Finally!

My mom has been here since the middle of July. Well, after some physical therapy and with MUCH coaxing over the past month and a half, I finally got her out of the house. (Rachel, I needed you to do her bun!) So off we went to see some of the sights of St. Augustine and to visit some of her favorite places from years gone by.

The first stop was to see the Lighthouse. We can see the light at night from my porch, and I told her when we got out we would go to see it....although I couldn't get her to attempt the 260+ stairs to the top.

From the lighthouse we just basically drove across the street to Salt Run where Rae and I had gone kayaking. The couple in the top right were going out in their kayak to fish. Mom wanted to wait until they started off then she was expecting a wave good-by from them. So we shouted a "good luck" out to them and they turned to give us a wave. For some reason, this gave her a big kick :)

Then a quick stop at the "world famous" Oasis.

This is a place we would always have to stop at on her Fla visits. We'd sit upstairs, have a bite, and listen to some live music.

Then finally to our destination...South Beach Grille, one of my favorite stops, and I knew there wouldn't be any stairs for her to manipulate.

And here is one of the main objects of bribery to get her out...Little Neck Steamers. Yummmm!

Also, she decided to have a "cold one" to celebrate a special day....

....which is Jimmy's birthday. (her oldest child!) Here she is on the phone with Jim, greeting him with a "Happy Birthday" and telling him that we were out celebrating on his behalf.

A shrimper that was out a distance in the ocean gave her some entertainment. It kept coming closer to shore then back out, but always stayed within sight during our whole meal. She thought they had to be somewhat confused going back and forth that way.

There's always a kind soul at the next table willing to play photographer!

We were getting a laugh over her trying to close the door for herself. After a few attempts, I gave in and gave her a hand.

And here is why she is so reluctant to leave....her Mt. Everest, the stairs to my place. But she didn't do too bad. I had her stop for some rests on the way up. After one stop she looked at me and asked, "What's wrong, are YOU tired?!?" This comment cracked her up. She is totally one who enjoys her own "jokes"!

Commercials

My favorite commercial:
I love the subject :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQU6PW83bQI

A 30th B-day and a Special Visit

We had a great two weeks with my daughter #2 turning 30 (how is that possible ?!?) and with Rachel having the opportunity to make an unplanned visit. Here is a picture of the two taken at Washington Oaks Park, but the mosquitoes were so bad that we spent the time in the lodge there. But having the place to ourselves and alot of windows to see the beautiful outdoors, we still had a great time. Baby Bria even had the run of the place. We had couches and windowseats, bookshelves and wingback chairs. And let's not forget the fireplace. What more is needed for a lovely afternoon!

For Jessa's b-day, all the pictures were pulled out and displayed throughout the house.

Thirty years worth!!! The cause of alot of reminiscing and not too many of them being embarrasing :)

This picture is a result of one of the b -day games where a team had to do the most creative pose in front of the Shores entrance...Christa and Robert won this one (hands up) but the game ended in a tie :)

Rachel and I had some adventures! This is one of the first times in her adult life that we had time together like this. All of her visits have been centered around an occasion of some sort, but this visit had nothing preplanned. We made the most of the time! To the left we're at the St. Augustine Pier, which is a great place to hang out in the early evening. (Does this pose remind anyone of anything?)

We had a visit to the Florida Cracker Cafe on St. George St. in historic district. We closed the place down.

We took a ride into G-ville on one of the days to watch Christa and her team in a volleyball tournament.

As an added bonus, Rachel got to play. She's now determined to find a volleyball league in Asheville.

One particular highlight was kayaking with Rachel out on Salt Run. Fortunately, we had the lighthouse to guide our way :)
Not only was kayaking with her a highlight, but there was a lone dolphin enjoying the run and feasting on mullet that were jumping all over the place. At one point the dolphin was closer to Rae and she was asking me what to do if it tipped her over :)

Here she is pointing to our dolphin in the

distance. We also saw a Roseate Spoonbill cruising by...at first glance they look like a flamingo. They're rare to see and it was quite beautiful seeing the pink bird against the blue sky.

And then for a finale of the week, my mom's curiosity got the better of her and she had to come out and join us on the back porch for a visit. I'll leave out the picture of her and Rae showing some leg. I'll leave that to your imagination ;)

Good times, good memories!

Memorable Weekend - Meadow and Jake!

Arriving in Bellevue, Wa. across Lake Washington from Seattle, I got my first glimpse of Yuriko's newest home... ...As you can see, it's quite a welcoming entrance, very reflective of the hostess! The first day we had some down time to recoup for the cross-country trip...but from there on out, we had a weekend full of activities.

My Rachy lounging at the hotel....a few of us stayed at the local Marriott, and we'd take quick
moments catching up with each other in the lobby. And remember, Ladies, I will NEVER again park in an underground garage after 12:00 a.m. by myself!!! Now I know why so many movie-makers use that setting to add to the drama!

So, the first night we went to Pegasus to enjoy some kareoke. Here's Timothy doing quite a good rendition of Bob Dylan. Almost worthy of a standing ovation -definately alot of whoops and hollers.

And now, here's Jake seranading us with a song which, if I remember correctly, was Maneater by Hall and Oates. My regret for the night was that I didn't have a video camera for Tim and Jake's performances....it would have been useful for future purposes, i.e. blackmail :) But actually, they both did quite well and were quite the hit for the evening. Who knows...American Idol may be in one of their futures.

Tender moments like this happening all the time. It was very, very heartwarming seeing Meadow and Jake together.

"The Ladies" as we were dubbed at the beginning of the weekend. What fun it was to be together for such a special occasion in such a beautiful part of the country. If only we had more time!!!

The second night was the rehersal dinner...............

......followed by a night at the "Parlor", which was an upscale poolhall/dancing/restaurant venue.

Everyone made it to the Parlor, so it was quite a good time with meeting others and catching up with old friends (yes, Marsha, that means you!) Spending time with Yuriko's Vancouver family was a highlight for me.

And now for the day of the wedding....here are a few of the ladies on the balcony of the Woodmark where they spent the night and where the wedding was held. A setting right out of hollywood for a wedding. It was a beautiful day with beautiful people for a beautiful wedding ceremony!

Another tender moment captured....~Mother and Daughter~

Meadow in the last moments of preparation and what a beautiful bride she was! "Glowing" is an understatement...she was floating throughout the day!

Sadly, at this point I have gone through all the batteries in my possession, and none were to be found. So you'll have to catch other sites with pictures of the ceremony and reception :)

I was, however, very snap happy prior to this, so if you want to see other moments captured, here's a link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/debdigi/WeddingWeekend