Sunday = Sunday School and Church with Mom and Dad, then Hannah and Steven came over for beachtime, dinner, and Codenames 

Today = More Codenames, Souvenir shopping, the Vero bookstore (It’s tradition), and ice cream. I had a chocolate soda (chocolate syrup, vanilla ice cream, and soda water). It was delicious! I’m getting lots of reading done!!  

We also started a puzzle and our next Narnia read aloud- The Silver Chair. 

After dinner, Dwayne and I walked on the beach at sunset. We’re still watching Planet Earth every night before bed. We’re almost done with the series.

 

Grandma gave Norah some of her old skirts for college classes. And they’re just Norah’s style, too. She is using Mom’s sewing box and this downtime to tailor some to fit better. 

A photo of Avril chasing Levi 

He seems to really enjoy playing the same games with them each time we visit.

A picture of the best macaroon I've ever tasted

Steven Beppel, Dwayne's nephew, and his wife, Hannah, hosted us for a lovely, late, private dinner at their new home in Vero today. 

Their presence is a gift. 

(The kids stayed with Grandmom and Grandad and made "Dinner for Breakfast.") 

Photos from our nature walk on the beach in the morning

“Family groups of homo sapiens flock to the southern regions of America because the weather is warmer and their are abundant natural attractions. This family group is obviously not native to these waters. Notice how their pale skin is showing the bright red signs of overexposure and how awkwardly they move in the water. Nevertheless, see their antics and how they enjoy the water.” (We picked up a set of Planet Earth DVDs from that Kent Library book sale a few weekends back, and we have been watching Planet Earth with Mom and Dad every evening.) Dwayne and I went with Mom and Dad to Top Gun last night, then to Vincent’s for dinner, their favorite Italian place. The girls made dinner for themselves and babysat Levi, Mom and Dad’s Maltese that used to be our Maltese (long story, but the shortest version is Levi was ours for a few months. Mom and Dad came to visit. Mom fell in love with Levi. Levi fell in love with Mom. He’d sit outside the guest room door for her each morning, follow her everywhere. He went home with them when that visit ended and has had a much, much better life as Mom’s dog. If you know Mom, you know how true this is.) The girls enjoy him when we visit. After a beach walk early, we also walked at the Veteran’s Memorial Park, and got a review of American history as we went along reading the plaques. After lunch, we played on the beach again. We are getting in so much beach time; it is only a short walk from Mom and Dad’s. The waves were even bigger today, but still fun, and we are growing bolder and more confident. Now for some quiet hours before making dinner.

The waves were cresting like meringues and then toppling like rows of dominos. They got big enough to make us a bit afraid, which made us think of lines from Narnia. He’s not a tame lion, nor is he safe, but he is good. As the waves tumbled toward her again and again, Avril said, “I understand why the Greeks thought horses came from the ocean surf.” Some images from this morning’s walk and this afternoon’s playtime

We drag the teens and tweens out of beds each morning to walk the beach. Parents have to pick their battles. Wisdom whispers to us this is a battle worth fighting to win. Of course, they forget the missed sleep, heat, and the gritty sand, and only remember and talk about the beauty and the wonder for years.

They sit and talk about stories for hours or “write” stories, going back and forth, adding events and characters to the plot they weave together just like Lewis did with his brother Warren. I have often wondered whether I’m not raising the next set of Brontes. Maybe your grandchildren will cherish their books in a hundred years. Whatever God is planning, I’m their primary teacher, so it is wonderful to see and overhear evidence that their poetic imaginations are thriving.

 It was the perfect day for boogie boards at the beach. The girls are showing the Grandparents how to play the card game Garbage. 

When we visit Mom and Dad, we generally follow the same routine everyday. 

We get up and drink coffee and read our Bibles and/or books. 

We chat with Mom and Dad who are also up getting coffee and starting their day with reading their devotions and praying. 

We wake our kids/ teens and make them walk on the beach with us. 

We pick up shells and talk and watch the sunrise. 

We come back and shower and eat and clean and we may read some more. 

We chat with Mom and Dad some more, often while we have lunch. 

Then we pack coolers with drink and snacks and go to the beach again, this time to play physically and earnestly and to sit leisurely for hours and hours.   

Then, later in the afternoon, we come back to the house, shower off again, and spend a few quiet hours reading or chatting or playing cards before we make dinner. 

After dinner, we may read again or play a game or watch something before going to bed.

Usually always when we visit, there's stuff that we help Mom and Dad with, stuff like buying a new cell phone or computer or tablet, fixing a sprinkler in the lawn, getting up into the attic for something, etc. 

And it's really a joy to help them with these little things, since we're younger and stronger often more knowledgeable about stuff, especially stuff involving modern tech. 

Often enough, Dad actually waits to deal with something until Dwayne comes in order to have Dwayne's help. 

But oddly enough, at other times, the tech just happens to break while we are there or in this last case, right before we arrived. 

The tv broke a few days before we came, so Dwayne helped Dad find a new one and set it up (and dispose of the old one, etc.) 

We joked that the tv knew we were coming so it held out as long as it could.