A month of Sundays… and all the other days too…

Ξ December 22nd, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ All the children, Family Fun, General Interests, Heather, Kaitlin, Lyndon, Olivia Leigh Sisson, Terry Jr., Victoria |

 

 

Sadly, my laptop has passed into the realm of other antiquated irreparably damaged goods and it seems as though it has been a month of Sundays since I have been able to sit and write.  Not to mention the cascade of events and obligations of the holiday season… and the shopping, and cooking, and the list goes on.

 

I had a wonderful weekend just past – laughing with family over my sister unwrapping the dreaded basket of fruit my mother loved and we all loathe, so now it is Vicky’s year to display the heirloom in Mom’s memory…. Unlucky for myself and for my niece Collien, we both have birthdays coming up in April which will give my sister the opportunity to pass along the basket to another caretaker for the remainder of the year…. But then again, Vicky will have a birthday in September….

 

That evening my dearest and I went to dinner at Marker 32 here in Jacksonville with my entire office and their spouses, which left us 1 short of being the even dozen, but we all had an amazing time laughing, drinking and dining in the highest of standard.  The appetizers were gorgeous and tasty, the warm spinach salad was delicious, and my crusted salmon was divine, it simply melted in your mouth… I thoroughly enjoyed being pampered by the staff with the dozen plate changes, utensil transfers, and glasses that never emptied.  The view over looking the water and boats was charming and the company was impeccable and most generous.

 

Sunday was the annual Christmas cookie party at my house, so I got to spend time with my great nieces and Victoria and Lyndon making cookies (or in the case of Lyndon – just eating mouthfuls of icing) and I will put up some photos soon.  My daughter came up with the idea of next year instead of doing cookies maybe we could all make gingerbread house instead.  I thought it was a fine idea, so I think that will be the plan. 

 

Speaking of gingerbread houses, my sweetheart bought me a kit a week or two ago and we are all going to take part in assembling it and decorating it on Christmas Eve, which I am extremely excited about.  All four of my children are supposed to be here and spend the night with me on Christmas Eve and be here for Christmas morning, just like when they were young.  I am very blessed to be here with them this year, so much could have been much worse with my cancer, an it is a blessing indeed which I thank God for, for me to be here, to be feeling well, to be able to find pleasure in life without suffering.  We also have a special guest coming to be with us that evening which I wish were much closer that I could see and care for more often, Papa Jack.

 

Tonight I get to see my Olivia, and her family.   We will be carrying the gifts and stockings we got for all of them, and getting hugs and giggles and a lot of joy from watching them unwrap and play, and we are going to try to decorate some cookies with them as well… lesson learned though, no icing for Lyndon… OMG he was impossible the rest of the day yesterday….

 

 

 

ORLANDO WITHOUT DISNEY

Ξ July 29th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Family Fun, General Interests, Lyndon, Victoria |

Yes it is possible, and enjoyable.

No matter how great a vacation is. . . it is sure good to be back at home when ya walk back through your own door and nestle down in your own bed, isn’t it?

I love it every few months when we have gone off for a bit, but it is always soooooo comforting to get back again. We had a great time in Orlando this month, early on, during the Microsoft Tech Ed convention. Walter got to spend time with M.S. Guru – Bill Gates, whom is retiring next year “so he says” anyway, heck – he has enough money to last him the rest of three lifetimes don’t ya think… We spent a lot of time in the pool, which was wonderful because it had a rock wall with several waterfalls that poured into the pool itself. Standing chest deep in the water and having that pounding fall on your shoulders and back felt fantastic. We went out there bright and early every morning, again after lunch and yet again for a couple of hours at night before bedtime.

The food was pretty good, believe it or not Dennys had the best service for breakfast… and the best tasting food too because some of the other places gave you those fake nasty eggs, but Dennys was the real deal, although IHOP gave Walter a massive sized ham & 3 cheese omelet. For dinner we tried some of the local places, which were “ok”, but really the best most delicious and filling meals we had were at two of our favorite places close to home that we frequent on pretty regular basis – Olive Garden and Outback. Because we were on the 10th floor we had a breathtaking night skyline view for mile & miles of all the twinkling lights and sparkling displays different places were exhibiting. I suppose Jacksonville also has such vistas at night, however I have not been that high up here to be able to see it.

We found time to squeeze in a trip to Ripleys Believe It or Not museum, which was interesting – but let me tell everyone this, it really is not much fun for kids. There are some displays there which Victoria liked, but for the most part it would not interest kids under the teens. To get a lot of the knowledge of what the display was about you had to read a script about each item in that particular exhibit – something 9 year olds don’t have the patience to do…. It is a LOT of reading to be able to really appreciate the oddities….

WONDERWORKS was much better and more worth the money, so if you ever go with kids it is great and they will love it. Whereas as Ripleys was done in an hour (because the kids were bored with it) – it took us about 3 1/2 hours to do WONDERWORKS and they were wide open and entertained the entire time had we slowed down it would have taken longer – both Lyndon 18 months and Victoria 9 years old. As well as having plenty to do for the kids, there were also activities fun for us grownups to play too, such as giant bubble making…. , landing the space shuttle virtual reality, create your own roller coaster virtual reality, baseball throw virtual game, and so much more that both kids and adults loved. Victoria had fun laying on a bed of nails….. There were skill tests, reflex testers, mind challenges, optical illusions and sensory exhibits all scattered on about 3 different floor levels, or it may have been four – I don’t remember – but there was Lazer tag as well on the top floor. The place is divided into differnt areas of similar sections – here you see Vicotira and Lyndon in his favorite exhibit of all, he spent almost 20 minutes playing with the switches and knobs and screamed bloody murder when I made him come out so others could explore. For some Non-Disney fun, I think everyone in the family will love this place. On the way back home we stopped in Sanford FL to visit the Central Florida Zoo. Although it is not as big as and doesn’t have as much botanical variety as the Jacksonville Zoo, it was still a delightful place to spend some time. Between the exhibits you were on this great boardwalk and shaded almost completely by trees and other greenery. They have a few places where you are on trails of mulch or bark, or natural ground but 95% is on the boardwalk. It winds through the woods at the back with many places just to relax and have a quiet moment. They did have Elephants, cougar, and other wildcats and well as birds and reptiles and a few hoofed beasts as well as such domesticated animals such as Turkeys, Llamas, and goats. The common animal life was just as amusing as the caged animals. . . squirrells followed you everywhere and were rather comocal with thier antics. Before leaving the kids cooled off in the water play area and then slept soundly most of the way back to the house. All in all it was a wonderful time for us… we are so blessed, God has been so good to me.

 

FRIENDSHIP PARK PHOTOS

Ξ July 29th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Family Fun, General Interests, Lyndon, Victoria |

We took the kids to Friendship Park, to let Lyndon run amuk on the expanse of concrete and grass around the fountain.

He had a blast but the sun was a bit bright, and he would pitch a fit and throw himself down every time we tried to divert the direction he was headed in..

or this one ..

Victoria took her time exploring here and there and wandering through the trees & shrubs…

The flowers are just starting to bloom on the azealas..

We took his little buggy he got for Christmas (well one of the three)…

Lyndon discovered grass and dirt . . .

I love this picture of Lyndon holding Walters hands as they walk down the steps from the garden area…

As Victoria grows up she looks so much like her grandmother on her fathers side….

And in the end he was exhausted and ready to go home…

 

Park Visits & photos – - 7/9/07

Ξ July 18th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Family Fun, Kaitlin, Victoria |

Series of pictures of Kat & Victoria Taken at a couple of parks around Jacksonville while we tried to have some outside fun on Victorias birthday..

I love the serious concentration on her face….

And then we have “Miss – I – am – so – GLAMOUROUS”……

And then we have “Little Miss I wanna be a photographer”

You can think it but don’t you say it. . .

My little sunshine girl…

And her own natural beauty shines through when she doesn’t clutter it up. . . .

If she only believed in what we see. . .

Goofing around on the slide . . .

Simple things can be so beautiful, Gods gifts to us are endless.

To laugh and play and claim the world as a child does. . .

Before we know it, time slips away . . and we grow up. . .

And then we grow older…….

 

Beach Day with the Kids – 7/1/-07

Ξ July 18th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Family Fun, Kaitlin, Victoria |

Walter, Victoria, Kaitlin and I went to the beach one boring evening, about an hour before sunset and stayed until just a little while after. . . It was a spur of the moment thing, which none of us were dressed in “beachwear”, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the sand and the waves, and it didn’t keep us dry either. . .

Victoria played, and Kat tried to play cool. .

She likes to think she is all grown up, and damn if it isn’t slowly happening. . .

Ya gotta have the shades. . .

Victoria just wants to explore and have fun ……

Mamna’s last baby girl . .

The wind that waves. . .

Soooooo dissappointed when it was time to go home. . .

But at the last moment, I thought I had a hint of a smile. . .but maybe not