Time with Grandkids in Florida, Part One

One of our sons decided to bring his family to visit us for spring break. Wasn't that nice of them? We had a great time together while they were in town. They arrived just before Grandpa had to leave for Mutual, but there was still time for some tickling before he left, and then some time for exploring the kitchen while he was gone.

Brooke decided it wasn't too early to set the table for Easter dinner, and she worked hard on the individual place cards.

The next morning while the other adults ran errands and went to work, the girls got to do some exploring, baking and crafting with Grandma. Guess which of the two groups had the most fun?

We found a great use for the stale food storage beans - Bunny Bean Bags. While they didn't turn out exactly like the pattern, I'd still consider this a Pinterest success.

The cookies were a success as well, but then I knew they would be because this was a tried-and-true recipe.

Next on the list of fun was a trip to the community pool - always a highlight of their visits. Brooke decided to ride her bike there to get some extra exercise. She's pretty fast!

Even if you don't get in the water, it's a nice place to go.

That evening we celebrated Brad's upcoming graduation with a celebratory dinner. We felt badly we couldn't be in two places at once (for the actual graduation), but the Okeechobee Steakhouse isn't in Atlanta either, so this compromise worked out well.

Grandpa likes taking the grandkids on his outdoor excursions, so Thursday we headed north to Jonathan Dickinson State Park. You can read about that adventure here.

At home we tried another Pinterest treat - Chocolate Coconut Truffle Spoons. Maybe our marshmallow fluff was too old, but this fell in the category of a Pinterest fail. So sad.

However, they didn't necessarily taste bad, just didn't look the way I imagined they ought to. What do you think?

The next day was "beach excursion" day. We had a great time at Carlin Park, discovering that Adam is a fan of the ocean waves, and reaffirming that Robyn still is not (but Brooke is).

Being buried in the sand must be in her DNA.

Finally we returned home that day to be there when Jeff's family arrived for a quick Easter visit. There was time for family scripture study and a ballet demonstration (not caught on film because the dancer moved too fast) before Grandma needed to pack and get to bed early in order to catch a flight to visit different grandchildren. I understand Easter weekend was quite nice in Florida, but I know it was great in Pennsylvania.

It's been a busy few weeks, but we're grateful for these opportunities we have to spend with family, made even more precious because they don't happen very often.