Picking up where I left of- Brandon's last night was the fourth. We all went to bed early. We were so tired that none of us noticed the sounds of World War III two blocks away. I even slept through Yeti cuddled up on my head shaking in fright. So the next weekend we visited my cousins in Waco. We had a great time talking, eating and watching the kids have fun. Amanda's kids were great entertainment (and sitters) for Noah and Wyatt. Here they are playing with their monster trucks in the mud. The only way I could get a tearful Noah in the car to go home was to remind him of our upcoming motor home vacation.
The next Tuesday Mimi, Papa, Grandma Jean and Grandpa Bob all descended on our house in preparation for the much anticipated family reunion about to take place in Destin, FL. We loaded up our rented motor home wi
th all the necessary, and several unnecessary, things eight adults and four kids need for five days at the beach. We left around 8:30 Tuesday night with the plan to take shifts driving through the night and reach Destin by morning. Everything went relatively smoothly. The kids were so awed by the wonders of our 28' Coachman that it took them until 10:30 to finally fall asleep. They slept in the RV's 'attic'. I have such great memories of trips like that when I was little, but it is even better to see my own kids experiencing it. Us adults played some Yahtzee and tried to keep dad company as he drove, since he did most of the driving- so much for taking shifts. It wasn't long before dad was the only one awake. A peaceful night's sleep in a bouncy, clanky motor home on I-10 through Houston and Louisiana
was pretty much impossible- unless you're mom. She soundly slept while bouncing back and forth along the bed in back. Like an old Donald the Duck cartoon. We made it to FL Wednesday morning where we met up with Dori and Jay, who did the same drive in the mini van with two dogs. After getting settled at the military recreation area in our RV slot and cabins and making about 20 pb&j sandwiches while the twelve of us and three dogs soaked up the air con in the RV, we congregated at the pool with the Georgia clan. We reacquainted, cooled off and planned dinner. I don't think I can relay the entire trip, but I will give a few highlights. Thursday morning we awoke early and
loaded up for the beach. 10 folding chairs, two ginormous umbrellas, one ATV wagon, at least a dozen sand toys, a surfboard and so on. The Georgia clan, proving their blood relation, kept right in step with a full on county fair style collapsible tent and two giant ice chests on wheels. The white sand beach with emerald green water were beautiful. We had a great time. This was Jon, Dacy, Noah and Wyatt's first experience (that they can remember anyway) with the beach and ocean. They were totally intimated by the waves. After letting us carry them out into the waves, they opted to just play on the shore, only letting the water get as deep as their ankles. But they had so m
uch fun and I think the group under the tent had just as much fun watching them. Mom, Dori, Tracy and I tried boogie boarding. That's about all I need to say about that. Greg also tried surfing for the first time. Just like Greg, he was able to stand up and ride a wave into shore on the first try. Granted it wasn't a very big wave, but it was still impressive. I tried it later on and only managed to ride it in on my belly. Even so, it was a whole lot of fun. Greg and I took another morning and went scuba diving. We did two dives- each around 80 ft. We saw lots of fish I can't name, a sunken boat, barracudas and many, many jelly fish. We ate lots of great seafood while we were there. We all went on a dolphin cruise. We saw dophins. Noah got to drive the ship. Wyatt was overwhelmed by boats and jet skis the whole trip. We rented a pontoon boat. Or as Wyatt called it- a ON-ooon boat. Dori decided you can get Wyatt to say any word by putting it in front of the word 'boat'. Wyatt found a new best friend in Presley. He would follow her to the ends of the earth. Every time we separated from their family he cried 'pesleeeeee'. For a few days after we returned home, he would say 'Pesley?' every time he saw a tan little girl with dark brown hair. Greg, the boys and I stayed in the RV the whole time and the boys cried when Papa drove off
with it after we got home. So after stuffing ourselves with mounds of shrimp and Gleta's margaritas and desserts, and getting sand in all our nooks and crannies we headed back to Texas. We had so much fun. I waited way too long to write about the trip and now I don't have the time or energy to properly retell it. It was so good to see the extended family and be reminded of how deep our roots are and how strong they make us as individuals. How about Austin next time??
Picking up where I left of- Brandon's last night was the fourth. We all went to bed early. We were so tired that none of us noticed the sounds of World War III two blocks away. I even slept through Yeti cuddled up on my head shaking in fright. So the next weekend we visited my cousins in Waco. We had a great time talking, eating and watching the kids have fun. Amanda's kids were great entertainment (and sitters) for Noah and Wyatt. Here they are playing with their monster trucks in the mud. The only way I could get a tearful Noah in the car to go home was to remind him of our upcoming motor home vacation. 
The next Tuesday Mimi, Papa, Grandma Jean and Grandpa Bob all descended on our house in preparation for the much anticipated family reunion about to take place in Destin, FL. We loaded up our rented motor home wi
th all the necessary, and several unnecessary, things eight adults and four kids need for five days at the beach. We left around 8:30 Tuesday night with the plan to take shifts driving through the night and reach Destin by morning. Everything went relatively smoothly. The kids were so awed by the wonders of our 28' Coachman that it took them until 10:30 to finally fall asleep. They slept in the RV's 'attic'. I have such great memories of trips like that when I was little, but it is even better to see my own kids experiencing it. Us adults played some Yahtzee and tried to keep dad company as he drove, since he did most of the driving- so much for taking shifts. It wasn't long before dad was the only one awake. A peaceful night's sleep in a bouncy, clanky motor home on I-10 through Houston and Louisiana
was pretty much impossible- unless you're mom. She soundly slept while bouncing back and forth along the bed in back. Like an old Donald the Duck cartoon. We made it to FL Wednesday morning where we met up with Dori and Jay, who did the same drive in the mini van with two dogs. After getting settled at the military recreation area in our RV slot and cabins and making about 20 pb&j sandwiches while the twelve of us and three dogs soaked up the air con in the RV, we congregated at the pool with the Georgia clan. We reacquainted, cooled off and planned dinner. I don't think I can relay the entire trip, but I will give a few highlights. Thursday morning we awoke early and loaded up for the beach. 10 folding chairs, two ginormous umbrellas, one ATV wagon, at least a dozen sand toys, a surfboard and so on. The Georgia clan, proving their blood relation, kept right in step with a full on county fair style collapsible tent and two giant ice chests on wheels. The white sand beach with emerald green water were beautiful. We had a great time. This was Jon, Dacy, Noah and Wyatt's first experience (that they can remember anyway) with the beach and ocean. They were totally intimated by the waves. After letting us carry them out into the waves, they opted to just play on the shore, only letting the water get as deep as their ankles. But they had so m
uch fun and I think the group under the tent had just as much fun watching them. Mom, Dori, Tracy and I tried boogie boarding. That's about all I need to say about that. Greg also tried surfing for the first time. Just like Greg, he was able to stand up and ride a wave into shore on the first try. Granted it wasn't a very big wave, but it was still impressive. I tried it later on and only managed to ride it in on my belly. Even so, it was a whole lot of fun. Greg and I took another morning and went scuba diving. We did two dives- each around 80 ft. We saw lots of fish I can't name, a sunken boat, barracudas and many, many jelly fish. We ate lots of great seafood while we were there. We all went on a dolphin cruise. We saw dophins. Noah got to drive the ship. Wyatt was overwhelmed by boats and jet skis the whole trip. We rented a pontoon boat. Or as Wyatt called it- a ON-ooon boat. Dori decided you can get Wyatt to say any word by putting it in front of the word 'boat'. Wyatt found a new best friend in Presley. He would follow her to the ends of the earth. Every time we separated from their family he cried 'pesleeeeee'. For a few days after we returned home, he would say 'Pesley?' every time he saw a tan little girl with dark brown hair. Greg, the boys and I stayed in the RV the whole time and the boys cried when Papa drove off
with it after we got home. So after stuffing ourselves with mounds of shrimp and Gleta's margaritas and desserts, and getting sand in all our nooks and crannies we headed back to Texas. We had so much fun. I waited way too long to write about the trip and now I don't have the time or energy to properly retell it. It was so good to see the extended family and be reminded of how deep our roots are and how strong they make us as individuals. How about Austin next time??
No comments:
Post a Comment