See You Later, Alligator ...

As I posted yesterday, we spent nearly two weeks in Florida recently. I didn't have my laptop with me, so I wasn't able to keep up with my blog. I did post quite a few photographs on Instagram though, so if you follow me there, you've probably seen most of these. As I said before, my father-in-law is battling cancer right now, and one of his wishes was to visit Walt Disney World again. My in-laws are both disabled, so they need help getting around the parks. We stayed at the military resort called Shades of Green, as my father-in-law is retired from the US Navy. Rick and the kids have stayed there before, but this was my first time. I had heard about the alligators, so I was excited to see them for myself. I was not disappointed ... 

I will post more photos from our trip, but this time I just wanted to focus on the alligators. They're such fascinating creatures, and definitely not something I see here in Montana.

Congratulations, Nicole!

I wanted to post these photographs earlier, but we left on a trip to Florida right after Nicole graduated. Her commencement ceremony was on May 2nd at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana. Her grandparents both flew up to attend, as did her aunt and uncle. My father-in-law, Richard (pictured below) is battling cancer, so he was especially happy he was able to attend her graduation. It meant a lot to him and Nicole.

Below is a picture of Nicole with two top officials of the college. Nicole works part-time for the college, and her boss is pictured on the left. On her right is the president of the university.

It was hard to get good photographs of the ceremony itself, since there were so many people walking by. Nicole just happened to stop in front of us at one point, so we were able to get this shot of her waiting to go up on stage to receive her diploma. 

After the ceremony we went to dinner at the Montana Sky restaurant on the top of the Crowne Plaza hotel. That turned out to be really nice. The food was amazing and we got a whole room all to ourselves. It was great being able to talk without having to yell over a crowd.

My ILs surprised Nicole with a new car for graduation. It's actually used, but it's in way better condition than her old car. We found it here in the Flathead and then drove it out to her.

For those of you who asked on my last post, she majored in English Literature. As of now, she is still living in Billings and working for the college and a local coffee shop, so she's keeping busy. I talked to her last night and she told me it was so nice not having homework anymore. We are so proud of her! Congratulations, Nicole!

So excited ...

We are all looking forward to Nicole's upcoming graduation from Rocky Mountain College. We are also so very proud of her. All through her homeschooling years, she told me she didn't want to go to college, and here she is graduating this Saturday. More pictures to follow ...

Jones Zoo

I haven't seen any bears yet, but I'm sure they're out there. In addition to deer, turkeys, and chipmunks, I've also seen a lot of birds, squirrels—even flying squirrels at night. Those are so strange with their big, buggy eyes. They're super skittish too, so I haven't been able to get a picture of one yet. I love seeing all the animals here. The only ones I don't like are two different cats that are allowed to roam freely around the neighborhood. They keep showing up on my deck and it's really stressing Denny out. Why people let their animals have free roam is beyond me, especially in a place with bears, coyotes, wolves, and big cats.

Thirty-four years ...

April 24th marked the 34th anniversary of Rick and my first date in 1981. I met Rick through a mutual friend during PE class. A few days later he asked me to a local dance for the annual Ojai Tennis Tournament. I was looking for the earliest photographs of us around that time, and came up with this one that was in the Ojai Valley News. Even though we're not pictured together, we were standing next to each other with they were taken. This is probably the earliest picture of us as a couple. A guy from the paper came by on the last day of school and was interviewing students. If you click on the picture below, you should be able to read it better.

So many years later, I just have to laugh at the NOW and Gloria Steinam comment. I realize it's no reflection on her personally, even though she didn't marry until she was sixty-six years old, and sadly that marriage lasted only three years before her husband died. However, since she's been so outspoken on radical feminism and oppressed women, I find this newspaper comment pretty funny today. I've been with the same man for thirty-four years. I met him when I was just sixteen. I'm fifty now. Oppressed is NOT a word I would use to describe myself. And thirty-four years later, I'm still "hanging around with Rick" all the time. Go figure.

Another DUH moment ...

I'm really into Rimmel make-up at the moment. I love their new non-transferable lipstick. So, I was happy to see they came out with a quick-drying nail polish recently called 60 Seconds. Anything that stays on all day or dries quick is a winner for me. So, I went to check out all the shades, and then decided on this one above. As I painted my nails, I had a revelation ...

Yeah. Duh. I must really like violet. Oh well. At least the bottles are small, right? I did buy another one yesterday in a gray tone. I'm sure I don't have a gray one. I don't think ... uhhh?

Meet MUFFIN TOP ...

A lot of you know that I'm slightly addicted to photo challenges on Instagram. That's when you have a certain theme or prompt and try to take a daily picture relating to it. Well, this new one came up that I just had to participate in. It's by @photoadventurersclub and you use the hashtag #PACdailyphoto for the prompts. The idea is to adopt a pet rock and send it on adventures for the month of April. I got a late start due to some health issues, but I've finally caught up. When I showed the rock to Rick and asked what he thought I should name it, he goes, "Muffin Top." What an utterly perfect name! So, this is MUFFIN TOP pictured here. April 1st she was supposed to "Go For A Walk", but since it was late, I just had her walking along my dresser. That was kind of her introduction. Then April 2nd the prompt was "Takes A Bath", so of course, a girl like that had to take a bubble bath in a crystal heart-shaped tub ...

April 3rd the prompt was "Plays A Game", but Rick said she only goes to Vegas for the buffets.

April 4th was "Watches A Film". MUFFIN TOP thinks Sean Connery rocks!

April 5th found her "Playing An Instrument". Shhh, don't tell Nichelle. She was at work.

And today, April 6th, the prompt was "Takes A Nap". She hadn't fallen asleep yet, obviously.

I have to say ... I'm having a little too much fun with MUFFIN TOP. I've gotten another IG friend doing it, so we're both cracking up at each other's photos.