Where the wild things are

I love all the wildlife here in Florida.

So far I've seen deer
Wild turkeys
Squirrelsa multitude of cranes
a raccoon that made a bad decision (road kill)
a slow armadillo (more road kill)
lots of pelicans (including mr. Pesky)
turtles, including a couple frisky ones.rabbits and a few snakes.

I watch for alligators in all the ditches and ponds when Violet and I go walking
...of course I haven't ever seen any on my walks here in Grant
... and I'm sure there really aren't any
... but just in case I keep one-eye on the look-out.
Chad did see an alligator the other day in the pond by the Community college where he studies
...I guess there's too much wild-life at home for him to study and focus here.

Oh yes...we did see this crazy animal at the park the other day.Go Chad!

We've been practicing.

With Easter coming up and a few impending egg hunts we didn't want Violet to get caught "like a deer in the head-lights" with a bunch of stampeding 2 year-olds. ...so we thought we'd have Violet practice hunting for the brightly colored orbs.

She loves our game and we go on the hunt several times a day.

She isn't good at "hiding-her-eyes" or waiting at all so usually Gramma is hiding one egg while she's hunting another. And of course there is always lots of cheering and clapping.

Then when we're done we have to give the eggs a bath.

Happy Easter and Happy Hunting!
Love, Mom T.

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without

Chad's desk lamp...the original shade was broken.

Ya' got to admire his ingenuity.

Love the beach

Yesterday just us girls migrated to the beach for a nice walk. Violet discover the water and loved the waves rolling in over her feet.
Then her knees.
Then her legs. The kind of chilly water didn't deter her.
Neither did a face-plant when her feet got stuck in the wet sand
and her little body kept going.She just kept getting wetter and wetter.
Until......it was time to peel the wet stuff.
So after a few more romps in pure freedom,
we wrapped her up in something semi- dry and her mom's arms and headed back.

Then we met this guy.. looking for a free lunch.The poor hungry fellow would inch his way up to the fisherman,
get chased off,
circle around and try his approach again.
And again.
And again.I'm sure he was thinking in his little pelican head...
"Okay, Okay, what's a guy got to do to get a little snack here?"

Yep, both Violet and I love the beach.

P. S. For Kyle... Janet was wishing you could see the waves...they were great!

Jeff, you requested it

...but you left too soon and missed it. Beef Stroganoff.

It was so good.
...we all really enjoyed it!
(So Jeff if you want to make it yourself
the recipe is in my cooking blog)

Those Tobler brothers love being together

..and I love being there too!

Jeff and Amy came down to Chad's for the weekend.
Well, basically just Friday night and Saturday
...Dental school and it's tests does keep Jeff from playing and relaxing for too long.
But we did have a good time.

We hit the beach for a walk at sunset.

Unfortunately the beach faces the east...but it's still beautiful.

Chad testing the water...yep, it's chilly.

Somebody got put in a hole and buried.

Grilling 10 lbs. of BBQ'ed ribs
Soooo.... good.
Oh yeah, Chad's famous Pina Coladas both nights
...a favorite among us Toblers.

Poor Little Cinder-Violet

...all work and no play.
Ya' got to train 'em young.

Chad's fuel-efficient and automatic lawn mower

...it's a little slow but it's definitely economical.
His lawnmower storage doesn't take much space and is pretty economical too.
Chad's always been one to take advantage of a good value!

Hangin' out in Florida

....and chasing after one of the cutest grandkids ever.

Gotta to love Vegas this time of year!

It's 68° in the house and 78° outside. The sun is shining and I've got both sets of patio doors wide open.
I love this time of year in Vegas. I've officially turned my furnace OFF. Now the game is to see how long we can go with out turning on either the furnace or the air-conditioner. I'm hoping to hold out to mid-July. We'll see. I'm part lizard and love the heat. Karl, he gets a little cranky when he gets too hot...but high power bills make us both cranky!

Escaping Vegas

Last Friday and Saturday was spent in beautiful St. George. I love that place.

Friday was a wedding of our friends' son in the St. George temple and the rest of the day was spent in Santa Clara "doing food." Parmesan Chicken and Italian meatballs for 200. Karl and another friend, Karl spent the evening "bar tending"...making Italian sodas as fast as they could. It was fun. I always love the challenge of feeding the masses. Unfortunately I didn't pause long enough to take any pictures...for that I am sorry because Karl & Karl were hilarious!

Friday night was spent at the cozy "Hartley Bed & Breakfast"
Definitely a 5-star accommodations! Ann & Phil even waited up for us.
And in the morning we were treated to wonderful omelets and oatmeal bread for breakfast (gotta get that bread recipe) . Thanks...you're lucky we ever left!

Then we went exploring with Ann & Phil.

We went for a great little hike.
It was beautiful, but...
just as we were returning and in sight of the car the wind whipped up, the temperature dropped and ominous clouds blew in. Soon it was raining, then sleeting, then hailing.
So what can ya' do then?

Eat!

Cookin' a mean burger

Jake & Steph had leftovers from their party Saturday night ...so they came over Sunday
to delight our taste buds with Jake's culinary skills. Mmmmmm Good.