Florida for Easter Weekend

 We had a wonderful vacation with Elise, Andy and their kids over Easter Weekend.  It was so nice to have the Jacksons while they were away from all of their normal responsibilities (especially Andy).  We loved reacquainting ourselves with the kids.  They are all sweethearts.   They were so excited that their "grandparents without the pool" were coming to share in their time in Panama City.  

Max was full of questions such as, "What makes the waves," (he said, "I make waves in the bathtub when I move back and forth").  I explained that it had something to do with the moon and the currents of the ocean.  He is very curious and likes learning about the world.

Mav told me, "I'm going to miss you tomorrow," the day before we left.  He also said, "I loved playing in the ocean with you."  He was so sweet.  Elise says that he's her child that always makes her feel good.

Beverly was very active and happy, and she was also hilarious.  We were playing the Disney version of Apples to Apples.  A card is put out with a word, and everyone is supposed to choose which of their cards apply.  One card had the word "dangerous,"  Beverly put down her card that had a picture of a fire, and said with a very serious face, "Fire is dangerous!  YOU WILL DIE,"  (of course, you're not supposed to give away which card is yours). She also made sure that Mav's card was chosen when she was the judge.  She was a little prejudiced that way.

And Harvey--he's a doll.  He has a lot of curly, unruly hair, and huge brown eyes.  He is very agile and climbs up on everything.  He wants to keep up with his siblings.  He gives Elise and Andy a run for their money.  At home he has been sleeping better, but of course, on vacation he was out of his element.  He woke up each night around 2am demanding to be taken care of.  His bed was right outside our door, so we could hear when he woke up, but we usually ignored it (I had earplugs) and let his parents take care of him.  One of the three nights we were awakened as usual at 2:50 am, but not by crying.  We woke to the sounds of a cartoon program.  Harvey had gotten up, walked into the other room, retrieved a device from the charging cord, and had found a program to watch.  I was going to ignore it, so I put in my earplugs, but Roy headed out to see what was going on.  Harvey was sitting on his haunches watching a phone with the volume full blast.  We told him that if he wanted to get away with his behavior, he needed to learn to keep the volume down.

The ocean was beautiful and it was great to relive some memories in that part of Florida.  We spent many vacations in this area as our children were growing up.  The water was fabulous, and the temperatures perfect.  

Photo essay of our vacation

 Elise"s rendition.

Max was like I was when I was his age--he preferred spending all his pool time underwater. 

It's good that we celebrated Easter with the family a week early, because other than Easter Baskets, we didn't think a whole lot about Easter and our Savior and his glorious resurrection since we were traveling home on Sunday. But, I am very grateful for Easter and what it represents.  It has meant a great deal more to me since we lost Tom at Easter time 29 years ago.  I hunger to hear the words that are shared through Easter talks and music, and to reflect on the gift that Jesus Christ has given to all of us.  I was sad to miss out on it.  However, it was a rare treat to spend time with the Jacksons and we loved every minute of it.

We arrived home late Sunday afternoon and we were, of course, exhausted, so we had a short nap, omelettes for dinner, and an early bedtime.

The beautiful Nick Rasband children on Easter Sunday
Avie, Ori, Camden and Effie (poor Camden was sick).

I love this picture of Nick with his girls.  

Dan, Jieun, Hyeji and Doyeon went down to Vegas for a BTS concert (Korean band).  Jennie and Jordan tended the three younger children.  They got this cute picture of Yuli.