TAKING AN AIRBOAT TOUR

On the last full day in Florida, we all headed out for an authentic airboat tour of the Florida's waters. In the picture at right, Charles and Becca were able to sit on the boat Captain's chairs.  According to Charles, "This was a big boat!" Besides the Captain on top, 12 passengers could ride in the lower part of the boat. With one sharp turn, which caused the boat to pull a full 360-degree rotation, passengers were likely to get wet.

After the ride, we all posed for pictures on the dock with the new Highway 79 overpass in the background, which really looks cool in the pictures, so cool, in fact, that we took a picture of just the overpass itself.

We also saw some interesting sites on the boat trip itself. We saw these really cool trees that seemed to be growing above the ground and that the roots looked above the ground.

BECCA SHAKES HANDS WITH SANDY, THE DOLPHIN

Uncle Chris and Aunt Leslie took Becca to Gulf World, an exotic animal theme park where Becca was able to shake hands with Sandy, the Dolphin.

Other exhibits at the park included exotic birds, sea lions and shark feeding.

Becca enjoyed the visit overall.

SITTING ON THE ROCKS BY THE BAY!


Becca and Leslie enjoy a few minutes of time on the rocks by the bay while out and about seeing the sights.  Becca enjoyed going out barefoot as often as she could. It was a struggle just keeping flip flops on her feet no matter how cold it got, which it never got below 60 degrees during the day.

For us, that was warm. For others, it was chilly because of the wind.

MOM AND DAD ON THE BALCONY

Mom and Dad enjoy watching the water from the balcony of the seventh floor condo. They had flown in from Las Vegas and landed in Panama City Beach's newest airport.  Bizzy picked them up. At the end, we took Mom and Dad back to the airport on our way back out of town.

VISITING AT THE HOTEL

After a long day of sightseeing, we all hang out in the condo for the night. We were lucky to land a 3-bedroom, 2-bath condo with a full kitchen and living room. There were enough beds and foldouts that the condo accommodated 10 people!  It was an experience.

Here, I am sitting outside the master bedroom, talking with Claude and Dad, who were sitting around the table.  Below, Leslie scrounges in the kitchen for something to snack on.  Not far from her, Chris takes his turn finding something to eat.

ST. ANDREWS BEACH OLD TOWN

The gang went for a ride and ended up on the east side of West Bay, in Old Town St. Andrews, Panama City. This is about 20 miles from the hotel.

Here, Mom, Dad and Leslie pose for a shot with real palm trees and the bay in the background.

DAYBREAK OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO!


By the second day in Florida, the clouds broke and we awoke to a wonderful vista of waves hitting shore. Now, these are not the type of waves one would surf on, as they are low and rumbling toward shore. They do pack a wollop, as Becca found out later in the week while trying to wade the shallows close to shore.

Here I stand on the balcony with a diet Coke and watch the waves come in.  I enjoyed Florida as well and got to go the beach with Becca a couple of times. I liked swimming in the heated pool, however; it was better on my old man bones!

ENJOYING FLORIDA SEAFOOD

The day after Christmas found the Sanders-Ratliff-May family heading out for some delicious Florida seafood. Here, we make our first stop at Sharky's, a local restaurant with a flare for sharks! Here, Becca grabs a hold of Colton and poses for a picture. Colton is a junior this year in Laughlin and a starter for his basketball team. Becca loved seeing her Colton and Auntie Leslie, with whom she is posing with in the next picture.

In the bottom picture, Dad and Leslie enjoy a plate of fresh oysters. Ugh!

GOOFING OFF WITH UNCLE CLAUDE E.!

Becca shows off her Alligator robe her Uncle Claude E. gave her. She was asleep the night before when Claude and Kasey finally arrived, so she didn't get to see her uncle Claude until Christmas morning. First, she tried on the robe and enjoyed wearing it.  Later, she was surprised by her Uncle Claude who took the robe and showed her the proper way to wear it.

Thanks, Uncle Claude!

MARGARITAVILLE

The family enjoys a little out time Christmas night at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville restaurant.  Here Grandma and Grandpa, Bizzy and Colton enjoy visiting together. Charles and Becca headed over to the movie theater and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked! Grandma and Grandpa then met up with Charles and took charge of Becca while the gang all saw MI4 Ghost Protocol at the IMAX theater.

THE BEACH AT CHRISTMAS TIME!

After traveling for two days we finally made it to Panama City Beach, Florida.  Because it was dark when we pulled into the hotel, Becca didn't get a chance to hit the beach until the next day. Even though it was cloudy and overcast, the temperature hovered around a balmy 66 degrees.

After breakfast, Bizzy and Becca headed out to the beach for some fun time in the sand. The water was a little too cold for Becca, but in time she was enticed into the waves (about the third day) and was in the water nearly every day after.

Building sand castles became one of Becca's favorite activities.  Santa delivered buckets and sand toys for Becca to play with while at the beach.

In the bottom picture, you can see the hotel's pool house in the back and to the left. The 15-floor hotel is to the left of that off the edge of the picture.

All in all, it was a fun Christmas Day on the beach.

SITTING ON DOC'S FRONT STOOP!


Just before we reached the Florida state line, we stopped at Doc's Country Store, a little antique shop way out in the Alabama country side.  Along with the unique country store, the farm behind also displayed actual farm buildings and implements from the turn of the century (the 19th and the 20th) as well as older cars.  It was an interesting stop.

ARE WE THERE YET?

Becca survived the ride in the car for the 15 or so hours. Stopping overnight in Bowling Green, Kentucky, sure helped. Here she takes a moment and plays with mommy's iPad. During the trip she also watched 3 movies on the laptop and wrote a couple letters. Oh, she also solved 5 soduku puzzles.

SWEET HOME ALABAMA AT LAST!


After driving the night before and stopping in Bowling Green, KY, we got on the road early and crossed Tennessee. By lunchtime we pulled into Exit 1 on I-65 in just inside the Alabama state line and stopped for a rest break at this unique rest stops.

Because we were so close to Huntsville, this part of Alabama is proud of its close ties with NASA. Here, we visited a rocket on exhibit, a Saturn II, a close relative of the Saturn V, which launched the Apollo missions to the moon. The Saturn II helped launch the Mercury capsules into low orbit.  It was still quite chilly in northern Alabama, and we really didn't get to warmer weather until several hours later when we pulled into Florida.

I JUST LOVE PLAYING THE PIANO!


That is, when Becca is in the mood to sit and practice. She noticed this beauty in the music room at her mother's high school and couldn't resist trying her Hanon scales. Her mother caught her in the act.

Becca's lessons are coming along nicely.

WE SING AT CHRISTMAS!


Becca performed several songs with her class and grade at the second grade Christmas program, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011.  Once again, Becca stands next to her friend, Kole (left) who is the tallest in the grade, with Becca the second tallest. She tries really hard, but can't seem to overtake the boy.

The kids all had fun and the program was spectacular.

ON A HALFTIME SNACK RUN!

We went down during halftime and got a snack. On the way back up we stopped for a snapshot. Becca enjoyed the game almost as much as her dad. Bizzy had fun also. I told them, "We should do this more often!"

AT THE PURDUE MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME!


We decided to take a break from all the hustle and bustle surrounding a school community and head off to a Purdue Men's Basketball game. Bizzy received free tickets and we decided to go check out the "other" university to our south.

Last year, we received tickets to a Notre Dame women's basketball game. The girls were on a run to the National Championship and ended up placing second in the nation.

Although unranked, Purdue's Men have an 8-2 record and show promise of making it to the big dance again this year. With a mid-week game Mackey Arena in West Lafayette was about 85 percent full. We also took this opportunity to acquire some Purdue wear.  Becca loved the Black and Gold beads.

These shots were taken prior to tip-off, during pre-game activities. As we watched the game, however, Bizzy took notes of the student sections and cheer chants. As we left, she noted that she had much to discuss with the Redskin cheer block to see if we can't raise the bar - and the roof - in Weindberg Gym!

FIRST HOME BOYS BASKETBALL GAME!


We were able to head out for an evening at Weinberg Gym for a boys basketball game against Tippy Valley. The boys, who have been struggling in their first several away games, pulled it together and nearly won, had their been just another minute on the clock. They lost 57-55, in the final seconds, as Tippy Valley held on to a slim lead.

The pennants are this year's way for the Knox Athletic Boosters to raise money for scholarships. Rather than sell Game Ball tickets, the boosters are selling pennants, which will then be place on the walls near the concession stand/gym entrances. We went ahead and purchased these two babies for ourselves and Biz's parents. Dad was a former coach and member of the Athletic Hall of Fame; Biz is high school principal.

As we attend these events, we are called upon to do more and more, especially as Becca starts to show interest in athletics and music. Below, I work the door at the game to prevent people from walking in and passing in front of the player's benches and scorekeeper's table.

Becca enjoys watching the game and playing nearby with her friends.  She really gets excited when our team is winning, not so much when they lose. Losing is all a part of winning, we tell her, and it's how we take it in stride which makes us better winners.








Below, the team huddles just before tip off!

GRANDMA NANCY MAKES SURPRISE VISIT!


Biz's Aunt Nancy (whom we adoringly call Grandma Nancy) paid a surprise visit at Thanksgiving. She flew into Chicago and was picked up by Claudia and Russell, who then brought her to the lake. Because it was a long weekend for us, being off from school, we hung out at our lake cottage for the weekend, and spent Thanksgiving meal with them.

Becca so enjoyed visiting with her "other" Grandmother that she spent nearly every day with Nancy at Claudia's house.

NOTE: Claudia and Russell's lake house is about eight houses down from ours, so it's not such a terribly long walk, or short bike ride, whichever mode of transport you prefer. Dad, of course, prefers driving the car, because it's too far to walk in the cold!


One of the activities that Becca, Bizzy, Claudia and Nancy conducted was Black Friday shopping at Richard's of Toto and Bailey's Discount Store. Upon their return, Becca and Grandma Nancy set about making dough ornaments. Using dough that resembles cookie dough, but dries like clay, the two used cookie cutters to cut shapes from the dough. Once dried, they then decorated the "cookies" by using glitter and paint.

One of the types of "cookie" ornaments they made was the cinnamon/apple sauce dough cookie ornaments. Once dry, you can hang them from

your rear view mirror in your car and they will smell your car up like crazy! This one was Bizzy's favorite.

Becca, of course, likes making crafts, and those best able to satisfy this need in her are her mother, her grandmother, and Aunt Nancy.

Now that we've told you about the ornaments, don't be surprised to find them in your stocking at Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! We hope your weekend was wonderful!

Painting ornaments and having a blast!










Craft day at Claudia's!