Breakfast Goodbyes

This morning, we all got together at Perkins for breakfast before we traveled to our next destination.  

It was great getting to spend the weekend together!

Melbourne

We surprised Nana and Pop by meeting them in Melbourne for the weekend at Uncle Guy and Aunt Nelda's house.

It had been almost two years since Clay had seen his brother.

The cousins were so happy to see each other again.

This morning, the girls had fun playing on the playground while...

we watched Blayke play baseball.

Blayke did a great job!

This evening, we celebrated Mia's 9th birthday!

The birthday girl with her Daddy!

Mia got tons of new Vera Bradley items for her birthday.

It was so nice to have most of the family together to celebrate.

Happy 9th Birthday, Mia!

We hope all your wishes come true!

Patrick AFB

Today we went to Patrick Air Force Base.  We enjoyed looking around the area and visiting the beach.

St. Augustine

Our next stop was St. Augustine, Florida.

We spent the morning touring the St. Augustine Fort.

Then we headed to the St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum.

Pirates

We got to see an authentic Jolly Roger Flag,

steer the ship,

and fire a cannon.

We even got to see One-Eyed Willy.

Savannah

Today we started our family road trip.

Our first stop was Savannah, Georgia.

We took a trolley tour around Savannah.

It was a chilly day, but we learned a lot about the city.

Jocelyn was excited to see the Oscar Meyer Weiner Car, even though it wasn't part of the actual tour.  

We were shocked when Forrest Gump got on our trolley.

The streets and houses were beautiful.

We enjoyed seeing the fountains and...

statues around the city.  

The girls decided to be statues while we were waiting to hop back on the trolley.

A nice man made the girls some flowers out of palm leaves.

Jocelyn ate her first Whoopie Pie.

We had a great day in Savannah!

Now we are off to our next stop.

Home from Japan!

This morning we went to the base to pick Daddy up.  The plane was running late, so we actually got to see his plane land.  

The girls couldn't wait to see Daddy.  

Jocelyn had a special note to give Daddy.

Daddy is HOME!

The last of the Fightin' Eagles to get home.  

The girls had special decorations for Daddy inside.

He surprised the girls with tons of gifts.

First, we tried lots of different Japanese cookies and candies.  This one is a purple sweet potato cookie.

The girls couldn't wait to see what was inside these cute packages.

Japanese Disney Princess Books

They also got origami bookmarks.

They loved their new Japanese parasols.

They were hand painted.

They also got a Japanese outfit and fans.

They each got a Kokeshi Doll with their name written on it.

Madison's name means truth, rise and respect.

Jocelyn's name means kind, world, love, smart and luck.

Daddy missed his girls!

We love having him home!