Happy Birthday Mima

Slept great last night, woke up well rested 

and got ready to meet my aunt, my cousin, her daughter, and her daughter.

Let's see, I think that would be my second cousin and my second cousin once removed???

I'm not completely certain about that, but anyway, 

there were 4 generations of special ladies

who met us for breakfast at Panera's :0)

We had a short but sweet visit and then we went to pick up a cake for Mima.

Today was her birthday and we were going to celebrate.

We all (that would be Mima's four children and two of the spouses) 

met up at the Rehab where she is currently residing. 

We brought cake, plates, napkins and cake forks, 

Manny's brother brought flowers, 

and his sisters brought Kentucky Fried Chicken...

That's what Mima wanted for her birthday. 

We visited a bit before we all disbanded to head home.

Some of us had a longer journey than others. 

We made it home, safe and sound, thank the Lord,

especially since it rained a good part of the way.

We've unpacked most things from the bus, and are now going to settle in for the night.
We are thankful we got to spend time with Mima for her birthday
and we are especially glad she is doing well and may get to go home soon.

Crazy Roadways

Today we got up, got dressed, and then headed off 

into the craziness of the Miami roadways.
Notice the plane coming in to the airport.

Our main objective today was to visit my husband's aunt and uncle

Whom we've not seen in many years. 

We stopped off on the way to pick up one of Manny's sisters

Who is also in from out of town.

The traffic to and from this part of town was horrible

But we arrived safely and had a lovely but short visit with them.

They live a very simple life...always have.
I saw these treasured pictures on their end table...
That's my father-in-law's picture on the left and Hannah's picture on the table on the right

Look at how tiny Aunt Nin looks next to my brother-in-law

 They cried when we left. 

They are an extension of my father-in-law
who is no longer with us.

He was a good, kind, and gentle man and we miss him. 

He would be so proud of his children and grandchildren!

We stopped off at a local eatery in Little Havana 

So now we are back in our bus

Chilling out for just a few minutes before we start getting ready

For the 50th Anniversary celebration tonight.

We had a lovely time at the Celebration
and we got to see a special friend we have not seen in a long, long time

Adolfo is more like family to us. 
He is an amazing photographer!

Here is the happy couple celebrating their 50th Anniversary.
This was the husband singing a very special song to his wife

and this is her looking at him while he sang to her

This picture was from their wedding day

They are a beautiful couple inside and out
and we wish them many, MANY more years of happiness together!

Step Back in Time

We slept really well last night, about 8 hours straight.

Woke up, made coffee, got dressed, and put on my face.

We stopped by a little diner near by for breakfast

 BUT, it was just past 10 and they had stopped fixing breakfast :0(

So my husband ordered a delicious steak sandwich with some fries 

And I had toast and butter made with Cuban bread. 

Then we went to visit Mima and brought her a birthday balloon and some candy.

She liked that :0)

We visited for a while and then she had to go for physical therapy

So we left.

My husband wanted to get a hair cut 

from this Cuban Barber Shop he had visited the last time we came down to Miami.

He was very excited about it!

We found the shop, but we couldn't find a parking spot

So I dropped him off and then tried to find a place to park.

He went inside and I stayed in the car. 

About 10 minutes later he came out

HE LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT!

Then we took a trip down Memory Lane...

My husband has been trying to find an old friend from high school

for the past 30+ years. 

We thought we had a good lead this time 

so we drove to where we grew up and went by our childhood homes,

This was the street I grew up on but these trees weren't there back then.
Now they form a beautiful canopy over the street

 We saw our high school, and the church where we got married.

And then we visited the cemetery where both our fathers are buried. 
Today was a day filled with many emotions.

On The Road Again

So I made it to bed last night (or I should say this morning) around 3:30 am.

I knew that was going to happen. 

Woke up around 7 and got right up. 

Started scrambling to get out the door as early as possible. 

Mostly because it is very hot out,  

but also so that we would already be on the road if a job came in. 

When you provide a service for people they don't understand:

"We are trying to get on the road"

But they can't argue with

"I'm sorry, we are out of town"

So here we are on the road

 And here is Milli in her new form
She's sitting in the chair instead of in her kennel
which would have been on the floor NEXT to the chair.

And believe it or not the hat FITS!

When we arrived, we got hooked up at our camping spot 
and then we went to visit Mima.
She looked WONDERFUL! 
We asked her if she had a taste for anything special and she said she wanted a Milkshake
So we went to a nearby McDonalds and got her one, and a Happy Meal Too!

She enjoyed that very much!!!
We visited a little while and then we went back to the bus to chill for the night.

(I'm attempting to keep up my blog from my phone. )

Hump Day

I'm not sure where yesterday went, or today for that matter. 

Never got to post yesterday and I don't want to start a pattern of missing again.

Today I took Mom to get a perm and I got my feet and nails done.

Lord-willing we'll be heading down to Miami tomorrow

to spend the weekend with Manny's mom. It's her birthday. 

You may remember she was very sick last November
She had recently been doing very well, but then fell and broke her femur
so now she's in a rehab facility.
While in Miami we will also be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of a very special couple!
That's what really prompted me to get my nails done.

Anyway, as usual it's always stressful getting ready to leave. 
SO MUCH TO DO!
We are not feeling ready so Lord only knows what time we will be rolling out of here.

I went to load some things up in our bus, and then it happened!
I stumbled upon Milli's cabinet. The one where I kept all her things when we traveled.
It was her little space when we were away from home
and when I opened the door there were her bowls, her leashes, a toy, 
and way in the back was a sweater and this sweet little hat I had bought her years ago.
More like a sun visor actually, to protect her eyes from the sun 
when we were out walking. 
I sat on the floor and bawled my eyes out. 
I should have taken a picture of the hat, but I didn't have my phone with me
so I tucked it back inside that cabinet. 
That hat is going with us tomorrow...
and so is she.

This is what I was thinking of when I titled today's post

My Monday

Just a glimpse of my day

Thank you Lord for the time we get to spend with Ethan.

My Weekend

Saturday we got to spend time with two of our precious munchkins...

Hannah and Ethan.

Started out at Ethan's house and got to visit with Rufus, too. 

Brought him a couple of "tweets" as Ethan would say,  ha ha.

These two already have quite a bond

Then Ethan and I went and picked up Hannah. We stopped off at Mickey D's.

Ethan was eating an apple slice until Hannah opened the Chicken Nuggets Box

Then the apple quickly came out of his mouth in exchange for one of these

Then it was time for ice cream. They gave me a teeny tiny cone for Ethan 

which he insisted on holding himself. (He was in Heaven)

Hannah's choice was an Oreo McFlurry

Then we drove home listening and singing to their favorite songs.

Papa was waiting at home (he had been at a day conference but beat us home)

Hannah wanted to go fishing...AND SHE CAUGHT A FISH!

She even touched it (yuck)

Ethan and I played on the front porch a bit then we all went inside 

where Hannah and Ethan played with his Batmobile.

Soon Ethan's mommy and daddy came to pick him up

but Hannah was spending the night.

We had LOTS of fun together

and even went through lots of Grandma's old jewelry. 

Hannah went home with a slew of it.

Before bed she showed me her new toothbrush...

it plays a two-minute song to help kids brush longer.

Her Aunt Mimi would be proud of her!

(Aunt Mimi aka Ethan's mommy, is a dental hygienist)

Sunday Morning we woke up, had breakfast and headed to church.

This is what was left behind to remind us that Hannah had been here :0)

After church we went to a friends house for lunch.

They had invited us over for a Proper English Meal

Shame on me, I didn't get a picture of the roasted chicken

but it was DELICIOUS!!! 

And so were the roasted potatoes, stuffing, and veggies

And let's not forget the Yorkshire Pudding

(I'm not sure why they call it "pudding" they are like Popovers)

but they were WONDERFUL!!!

Our friends are from England and whenever we get together 

I am always asking them about their culture and food, especially scones.
They are such lovely people.

They have three cats and had some adorable "Cat" items in their home

They have a beautiful home

A bit after dinner, we had dessert - an Eton Mess

It was Heavenly

And after a bit more conversation they prepared a proper tea and biscuits

We thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with our friends

and then it was time to go home.

This nasty guy was waiting for us as we walked outside to get into our car.

I stumbled upon him first. 
Thank the LORD I saw him because this was NOT a friendly snake.

It was a Cottonmouth and then are very poisonous!

We snapped a few pictures and let our friends know that he was around

because of their three cats.

He slithered away and we were on our way. 

We had such a lovely weekend!

Hope you did, too!

P.S. I still miss Milli A LOT!!! Manny does too :0(