Special Sunday Drive

I haven't been blogging due to an unfortunate laptop and hard drive death that has me grieving for a few days and then working hard to get my new laptop set up the way I want it for several more days.  I did grab the camera yesterday and determined to blog our Sunday drive.

This one was extra special because Nathan got to pick what he wanted to do in honor of his 46th birthday that is happening in a few days.

We headed out bright and early and started out towards a new destination.  New to us at least.  We stopped at our local raw honey supplier first.

We encountered a neat little plane that flew right in front of us, very low to the ground.  Since we were in the country and there were no cars, Nathan stopped long enough for him to do another pass in front of us.

Then we passed one of FPL's power plants.

We passed the really neat Railroad Museum that the guys took the kids on the hobo train ride while Diana and I did scrapbooking together.

If anyone who knows this area has not figured out where we were going yet, the next few clues should give it away.  We went on a very cool bridge.  That is even cooler when driving with the convertible top down.

And we landed here:

We spent the whole day there, visiting the Sunken Gardens, eating a special dinner and then heading over to Fort De Soto county park.  We some some really special things while at the park, but I'll have to share that later because I have far too many pictures and words to fit them all in one blog post.  We had a great Sunday drive and Nathan said his pre-birthday celebration day was wonderful.

Happy Hour at Our Place

We keep thinking that each Happy Hour we have attended lately is probably the last one for this season.  Luckily, that has not been the case.  Donna decided to throw another one with those of us who are still here.  And there ended up being plenty of us to have a really nice Happy Hour.  We held the party at our place and we had tons of great food again.  Donna made sloppy joes and there was lots of great side dishes and desserts. 

We spent most of the night talking with each other, which is what Happy Hours are mainly for.

We also like to have fun, and this time our cornhole game provided the entertainment.  We managed to get almost every single one of us out there to play this fun game. 

This game might look easy but it is not as easy as it appears to be.  It requires lots of concentration.

Buddy and Tonya were naturals.  Right away they looked like they'd played the game forever.  Travis played a pretty mean game too.  The rest of us are still learning but we had tons of fun too.  The best round of the evening was one where Travis and Art put five in a row through the hole.  I managed to snap the fifth one as it is heading through the hole.

We played most of the night and then sat and chatted some before the mosquitoes drove us all back into our rigs.  The weather was perfect and I'm so glad we did have yet another great Happy Hour.

Happy Birthday Ambir!

 Today is our gorgeous girlie Ambir's birthday.  I still remember my very difficult pregnancy while I carried her and my very easy delivery when I finally gave birth.  She was the most striking newborn and baby that I think I've ever seen.  So much so people would stop me in public and ask me if I had considered putting her in modeling.  She still is gorgeous so clearly her good looks are going to last.

I wish you were here with us, Bambi, but I'm glad you and Daniel are celebrating the day together.  If I had thought ahead, I could have had a birthday cake for you when you and Daniel were just here.  I guess we will have to make up for it next time.  Happy Birthday sweet girl!  We love you so much!

Another Sunday Drive

We had a nice, lazy weekend and except for Nathan working on taxes we didn't have any pressing matters to attend to.  So once he was done with his taxes we took a Sunday drive.

Showtime with the Lipizzan Horses

I have visited these horses and wrote about them enough times that I'm beginning to feel like a dating ad when I talk about them.  It's hard to not talk about how fabulous they are when you share pictures of them.  They are such gorgeous creatures. 

They are strong, impressive creatures!

They even have great hair!

What I don't think I've talked about yet, is the fact that they are clearly trained to be showmen.

Since I don't speak horse, I have no idea if they enjoy us being there or not.  But I can tell they are comfortable and used to us being there by how they interact with the crowd.

If those pictures were not proof enough, check out this one.

Best.Horse.Shot.Ever.

I swear he was looking at me saying," and hoooolllldddiiinnnngggg...please just take the shot already!"

Love the Lipizzaner horses.  Living the life in sunny Florida.

Happy Easter

Today was the last Easter that we will have a minor child of ours living at home with us.  That same minor child spent the entire day working so I didn't get to give him his Easter basket until late tonight.  So to ease my sadness some, I dug out some old pictures of the kids on Easters from long ago.  I especially love this picture of the five of them in 2001.  Austin still makes that same face so it is proof to me that no matter how old they get, some things never change.

Thank goodness for the positives of them growing up, like the reality that the Princess is now here due to them growing up.  Her Easter pictures made my day!

We really did have a wonderful day, even though it was quiet.  Hoping everyone else did too!

Hermmann's Royal Lipizzan Stallions

This morning I made another trip over to see the incredible Lipizzaner stallions.  I arrived early enough to visit the stable first and got to spend a good half an hour there.  It is so neat to visit the stable and see the horses up close.

I found my personal favorite for today when I saw how much he seemed to enjoy interacting with people. 

Then I noticed his name and realized he would fit in with our family really well because his name starts with an A.  I told him that he could be one of my kids with a name like his.  

He seemed really intrigued by that.  I told him we could use another boy to even out the boy girl ratio.

I asked, would you like to go home with me big guy?  At which point he nodded his head.

So it's all set.  I just have to figure out how to fit him in the RV and then he's coming home with us.

  Ahhh, a girl can dream at least, right?  Isn't he something though?  More pictures later of the show.

Living the life in sunny Florida!

Trees at Highland Hammocks Park

While we were at the park, I saw Nathan doing something and couldn't quite figure it out.  I snapped a picture first and then asked what he was doing.

He said he was feeling the tree move and when I did the same thing, sure enough you could feel it swaying.

We then talked about all of the cool things to do with trees, and moved to specifically discussing how neat the trees here are.

Next time we visit, I hope to get shots of the giant trees that Auburn calls Jurassic Park trees.

Living the life in sunny Florida!

Bok Tower Founders Tour

When we purchased a membership to Bok Tower Gardens, they let us know that a few times each year members are allowed to go inside the tower for a special tour.  We signed up for the next one available.  I ended up having to work that day, but Nathan still attended.  For the tour, you are only allowed on the first floor of the tower.  Nathan said it was a really neat room and well worth the tour.  I hope to be able to do the next one.  Here are some of his shots of the room.

Ambir and Daniel's Visit

This past weekend, Ambir came to visit us.  She brought her boyfriend, Daniel, whom we were meeting for the first time.  We were so excited to have time with her in person.  I have missed my gorgeous girlie.

 We were super excited to meet Daniel finally.  We really liked getting to know him and we hope to spend more time with them together while we are here this summer.

We went over to the animal shelter across the street from us.  They seemed to enjoy that.

 We even got Austin to come with us.

 Most important during this trip was the fact we got them out on the pickleball court to learn the game.  Daniel was a natural, because he is an athlete.  Ambir picked up really fast too.

We introduced them to our favorite Ice Cream place.  They even ate breakfast at Paul's.  We fit in as much as we could.  Our time with them was too short, but they are hoping to come up and see us again soon.

Living the life in sunny Florida!