Jacksonville - Memorial Day Weekend

We just got back from our longest road trip to date! We drove down to Jacksonville, FL to visit my dad for the first time since he moved down there about 2 years ago. Of course, a long road trip like this was out of the question for us for a while, but the boys are at an age now that traveling has become a lot easier.

We took the day off work on Friday so we could get on the road. Miraculously, we hit the road at 6:30 AM! Can you believe it?!?!? I am still in shock. HA! We ended up packing and loading as much as we could in the car on Thursday night, so Friday morning, we got up, packed the rest, woke the boys up, and put them in the car in their jammies. We gave them some milk to drink, but didn't stop for breakfast until we got to Columbia. We made it down there in great time and didn't really hit any significant traffic. After a gas/adult potty break/diaper change and also a quick lunch stop, we arrived at my dad's house around 1:30.

What sweet angels! They slept the ENTIRE way!*
*This is totally not true. But they did sleep for a while and were actually very good on the drive. Minimal whining and lots of Disney DVDs. Plus a lunch stop at Wendy's. ;)

Zonked out in the car

Ryan

William

Stokes

He was putting his legs behind his head LOL

Once we got unloaded and settled in, the boys were immediately interested in Shanghai's toys and played with them until we picked her up from the school bus stop later on Friday afternoon. They were so excited to play with her! They also now love the school bus. :)

Shanghai and Stokes

William on Shanghai's horse

Stokes playing with the My Little Pony car

 We had such a relaxing afternoon, as referenced here by Thomas and Ryan's hammock time.

Dada/Ryan bonding time

So sweet!!!!

Friday night we went to the club for dinner and left the boys with the babysitter that they provide there. Stokes did manage to escape once and come find us at the restaurant, but once we got him back down there, they locked the doors (they don't typically have escapees) and all seemed to go just fine!

Saturday morning, we got up and hung around the house for a while.

William and Grandpa Stokes

The boys with Shanghai

We went to the pool during the afternoon and the boys had a great time! It was the first time this summer that they've been in the water and used their puddle jumpers. It took them a few minutes to get used to it and remember how to balance and stay upright in the water, but once they got the hang of it, they were having a blast! We let Ryan rest on a noodle and just made sure an adult was always holding him.

Pool time!
Ryan, William and Stokes

Loving the water

Kicking and having fun

Both Stokes's

Grandpa Stokes and Mama with the boys

We eventually had to leave the pool, against the boys's wishes (tears!!), to get back and eat lunch and put the boys down for a nap. Later that afternoon, around 4:00, Grandpa Stokes had a few friends and neighbors over to meet the boys and hang out with us. Phyllis and Jerry, long-time friends of my parents, and people I've known since I was born, live around 45 minutes away in Fernandina Beach so they came by to meet the boys for the first time!

Cooking live crab

Phyllis with all 3

Phyllis used to work with special ed for the Greenville
County School District and took a special liking to Ryan.
She spent a lot of time with him, just playing and talking to him.
He loved her, too!

For dinner on Saturday night, Merly (my dad's wife), made arepas. We ate them like sandwiches with pulled pork, lettuce, cheese and a special sauce. They were delicious. My dad also had some more friends come by later on, so it ended up being a later night than we were expecting, but it was nice to meet some of his friends for the first time.

Sunday morning, it was playtime once again, until we went to brunch at the club.

Boys with Shanghai, having so much fun!

Grandpa Stokes with all of his grandsons

They love the "swing", aka PI hammock

Brunch at the club

The boys were behaved pretty well for brunch and the food was great! After we got done eating, Stokes, William, Shanghai and I took a walk through the golf course, and then we went back home to get changed and pack bags. We were driving up to Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach to go to Phyllis and Jerry's house and go to the BEACH! Want to know who loves the beach?!?! MY BOYS. They're obsessed. It took us about an hour to get there with some heavy traffic due to the long weekend, I'm assuming. We loved seeing Phyllis and Jerry's house, which is beautiful, and just strolled on over to the beach. It wasn't all that crowded, so we had plenty of room and the beach was awesome.

Phyllis with Ryan

Lots of guys!

Phyllis and the boys

Phyllis and Ryan, and Mama with William and Stokes

Stokes and Shanghai playing in the sand

William and Dada digging a hole

I had this great idea to take a picture of the boys, with the ocean in the background, and them sitting on their towels that have their names on them. It didn't go quite as well as I had hoped. Mainly due to the fact that no one would look at me. At all. They were saying "cheese!!!", but looking in any other direction except the camera. AHH!

Birth order :)
Stokes, Ryan, William

With Dada and Mama

Stokie and the American flag

At some point, we packed up all our gear (it was a lot of gear!!) and headed back to Phyllis and Jerry's so we could clean up and have dinner.

The boys had their first outdoor shower experience. Outdoor showers are one of my favorite things! I think it's safe to say that they loved it, too!

After we rinsed off and put clothes on, we went out on the deck for some food and fellowship. Nothing's better than that!

Jerry working on some
homemade ice cream!!!

William peering through the binoculars to see the ocean

Ryan and Dada with their flags

William and his current love...watermelon.

Stokes was king of asking for a slice of watermelon, eating
2 or 3 bites and then putting it down.
No worries, William was around for clean-up duty and
he would finish them!

Enjoying some grub!
We had freshly steamed crab, watermelon, hot dogs, brats,
cole slaw with pineapple and blue cheese (never had
cole slaw like that before and it was fab!), baked
beans, chips and homemade ice cream. YUMMMM
That is an all-American meal, folks!

Ryan was worn out and fell
asleep on Dada's arm

More watermelon for William
I swear, I think he ate his body weight in watermelon that night!
Just look at that face HA!

Stokes eating the homemade ice cream
(notice the watermelon with 2 bites eaten out of it as well!)

Dinner with lifelong family friends :)

The remnants - we TCB'ed

Phyllis with the boys

Phyllis and Jerry with the boys
Stokes = crying, William = picking nose

Phyllis and Jerry were great hosts and we all had so much fun! We didn't end up leaving until well after typical bedtime so not surprisingly, all the boys (and Mama) fell asleep in the car on the way back. The transition went fairly well from car seat to pack n play for sleep, with the exception of Stokes, who was very grumpy from being woken up. He kept telling us he wanted to go to bed!

On Monday morning, we got up, had some arepas again for breakfast, packed and loaded everything up in the car, spent a little family time, took a few pictures and then got back on the road to Greenville. It was such a fun weekend and we all really enjoyed ourselves. I am ashamed at how long it took us to visit for the first time, but I have a good feeling that it won't be nearly that long until we get back down there.

Grandpa Stokes with the boys

Little Stokes, Merly, William, Shanghai, Grandpa Stokes, Ryan

We appreciate the hospitality we're always shown when we go anywhere. I know it must feel chaotic and hectic to have three two-and-a-half years olds take over your house and life for a period of time, but everyone has been so gracious and this weekend with Grandpa Stokes and family was no exception.

The car ride home on Monday felt so long (I'm sure it had NOTHING to do with the fact that our fun Florida trip and long weekend was coming to an end and we had to back to work on Tuesday), but once again, the boys behaved well in the car. I'm so thankful that they're good car riders.

Let us not forget those who passed during military service. It's amazing and wonderful to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend as well!