Departure Day

Today Heidi, her mom, her sister, and Lisa all went home.  Heidi and Lisa are both planning on returning in a month or two to attend school next year, too.  We are going to miss them while they are gone.  They are both wonderful kids that bring joy to our lives.  We are thankful that Heidi's mom and little sister were able to come, too.  Although it was only a 13 day visit, we spent a lot of time together and formed a bond.  We pray that they have a great time as they reunite with their families for the summer.

The Trip Back Home

We came the back way through Waycross so we could stop and pick some blueberries at a man's farm. They were easy to pick and fresh blueberries taste so good! Later, while driving, we got a close-up look at a forest fire that was burning in the Okefenokee Swamp.  It was huge!

We stopped so many times that it was rather late when we came through Atlanta--close to midnight.  Between the airport and the Braves Stadium, our van broke down.  The transmission went out.  We were in the center emergency lane and there were lots of cars on the 7 or so lanes which made it too dangerous for us to move to the right side of the road.  I had to get a police escort, and a tow truck, because the van was broken.  Our friend Bruce Frick came and gave us a ride home.  He's such a good friend to do that kind of thing for us.  We all finally got to bed at around 3 a.m.  It was good to be back home!

The Beach - Sunset

While we took a nap, the Han's and Lisa swam in the hotel pool. Later, we went shopping and then we got to the beach in time to not only swim, but to watch the sun set, too.

The Beach - Sunrise

Getting up at 5 a.m. was hard. In fact, it was so hard, the Han's and Lisa opted to stay in their room and sleep. We had to come back and take a nap. The sun rose at 6:20 a.m., and even though there were a couple of clouds on the horizon, they burned off quickly. It was worth it to get up to be there for that sunrise. It is so exhilarating!

Ichetucknee Springs

I asked SeungWon, Heidi's little sister what she liked best about her trip. She said, "the water slide". For their mom, she said she liked Ichetucknee Springs the best. Paddling a kayak didn't exactly come naturally for that mother and daughter pair, but they enjoyed it just the same, and they never capsized. And to think...we almost went to Disney World. Paddling in that cool, clear water sure beats standing on concrete in the sun for a couple of hours for a 5 minute ride over and over. And the kayak rental place is family owned and the people are kind. The daughter dog sat for me since no dogs are allowed on the river.

Driving to Lake City, FL

It took a while, but we cleaned up the place and got packed and headed to Lake City, Florida.

Day 3 at the Farm

Day 3 was good. We got the 4-wheeler running and we also swam in the lake. And coffee tastes so good on that porch in the morning!

Day 2 at the Farm

Today we got out the water slide and the kids loved it. Hannah and SeungWon especially liked the flowers in the water on our canoe trip.

Day 1 at the Farm

We are so thankful to my sister Cindy and her husband Richard for letting us stay at the farm again. As you can see, we had a great time!

Georgia Peaches

We left the hotel and on the way to my sister and brother-in-law's second home on a lake, we stopped by Dickie's Peach Farm.  The peaches are great, but the peach ice cream is heavenly!  Heidi's mom and little sister SeongWon were still getting over jet lag and SeongWon wasn't feeling well, so, sadly, she couldn't eat any ice cream.  She had a rough day that day, but the next day she was the first one up, smiling, playing and exploring at the "farm".

Breakfast at IHOP

We had a big breakfast at IHOP (International House of Pancakes).  It was more like a brunch.  We were all so hungry!  Their vegetarian omelets were especially good.

First Swim

At last, the girls got a chance to swim!  They had been asking when they could swim for a long time.  Here we are at Candlewood Suites in Macon, Georgia.  We're on a short vacation.  Although it is May, the weather is hot enough to make you think it is mid July.  We don't mind.  It's good swimming weather!

Riding Lessons

Here are a couple of video clips from last year, when Hannah and Naomi rode "Rio" for the first time. Our neighbor Julia has Rio, and lots of room to ride him, so Lisa and Heidi might be able to learn to ride from her in the near future. Yeah!

By the way, we haven't been posting lately and I just got mostly caught up today.  There are about 12 new posts, now.  Sorry for the delay.  Spring brought stormy weather and tree damage, a virus that went though our family, and the chance to start gardening.  I'll post more on this pretty soon.

School Art Contest

I am amazed at the talent Lisa and Heidi have. They are so good at music and art, and they are really good students, too. Check out their art work they did for their school's GACS art contest. They both got high marks from the judges. Lisa drew a monochromatic picture, and Heidi drew a poly-chromatic picture.

Gutter Cleaning

We had new gutters installed recently.  Yeah!  They really help control the water that runs off the roof during heavy rains.  But they also trap a lot of sediment, tree debris and seeds, so we have to clean them periodically.  This was my first time cleaning them.  At our former house, I had covers installed on our gutters, and they took a few years to clog up, but they did clog up just the same.  I never did get up there and remove the covers so I could clean them.  It seemed like a lot harder job than just cleaning gutters.  I think it's best to leave them uncovered and just do the job of cleaning them every so often.  Carrying that 28 foot ladder around was a good upper body workout, too.