On the road again!!

Well, last Monday my friend Melody decided (with maybe a little arm twisting) to fly down to Florida with me to help me close up the house (we left in a bit of a hurry to be home for the new baby and I thought I wanted some more time in FL) and drive the car home with me.  We left Grand Rapids Monday at 7 and arrived in Ft. Myers about midnight so we had two nice days to goof around a little but also get the cupboards and refrigerator cleaned out.  Then Thurs. morning we got to work and got things done around the house that needed to be taken care of and headed out about 10 am.  We stopped in Orlando at Epcot for the "flower show" that goes on there for a couple months.  There were lots of very neat topiaries and lots of beautiful flowers on the grounds. 

 We were there about 4 hrs then headed north. We only got as far as Gainsville for the night and then made it to Murfreesboro TN last night.  We'll head out soon and make it to Holland!!

Scarlet Grace Hilldore

She's here!!  Scarlet arrived at 12:28 AM Wed. "morning" and is 7 lbs. and 20 inches long.  She's a real cutie with quite a bit of hair even.  It looked pretty dark at first but now is looking a little lighter.  We are having fun visiting with her and her mom and dad (Allison and Travis) at the hospital the past couple days and they will go home tomorrow.

Ashlyn and Jacob get acquainted with their new cousin.
With Grandpa
Sleepy Girl
Happy Family!!

Spring Break at our house

We had lots of fun having the kids here for their spring break.  Lots of swimming, an afternoon at the beach and lots more just "hanging out."  Jacob liked playing the PS3 when he wasn't swimming or going for a boat ride.





Ben and Amanda joined us on Friday afternoon and they got to stay until Tues.
"Rough Life"

It was nice to have them all here and we all had lots of fun.

Back in Florida

Got back LATE Friday night after some airline delays that could have been a lot worse.  Only an hour late but that meant we got to Ft. Myers at 1 AM Sat. morning actually.

The kids have been having fun in the pool and we went for a boat ride Sat. to Parrot Key for lunch.  Otherwise they have been spending lots of time in the pool and hot tub and Jacob on the NASCAR game on the PS3.

A bit more cloudy, muggy and windy today but still beats that cold and snow in Michigan!!

Up North

I arrived "Up North" last night.  Back in Holland for a week to have a baby shower for Allison and then I will fly back next Friday with Jamie and the kids for their spring break.  Jamie picked me up at the airport last night and then we played a game at my house with Jacob.  Chutes and Ladders, while Ashlyn explored the toys she hasn't played with for a while.  It was great to see them and I will see them again this afternoon for a while and then Jamie and I will finish getting things ready for the shower that is at her house tomorrow morning.

Also while I'm here I'll also catch up the Dr., my hairdresser, the "kids" who are here, my mother-in-law and my friends (looking forward to lunch Wed. with Melody!!).  I'm sure the week will go fast but could someone change the weather for Sunday?? I"m hearing something about snow and I'm pretty spoiled now................   :-)

Fun with Mark and Shelley

We are having a fun week with our friends and the weather is cooperating for the most part.  It was rainy the first day they were here but we got out in the boat Thursday to Green Flash for lunch, Friday to Boca Grande for lunch at the Pink Elephant and Sat. to Ft Myers Beach to Parrot Key for lunch.  Notice any pattern here?  :-)

Today we took a "Sunday Drive" out to Pine Island and the Tarpon Lodge.  A pretty spot on the water in Pineland.  Janna and Charlie Winn met us there.  Then we rode up to the north end of the island and then back into Cape Coral and up Burnt Store Road to Punta Gorda where there is a new car museum.  It is mostly Chevy cars with a large collection of Corvettes.  About 170 cars there - all a private collection on one owner.  Interesting to look at.  There was also an air show going in in Punta Gorda so we saw the Blue Angels fly over quite a few time.  Pretty cool.

Is it March already?

Where does the time go???  We have stayed busy so that makes the time go fast I guess.

We spent a part of the week last week on the boat down in the Keys.  We met our friends Karl and Linda Lohre at Hawks Cay at Duck Key on Wed. and spent a couple nights there.  It's a real nice place and very family friendly so there were lots of kids there but also lots of room to "spread out" so there were quiet spots to be found.  We boated over to Marathon one day then back to Hawks Cay and then on Sat. went up to Islamorada and spent a night.  We had great weather and made it back home on Sunday by mid afternoon.

Mark and Shelley Hawks are here now for a week but the weather has not been quite as good so far.  Cloudy and rainy yesterday and today so we drove down to Marco Island yesterday to visit some friends there.

We were up to Longboat Key two weekends ago with the WPO group.  They came here on Friday, had dinner out and breakfast here then 10 of us got on the boat and went up to Longboat Key.  Gary and Pam were our hosts there and 2 of the couples had to leave out on Sunday and so there were only 4 of us on the boat home on Monday.  It was a nice time with them all.

Melody says.........

Melody says it's time to blog again.  Yes, I admit, I'm very bad at this. 

 To catch up with the last two weeks........

Larry went "home" to Holland for a few days and then to Saudi Arabia!  The first week he was gone I drove up to Bradenton to see my mom and day for a couple nights.  Nice to spend time with them and see where they are staying this winter.  Mom Hilldore and Aunt Shirley and Uncle Ray came to visit on Sunday (the 15th) and I picked them up in Punta Gorda at the airport there since they could fly directly there from Kalamazoo.  They were going to stay until Thursday but we talked them into staying until Sat. so Larry could spend some time with them too.  Larry got back on Thurs. morning after a 16 hr. flight from Kuwait to Atlanta and then another 1 1/2 hrs from Atlanta to Ft. Myers.  I picked him up at 9:30 am on Thurs.  We had a great time with Mom and Ray and Shirley.  I took them to Ft. Myers Beach on Tues. and to Sanibel and Captiva on Wed.  We spent a bit of time in the car but I think they enjoyed it.  Larry took us for a boat ride to Grandma Dot's on Sanibel on Thurs.

Tim and Elizabeth and kids - Alisha, Matthew and Jacob arrived Sunday evening and spent two nights here.  They were busy with Elizabeth's mom for the day Monday and then met her today in Imokolee for an airboat ride on Tues.  Then they were headed up to Bradenton to see Mom and Dad for a couple nights before heading back north again.

Allison arrived Monday night and will be here until next Monday while Larry and Travis are at the show in Indianapolis.

Hmmmm.......not much else happening here - the weather is finally feeling a bit more "Florida-ish" with the high in the mid to upper 70s to 80.  It has been a cool winter so far but certainly not as cool as up north!!

Oh, also read a great book that I would recommend to anyone to read.  It is "A Grace Disguised" by Jerry Sittser.  It is about "catastrophic loss" - definitely good for anyone who has suffered a loss but I think very thought provoking for anyone.

The weekend after THE weekend!

Wow!  Can't believe it is Friday again already!  The weekend with the nieces was great!  I think we all had a great time.  They left again Monday afternoon and I just don't know where the rest of the week went and how it got to be Friday again. 

Anyway, just a few pictures from last weekend.

                                                       Uncle Larry and his 8 nieces

                   Danielle and Alisha were the first two of the 8 to get a manicure and pedicure!!



                                                 At the airport - time to go home with their new Mac books!

Another blue sky day!!

It has warmed up nicely and we are enjoying lovely sunny blue skies for the most part.  Seems like we had a busy first week or so back to FL just catching up with friends who we haven't seen for a little while.  Most of them are from "up north" - either Holland or Charlevoix so it's not like it's been since last year but it is always good to get together with friends.  Larry and I had a nice boat ride Sunday afternoon.  Went to the Green Flash for lunch then rode into South Seas Plantation Resort to look around.  Usually we see at least one dolphin there but not that day.  We had seen quite a few dolphin on the way - through the "narrows" - one pair looking like they were having a blast following at the transom of a boat and occasionally jumping into the air.  We rode up to North Captive to the ice cream shop but it looks like they are not opening for this year.  Too bad, we loved to stop there after lunch.  Besides the good ice cream it was a fun place to go - just behind Barnacle Phil's.  The breeze was a little cool but the sun was very warm so it was a very nice ride!

We are looking forward to ALL of our nieces coming down this weekend.  8 of them between 9 and 35 yrs. old.  Should be lots of fun.  They arrive late Friday night and are here through Monday afternoon.  We have a lot planned for them.  This was "Uncle Larry's" idea and I think he's just as excited about it as the girls seem to be!  I'll try to put some pictures from the weekend on my next blog.

My goal this winter is to try to "plug in" a couple places a little better.  I am helping in the nursery at Lifeline Family Center one afternoon a week.  It's fun to get to know the kids and babies there.  Also, we have been attending Cape Christian Fellowship for the past few years but don't really know anyone there so I am trying to plug into a woman's bible study group.  I think there is one that meets every other Tues. morning that might work out but the leader is sick and so had to skip this week.  I'll try to keep you "posted" on how that goes as well.

Otherwise, we are putting up with the same sunny skies day after day..................  :-).  Sorry, just had to rub it in a little!!  :-)

Sunny (but not so warm) Florida

Well, we finally made it to Florida on Wed. even though we started out on Tues.  We got a ride to the airport and our plane was supposed to leave at 7 put they had mechanical problems so it ended up getting canceled.  Northwest "put us up" for the night at the Crowne Plaza hotel in GR and we were back again about 5:45 AM Wed. for another flight.  Oh well, we got here safe and sound, at least we didn't have to land in a river somewhere!!  I can't imagine the feelings the people were having who landed in the Hudson River yesterday.  So thankful to be alive today, I imagine. 

We are having a cold front, cold spell here too but thankfully not as frigid as up north.  It has been in the low 60s the past couple days and it might get up to 70 tomorrow and be there for a couple days but it looks like back to the 60s by Tues. again.  Oh well, not complaining since it's not below zero!!  The idea for being here is to get out of the snow, boots and heavy coat weather so I'm just fine!!

Happy New Year by 4 days

I see that I am only the 2nd from the bottom of Amanda's list of bloggers so that means it has been WAY too long since I have added anything to my blog.  As I have said before, I really do not like to "write" but I do enjoy the "finished product" and looking back on past posts.

Christmas was busy with family get togethers  and it was lots of fun to be with family.  All the "kids"and grandkids were here for Christmas day to open presents and we all got some nice things.  Mom and Dad Spaulding joined us for brunch and for the rest of the day to play with the gifts and for some Quesadillas later in the day.  The kids all had fun playing with Jamie and Jacob's new Rock Band 2 game.  It was mostly nice just to have everyone together.  

Jacob tries out his new scooter

         Ashlyn got a dolly with a bottle

          The Hilldore "Rockers"

Friday we headed up to Charlevoix for the rest of the week and by Sat. night all the kids were together again, including Allison's sister Jen who spent the week with us too.

We went to the water park at Boyne on Monday,

Ben's surfing!!

Jacob will catch you Ashlyn

Ben, Amanda and Jamie Skied on Tuesday, Travis, Jacob and Jen Snowboarded on Tuesday too.

Jacob and Travis
Amanda, Ben and Jen

Jamie and Jacob

Ben and Amanda

Ben and Travis went back to Boyne for more skiing/snowboarding on Wed.

We all went Snowmobiling on Thurs.

On Friday we all wished we could have a massage because most of us were sore from the bumpy snowmobile trails!!  (But the "girls" did all get pedicures on Wed.)