A few years ago a dear friend of mine had a regular blog, but life kind of happened and slowly but surely she had to make the hard decision between keep up with the blog, or actually live her busy life. I won't lie, this Summer has made understand her quandry and the decision that she made. There is just no time........
And yet, I am committed to telling an epic life story for us Longmires, and I have realized that the seasons of blog famine only speak to the power of the story. We are living, and making memories, and doing all the things.
And I mean ALL THE THINGS.
As I am writing, the 4 of us Longmires are in 4 different places. Bob is holding down the home front, Evie is up in Vernon with Memaw and Papa, I am in an airplane somewhere over St. Louis, and Lily is living the beach life over in Florida. Our master bathroom is in the middle of a massive remodel, I had to have a broken tooth fixed last week, and Lily got expanders! YES, I can't make this stuff up. and YES, we did just get back from an epic vacation to Tybee Island Georgia!
So while we finish making the current memories, let me step back to our last big hoorah. 2 years ago Grandma Jill came to us with a magical idea to celebrate her retirement. Even 2 years away she told us of this dream she had to have all of the kids, stepkids, and grandkids under one roof, on a beach, to celebrate. This was no small tasks given that the 5 kids are living in 5 different states, and that we have never all been in the same place at the same time with all of our children. So glad we had 2 years to work through the logistics. As the past two years have gone by I have waited with great anticipation for Grandma to finish her race and reach her retirement. The trip was such an exciting prospect for her because it was ultimately a celebration of finishing a career that has been full of ups and downs. I mean this woman managed to be a successful social worker in a Chicago school district. The woman deserves a medal and a stiff drink! Getting to this trip was years in the making and it was so exciting when it happened.
Our family loves to travel for sure and I think the general consensus is that flying is awesome. We got to Tybee Island which is right outside of Savannah, Georgia and were so ecstatic to find that our spectacular house was literally 200 yards from the beach.
I mean, could it be any more perfect? The house was a 3 story home with, I kid you not, 8 bedrooms, 7 pull out couches,, 4 balconies, 2 laundry rooms, and a host of other amenities. It was awesome!
We quickly got to reconnect with Daniel, Laura, Ezra, and Emmie,
David, Melissa, Micah, and Josiah
Darcie, Brent, Nathan, Jess, and Zach
Grandma and Grandpa
Aunt Sue
and Sarah, Shawn, Isabella, Lilyanna, Bennet, and William
All of us had made it! and Even though some of the family was only able to stay a few days, we all showed up, and it was wonderful.
Our trip was full of so many wonderful memories, most of which were made in the water. Bob took his Uncle status very seriously and when Bob and Daniel got together, kids started flying. They had a line nearly 10 kids deep for a while all waiting for their chance to get launched into the air.
This was the standard routine for 80% of the time. When the kids weren't launching they were riding waves, digging holes, building sandcastles, becoming mermaids, or simply living their best beach life. It was wonderful to watch all of these kids get to know each other and enjoy their time.
One of the afternoons, The Longmires, Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Sue, and the Dowlings all went to explore the local lighthouse that resides on Tybee. Bob and I and the kids climbed the lighthouse twice, and all of the history was so much fun and such a cool thing to share with the kids.
In case you can't tell, it was hot and wet. Lordy, I will take my dry heat any day of the year over humidity. The only way you can describe the feeling is swampy. But I digress, we all had a blast and made some great memories poking around the nearby old Fort and the local farmers market (thank the good lord for artisan popsicles!)
One of the other days we all caravaned into Savannah for a morning of exploration.
That city is spectacular and full of so much history. We toured as much as we could with 11 kids, enjoyed a sandwich at Zunzis and fabulous ice cream at Leopolds. The City is nearly a step back in time. I hope to go back when it isn't so hot and complainy out.
Our last full day there was July 4th and the holiday could not have been any better. The island becomes very busy and the beach is covered, but the kids had such a great time. It was truly wild because the tide was exceptionally low on this day which created this enormously long beach to run and play on. It was wild.
Because the tide was so low, Bob took the kids out and they were able to find several sand dollars and Evie even experienced the sting of a jelly tentacle. It had been windy and wild the day before so it didn't surprise me, with the low tide, that some jelly particles were floating around. Evie handled it like a champ and once we took a warm shower and had some candy, she was right as rain with a big smile. So proud.
Later that night before fireworks, Lily and Bob went to the beach and built a fantastic sand fortress. While we waited for the fireworks to start we watched as the tides slowly marched towards the fortress. Not gonna lie, it is mesmerizing to see how vastly the tides change. More than that, no matter how big your moat, if you build your house on the sand, it won't stand against the storm. There is a great Jesus metaphor in there.
The night was wonderful and we spent it out on the beach watching the fireworks off the pier only to be outdone by the lightning storm coming in behind them. The entire show was spectacular and aside from a few unsettled kids we managed a 4th to remember!
Grandma Jill, YOU DID IT! We are so proud of you and so happy that we got to be a part of this magical celebration.
