A Birthday Party

On February 1st, 2013...........

.......... this tiny little girl ..........

....... and her twin brother............ were born three months early.  Their proud parents are Robert and Suzie, the young couple who live next door to us when we are in Florida.  They were so tiny and yet so perfect!  One year later we were invited next door.....

.... to celebrate their first birthday!  You can see Michael on the left with that big green balloon and little Guilianna on the right in the pretty outfit.  There was so much activity that it wasn't until later that I realized this was the only picture I got of the twins!  Oh Dear!  There was.....

..... this one of Michael with his Grandma.  There was...........

....... a lot of people there and a lot of good food to eat!  And of course........

........... there was a beautiful princess cake for Guilanna and....

........... some pretty scare-ey Ninja's on a cake for Michael.  Meanwhile, out in the back yard.......

.... there were children in the bouncy castle and..........

.... more children in the pool (there were actually a lot more children than you see in this photo!).

The adults were enjoying themselves chatting in the lanai.  Once we were back at the villa and I downloaded my pictures I realized I had no good shots of the little ones.   I asked Suzie if I could get a couple of pictures - but the twins were sound asleep.  She kindly let me ............

........... sneak in with my camera!  So here, one year later is the beautiful little Princess Guilianna...........

.... and here  is the adorable and handsome Prince Michael!  Isn't it amazing how much difference one year can make!?

Whether.....

.......... to be in Florida or not to be in Florida!  That is the question!  The morning after we returned home - you'll never guess what Poppa was doing!

 Yep!  It snowed - there was about 4 inches of the stuff all over the place.  When we arrived the day before we saw mostly grass with a few patches of snow where it had accumulated in places.  When we got up the next morning we saw snow - yuck!

Granted - it does look pretty - but the darn stuff is cold - and we had become accustomed to heat!  And - after all, it was the middle of April - we should be having April showers, sigh!

But, eventually Poppa got the worst of it shovelled away.  Fortunately, by now most of the new snow is gone, and some of the old patches are much smaller.  Yesterday was a lovely day with temperatures about 22C.  We went to visit Gramma Grace and Aunt Peggy - they were both looking well and happy.  We ran several other errands first and did a few chores at Aunt Peggy's house - and - I had forgotten to take my camera with me - next time!

The Long Road Home

We had the most wonderful weather on our ride home.  When we left Florida it was 27C and when we stopped for the night it was still lovely and warm.  We stopped for the night in Port Wentworth, GA at a Days Inn where the room was so-so and we didn't get any pictures.  The second day found us in Marietta, OH where we............

.......... Becky and Whitey at their summer residence!  We had a wonderful visit - got caught up on all the news - then went to Shoney's for their buffet.  We chatted until is was dark outside and after some consideration decided to stay at the Holiday Inn right there in Marietta.  It was a very nice room.......

........... and Poppa and his entourage enjoyed having a sofa to sit on while they checked the weather channel to see what kind of weather to expect on our last day of travelling.......

......... which turned out to be more of that same 27C weather.  A perfect day for being on the road.  Our next stop was Munchie's house....

.......... it was terrific to see Mommy and Daddy both looking well and happy after four months away.  Poppa wanted Tim Horton's coffee so.....

.... Munchie ran off to try on the new outfit we had brought for him from Florida, so he could go with Poppa - and shortly thereafter.....

........... Curtie came out all ready to go in his new outfit too!  Oh my goodness - they are such cute little men - don't you think???!!!!  We visited for a while and then headed out in an effort to get home and unpacked before dark.  The weather stayed very warm until we encountered an rainstorm (a rather nasty one at times).  When the rain stopped the temperature had dropped about 12 degrees and we started to see snowbanks along the side of the road.  And you'll never believe what happened the next day!

Final Day.....

The morning of our final day in Florida and the beginning of our trek northward.....

....... began at the villa where we met David, Allison and Robert for brunch at Celebration.  I was enjoying the visit so much, I forgot to take many pictures!  After brunch..........

.......... we took a stroll along the shady walking path around the lake at Celebration......

..... where the squirrels are quite tame and unafraid of any humans ambling past.  Following this pleasant interlude....

.... we said our goodbyes and embarked on our journey north.  The weather was fine and stayed warm all day which made great travelling conditions and took us to Port Wentworth, Georgia where we spent the night in a Days' Inn suite which was quite nice, but we were all tired and didn't get any photos there!

Exit Stage North

Our last day at the villa.....

............. Squeegie watched closely as Poppa....

............ did his last minute chores........

............ gathered up all the garbage and recycling items for placement at the curb....

.... and cleaned up any last traces of footsteps in the front entrance.  When all that was finished....

.... we checked into our hotel for the night - looking forward to meeting David & Allison tomorrow.

In a Nutshell........

.......... we are safely home.  I haven't had time to post or download pictures.  More soon!

Last Post!

This will be the last post before we leave the villa...and then there will be silence here until we arrive at home in Canada!  We went ....

.......... for a little drive around to enjoy the first of all the spring flowers, on the trees.....

.... on the cactus plants....

............ on the bougainvillea bushes....

... and other bushes too.........aren't they beautiful!  Oh!  How I wish we could stay longer!  The magnolia trees are loaded with buds, but the blossoms so far are way up at the top of the trees - next week they will be gorgeous!  We...

..........took all our stuff out of the front bedroom (well - almost all of it!) and.....

........ packed the car.  The back seat is reserved for golf clubs, computers, pillows, jackets and, last but not least the bears!  Apparently.....

.... Minnie Mouse is coming back to Canada with us this year too.  We kinda got attached to her while the bears were in the hospital - and she wants to come.  What a surprise she will get when she sees all that snow and feels the miserable cold!  Poor little thing!  Then we....

.... had one last dip in the pool.  Following which....

............ Poppa vacuumed the pool so it would be nice and clean for David, Allison & Robert who will arrive this evening around 8pm.  Now we are finished except for a few things.....

.... in the kitchen - which Poppa is working on right now.  Then we'll vacuum ourselves out of the villa and head for the motel.  Tomorrow morning we are meeting David & Allison & Robert (of course!) for a late breakfast - then we'll be on the road.  I will check on the ChromeBook each evening for e-mails - so if you want to get in touch with us that would be the most reliable way.  I will try to remember to keep my cell phone on and charged :o)  Oh my goodness...one last thing....

... Squeegie wanted everyone to see his new summer jammies!  He thinks he looks very handsome!

Now.....

.... what is Squeegie doing?

Oh!  Poppa is wiping all the baseboards.....

.... they took a break to lubricate the knob on the front door....

.... and then got back to the baseboards!  See all the socks lined up on the table in the bottom-right corner of the picture?  They are all packed up and ready to head to Canada now!  For anyone who was wondering, Kev-Inn and his Mom had absolutely no room available in their luggage for even one sock!  So, I will be bringing them back to Canada with me... only about a week to wait!  Meanwhile....

.... silly me!  I thought all the ladder work was done, and then....

... I found those boys at the top of the ladder again!  Now what are they doing??  Well....

... it seems they are cleaning the silk plants up there, and then - WAIT!  What is going on???

The big tree is missing from the kitchen????  Where is it????

Oh!  There it is........having a turn at getting dusted and aired!  After that.....

.......... all the small plants had a turn!

Soon they were all looking spiffy and returned to their proper places.  The next thing on the agenda....

.......... was to clear all the amassed lint from the dryer pipes.  Then the washer and dryer were cleaned and put back in place.  What did I do?  Well, aside from taking pictures....

......... I started packing some stuff up - I got quite a bit done.....

........... but I've still got to do my shoes!