Super capes for Bridger and Kennedy

I made these little capes for my grandchildren. They are reversible. Batman/Superman for Bridger and Supergirl/Princess Kennedy for Kennedy. They look kind of bare and plain without the kids in them!

Daytona Beach

Memorial Day, we drove to Daytona Beach. About an hour and a bit drive. At first I thought I would only wade to my ankles. Then the sun was so warm and the water was so inviting. We changed into our bathing suits. The water was so warm even though it is the Atlantic Ocean. The waves were huge! They swallowed us up many times....it was a lot of fun. I don't remember waves that big in years. We had a lot of fun. Vanessa was working......

Whoops!!!

We were invited to a wonderful dinner at one of the city councilman's home. His wife is an incredible cook, I mean gourmet incredible. This is the third time we have been over to their home for dinner, they always have another couple there as well. I was helping Barbara in the kitchen and she mentioned that the other couple had been to the launch on Monday as well. The space shuttle launch.

I asked the couple if they were able to get very close to the launch, what their seats were like. Uhh.......MMmmmmmm.........well............he is the Chairman of the board for Nasa, so they had VIP seats. Embarassing.......whoops!.........wowzers.

The Video!

Space Shuttle Atlantis

Vanessa and I drove almost 2 l/2 hours to Titusville, to see the live launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, the last mission to repair the Hubble telescope, and perhaps the last space shuttle launch ever! We got there an hour and a half early, found a great parking spot making sure that the car was facing outward so we could make a quicker getaway. The day was HOT, about 91 degrees, with a nice breeze. We bought a hot dog for lunch at a little stand, and some gatorade for the wait.
We grabbed our lawn chairs and waited.....watched people.......Then the final countdown......We had our cameras ready........

We saw the fire......it was so exciting, I had goosebumps on my arms and could harldy believe I was actually watching it in person. Everyone was ooing and aaahing. The sound took a while to hit us, and then a huge rumble and a little vibrating.

The rocket kept disappearing in the thick white clouds, and then it would reappear. It was worth the long drive for that 30 seconds of excitement!

A scared turtle and a scared teenager????

Sean found this turtle as we were riding through our neighborhood. Our neighborhood is about 15 houses and a lot of roads paved with the hopes that houses would be built there. A lot of woods that we like to walk through sometimes. The woods are dense, they are sort of light and airy. When the turtle is crawling away, can you sense the fear in Sean's voice as he asks if turtles are plant eaters, meaning will they eat him??? Ha ha ha! Funny!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day today.

Vanessa gave me these beautiful roses.

Sean gave me this beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Ricky gave me this incredible vintage bike.

This one is for Ricky so I won't have to ride alone all the time.

After church, we tried the bikes out in the neighborhood.

Sean found a turtle by the woods and I will upload the videos in the next post.

Uh Oh, here comes trouble!

See??? Trying to knock Sean off the longboard!

Ricky told me that I had an appointment at 4:30 in the afternoon. I was on the computer downstairs in Addison and Mabulane's room (it's set up and waiting for them to arrive...) I heard Bridger's voice excitedly saying or powerfully saying, "Happy Mother's Day!" I knew they were on the webcam. To my excitement, all the kids were on the webcam, at Jordan's place. Lindsay, Jeremy, Bridger and Kennedy, Jordan and Kim, and Rebecca and Dave. What a great surprise. We were together "virtually". They had all pitched in on a gift for me and watched me open it. It was a beautiful piece to my china. What a surprise and I love it!!!!! Thank you so much. I am grateful that everyone took the time to get together so we could see them on the webcam. I love doing that, it helps me not miss them so much. I even got to see Cheyenne and Raleigh.

Here is the beautiful piece of China I received. It is Royal Doulton, "Tonkin", and they stopped making it about 20 or more years ago.

Vanessa gave me these DVDs. How did she know these were at the top of my list?

I also received these musical cards from all the kids. I love musical cards. They make me happy.

Ricky made these appetizers. Bacon wrapped scallops and fresh pineapple. It tasted so good, and what a great combination. The sweet and the salty. These would be fun to make when all the kids come in June. Tasty!!!!

Ricky cooked dinner. Lobster tail, steak and green beans sauteed in olive oil with pecans and an extremely moist sweet potato. It was all very delicious. Thank you. I was feeling a little sad from being separated from most of my children this Mother's DAy, but everyone helped to make it better. We even spoke to Addison and Mabulane for a minute on the phone. Literally a minute, because their time ran out. It was great to hear their voices.

Sean and I went for a little bike ride into the next neighborhood and we found these really cute little houses.

Jacksonville, Florida and a quilt shop

The drive to Jacksonville wasn't as bad or as long as we thought it would be. It took us an hour and a half to get there, and an extra 15 minutes to the quilt shop. We drove with the sun roof open, and the ipod blasting, the sun in our faces and the wind in our hair.

Vanessa took these pictures out the car window as I drove across the bridge. 90 degree weather!

I was so excited to go to this shop and touch fabric. Weird, I know.

The first part of the store was a gift shop, even the antique pieces of furniture was for sale. Vanessa took all the pictures while I looked around. Had to make the best of every minute!

Notice Vanessa's skirt in the mirror? The ladies by the fabric desk were crazy about Vanessa. They kept touching her and saying how pretty she is and touching her skirt and saying how cute it is!!!

Then I showed them my Lori Holt quilt, "The Comforts of Home". They couldn't believe all the intricate little details. I gave them her blog address. http://beeinmybonnetco.blogspot.com

FABRIC!!!!!!

Yup, that's me, salivating over all the nice pretty little things.

Here is a picture of us as we were ready to walk into the stake center. We had a great evening, listening to Julie B. Beck and Sister Cook. On our way home, we stopped at Sonic and got some Route 44 drinks. We drove home with the sunroof open and the ipod blaring, the moom beaming in and the wind in our faces. The whole road trip was on little windy tree filled county roads. We made it home by 11:30 p..m.

One of the fun things about living here is that Ocala is a great location. Everything you ever dreamed of (except for kids and grandkids and mom) is an hour or an hour and a half drive. More adventures to come!