Orange Blossoms

I wish this were a scratch and sniff picture! The orange blossom fragrance fills the air when I am walking by an orchard...and this is orchard country!

Lipizzan Stallions

Saturday we visited the Lipizzan Stallions Training Ranch. It was quite the spectacle. There are 30 or so horses on the ranch and exhibition training sessions are open to the public. There were a lot of people there and we saw the riders (all female) running these magnificent animals through the paces they will eventually show before kings, queens, and presidents! Click on the movie play button to see one of the horses in action. (It may take a minute for the movie to begin.)

Easter with Brayden

After breakfast and going to church in Wauchula, Brayden got down to serious egg hunting. When he found one he would shake it, then bring it to one of us to open because he knew the there was something inside.

More Easter

It was hard work finding all those eggs (actually, Caryn said ten would have been enough!) Brayden did like to carry the empty basket around, and drag grass that stuck to his little feet from one end of the coach to the other.

We also spent time down in the river doing some fossiling, at least Caryn and Mitch did. Brayden and I played in the water. He loved walking around and splashing. Here he is at the end of his day sitting in the grass he liked better out of the basket, and the eggs opened or in half.

Teaching Marie how to blog

This is Marie, happy that now she can blog. It's a busy Monday, but we find time to get "things" done!

Fun at night!

We made the most of our days and nights while we were in Orlando. We played pickle ball until we couldn't see then we played games. This is not a pizza, but a board game called Fast Track. We play and eat snacks! Marie, Mitch, Pat, Keith, John, and I spent a few nights like this.

Every once in a while we go out to eat. Here we are celebrating Sonny and Larry's anniversary at a very good rib place. It's the same crowd plus Sonny and Larry in the back left side.

Even in Florida, if we're lucky, we can have a campfire. Larry flipped the switch and viola! Fire!! Not quite the same as Minnesota fires, but it worked just fine!

Work and Play

Washing the motorhome is a big job and we don't do it very often. Even the roof gets a cleaning.

We spend a lot more time playing. Isn't that what retirement is all about. Helen and Faye did the leading of our water aerobics class, and Marie and I were great followers. The pool water is an easy 84 degrees and at 9:30 am there is no one around to bother us.

We also play Pickle Ball, a ball and paddle sport for teams of two played on a small sized tennis court. It's kind of an easy version of tennis, but we can work up a sweat. We play with a whiffle ball and paddles bigger but similar to a ping pong paddle. It's a lot of fun!

In Grampa's motorhome

All the buttons are just the right height for Brayden and he experimented with locking the door with Uncle Mikey's keys. He also found he could turn on the radio and whenever he did he'd dance to the music.

In the coach

A day in Gramma and Grampa's house is busy--Brayden likes to drink with a straw, hold his own spoon, and get a big belly laugh when he turns on the massager.

At the park

One sunny day we visited the park. Brayden thought that was fun! His best part were the garbage cans, however!

Shuttle Endeavour Lift-Off

As though the days aren't full enough, last Tuesday we even used the night. Six of us took off at 10:30 for the Shuttle Endeavour lift-off and drove to Titusville (about an hour and a half away and 12 miles from the launch site). We got there early enough to get a seat at the front of what became a crowd by 2:28 a.m. when the lift-off happened just like it was supposed to. We saw about the six seconds that happened before the shuttle disappeared into the clouds. However, it was spectacular--a huge light, then lift off (click on the picture for a close up), the the rumble of the take off. Yup, six seconds worth, and we went home. It was great!

Busy in Orlando

We moved to Thousand Trails Orlando and between cold, windy, rainy weather and being busy (that's going for a run in the morning, aquasize class, pickle ball in the morning until about 1:00, and Fast Track, Pegs and Jokers, and the hot tub in the evening, I just haven't gotten to the blog. I really have some Brayden pictures from Homestead that I will do later.

Mitch did a really nice stuffed manicotti dinner for some friends. A beautiful night to be outside (later that evening we saw the shuttle lift off). Earlier in the week friends did a "Pickle Ball Potluck". Mitch did the chicken with citrus glaze and teriyaki wings. Good food!