We tried really hard not to leave any states out on this vacation! We had planned most of this prior to finding out about Greg's surgery; so we jammed a whole lotta fun into two weeks. We had some super fun times with our family and made some good memories...I'm ready to go again!
We started out by going to DeSoto State Park in Alabama for a family reunion. We stayed in a cabin, within the park with my parents, along with my sister and her kids. The reunion is held annually, by my mom's side of the family. It was great to see family and always nice to explore a new place. Our favorite spot was the falls, the kids thought it was cool, and they had fun walking around in the water, fully clothed and all!
After AL, we headed to Reynolds GA, where Greg's mom lives. We enjoyed our visit with her and stayed busy while there, seeing family and friends and and having some fun outings too!
This is Ms. Bonnie's chocolate pie, seriously, there is nothing better than this pie. It's her mother's recipe and she makes it for us every time we visit! We like to have a piece once the kids are in bed, oh, it's soooo yummy!
Greg grew up surrounded by pecan trees and peach orchards, both are Southern delectables! Not too far from Bonnie's is Lane's; it started as a peach packing shed, but over the years has turned into quite an attraction. They have a cafe, a gift shop and most importantly, some of THE BEST home-made peach and strawberry ice cream...my mouth is watering now!
We left Bonnie's and headed to my parents in Valdosta, GA. Greg and I were only there for one night, we left the kids and headed to FL for a little time away! Sadly, I have not one single picture, but we sure did enjoy some down time and time together.
My parents met us in FL where we then spent a week at St. Augustine Beach. My sister and her kids were there along with my aunt and cousin. We all shared in cooking and cleaning, it was a blast! We played games at night and lazed around in the morning. I just love, love the beach...I think my kids do, too! Some days, we were on the beach for 7 or so hours; the kids rocked at boogie boarding and played in the sand hour after hour. Can I go back, now please?
What can be funner than being buried in the sand?
My sister and I had a date with Daddy; it was so nice to be together, without the kiddos!
After we left the beach, we went back to my parents house for a couple of days before hitting the road...we had a 15 hour journey ahead of us. My mom came back with me; Greg had already flown back to IL to take care of a few things before surgery.
Sweet cousins in their smocked dresses Gamma made them!
We met up with Ms. Bonnie and Jon (Greg's brother) on our way back to IL. We ate at ChickFilA and the kids played. We hadn't seen the kids in 3 years, so it was nice to be together for a little while :)
That is a short version of our vacation. We really did have fun and spent some good times with family, which is what's important to us!
