This is for our granddaughter Adia! Grandpa and Grandma received your pictures that you colored for us. We put them on our wall in our home. Here is Grandma when she was talking to you today. Thanks for the pictures!

Yesterday we went to the beach and set up our umbrella near our chairs and a little wind came up and our umbrella went flying 20 feet from us and ended up like this! It was funny.

Then we went to the Bawdwin County fair in Robertsdale, Alabama which is about 30 miles from our home. It had the worlds biggest horse and a midway with rides that I bet are 100 years old.
They also had a shooting range and I tred it but I didn't win anything. I need more practice.

They did have some old tractors and I took a picture of this one. It looks like Grandpa Drakes old tractor. I guess my Dad and Uncle Gene also have tractors like this one. I hope someday to get one and drive all over the place and do some farming.

Hi again, from Florida. It is so hard to live here. There is nothing to do. And it is so ugly and dry. I am sure you don't want to come and visit. If you do come be sure to bring your snow gear, the ground is white all over.

Well, we made it a year!! I can't believe that we left our home over a year ago. It really has been an exciting adventure and we have had a blast. Our home here in Florida has the best view and it is so bright you have to wear shades.

We even have experienced near 100% humidity with 90 deg heat. It's not so bad. But my air conditioning went out in my little car and I went right in and had it fixed. And did everyone but us know it rains in Florida? It has rained almost every day the last month or so. It doesn't last all day and it varies what time it rains but when it does it really comes down. The other day there was over 5 inches of rain in a couple of hours. We can hardly see the ground out our windows.

On Labor Day we drove to Biloxi and Gulfport Mississippi to see the area. Hurricane Katrina destroyed quite a bit of the town. Along the gulf coast highway there were only a few old homes and hotels and other buildings left standing. Here is what is left of a motor inn. There is concrete where the parking lot is and here is the swimming pool. There were lots of front porches left but nothing else.

To celebrate our year anniversary we went out to dinner at a neat place called 'The Warf" in nearby Orange Beach, Alabama. And then we had our picture taken in front of our 57 ft yacht. I guess I can dream.

We had the best August you could ask for. Holly and Blake were married on August 14 in the Bountiful Temple. We were lucky we could go and wouldn't have miss it. I am very glad that they came down here in May so we could get to know Blake better. He's the best. It was a very busy and fun time for all of us. They sure make a great looking couple!

Here are a few more of our favorite pics from the wedding.

Guess where we went?

A month ago we went to Orlando and had a blast! It is a short seven hour drive there through the woods of lower Florida. Here in the South we have found that the freeways are lined with lots of trees and bushes and you can't see any cities unless you get off the interchanges.

We had two days to spend in the Park. Jared gave us passes for our anniversary. We visited the MGM Studios and loved the Tower of Terror ride. The same day we went to Animal Kingdom and enjoyed all the bugs (Bugs Life) and the Safari Ride.

The Everest roller coaster ride was Awesome!!

The next day we went to Epcot and boy was it hot and muggy. Of course we visited the China exhibit and ate at the restaurant there. We rode the Test Track and Jo wanted to drive the car but they wouldn't let her... Then we went to Magic Kingdom and rode all our favorite rides even with the large crowds. We heard the electric light parade and luckily we were on a ride and didn't see it (Remember Christmas Day kids). And we saw the fireworks that night.

We are still on the beach enjoying the Sun and Beach here in Pensacola Florida. We went out to eat at "Crabs, we got 'em" at Pensacola Beach and enjoyed walking along the white sandy beach. Last week we returned from Utah and the wedding of our daughter to Blake. It was a great time and we are so happy for them.

We thought we should go eat at the cafe below but it was closed. The 'Road Kill' cafe.. There seem to be armadillos all along the roads wherever we go. I counted 8 one Saturday. I have to say that the cafe was in Southern Alabama, not Florida.

On a serious note yesterday was my Grandmother Emily Drake's funeral. She passed away at the age of 97! She lived a full life and was quickly taken by our Heavenly Father after an unfortunate fall in her home a few weeks ago. She had 169 descendents at the time of her passing! That is quite a tribute to her.

Holly and Blake Visit us in Perdido Key

We has some visitors this past week. Holly and her friend Blake came and we had such a great time showing them around and just having them at the condo. We played some golf (not enough) and did some shopping and did some sight seeing. We went to the beach and got rained on. Holly and Blake did catch some sun around the pool and got a tan. We went to a town called SeaSide that was used as the set for the movie 'The Truman Show'. The trees had all grown up around the houses but it was still cool to be there. We also went on a Dolphin Cruise and saw lots of Dolphins swimming in the bay.