Summertime Surprise & Fun with the Family

June 20 - July 4 I went to the States to visit my family.  The only thing is, Mom and Dad didn't know I was coming!  Dale picked me up from the airport and I gave Mom and Dad a surprise at the Festival of Life on Lookout Mountain, where Mom was being honored as a cancer survivor.  Please excuse the quality of this video; it's hard to hold an ipad when greeting your parents after taking them by surprise!

Tim wanted to go with me.  

After I surprised Mom...looking quite tired, I do say.

Wildwood Methodist with the family.  It's really not nice to take photos in church. :P

Father's Day with the best father!  Feeding Penny at the barn.

I loved the little kitties!

Spiffers and Biffers, together again!

And then...breakfast!  You know you're home when you wake to the sound of the timer going off for the coffee pot (it's steeped enough on the old coffee pot on the stove-top) and the smells of bacon or sausage frying.  The master biscuit-maker at work.  He's still got it.

After this fine breakfast, Mom and Dad and I headed for Cape San Blas to meet up with Molly and her family for a few days.  They rented a house in a gated community with access to the beach.  There was also a swimming pool, which Levi and Indie loved.  In fact, their first words upon arriving were:  "Where's the pool?"  Seems ironic, right?

Levi was so proud of this big old terrapin that he caught in the shrubbery by the house.  I didn't have my glasses on and thought it was a rabbit - it was moving so fast!  It had a big gash on its shell, showing that it is a tough old bird.

Sisters by the beach.  There were many lovely, cool evenings.  Molly and Indigo especially enjoyed staying by the water into the evening to watch the moon rise.  We even had a fire on the beach one night.

This watermelon came from Uncle Vic's garden.  It was delicious.

These shots are from the Cape San Blas State Park, which nearly borders on the property where we were staying.  Mom, Dad, and I drove through it to take a look.

This is the bay within the State Park where you can go scalloping.  The season wasn't very good this year, though, so we didn't go.

On the left side is the bay, on the right side is the beach.  If you walk down the beach further, you'll run into the public beach where we spent most of our time.

We checked out these cottages in the State Park with the idea that we might rent one next year.  But the further distance from the beach and the lack of a swimming pool made us decide against it, especially if Carrie's kids come next year (they love the pool, too).

I couldn't get enough of these sweethearts.  Indie is at an especially sweet stage.  She knows no strangers and greets everyone with "I'm this many" (showing 4 fingers).  She saw another little girl on the boardwalk and ran off to ask her how old she was.  She excitedly ran back to me and said, "We're the same amount!"  

After the beach trip, I stayed at Carrie's house for a few days.  She had just given birth to Lucy, and it was a nice time, getting to hold the baby and play with Sam and Willa.  I just realized that I didn't get in many photos, though, since we were always on the go - Sam really loves playing with Legos and going to the park (I chased after him as best I could), and Willa loves dressing up, painting, and playing in boxes.

Daddy with his newest little one.

Sweet Willa.

Then it was back to Wildwood for the final few days of catching up - with friends, with doctor's appointments, with life at home in general.  As usual, the time went too fast.

My last night at home, Sarah, Mom and I played games.  We always enjoy Skipbo, dominoes, and the occasional game of Quiddler.