Frozen in Seattle

Check out the fountain in front of our house - it's still running, but barely! The driveway is a skating rink. We have another winter storm predicted for tonight. 

Art Institute of Chicago

Things I didn't know about the famous American Gothic painting -
1) this is supposed to be a farmer and his unmarried daughter (I always thought it was his wife)
2) the farmer who posed for this painting was actually the artist's dentist (but he looked the part!)
3) the woman who posed for the daughter is actually the artist;s sister 

Moline, Illinois for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in Moline, IL - the heartland of America, where Mike's family hosted for the whole Raney clan (somewhere between 15 and 25 for each meal). Behind us is a huge cornfield - the corn in the midwest is unbelievably good and sweet.

Halloween

Mike was a Fortune Teller - a whole BOOTH in fact! Here he is with his assistants Tina (left) and Heather (right). Heather was the Morton salt girl, so Tina was "Pepper" all day.

Yours truly played a round of golf complete with a large hat with spiders hanging from it - great for keeping your head still!

Fright Night in Orlando

Yikes! Fright Night at Universal Studios, and they don't mess around. We saw psychotic surgeons, evil ghosts, creepy spiders - you name it. Mike was fine except for the spots on his arm where I dug my nails in to hold on tight.  

Charlie is 50!

Mike's brother Charlie (our reason for the Orlando trip) is 50! Here he is with a female admirer...  

Jet Boats and Gators in Orlando, Florida

These jet boats are smoooooooth, albeit noisy. They glide over the tobacco colored water, stained by the cypress trees. We saw eagle and snowy egrets, and plenty of reptiles...
Here's one of many we saw on the jet boat ride. Man...you wouldn't want to go for a swim in this swamp!!

Viva Las Vegas!

Here we are with Elvis, who is apparently still alive and has been taking steroids. Quite a tall guy! Trust me, he was the real McCoy, rhinestone belt and all.

And just to be fair to Mike , here we are with a real showgirl. That headdress is really heavy! This gal does her situps, I tell ya.