OK...so it has been over a month since I last posted. I don't even want to start counting the emails and calls I have received asking me everything from "are you bored since you quit traveling?" to "are you sick?". We are alive and well and just enjoying our new winter home so much (with all the activities which I will detail in a later post) that by time we get in for the evening I am usually too tired to concentrate.
This is the cabin we rented for Mike and his family....we decorated it before they got there...We referred to it as the Gingerbread House. 
We had such a great time. I started planning the get together back in June and in my usual (anal retentive) manner had everything planned right down to making sure everyone had the same number of gifts under the tree....a throwback from the days when Betty and Mike used to pile up their presents and count to see who had the most. I often wondered if they did that to see if they could figure out who w was the favorite??? Salt put the screened room on the motor home so we were able to have a LIVE 8' tree. 
You can't go to Disney without a picture of the castle,(Emma, Rachael and Sarah) Minnie and MICKEY!
After watching Emma scoot up the climbing wall in record time, Mike and Dave decided to give it a try. I call these two pictures...
The Agony of Defeat....Dave 
They did both make it to the top in the end (not as quickly as Emma though!)
The little girls enjoyed posing with some of their favorite characters....Emma and Dora 
And of course who can resist a visit with "Donkey" from Shreck... 
Mike, Sarah and Dave relaxing before our visit to Soaring, the best attraction at Disney (Epcot) 
Betty and Mike celebrating their first Christmas together in 8 years! 
Christmas day we took the day off and just stayed at the RV resort. It was very relaxing and the kids loved being able to play with their goodies from Santa. Rachael and Emma both were blessed with Baby Alive....Betty was never able to have one when she was little because I thought they were too messy. Santa, however, didn't mind bringing them to the grand daughters so they could take them HOME with them. Sarah (below) was especially pleased with her genuine "Ugh" boots. When she sent her list to "Grandma" she said she would not REALLY be disappointed if they were the "fake" ones.
The weather was absolutely beautiful, going into the 80's and allowing the girls to spend a lot of time at the pool.
So much has happened in the last month I am not sure I can catch up without omitting several events. I will give it a try, but more than likely chronological order will not be correct.
First of all, as most of you know, we had our kids and grand kids with us for Christmas here in Florida. We moved our motor home to the KOA in Fort Summit and rented a cabin right next to our lot for Mike, Robin, Sarah and Rachael. Betty and Emma stayed in the motor home with us.
Mike and Robin
This is the cabin we rented for Mike and his family....we decorated it before they got there...We referred to it as the Gingerbread House.We had such a great time. I started planning the get together back in June and in my usual (anal retentive) manner had everything planned right down to making sure everyone had the same number of gifts under the tree....a throwback from the days when Betty and Mike used to pile up their presents and count to see who had the most. I often wondered if they did that to see if they could figure out who w was the favorite??? Salt put the screened room on the motor home so we were able to have a LIVE 8' tree. The stockings were hung on the side of the motor home with care.....
We spent 2 days at Disney and a full day at Orlando studios. The crowds were unbelievable, but Salt and I had planned every day so that we knew exactly where were going so were able to get fast passes and short lines. We also planned ahead and took all of our lunches, snacks and drinks. Disney allows you to do that but Universal does NOT. However, I packed everything up and when we went through the bag check the guy just kind of frowned and let us through. I think he probably looked at a party of 9 and figured we couldn't afford to feed that many on park prices. Oh yes, the party of 9.....if some of you are wondering where the extra one came from it was Robin's X (Dave Reinke) and the father of her children. He was going to be alone for Christmas so Robin and Mike asked if he could join us. He flew in from Virginia Beach and spent the week with us. I know to some people that probably sounds strange, but they all get along well and we are so glad that the children don't have to live in an environment where there are angry parents fighting for custody or bad mouthing one another. We loved having you Dave!!
You can't go to Disney without a picture of the castle,(Emma, Rachael and Sarah) Minnie and MICKEY!
After watching Emma scoot up the climbing wall in record time, Mike and Dave decided to give it a try. I call these two pictures...The Thrill of Victory....(Mike) ....
The Agony of Defeat....DaveThey did both make it to the top in the end (not as quickly as Emma though!)The little girls enjoyed posing with some of their favorite characters....Emma and Dora
And of course who can resist a visit with "Donkey" from Shreck...Mike, Sarah and Dave relaxing before our visit to Soaring, the best attraction at Disney (Epcot)
Betty and Mike celebrating their first Christmas together in 8 years!
Christmas day we took the day off and just stayed at the RV resort. It was very relaxing and the kids loved being able to play with their goodies from Santa. Rachael and Emma both were blessed with Baby Alive....Betty was never able to have one when she was little because I thought they were too messy. Santa, however, didn't mind bringing them to the grand daughters so they could take them HOME with them. Sarah (below) was especially pleased with her genuine "Ugh" boots. When she sent her list to "Grandma" she said she would not REALLY be disappointed if they were the "fake" ones. The weather was absolutely beautiful, going into the 80's and allowing the girls to spend a lot of time at the pool. So....this takes us through Christmas and I will try and catch up til the present in future posts.
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