New Year's in FL

We joined the rest of everyone ever traveling everrrrr on our way south to Josh's parents and made it in a whopping 15 hours without killing each other.  It was a really smooth trip despite the longness!  Thankful.  After that, I basically put on my pjs and sacked out and enjoyed the retreat and the peace and the down time and the scenery and the easy company while there.  Josh did a TON of gardening and yard work stuff around the house for this parents. He really enjoyed a day shopping nurseries and plants with his mom, too. The kids did a lot of playing and a little bit of yard work.  Noah spent a day with his birthfamily along the way and Anna spent a day shopping with Memaw all by herself.  It was the sweetest of visits and was just a great grounding reset for a new year.  I got a lot of reading and thinking and listing and mental regrouping done.  Thankful!

Our third meal on the road on the way down, Lasa found a window seat and sat by herself.  How gorgeous is that sunset in the window? 

First morning in FL, it was Kubota time (buhbota, according to Lasa).  Noah got grounded from using it for a couple days after driving too fast, but was so thankful for a second chance to get it right and enjoy driving it again before we left.

Josh set up a satellite for his parents who no longer have cable.  We were thankfully able to stream all the bowl games through our own Comcast while there.  His computer worked hard that week! 

This right here?  This was me the whole time.  Porch sitting, bee watching, reading.  And bowl game watching. 

 

 

So many lovely views from Carol's front porch.  This one includes some brisket smoking on the smoker.  The smell was amazing.

Kitty Annie makes us all wish for a sweet outdoor cat.  One day!

The bee hives on John and Carol's property.  They belong to family friends of theirs who come down from Michigan, I wanna say, twice a year to tend to them.  I was fascinated - FASCINATED - watching the bees come drink from Carol's birdbaths at all hours of the day.  The bees and I bonded during all my porch sitting. ;)

Anna and Lasa loved picking Memaw's flowers.  I kept saying for them to stop, but as any good Memaw would do, she insisted it was just fine for them to pick. ❤️

We saw a bunch of Jason, Holly, and Hannah while there which was a treat.  Hannah especially, as you can see. She did allllll the things with her littler cousins requested of her.  And always, always with that gorgeous grin on her face.  I can't believe she will be a senior come fall!

 

More gorgeous views.

Goodies from Josh, Jason, and Carol's day of plant shopping.

John and Noah went out riding that day, hitting up a flea market among other stops.  I wish I had gotten a shot of them on the bike.

Josh taking down a dead tree and it was quite a job.  I love that he checked this off the list for his momma.  It was good to see him with a chainsaw again.  Reminded me of our newlywed days and the bowls he would make from giant chunks of wood.  

 

 

 

Carol planted a vining plant in the top that will grow down around it (I wish I had gotten a pic of the finished product) and is using other big trunk pieces in her landscaping too.  She has such a great eye!

Pic from Noah's day with Tania and all the many birthfamily peeps on both sides.  He had another great time with them all, especially Tania's brother Hector this trip.

Grandma Elba and his cousins on that side.

 

Pics from Sunday at church that Josh got.  Lasa and I stayed home, knowing getting her in a brand new nursery space would not be worth the fearful outburst and panic it would create for her.

Carol on the pipe organ there on the left.

 

 

 

 

I don't know why, but I just love these train shots from their way home.

 

Hector gave Noah a Battle Bots set and it got a lot of action with the little AND big kids. It's really fun! Noah says he likes it better than a video game. ;)

 

Cupcake making the night Carol made a holiday feast.

 

Another night when they had shrimp and grits and crab legs and cornbread.  Carol is my hero with all she can whip up in the kitchen ... and with how she has a pot, platter, dish, utensil, and space for EVERYTHING. Get a load of the size of that pot! Love it.

Smores on New Year's Eve.

 

Street hockey.  Dirty hockey. Whatever!

Anna and I are starting a Mother/Daughter journal space this year.  Anna shopped for just the right journal and got it started with the neatest drawing and sweetest inscription on New Year's Eve.

The day we left, New Year's Day, we waited til after dinner and drove through the night to avoid traffic and it worked like a charm.  That gave us a whole chunk of day before then to squeeze in a little shooting and Memaw snuggles.  And another bowl game.  And I finished my third book of the Christmas break just minutes before we left!

 

 

 

Josh and I took turns driving from 6 pm to 6 am.  And I slept not one single wink though my face and eyes were soooo tired.  Sigh.  I was in the zone while driving and I thank the Lord for keeping us alert and accident free for all the driving.  I crashed good and hard once we landed at home while the sun was coming up. I would do the overnight driving thing again, I think!  Atlanta has never been so pleasant to drive through. HA!

Happy New Year, all!