It has been a quiet week around my house this week. Some time ago Vicki had said when VBS was over she wanted to take the kids to Georgia for some fun with cousins before school starts. They left out Sunday afternoon. I've had to stay here due to work.
GETTING AWAY. From talking to Vicki and the kids on the phone I think they've really enjoyed their time away. They had planned to come home yesterday but decided to stay another day. Wednesday Vicki said she hadn't started the van since they arrived Sunday evening. While they did venture out yesterday they've spent the entire time swimming, playing games, and just having fun as a family. Vicki sounds like weeks of stress have melted away when I talk to her.
MY WEEK ALONE. I probably enjoy solitude more than most people, but this has been a good week for Vicki and the kids to be away. We are very busy at work trying to get ready for school to start so I have a lot to distract me during the day.
I did go out to eat with Mom and Aunt Mar one night, but I have spent the rest of my evenings here at home. For the most part I've been trying to keep up with the chores and clean out a few things I never have time to work on, but I've also made time for me to have some fun.
One thing I did was rent Boys Town from Netflix. I always enjoyed this movie when it came on TV years ago. What I didn't know was that there's a sequel, Men of Boys Town, which was on the reverse side of the DVD. Spencer Tracey and Mickey Rooney reprised their roles as Father Flanagan and Whitey Marsh and I enjoyed it just as much as the first story.
Probably the biggest excitement for the week was the dead chicken snake I removed from Aunt Mar's garage. It had gotten caught in one of the sticky traps set out in the garage for mice.
FAMILY REUNION. Sunday, while Vicki and the kids were packing, I went to the Denning reunion in Orlinda. I've not been around this part of my family much and I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people I knew. This reunion has also been a scheduling conflict with the Phifer reunion held in Camden that we've attended the last several years. I had a nice time catching up with folks I hand't seen in years. The Hancock reunion is coming up Saturday. I'm looking forward to doing this all over again with a different set of people.
SMALL THINGS. July has been such a whirl all I've been able to do is report on the big things we've been doing, but there are two things about Nate that stick out in my mind from last weekend.
Nate loves his bear now more than ever. One evening Nate was alone upstairs. I think Ben was playing on the computer. Vicki, Jenna, and I were together talking. Our conversation came to a halt when Nate started singing, "I love Bear," over and over again. He kept it up for several minutes.
Nate still rides in a booster seat which is a point of contention with him. In Tennessee kids shorter than 4' 9" must ride in a booster. Nate is 4' 5". I can assure you he is among the minority of kids his age still made to sit in one -- a point he brings up occasionally. I must admit, while I want my kids to be safe in a vehicle, I am looking forward to the day I can get the stupid thing out of my way.
Last Friday evening we went out to eat to celebrate VBS being over. We drove my truck. Nate's booster seat sits behind the driver's seat. For some reason as we were leaving the restaurant all the kids piled in the truck through the passenger's side. Nate, needing to be the first in, stopped halfway in the truck. When his siblings reprimanded him for holding them up he happily exclaimed, "My booster seat was made in China!"
Joe
Friday, July 30, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Fast Times in July
I think we've been busier this month has been than any July that I remember. We've been going so hard if it were cold I'd think Christmas was on us. I feel like I have lost a lot of stories I'd normally share by waiting so long to write, but there simply hasn't been time to sit down and write anything. Last night Vicki and I finally got a chance to have a real conversation for the first time in at least three weeks.
CENTRI-KID. When I last wrote I promised to tell of Vicki's, Jenna's, and Ben's experiences at Centri-Kid. These camps are held all over the country. Our campers returned to Georgetown College in Kentucky. They came home on Friday, July 9, and Nate and I got one exhausted family back when they arrived. I think Jenna wound up sleeping 14 hours. Ben started trying to make up for lost time with Nate on the Wii but within a couple of hours he had slipped off for an early bedtime.
I was eager to get Ben's impressions of camp since this was his first year to go, but being a typical boy he did not elaborate much. I do know he had a lot of fun. The kids get to choose from a variety of track times for their afternoon activities. Ben got to do outdoor sports which was right down his alley. On the other hand, one of Jenna's track times was Kitchen Chaos which was a good fit for her.
Vicki said it as a good week for all the kids. Her comment about Ben was that there was so much intensity and so much to do that by Thursday afternoon Ben chose to go back to his room for a nap during his free time. This is highly uncharacteristic of him.
A CHEF IN THE MAKING. She has been sharpening up her cooking skills this summer with cookies and cupcakes and has come up with some very tasty desserts. She says she wants to open a bakery when she grows up. Of course, things can change between now and then, but this is something she brings up with Vicki about every other day. One day this week they were out running errands. Jenna spotted an empty suite in the strip mall where they were and commented that it would be a great location for a bakery. Then she started wondering how much it would cost to rent the space, etc. and ended up a little frustrated because she's too young to drive and still has to go to school.
FUN IN THE HOT SUN. Most years it seems like they picked the hottest weekend of the year to have the Threshing Show. This year was no exception (well, Saturday morning was pleasant). Heat or no, it was a lot of fun. We went to the show Friday and Saturday of last weekend.
I've got to pass my compliments along to Charlie, Mary, Will, and Nate Bumpus. They worked very hard this past spring to give the steam engine a new coat of paint as well as do some other maintenance and it looked fantastic.
I think the highlight of the show for me these days is to go and visit cousins I don't normally see. I'm sure Jenna feels this way because she really enjoys hanging out with her cousin, Bonnie. She was even invited to spend the night with Bonnie and her family in their camper Friday night.
The boys hung out with me most of the time. We played on the inflatable toys, walked around looking at equipment, went shopping in the flea market, and ate more junk food than we should.
All the kids got to ride in the parade. Ben even brought his bike and rode behind the trailer his siblings and cousins were on.
HIGH SEAS EXPEDITION. We had Vacation Bible School this week. Vicki was hardly back from Centri-Kid when she had to turn her attention to her final preparations for VBS (she didn't even make it to the Threshing Show). This has made us feel like VBS has been going for two weeks.
I'll have to say that I think this is the best VBS Vicki has headed up. She has done an exceptional job seeing to all the details and making it a fun week for everyone. I have to smile every time I see her on stage in front of the kids. She never would have dreamed she could do this five years ago. I am very proud of her.
We didn't have an adult class this year so I found myself up in the sound booth every night, and Jenna volunteered to help with preschool this year rather than be a participant. This only serves to remind me how quickly she's growing up. It reminds me how important it is to treasure these days while I'm living them.
Joe
CENTRI-KID. When I last wrote I promised to tell of Vicki's, Jenna's, and Ben's experiences at Centri-Kid. These camps are held all over the country. Our campers returned to Georgetown College in Kentucky. They came home on Friday, July 9, and Nate and I got one exhausted family back when they arrived. I think Jenna wound up sleeping 14 hours. Ben started trying to make up for lost time with Nate on the Wii but within a couple of hours he had slipped off for an early bedtime.
I was eager to get Ben's impressions of camp since this was his first year to go, but being a typical boy he did not elaborate much. I do know he had a lot of fun. The kids get to choose from a variety of track times for their afternoon activities. Ben got to do outdoor sports which was right down his alley. On the other hand, one of Jenna's track times was Kitchen Chaos which was a good fit for her.
Vicki said it as a good week for all the kids. Her comment about Ben was that there was so much intensity and so much to do that by Thursday afternoon Ben chose to go back to his room for a nap during his free time. This is highly uncharacteristic of him.
A CHEF IN THE MAKING. She has been sharpening up her cooking skills this summer with cookies and cupcakes and has come up with some very tasty desserts. She says she wants to open a bakery when she grows up. Of course, things can change between now and then, but this is something she brings up with Vicki about every other day. One day this week they were out running errands. Jenna spotted an empty suite in the strip mall where they were and commented that it would be a great location for a bakery. Then she started wondering how much it would cost to rent the space, etc. and ended up a little frustrated because she's too young to drive and still has to go to school.
FUN IN THE HOT SUN. Most years it seems like they picked the hottest weekend of the year to have the Threshing Show. This year was no exception (well, Saturday morning was pleasant). Heat or no, it was a lot of fun. We went to the show Friday and Saturday of last weekend.
I've got to pass my compliments along to Charlie, Mary, Will, and Nate Bumpus. They worked very hard this past spring to give the steam engine a new coat of paint as well as do some other maintenance and it looked fantastic.
I think the highlight of the show for me these days is to go and visit cousins I don't normally see. I'm sure Jenna feels this way because she really enjoys hanging out with her cousin, Bonnie. She was even invited to spend the night with Bonnie and her family in their camper Friday night.
The boys hung out with me most of the time. We played on the inflatable toys, walked around looking at equipment, went shopping in the flea market, and ate more junk food than we should.
All the kids got to ride in the parade. Ben even brought his bike and rode behind the trailer his siblings and cousins were on.
HIGH SEAS EXPEDITION. We had Vacation Bible School this week. Vicki was hardly back from Centri-Kid when she had to turn her attention to her final preparations for VBS (she didn't even make it to the Threshing Show). This has made us feel like VBS has been going for two weeks.
I'll have to say that I think this is the best VBS Vicki has headed up. She has done an exceptional job seeing to all the details and making it a fun week for everyone. I have to smile every time I see her on stage in front of the kids. She never would have dreamed she could do this five years ago. I am very proud of her.
We didn't have an adult class this year so I found myself up in the sound booth every night, and Jenna volunteered to help with preschool this year rather than be a participant. This only serves to remind me how quickly she's growing up. It reminds me how important it is to treasure these days while I'm living them.
Joe
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Back in the Saddle Again
This year has been a year of extremes. We've had a colder than average winter, a 100 year flood in Nashville (some claim it was a 1000 year flood), and record breaking heat so far this summer (though we aren't suffering like points along the Atlantic coast). It makes us wonder what's next. Jim and Dianna told us the ocean water temperature was about 3°F higher than normal this year which is an indicator of an active hurricane season to come.
We actually had a little break in the heat last week, but around here we need rain. Everything is starting to turn brown. We were amazed at how much the corn had grown while we were away, but Will Ed Osborne was telling me Sunday if it didn't get rain soon it might not make anything. Bill Chatman has been planting soybeans since we got home.
BACK IN THE RAT RACE. Wouldn't it be nice to get back from vacation and have a few days to relax? One can dream. Vicki and I both had to go back to work last Monday (June 28), but she has had to get back into the swing of things more so than I. She had one week at home before heading out again with kids to CentriKID camp this week. She'll get back tomorrow and have one week before Vacation Bible School hits. After VBS we have a week before school starts and with that comes a new year of Awana.
INDEPENDENCE DAY. This year the Fourth of July fell on Sunday and so many towns held their activities on Saturday. The entire holiday felt unusually long as I was off work on Monday for the Fourth.
Our Kilgore Remembrance Ceremony was held on Saturday morning. Mark Lowe was the featured speaker this year. He spoke of what Thomas Kilgore's relationship with other longhunters of his day must have been like. Mark is a very interesting speaker and did a great job. Ben and Nate wore the Cub Scout uniforms and helped raise the flags.
The boys and I went up to Kilgore park Sunday night for the Cross Plains fireworks show. They put on a good show, but the neat thing was that from the hill where we were you could see fireworks from all the neighboring towns. I think one of the firemen shooting off the fireworks must have gotten hurt because an ambulance left from where they were immediately after it was over.
THE ADVENTURES OF DAD AND NATE. I mentioned above that Vicki took a group of kids to CentriKid this week. Jenna and Ben were part of this group which left me and Nate home as bachelors for the week. The campers are coming home tomorrow so I'll save their stories for next time, but I can tell you what Nate and I have been in to.
First of all, I worked half days this week so I could spend time with Nate. While I was at work we lined up play dates for Nate with his friends. Monday was taken care of since I was off for the Fourth. On Tuesday Nate went to spend time with Matthew Rollings. The next day he was with Mom and Aunt Mar. Today he played with Cole Totten, and tomorrow he will be at Zachary Norfleet's house. I think he's played video games everywhere he went, and he's been swimming as well.
When Nate and I have been together we've mixed work with pleasure. We got several chores done around the house, but took breaks to play the Wii, watch TV, and read a book. Yesterday afternoon we went to the Boy Scout store in Nashville and took in a movie (we saw Toy Story 3 again as there was nothing else playing age appropriate for him). I don't know about him, but I'll always treasure the time we spent together this week.
Joe
We actually had a little break in the heat last week, but around here we need rain. Everything is starting to turn brown. We were amazed at how much the corn had grown while we were away, but Will Ed Osborne was telling me Sunday if it didn't get rain soon it might not make anything. Bill Chatman has been planting soybeans since we got home.
BACK IN THE RAT RACE. Wouldn't it be nice to get back from vacation and have a few days to relax? One can dream. Vicki and I both had to go back to work last Monday (June 28), but she has had to get back into the swing of things more so than I. She had one week at home before heading out again with kids to CentriKID camp this week. She'll get back tomorrow and have one week before Vacation Bible School hits. After VBS we have a week before school starts and with that comes a new year of Awana.
INDEPENDENCE DAY. This year the Fourth of July fell on Sunday and so many towns held their activities on Saturday. The entire holiday felt unusually long as I was off work on Monday for the Fourth.
Our Kilgore Remembrance Ceremony was held on Saturday morning. Mark Lowe was the featured speaker this year. He spoke of what Thomas Kilgore's relationship with other longhunters of his day must have been like. Mark is a very interesting speaker and did a great job. Ben and Nate wore the Cub Scout uniforms and helped raise the flags.
The boys and I went up to Kilgore park Sunday night for the Cross Plains fireworks show. They put on a good show, but the neat thing was that from the hill where we were you could see fireworks from all the neighboring towns. I think one of the firemen shooting off the fireworks must have gotten hurt because an ambulance left from where they were immediately after it was over.
THE ADVENTURES OF DAD AND NATE. I mentioned above that Vicki took a group of kids to CentriKid this week. Jenna and Ben were part of this group which left me and Nate home as bachelors for the week. The campers are coming home tomorrow so I'll save their stories for next time, but I can tell you what Nate and I have been in to.
First of all, I worked half days this week so I could spend time with Nate. While I was at work we lined up play dates for Nate with his friends. Monday was taken care of since I was off for the Fourth. On Tuesday Nate went to spend time with Matthew Rollings. The next day he was with Mom and Aunt Mar. Today he played with Cole Totten, and tomorrow he will be at Zachary Norfleet's house. I think he's played video games everywhere he went, and he's been swimming as well.
When Nate and I have been together we've mixed work with pleasure. We got several chores done around the house, but took breaks to play the Wii, watch TV, and read a book. Yesterday afternoon we went to the Boy Scout store in Nashville and took in a movie (we saw Toy Story 3 again as there was nothing else playing age appropriate for him). I don't know about him, but I'll always treasure the time we spent together this week.
Joe
Monday, July 5, 2010
A Much Needed Vacation, Part 2
I left off last time with us having driven down to Ormond Beach last Tuesday (June 22). We stayed at the same place as last year. After checking in we went to supper and then did what everyone should do when they're on vacation -- we went to Wal-Mart.
For me and Vicki this part of the trip was all about relaxing in the sand. We didn't have any agenda to speak of with the exception of meeting up with the Cotters for one day.
Given our complexion we tried to schedule our beach time so that we weren't out through the middle part of the day. Between that and SPF 50 sunscreen we came away with very little sunburn. When we came in for lunch we typically hung out inside for a few hours, even waiting until after supper before hitting the beach again. We also went shopping some in the afternoon. (Nate's came home with a couple of shark's tooth necklaces and an alligator head -- all things he is very proud to own.) We broke with this schedule one day when Jim, Dianna, Alex, and Chris drove over to spend a day at the beach with us. We had a really nice visit with them.
On the beach we played in the sand and surf. Ben and Nate built several sand castles. We also took our kites this year and those logged quite a bit of air time. In the water I think we had the most fun jumping waves, but riding the boogie boards were also fun.
I bought a skimboard this year. If you've never seen one it is about the size of a boogie board but is made of 3/8 inch plywood. This intention is to ride it like a skateboard in very shallow water (say, 1-2 inches deep). This was probably a stupid move for me seeing how I have no skateboarding experience. It is definitely a lot harder than it looks. Vicki and Jenna were sitting in the shallow water as I was trying this. Jenna commented to Vicki, "I sure admire his enthusiasm, but I would never do that." A few minutes later I took a tumble and came up with a good sized strawberry on my left knee.
Later I was using my skimboard as a boogie board (Ben was riding his boogie board next to me) when the board somehow went nose down and dug itself into the sand. I had enough time to think, "This is going to hurt," when the wave slammed my chest into the back edge of the board. I didn't break anything, but it was about two days before I could take a deep breath. So, I came home beat up by my own skimboard.
We tried a couple of new places to eat this time. The first, and in our opinion the best, was the Charlie Horse restaurant (http://www.charliehorserestaurant.com/home_page.htm) which was right down the street from our condo. The other was the Harbor Lights Restaurant down in Port Orange.
Saturday morning we checked out and headed home. This trip was so relaxing it felt like loads of stress have been washed out to sea. Neither Vicki or I were ready to come home. We wound up spending the night in Georgia and getting home Sunday afternoon. This pretty much sums up our vacation. Not exactly a high adventure trip, but it offered a lot of rest that we needed.
Joe
For me and Vicki this part of the trip was all about relaxing in the sand. We didn't have any agenda to speak of with the exception of meeting up with the Cotters for one day.
Given our complexion we tried to schedule our beach time so that we weren't out through the middle part of the day. Between that and SPF 50 sunscreen we came away with very little sunburn. When we came in for lunch we typically hung out inside for a few hours, even waiting until after supper before hitting the beach again. We also went shopping some in the afternoon. (Nate's came home with a couple of shark's tooth necklaces and an alligator head -- all things he is very proud to own.) We broke with this schedule one day when Jim, Dianna, Alex, and Chris drove over to spend a day at the beach with us. We had a really nice visit with them.
On the beach we played in the sand and surf. Ben and Nate built several sand castles. We also took our kites this year and those logged quite a bit of air time. In the water I think we had the most fun jumping waves, but riding the boogie boards were also fun.
I bought a skimboard this year. If you've never seen one it is about the size of a boogie board but is made of 3/8 inch plywood. This intention is to ride it like a skateboard in very shallow water (say, 1-2 inches deep). This was probably a stupid move for me seeing how I have no skateboarding experience. It is definitely a lot harder than it looks. Vicki and Jenna were sitting in the shallow water as I was trying this. Jenna commented to Vicki, "I sure admire his enthusiasm, but I would never do that." A few minutes later I took a tumble and came up with a good sized strawberry on my left knee.
Later I was using my skimboard as a boogie board (Ben was riding his boogie board next to me) when the board somehow went nose down and dug itself into the sand. I had enough time to think, "This is going to hurt," when the wave slammed my chest into the back edge of the board. I didn't break anything, but it was about two days before I could take a deep breath. So, I came home beat up by my own skimboard.
We tried a couple of new places to eat this time. The first, and in our opinion the best, was the Charlie Horse restaurant (http://www.charliehorserestaurant.com/home_page.htm) which was right down the street from our condo. The other was the Harbor Lights Restaurant down in Port Orange.
Saturday morning we checked out and headed home. This trip was so relaxing it felt like loads of stress have been washed out to sea. Neither Vicki or I were ready to come home. We wound up spending the night in Georgia and getting home Sunday afternoon. This pretty much sums up our vacation. Not exactly a high adventure trip, but it offered a lot of rest that we needed.
Joe
Thursday, July 1, 2010
A Much Needed Vacation, Part 1
I suppose after two weeks it's time to give an update on the happenings in our family. Within fifteen minutes of sending out our last newsletter we were on the road for our vacation!
We've had an excellent trip! Our Disney vacation in 2008 still stands out as our best vacation ever, but this was a close second and was definitely the most relaxing time we've ever had away. We got back home Sunday, and I'm not really sure I want to be back home. Before leaving Vicki and I were both under a lot of stress to get things done. Vicki had even begun to break out in hives and get physically sick -- all of which cleared up within hours of leaving Cross Plains. We spent four nights with the Jones family at their new house in Georgia and then headed down to Ormond Beach for four nights there.
We have a portable DVD player we typically take with us on trips, but it has quit working so the kids had to entertain themselves the way I used to do when I was there age. One game we played was to see how many different state license plates (including Canadian provinces) we'd see on the trip to Georgia. Everyone guessed a number before leaving. We were all low in our estimates as we saw license plates from 31 states -- the farthest being Alaska. (Oddly, no one from Canada was traveling around us -- wrong time of year I guess.)
Somehow we got on the topic of things I used to see on the road when we would drive to Arizona to visit Aunt Carrie and Uncle Ed or Florida to visit the Cotters. The long Army convoys have always stuck out in my mind. This somehow led to me mentioning the Cold War which made Nate ask, "What's a cold war? Is that where they play Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Now I have this visual of Kennedy and Khrushchev in Vienna banging their fists on their open palms stuck in my head.
Will and Darice had been renting a house for a little over a year since moving to Georgia. They bought the house they have now back in November and completed moving in by Christmas. With Pauline's passing away we are just now getting to see their new house. It is a beautiful home with a pool in the back and situated in a rural area. We really enjoyed their pool! Even without the pool I think this is my favorite of all the houses they've lived in.
One of the goals for this visit was to scan family pictures and documents we found in Pauline's house. We started with the love letters from when Pauline and Jessie dated. They dated, mostly by mail, for five months before getting married in November 1963. Jessie was working for GM near Chicago and Pauline lived in Camden. They met when Jessie came home to Camden to visit family. There were over 100 letters exchanged between them during this time and we have them scanned now. We're planning to put these into a book so all the grandchildren can have a copy when they are old enough. There's also a cassette tape from about 1972 of Pauline and Jessie telling about when they first met. We're thinking we will transcribe that for the introduction.
On Saturday (June 19) we went to the Mall of Georgia to see Toy Story 3 (in 2D). This is a cute film and a great sequel to the first two movies. Even with Andy going off to college I wonder if there will be a Toy Story 4. While at the mall we also saw an iPad. This is a really cool device and I can see why Apple has sold 3 million units in only 80 days. Impressed as I may be, I don't want one. Sunday we stayed at home with the exception of going to church (http://www.st-annas.com/).
We drove over to Lake Hartwell on the Georgia-South Carolina border on Monday. We rented a pontoon boat for an afternoon of fun. We also bought a Zip Ski (a large, one person inner tube) to tow behind the boat. We enjoyed riding in the boat, being pulled in the Zip Ski, swimming in the lake, and having a picnic lunch on the boat. The only bad thing about the whole day is that I can no longer say the General Jackson is the smallest boat I've ever driven.
Tuesday we got up early and drove to Ormond Beach for the second half of our vacation. We stayed off the interstate for the majority of this leg of the trip and drove on state highways through rural Georgia to Jacksonville. It was a pleasant drive, though I'm not sure I want to travel the route again. With that I'll stop and save the rest of the vacation for the next edition.
Joe
We've had an excellent trip! Our Disney vacation in 2008 still stands out as our best vacation ever, but this was a close second and was definitely the most relaxing time we've ever had away. We got back home Sunday, and I'm not really sure I want to be back home. Before leaving Vicki and I were both under a lot of stress to get things done. Vicki had even begun to break out in hives and get physically sick -- all of which cleared up within hours of leaving Cross Plains. We spent four nights with the Jones family at their new house in Georgia and then headed down to Ormond Beach for four nights there.
We have a portable DVD player we typically take with us on trips, but it has quit working so the kids had to entertain themselves the way I used to do when I was there age. One game we played was to see how many different state license plates (including Canadian provinces) we'd see on the trip to Georgia. Everyone guessed a number before leaving. We were all low in our estimates as we saw license plates from 31 states -- the farthest being Alaska. (Oddly, no one from Canada was traveling around us -- wrong time of year I guess.)
Somehow we got on the topic of things I used to see on the road when we would drive to Arizona to visit Aunt Carrie and Uncle Ed or Florida to visit the Cotters. The long Army convoys have always stuck out in my mind. This somehow led to me mentioning the Cold War which made Nate ask, "What's a cold war? Is that where they play Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Now I have this visual of Kennedy and Khrushchev in Vienna banging their fists on their open palms stuck in my head.
Will and Darice had been renting a house for a little over a year since moving to Georgia. They bought the house they have now back in November and completed moving in by Christmas. With Pauline's passing away we are just now getting to see their new house. It is a beautiful home with a pool in the back and situated in a rural area. We really enjoyed their pool! Even without the pool I think this is my favorite of all the houses they've lived in.
One of the goals for this visit was to scan family pictures and documents we found in Pauline's house. We started with the love letters from when Pauline and Jessie dated. They dated, mostly by mail, for five months before getting married in November 1963. Jessie was working for GM near Chicago and Pauline lived in Camden. They met when Jessie came home to Camden to visit family. There were over 100 letters exchanged between them during this time and we have them scanned now. We're planning to put these into a book so all the grandchildren can have a copy when they are old enough. There's also a cassette tape from about 1972 of Pauline and Jessie telling about when they first met. We're thinking we will transcribe that for the introduction.
On Saturday (June 19) we went to the Mall of Georgia to see Toy Story 3 (in 2D). This is a cute film and a great sequel to the first two movies. Even with Andy going off to college I wonder if there will be a Toy Story 4. While at the mall we also saw an iPad. This is a really cool device and I can see why Apple has sold 3 million units in only 80 days. Impressed as I may be, I don't want one. Sunday we stayed at home with the exception of going to church (http://www.st-annas.com/).
We drove over to Lake Hartwell on the Georgia-South Carolina border on Monday. We rented a pontoon boat for an afternoon of fun. We also bought a Zip Ski (a large, one person inner tube) to tow behind the boat. We enjoyed riding in the boat, being pulled in the Zip Ski, swimming in the lake, and having a picnic lunch on the boat. The only bad thing about the whole day is that I can no longer say the General Jackson is the smallest boat I've ever driven.
Tuesday we got up early and drove to Ormond Beach for the second half of our vacation. We stayed off the interstate for the majority of this leg of the trip and drove on state highways through rural Georgia to Jacksonville. It was a pleasant drive, though I'm not sure I want to travel the route again. With that I'll stop and save the rest of the vacation for the next edition.
Joe
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