Florida Winter 2009 - 2010

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Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas - we were happy to spend these holidays with son Mark, daughter-in-law Heidi, and grandson Alex. There is nothing like a grandchild to make you smile. All of the pleasure and none of the hassles of childrearing!

Diane and her sisters took her mom Julia on a cruise for her 80th birthday. They scheduled the trip for a month later than her October birthday, to avoid any potential hurricanes. Wouldn't you know the only hurricane of the season blew through that exact November week. Fortunately, the cruise line was able to flip-flop the itinerary. No problem, and only one day of rain!

Of course, not all was rosy. Diane fell off her bicycle right before Christmas and broke her wrist. Note to self: don’t try and answer cell phone while riding bike—almost as stupid as talking/texting while driving a car. Six weeks of a Barbie hot pink cast (which the nurse put on without asking first) put the kibosh on other things we would have rather done. Oh well, it could have been worse.

On the brighter side, Dan and Megan arrived for a visit during one of the coldest January weeks Florida has seen in ages. We visited Diane’s mom, sister Mary Ann and niece Katie and friend Lyndie. We shopped, cooked, played Wizard and Sequence, and had lots of laughs together. The kids visited the Orlando parks, and we even went alligator hunting (well, not actual hunting, just looking for photo ops.)

Before we knew it, winter was coming to an end and we decided head north to Michigan, by way of Texas.

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