July 2010
We enjoyed our summer. Braden continued his Tae Kwon Do lessons; Savanah and Seth attended a one-week church basketball camp; we made some trips to the Adventure Island water park; and we went to Holmes Beach in the Bradenton area.

June 2010
One of the big events this month was the recital in Lakeland for Skyler and Daylin; the culmination of their Saturday morning ballet lessons. It was an excellent program. When Skyler and Daylin's class performed, the routine began with all the students on their marks and it included a part when the "butterflies" flew in a circle. Okay so far except that Skyler returned to Daylin's mark, a grevious error that Daylin pointed out to Skyler and to the 600 people in attendance, much to their delight. Karen's mortification was only overcome by the thought that a video of the scene would be a sure fire $100,000 winner on Funniest Home Videos. and she's looking hard for a copy.

May 2010
This month Anne travelled to England to visit Robert, Natalie, and Benjamin. Anne was there for Benjamin's first birthday celebration.

April 2010
We had a nice surprise for Spring Break: Robert and Natalie and Benjamin visited the U.S. and got to spend some time here in Tampa. Benjamin is walking!!!

March 2010
Savanah has now enrolled in the church's Tae Kwon Do program and Seth is playing coach-pitch baseball. Both are doing well. Braden, Daylin, and Skyler continue to do well in their activities. Not to be outdoner, jay and Bonnie - often joined by Sandra - are still playing Monday night volleyball.

February 2010
Hey, this is Florida so why is it so cold? Global warming has killed all the plants along the side of our house and in three other locations.

January 2010
Seth and Savanah are enrolled in our church's youth basketball program called Upwards. Braden is enrolled in Tae Kwon Do. Daylin and Skyler are enrolled in ballet. Yes, our free times are filled watching grandchildren and their activities, but it's fun.

December 2009
Robert, Natalie, and Benjamin got home for the holidays and we all had a nice Christmas. Then most of the family made our annual trip to Perry's at Daytona Beach.

November 2009
This month the triplets turned three! Can you believe it? They are wonderful kids. Another of the monthly highlights was bruises - from going to a Paintball Park. Lots of fun and we have the marks to show it!

October 2009
Bonnie and I celebrated her birthday for the second straight year with a cruise. This time it was a full seven days at the buffet table.

September 2009
Ah, football season. Great hopes for the 'Noles but Saturdays are becoming discouraging.

August 2009
This was our trip to Club Med Sandpiper at Port St. Lucie, mostly thanks to Nanny. There were more activities than we could find time to do and the food was great. We swam, tried archery, played the pitch and putt course, swung on a trapese, played kickball and water volleyball, competed in sand volleyball and water polo, and did many other things. The staff was friendly and the week went by too fast.

July 2009
We had a relatively quiet July. The Brandon Independence Day Parade is always fun. Bonnie and I set up early and we had a location for the kids to grab beads and candy. We also had another Steppin Stone Volleyball session on the 11th and made it to Holmes Beach in Bradenton for some good times.

June 2009
June was the month for our much anticipated trip to England to visit baby Benjamin. And Robert and Natalie, of course. We had a great time, getting to experience some of the activities of Canvas Hourse, visiting with Robert and Natalie, and getting to see some nearby sights. The week went by before we knew it. Some of our trips included the Chadbury Chocolate Factory, the sites and canals of downtown Birmingham, Warwick Castle, and Shakespeare's home at Stratford upon Avon. And, oh yes, holding Benjamin was the best part of all.

May 2009
May 27 at 7:17 p.m. England time. Seven pounds 13 ounces, 20 inches in length. Benjamin William Braden born to Robert and Natalie. Oh what joy! The trip to the hospital and the hours of hard labor were, as we understand in looking back, not all that stressful. We are all glad that everything went well.

April 2009
Trying to get serious about QL 20. Spent a number of hours writing the synopsis of the book as I hear some agents might want to see it. A synopsis is about one page in length for every 25 in the book. In writing the synopsis I realized that there were two places where I needed to tighten the book, and did so. Soon comes the hunt for an agent.

February 2009
Of course the highlight of the month was our Colorado vacation with the MacIvers. We also enjoyed watching Seth play soccer, Savanah and Seth playing basketball, the the triplets playing on their trampoline at their house.

January 2009
January was a time for setting New Year's resolutions. Unfortunately, it was also a time to review how well I did on last year's resolutions. Failed miserably, except that I did convert the screenplay, QL 20 to the first draft of a book. Now in the process of bribing family members to read and comment upon it. For those of you who are desperate publishers or have masochistic tendencies, here is Chapter 1.