Took this picture of Bentley yesterday and love how handsome he looks! He's turning into a good boy . . . slowly but surely; very slowly . . . but surely.

What a treat to have Julie and the grandkids (Ian and Jack) here for a visit for a few days. The weather has been up and down these last few weeks, but fortunately we had a perfect day for Sea World. The Shamu show was a highlight, and so was the Journey to Atlantis roller coaster/water slide ride. The Penquin Encounter made for some good "Artic" pics. We played cards and dominoes and generally just had a good time the rest of the visit. Time goes by fast, but we're so glad they came.

 


I'm still reeling from the news of Monday, February 27, 2012. My beautiful, serene, wholesome little town of Chardon, Ohio has forever changed. My alma mater, Chardon High School, the scene of such horrific tragedy will never be quite the same for all of us who had attended and will attend in the future. My thoughts and prayers go out for the victims and their families, and for all the residents of Chardon.

One thing I know for sure. The people of Chardon have strong roots; the town will recover and continue to be a model for what is good and valued in America.

Can it really be almost the end of January 2012! The last few months seemed to fly by! We enjoyed our Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, our 37th wedding anniversary and my hmmhmmth birthday . . . we went camping for a few days here locally at Santee Lakes . . . we refurbished and re-rented our rental house . . . and oh yes, Bentley is still Bentley, driving us crazy (but loveable nonetheless).

Bob continues as a Sr. Volunteer for the Fire Department, entering his 5th year. I'm still volunteering as a Friend of the Library and we were treated to a nice luncheon this week for our efforts last year. We raised around $75,000 for the library through sales in our Book Shop. Not bad for books that start at 25 cents and rarely sell for more than $4.00!

Sending out best wishes for this New Year. For the first time ever I didn't send Christmas cards, forgive me my friends, but I do think of you often.

Spent a week with Julie, Jarrod, Ian and Jack in Phoenix and we enjoyed our visit so much. The boys are growing by leaps and bounds and their individual personalities are evolving ever stronger. We made rice krispy halloween squares (pumpkin shaped), Jack learned to play the card game War, we played Jacks, read some new books, made paper airplanes and more. Of course the kids LOVE their WII and Nintendo the most, and they are great at it. They have their Halloween costumes ready and can hardly wait for Trick or Treat Night!

Bentley was in heaven. Julie has a fully fenced huge back yard which is completely dog proofed and Bentley could run and play endlessly with her Otis (bloodhound) and Yoshi (golden/cocker mix) . Yoshi is about the same age as Bentley and they had a ball romping with each other.