Thank you Papa John!

The 4th was yet another in a long line of great trips to Mexico Beach to see Rodney's dad. Although he lives in Florida, he's on the gulf which means a 5 hour car ride for us. It still beats the 8-9 from Chattanooga. Mexico Beach (and Port Saint Joe) are about an hour east of Panama City. It's full of family vacation rentals and not much anything else. It's the perfect spot to get away and relax. We were thrilled when Rodney's father decided to retire there. As often as our schedule permits we make the trip to see Papa Johna and the beautiful white sand beaches. The kids love seeing their grandfather and he is so great with them. I'm sure our family seems like the next hurricane coming in when we hit town. Traveling with kids the ages of ours poses it's own challenges. (OK, if the noise alone could be cut in half they might be tolerable!) And bless Brooke's heart, at 18 months she essentially just wanted to dismantle his house piece by piece looking for treasures. The kids got to go out with their dad and grandpa fishing on his boat (baby and I stayed behind). They each caught fish and came back over the moon. They spent time on the beach and lots of time hanging out in Papa John's huge backyard in the blow-up pool! Mom even had time to read a Danielle Steel novel which I haven't done in decades (Five Days in Paris - it was fairly good!) The highlight of the weekend was heading down to the beach on the 4th for the fireworks at the pier and getting to watch everyone else's fireworks. It truly was one of those moments in life you want to bottle and take out to enjoy on occasion for a "remember when life was this good for a moment" moment. There we were with the warm beach air and miles and miles of beach covered with fireworks. And not just fancy sparklers folks - I was so glad that everyone else decided to indulge in the "illegal" ones that blew up huge in the sky! Brooke actually fell asleep in my lap during all of the commotion and watching the kids (and Papa John) enjoy it so much was such a thrill. We've decided to try our best to make it back again next year (we all know we don't have plans on moving or having another baby). At that point the only obstacle is dealing with Brooke in the midst of the "terrible twos". Thank you Papa John for putting up with us and loving our children as we know only a grandparent can. They adore you (Ok, your daughter-in-law does too!)