Christmas in Florida 2010

We spent our 2010 Christmas in Florida again this year. We can get together with all of Joni's kids and they can also get to spend time with their dad, who lives in Florida.

This year we had another cold front that came down from the north, so the week between Christmas and New Year's was cold.

We couldn't spend much time on the beach or even picnic outside for our meals due to the cold temps and wind. But, we were able to spend time playing tennis, which is always a fun thing to do. We play round robin tennis so everyone gets a chance to play. Barbara didn't play this year because she is HAVING A BABY!!!!!! SEE THE BELLY!!!!

We were also able to spend a little time walking the beach but had to wear sweatshirts or jackets. That's not what Florida is for..... it's supposed to warm and sunny.

The kids all came to see us a few days and we were invited down to their dad's house for one day. He has a very nice home in Boca Raton, on the intercoastal, with a boat dock and pool in the back. We spent time jet skiing and in the pool. Ron, the boys dad, also provided a very nice backyard lunch for us.

We're very excited that the new grandchild will soon be here and and that next Christmas should be fantastic with a baby to play with and enjoy.

Back Home to Texas

Sorry I haven't updated our website in such a long time. We've had a very busy fall in Texas, but mostly have been doing our regular Christmas/Fall stuff.

A sad event happened. Delton's mom passed away in November. We spent time visiting her while she was in a nursing home in Anson, TX. She broke her hip while getting out of bed and was bedridden for the last few weeks of her life. She is now with the Lord and Delton's dad, Doc.

We took part in our church Christmas presentation, as we do every year. It's called "Journey to Bethlehem". See our past posts for lots of information about "the Journey".

We left for Christmas in Florida on 12/20. After a motor home break down, we finally arrived on Christmas day at Ocean Resorts, our winter haven. Our air brake sprung a leak, a very dangerous situation, but we were fortunate to a close to a rest area just west of Tallahassee, FL. After being towed to Tallahassee for repairs, we were on our way. The tow truck was almost as big as our motorhome. What an ordeal that was.

I will try to be more diligent about updating our web. We will have more interesting things to report soon.

Bentonville, Arkansas

Continuing our trip back to Texas, we stopped in Bentonville, Arkansas, home of Delton's son, Chris. Chris is doing well. He bought a house and is fixing it up and doing a great job of it. We were disappointed that Chris had to work the whole weekend we were there, but he was able to get off earlier than normal. We don't get to see him too often, so our visit was very special.

Also living in Bentonville are our friends Ken and Anne Montgomery and their kids. Hannah and Sarah. Ken is the Music Minister of the First Baptist Church in Bentonville and Anne is in the choir. Anne is in the first row, second from the right. We enjoyed going to their church on Sunday and having lunch with them afterwards.

Chris suggested we do some sight seeing, hiking and biking while we were there. We went to see the Mildred Cooper Memorial Chapel. It's beautiful. Made of mostly glass from top to bottom, it is unique in it's construction. In a treed setting, the light reflects and constantly changes as the sun moves throughout the day. It's also lit up at night. We didn't get to see that but Chris said it's beautiful.

As we traveled south, we also stopped in Oklahoma City, and had diner with Rob and Marie Hock. They are the parents Jay, who is married to our niece Lisa. They showed us the city and we enjoyed diner at a Mexican restaurant. We headed to the DFW area the next and finally arrived back in Texas after a whirl wind of a trip. From July to October, we travels about 5000 miles...... from Colorado to New Hampshire and Maine and back to Texas.

Rankin Brothers

We stopped in Branson to see the Rankin Brothers show. Matt and Mark Rankin are friends of ours from Trophy Club and First Baptist Church in Texas. They have always dreamed of making it big someday and they have!

Their show is at the Caravelle Theater on the strip in Branson. Highlighting the 50's and 60's they do a great job presenting the hits of the day, doing impersonations of Elvis, Buddy Holly, Sonny and Cher and others.

They have a band and backup singers. See Delton with the Rankinettes.

After the show, the Rankin Brothers greet their fans and thank them for coming. Also CDs are for sale.

See Matt and Mark greeting their fans in the lobby.

In the middle of the show, Elvis "entered the building" and after a few songs, "Elvis left the building" . Mark does a great Elvis.

Of coarse, it's always great to see Larry and Sherry Rankin, their Mom and Dad. They are wonderful people and have dedicated themselves to helping their kids make the big time.

See all of us in the lobby after the show.

Creation Museum

Heading back to Texas, we stopped at the Creation Museum in Kentucky.

If you didn't believe the biblical story of Noah and the great flood, you will after you visit the Creation Museum. See Joni in the ark!

There is evidence of the flood through fossils and rock formations, especially in the Grand Canyon. The way the fossils and land are formed, it had to happen over a short amount of time, not over millions of years. Finding fish fossils on the top of mountains sure is convincing!

Also on display was a scroll taken from one of Sadam Hussein's palaces. He tried to destroy as much as he could be left a few behind. Fasinating!

We went to the planatarium which was also part of the museum. WOW! What an amazing universe! We are but a speck in the realm of things. God certainly loves us to have created such a wonderful place for us. See Adam and Eve in the Garden!

GRANDPARENTS!!!!!!!!

WE ARE GOING TO BE GRANDPARENTS!!!!!! and Ken and Chris are going to be UNCLES! And Barbara will be a MOMMY and Jim will be a DADDY!

Jim and Barbara announced their great news and we are thrilled.

The baby will be born in the spring, end of March or beginning of April.

We saw 4 ultra sound pictures. WOW! Even at only 3 months, we could see little stubs of arms, legs and a head.

We visited Barbara and Jim in Manhattan during our stay in Lake George. We drove our car into the city. There's no way we would take the motor home anywhere near the city.

We took a walk with Jim and Barbara in Central Park. We also had a breakfast with Barbara's parents, June and Joe. They will be grandparents for the 4th time. What a thrill. All 4 of us can't wait for the new arrival. Barbara is June and Joe's only daughter and this is Joni's first grandchild. Delton has a grand daughter who is now in college.

Another Balloon Festival

We went to another Balloon Festival. Two weeks after our first hot air balloon experience, Lorraine and Bob and their family took park in another balloon festival. What terrific timing for us to be in the area for both of them. SEE OUR PREVIOUS POST TO READ ABOUT OUR HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE!!!!!!!

Lorraine and Bob (Joni's high school friends) set up their daughter's balloon (see the pilot - Peter - Lorraine's son in law) again and this time we took part in the Chase Car part of the experience.

We helped set up the balloon to get it ready to sail. The experience was just as thrilling as it was the first time.

This festival was bigger than the one two weeks ago so there were a lot more balloons participating.
After the balloon took off, we got in the Balloon Chase Car, actually it was a motor home (See Joni and Bob and Jen and Ryan in the RV) and set out to follow the balloon. The wind was very calm that day so the balloon didn't travel very far, but it was up in the sky for a long time. The passengers were thrilled! Two elderly ladies went for the ride. One of the ladies had never even been in an airplane, so this was a special experience for her.

Since the wind is at it's calmest early in the morning, we had to be at the site between 5:30am and 6:00am. Soooooooo early!!!!!! So it was chilly out, but not as cold as the previous festival morning.

The balloon landed on private property, as it usually does, and it wasn't very hard for the chase car to locate it. As a matter of fact, 4 balloons landed on the same property. Unfortunately, the home owners weren't home. They sure would have been surprised to come home and find 4 hot air balloons on their land.

We proceeded to tear down the balloon and go back to the take off site (at the airport). We had our landing party there! After popping the champagne and setting out the snacks, we enjoyed the rest of the morning (see all of us eating and enjoying the day)

It was a special day for another reason! Lorraine and Bob's grandson, Ryan, was having his 5th birthday! He belongs to Jen and Peter, Lorraine's daughter and son in law (pilot). So we went to Lorraine's house for the big birthday party. Lots of good food was served and all of the family was there! Lorraine didn't attend the balloon festival that morning so that she could prepare for the birthday party.

When we got to Lorraine's house after the balloon festival, she put us right to work. See Delton holding all the food he prepared - cutting fruit, vegetable and making dip! What a Guy! It was so neat for Joni to meet all of Lorraine and Bob's kids and grandkids after not being in touch for 43 years!

Again, we had another wonderful time with the Thompsons. Joni had a hard time saying goodbye to them, but we all promised to get together again in Florida. Lorraine's brother lives in Florida, close to Ocean Resorts, where we spend our winters. So, we plan on getting together again in February!

Herricks HS Reunion

WOW! What a neat weekend!

Joni has been waiting a long time to have her Herricks High School Mini-Reunion!

A few months ago, Joni found her very best friend from high school, Lorriane Burt Thompson. After many e-mails and a few weeks, Lorraine connected Joni with 3 more high school friends. Since we were going to be in the northeast and since they lived in upstate NY, we were able to plan a get together.

Ed Sarcynski and his wife Susan Nelson Sarcynski , Lorraine Burt Thompson and her husband Bob, and Delton and I got together for a fabulous weekend. We also reconnected with Mary Feola. Mary and her husband Kent, live in the Maryland area and were unable to join us, but we shared many e-mails also. Mary lived one block away from Joni in New York. Hopefully we will get together with Mary sometime in the future.

After driving up from Binghamton, NY to Schuylerville, NY, (about a 2 hour drive) Ed and Susan came out to our campground for diner at our campsite. We stayed in Lake George, NY, about a 25 mile drive from Lorraine and Bob's house. They were amazed at our lifestyle, never having met anyone who chose to do what we do. Joni had fun reminiscing with Ed, who she had 1 date with to an ice cream parlor and with his wife Sue, who was in the Lassies with Joni and Lorraine. Lassies is a a group of 32 girls who march with the band in the half time shows at football games. They twirl and dance with bom boms and do the trade mark dance of the high school - The Highland Fling! We went through our yearbook, page by page, picture by picture, remembering people and fun times. We looked at pictures from past reunions and compared the young pictures with the "old" pictures. Everyone else had aged, but we all didn't look a day older!!!!!!!

The next day, Delton, Ed and Bob went golfing at one of the premier golf courses in the area, the Saratoga National Golf Course. They had a wonderful time, even though Ed hit Bob with a golf ball and nearly broke his fingers. Delton said Ed stroked the ball real well on that shot. Delton played his best golf in a long time that day! Guess he succeeded in impressing Joni's friends.

While the men golfed, Joni and Susan spent the day exploring Saratoga Springs. Lorraine was working and couldn't join us for the afternoon.

Then that evening, we all got together at a fabulous restaurant called Longfellows. It was a delicious ending to a perfect reunion.

The next morning, Ed and Sue drove up to say farewell to us and then drove back to Binghamton.

We have renewed old friendships as if hardly any years had gone by. Hopefully we will be able to keep in touch and see each other again in the near future. Now that we know where we all live, that shouldn't be too hard. Expecially since we live EVERYWHERE!

Vermont Foliage

One afternoon we took a drive into Vermont to see the fall colors.

While staying in Lake George, we kept watching the trees, praying and wishing the colors would change before we left the area. We knew it was a little bit too soon to see peak colors.

So, we drove into Vermont where the peak color season is the last 2 weeks in September. We weren't disappointed.

It was beautiful.

The pictures with the cows and the church were taken in Vermont.

The pictures with the lake in the background is Lake George.
The trail picture was taken near our RV park in Lake George. What a neat bike ride! Delton had never seen such beautiful colors. Joni grew up in NY and went to college in upstate NY, so she has seen lots of fall foliage. BUT when you're young, you just don't appreciate the world around you as much as when you "mature".