Howdy

Hey there. We're having a great time down here in the Southeast. People are friendly and McDonald's sells sweet tea for a dollar. The weather has been gorgeous and spending time with our family and friends has been such a treat.

We spent a week at the beach in Florida. Got some repairs and small improvements done. We discovered upon arrival that the upstairs unit had been leaking into ours. But Alan patched and repainted the damaged wall during our stay, and you'd never know the difference.

While in Panama City Beach, we went to Mass at St. Bernadette Catholic Church. Meggie cleared something up for me. The priest isn't saying, "God, grant us your peace." He's actually saying, Meggie tells me, "God, grant us Arby's." Mmmmmmmmmmm, Arrrrrrby's.

Even after having spent so much time in Hawaii, I can't get over how gorgeous and unpopulated the Gulf of Mexico is. Since these beaches still aren't that crowded and since the peak season hasn't yet started, Alan, his parents, Meggie and I spent most of our days on an almost empty beach. So nice. Derrick and Kelly were able to come down with baby Spencer. And Uncle Charles and Aunt Sue came in for a day. We got to celebrate Derrick's birthday too. It was a perfect family trip.

Picture time.

Meggie tells Paw Paw she wants to swing "higher and higher, faster and faster."

Paw Paw outlasts Meggie.

Swinging with the big kids.

Daddy and Uncle Derrick's toys are still being enjoyed.

Derrick and Kelly hosted a fun get-together at their house. It was great to see Uncle Jim, Aunt Pat, Jenny, Gina and Kathy, who all drove over from Georgia.

We used the new camera on this trip. I had fun playing around with all the add-ons. One feature allows you to turn all colors but one (pink in this photo) to black and white. Pretty nifty. Useful? Um...

Spencer and Laurel have a hands-on meeting. They're just two months apart in age. What fun they're going to have together.

Baby cousin powwow.

Ahhhhhhhh. Arrived in Florida.

The agenda for seven days in Florida: 1) Breakfast 2) Play in the sand 3) Play in the ocean 4) Play in the pool. Meggie should have gotten enough beach time in to last her until next year.

Beach girl Meggie wasted no time getting to work every morning.

Laurel is ready too.

Enjoying the beach all by herself.

The beach is great for kite-flying too.

Meggie wants to give me a "present" of seaweed on my leg.

"Fishing."

Some fun in the shade for Pooka 2.

Celebrating Derrick's birthday at Angelo's Steak Pit in Panama City Beach. :o) Meggie is eying his pie and got to eat it, since Uncle Derrick said he doesn't care for it. What a nice uncle.

Meggie has been wanting a violin for about six months. We think she's too young to have a real one. But I happened upon a Tuesday Morning store in Alabama, and this toy violin I found there seems to do the trick. She loves it. Needs to work on her grip a bit.

In other news, as you may have noticed from the sidebar, there are job changes afoot. I'm keeping a foothold as a copy editor (hoorah), able to work at the paper on occasional weekends. But I'll be starting a full-time job in June. What? Me? Get a job? I know, it's shocking. But it's time. I've got a wonderful school lined up for the girls, just two blocks from my work.

I'll do my best to keep up with Casa del Norte's blogging. I hope you're all doing great.

love to all,