More Pictures - Unbelievable - I love my family!!!

Giggles & Grins



Family Thanksgiving 2007
The Wonder of Christmas

Me & my Kids!

More Pics from Thanksgiving Week- 2007

Michelle and Me on top of the St. Augustine Lighthouse


Big Sister and Little Brother - The ones we are Thankful for! Our Family Thanksgiving Christmas - 2007
Michelle and I at Daytona Beach

Ponce de Leon Lighthouse
Rudy & Me - waiting for the kids to climb the Lighthouse
Michelle and I rest under the trees after climbing the Lighthouse steps
Michelle & I at Flagler Beach on our way to St. Augustine

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Follow up to Homestead Race:

I know this is very late, but we've had a whirlwind of activities and things happening these past two weeks. We had a great time at Homestead Miami Speedway, we met new friends from California (Bob & Charlene), Debbie from Tennessee, got together with friends we've met before, Norman and camped with our regular race buds - Ashley and Cully! The weather was great, the races were awesome, Rudy fed us really well - we couldn't have had a better weekend at the Track. Well, maybe it could have been better, if Jeff Gordon would have Won the race and the NASCAR NEXTEL CHAMPIONSHIP, but it didn't happen and Jimmie Johnson won the Championship and Matt Kenseth won the Race. Saturday Night Cully and I were part of the ONMC members that were at the Championship celebration after the Busch Race and Cully got to go on the Stage with Carl Edwards and pose for pictures. It was awesome. We were up close and personal with Carl and afterwards we ran into Richard Childress and I got my picture with him (2nd year in a row).

We left Homestead track on Monday morning at 7:30 a.m., dropped Cully and Debbie off at the airport and picked up Michelle and Chris for their Thanksgiving Vacation with us. On our way home for the night, the front brakes went out on the RV and we had to have it towed for repair, so our plans changed and instead of going to Daytona on Tuesday, we got a rental car and drove to Daytona that night, stayed in a really nice Comfort Inn , then on Tuesday we went to the Beach and then to Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. We toured the grounds and they climbed the Lighthouse (Rudy & I did it earlier in the year). After that we headed further north to St. Augustine for our next night on the road. We found our hotel and then found something good to eat and we walked some of the historical streets and checked out some of the local merchants and on Wednesday we toured St. Augustine's Lighthouse and climbed the 214 steps to the top to view the awesome sights from atop of this Lighthouse and we took some pictures too. After a leisurely visit of the grounds and inn-keepers home, we headed home to pick up the RV and get settled in.

After we got all settled in at the RV Resort, we started preparing for Thanksgiving dinner with family at Aunt Judy and Uncle Don's house in Avon Park. We left Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. and headed south for a day of good food and family time. In the afternoon we took the younger ones to a neighbors house (where Uncle Don built a tunnel for Mr. Wells' train) for a Train Ride. What fun we all had!!

5:30 a.m. Friday morning (black Friday) found Michelle and I on the road to the mall. We made one stop first at Einstein's Bagels for breakfast and then we shopped and shopped. We met the guys later for lunch back at the Altamonte mall for lunch and more shopping. They brought Elani along too.

Elani was mesmerized with the large Christmas Tree in the middle of the Mall and then she spotted Santa Claus! She wanted to go see him (much different from last year) so we made our way over to him and she even sat on his lap for a picture.

Saturday after church we went to Travis and Rosa's for dinner and to celebrate Christmas with them and Michelle. It was a great way to give the Holiday season a kick start. It was also only the second time in 14 years that I've had both of my children with me during the Thanksgiving holiday! I love it! Travis got us tickets to Arabian Nights Dinner Show for that evening so we took Elani with us and had a good dinner and shop. (Elani's 2nd Santa siting) Sunday we hung around the RV, did some laundry and cleaning up. In the afternoon we went shopping again and then crashed early in the evening so that I could get ready to return to work on Monday. Monday night we all met at Olive Garden for our farewell dinner together. We took a few more pictures after eating great food. Tuesday Chris and Michelle flew out early in the morning and arrived home safely in Michigan. We are back to our normal routine of work and more work.

The weather is great here right now, so we are thinking of a nice motorcycle ride this weekend!

We don't have any travel plans until the second weekend on December!

So, I guess we will see you on the road then!

Heading South to Miami. . . . .

Thursday, November 15, 2007.

We are on the road heading South to Homestead-Miami for the final NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Race of the 2007 season. The Champion will be crowned at the Truck Race on Friday Night, the Busch Series Race Champion will be crowned on Saturday night and Sunday night the NEXTEL Cup Champion will be crowned and

WE WILL BE THERE!!

It is 7:45 p.m. and we on the Florida Turnpike about 200 miles from our destination. We will be camping in our RV at the Track Campgrounds. Cully and I have ONMC reservations to go to the Busch Series Championship Celebration after the Race on Saturday Night. Carl Edwards has won that Championship so Cully is thrilled and we are hoping to get some good pictures of Carl and the Trophy and all the Celebrations.

We have some new friends coming to visit us, too this year. Bob and his wife from California, Norm and a friend from Ohio, Debbie, Cully's friend from Tennesse, and Ashley is coming too from our home town to join us tomorrow for the weekend. We are going to have regular tailgating party and Rudy will be our Chef (as always). The weather is perfect for racing..... It is expected to be sunny and warm with a little breeze to keep it cool with hardly any humidity. This is going to be a great weekend, meeting new friends, attending NASCAR races and eating good food. Who could ask for anything better for a weekend of entertainment.

I'll have more to report and pictures too as the weekend flies by.

See ya on the Road!

OakRidge Boys - LIVE Concert

AND WE WERE THERE!....... November 8, 2007

We were given FREE complimentary tickets to the OakRidge Boys Concert that was sponsored by the Florida Hospital Heartland Division Foundation and Stevens Construction. (Thank you John Negley).

The Concert was awesome to say the least. Two full hours of their Greatest Hits along with some Christmas Songs and to top it off they sang "Elvira" and "BobbySue".

And that isn't all....... John invited us to join a select group to meet and greet the OakRidge Boys upclose and personal in the "Green Room" and have our picture taken with them by a professional photographer.
Can't wait to see the picture.......
I've attached a couple of the pictures I took that night. These guys were really, really good!
What a great evening!

Friday we set off for a weekend of camping with the Florida Outdoor Club in north Florida. We had a great relaxing weekend of enjoying the out-of-doors and great food and fellowship.

We will be leaving on Thursday for our last NASCAR Race of the season in Homestead-Miami, Florida. It is going to be a great time, we will be meeting new friends and hanging out with some old ones too. Looking forward to it on one side of the coin and on the other side, it is the last Race of the Season and we will have two full months before another Race. :-(

See ya on the Road!

Family Weekend in Avon Park

Nov 2-4, 2007

Weekend

Aunt Phyllis, Uncle Paul and Corrine arrived from Michigan on Friday afternoon on their first visit to Florida, so Aunt Judy planned a family get-together to Welcome them and for a eat and chat fest! And that is exactly what we did - we ate and we talked and we ate and we talked for three days! It was so much fun. Of course some of us had little ones to chase around too, so that helped, but mostly we just got caught up on each other's lives and talked about old times and made some new memories to carry us through until the next time we all get together.

We had Elani with us for the weekend so she kept us entertained and busy too. She loved to be outside and the weather was perfect for just that. We couldn't have asked for better days than this past weekend to welcome Michigan family to Florida.

The three sisters, my Mom, Aunt Judy and Aunt Phyllis and their husbands, Don, Don and Paul were present. Then Rudy, Elani and I were there to represent my Mom's side, Cal & Jess, Jodie, Mike, Kahli and Kadence (Cal's grand-daughters), Shanta, Mark, Kayla and Allyne, Don, Cheri and his two daughters, Nikki and Kadi were there (they all live in the area were Aunt Judy &Uncle Don's kids), Aunt Phyllis, Uncle Paul and Corrine. Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Paul also have three boys and their families, but they were still back in Michigan.

It was a good time for all and it is always good to see everyone together again. Times like these always produce good food and lots of memories to keep us going until we get all together again somewhere.

Aunt Phyllis, Uncle Paul & Corrine were now heading to the west coast side of Florida to see more of Florida and to spend some time at my Mom's house before completing their vacation trip in our fair state.

Next weekend, Rudy and I are going again with our friends, the Florida Outdoor Club camping in northern Florida. It is always a quiet relaxing weekend. Except Rudy will be cooking burgers for us all for our first fund-raiser, so he will be busy.....

See ya on the Road!

Not-So Scary Halloween

What a beautiful night for Trick or Treating here in Florida. We couldn't have asked for better weather for those little ones to be out and about. Rudy, Rosa and I took Elani and Lenix to Crane's Roost just behind the Altamonte Mall to Trick or Treat the different vendors and merchants lined up along the water edge. There was a beautiful soft breeze blowing across the water and the clouds went away giving us some blue skies and a gorgeous sunset.

Elani had a blast and she got lots of compliments and attention all dressed up in her "SALLY" car costume (from the movie "CARS"). She looked so cute and said Trick or Treat to every person at each one of the tables before they gave her candy treat and she followed with a sweet thank you, too!

It is quite a hike for a little one all the way around that little lagoon, but she made it until the very end. We stopped to watch the ducks and even saw a turtle in the water. Elani caught glimpses of other children and their costumes also and even made a new friend or two as she walked. What a great experience for a 3-year old and I am happy to be able to share it with her. Even little Lenix had fun, taking in all the sites and peculiar looking people. We have to thank Rudy (Paway) for taking great pictures to document this time in our lives.

We are heading to Avon Park/Sebring area this weekend for a Family Get-Together. Should be another fun-filled weekend!

See ya on the Road!