My grandmother has lived in the same house since like 1970, so it’s a familiar and iconic place for our family. Since my mom passed away almost three years ago, I’ve tried to turn our visits from “once every few years” to “a few times each year.” It’s not always easy to make the eight-hour drive to Orlando, but it’s always worth it because I know she appreciates the effort. (Plus I love that my girls will have their own memories of my grandmother’s time capsule of a house.)
I try to make one of those “a few times a year” visits during the summer simply because we have more flexibility in our schedule. (Although the shocking Florida heat hits us like a ton of bricks each and every time!) This summer my grandmother had to have her pool refinished, so it was boarded up until mid-July. Thankfully we were able to sneak in a few lazy days to visit before school started, and, as you might have guessed, most of our time was spent in that freshly-finished pool (and eating “froggy ice cream” — our Orlando fave!).
POOOOL time!
“Marco! Polo!”
another Great Grandma Vance specialty — chocolate chip cookies (by the dozen)!
pretend perfume
Shove family tradition — throwing each other into the pool fully dressed!
cartoons on repeat
froggy ice cream
all the blue dye (sigh)
teaching Great Grandma Vance about unboxing toys
slime, of course
third swim in two days ;)
until next time!