Ah, 2010… we bid you farewell, I think you did about as good as you could.
You’re probably wondering what happened once we hit 2011? Well, the actual event happened on the way back to Michigan… we stayed at a hotel where there were countless parties going on, and didn’t necessarily sleep in peace, so we said good-bye to 2010 and drove the rest of the way home. Then what happened?
Well, here’s one way to catch up in a hurry… I pretty much didn’t take any pictures for about NINE DAYS. So from January 1st to the 10th, literally nothing other than a brief couple of videos. In one of those videos you can hear me say why I didn’t take any additional pictures. I was running out of room on my computer. More on that and other fiascos of a like nature shortly.
Video Click here to see the other brief video I took, on January 4th, 2011. Really awesome to see these kids being able to play together.
January 10th, there was a fine layer of frosty snow on every needle of our trees in the back. See this image larger.
January 12th, we were inspired by the ice cream ball Ben and Mel got for Christmas, and bought an ice cream maker. As of today’s date, we’ve made three batches. Two of them were successful, and one involved real mint leaves but tasted like spinach. It was horrible. See this image larger.
So yep, the first half of January in one small entry. Don’t worry, however, more very soon!
This is the second post today, be sure to scroll down if you haven’t been on in awhile!
The last couple times we went to the Villages we got everybody together for a good-bye dinner and it has been great to leave on a high note the next day. It was even better this year because we didn’t have to get anybody up at 5am to hop on a plane!
So here we are on the 30th, getting together for a fantastic meal! See this image larger.
Two-for-one margaritas had Nina feeling pretty happy! Oh wait, that was me. Nina was happy to see her Daddy kick back and drink some margaritas! Here she smiles with Mommy! See this image larger.
Ian gives Nina a little peck on the forehead, and everybody swooned! See this image larger.
Happy Chapmans! And then it was time to go back to Grandma Sue’s and sleep — for 2 full days of travel was still ahead of our brave adventurers! See this image larger.
On the way back North to Michigan we stopped in a backwater town and ate at Waffle House. As this was Nina’s first Waffle House experience, I took a picture or two. See this image larger.
Local papers would report that one of the signs of the apocalypse occurred that night — Ian ordered pancakes at a Waffle House. See this image larger.
At one point Ian thought he was going to be sick. We gave him this butter dish to get sick into… instead he fell asleep on it. The miles slowly drifted by, as did the hours. Eventually we made it home. See this image larger.
And that was an interesting feeling, coming home. I don’t think the house we’ve lived in for the last few months felt as much like home as when we left it and came back.
For those of you wondering, would we drive it again? Absolutely. The kids were fantastic, and the stress and cost were significantly less than flying.
One more time, to make sure I covered everybody – thank you all for your hospitality and generosity!
We’ll leave you some of Ian’s hilarious zingers from the trip below, as noted in our phones, etc.
Dialogue
Ian, the night we left Nina to grab some dessert… just as we went through the doors of the ice cream shop – “I bet Nina’s crying right now.”
Ian, on the way to Great Grandma Betty’s – “Grandma Sue, your car is AMAZING!”
As I said in the captions earlier – He asked Great Grandma Betty to say “thank you” regarding a present… he did this before the wrapping paper even left the present.
During an ASPCA commercial on TV – “We have to save the puppy and the kitty!”
Ian’s ongoing nickname for Nina – “Nini.” I call her “Nina Nina jelly beana.”
Ian – “We have an enormous drive to Michigan.”
Ian on the way home – “Jingle go, jingle go, jingle all the way… (other lyrics) and open presents that you hid in the car!” (We had a couple presents in the car to make the trip more exciting… he imagined Santa thinking ahead.)
Ian – “Sometimes some puppies poop in the snow.”
Also on the way home, to Daddy – “You’re just not cool.”
We stopped at a Walmart so that Ian could go potty, and he refused to go. The potties were “bad” potties, the kind that auto-flush and scare him. When we finally got hom he pointed at our toilet and proclaimed “good potty.”
Ian, when we got home – “We gave our old house away to good people who didn’t have a house. Then we drove over to this one.”
https://outoftheirminds.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ootmd-logo-dark-wings-3Asset-15.svg00vrbfwhttps://outoftheirminds.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ootmd-logo-dark-wings-3Asset-15.svgvrbfw2011-02-09 22:21:472011-02-09 22:21:47Goodbye to Florida and the Trip Home
December 29th, meanwhile, back at home in Rockford, a new roof was being put on parts of the Chapman household. Here’s a pic I got from Mr. Brandon, who was watching our kitty! See this image larger.
Uncle Joe and Aunt Vicki came over to Grandma Sue’s to meet Nina and see how Ian’s been getting along. I think the last time Ian got to see all the Mitchell sisters in one visit was at Chris’s wedding. Three years ago! See this image larger.
Ian wasn’t getting into the whole smile thing last picture… Nina’s doing great though! See this image larger.
December 30th, and our last real day in Florida… we hang out on Grandma Sue’s lanai! See this image larger.
Ian needed to run around someplace and play — for the next day he’d be stuck back in a car… turns out the Villages has a nice little park with a pirate ship. See this image larger.
Nina, Grandma Sue and I sat on the bench and watched. And took pictures of beautiful little girls! See this image larger.
I flipped a nickel to Melissa and then asked Ian to come over and talk to me. I whispered that there might be a treasure if he dug at the “x.” Sure enough, when he spun around, there was an “x.” See this image larger.
2011
Ah, 2010… we bid you farewell, I think you did about as good as you could.
You’re probably wondering what happened once we hit 2011? Well, the actual event happened on the way back to Michigan… we stayed at a hotel where there were countless parties going on, and didn’t necessarily sleep in peace, so we said good-bye to 2010 and drove the rest of the way home. Then what happened?
Well, here’s one way to catch up in a hurry… I pretty much didn’t take any pictures for about NINE DAYS. So from January 1st to the 10th, literally nothing other than a brief couple of videos. In one of those videos you can hear me say why I didn’t take any additional pictures. I was running out of room on my computer. More on that and other fiascos of a like nature shortly.
So yep, the first half of January in one small entry. Don’t worry, however, more very soon!
Goodbye to Florida and the Trip Home
This is the second post today, be sure to scroll down if you haven’t been on in awhile!
The last couple times we went to the Villages we got everybody together for a good-bye dinner and it has been great to leave on a high note the next day. It was even better this year because we didn’t have to get anybody up at 5am to hop on a plane!
Two-for-one margaritas had Nina feeling pretty happy! Oh wait, that was me.Nina was happy to see her Daddy kick back and drink some margaritas! Here she smiles with Mommy! See this image larger.And that was an interesting feeling, coming home. I don’t think the house we’ve lived in for the last few months felt as much like home as when we left it and came back.
For those of you wondering, would we drive it again? Absolutely. The kids were fantastic, and the stress and cost were significantly less than flying.
One more time, to make sure I covered everybody – thank you all for your hospitality and generosity!
We’ll leave you some of Ian’s hilarious zingers from the trip below, as noted in our phones, etc.
Christma– wait a minute… Ok, Yeah I Think Christmas is Over. Florida 2010 Continues!
More from the 30th and the trip home, next entry!