Alabama Vacation - Days 1, 2 & 3

For the next few days, Lisa & I will be in Alabama, touring around visiting relatives. This morning Lisa, Jenni & I drove out to see Aunt Bobbie at her beautiful new house on the farm. It was a quick visit since she was heading to the airport for a visit with daughter Varina in North Carolina. Then we enjoyed breakfast at Cracker Barrel - this is where everyone on a vacation should make at least one stop. Then Jenni went to work and Lisa and I drove on to Montgomery to visit Uncle Val. We must really rate, because he served us homemade Brunswick stew and fresh tomato sandwiches (BLT's in Southern Speak)! Stopped long enough to have pedicures with a couple of my Montgomery friends Becky & Betsy and then we were off again ...this time to Birmingham to dine with cousins Krista Gallimore & Karen Edwards. Afterwards we all stopped in to see Aunt Christine and talked late into the night. Spent Friday night at Krista & Tom's. Learned all about her lasted craze - she collects pewter (can't remember the designer's name) - and then off again - to Selma. Ate the best Southern style meal there with Aunt Ann & Uncle Bob - that means there were at least 4-5 vegetables involved - and dewberry cobbler (the best!). Can't wait to get home to make that! Aunt Pat & Uncle Winston came by too. Stopped by the old farm and rummaged through the shed looking for props for Kaley's next play on our way to see Gramps (who turns 94 in August) and I must say that he looked so much better than I anticipated. Spent time with [Aunt] Linda and helped here rearrange her knicknacks.... Drove back to Dothan to spend Saturday night with Jenni. Lisa was sad because we couldn't find a Krispy Kreme donut place on the way there. On Sunday we actually stayed in Dothan visiting all day with Jenni & Jake. We drove to Daleville & Ft. Rucker and saw the house where Lisa & I lived back in the 60's. We saw our old church (where I almost drowned being baptized...ok so I exaggerate), and even found the trailer park we lived in when Dad when to Viet Nam. We've come a long way since our days in the double-wide! We ended the day watching Michael Jackson retrospectives on TV while we digested a meal we created from the leftovers Aunt Ann sent us home with. Yum yum! I think I've gained 5 pounds on this vacation! As soon as I get back to Florida tomorrow I'll hook up Lisa's camera to my pc and add some photos from our travels to see our relatives. Today's mishaps - I left my iphone charger at Krista's and somehow lost one of my shoes (not the whole pair - just one). I'm so bummed! Oh, did I mention that Lisa finally found her Krispy Kreme hot donuts! Tomorrow we head back to sunny Florida. It's way too hot here in Alabama. Thanks to all my relatives for welcoming us and feeding us well! We have enjoyed connecting with everyone this weekend!

Florida Vacation - Day 4

Today we added "Uncle Mike" to our entourage and drove to New Smyrna Beach for our last day at the beach during our vacation. Everyone of us - adults & kids - played in the surf. The waves were wonderful - the weather even better. Even us half centurions can body surf still! After being pounded by several big waves, I finally remembered that diving through them was so much easier! Uncle Mike and the boys enjoyed tossing the football around in the surf. And finally, after a couple of hours of beach fun, we packed up and headed to Chase's - a great restaurant on the beach where we ate outside overlooking the ocean, dining on grouper sandwiches, listening to live music and watching people play in the surf. Then we hit the local ice cream joint and headed back to Lake Mary to pack up the boys and take them to the airport. On the way to the airport we learned that Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson had both died that day. This came just days after Ed Mcmahon died. Not a good week for celebrities. Amazing what you miss when you are away from electronics for a few hours. After hugs and goodbyes, Lisa and I drove 6 hours to Dothan, Alabama, and spent the night with Jenni in her gorgeous home. Jenni is the most talented decorator I know. Her homes always look like something out of Southern Homes & Garden (or better). Another great day on vacation! I'll post pictures later when I get to the camera cord.....

Florida Vacation - Day 3

On our third day in sunny Florida, we headed to Viera after a slow vacation-style start to visit with the McWains again. Viera is a new city, just south of Cocoa Beach. After a nice lunch at the McWains beautiful new home, a friendly game of Wii bowling and a swim in their saline pool (no bloodshot eyes for the kids!) we gathered the troops and took a nice driving tour of area. They stopped in to show us their new church and the first person I spotted was none other than Coach Brandon - Caleb's former basketball coach from First Family Church in Kansas. It was great to see him again. Small world. We spent the rest of the day at Cocoa Beach: We visited Ron Jon's [surf shop] of course; ate crab legs at the famous pier while the sun set; watched the kids swim in the surf. Katie found a crab. We watched a man on the pier reel in a fish. A sea gull pooped on Terry's head. It was a beautiful day and the summer breezes kept us cool. Great day! There is just something so calming about the beach. Everyone is a little friendlier, the attitudes are casual, and the pace is slower. I only wish we had more days like this to feel the sand between our toes while taking in amazing scenery in the company of friends. As we drove back to Orlando with sleeping children in the car I couldn't help but count my blessings.

Florida Vacation - Day 2

Tuesday - Day 2 of our vacation started with sleeping in late, eating breakfast, and packing up the car bound for the beach! After all, this is a beach vacation isn't it? Loaded with suntan lotion, towels, chairs, umbrella, and Crunch-n-Munch.... we were off to famous Daytona Beach - only 55 minutes away. It was a gorgeous day - not nearly as hot - even slightly overcast! We drove past the famous Daytona Speedway, then across the bridge to the Wyndham Oceans Walk resort (next to Daytona Lagoon water park). We made a note to talk our friends (the Hubers) into using their Wyndham time share points there next summer for a return visit and joining in on their fun. The resort is also adjacent to colorful shops, including Bubba Gumps, where we ate lunch and had shrimp, of course!

After lunch we hopped in the car and drove right onto the beach (they charge $3 for this experience now). We parked, hauled our gear closer to the shoreline and hit the surf. The wind was blowing such that we had some great waves and all of us swam out to the sand bar and dodged waves for quite a while. And you know how some folks "catch a wave"? Well, we "caught a fish"! Yes, a small fish surprised Lisa, Caleb & I and flopped up on our raft! "This is the best vacation ever!" squealed Caleb. There was one hysterical moment (as it turned out) that I must share. Right after one of the larger waves slammed into us, Caleb started crying and had such a look of fear on his face. So, Terry lifted him high above the waves to calm him. We all thought he had gotten scared because of the size of the wave that caused him to go under water. So, as Terry is taking him ashore for a break, he yelled back to Lisa & I that he knew why Caleb had gotten so frightened. Just before that large wave hit (and almost caused Mary to lose her favorite $5 Premier Designs sunglasses), Lisa had been telling us about the TV special where some expert said that if you pee in the ocean it would attract sharks. Are you figuring it out now? Yes, Caleb had just peed in the Ocean right before Lisa told us this harrowing piece of news! Lisa and I laughed so hard that I almost attracted some sharks myself!

As we drove out of Daytona, sandy and slightly sunburned (suntan lotion works better when you actually put it on), Terry pulled into the Krispy Kreme amid cheers from everyone in the car. Today's mishap: My favorite Casio Exilim camera broke! (Pam F. can I buy yours?) Right after we took the Bubba Gumps photo above, sand must have gotten into the lens because it won't open or close. Thank goodness Terry grabbed our old camera right before we left our house in Kansas. Too bad though that he left it in the car at the Kansas City airport. Guess I'll be borrowing Lisa's tomorrow. I couldn't help but notice how much nicer Daytona is than the somewhat seedy memories I have of the area from my days in college. I had also forgotten how nice the waves are on the East coast. Great beach. I'll be back. We rounded out the evening with the reality-addicted adults watching the premier of "America's Got Talent" and the kids swimming with Kaley in the salt-free lighted pool. Another perfect end to day 2 of our Florida Vacation 2009. Tomorrow we're off to Cocoa Beach!

Florida Vacation - Day 1

Yesterday was Father's Day and we spent most of the day packing and traveling to Orlando where we arrived at 10:01 pm. Just one week ago I discovered this great deal on AirTran ($49 one way flights) that was too good to pass up so we put the wheels in motion and planned a beach vacation. The plan is to stay at the "McLean" resort in Lake Mary (my sister's) and take day trips to different beaches each day. Being in Kansas we couldn't be farther from a coastline and this former Florida girl misses the sounds of those waves! On Thursday night my sister and I will drop the "boys" off at the airport and drive to Alabama to visit relatives for several days while the boys golf or camp or do what boys do. I'm secretly hoping that us girls (all 3 of the Twilley sisters) will get a chance to hit one more beach on the panhandle of Florida before I head back to the land of Oz.

So, on Day 1 (Monday) of our vacation we reunited with our former Kansas cul-de-sac neighbors, the McWains, who joined us at my sister's Lake Mary "resort" for a pool party & cookout. Caleb was so excited to see his buddy Andrew who were inseparable all day. It was a very hot & humid day, but if was a wonderful day of fellowship with old friends. After a slight mishap with some burned popcorn and a certain 8 year old boy, we headed to the local Japanese steakhouse to escape the charred smell and closed out a perfect beginning to our Florida Vacation with a wonderful meal. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, that we were also reunited with Abby - our puppy that we gave to our niece, Kaley, on her 16th birthday last year! Even the McWains enjoyed seeing Abby because she was living with us when they stilled live in Kansas. So ends, day 1. Tune in tomorrow for Day 2 of Florida Vacation 2009. By the way, I would have added a photo here but I was having so much fun that I forgot to unpack my camera!

Father's Day 2009

Today is Father's Day and I just wanted to pause and reflect on the importance of Fathers. I am so fortunate to have such a great Father to my two sons, Terry Haines. Terry is a giant when it comes to integrity and loyalty. A man like that only exists because of the influence of other great Fathers in his life. Terry's father, Paul W. Haines, is one of those men. And Terry's father is also a reflection of another great father, Paul W.'s father and Terry's grandfather, Paul E. Haines. These career missionaries embodied the pioneer spirit and unselfish character of true servant leaders. All three of these men are godly men of strength and character. I too was blessed with such a father, LeRoy G. Twilley. Although he passed away 15 years ago, his influence remains and will continue to positively impact the lives of those he touched. The common thread that binds these exemplary role models together is their love of the most famous Father of all - our Father in heaven. So, for all you Fathers out there who want to make a positive impact on those you care about and hold dear, nurture your relationship with your heavenly Father first. Because it is through that relationship that you really learn what it means to be a father. God bless all the Fathers out there - the ones who paved the way before us and those we are raising up to be Fathers in the future!