This has been a very busy year for the Benders here in sunny Florida. Thought I’d just give you a few highlights from our year to bring you all up to date. In January Mary flew to California to celebrate the 80th birthday of our sister in law Thelma. I had a great time visiting with my siblings and extended family members.
We had a very quiet season as our only relative that spent this winter in Florida was Mary’s brother Joseph. We did however; get to visit with a lot of our classmates and friends at the local Columbus Indiana Day gathering held here in South Florida. At our Fun Day here in Leisure Lake Phil was the hit of the parade. He took first place for the second year in a row, this year by making a tank out of our golf cart. As always we are very involved with our church and activities here at our home park. This year we also attended many plays at the local theater located just across the river in Bradenton. On March 27th we celebrated our 30th Anniversary.
On March 31st we boarded a plane bound for Sydney Australia. After several days visiting Sydney we joined our shipmates aboard the Royal Caribbean “Radiance of the Seas”. Leaving Australia we headed over to New Zealand for a couple of days. After several days at sea we visited the French Polynesia Islands of Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. Another five days of cruising found us in Hawaiian waters. After visiting Hilo we were off to the island of Oahu for a two night stay in the city of Honolulu. While there we had a great visit with our Granddaughter Jackie and her family, whom we had not seen in several years. Leaving Oahu we spent the next six days visiting the islands of Kauai, Maui, Kailua and Hilo By April 29th we had left all land behind and for the next 7 days we were at sea until we reached Vancouver, British Columbia. During our 30 day cruise we enjoyed so many wonderful meals, played lots of fun games, saw many great shows, Mary enjoyed daily Mass where she got to do almost all of the readings, and best of all we renewed our wedding vows along with about 40 other couples at a special onboard celebration of marriage.
In May we flew to Indiana for the high school graduation of our youngest Granddaughter, Alexandria. It was good to visit many of our family while in Kentucky and Indiana. It was a fast 5 day trip home and never it seems enough time to see all and do all that you want before the time is gone and you are on your way home.
This summer has been filled with many, too many, doctor and hospital appointments. Storms that have come and gone, thankfully not touching us, even though we did prepare for some, just in case. Phil has completely redone his outside shed and our last big project has been our kitchen. Like the shed, we removed everything before replacing all the kitchen cabinets, floors etc. All we kept was the fridge & sink. I feel like I have been camping for the last two months and living in a storage locker with so many boxes in the L.R. But soon everything will be completed and we will so enjoy our pretty new kitchen. In November we have the Presidential Elections to get through; Mary will be in charge of our local precinct which will bring several busy days connected with that event. By early November we will both be off for separate trips up north. Mary is going to fly into Michigan then drive with daughter Marybeth to Wisconsin for a wonderful 1 week visit with all the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren that I have not seen for 3 years. Philip is flying into Indianapolis to spend 2 weeks with all his family. He will be celebrating Thanksgiving and his birthday with all of them for the first time in many years. Mary is looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with her brother Joseph who will be here for the winter season. We are looking forward to hearing from all of you during this upcoming holiday season. WISHING HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
Phil and Mary Bender Below is a picture of us driving Santa into Wine & Cheese Xmas Party
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