Finally: An Update

Since our last update we have traveled to Charleston South Carolina for a Thanksgiving family re-union. Enjoyed Annabelle's first Christmas. Christmas Eve wa spent with Adam and Nicole and Christmas Day in VA with Matt's family. Matt, Jill and Annnabelle came to our house after Christmas. New Years Eve was spent in Ocean City NJ. In January we had our family Christmas at Matt and Jill's house. In February we celebrated Adam's birthday and took a trip Florida. Some pictures have been posted of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Florida. Here is a writeup Nancy did in Florida:
Here we are in Florida and it’s been wonderful so far. We boon docked two nights coming down-staying at Wal-Marts in Lumberton, NC and Jacksonville, FL. We spent the weekend with BJ’s brother Jimmy, his wife Sue and there kids and grandkids. Sue fixed a delicious Valentine dinner for all of us and it was just delightful being with family. We left on Monday to visit our dear friends Bruce and Trudy (and their precious dog Wookie). They live in Homosassa, Florida, so we got to go to a state park where there are manatees and it was just amazing-what delightful creatures!! The next day we went to a Butterfly Farm their neighbors recommended and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves-and learned some things! BJ & I have decided that we will try to plant some plants to attract the butterflies and perhaps even some hummingbirds-let’s see if we follow through on that! Tomorrow is RV school for BJ, even though he’s been driving the rig for over 3 years! More fun to come as we get to know this beautiful (and warm) state!

GULFPORT MS NOV 1-15

I returned to Gulfport for two weeks. Over a two week period there were 20 of us working on two houses. When we arrived one was 75% complete and the other was 50% complete. When we left one was completed and the other was about 75% completed. Noticable differences are more businesses are open. There is lots of new construction. Many of the beachfront owners are selling instead of rebuilding. There is an abundant of FEMA trailers in use, which means the rebuilding will continue for a long time.

October 3-12 San Juan & Cruise

Nancy and I spent two days in San Juan prior to departing for a cruise. When you're retired, you've got to take a few days off before a cruise to unwind from the stress of retired life. :-) We stayed at the Embassy Suites, which was very nice and even had a casino! Two blocks from the beach, complementary cooked to order breakfast, and two hour open bar happy hour. We learned the optimum number of free rum drinks was 5. 6 was too many to enjoy our wine with dinner and 4 was too few for the two hours of open bar. The hotel was very nice with a great pool. We relaxed, read by the pool, and watched the Coppertone girls give out free samples of Coppertone. On Sunday we met Adam & Nicole and Jimmy & Sue on the ship. We had three balcony rooms next to each other on the port side of the ship. The ship departed at 8 pm. Our next stop was Aruba. We did an enjoyable kayak-snorkel tour, even if it was raining. The next stop was Curacao. We went on a boat which they called a "semi-sub". The hull of the boat had windows from which we could view the sea-life. The seats were only two wide, so you could have a great view of fish and coral. Afterwards we went on a short tour of the island with a stop at the Curacao Liqueur distillery. And all the shots you could drink. The next stop was St Maarten where we did a catamaran snorkel tour with complementary rum punches followed by some shopping. The last stop was St Thomas where we went to Magan's Bay. We were on Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Sea which is a real nice ship even has an ice rink! The food was outstanding and there were many activities available. We had a great time and thanks to Adam and Nicole for planning the trip and to Jill of Keller Travel for making it happen. The only down side was that we sure missed our precious granddaughter!!! They change and grow so much in just two weeks!!

LAKE TAHOE

We were invited to spend a few days in Stateline Nevada with some friends. Stateline is on the south end of the lake on the Nevada California line. The scenery is great. We took several walks, a dinner cruise on a paddlewheel boat and lots of sight seeing. The lake water is very cold so no swimming. We did use the pool and hot tubs. The best part is spending time with friends.

NEW PICTURES POSTED IN PHOTO ALBUM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JILL

Happy Birthday Jill

AUGUST UPDATE

In August we celebrated Nancy's birthday. This was Annabelle's first time coming to our house. Lauren and Daniel (niece and nephew from Alabama) visited us on the birthday weekend. They were relocating from Alabama to New Jersey. We celebrated on Sunday then on Monday Adam, Nicole and I helped them move into their apartment in NJ.

We left the next day for California. Our packing experience on Monday evening was full of tension. About 30 minutes after I returned from NJ we started have electrical power problems. After about 30 minutes of frustration, I realized that we had lost one phase of our power. After making sure the freezers, Refrigerators, Alarm system, and phone was on the working phase I was able to start packing.

The trip to California was great. We spent three nights in San Francisco where we rode the cable cars, visited Alcatraz, fisherman's wharf, did a bus tour of SF, drove Lombard street and the steep hills. Leaving SF we drove south on the coastal highway to Carmel (17-mile tour), San Simeon (toured Hearst Castle). Between San Simeon and San Luis Obisbo we started our wine tasting tour. From San Luis Obisbo we drove to Paso Robles where we took a guided tour of "mom&pop" vineyards. It was enjoyable.
Our second week was concentrating on wine-my kind of week!!! Sonoma first, where we
were surprised they rolled up the sidewalks at 6:00 PM! HELLO!!! We've got thirsty people here!!! Restaurants were still open, but that was it! The next day was 3 or 4 vineyards (yes,
you lose count after awhile), a farmers market with musical entertainment and an evening
in the hot tub. The next day we headed up to Anderson County (near Mendocino) but took
a break to tour the Jelly Belly Factory-FUN! Then to Boonville for disc golf and, of course,
vineyards! Quaint town, with a unique hotel. We walked a trail and saw some awesome redwood trees. From there we went to the Charles Shultz Museum-terrific museum for the inner child in us all! Then on to the Sierra Foothills for - more vineyards!! Stayed 3 nights at the Imperial Hotel in Amador City-another fun place! BJ's brother Jimmy did a great job finding us unusual places-Besides the vineyards we panned for gold and visited the quaint shops of that area-
We feel so blessed to have Jimmy and Sue not only as brother and sister-in-law, but also as
great traveling buddies!

JULY UPDATE

In addition to enjoying Annabelle, we went to Holyoke, MA to attend the wedding of our niece Katie to Nat. It was great and all of the Hamilton side of the family was able to attend. We had a great time.

After the wedding I went to Bois Blanc Island Michigan to join Andy, Steve, Chip, George, Jim, Bob, and John for a boys weekend at Andy's summer home. Very remote quiet and enjoyable.
While the guys were in MI, the gals got together at Jan's for a pool party and sleepover. We had a ball! Since not everyone could make it to the sleepover, we
got together again for dinner and movies - Mamma Mia - what a fun movie! I can't
imagine my life without my girlfriends-they are all a true blessing to me!

Annabelle June Keller

We're back from spending a few days with the latest addition to our family. She is a precious baby girl whom we have fallen head over heels in love with. We could spend hours just holding her and watching her sleep expressions. We already miss her and can't wait to see her again and again. See photo gallery for pix!

We Are Grandparents

Today we welcomed Annabelle June Keller into our lives. Jill, Annabelle, and Matt are doing well. All are happy. Annabelle joined us at 0925, Wednesday, June 25, 2008. She weighed in at 6 lbs 8.8 oz and was 18 1/2 inches in length. The induced labor started at 0630 Tuesday June 24, 2008. Jill was a real trouper throughout the precess.

Adam and Nicole and Matt's parents (Roger & Dot Keller) were with us when she was born.

See photos in PHOTO ALBUM.