Thursday, March 31, 2016

We took a quick trip to Grand Rapids to see family

Tuesday morning we were up early and on the road heading to Grand Rapids because Matt and Diana were in town AND to see all the GR family too. 
 We arrived in time to have lunch and headed out to Meijer Gardens.  We spent quite a bit of time in the butterfly exhibit and then headed out to check out the gardens.  I took quite a few family pictures of those nieces and nephew AND of course the great-grand nieces and nephew.  They are a cute bunch.
 You may wonder why I am taking a picture of Matt and Diana posed like this but behind them there is a sculpture of a very similar pose and they are REALLY  trying hard to embarrass their children. 
 I took this picture of B before I saw the sign that you were suppose to stay off the sculptures.  I am sure I'm not the first one that has NOT seen the sign or just ignored it.  I really don't know why they have such inviting sculptures and won't let you take pictures of people on them. 
 These butterfly sculptures were seats AND you were allowed to sit on them  Gram had her picture taken with her grandchildren except for the littlest one because he was sleeping in his stroller. 
 This little sweetie had a great time and was a wonderful little girl as we walked and walked and walked around the gardens AND her brother was able to sleep the whole time. 
 We did wake him up so that he could be in this picture.  This big horse sculpture is quite spectacular. 
 After a long day at work, Daddy came home and had a little floor time with his littlest one. 
 Eva fixed a fantastic dinner for everyone.  I was surprised by the arrival of Leo.  He drove over to have dinner with us. 
 He also had a little baby time.  They look pretty comfortable together. 
 We did celebrate Jessica's birthday with 'Death by Chocolate"  I'm not sure that this little girl knew what all those candles were for. 
She did try to help Momma with the tradition of blowing them out. Maybe she will be better as she is almost 2 and will have a chance to try it on her own. 
So, there you go.....Our trip to see family was fantastic.  We drove back the same night but it was well worth the time driving to see everyone. 

Friday, March 25, 2016

Our Florida trip

Well,  I haven't posted on the blog in a LONG time but I usually have little short postings and have been using FB instead.  This is a long one so if you really don't want to hear about our recent trip to Florida, just leave this page.  We flew out on a Tuesday, March 15th and arrived in Tampa late in the evening so we checked in to a hotel and waited until morning to explore.  We did a little research and decided the Dali museum would be a good start on our exploring
 
 Of course we took the audio tour. 
 There were VERY interesting paintings from a very good artist. 
 The museum itself was an interesting building.
 In the event that you can't tell, this is a mustache.  Dali was famous for this image. 
 This is the outside of the museum.
 After that museum we checked out a glass blowing demonstration.  I have always been fascinated by glass blowing and this young man made a beautiful bowl.
 Later in the day we headed south to Sarasota to visit the Angoves.  They rented a condo for 2 months and this is the second year they have invited us to come down and visit them  We did a little exploring at an artist community there in Sarasota.  I am always interested in galleries. 
 One evening we had a terrific dinner with a friend from TC that is staying in the same area.  It was a delicious salad night. 
 Bud and I decided to check out a museum and planetarium that was in a nearby town.  We watched 3 different shows at the planetarium and checked out all the displays at the museum.
 We did have a rainy day so how about a game of Mexican Train.   I was winning for a while but Larry ended up with the fewest points.  They play by some of our rules but they also keep score at the end of each game so the one with the fewest points wins. 
 OH YES, a rainy day is also good for a trip to Gem, bead and rock show that was in Sarasota.  I noticed the sign as we drove in and it was a MUST on my agenda.  AND, of course, I had to buy a few things.  I found a Laramore ring and a string of black spinel stones.  It was a good day for me. 
 We also had some great meals out.  This was a wonderful nearby place where we meet Tam, a TC friend for dinner.
 We had to have drinks out one afternoon, at the harbor of course.  The sunshine was terrific.
One other evening we also met some other former TC friends who live in Sarasota for dinner.

So there you have it, our Florida brief vacation.  We left on a Tuesday and flew back on the following Monday.  Unfortunately, I picked up a cold germ somewhere and have been a little 'under the weather' since  we returned.  AND we received a BIG winter storm yesterday so my relaxing time in the warmth of Florida was punished by a cold and a snowstorm. 
The sun is out today and I understand the snow is suppose to melt rather quickly.  The sun on the snow does look beautiful today but it is a disappointment now that we are expecting spring to arrive soon. 
Thanks for making it clear to the end.  I hope it was at least a little interesting.