Gainesville & Pensacola

Sunday morning we had big plans to stop in Gainesville to see my dad and sister on the way back to Pensacola.  For those who don't know, this has been a pretty big year for me.  In January I decided I'd like to get in touch with my dad, and after some minimal searching, I found out he was living in Gainesville and had been for quite a while -- the whole time I was there for school, in fact.  I was pretty nervous about contacting him out of the blue, but he was so very receptive!  And very glad to hear from me.  Making it even better, my sister Jess and brother Jeremy were excited, too.  We have all spent the past five months getting to know each other better and visiting when we can.  So I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see them on our road trip!

We met them at The Flying Biscuit (seriously delicious) for brunch.  We had a wonderful time talking and spending a little time together.  It was way too short, but I am hoping to see them again soon!

My sister Jess, Paul, my dad and I.

Paul loves Aunt Jess!

Paul gets lots of love.

Dad and me.

Sister, sister!

It was tough leaving Gainesville, but we were getting a bit weary of the road.  We were looking forward to a night in Pensacola to see more family and to maybe sleep in a little. 

We got back just before dinner time.  Carolyn and Austin came over with Felicity for a little while.  Paul absolutely adores his sweet cousin FJ!  They are so cute together.  She is about 2 1/2 months older than Paul, but they are just about the same size.  I love her sweet red hair!  I wish we could see them more often.

Paul found a pack of yogurt raisins in my snack stash and brought them to Mimi very purposefully.  I was glad to find a new food Paul would enjoy!

I love that they have almost the same expression here.

The soccer ball was a pretty popular toy.  That toy bottle is also a favorite of Paul's.

Cute cousins.

She's just too cute!

After dinner, we went to see my mom, Aunt Jean, Aunt Joyce and Uncle Tommy.  Paul had an awesome time running around in Jean's backyard, climbing on her lawn chairs and playing with plants.  He was worn out but still had some energy tucked away just for this purpose.

Paul's expression here reminds me of a picture I've seen of Michael when he was a kid.  Mimi, do you know which picture I'm talking about?  We don't have it but I'm pretty sure it exists!

After visiting with them, we went back to "home base" (Michael's parents' house) where Julie had stopped by!  It was so much fun hanging out with Julie and we were so glad she came by.  Unfortunately, Lily went to bed early so we didn't get to see her or Andrew, but we felt lucky just to see Julie.  Soon (and very soon!) we will have a new niece from Julie!  We can't wait to meet little Laurel on our next trip to Pensacola.

Monday morning came and we packed back up and drove back to Memphis.  This was definitely the hardest trip, and Paul was pretty fussy for the last half.  He was sick of the car and missed Mimi, I am sure.  At this point he had watched Brave and Nemo and Cars and Barney ad nauseum, so I could no longer rely on the screen for entertainment.  We were all so happy when we finally got home!  Now we just had to unpack and get set for the week ahead.