“What is Vacation?”

Before leaving for our whirlwind trip I was involved in the WOW (Women Of Worth) Spring Seminar at church. My friend Lesa and I wrote and produced a skit for the evening to emphasize the theme which was The Holy Spirit. Our dilemma in writing a “funny” skit about the Holy Spirit was of course trying not to come across as sacrilegious. In leafing through some older work, I found a skit called Jeopardy. It was written by my Images friends but a few years before I was part of the group. I changed almost everything but kept the premise of a game show setting like the real Jeopardy, with the host giving answers and the contestants asking the correct questions. It went very well. We got laughs in all the right places and I was very pleased. The seminar was Friday night and Saturday until noon. Kris taught Sunday school the next morning and we left before church service to get a jump on our long travel day. It was a busy start to a busy trip but well worth all the effort.

Our trip started with an 11…no wait…13 hour road trip. With the many stops required when traveling with three children (one who is nursing every two hours)
we were forced to stretch our drive time a couple of hours. The boys did very, very well. There was the expected cranky atmosphere for parts of the trip, but overall they each held up quite well.

Florida held out her welcoming hand to us and we enjoyed so much of our almost five days in Lakeland. Visiting with family…

…and catching up with friends as well. Tuesday night we met up with Chris and Christy, Andrew and Emma at the park for a picnic dinner. Christy brought her quilt and spread out blackberries, strawberries, goat cheese, and a few other delicacies for our munching pleasure. We stopped at Checkers for chicken strips and French fries (not nearly as romantic, but we were working without our usual resources). I was able to give Christy her “pay it forward” gift (one down, two to go) and the conversation was comfortable and entertaining. Andrew and Ivan paired off and Emma and Owen (who share a birthday) seemed to understand one another’s dramatic sides beautifully. It was hilarious and I even got to run around a little and play. The next evening was spent with Shane and Angie, who treated us to pizza and a glimpse at three week old Kyleigh. She wasn’t feeling well so it was a bit of a tough evening for Angie and I felt bad that we couldn’t have visited at a better time. However, the four older boys had a blast with one another and played like boys should play. Big and boisterous.

On Thursday, Kris and Owen went to “Sun’n Fun” for the entire day. They returned exhausted, dirty and with loads of pictures. Here’s one of them.

Owen loved it and seemed so proud to tell me all about what he saw on his day with daddy. He ate his dinner ravenously and welcomed bedtime with quiet resolve. He will not forget that day for a long time.

Friday we packed up and headed north with Grandma, Granddaddy, and the aunts and uncles to Live Oak, FL for the annual Kelso reunion. We had beautiful weather for the weekend and on Saturday I was able to take Owen and Ivan out on a walk along the Suwanee river. Part of me really wishes I had taken the camera on that walk but part of me likes the fact that nothing interrupted our experience and somehow this way it stays special only between us. It was very, very sweet watching them discover the birds and insects and plant life along the river edge. They were all energy and insight with their comments and laughter. Along with moments of stillness while they watched the river carry leaves and twigs far beyond their imaginations could go.

On Sunday after another great lunch at the Dixie Grill, we packed up the family for another drive. This time to New Orleans. We were excited and a bit apprehensive about this trip. Staying in a hotel and eating out almost every meal for three days with three little ones is not necessarily a good plan. We tackled it and probably won’t do it again soon, but had a great time in the process. Our hotel room was on the 24th floor and had a great view of the French quarter. The boys were tired and didn’t have much appreciation for the view that first night but in the morning we encouraged Owen to part the curtains and take a look…

He was thrilled. “I love this! This is beautiful!” was heard over and over.

We met up with Becky and her kids and as expected Owen and little Levi hit it off famously. He was a ball of energy and so CUTE!!! Miss McKenzie was beautiful, and the graceful counterpart to Levi’s energy. What a joy to meet them all in person and finally visit face to face with Becky. We were able to spend our evenings with them and Becky pointed us in the right direction for family fun during our daytime outings. First was the swamp tour…

We were introduced to the Louisiana wetlands and watched a man have a heart attack or a stroke on our boat. Wow…that was a little unnerving. No, I’m not kidding…we got the boat back to the dock as fast as we could and there was an ambulance waiting for him. We continued the tour afterward but my adrenaline was a little high for the rest of the day. That night we went to Al Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro with Becky. We rode the streetcar there and I think it was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The weather was quite cool for April and standing outside at the car stop had us shivering and even whining a bit. When we stepped onto the streetcar it was warm and there were all these people facing us a little impatiently as we had two strollers and five kids to board while they waited. I quickly addressed the crowd with an apology and something to make them laugh. It seemed to work. Soon the all too intimate setting provided conversation and entertainment in the way of “The Jukebox Man.” He introduced himself to me because I asked if he was alright. He had stumbled to the front of the car hurriedly then stepped back to sigh in relief and sort of catch himself from the jerk of the car starting forward. He explained that he had fallen asleep and almost missed his stop. From there he began to tell me, in a rather toothless manner, about his talents and abilities. He apparently is the only man who can impersonate 12 other singers perfectly. I listened with a smile that was completely accepting of his conversation, but with a little fear that I was never going to be able to get away from him. Soon he moved to the other side of the car where there was a seat adjacent and perpendicular to our little Ivan. He asked what his name was and then began to serenade him the rest of his time on the car. Ivan sort of had this look…

but didn’t respond otherwise. “Go Ivan go, go, Go Ivan go, go…Ivan be good” was heard through the length of the streetcar and received applause when the “Jukebox Man” had to make his exit. It was pretty sweet. Then after dinner when our return streetcar let out another group of passengers a man passed us and said, “Look, there’s Ivan!”

Tuesday was spent at the zoo, which was very nice. The boys really enjoyed it and the weather was still cool and perfectly suited to walking around in the sunshine. The orangutans were especially entertaining…

That night was more relaxing as we ate dinner at Becky’s house where the kids were not expected to sit quietly, but were instead able to play freely and allow us to visit.

Wednesday morning we made a fairly quick visit to the Aquarium…

…before loading ourselves into the van once more for our trip back to Tennessee. It was a smooth trip, just very long. The stops were numerous and lengthy, but once again the boys did a wonderful job in the car.

OK…so that’s a pretty long summary but I left so many things out. I hope to have more to post in the next few days. A bit about what has happened since we got home and maybe a bit more about our visits if the melancholy hits me right. For now…this is quite enough.