Christmas with Delaney and Beckett

Grandkids, Christmas, it doesn't get any better than this.

Delaney is a week shy of four months old and is a constant bundle of joy.



Lots of lap time all weekend with Grandma and Great Grandma.




Beckett set the pace, and it was brutal.




Delaney got a rocking horse, while horsing around we discovered it talks when you squeeze an ear.




The horse got a good work out.



The carnage after gift opening.  That's Delaney's Labradoodle stuffed animal on the back chair.

Let the Games Begin!

My Christmas present from Lucas, Renee, and Scott was as Extreme Croquet set.  Yep, google it up, there's even official rules (which we appear to follow pretty well).  The mallets are hard wood with long handles and one end beveled for lofting the ball...critical on the Up North Championship Course.  The balls float; critical for errant shots into the lagoon; Travis landed one somewhere out there that sank.  The new landscaping will allow for some new challenges and opportunities, especially at the top of the course.  All the windows will present a challenge as well.  Can't wait for the snow to melt, or June, whichever comes first.



The mallets are custom made, you can specify the angle of the pitch.




Unfortunately Macy put the kabosh on an indoor practice round between Frank and I




So the game will start and end at the traditional spot at the front door.  Players will have two opitons.  One is down/up the stone stairs.




The other option, the wimp way, will be the Gator path.  While not the quickest way down, it may prove to be the best way up.



Winter Fun

Last winter Beckett wasn't so sure about sledding.  The fact that Dad and Grandpa each caused a down hill crash into a snow bank didn't help matters.  This year was a different story and a good time was had by all.

Getting the gear on.



Warm up lap



Heather made sure there were no approaching bears



First solo run down the hill from the stairs to the bridge



Ready for the Holidays

Christmas celebrations began this weekend with a visit from  Delaney, Beckett, and  their family.  My mom is up for a week.  Lots of pics to follow.

Baily got a trim for the holidays, cleared the hair out of his eyes and around his toes...where ice balls have been forming and driving him crazy when out for a walk.



Ready for a game of cards.




I didn't notice at the time I took this pic that Beckett was pretending to eat Baily's chew stick...I think he was pretending.




Grandma gives everyone their marching orders for the day.



Growing Fast

Baily at three and one half months.

Thanksgiving

We spent several days last week with Delaney, Beckett, Heather, and Frank and celebrated Thanksgiving there along with my Mom.  It was Baily's first visit away from home and he handled it quite well.  We had a fun time, culminating with a great dinner on Thanksgiving.



Baily joined right in with the fun and games.




He was very good with the kids.




A romp in the park was great fun.  The photographer chose not to run up and down the hill.




Mom and Delaney monitored the football games.




Heather made custom napkin rings.





I even managed to get into the group shot.




These didn't last long.



Tiki Bar - Key Largo

The second half of the trip we stayed at the Hampton Inn on Key Largo.  Hotel's feature attraction was their Tiki Bar.  Tiki Bar's feature attraction was the bartender, a true wanderer, and his parrot.  Bartender seemed to be an expert on everything and was very entertaining to talk to, lived on his sail boat full time, travelling from port to port.




Hampton Inn on Key Largo




Said Tiki Bar



Said Bartender



Said Parrot





A White Ibis stopped by for a round.



One of these sail boats was home sweet home for the bartender.  He had a small dingy to get back and forth.

Doug and I become quite "creative" after 5 PM.  After several rounds of Tiki treats we decided they were watered down.  We also decided the Parrot was the brains behind the operation.  As the bartender pored the booze the Parrot would squak, an apparent signal for the bartender to stop pouring.

Key West

It was the first time to the Keys for all of us, and we should have come sooner, we had a great time.  Key West is the western/southern most Key about 250 miles from Miami.  We will be going back,



The hotel we stayed at was on the harbor.  We arrived when it was dark, looked out from the balcony Monday morning and here's the first thing I saw.




We ate breakfast at this hotel restaurant each morning.  Staff was very friendly and gave us lots of tourist tips.





From our suite balcony.




From our balcony without the cruise ship.




View of our hotel from the Coast Guard station.





Every night crowds gather to watch the sunset...and drink.



The gardens at Ernest Hemingway's home.



Hemingway's bed.  Noteworthy because of the cat.  He loved them, and his cats have a genetic uniqueness...six toes.  Hemingway is long gone, but the cats remain at his Key West home.




Hemingway's desk.




Wednesday began the international boat races.  Some boats with as much as 2,000 horsepower and capable of 180 miles per hour.  We were able to watch from our suite balconey.





Next stop Key Largo