Christmas Parade in Brooksville, Florida

We think everyone in the town of Brooksville turned out for the annual Christmas Day Parade. We were able to enjoy the parade this year also and what a spectacular event it was. Jo and I were even able to be seen in the camera lens with Santa. What a treat not only for us, but also all the children as their smiles widened on their faces when they saw the Jolly Good Fellow. The parade began with the flying of the colors of this wonderful country where we can all share the joys and true meaning of Christmas together. The only snow was the "sign" hoping for snow. Guess that is why we come to Florida for the winter. The person driving the Rescue Unit may be wondering where they left their coffee cup as the parade started on its way. We at least saw it on the bumper. The bands were all dressed up and playing the music of the holiday. There were floats, dancing children, horses, and even one tractor. Reminded me of trading the sleigh for a tractor back in Iowa.

Jo and Vaughn wish our family and all our friends a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. God Bless Everyone.

Resort, Relax, Refresh, Refurnish

What a terrific time we had at Lehigh Acres Resort relaxing around the pool and spending time with friends, Carol, Dave, and Jack. The flowers were all in full bloom and the warm breezes had the flags flying. It is a fun two weeks that we spend each year getting together with folks from around the USA and Europe. We then gathered with friends to give thanks for all that we share at Thanksgiving Dinner. Jo and Denise cooked a delicious dinner for all of us, Skip and Diane, Joyce, Tom and Denise, Jo and myself. Always good to be with friends. Jo did a little refurnishing in our home. We enjoy the new pieces especially this time of year.

Back home in Florida

Arriving back in Florida we found we had lost some orange trees from the freeze last winter. We replaced them with a tangelo, a navel orange, and a grapefruit tree. Also replaced a palm tree with a rose bush. Hoping that these will survive the colder temps we seem to be getting. Thought we saw a few relatives at the community hall, and discovered they were scarecrows to celebrate the fall harvest. Oh well, hope some relatives and friends will visit us this winter.

Visiting our son in North Carolina

Continuing on to North Carolina to visit Ryan and Melissa gave us some great views through the Appalachian Mountains. This area is really spectacular and a nice drive. We had a great stay with them and enjoyed going to the North Carolina State Fair. Since we are state fair enthusiasts we are always looking at the livestock and crops. We were especially impressed with the fruit and vegetables shown. Each state has its own unique items on display. Tobacco of course is unique to NC. Another item we found interesting and enticing was the Krispy Kreme Burger. Ryan and I thought we might split one to try it, however, splitting was not an option and it was mighty tasty. May try them at our 4th of July get-together at the farm. The flower and gardening displays were awesome. We certainly were impressed with the vintage crafts display. These talented people showed their wares and expressed that we buy American. Something we all need to consider to get America back on track. Our day at the fair ended with some terrific moto-cross bike riding. Brought back a lot of memories when Ryan was a youth and tried his best on the homemade jumps.

Visiting our daughter in Indiana

Our first stop on our way south was in Indiana to visit our daughter Ashley, Danny, and Sabrina. We had a nice stay with them and enjoyed spoiling our grand daughter with hats, strawberry jelly, walks, and naps. She is definitely an outdoor kind of girl. She likes to watch the birds and visit the neighbor's horses. As they say, grandparents are supposed to spoil their grandchildren, so that is what we are doing to the best of our ability.