A Visit with Grandpa and Grandma

At the very end of February we were thrilled to have a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Tanner. They  were invited to present at a Family History conference in Jacksonville, so lucky us got to spend some time with them in the week before the conference. They arrived late on Monday evening and the kids still had school and Jared had work and church responsibilities, so we mostly just included them in our daily routine.

They were good troopers and got up early to do the morning mile with us at school everyday. Adam bonded quickly with Grandma and Grandpa, especially when he figured out if he held their hands he could get a swing ride.


Tuesday Ann and I picked up strawberries for $1/lb at Publix, and were able to get a few batches of jam in the freezer. We had an early dinner, then we all went to Lake Alice on campus. No alligators or turtles were in sight, but we got to see the many many bats fly out of the three houses. We didn't so much enjoy the smell or the "bat drip" we experienced.

Now there are three bat houses!

Adam on a leash so he doesn't run into the lake!

Lots and lots of bats flying out of their houses!

Pretty reflection that Jared caught.

Beautiful sunset.

Panorama of Lake Alice.

Wednesday morning And and James and Adam and I walked down to the bottom of the Devil's Millhopper. It is a lot of steps! We saw a snake.

That afternoon was early out for the elementary school, so we went for a little outing in the afternoon to the largest live oak tree in Florida.

Thursday Jared worked at home so he could get the front windshield on his car replaced (it had been hit by a rock a long time ago, causing a long crack, and he finally got around to doing something about it). In the afternoon we checked Anwyn out of school at 2:30 (she just missed band) so we could all go to Manatee Springs State Park. It is an hour drive to the park, and we enjoyed seeing deer, birds, fish, etc. Lily adopted a dying dragonfly for the duration of our stay in the park. Unfortunately it was the wrong temperature for manatees, but we did enjoy a nice view of the Suwanee River. After much deliberation, we stopped off for hamburgers and milkshakes at Burger King on the way home (it was the convenient restaurant).

View of Manatee Springs

Four cute kids on a manatee

We saw a mama and baby deer.

There were lots of vultures hanging out in the trees and on the dock by the Suwanee River.

Lily's pet dragonfly.

Friday morning we took a walk around the neighborhood (since Adam loves to see the diggers/construction equipment).  James and Ann left to go to Jacksonville for the family history conference on Friday, then came back to stay with us Saturday night after they finished the conference. We had a quiet Sunday morning at home, then went to 1 pm church. It was nice to have James and Ann with us. I taught Relief Society, and James got to teach the High Priests. They left right after church to drive to Georgia to stay with Ryan and Marcelaine. It was wonderful to spend some time with them!