We Saw The Owl!

We saw the owl! We saw him! We saw him! Can you tell that I'm excited? That's because we saw the owl! LOL This afternoon the Island King and I decided to go owling for a while. We've been so many times and have only heard him so neither one of us really expected to see him today but luck was on our side. And it had to have been luck because we made several mistakes before we finally got a good look at him.

We got to the property earlier today than we've gotten there before and we were standing next to the truck talking when we heard a hoot. It sounded like the owl was way off in the woods but still on the property so we grabbed the camera and started through the woods.

The Island King tells me to be really quiet so we don't startle him when we get close so as soon as we stepped into the woods we started watching the ground to be sure we weren't stepping on sticks or anything that would be loud. From the sound of the hoot we thought he was way off in the distance and neither one of us were looking up in the trees at all.

We should have been because while his hoot may have sounded really far off, he was actually sitting on a limb just inside the woods. We must have startled him because all of a sudden he took off. He was gorgeous! Large and majestic with brown, tan and gold feathers and absolutely silent. He didn't make a sound as he glided through the woods. He flew low and in and around the trees and let me tell you - it was fantastic to watch.

And because we saw him fly we were able to watch where he went. He flew to the other side of the woods and landed in a large pine tree that we've heard him hooting in on several other occasions.

We were off to the other side of the woods, knowing this time that we needed to be looking up the whole time LOL And then we saw him! The Island King spotted him and once I knew where to look I saw him too. He sat there looking at us while we looked at him.

But when the Island King raised the camera he took off.

I had the video camera running and was able to get a flash of him as he flew back into the thicket.



And we followed. This time he was sitting way out on a branch right at the edge of a clearing and he was stunning. I mean a really, really beautiful bird. The Island King raised the camera and as he snapped the shutter the camera died. Battery dead. What?! You've got to be kidding! He tells me that he's going back to the truck to change the battery and I said I would stay where I was so if the owl flew off I would know which way he went.

I stood there for a good 3 minutes, just staring at him. And he stared right back at me. It was 3 minutes that rank right up there with swimming with manatee, swimming with wild dolphins and climbing to the top of Diamond Head on Oahu.

And then a loud truck went by out on the street and the owl flew back to the pine tree it had been in earlier.

The Island King returned with fresh batteries in the camera and I told him where the owl had gone so off we went. But we were busy talking about seeing the owl and again, not looking up, so we walked right past him. Which startled him because he flew to another tree not far away.

That's the 2nd time we've seen him fly low and through the woods like that and it really is amazing how fast and silent owls are. We laughed and decided to stop talking and start looking up again and just as we did the Island King spotted him.

And got a picture!



The camera is broken (that's another post) so the picture certainly isn't a high quality shot but we got him. Because the picture is bad you just can't begin to see how beautiful he is.

So we've seen the owl. We're going to come back with the new camera next week and see if we can get some really good photos of him but for today I'm a happy camper.

We saw the owl!

Hanging With Jake and Elwood

This afternoon I sat down to add some photos to our gallery and as I was poking around an old hard drive I ran across a photo shoot the Island King did back during the summer.

This particular shoot is of a huge house on the Bay and it has it's own movie theater, complete with popcorn machine and snack bar.

But what caught my eye were these pictures of the Island King - hanging out with Jake and Elwood.




I asked him if the home owner was there while he was taking pictures of himself with the Blues Brothers and he said "Yep and he told me I could hang out with them as long as I wanted" LOL

You Can't Pee On The Alligators

I can't decide if this is absolutely hysterical or seriously disturbing but either way it's just too good not to blog about.

The Oldest Island Boy has a friend that we'll call Bobby (because Lord knows we need to change the names in this story LOL). Bobby's mother called Sunday night and since the kids were out of school on Monday she wanted to know if the Oldest would like to come and spend the day at her house playing with Bobby.

The Oldest wanted to go, so on Monday morning the Island King dropped him off at Bobby's house and he spent the day. Bobby's mother brought him home Monday evening and the Oldest said he'd had a lot of fun.

The next day the boys and I were on our way to pick up the Island Girl from school and we passed Fudpuckers. Fudpuckers is a restaurant/bar here in town and it's a really neat place to hang out.


Fuds is a sprawling 3 level place and underneath is a pond filled with alligators.




The man who owns Fudpuckers has a son who puts on a 'gator show' a couple of times a day during the summer. He holds one of the alligators and gives a talk about them and their habitat.

These gators are a huge draw and the people at Fuds are very protective of them.

Another thing that Fudpuckers has is an outdoor playground up on the third level. It overlooks the gator pond and is a great place for the kids to play while you wait for a table or have a drink at the outdoor bar.


As we were driving by the Oldest says "Bobby and his Mom aren't allowed to go to Fudpuckers any more" Curious, I asked why and he tells me that they were kicked out and told not to come back. Kicked out of Fuds? Ok, this is a story I've got to hear.

The Oldest tells me that Bobby's mom used to drink a lot and that one afternoon they were at Fudpuckers and she was sitting at the inside bar drinking and that Bobby was outside playing on the playground. As she sat there the manager approached her and told her that she needed to get her son and they needed to leave.

She asked why and the manager told her that Bobby was out on the playground and had gone up to the railing overlooking the gator pond and that he peed on the gators.

I damn near ran off the road! Bobby peed on the alligators? Holy cow.

My next thought was "what possessed Bobby's mom to tell the Oldest this story?" so I asked him what they were talking about to make her tell him about it. He said they drove past Fuds and that he told them it was one of his favorite places to go and that Bobby's mom said "we can't go there anymore because we got kicked out" and that before he could even ask why she told the story.

I asked him what he said after she told the story and he told me that all he could say was "Wow, my brother pees in the yard all of the time but he's never peed on the gators at Fuds"

While I was processing this story the Oldest says "They can't go to Publix any more either." I was scared to ask but having just heard the Fudpuckers story I couldn't help myself and so I asked why they can't go to Publix.

Apparently, Bobby and his mother were in Publix one afternoon and while she was shopping, Bobby was wandering around the store. You know the candy that you buy by the pound? Well, Bobby stood there for a while and ate quite a bit of candy and then wandered over to the bakery - where he proceeded to eat an entire cake that had been cut into small pieces and put out for shoppers to sample.

Once again, Bobby's mom was approached by management, asked to pay for all of the candy and cake Bobby had eaten and then told to leave and not return.

After the Oldest finished telling me all of this I just didn't know what to say.
The Island King and I have some pretty embarrassing stories ourselves but we don't tell them to our kid's friends (or anyone else for that matter LOL)

My next thought was "Great, I let my son spend the day with a woman who got kicked out of a local restaurant AND the grocery store! As if he could read my mind the Oldest said "After she told me all of this, she told me that she quit drinking 3 years ago and doesn't drink at all anymore."

Obviously that's a good thing.

Sometimes it's nice to hear stories that make the Island King and I seem so normal LOL

Uncle Update

Thank you all so much for the prayers you've said for the Island King's uncle.
And those prayers are working too!

He's still in ICU but they've been able to stop the bleeding and now believe that the damage to his liver and kidneys isn't quite as bad as they first thought.

He will have to have dialysis 3 days a week for the rest of his life but they've now said that he could possibly be a candidate for a liver transplant in 7 months.

He's still in ICU and will be there for another week. They will be putting a shunt in for the dialysis within the next few days and if he does well with that he'll move out to the floor and then may get to go home in about 2 weeks.

He's not out of the woods yet but his prognosis is looking better.

The most remarkable change is his attitude. He knows that his quality of life will never be the same and he knows that his life expectancy is much shorter than he'd like it to be but he seems to have made peace with what time he does have left.

He also wanted me to thank all of you for the prayers you've said for him. I think it helps to know that he's got the power of prayer behind him.
I know it helps me.

Thanks again - I couldn't ask for a better group of friends!

Prayers Needed

The Island King's uncle is very sick. He was rushed to the hospital on Saturday with internal bleeding which led his doctors to determine that his kidneys and his liver are failing.

We went to see him right after church yesterday and ended up spending most of the day with him. He's in quite a bit of pain and he's scared. He knows that there isn't much that can be done for him.

It was so hard sitting with him, listening to him talk of all of the things he wishes he'd never done as well as the things he still wants to do - but knows he most likely won't be able to.

His doctors aren't very optimistic but think he may be able to move to a room on the floor tomorrow. The Island King and I were there when his doctor came in and the question "Will he be able to go home?" hung in the air like a giant white elephant.
It's something we all want to know yet none of us wanted to ask because we didn't want to hear the answer.

At one point he mentioned wanting a Popsicle and I jumped at the chance to go and get him some. I've never been good in hospitals and I really needed a minute to cry and then collect myself before I went back in. I think this is the first time in my life that I've ever wanted to go to Wal-Mart.

We stayed for a long time and then his nurse came in and gave him a shot of morphine, which made him sleepy. Right before he fell asleep we said goodbye and told him that we'll be back tomorrow.

He's been my friend for 20 years now and we've had our ups and downs but I've always considered him an important part of my life. He's all three of my children's Godfather and while I haven't always agreed with his choices I know that he's a good man.

So I'm asking you to say a prayer for him. Pray for comfort and peace and pray that he knows we love him.

Double Stuck

About a month or so ago the Island King did a photo shoot in a house on the Gulf. After he finished, he was standing on the balcony when he noticed this guy

In Walton County you can purchase a pass to drive on the beach but obviously no one told this man that you need 4 wheel drive.

The Island King watched him, wondering what the guy would do next.


He must have decided that he needed a little liquid help to determine his next move.

The Island King walked over to the other side of the balcony and saw a Fish and Wildlife truck and thought maybe they could help the guy.


A closer look changed his mind.

They were stuck too!

The Fish and Wildlife guys spent a few minutes digging sand out from around their tires and then tried to pull out.


They should know that because our sand is so soft you can't dig your way out once your stuck.

I guess they called for help (don't you know they hated having to make that call) and then decided to walk out to the beach.


Meanwhile, the guy in the white truck has found some help.



And then the Fish and Wildlife guys found him.


They talked for a minute and then headed back to their truck, where help was waiting.



It wasn't long before they were unstuck and on their way.


Once both trucks were back on solid ground, the Island King walked down to the beach and talked to the guy who'd helped the man in the white truck. The guy told him that the Fish and Wildlife guys came walking up and they talked for a minute about people not knowing they can't drive on the beach without 4WD.

The Island King laughed and asked if the Fish and Wildlife guys had mentioned that they were stuck too. They hadn't mentioned that and the guy said he was surprised to see them on foot since they usually patrol in their truck. Now he knows why they were walking LOL

Even with 4WD there are places that you can't get through and the Fish and Wildlife guys found one. I feel a little sorry for them because I'm sure they'll be teased about this for a long time. They'd probably be really unhappy to know these pictures exist LOL

Bored Bacon

Have I told you about Bored Bacon? He's one of my Geocaching Travel Bugs and I'm starting to miss him.





His desire was to leave the farm, see the world and then return home one day to tell all of his farmyard friends about his adventures.

He left here in March of 2007 and has been traveling ever since.

I had no idea he'd go so far from home.

He's in the Czech Republic right now. I would love to know what he's been up to but the log posts are all in Czech so I can't read them LOL

This picture of him in Prague was posted on his log sheet so it looks like he's having fun.


And he's eating well in Jetzendorf.


I told the kids the other day that I'm ready for him to come home, sit on my desk and tell me all about his adventures.

The Oldest Island Boy looked at his Dad and said "You don't think she believes that pig will really talk to her, do you?"
The Island King laughed and said "With your Mom - anything is possible"

I don't know if he'll ever make it back but it sure looks like he's having the time of his little plastic life LOL

We've Either Found Her Calling Or Created A Monster

My kids have always been fascinated with anything EMS related. Car wrecks, fires, anything that involves an ambulance or fire truck. Maybe it's from years of listening to stories about the days when the Island King was a paramedic or maybe it's just human nature but whatever it is they have it.

So yesterday I went to pick up the Island Girl and as I pulled into the parking lot where our carpool meets I see a bad wreck. The woman who was driving the carpool pulled in at the same time and Island Girl jumped out of her car and ran over to ask if I had the camera with me. "I want to get some shots of this" she says.

I only had my little point and shoot but she happily grabbed it and ran over to the edge of the parking lot to snap some pictures. At the same time the local newspaper photographer showed up and within minutes Island Girl has hooked up with him and they are crawling around behind some bushes trying to get closer without getting in trouble.

They took pictures for a while and then she brought the photographer over to meet me. It turns out that he's not the staff photographer, he just does freelance for them and he spent the next 20 minutes giving her photography tips and advice on how to get close to get a good shot without getting in trouble with whatever law enforcement agency is on scene.




She was really disappointed that we didn't have the "real" camera with us and most of her shots came out blurry but that wasn't her fault. That camera is horrible and only about 1 in 5 shots actually turn out so I think she did pretty good with what she had to work with.

On the way home she asked if we could get a police scanner, listen for interesting calls and then rush to wherever the action is so she can take pictures (with the good camera) to sell to the newspaper.

Lord have mercy - we have an ambulance chaser!

She seems serious and even though the subject matter is morbid, the experience could be good for her. She'll learn alot about action shots, freelance photography and how to deal with harsh lighting and weather conditions.

I still haven't given her my ok but I'm thinking about it. I'll definitely have to check out each accident first so she doesn't walk up on anything horrible but if it's not anything really bad I think it might be alright.

I guess that makes me the mother of an ambulance chaser LOL

Birthdays and Driving Lessons

Wednesday was my Grandmother's 98th birthday so my Dad hosted a small party for her this past Sunday.

All 12 of her great-grandchildren came but we snapped this picture before one of my cousins and his 3 kids arrived.


We had a nice time visiting with everyone and it all seemed just a little sweeter after our near death experience on the way over.

Island Girl has been driving on the back roads here in town and once she got on Hwy 98 and drove a block before getting off again but she hasn't really had any real road experience. And she hasn't driven over 30mph yet. For some reason I thought Sunday would be a good day to change that.

My grandmother's party was in Pensacola, which is a straight shot down Hwy 98 from here and I knew that once we passed Hurlburt Field it would be smooth, 55mph driving. I asked the Island Girl if she was ready to try highway driving and even though she was nervous she wanted to try it.

We passed the gate at Hurlburt and after traffic thinned some I pulled into a Circle K and we switched seats. She was really nervous, took several deep breaths and then said "Ok, I can do this!" She put the car in gear and rolled slowly toward the road.

We waited until there was a nice long break in traffic and she pulled out onto the highway. And then didn't want to accelerate. She's putting along at 35 and I see a pack of cars coming up behind us so I'm telling her that she absolutely HAS to go faster. Who ever heard of having to tell a teenager to drive faster?

Slowly, painfully, she eased up to 44. And wanted to stay there. I mentioned that the speed limit was 45 and that she could at least go that fast but she wasn't interested.

The speed limit went to 55 and she got up to 50 and seemed to be getting comfortable. We were behind a camper that was doing 5o as well and since the speed limit was 55 I decided she should go around the camper. There wasn't much traffic and passing the camper should have been no problem.

Except... I didn't take into account that she has never passed a car before and really had no idea how the whole lane changing, car passing, thing works.

What happened next happened pretty fast but was all very surreal with a strong slow motion feel.

I waited until there weren't any cars behind us and said "Ok, get over in the left lane" The girl put on her turn signal, braked and then turned into the left-hand lane. Turned, like you would turn off the highway onto a side road! I'm trying to explain how to change lanes when I realize that we're only going about 30mph and I can see a pack of cars coming up behind us - fast.

I'm getting nervous and telling her to Go Faster! and she's just not wanting to.
She's started to close the gap between us and the camper in the right lane when the pack of cars coming from behind catches up to us. And they were all over us. We're going about 45 and they're doing at least 55 and everyone is whipping around us and then back in between us and the camper and she got really nervous. Which meant she slowed down even more.

At this point I've completely abandoned the 'pass the camper' plan and just want to get back into the right-hand lane. But cars are everywhere and all of them want to get around us. And Island Girl will NOT go any faster.

And then it was over. All of the cars were gone and we could safely move back into the right-hand lane. Which we did. And the Island Girl lit into me like you wouldn't believe. "What was that all about? Why on earth did you want me to get out there in that lane? What kind of mother yells at her daughter to go faster? What is wrong with you?"

"I just wanted you to pass that camper" I say. She glances over at me in shock and tells me that I never said a word about passing - I just told her to get in the left lane. What? I've been saying that we need to pass the camper so we can at least go the speed limit for the last 5 miles. Why did she think I wanted her to get in the left lane?

I guess my repeating over and over again that we needed to pass the camper didn't register, which is just more proof that no one in my family listens when I talk LOL

A short while later we were in a 45 zone but traffic was a little heavier and all of the cars were doing about 50. I kept telling her to speed up some so we wouldn't get run over but she got all indignant and informed me that the speed limit was 45 and how dare I tell her to speed.

And don't you know that as soon as we got to the nursing home she went in and told the whole family that I "threw her out into the left hand lane" and "tried to make her speed" LOL

Obviously we need to work on passing but first she'll have to get over her fear of the left hand lane because she says she's NEVER driving in that lane again LOL

I can't wait to take her on the interstate and try to get her to drive 70mph LOL

The Boat Is Gone!!!

Captain Lee has finally taken the boat away. He told me when I sold it to him that it would be after New Year's Day before he could get it, so even though he paid me for it back before Christmas, the boat has continued to sit in the driveway.

And then the other morning I heard some noise in the driveway and there was the Captain, putting air in the trailer tires, ready to move the boat.

I was so excited. I've been waiting years for this day to come and finally it has arrived!

Captain Lee seems happy with his purchase


I was shocked that the trailer tire held air (it had some major dry-rot going on) and to be honest I expected the rust on the trailer to jiggle loose and for the boat to come crashing down onto the driveway as soon as he moved it.

But, fate was on our side and he hooked her up and pulled out


The trailer made a horrible, creaking, groaning sound as he turned out of the driveway and he looked pretty concerned for a minute


But then he straightened out and off they went


Good-bye boat! We had fun but your time with us is up. Thank God.

A New Stove For Me

I have a new stove! Actually, I've had it since right before Christmas but I'm not counting the time it spent waiting to be installed.

Our neighbors offered to sell us the stove that goes with the refridgerator we bought last month and since my stove is over 20 years old I jumped at the offer. And then immediately changed my mind because it was right before Christmas and I didn't really have the money to spend on a new appliance.

I mentioned it to my mother and she called me back later asking if I'd like for her and my dad to buy me the stove for Christmas. Of course I said yes (thanks Mom and Dad!) and a few days later we got the stove from next door.

And then it sat in my living room, right in the way of everything, waiting for the Island King to install it. The stove we have is a drop in and the new one is a stand alone so I knew the trim along the bottom of the cabinets would need to be cut but I thought it would be a simple, 10 minute process. The Island King didn't think so.

I hate it when he's right.

Because he was convinced that it was going to be a major project, he started stalling. Every day there was a new reason he couldn't get to it that day and the stove continued to sit. In the living room. Which became annoying pretty fast.

So I was left with no choice but to go on a food strike. I told him that I wasn't going to prepare another dinner until my new stove was installed. He just grimaced the first night of the strike as he handed over some cash for fast food. When the pizza arrived the next night I sent him to the door to pay the man and I could tell by the "Do you know how much this costs?" comment and the look on his face that the strike was working.

It was time to bring out the big guns.

There is a Chinese restaurant here in town that has REALLY good food. The food is good but the portions are a little small and it's pretty expensive to feed my family dinner from there. But we really like their food so a couple of times a year we'll splurge and place an order.

The night after the pizza came, the delivery man from the Chinese place came to the door and I thought the Island King was going to have a heart attack when the guy told him how much he owed. He ranted and raved for a while and then I said "You know that it's a lot cheaper to cook dinner every night than to order take out but I don't have a stove so I guess we'll just have to budget an outrageous amount of money for food this month."

It wasn't 5 minutes after he finished eating that he had his tools out, ready to install the stove LOL Boycots can be amazing motivators.

I was going to photograph the installation process but as soon as he pulled the old stove out he could see more problems than he'd anticipated and already being cranky from paying the dinner bill, he was in no mood for me to be hanging around taking pictures LOL

It's a long and complicated story but it ended up taking him 4 hours to get it installed. Yeah!!! I have a new stove!


Or not.

Everything on the top of the stove worked fine. The burners burned and the clock worked but Bake and Broil? Wasn't happening. Nothing from either element.

I know it worked when it was next door so why doesn't it work now? And why does everything on the top work if the oven isn't working?

One of the things that the Island King had to do when he put the new stove in was add a plug. Our old stove was wired directly to the house but the new stove has a plug so he bought an outlet and wired it up.

After researching the problem I learned that the top of the stove runs off of 110v but the oven elements work off of 220v. This made me wonder if the new outlet was wired correctly. The Island King seemed shocked that I would question his wiring ability and denied, repeatedly, that the problem could be from the new plug.

He thought about it for a while and then came into the kitchen and told me that he didn't believe it was the plug but that he was going to check it anyway - just to "humor" me.

He pulled the stove out, rewired the plug outlet and turned the power back on.

And it worked!

If I were a better person I would be able to say that I handled the joy of being right with dignity and grace. Obviously I'm not a better person because I danced around the kitchen singing "I was right and you were wrong" and poking him with my fingers LOL

The very next night I put together some awesome looking kabobs for a celebration dinner. And then burnt them in my new oven.

Some things never change.

Back Among The Living

I can't believe it's Thursday already! We've spent this week curled up on the couch with a major stomach ache. I mean a MAJOR stomach ache.

It started on Monday with the Youngest Island Boy. He woke up Monday morning running a fever and crying with his stomach. I gave him some Tylenol and he spent the day laying on the couch, holding his stomach.

Tuesday came and from the moment I opened my eyes I knew things were not good. My stomach felt like a herd of elephants were jumping all over it and I had that achy, I've got a fever, feeling. The Youngest no longer had fever but his stomach still hurt and he snuggled up next to me on the couch and didn't move all day.

It was a miserable day. I don't think I've ever had a stomach ache as bad as this one. No vomiting or diarrhea, just elephants jumping up and down all over my stomach.

By Wednesday, my fever was gone and my stomach hurt a little less but I still didn't feel good at all. The Youngest said he was better but I noticed that he didn't move far from the couch. I noticed that because I didn't go far either.

And of course Wednesday morning came and Island Girl woke up crying with fever and a stomach ache. I have to make my kids share toys but they share illness with no problem at all LOL

I feel much better this morning. Stomach ache is gone but I have that run over by a truck feeling and am moving a little slow. Island Girl went to school even though I'm sure she'd rather have spent today on the couch.

The Island King and the boys are still asleep and I'm not going to be surprised if the Oldest wakes up sick today. Like I said, sharing illness seems to be our specialty.

So I haven't accomplished much this week which means I've been looking at this all week.


Yep, that's right, it's the 8th of January and my Christmas tree is still up. I did take down the outside lights and decorations but inside it's still December 25th.

The odd thing is that the tree isn't bothering me. I like it. I don't want to put it away. It looks so pretty at night with the lights glowing softly and all of the ornaments shining. Usually I can't wait to put the Christmas decorations away and get things back to normal but this year I seem to be resisting.

I really should take it down soon, I'm only a few days away from becoming that crazy woman who leaves her Christmas decorations up all year.

Maybe I'll take it down today. Or, maybe not.

Operation Rocket Launch

The Oldest Island Boy got a rocket for Christmas and he's been waiting anxiously to launch it. Today was the day, and about mid afternoon he and the Island King sat down to assemble the rocket. It took them a lot longer than they expected and ended up finishing closer to dark than they thought they would.

But it wasn't dark yet and the Oldest couldn't wait any longer so we drove up to the school to launch it in the big parking lot next to the track.


They set it up.





The Island King connected the wire to the launch control box.


The Oldest took the control pad, did a NASA style countdown and pushed the button.


And nothing happened.

A little wire jiggling and head scratching took place.


The Oldest took the control pad again. He did his countdown and pushed the button.
And off it went!


The rocket has a parachute attached to it and according to the box it will go straight up about 600 feet and then come floating back down in relatively the same area.

Didn't happen.

See that yellow house over there?


The rocket went straight up about 100 feet and then took a sharp northward turn and shot full speed into that backyard. No parachute, no returning to the same area, it flew across the parking lot, across the street and straight into those people's back yard.

There was only one thing to do


The people were nice and they told the Island King that rockets land in their backyard all of the time so we must not be the only people who thought this parking lot would make a good launch pad.

Fortunately, they found the rocket in an azalea bush and everything was still intact and ready to launch again.


It was completely dark by this time so we had to scrub any further launches.
The Oldest was a happy camper and the fact that he had to go into someone's backyard to retrieve the rocket just added to the fun.

We'll be back another day soon and maybe this time the parachute will work.

New Year's Day

New Year's Day found us back at the condo for a New Year's / Christmas celebration. My MIL wasn't feeling well at Christmas and since she knew we'd all be at the condo for New Year's, she decided to wait and have Christmas with everyone on New Year's Day.

We spent a lazy afternoon on the balcony and even though we weren't facing the harbor, the view was beautiful.




We took some family pictures




And we were supposed to eat a big family dinner together. Remember that I told you this kitchen had amazing appliances but there were a lot of buttons? When it was time to put the pork tenderloin in the oven, my FIL put it in, pushed some buttons and assumed that cooking would take place.

We had black eyed peas and collards cooking on the stove, cole slaw and potato salad waiting in the fridge and everyone hung out, waiting to eat.

The kids were busy staring at the pile of presents waiting to be opened

and it was getting to be about time for dinner to be ready.

My FIL went into the kitchen to get the pork out of the oven and - Surprise! Even though there are lights and temperatures showing on the oven, nothing has really been happening inside. The pork has been cooking very slowly and what should have taken about an hour and a half is obviously going to take at least 2 more hours.

Word spread fast to the hungry people and caused great unhappiness. For some reason, my MIL had been hell bent on not opening presents until after dinner and the idea of the kids having to wait another hour and a half to eat AND open presents caused my SIL and I to panic. This was a good sized, 3 bedroom condo but you put 5 small kids, 1 teenager and 7 adults in there and it gets crowded really fast. The kids were pinging off the walls and things were going to get ugly if something didn't happen fast.

We told my MIL that there was NO WAY these kids would hold out much longer and that if the food wasn't going to be ready for a while we should change the plan and open presents while we waited. Thank God she agreed!





My MIL has a thing for zebra print so we made her a blanket, which she loved.


My FIL liked the bird house the boys made him.


She just wanted to play with everyone else's stuff LOL


Once the presents were open the kids had stuff to keep them busy.



The Island King got all kinds of cool kitchen gadgets for Christmas so he wanted to use his new meat thermometer and test the tenderloin. He and his brother tested the meat and then I heard my BIL say "About another hour? I can't take this anymore!"
He'd brought a ham to go with the tenderloin and since it was cooked, he got the ham out and started slicing, proclaiming dinner ready.


It took the tenderloin 5 hours to cook and we never did figure out why. One of the buttons on the oven was a Warm button so there is some speculation that maybe they warmed the tenderloin to done. We were all really glad we had the ham.

My BIL and SIL had plans with her family for that evening so they left after dinner and all we heard from our kids was "Let's go swimming" It's only 40 outside so why not? LOL
The Grand has a nice big hot tub overlooking the harbor so we put on our bathing suits and went to the pool. The wind was blowing and it was really cold but they have a clear glass windbreak around the hot tub so once you were in the water you couldn't feel the wind and it wasn't that bad.


Getting out and drying off was not so pleasant LOL

We soaked for a while and then someone mentioned pie and even the boys agreed that they'd had enough swimming and were ready for pie.

We ate chocolate pie, sweet potato pie and pecan pie until we were close to popping.

We said goodbye to the Emerald Grand and came home about 10, tired, happy and full of pie. Not a bad way to start the new year!