More Treasure

The next morning, Jan took us to one of her favorite places, as evidenced by the way she just lit up while we were there, the barn. We met Elmo. The word for Elmo is chill. He's a sweet and mellow horse. He had to have surgery for a hurt leg this week, which we hope heals easily.


Morgan was there training a horse. She was busy so we didn't get to chat, but Jan showed us some videos of Zoey later. We also got to meet some of Jan's students.

There were some happy people at the barn. Maybe horse is synonymous with Happy.


You can see that Olivia is catching the Happy bug...


Later, we were all happy when we were able to talk Meme, Poppy and Mitchell into stopping by for a meal at Cracker Barrel.

Treasure 1

This Spring Break held many treasures for me. We took off in the camper bound for two very different locations: Sanibel Island and Blue Springs.

The first day's travel was full of surprises. TWO flat tires, three if you count the spare that was flat when we put it on the camper. Poor Brad had to change the tires 4 times, I think. Luckily the flats happened on the way out instead of on the way home. The first flat was on 301 near MacClenny. We ended up at the WalMart where we confirmed that we are not as redneck as we thought.

The second flat was just a few minutes before the exit off I-4 that would take us to Jan and Pete's house. By then Brad had gotten really good at changing the tire. I think it only took about ten minutes to get the spare on.

Jan and Pete invited all the Tampa relatives to greet us: Terry, Tony and his friend Cat, Lisa, Cody, Mamma and Al were all at the house when we finally pulled in. What a treat to see everybody! Cody's finger was, well, kinda scary with that pin sticking out of it. Yikes! He just grinned. Compare that to Olivia's scraped knee which is causing her to limp and wear a very large bandage.

One of my favorite moments was on the house tours: First the big house, then the little house built just for Glenda by Peter. Glenda was our tour guide. When we got to her house, she said that it was "almost" finished. This made Peter raise his eye brows. I don't think the little house is on Peter's list anymore. There are just two shelves to find on which two dolls will rest. Oh, I forgot about the third house: the one with wheels. When you count our camper, we could have set up a refugee camp with all the beds available.

I wish I had gotten the camera out! That evening was my first treasure... more tomorrow.

Our day of thanks was relaxing. Brad and Audrey provided an excellent feast. There was football and a warm fire. Our hearts were as full as our bellies. Happy Thanksgiving!

Who are these people??

I guess the politicians were taking a break on Halloween when they stopped by for some candy.

Trick or Treat!

Disney Day

We snuck in a day at the Magic Kingdom to celebrate Charlie's 15th birthday. The birthday boy went from never riding any rides to riding everything in one day! He went on Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Space Mountain. We all had a blast- Happy Birthday, Charlie!

Top Ten Reasons We Loved Henry

10. He let Olivia carry him around on her hip like a baby.




9. He inspired songs. Well, one song anyway. Thanks, JM.





8. Every morning he spent some time with Brad to start his day off right.



7. He was patient with kids and adults who “over-loved” him. He was never hissy- he just waited patiently for a chance to escape, and then he’d rub your leg on his way to someplace else.



6. He just loved attention from people.




5. He was a good brother to Grace.




4. He would happily sleep in your lap for an hour prompting the excuse, “I can’t right now because Henry is sleeping on me.”




3. He was waiting for us at the door every day when we got home from school/work.




2. Kisses. He gave sweet, sweet kisses.



1. He loved us.

Long over due Post

Yes, it is summer and therefore you should see multiple updates to this blog. Don't you know that teachers spend all summer drinking cocktails by the pool? I've broken away from the pool party for just a brief moment to update you on some of the happenings around here lately.

We spent a week in Virginia and Wash DC. You see the picture of Charlie and Olivia with George and Martha Washington. Notice Olivia's face. There was a lot of that during the week. Not that I blame her- history isn't exactly fascinating to almost twelve year old girls. Charlie was slightly more interested occasionally, but I had a great time. We saw Montecello, Mt Vernon, the Capital, various sites around DC, the Holocaust museum, and a lot of the Metro.

The highlight of the trip was seeing Brad's cousin Robby and his wife, Deb. They are expecting a baby very soon. Thanks to Robby for the awesome tour of the capital that he arranged. Dinner was great and we cannot wait to do it again.

I'd promise to update more about our trip or summer or Mitchell's graduation, but the pool is calling...

Prom

Mitchell and his girlfriend, Sam, recently attended the Paxon Prom after a lovely meal at the Melting Pot (fondue). They looked great in their fancy clothes.

Bishop helped Mitchell figure out the laces for the fancy shoes.

Mitchell graduates May 30th. Yowza! Two, graduated!

Charlie has been given an award for being one of 800 middle school students in Duval County to keep a 3.5 GPA througout his middle school years. Way to go Charlie! He's all registered for classes at Paxon (yep!) in the International Baccalaureate program.

Olivia's cast is off and she's recovered enough to play in a few end of the season softball games. She might let me take pictures tomorrow... might.

School is out for summer on June 5th (June 10th for teachers). Oh, happy days!

Catch up, Up date

Mitchell turned 18, started driving, got a car, and started dating a very nice young woman all in the space of about two months. My head is still spinning, but he's a happy kid- er, adult. We celebrated his big day at the usual spot with the usual suspects (Charlie took the pictures).

Bishop is seriously looking into joining the Navy. He is attracted to the structure, money and adventure. Brad took him to the recruiting office today to find out about the possibilities. They now have a long list of things to do. Thank goodness we are off for Spring Break next week.

It turns out that our decision to buy a hot tub rather than go on a trip this break is a good one. Brad loves the spa (and so do I).



Here's another reason that a trip would have been difficult: Olivia's cast. It comes off next Wednesday, but she'll be tender for a little while after that. She fractured her growth plate sliding into second base at softball practice. Second injury to the same ankle. OUCH!

The Pink House

Ever since I lived on San Jose Blvd. across the street from the pink house, I've always wondered what it looked like inside. Last weekend, my curiosity was finally relieved and as a bonus, we toured the house with Ned and Stephen who were visiting from Chilly Philly.

Lucky for us, they brought some warm and wonderful weather with them. What a fun weekend, filled with visiting, eating, touring and a little Super Bowl partying. Unfortunately, I was having so much fun I completely forgot to take any pictures with my new camera so you'll just have to take my word for it.

It is possible that I was distracted by my new diamond ring! That's right, after 20 years of marriage, we decided to upgrade. The television was also upgraded, lest you think that Brad was neglected. His 52 inch Aquos brings our entertainment shrine- er family room into a new dimension. At one point, Ginny and I were outside comparing diamond color grades while Brad and his dad were actually measuring television screens- a veritable Rockwell moment. I think that Ned and Stephen were quite amused.

Back to the pink house... The interior was a bit less grand than I had envisioned. The rooms are spacious with wonderful light from large windows. The back yard's oak canopied patio would be a perfect spot for entertaining. There is even a garage apartment (great for some distance from the teen in your life). However, it was a bit pricey for a home that doesn't even have an upgraded kitchen. Still, there is the pineapple fountain out front. For the right people, it is a charming home.

We have another wonderful weather weekend ahead of us, and I am ashamed that I ever complained about the heat. One month of gray, chilly weather cured me! I hope y'all have a lovely weekend, too.

Camera-LESS and JAGS

The holidays blew by with the usual mix of over-busy and joyful reunions with family. Unfortunately, in all the hullabaloo, my camera is gone. Therefore, I have no pictures of the fabulous times we had in December.

Still, it was great, great, great to have Leslie, Josh and Charlotte stay with us for a week. Everybody was digging the new Wii game system. I think Charlotte won, though. Josh might disagree. Wait, no, Josh won the tennis, but Charlotte won the water obstacle in Mario Galaxy. I have no idea who is the winner of the Uno Attack, but that is one fun game. Go get one and see for yourself.

The trees and decorations are still up and here's why: Last night the Jags beat the Steelers in a nail biting, topsy-turvey game. We had some folks over for the game, so I left up the decorations just for the party. Since the Jags won, it would be bad luck to take them down. They play again next Saturday against the Patriots. I know they haven't lost this season, but in this house, we BELIEVE the Jags can win. Merry January!

My friend Lori is traveling to Egypt as part of an educator exchange program. I don't know the details, but she is keeping a blog while she is there. I think it is super cool! Check it out: Egypt Trip.

Ch,ch,ch changes

Since my last post, Olivia has turned 11 and started middle school, Bishop turned 19 and left for college and I am now in my 40's.

Bishop seems to have settled in quite well in G'vlle. He's hooked up with some people from Jax and met new people. I hear he's even cleaning the apartment.

Mitchell is a SENIOR. I should get his picture up soon. He was a sport and allowed me to get a nice picture. Then he shaved his head. Now he's talking about multi-colored liberty spikes. FUN!

Charlie is the top dog at LaVilla this year. If only his little sister wasn't there to bug him! He's taking beginning piano at school. We have a new electronic piano so that he can practice his skills at home. He's picking it up pretty quickly. All those years of voice and music theory have been good.

Olivia is making the transition to LaVilla and middle school pretty well. She's met people in the neighborhood on the bus so she's off spending the night and hanging out a lot these days. Softball has begun for her, and Brad's coaching again this year.

Hope that all is well with all of you. Send me an email and let me know: birol@bellsouth.net

Big News

August 19th, the day after Bishop turns 19, he's off to G'vlle to go to college. He'll be attending Santa Fe Community College and living right across the street in a student apartment with three roommates. He has his own bedroom and bathroom- not bad. And, they have a washer and dryer right in the apartment. I wonder if he'll use it?

If you email me, I'll send you his address. We and he are pretty excited about this new opportunity. He'll be living the student life, going to class full time and eating lots of pizza.

The daughter in DC

I didn't expect to have such a good time in DC. I was impressed with the pagentry and formality of the memorials. I'm glad that our capital contains so much public space that is filled with the idealism of our country. Certainly our politicians don't always measure up to the quotes that are carved in just about every stone surface, but it is good that the ideas that our country started out with are there to show what we can strive for.



I really liked seeing Olivia sprint up the steps in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Here she is taking a picture of the big guy.

Olivia was also nice enough to take a picture with me in the Roosevelt Memorial.



There is a sculpture in a park called the Awakening. Olivia was one of the only kids who could sprint up the leg onto the knee with no hands. She had to try many time to get it right, but she was determined.

Washington, naked

Two things that I noticed right away in Washington, DC: lots of nudity and words carved in stone everywhere.

This is one of several huge urns that is in the park right across the street from the White House.


This mural is in front of the Kennedy Center.

We never get to see any nudity in public art around here- this is not Italy, that's for sure. I think some artful nudity is nice to balance out all the porn and soft porn that is all over the internet and in music videos... or maybe I'm just a perv.

Seattle Celebration

Olivia, Audrey and I have just returned from a week in the Northwest visiting Dominick, Stephanie, Sebastian, Mercedes, Nicholas and Dorien. While we were there, Stephanie and Dominick officially tied the knot in a wonderful backyard ceremony surrounded by their friends and neighbors.

Here is a shot of the whole family.


Stephanie and Dominick were gracious hosts even if I was a grumpy traveler. It was awesome to see everybody. Meme and I had fun hainging out at the pool and the lake with the kids. If you are interested in getting some of the pictures, talk to Audrey.


July is a great month to visit. The weather was awesome- no rain, no humidity and not too hot. They don't have grits or too much air conditioning, though, but the views all around are spectacular. With our first step out of the airport back in Jax we felt the familiar humid air. Home sweet swamp.

Charlie's Big Adventure

Charlie had a fabulous time visiting the Uncles! You'll have to visit them, too, to see some pictures and hear/read all about it. Just surf on over to AS YOU WISH...

While you are there, check out the new landscaping at the cabin, well perhaps I should say villa instead. Nice evergreens!

Olivia had an adventure in Washington, DC with the patrols. Stay tuned for pictures from that trip...

Award Winners

It has been an award winning month around here. Since May is the last month of school (only one week to go!!) there have been several banquets, concerts and award ceremonies to attend. Here Olivia is shaking hands with our school's superintendent after receiving an award for being in the top 5% of all 5th graders in math and science in our county.



Here is Charlie with his award for Outstanding Musicianship for chorus.



Tomorrow (the 23rd of May) is our 20th wedding anniversary. When we first got married, I would have told you that twenty years was a long time, but now I understand how twenty years can feel like ten minutes.

Shocked and Dismayed!

I, like you, am shocked and dismayed at the lack of frequent updates to this blog. There is simply no excuse for going for so long between updates, especially considering my awesome, new, digital camera.

The only problem with the camera is that because it is digital, I let the kids take oodles of pictures. Now I have 300 pictures from the Lafer visits to go through and edit. I think this is a case of over documentation. Our best group shot is at the top of this post.

As I alluded to before, we were very lucky to have hosted the Lafer family for a fine weekend in April. I can't speak for everybody, but I had a great time. The kiddos all seemed to get along really well. We spent a lot of time just hanging around the house. Good thing everybody loves the cats. Any time y'all want to take advantage of the cheap real estate and the warm weather, just come on down. There are 6 houses for sale just on our little corner of the street right now. No pressure...

Fair warning, though: May is a busy month. Might not be many updates in May.