VISIT WITH FRIENDS

On our way home we stopped to visit with friends in Ohio.

At lunchtime we meet with former neighbors.

They we the ones that invited us to the church 

that we were members of for almost 30 years.

Carolyn does a fantastic job with interior design.
Their new Ohio home looked so similar to their Indiana home.
I really liked the interior paint color
so we are going to try it at home.

We had dinner with college friends Johnny and Marcia.

We do not see them very often, 

but when we do it is like we just saw them yesterday.

Sorry no pictures of this visit!

 We had such a great time visiting family and friends, 

but it is always nice to be back home.

 

FIVE YEARS OLD! (updated)

Our grandson turned five years old on Easter Sunday this year.

He was allowed to open one present at breakfast.

It was dominoes!

 Who knows how to play dominoes?

Before we left for church the grandchildren were called to the back yard 

by their mother to check out a strange phenomenon.

 It was a chocolate Easter egg hunt!

After church we had a picnic lunch at Union Park.

Our grandson had picked this park 

for our picnic lunch because of the "spiderweb."

Our granddaughter enjoyed the slide

and the teeter-totter.

After lunch and playtime at the park

we went shopping for plants for the yard.

Here's a sample of what we bought.

The dinner entree was chosen by the Birthday Boy.

Hot dogs with the appropriate condiments.

Yum!!!

After dinner was cake and ice cream.

Our daughter-in-law cleverly made a pirate ship cake.

Five candles became cannons.

Skype call with Uncle G who is in Colorado.

After dinner it was time for presents.

Then there was the birthday interview.

Phew!

That was quite a birthday!!

ROAD TRIP (updated)

We decided to drive to Chicago to visit the grandchildren this Spring.

While we were on the road we also wanted to visit 
some family and friends since we had not seen them for awhile.

None of us are guaranteed tomorrow so we needed

to take advantage of this trip to visit them.

Let the nine day road trip begin!!

Since living in Florida I have realized that I 

have really missed springtime.
It is such a beautiful picture of new life!

 After two days on the road

our first organized activity 
with the grandchildren

was soccer practice.

We walked to the local park and settled in

to watch the action from the gym balcony.

The walk back home was interesting .  .  .

new life and fire destruction.

Half way home we noticed that some streets were blocked off and

there were many fire trucks and emergency vehicles around.

Earlier that morning while still in bed we had heard several sirens.

I guess this was the reason.

An apartment building had caught on fire.

Later in the day we did a little gardening.
We had brought zucchini seeds
for our granddaughter to plant.

More fun with the grandchildren to follow soon!

I AM AN IRON GIRL!!

Last year I was registered to run the half marathon for the Iron Girl event.

However, I was injured and could only walk the 5K.

I was determined to run the half marathon this year.
 

I trained well with no injuries.
 For the longer training runs I joined 
the Sunshine Soul Sisters (SSS) in Belleair.
It sure helped to have running buddies and
water stops for those long runs!

 Ten Mile Run

 Eleven Mile Run

 As race day drew near I was so excited

about the weather report for race day - 

starting temp: low to mid 50s.

I am a member of two running groups and

they both had a presence at the race 

(3rd & 4th place teams).

We started before sunrise!

Since the weather was so great

I decided to keep up with the 2hr 30 min pacer.

 I finished in front of the pace setter at 

2 hours 28 minutes!!

 This may be my last half marathon.

I am thrilled to have achieved a PR!
I am not saying 'never',

but I believe I would like to end 

my half marathon career on that positive note.