This year, rather than mail out one of those boring Christmas letters that tells you everything you never wanted to know about people you never met, we've posted ours on the Web!    Christmas in Florida  Are we a little wistful thinking about those traditional (cold) Christmas seasons we grew up with?   Well, we might not have all the same trappings that you might normally associate with Christmas time but we've got some pretty good substitutions.  Take a look, compare, and YOU pick! 'Up North'  Florida  Snow Frostbite Egg Nog Partridge in a Pear tree Hot Chocolate Insulated Parka Snow Skiing Sled Ride Ice Skating Holly Wreath Snowman Chestnuts on an open fire Douglas Fir Poinsettia Driving behind Snow plows Sunshine Sunburn Pina Colada Parrot in an Orange tree Cuban Coffee Thong bikini Water Skiing Jetski Ride In-line Skating Seashell Wreath Sand Castle Shrimp on the barbie Royal Palm Bird of Paradise I-95 Thanks and a tip of the chapeau to the Sun Sentinel for pointing this out!
	la familia...
	Marlene  stays busy with her flower work and playing soccer in a women's league on the weekends.	Jonathan continues to travel a lot for work.  This year he expanded his usual junkets to South America with trips to Ireland and Budapest.
	Carly  is 13, in the Eighth Grade at the nearby Middle School.  Carly played softball in the spring and soccer in the fall.
		Jordan is 10 and in the fifth grade.  He played baseball in the spring and soccer in the fall. In the off season, he is the resident Nintendo maniac.
	Hannah is 9 (as of December 17th!) and is in the third grade.  She plays soccer in the fall and this year her team got a gold medal in the playoffs.
	The usual noise and excitement that mark a house with three children was quieted for a time this summer as the family marked with sadness the passing of the children's grandmother, Mary Bales.  Elsewhere in this site is a Tribute to the matriarch of the Bales family.  Let us hear from you!!!      Bales Family HomePage Last Modified on December 10, 1998 by Jonathan Bales