get things organized. By the time we finished, we were pooped out. So we didn't celebrate too much last night. Just enjoyed the weather and met new people.

I'll blog later when I get caught up with other things.

Picture of the Boys at the KC Chiefs Game

Thanks to my friend LaVon, here is the picture of boys at the Chiefs game. They look like they are ready for winter. It was pretty chilly that day, but at least the sun was out and they didn't get too cold. Marlin, Jack and Frank.

P.S. - The Chiefs didn't win (as usual) but it was a high scoring game - 44 - 37. We played the Cleveland Browns. The poor Chiefs have had a bad year so I guess we can just say they are re-building for next year!!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Sorry to be so slow with the blog but things have been really busy around here. We have had Christmas get-togethers; keeping the grandchildren; shopping & wrapping; and then in our spare time trying to get things organized for our trip to Florida. But we have had plenty of fun doing all these things so that makes it all worthwhile.

I attended two Christmas parties with some of my old co-workers which is always a lot of fun. Got to see some of the people I hadn't seen in a couple years and catch up with them and their families.

We had a card group in last weekend for a chili and soup dinner with Christmas goodies. Always have a good time with them.

On the 12th, I hosted along with one other neighbor, a brunch for the women of our neighborhood. We have a pretty small neighborhood - 21 houses - but we had 11 attend the brunch.

Jack went to the Kansas City Chief's' game with our friends, Marlin and Frank. Thanks to Marlin who had some tickets his son wasn't going to use so the guys had a day at the football game. They had a good time. Marlin took a picture of them and I was in hopes that I could post it but we couldn't figure out how to get it over to here. Sorry no picture. While they were at the game, Dora and I decided to go to the movies. We went to see the new George Clooney one. It was all right but for some reason it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Be better to rent it I think.

We are going to celebrate Christmas with our sons and their families on Christmas Day. The grandchildren are really getting excited about Santa coming. We had the two little ones on Monday and Bronson (3) was telling me I better go see Santa and tell him what I want!!

If the weather cooperates, we plan on pulling out of Kansas City on Sunday, 27th, and heading South to Florida. Right now they are calling for snow late tomorrow and on Christmas Day but then 26th and 27th are to be clear and cold. So we will see - hopefully we can get out of this cold weather.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and I'll blog when we get to Florida.

Girls Day Out - Thanksgiving

I'll try to catch up a little since last blogging.

On November 19, two of my friends, Dora and Linda, went on a Girls Day Out. We went to lunch to a really neat restaurant in Downtown Kansas City. It is called Webster House. It looks like a old schoolhouse - it has two floors. The first floor is like a boutique with all sorts of things to see and buy. It was all decorated for Christmas and had some unique gifts. The second floor is the restaurant. We had a lovely lunch - very good. After lunch we decided we needed to make a stop at the Old Pottery Store. We love to go to this store as it has anything and everything you can imagine for decorating; housewares; and just lots of stuff!! We had a great day. That us at the top of the blog at Webster House.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We had a great time here. We had 18 people for dinner. Our friends Jeannene and Warren came in on Wednesday. They were a big help with getting things ready for for the dinner. Both our sons and families were here; my sister; my nephew and his family. The food was good and company was exceptional!!

Jeannene and Warren stayed until Saturday a.m. We had a lot of fun with them - playing cards and dominoes; going out to eat; checking out the Christmas lights at Zona Rosa; visiting the Independence Square.

Jack and I started putting up our Christmas decorations yesterday. We had put out the lights outside early last week as the weather was unseasonably warm. Yesterday we put up the tree and today I worked on getting the other decorations put out. Can't believe that December is going to be here in another day. The weather around here has been very nice for late November. But I think it will be changing by end of this week. It is time for us to start thinking of heading South before long. We won't be leaving until a couple days after Christmas.

We have some Christmas parties coming up over the next few weeks and that is always a lot of fun.