On their way to Florida...

Vance, Terri, Isaac, and Claire came through on their way to Florida! Yep, instead of that professor position he applied for in Wisconsin, Dr. Whitaker got a job as the strawberry breeder for the University of Florida. Location: Tampa! Muuuch better... Cheaper plane ticket prices for us and a much shorter driving time. So they drove through the night from Minnesota and arrived at my parents for some family time on their way to their next adventure.

The picture above shows probably my favorite thing about this particular visit. Seth and Isaac have spent most holidays together since they were born, but until now, they've been playing around each other or stealing each other's toys. Well, this time, they became real friends. It's such a sweet thing to see how much Seth looks up to his big cousin, and Isaac was so gentle and helpful with him.

All the big kids slept downstairs in my parent's "junk" room. Seth was sooo excited about the fact that he was going to be sleeping with Isaac. "I sleep with Isaac! I sleep with Isaac!" We put them downstairs, and they laughed at each other for an hour. We went and checked, and they were where we put them, but super happy to be together. Made me remember all the sleepovers I had as a child. I was a little bit envious. There's nothing like a slumber party for simple pleasure... staying up late, giggling over stuff that wouldn't be funny at all during the day, too wired to sleep until the wee hours of the morning.

This trip, the big boys took their first boat ride ever with Papa. Dad got some little life jackets, and all the guys (except Evan) headed out to Belews Lake. When Seth got back, we asked him how it'd gone:

"Isaac got in water!"

They tested out the life jackets. =) Isaac leaned over to touch the water and flipped out. Vance was smart enough to smile and not make a big deal out of it as he hauled him back in, so he didn't get scared. Dad just did his trademark shake of the head and smile. A fantastic time was had by all, and now Papa has another toy to add to his arsenal of things to excite small boys... as if the tractor, chainsaw, and big lawnmower weren't enough already.

Chillin' at the breakfast table... See Claire's totally righteous shades...

Here's the big girl herself. She was watching me attempt to take pictures of Evan on a watermelon. You can tell she's impressed with my efforts. =)

Nana's marching band. What is it with my mom and John Phillip Sousa! Evan also participated this time. He was completely asleep for the whole thing. =)