Well it wasn't long before the volleyball game descended into a soccer match.
Unfortunately for Sydney, Jackson is very adept with a soccer ball and he took command of it immediately. It was so much fun to listen to their giggles and taunts as they ran around the yard, all the while chasing the ball between Jackson's feet.
Can't you see the delight on Jackson's face as he keeps the ball away from Sydney? He is a bundle of energy that never seems to quit. And he's a darned good soccer player for his team back home.
And then he ran away with the ball.....literally...and that was the end of the game. Much teasing ensued.....and then they were onto other fun "stuff".
All week long we kept talking about doing a nighttime fire in the fire pit. But with temps in the 90's and high humidity none of us felt much like sitting by a blazing fire just so we could make s'mores. Ha! The next best thing is to be in Grammy's air conditioned kitchen and use the vintage stove's broiler to toast marshmallows. And so we had s'mores after all.....on some of them we used the old standby Hershey's chocolate bar and on others we put Reese's peanut butter cups between the marshmallow and graham crackers. Yummy!
Before we knew it the week was over and Julie and Cameron were winging their way back from London to Orlando. We had discussed several ways of getting the kids back home and I just decided that it wouldn't be fair for Julie to spend her birthday alone in the car driving all the way up here to get the kids, less than 12 hours after flying internationally. Talk about jet lag added onto a long drive!
So, I drove them back to Sanford. It's very interesting how many times one can stop with two teenagers at Starbuck's while driving down interstate 75 for over 11 hours. giggle......and yes, we played all the usual car games while trying to make good time on the highway. By the time we arrived at their house Julie had prepared a wonderful meal and we all enjoyed some quality time together as Julie and Cam told us all about their trip to England.
We had some ice cream cake to celebrate Julie's birthday and then it was time for Sydney and Jackson and I to give Julie her present.
Wow! Was she ever surprised to get a quilt made by the 3 of us. AND, it totally matched their newly decorated living room. Several months ago I offered to make Julie a quilt to use while snuggling on the couch at night with the family and she let me know what colors she would like....should I ever get around to making her another quilt. I don't think she believed it would happen any time soon.
It was uncanny how much this new quilt matched the living room in their new house. How about that beautiful dove grey leather couch? I love it...as a matter of fact I loved it so much I slept on it that night....and Julie even let me use her new quilt to cover up with. Morning came all too soon and after a wonderful homemade breakfast that Julie put together I was back in the car once again. With so many animals on the farm it's just not fair to saddle Joel with their care, so, I was anxious to get back home again.
I'm so grateful Joel and I had this precious time with our constantly growing, two oldest grandkids. I keep telling them to stop growing! But they just don't seem to listen. Ha! So I figure we had better enjoy every single moment we are blessed to spend with them. And we do.
Now we just need to get Julie and Cameron up to the farm....I'm working on that!
Deb
