Nana and Papa's Visit

So here I am back pedaling trying to catch up on what's going on down here! Last month my parents arrived from Abbotsford to enjoy a Carribean cruise and to spend time with us.

As you can see it was a long anticipated event! Nana and Papa made the calendar for the girls and sent stickers to mark the days off. The day arrived and their plane got grounded in Chicago but we didn't know that until Scott and Madison were already in Jacksonville. What to do with a little girl who takes disappointment hard? You swerve right and take her to Monsters VS Aliens and load her up with popcorn and treats. She came home happy (after midnight!) and the next morning she and Scott went and picked them up. Celina was not fazed that they were not there when she woke up since their arrival had been talked about FOREVER. But when Papa called her name when we walked out into the church parking lot she squealed his name and took off running and gave him a big hug. She later said that Papa gives "big squershy hugs". She then proceeded to talk and talk and talk all the way home. I have not EVER heard her talk that much as she did then! Celina was so excited! She has missed them the most I think and with no concept of time it has been hard on her.




Nana and Papa brought presents and we arranged it so that they could "fish" for their surprises. Nana opted to wear eye protection which was a very good idea!



The very next day they left for their week long cruise and Celina was sad. I asked her if she gave them hugs and kisses when they left and she said "Yes. I will miss them," I guess she thought that was it for the visit with Nana and Papa. We told her that they would come back on Saturday but when she talks about a day in the future she always calls it Saturday. That meant it could be in 3 months for all she knew and she was a little down a few days. So she got to be the one to pick them up from their "big giant big boat".



We went to Daytona Beach one day and it was so fun! No crazy college kids - whew! The sand was soft and white and the water was warm. The shore was crawling with little coquinas and when you scooped a bunch of them up in the sand they were all wriggling out of their shells and it felt like a tingly massage. Definitely a weird sensation!









No visit will be complete without a freak-out at the alligator farm of course!



The birds are so awesome! They can all talk! I have often heard people say cheesy things to them like "Polly wanna cracker?" and have thought "Okay, weirdo!" but now I am saying it to them! The trainers told us that the birds were never officially taught to talk but being in the park for years with visitors constantly talking to them and often saying the same things rubbed off! One of them responds to "see you later alligator!" with "after a while crocodile" crystal clear! So needless to say we have been chatting up a storm with the birds!





IPhoto is driving me crazy. This one is supposed to show all the little blue eggs in the nest!



So since Celina's b-day was only a week away we celebrated while Nana and Papa were here. We played "Don't Eat Pete!' which has become a clear favorite and it's hilarious to watch Celina! The funniest was when sneaky Nana ate Pete! Ooh the firestorm that erupted! It was too funny!







Papa had informed Madison that he can't sleep with out a story at night so she read to them and showed off her reading skills. She is doing extremely well and we are all so proud of her!




Well, we had really great time with Nana and Papa. We found turtles in the park, flew kites at the beach, swam in the pool, and shopped in the old historic part of St. Augustine. Oh, and my mom and I took the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Ghost Train tour the last night of her stay. Practically everything here is supposed to be haunted! The lighthouse, the oldest graveyard, the entrance to the city, the mansion where Ripley's is (where apparently the employees refuse to walk alone in at night) and the old Fort too! The property there rolls very nicely and our kids like so many others love rolling down it. We found out why the ground ripples: there are hundreds of soldiers buried there not 12 inches below the ground! It is illegal to walk around there with a metal detector because you WILL find something but it will be attached to somebody! Yikes! I thought I was going to have nightmares but it wasn't bad like that. However, let's just say that I am NEVER staying in room 3A at the inn on St. Francis St. and if anyone comes to visit and decides to stay there, I'll keep a room ready here for you for when you come banging on our door at 4:00am scared to death!