The Heat is On. Summer in Florida.

Vanessa and her son Sidney came down from MN for a nice, long visit and it was hot, so the pool had a real workout.  Sidney is six years old and to say that he likes to swim, jump in the water, dive for toys in the water, and splash is an understatement.  Because it was so hot we had instant entertainment in the backyard and we spent a lot of time there.  We also did some other things to stay busy.

We spent an afternoon on Sanibel Island, we did some shelling and swimming but didn't have any luck seeing dolphins.  Sanibel has some of the nicest beaches near us and the water is so nice and warm.

On Thursday, our friends Ernie and Cindy took us all fishing along with Vanessa's friend Jenny who moved here from St. Cloud, MN.  We had a great time but no fish and because it was so hot, the pool was calling.

Friday, we headed to Sun Splash, the local water park.  This was a first for all of us.  I went on a lot of the slides with Sid, the Lazy River and more slides.  Because Sid was not quite tall enough for the bigger slides we ended up going on the same slides over and over and over...  The green slide is five stories up and two people ride on an inner tube together.

 We had been on this slide a few times and Sid was all for going again.  Just as we were about to slide down, lightening appeared in the distance and the lifeguards closed down the park immediately.  So we had to walk down five flights of stairs with a ginormous inner tube.  But to be honest, Grandma was about ready for the park to close and take a nap.

Sid and Vanessa - Lazy River

On Father's Day, we decided to take a big trip and head out to the Everglades and go on an airboat.

Jenny and Tia, friends of Vanessa's, also came along and we spent the day looking for alligators, holding alligators, having a nice lunch on the water and then watching an alligator show and going to an animal sanctuary.  And guess what we did when we got home?  More pool time.

Trying to make a love connection with our Captain Wesley.

Charlie the alligator looking at his next meal.

Sid and his new friend.

Vanessa and all her fingers.  Good thing she noticed the sign.

Vanessa and Sid loved the Boat House near our home, it is a great restaurant/bar located right on the water so you can swim and eat and drink at the same time.  Then we went in the pool.

A six year old can keep you busy, there was also coloring, computer time, movies, cartoons, snacking, candy, playing with the neighbor kids, swimming, running, and more pool time.  It seems like he never gets tired while the rest of us are struggling to keep our eyes open.

Sid also like to talk.  A lot.  He finally put a bandaid on his mouth the last day he was here.  Why didn't I think of that sooner?

We had a lot of fun getting to know our little grandson.  Now grandpa and grandma need to catch up on some sleep.  I think I'll go nap in the pool.  Margaret

Rainy Season Notes

We have been living with rainy afternoons the past couple of weeks which means we are now in our rainy season, the patio cushions are tucked under the lanai, the plants are getting watered and we are stuck in the house more than we like.  On a sunny afternoon we spend part of our time floating around the pool enjoying the weather and cooling off.  Because we were both tired from the latest project at the other house, when the clouds and rain started yesterday afternoon, we decided that rather than going out to a movie we would watch one on our Apple TV.

First of all, if I have already mentioned it, the Apple TV is the bomb.  For about $70 you install the device to your TV and you have access to all kinds of programming.  We already had Netflix so we now can stream right into our TV and not wait for the DVDs to arrive to watch the latest programming.  So after deciding to spend a lazy afternoon watching a movie, I found The Interview almost immediately and remembered that this was the controversial movie about North Korea.  Why do I bring this up?  Because I was pissed that I wasted a perfectly good afternoon when I could have been napping watching something so stupid. Let me just say that there is nothing funny about North Korea, it is a horrible place ruled by an egomaniacal nut who kills for fun. If you own a Bible you will be put to death and wearing jeans is against the law.  WTF?   This movie should have been burned and forgotten.  Hollywood needs some help.  I still like my Apple TV, just not all the choices.

Paver pallets arrive from Miami May 27, 2015

We needed a lazy afternoon and I was happy for the rain so we could get some rest, esp. Gary.  The pavers arrived at the other house on May 27th and I can safely say they are installed as of June 6th.  I helped when I could but this is a very intense and heavy job so I did most of the supervising from the sidelines.  We are very happy with the results so far, the pool area is starting to look like a reality but there is still lots to do.

Back lanai January 2015

Back lanai June 2015

The news reported this week that housing in this area is supposed to go up 25 percent in the next year, another reason to have property here and that makes the work easier on us.  This area of Florida is becoming very popular, the crime rate is very low, the weather is wonderful and housing is still reasonable for now.  So far we are loving it, now if we could just pick out a decent movie.  Margaret

Backyard January 2015

Backyard June 2015