Florida 2012: Happy Birthday Grandma!

One of the reasons we took our trip to Florida this past November was to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday.  We arrived in Bradenton on a Saturday and on Sunday she was able to come by our condo which was about an hour and a half from where she lives.  Everyone was happy to see her.

Her birthday fell on a Tuesday so that's when we planned the birthday activities.  She was able to take the day off from work and we spent the day with her seeing where she lives, works, and hangs out.  We started with lunch at her apartment where Ellie presented her with a birthday gift of art she'd been working on in the week before we left for Florida.

Little Mama on Grandma's balcony

The children had planned on swimming in the pool at Grandma's apartment complex but we learned that it was temporarily shut down.   Instead, Tom took the children to a local preserve where Grandma goes hiking daily and then she and I went out for a drive to some of her favorite places.  We went to her favorite health food store and the farm stand where she buys her fresh fruit.  We made a few yummy purchases both places and then we went to the grade school where she teaches.  It was just after school had been let out so we went into her empty classroom.  It was neat to see first hand what she's been describing to me the last few years.

After that we met up with Tom and the children back at her apartment.  They told us all about their hike at the preserve and were excited about seeing armadillos on the walking path.

We all chatted a bit and then decided to briefly visit the Rabbi of Grandma's Sephardic Messianic congregation.  For years she has taken pictures of her grandchildren to the services and when the Rabbi blesses the children she gives him the pictures to bless.  She really wanted him to meet some of the children he'd been blessing all these years.  He and his wife graciously invited us all in even though our visit was spur of the moment.  The large cabinet behind them in the picture houses the Torah for their Shabbat services.  He keeps it in his house because they do not have a permanent home for their congregation.

After visiting with the Rabbi we took Grandma out for a birthday dinner at a local Thai restaurant.  The food was very good and the service warm and friendly.

After dinner we headed back to Grandma's apartment where she'd promised Little Big Brother she would play a game of Star Wars Trouble with him.

Lil' Chunkers found an interesting place to sit!

Group picture

Silly group picture

Silliest group picture!

We had a wonderful time with Grandma and it blessed her so much that we were able to spend her birthday with her.  She travels to visit us at least once a year so it was nice to be able to travel to where she lives and see life as she lives it!

After celebrating with Grandma there were still so many things to see and do!