Saturday

Well did we ever have a busy fun filled day which started with Chester crowing at 5'ish waking up Gabe but what we didn't know he was already in bed with Bob and Jill as he quickly went back to sleep. We all managed to stay in bed despite his crowing until nearly 7 o'clock. Nancy made French toast for breakfast then Bob and Jill got ready to head out to their Saturday Conference which was going to be another all day session. After they left we got ready to head out to Largo Central Park where there are miniature trains you can ride.

These rides only happen on the first full week-end in the month. The child must be big enough to straddle a seat with an adult and the ride is very cool; it goes through a tunnel, over a bridge and through the woods. The cost is only a donation and the trains are part of a club that mostly retired folks do as a hobby. Some are steam engines running on coal, some on propane but mostly they are gas engines and built to look like the real full size trains. Its about a 15 minute ride per train and you can ride all you want with about a 15 minute wait in between rides as there were 4 different trains that carried about 25 riders at a time plus the engineer and conductor. The boys and Tyler and I rode them twice while the girls headed to the fantastic playground. That placed was packed with kids and Ava and Annsley were like jitterbugs running from one set of equipment to another.

We left there around lunch time and headed for home and Amy and Tyler picked up a couple pizzas for lunch. We had the boys in our truck and they were so cute together mimicking on each other all the way home. If one smacked their lips or made any noises the other copied kated and they giggled at each other. They were hilarious together. The weather was fantastic as well with cool enough temps to keep it pleasant in long pants and yet warm enough for short sleeves in the bright sunshine. After a lunch Amy took Annsley to their house so the girls could play with Ava multitude of toys and Sam could take a nap. We were hoping Gabe would nap which he eventually did around 2:30.

Tammy and Rich(she is my first cousin) came by for a visit as they had attended the conference along with Bob and Jill but they decided to spent the afternoon visiting with us as they weren't interested in the afternoon or night programs. They flew in from Shallotte,N.C. and spent the night on Sand Key then had dinner at the Salt Rock Grill. We had taken them there last year and they had such great meal they wanted to have an excuse to do it again and the conference made it happen. They came to our house and visited for 4-5 hours loving up on the kiddos and renewing old friendships and old times. They are very comfortable in our family setting and are hoping to come back to Florida around Easter and eat dinner with us as they did last year. Their girls are getting grown up and the oldest Megan who is now a teenager is going to Europe this summer with a group of gifted students. Megan is very artistic and unusually talented as she has her own studio but she is facing the same problems all puberty kids are challenged with. Any how we certainly enjoyed their company and they headed out around 7'ish for a Greek restaurant Bobby mentioned. She is having some back problems with bulging disc so she stood most of the time here.

We bathed the kids and got them ready for bed. Sam and Gabe played together as well as Annsley. Tyler had taken Ava to the circus which had been planned in advance so we watched the 3 of them until it was Sam's bedtime. Bob and Jill showed up around 9'ish then we packed all of their belongings and they headed out. Wow was it ever quiet when they left. We headed for the showers and I cat napped through some play off games and then fell asleep. Yikes those little ones can wear you plum out; but we had a great time and the kids really bonded together.

Well today its church day in Tampa, I almost for got to mention Nancy's dad is still hanging in there as the kidneys are functioning a little better helping to rid some of the edema buildup; thanks again for your thoughts and prayers, LATER