Where Have I Been?

I know it's been forever since I posted, and I seriously considered quitting this altogether, but I really like looking back over the past years and seeing what we were doing.  So, I'm going to try to do some catching up.  It takes awhile to upload pictures, because I have to upload them into Picasa from my phone or I-Pad, then download them here, then go back to my I-Pad to write the post, and it's not a smooth operation.

So, I'll go back to April.  We recovered from Easter, and in the beginning of April we lost Joe.  He was 13 and a half, the oldest greyhound we had.  He was having difficulty going up and down the steps and had almost stopped eating. Then on Easter he bit Stephanie on the face.  We knew then that he had to be in pain, because he had always been good with kids.  When we took him to the vet, he had lost five pounds in just a few months, so we knew something was going on.  The vet said he could run tests, but he wasn't going to get any younger.  He said when a dog quits eating then the end is near.  So we went ahead and had him put down.  I didn't realize how bad he looked until I look back at pictures.

In the middle of April we went to Boston for a few days to visit Kate and the kids.  Wayne hadn't been to Boston since 2010, though I usually go a couple times a year.  We had a really nice time.  We got to see Corinne's school and went up to Kennebunkport for a day and stayed in a lovely hotel.

This is the fourth time I've started this post and cannot get pictures to upload.  So Im going to upload. This then try to get pictures from my I-pad.

March

We started March with a trip to Florida.  We flew to Fort Myers then rented a car and drove to Cape Coral.  Overall, it was kind of a disappointment, or a waste of money.  Cape Coral is like a town of retirees, hundreds of o e-story stucco houses with canals behind them and people over seventy living in them.  Our house we rented was nice and had a pool, but it was too cold to swim.  Wayne got in a couple of times, but it was too cold for me to ven put my toes in.  The nicest thing about the trip was hanging out with Jeff and Judith, but we can do that here in St. Louis.  They stayed in a condo that was in a resort that was nice, and there were cute shops and restaurants there.

On St. Patrick's Day we drove to Cincinnati to stay with Stephanie and Julia while John and Chellie went to New York for the weekend.  They have a new puppy, Max, so we hung out with him, too.  He has lots of energy.  We had lots of fun with the girls and got to visit with Polly and Bill on Saturday.  On Sunday, Polly and I took the girls to her favorite thrift shop.  They got lots of good junk.  Polly ended up spending twice as much as me--she didn't realize that you need to put stuff back on shelves when the girls are not looking.

Then the next weekend was Easter, and we held the family Easter celebration.  It was lots of fun; John and Chellie were in town so we got to see the girls two weekends in a row.  We had a good time Saturday practicing Easter egg hunts in the yard, decorating Easter cookies and dying eggs.  Then Easter we had about sixty people.  We were really worried about the weather because all week rain was predicted, but we lucked out.  We had the egg hunt and one, and the rain held off until after two.  Here are lots of pictures:

February

I've been busier this month than I expected to be.  I am taking a Woman's History class on Tuesday/Thursday mornings, and a few weeks ago the English dept. chair contacted me to see if I could fill in for their secretary who was having surgery the beginning of February.  So, I've been working Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 7:30-11:30.  Then I was supposed to be working as an ESL tutor Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 4 to 8, but a friend is covering Wednesday evenings until I finish working in the English Dept.  That way I only have to go back on Thursdays for a second shift.  I think I finished in the English Dept. this past Thursday; Pat, who I was filling in for, came back Thursday afternoon so I hope I'm finished.

I celebrated my birthday most of the month.  My sister Kay hosted the Fancy Aunt Luncheon on Valentine's Day.  We celebrated Didi's birthday, since she was busy for the December luncheon, my birthday and Laura's which was the eleventh, and Libby's which was Valentine's Day.  It was so much fun seeing everyone, and Julie was in town  She looks great and it was so nice having her here.  We went and saw Brooklyn the next day--the first movie I've seen in a theater for 20 years.

Then this past Friday, my friends from work had a luncheon for me.  As I said, I celebrated my birthday all month!  Now we are getting ready to go to Florida.  We are going tomorrow for a week.  We fly into Fort Myers and drive to Cape Coral.  We've rented a two bedroom house for a week; it has a pool so it should be fun.  Wayne's brother, Jeff, and his wife Judith have been there for almost two months, so we'll get together with them.  They are staying in a high rise about a mile from where we are staying.  

Stephanie's & Abbey's Birthdays

We went to Cincinnati for Stephanie's birthday the end of January.  We got her roller skates and a little trampoline, and summer clothes.  They had the party at a pottery center where the kids got to paint plates.  Luckily, the weather cooperated and we were able to go there to help celebrate.  We never know if there is going to be snow the end of January.

Abbey's twelfth birthday was the third of February, so we had them over for dinner and Amy and Dave and the kids came, too.  I had gotten her a new winter coat a couple of weeks earlier, and on her birthday we gave her a puffy vest, some shorts and shirts, a GAP gift card, and a night stand for her room.  Rob took her and a few friend to the Bounce Zone and out to dinner for her birthday on Saturday; she invited her best friend Sophie and three boys from her class.  When he asked her why she didn't invite any girls, she said they are all too high drama.