Andy & Arvie

I am so behind! John's parents came down about a month ago. We had a great weekend! Weather was a little cool, but the sun was shining! We had Cuban food in Miami, took a ride on the water taxi, drove up to Boca Raton and had many great meals! Thanks for the Macaroni Andy! Short but sweet visit......we are so thankful for our families.

Girl's Night

This post is a little overdue. A close friend of mine, whom I never get to see came in town and a bunch of us old college buddies had a little fiesta at the Carnes' house. We had such a great time. Wow, there is a lot to be said for true friends. Once we're back together it's like we never separated. There was a little spice to the party. The four newest additions as you can see below. The little ones were adorable playing together. It's so amazing to see all of the little personalities developing. They partied hard! What beautiful little ladies! Good times.....wish we could do this more often. What if we all lived on the same street? Wouldn't that be a blast?(casey's) Abby Kate & Claire (Kate's) (Tracy's) Taylor & Reese (Ellen's)

2009

We wish everyone a wonderful New Year. Looking back, 2008 was quite a roller coaster of events for us. John's first day of flying with Virgin America began on the 31st of December. Unfortunately, this was our first NYE apart. John was in Time's square, I was in KY with family and friends.
We did get to spend Christmas together, so nice. I don't have any pictures to post because I forgot my camera in FL. Our adventures started in Destin on the 20th and ended in KY on the 30th. We finally made it back to FL this week. We've so enjoyed being home and the weather is awesome! New Years resolution for the Palmers' : too many to name! How about....... taking a vacation out of the country. Sounds great! Happy New Year to all!

Festivities in Ft.Lauderdale

John and I watched the annual parade of boats last Saturday. We live right next to the river, it was great! I cannot imagine how long it must take to put this many lights on a boat. I get frustrated just putting them on the tree! Can you imagine trying to find the one bulb that ruins the whole strand? The weather was great, a little cool believe it or not. Well, in the low 60's. We had a really nice night. We were just thankful to have some down time to hang out and enjoy the Christmas season. Hope everyone else is able to do the same!

Better late than never..........

Just trying to catch up on the many post I haven't made! This is Halloween in Ft.Lauderdale. At the last minute we decided to go out for the Halloween bash. We thought we were going to be alone until I ran into some old buddies. That's John with the mask and my friends Kristin and Brittany. You really don't understand the odds of us running into each other. I knew they were coming in town for the New Kids on the Block concert, but we had not made any plans at that point. And yes I did say a NKOTB concert. We had so much fun! Great to see you guys. The streets were closed off and there was a huge costume contest. You cannot begin to imagine the costumes............. crazy, trashy, creative and hilarious! Good times!

Golfing

What a Sunday to remember! John and I played golf today in Pembroke Pines, about thirty minutes from our condo. Grand Palms Golf course was not ready for these two ball chasers. Yes, ball chasers-not golfers. We need some serious lessons. We had so much fun! At first we were a little embarrassed, and then we realized there was no one close behind us. Thank god! The weather was beautiful and we laughed all day. Well, until we realized Juan had lost his new sunglasses. We were at the eighth hole and suddenly John's sunglasses were no where to be found. So that was a little damper on a great day, but what can you do? We back tracked and searched in the sand pits, around the water (because a lot of our drives ended up in the water or sand pits) and everywhere else-no glasses. This was our first golf outing together, good times!

Muir Woods

We've spent a whole lot of time in the San Fransisco bay area in the last 2 months. However, there is always something new to experience. Last Sunday we drove over the Golden Gate to Sausalito, had a burger for lunch and decided to go see the redwoods. Wow, what an adventure! This outing started off as a leisurely hike to see the Muir woods. The next thing I know, we have been hiking for about oh, 2hrs and we are a little lost. Everyone we passed had backpacks on, bottled water, a hiking stick or two, power bars, huge tri-fold maps - not us. We are living proof, all you need is tennis shoes. We had hiked off of our map! Looking back, it was hilarious! At the time, well, you can only imagine our conversations. At one point we were getting a little concerned, we had not passed any other hikers for over an hour. We finally ran into a couple that let us take a peek at their map. We were almost exactly where we thought we were. John seems to think he has a human GPS. I tend to disagree! Ha Ha! Anyway, I think we ended up hiking about 6 miles. When we finally made it back to the rental car, we chugged some water and drove over to Muir beach to watch the sunset. The half moon shaped beach was cozy. We could smell the salt water mixed with the wood burning fires! I think it was the first beach I've ever been to that allows bonfires. Kinda reminded me of karate kid or some movie? Well, another adventure I promise we will never forget! We are both sore from the hike! John don't forget about the ashes.

Homecoming 2008

Us @ Keeneland

Dinner @ MalonesUs @ T-bombs

The Girls @ T-bombs

What a great weekend! I am way behind! We drove down to Lexington and went to Keeneland on Friday, T-bombs friday night, watched football Sat. at the Whitford's, dinner with some buddies from Merrick Inn @ Malone's on Sat. Night, and flew back to Ft. Lauderdale Sunday afternoon. What a busy, fun filled weekend! It's always nice to sit around and just chat! Gotta love having such great friends!

Happy Thirty-Three Beez!

We celebrated John's birthday with family in Destin. We had a nice dinner and John wanted banana pudding instead of a cake this year. I guess your taste changes as you get older. Ha, Ha!

New Job

Great news, John got a job with Virgin America! He starts training in November and will be based in SanFrancisco. We are going to stay in Ft.lauderdale for now, what a commute! This is a true answer to prayer.

Second Wedding Anniversary

Carmel

John @ Big SurSpanish Bay
B&B
B&B
Sunset in Monterrey



We flew into San Francisco and drove about 2 hours down the coast to Monterrey. John was determined to make the sunset. After speeding on hairpin curves this is what was left when we arrived. It was a very memorable adventure. We are still laughing! After watching the sun go down, we checked into our room and went out for dinner on Cannery Row. Monterrey is such neat place!

The next morning/day we went sightseeing! We started in Monterrey, watching the sea lions. We were in a little park with gorgeous views. We then decided to got to the Monterrey Aquarium. Which is kinda out of character for our travels, but everyone told us to go. It was great! We watched the otters for about a hour. Next, we headed uptown to have lunch at a local joint that was tasty-Rosins. After a quick lunch we drove through the gates of the 17-mile drive to Carmel. It is a beautiful scenic drive ending at Pebble Beach/Carmel. We would drive a couple of miles,pull off , drive a couple more and pull off, the views were breath taking. We finally made it to Pebble Beach. What a gorgeous golf course. It's beautiful, but it didn't knock my socks off. I'm not much of a golfer. Our last and final destination was a little Bed and Breakfast in the middle of Carmel. It was so quaint, and a first for us. What a wonderful, cozy place to stay. We were about 6 blocks from the beach. Carmel is so unique, it has the comfort of a southern town with local charm. No junky commercial signs, all quaint shops with flower boxes in the windows. That evening we got all bundled up and walked down to the beach to watch the sunset. Carmel is very cool at night. As we walked back up the hill to our B&B we could smell the wood burning fireplaces. As dinner approached the decision was easy-Italian, a personal favorite for us. After dinner we were ready to crash!

Another day, John wasn't feeling so well. We were both really congested, I think it was the climate change. Anyway, I went to the little office of the B&B and picked up some breakfast and delivered it to John. He was very thankful! After debating urgent care, John decided to tough it out. We drove down to Big Sur took lots of great pics and headed back toward San Francisco. After arriving in San Fran we checked in our room and went down to the wharf, followed by dinner at a favorite restaurant Taddich Grill. We had a wonderful vacation and great second wedding anniversary.

QT with old buddies in Southbeach

We had a blast last weekend in Southbeach! John and I went down to Miami for the day and went to the beach, and out to dinner with some old friends. They were in town for a conference, which worked out great for all of us. It was so nice to hang out with genuine friends. I miss everyone so much. I know as we all get older and busier it's hard to get together, but when we do, it's too much fun! I love you girls, Robbie too! We really need to plan a trip this winter! Ski/beach I don't care, we're in! John will be the photographer!

Anita is getting big!

We were in Destin last week to visit John's family. Our niece Anita has gotten so big! She is running not walking, and I swear the child has three arms. She is so quick, and into absolutely everything! We really enjoyed playing with her! She calls me Mey, and tells John no,no,no while pointing her little finger. She is adorable!

Juan in San Juan

Sorry the photo is a little blurry. These are John's relatives he's been staying with in Puerto Rico, Rafael and Glanis. John's last month employed at Spirit he was based in San Juan. Luckily, Rafael and Glanis let John stay with them for about two weeks. They were so nice and hospitable. Juan really enjoyed his stay and brushed up on his Spanish. Thanks so much Rafael and Glanis!

29th Birthday

View from our balcony. It was pouring and the wind was blowing so hard!

The perfect cupcakes Juan made.


The night before my birthday John's grandmother took us out for a nice steak dinner ending with a scrumptious, large slice of cheesecake. It was a great time, thanks Martha. We flew into Ft.Lauderdale the morning of th 18th. When we checked in for our flight we were told the flight was under "advisory". Tropical storm Fay decided to come in town the same day we were flying home. We actually made it with out any delays. We were thinking about going out for my b-day but everything was closed because of the weather. We drove down to the beach and checked out the huge waves. We actually found it very exciting! We are weather nuts! Anyway, we stopped by publix and picked up the basics (we haven't been home in two weeks). John made a wonderful dinner, salmon, broccoli and baked potatoes. For dessert he made yellow cupcakes with chocolate icing. It was very yummy! It was funny to watch John make cupcakes for the first time pouring batter into those paper cups can get messy. We had a really nice night, probably better than going out! Thanks for a wonderful birthday Juan!

Prayers Please

It's been somewhat of trying summer for us. For those of you that don't know, John is getting laid off as of Sept 4. We don't know if this is for a month, two or indefinite? That is the lovely part of being in the Airline industry. John is actively looking for another job. So if anyone has any connections please let me know! We would greatly appreciate it! We are trying to stay positive, and hopefully there is some reason this is all taking place.
On the other hand, John's grandfather died last week after fighting a two year battle with cancer. John was really close to his grandpa, and I know this is really hard on John and his family, please keep them in your prayers.

Family Vacation

Mom and Dad at Margaritaville, they are the best!

Cameron and his dad (John) on his 10th b-day!

Wow, can you believe how grown up they are? Time goes by too fast! Cameron is 10, Landon 8, Caroline 7 and Emma 5. They are busy, active and hilarious! I am so thankful to have these guys! Everyday it's something different! Being an aunt is absolutly awesome! Thanks Shannon and Jill!

John and I were lucky enough to make a few days of family vacation. We had as much fun as the kids. One of the evenings my family visited the Palmers. How great to have everyone together! Our other niece is growing like a weed. Ms. Anita will be celebrating her 1st b-day this month. I will post some pics soon!

Naples

Our friends just moved down from NYC. We went out for Italian, had drinks at an Irish pub and spent the night on Richie's boat. We had a great time! Naples is only about an hour drive from Ft. Lauderdale. Thanks for the invite guys!

Staying Busy

The boys are playing some serious baseball! Landon plays catcher and Cameron plays third base. We think they are pretty good, maybe a little bias? They are growing up so fast!

It seems like every day goes by faster than the last! We are staying too busy! We went to Houston last week to visit John's family. While we were there we made a trip to the casino with Grandma and aunt Marie. They love'em some slots! John and I aren't huge gamblers. We always come out in the negative. We came home for a day and back to work we go. We are going to Destin Friday or Saturday. My family and about 20 other cousins are coming to the beach as well. It will be great to see both of our families at the same time. I miss my family so much.

Southbeach, Miami

John and I were so lucky to have my parents come visit for a couple of nights last weekend. We drove them all around Ft. Lauderdale, Southbeach, and Coconut Grove. We introduced them to a totally diffrent lifestyle! They were pretty amazed with all of the crazies! I think they had a good visit, we sure did! I hated to see them leave! Come back soon!