Away We Go - Again!

It's that time of year. The snow starts to pile up. The temperatures drop sharply. Gary is tired of hauling wood upstairs. It is time to go to Florida!

On December 26 we started the packing. This is a picture of the car packed to go. We left on December 27 and made a stop in Cumberland to do Christmas presents with Jon, Erin, and Emily. Here is Emily finding a new sweater.

Next we moved on the Massachusetts where we spend an extra day with Bob, Gina, Bridget, and Alex.

These two munchkins were on Christmas vacation and we had a great time visiting with them and exchanging gifts. We went out to lunch with Bob at our favorite place in Sudbury, the Wayside Inn.

This Inn dates back to colonial days and has a great atmosphere as well as good food.

Our travels included a trip to a very nice yarn store, The Fiber Loft in Harvard, Mass.

We left on December 29 for the trip south. This is a picture of the trip through Hartford, Connecticut.
We stayed in Pennsylvania that night and woke up to snow, which continued into Virginia.

Before the day was over the snow was over and we headed south of it. Finally on December 31 we reached Florida and spent the night at Jacksonville.

We arrived at our destination January 1 and spent the afternoon and evening moving in. Of course we had to go out for supplies, and visited one of our favorite locations, Steak and Shake.

A real milkshake is truly a treat. However, the fat content of that shake probably had something to do with Louise going to the hospital with chest pains. After spending a night there, she returned home with no diagnosis, but with no frightening results either. Since then the diet has been much better.

There is something so enjoyable about being in Florida. Probably someone from a milder climate than northern Maine would not appreciate it so much. It is currently "cold" down here and people are complaining about winter. It has been down in the 30s a couple of nights, and the past few days have been in the 50s. Today we visited one of the beaches and we found people dressed pretty warm for a beach visit,

Despite the cold it is beautiful. The grass and the trees are green. The sun is shining. We are so happy to be here and away from the terrible weather at home.

We spotted a little boy at the beach who was having a great time running on top of the sand dunes.

We are happy here.

Thanksgiving!

The year is passing very quickly. This week we celebrated Thanksgiving with some of the family. Bob and Gina and the kids came up to spend Thanksgiving with us. Even the family that had other plans for Thanksgiving dinner stopped in to visit so it was a festive time at the Cole house.

Here is the dinner all ready for people to sit down and eat.

Bob and Gary stuffed the turkey early in the morning.

We had a pilgrim girl visiting us, little Miss Briget!

And her brother, the elegant Alexander:

Bridget had a knitting lesson and is seen in great concentration:

A good time was had by all!

next we look ahead to Christmas and the trip to Florida. Only Christmas shopping stands in the way.

Summer Fun

Twice this summer we have been visited by our youngest grandchildren and we want to share some of the fun and the photos.

Here they are - Bridget, Emily, and Alex. What a group they are when together. Their summer adventures included a trip to the camp and swimming in the lake.

Here they all are in the water and the sun.

Here we have Alex practicing his swimming skills.

That old paddle boat has given many rides on Portage Lake, going back to Matt and PJ using it as kids themselves. Here Bob is taking Bridget and Alex on tour.

Here we have Grammy getting a hug from the two girls.
The favorite book of the summer was "Where Oh Where is my Underwear", being read by Jessica.

This book was a favorite of Jessica's when she was their age.
The cousins had a good time and here we even have a picture of "kissing" cousins!

Grampy and Bob took Bridget and Alex for a hike up Haystack Mountain one fine summer day.

Here they pose at the top. What a view and what a hike!

Lots of fun was had riding scooters and playing outside.

There were quiet times inside, also. Here we have a very handsome Alex enjoying the iPad.

The summer activity culminated in the August Festival. Gary and Louise were King and Queen and Meghan was the royal driver.

Ryan marched with the Boy Scouts in the parade.

And the King and Queen rode in the parade in a beautiful car provided by Steve Marr.

It has been a wonderful summer and we have enjoyed the grandchildren so much.

Special Grandchildren

Today is a special day for our two oldest granddaughters.

Jessica Marie Cameron graduated today from the University of Maine Presque Isle. We are so proud of her for graduating magna cum laude. We attended her graduation and love seeing the smile on her face for a job very well done and pride in her accomplishments. She has future plans established to move on in her education next year at Husson to pursue her chosen field.  She has a bright future ahead of her.

Meghan Cole turned 18 today, while on a cruise with her parents in Bermuda. We found this lovely picture of her posted on Facebook, so we borrowed it. She will graduate from Washburn High School

in a few weeks and head off to college next fall at UMPI.  Meghan has a ton of personality and we are proud of her accomplishments.  She makes an impact in all she does. Where has the time gone?

As we reflect on our grandchildren we feel so fortunate to have these wonderful kids. Next on the list is Ryan Cole. He is excelling in Boy Scouts and is well on his way to the Eagle Scout rank. This summer he is going on a trip to the National Boy Scout Jamboree. Here we have a picture of him with his little cousin Alex.

Bridget Evelyn Cole is six years old going on twenty! So much energy and creativity keep her moving every  minute. She is so smart that it is an exciting experience to spend time with her.  She loves art and is very creative. Her curiosity has no bounds. Here we see her in Grampy's hat:

And modeling a sweater:

Emily Amelia is almost five and as cute as a child can be. That curly hair and curious nature make her a lot of fun. She is also very smart. She has a great interest in nature and picks up many scientific terms, such as nocturnal over a year ago. She loves books and outdoor adventures.

Here she is with Grampy.

This is an expression of pure joy as she went out for ice cream and the near-by farm!

Our youngest grandson is Alexander Robert Samuel Cole. He is nearly four. He loves trucks and has the largest fleet of vehicles anyone ever saw. He is such a cute, friendly, affectionate young man. He is a lot of fun to be around.

We will never forget his excitement as Farmer Steve drove in the yard with a real tractor and took him for a ride! However, we couldn't find any photos of that ride.

We love these children and feel so blessed that our family has grown to include them all. They are a wonderful group and great individuals. A couple of years ago they tye-dyed shirts for August fest and we did get them all in a group:

They have grown a lot since then! Here are a few more photos of them, being themselves.

And another photo from today at Jessica's graduation. Wonderful grandchildren, one of the best things in life!