Quick Trip To Georgia

 When there is an unused companion fare on Delta that has to be used before the end of Thanksgiving, it's time to go to Georgia.  This isn't the first time because we often spend time with the Jackson's for Beverly's birthday.  She was 7 on the 22nd of November (which means at some point next year or early 2026, we'll be back for her baptism!).  

We try and take all of our grandchildren on a birthday date when they turn one year older.  The Jackson's don't usually miss out because they don't mind us taking the whole family when we visit.  We started out with just the kids at the toy store and got gifts for both Beverly and Maverick (Mav's birthday is in January), with the other boys getting a little something just for being there.  We took all of them for lunch to make up for the times they don't get to do this, and had Elise and Andy join us for the meal. 

Harvey, Elise, Catharine, Mav, Andy, Bevy, Max and Roy

The kids like the all you can eat Chinese restaurant near their Target store.  They all ate well except for Harvey whom we suspect hasn't felt great throughout our visit as he's been extraordinarily subdued.

Beverly especially liked the strawberry cake for dessert.  She had five pieces.

Another fun event of our visit was joining Beverly for lunch at her school.  She brought donuts for her classmates which she handed out towards the end of lunch.  It brought back memories of eating lunch with my children in Georgia (although they had good lunches so we actually ate with them).  They are just as strict with the noise level now as they were 20+ years ago.  When my kids went to school in Georgia, the authorities used the lights to remind the kids to quiet down; blinking them off and on when the noise level rose too loud.  In this school they had a red screen and a green screen.  Green meant they could talk, red meant they had to stop talking and eat.  I don't think the Utah schools are quite this strict.  

It was a great week for Beverly because she had her friends party before we arrived, but was still able to open a bunch of presents on her birthday.  She. even dressed up for school and wore all her birthday jewelry.

Her present from her mom and dad was a puppet stage.  She wanted it so she could do one show specifically: Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play.  She had fun putting on the show for us.

She picked out some earrings when she went shopping with us, but grandpa also ordered her a couple of puppets for her stage.

We leave to return home in the morning.  I think it was a short enough stay that the Jackson's are a little sad to say goodbye.  My mother never stayed more than a few days when she came to visit us.  I always wanted her to stay a little longer; she said that the best time to go home was when you're still wanted.

Dave's great granddaughter, Tatum, is out of the hospital and healing.  Her quick release from the hospital is a miracle for their family.

I'm keeping this letter short so I can spend my last evening with the Jackson's, so watch for a more "Thanksgiving" oriented thought next week.