This past week the Banks family gathered in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware,
to celebrate Grandmom Jane's 90th birthday. Though the big day was back
in April, and Uncle Doug had already hosted a surprised party for her
back at home in Spokane, WA, this was a great time to get the whole
family together. (Well, almost the whole family - we were missing 1
cousin...)
We took this as an opportunity to load up
the "family truckster" for a cross-country road trip that included
visiting family friends, and seeing my family on the way home. It was
quite an adventure for all of us! Our time in the car included lots of
questions about birds of prey (the boys' newest interest), many hours of
reading (we read C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" -
with only minor edits by me - to the boys), lots of time coloring and
drawing, and quite a few episodes of PBS Kids "Wild Kratts" on the iPad.
We also had quite a few rest stops, of course, and lots of Taylor Swift
music.
We also visited friends we hadn't seen in 16
years (on our 16th wedding anniversary - yes, the last time we saw them
was our wedding!), and had an impromptu reunion with my family for a few
hours on the way home. It was an exciting trip! Here are some
highlights:
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| Dinner south of Nashville on the first day |
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| Silly boy...silly face |
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| Building in the sand with cousin Carrie |
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| Jamison reading with Grandmom |
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| The whole gang at The Surfing Crab for dinner |
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| Grandmom Jane, Valerie & Chris |
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| Pop Pop David, Brad & Jason |
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| The boys check out the tray of crabs |
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| Scary face! |
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| Playing with Miss Amanda & Uncle Jason |
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| Jamison up in the tree - at a park in Dewey Beach |
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| Monkey see, monkey do... |
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| Grandmom Jane with her two great grandchildren |
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| Sweet smile on my sweet boy |
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| Jane & Valerie at Phillips in Ocean City |
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| On the boardwalk |
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| Attempt at a family picture... |
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| Family picture - Valerie & David, Brad & I (& the boys), Grandmom & Jason |
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| Grandmom and five of her boys |
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| Looking at a grasshopper on his finger |
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| Grandmom Jane in Ocean City, MD |
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| Jamison looking so grown up... |
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| "There will be NO jumping off the wall!" |
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| "And if you try to jump, you'll get tickled!" |
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| Banks Boys at the beach |
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| Grandmom with her 2 sons, 4 of 6 grandkids & 2 great-grandsons |
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| Reading with Miss Amanda |
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| Precious moments |
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| Visiting the old homestead |
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| Someone thinks he owns the place |
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| Boys at bedtime in the hotel |
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| Breakfast at the house in Rehoboth - a very cool place! |
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| Someone loved his bird book! |
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| Silly moment between Grandmom & Jamison |
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| Brad & I in Ocean City, MD |
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| Jamison's "selfie" with Amanda & Jason |
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| I found the boys on their airbed like this one morning |
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| After a few tries I couldn't get both boys to look... |
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| Another attempt at a group photo |
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| Uncle Jason made a Bateleur eagle out of clay |
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| Asleep after an hour in the car...so sad to wake them... |
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| Silly attempt at a serious picture |
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| Silliness with Pop Pop David |
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| The boys had fun at a local park |
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| Climbing a tree...just like Jamison |
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| Using the tree to climb the fence was fun too |
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| Jamison really loved climbing |
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| These trees were great for climbing! |
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| The sandbox was fun too |
We
are thankful that none of us were sick all week (well, until Brad woke
up feeling sick this morning after 24 hours of driving in the past 2
days), and that, despite a deficit in sleep for the boys, they did well
playing together, enjoying the house, the beach, the park, and the
company of our extended family.
Brad loved teaching the
boys about some of his family traditions, like eating blue crabs.
Grandmom even showed me how to crack one open, and we allowed the boys
to use a mallet. They liked the crabs, but still found shrimp to be
their favorite seafood.
We enjoyed the beach, despite
all the sand-stuck-to-sunscreen. (And yes, we did use a ton of
sunscreen, but none of us got sunburned at all - just a little hint of
color. I was also instructed by my oncologist to stay out of the sun, so
most of my time on the beach was spent under an umbrella and wearing a
large hat.)
At times like this I am reminded just how
incredibly grateful I am to have two healthy boys who are able to
travel, allowed to be around so many people and exposed to so many new
germs (I could not have imagined this vacation 2-3 years ago). I am
also grateful that despite my own current cancer treatment (yes, after
almost 2 years on Raloxifene/Evista, the newest tumor has grown, and I'm
now taking Nexavar/sorafenib - which actually seems to be working!) I
am healthy enough to enjoy a trip like this as well. God has graciously
allowed us to allow so many "normal" things, compared to a few years
ago...and each day together as a family is such a blessing.
Our
prayer is that Jesus would continue His work in and through our family
as we live each day full of gratitude, and show His love and grace to
those around us. We are so thankful that we were able to enjoy our good
health, and Grandmom's good health, and 4 generations of the Banks
family together all week. What a gift!
