Family Time

March 29-April 9

Days 138-149

Jess and I have decided it is time to make a road trip for a visit with our family.  Celebrating Easter has always been special for us, so the timing is perfect for a big "get together". We also need to take care of a few things like: making sure we have done what we need to do to get signed up for Medicare (yes, we both turn 65 in April), finalize our taxes (thanks Lori for squeezing us into your extremely busy schedule), and Jess needs to renew his driver's license (didn't realize that would be the most difficult task to accomplish). With our rather small rental car packed and ready to head for our first stop, Acworth, GA, we left Bama Dream in her snug berth at Palm Coast Marina.  After spending so much time cruising at top speeds of about 8.5 mph, 70 is flying low.  Our plans were to visit a couple of days with our youngest and her family in Georgia, then head on over to Alabama where our sons and their families live. Then on our way back to Palm Coast we planned to take a side trip to Pensacola to see Clare and her family.  Everything went as planned until we were traveling by Tallahassee on our trip back to the boat. An emergency appendectomy sent us on the road back to Trussville to help with our youngest grandchild while her mother tended to our son. I am not sure you can call our trip to see everyone a vacation or not, since we seem to be on a permanent vacation, but it sure felt like one.  We loved seeing everyone, but are ready to continue our adventures.

Giffin may be preparing for a career in highway engineering by the looks of what he has done to the Roulier back yard.  Remembering how much his mom enjoyed playing in the mud when she was little just shows that he comes by it naturally.

Another Roulier family project. Jess enjoyed giving Dave a hand with the roof rafters, as he continues the process of changing the boys play house into a chicken coop.

Had a wonderful time having lunch with Jordan and Betty Hock, Linda Robertson and my Tammy. Our trip home coincided with Spring Break which meant that only friends that had not planned trips of their own were able to get together for a short visit. 

The Cahaba River flows behind the Trussville Springs development.  Seth and Laura have just recently moved into their beautiful new home here.

The river bank is the perfect spot to enjoy the sunny afternoon. JayCee, Laura, and Seth keep Darci and Aaron from getting too wet as they have fun throwing rocks, just to see how big of a splash they can make.

What a handsome couple!  Our oldest, Wylie, and his lovely lady, Tammy.

Everyone had a great time coloring the Easter eggs.  Darci didn't have any trouble figuring out the process.  Green seemed to be her favorite color, at least that was the color her hands and legs were by the time she was finished.

 

It is amazing how tough a raw egg can be. Some of them rolled all the way out to the gravel path and still didn't break. The final results were a tie between the teams of Melinda and Brady and Jess and JayCee.

Aaron gets the low down on the correct technique for blowing a dandelion from his Papa.  He evidently can use a little more instruction, because he ended up with it stuck to his tongue.

Time to chill in front of the TV for this group of worn out grandkids (including one great grandchild).  A big meal, egg coloring, skipping rocks in the river and throwing raw eggs at each other can be very exhausting.

The Easter Bunny has arrived! Darci found lots of her favorites stuffed into her basket.  Sixlets, Princess Sophia and a new puppy were the best.

The Easter Bunny has done his job and now it is time for the race to begin.  He is a smart bunny because he hid some just for Darci to find. Brady, Ethan and Griffin had no problem filling their own baskets.

A bright gold egg for a very special little girl.  Darci could have found more eggs, but when she discovered there was candy in some of them, she had to stop to open every one before she looked for more.

Ethan gets his mom to help tally his eggs.  Dave took on the all important job of totaling everybody's stash to determine how many eggs were still hidden away.

 

Uncle Seth makes sure Brady has as much difficulty as possible when it is his turn to take a swing at the piñata.  It didn't matter how many times he was spun around or how tightly he kept his eyes closed, his mighty swing destroyed the piñata, sending candy flying through the air.

What better way to bring a fun filled weekend to a close than a trip to he zoo.

Easter Sunday was also Melinda's 40th birthday, Jess' 65th, and our 46th anniversary, so of course we wanted to top this fantastic day off with a great meal before Melinda and her family headed back to Acworth.

          

  

Our next stop was Pensacola, where we spent a wonderful evening with our daughter, Clare and her family, Noel, Moira, and Sellers.  Demonstrating her culinary talents, Clare treated us to a delicious supper of garlic shrimp pasta with avocado salad.