Visiting My Dad

The day after the Ormond Beach shower I rode with Allison to Atlanta to catch my flight to Tennessee to see my dad.  How do Allison and I manage to dress alike almost every time we're together?

By the time I arrived in Memphis, I wasn't feeling too well.  My sister, Norma, was kind enough to bring me a mask for our 2 hour ride.

I ended up being in bed for the next two days at my dad's house so I wouldn't infect anyone else.  If I hadn't felt so bad, it would've been really strange being at his house all alone.  My dad has been in a nursing home receiving rehab since the middle of January after being hospitalized.  This was my first visit to see him.

I didn't take any pictures of my dad at the nursing home.  Thankfully, he felt well enough to go to my brother's house two days in a row and ate more food than we had seen him eat in a very long time.  He seemed to especially enjoy their dog, Barkley.

And he even felt like going for a walk outside the next day.

  Here's a little video of us playing Yahtzee with Dad.

It was great seeing my dad and such fun being with my siblings.  

I found this picture of him while I was at his house; not sure what year it was taken, but isn't he handsome?  Hope you continue to gain your strength back, Dad!  

Wedding Planning and Festivities

The last few months have been busy with wedding planning and wedding festivities!  Natalie and Dan's invitations arrived a while back and just look at how they were packaged!  I love it!  They even came in a leopard box!  I can just see little Natalie playing dress up in her little leopard hat and coat!  And later on, carrying her leopard overnight bag.  How fitting!

What fun I had addressing them!  And they were all ready to be mailed when I returned from my trip back east.  Woohoo!!!

On March 10th, Allison and Tiffany hosted a bridal shower for Natalie at the home of my friend Lisa in Ormond Beach.  I flew to Atlanta five days prior to the shower to help with the preparations.

 Toby helping me cut the fabric for the table runner.

I really wanted to make the same wedding cake cookies that Natalie and Allison had helped me make for Matt & Amy's rehearsal dinner last July.  To say the least, I was having a difficult time in Allison's kitchen, using her tools.  I'm glad she wasn't there to see it in person.

Allison helped with the decorating; she did a beautiful job!

Ormond Beach here we come for Natalie's shower!  Click here to see pictures of the actual shower on Allison's blog.   We were blessed with such sweet friends celebrating with us!

February

When friends are in town one of the things we do for entertainment is to attend tapings of different TV shows because it's a novel activity (for those of us new to L.A.) and well, it's free.  There are a couple of shows that host "giveaways" and a few days before Valentine's Day my friend, Eileen, and I attended a taping of The Talk.  It just so happen that they were giving away items for last minute Valentine's Day gifts and one of things we received was a two night stay at The Mirage in Las Vegas along with two tickets to The Beetles "Love" cirque du soleil show!

So on February 28th Steve and I arrived in Las Vegas after a very long drive for our free stay.  It was my first time to visit Vegas and I was quite surprised by the all the sights.

The next day we enjoyed walking around the strip where we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at a French cafe.   Afterwards, we sat out by the pool while Steve caught up on some work.

  Everything in Vegas is over the top including this mall.

These pictures were taken inside the mall.

Before and after the show we walked around the strip.  Below is a picture of our hotel.

  

I was glad I got to experience Vegas, but I doubt I'll be returning . . . unless I win another trip!

From Vegas we drove to Costa Mesa to see the play, Wicked, which we loved!  It was a nice change from Vegas!

We drove back to L.A. after the play in order to be back with Walter.  Our new friends, Karen and Alan, took care of him while we were away.  Walter looks like he made some new friends, too!

Happy Belated Birthday Silas!

When I started this blog I thought it would only be my project for a year (since that's how long we expected to live in California).  15 months later . . . I'm running out of steam!   Yet, I'm just as excited with each visitor or event as I was at the start of this blog!  So it is time for some catch up!

On January 29th, Silas turned six years old!

Steve and I returned to Florida on Feb 1st to celebrate with him, Tiffany and John.  This is how Silas greeted us at the front door!  The fun had just begun!  

The next morning we took him to one of his favorite restaurants, Cracker Barrel.  It was a cold Florida morning and we couldn't resist sitting by the fire.

Later that day, Natalie joined the celebration and we all went to the bowling alley for Bumper Bowling.
It was difficult to get a clear picture of those two due to all the "action" so excuse all of the blurry pictures.  He loves his Aunt Natalie!

Learning how to bowl . . .

I wish I had taken a picture of our scores- they were pitiful even though we were bumper bowling!  I don't think any of us broke 100!

Always fun ordering from the snack bar!

 We ended the night with a stop in the arcade room.  It's hard to believe that Silas will be driving for real in nine short years!  

But for now, this is how I want to think of him.  I'm so thankful that God brought him into our lives!  I love you, Silas!