Florida Trip

We decided to take a trip to Florida for my Uncle Brian's wedding and Thanksgiving. It was a nice break as a family away from all the house stress. Thank the Lord we were all healthy, safe, and had a blast!

Here we are on the road... ALOT. We stayed in Monroe, LA on the way down and Vicksburg, MS on the way back. Overall the kids did very well during the long stretches of driving.

A funny story: At one bathroom stop, JC and John Paul were in a restroom, when John Paul decided to have a "race". He says, "Are you ready Daddy? Go!"... and when he was finished, he announced, "I win!"

Here we are at Brian's wedding. It was a beautiful Mass, and the reception was nice. Jamie went right up to the flower girl on her own and introduced herself. She kept begging to play outside with the other kids, too. (Who ever said homeschooled kids can't socialize?)

We visited some friends, Duffy and Jean. They claim me as their adopted granddaughter and knew my parents overseas. Notice the scarf Jamie is wearing. I made it on the way down. Jamie proudly tells everyone that it was "made in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida!"

Here's my Uncle Sean who came down for the wedding at the last minute. I only see him every 3 years or so, this pic is important!

We hung out with Uncle Steve, Nana B, and Pepere alot and played games. After watching Pepere play poker this week, when we got back, Jamie wanted to play "Kings and Queens" with him (like any little girl would). But John Paul said he wanted to be the "Jack" like in Pepere's game!

I love the old Florida house. While I was there, I started a wish list of silly things I love with many memories and hope to gain someday if Uncle Brian wants to get rid of them: glassware, pudding cups, coffee mugs, the organ, the game closet (OK so I can't have that but I wish I could). Pretty much anything that's been in that house more than 20 years I have a fond memory of.

We did the typical shopping and tourism. The kids got a kick out of the hermit crabs and this large Betty Boop reminded me of my GMa.

We visited the Air Force Armament Museum. John Paul liked the airplanes, and Jamie got a history lessons on wars and soldiers. We saw a pilot later that day at Baskin Robbins and she asked him some questions.

My grandparents offered to babysit the kiddos for us one night so we could have a nice meal in peace. We ate at my Uncle Steve's restaurant, so of course we got 1st class service (thanks unk). Then we took a short walk on the beach at night...it was SO cold under our feet.

We played Goofy Golf twice while we were there. John Paul called it "Gofe". JC kicked my butt both times of course. Nana B tagged along for the 2nd game. We went for the traditional ice cream cone afterward both times.

We ate a Chinese Buffet for dinner once. John Paul LOVED it and said, "I got to pick me food!". It was a John Paul plate alright: Pizza, fried chicken, grapes, cantaloupe, and chocolate pudding!

We saw the sunset on the Sound once, and took them to the park many times. I had fun to!

Mom missed us so! So we had a video chat with her.
A new thing we did was visit a Science Center. There were neat little science experiments and activities for the kids to do.

Afterward we went to the beach. After many cloudy days, the sun finally came out. Gianna had a blast. I couldn't believe how calm the water was and we were able to walk out onto the sand bars. Jamie collected sea shells and we hated to leave.

Finally, Happy Thanksgiving!