I'm Baaaaaaaaack...

Whew! What a week!  Perhaps you've missed me...or, maybe not.  I've missed you, my readers, when I've had an instant to think...which wasn't often, to be honest!

We started last Saturday, by heading to Georgia for the gathering of  the four daughters and six grandkids and the two old folks, aka US!  We left our house thinking we'd be later than the NY girls would in their arrival. Apparently they called us when they neared the exit off of I85, thinking they might stop for a potty break at our place, but we'd already left. So they went to a gas station convenience store, and continued on their way.  Well, not long after, they spotted our van, which they call 'the Wonder Bread mobile', and they sped up so they could ride behind us, waving some sort of clothing like flags from their windows. Moments later, they passed us, waving, laughing and beeping the car horn (that sounds like 'the Chipmunks' according to the new car owner)....and they left us in the dust.  We were going 70 mph...the speed limit, and before long, they were far out of sight.  I told Mike that I hoped a policeman would stop them for speeding. 

As luck would have it, no speed traps got them, but slow and steady won the race. Driving daughter, who used to live in the area of Georgia to which we were going, trusted a GPS to give her the correct exit off the highway. While she wondered around some  country roads, we continued on, arriving at her sister's house without a problem....about a half hour before the NYers pulled in.  That was an on-going joke all week long. Don't you know, they insist that they 'let us win'.

After a weekend of food,family and fun, we returned to our home. We walked in to the decorated and clean house, and within minutes, I was wondering why I'd spent two weeks trying to make it perfectly clean and neat!  This house was soon rocking!   My daughters and two granddaughters kept us hopping!  There were  conversations, questions, and laughs flowing freely. My gosh...the coffee we went through....with the new Peppermint Mocha  flavored Coffeemate added! 

On Friday afternoon, my nephew arrived. He will be featured in a later blog. Just after dark, one of the Georgia girls came for the weekend.  On Saturday, nephew returned for more time with his cousins. Soon after his exwife/still-friend showed up with their two daughters. All got reacquainted quickly, the younger second cousins hitting it off nicely, while the older cousins carried on as if it was a big party. Well, I guess it was!

Suffice it to say that our normally quiet and normal life was changed during the last week.... we didn't mind a bit, though we were, without a doubt, plagued with fatigue! All the girls left yesterday, they were showered with hugs, warnings not to speed and to be safe, and with many tears.

They updated us on Facebook throughout the day and evening yesterday, as they traveled north. I was accused of paying people to drive slowly in front of them so that they couldn't drive faster than what I deemed 'safe.'  When they got to Virginia, they were stopped by a  state trooper...and then I was accused of bribing him to give them a ticket.  I PROMISE I did not/would not do that....but I was grateful that they were ticketed for driving too fast, and that they were forced to ease up on that gas peddle, to at least the speed limit.  I'm sorry for their 'extra Christmas gift', but glad that they learned a lesson....at least for that minute.  (Forgive me, kids, for hoping you'd get stopped. I just LOVE you and want you to be safe....and to obey the law!)