"See 'ya soon!"

Yes, we have known for quite some time that Jeff and Amy were going to move back to Dallas, but I kept putting it out of my mind--however, the inevitable happened today . . . they are off for new adventures in Texas . . . with Jeff having a new job there and this time returning to Texas with three children instead of only two.

So, I decided to reminisce tonight about the last four and a half years that Jeff and Amy have been here, but now I'm not so sure this was a good idea.  All I can think of are the things we will miss about the Barlow family:

 

 When Jeff and Amy moved here, we were all anticipating a new little girl in the family.  We were all so excited about this!

One of the first events we took Jeff and Amy to was the "Soul Food Festival," to let them get a taste of Green Cove Springs.  We all enjoyed it so much!

 

 This is the age of Garrett and Isaac when they arrived in Florida.

 


We introduced the kids to our Florida beaches.

 After living with us a few months until a house was finalized, they were able to move into their new home right before Lola was born.  Even in her pregnant state, Amy was right in there painting and helping along with everyone else!

Jeff had a steady hand!

 Yes, even Craig and Cassie came over from Gainesville to help out!  It was greatly appreciated!

Another favorite place that we loved to take the Barlows to was the caboose park in Green Cove.  The kids always loved to go there!

They loved the old jail, too.  One day a year, you can actually go inside, so the kids really looked forward to those days.

 Near by the caboose park is Spring Park.  The kids loved all the fun equipment there.


Finally, the greatly anticipated day arrived when the little Barlow girl arrived--I was fortunate enough to be there for her arrival.  In fact, Jeff and Amy have invited me to be there for all three of their children being born.  It is always such an emotional, spiritual experience.

 

 This beautiful little girl was named Lola, after my mother. 




And Lola fit right into the family--her brothers adored her right from the start!


It has been so fun watching the kids grow and change.  With them only living a mile away, there aren't too many days in the last 4 1/2 years that we didn't see them almost daily when we have been home.




Such a happy little girl all the time!  Her one eye always had tears in it, so she always looked like she was crying even when she was laughing.  Thank goodness, it finally corrected itself.


Everyone always noticed all her dark hair, which she certainly got from her Papa George.  They even had messy hair together!


Yes, and Lola was a "dinky" baby, as she still calls them.  She only takes them to bed at night now.  Amy finally quit trying and said she hopes she leaves them behind when she goes off to college!  Hah!




Holidays have certainly been so much more fun with family near by and grand kids to enjoy in their excitement!







We had actually forgotten how much fun it was to Trick-or-Treat until they came!






Trunk-or-treat became a tradition that we really looked forward to!


We dyed Easter eggs at Easter time.
 


 And we always loved to see the kids dressed up in their new Easter clothes.


We were re-introduced to the magic of bubbles--they just make everyone happy!

We got to watch pinewood derby events again--somehow they weren't as painful as when we were the parents and had to figure out how to help the kids with those little cars which seemed impossible to build when you aren't into building!  Hah!  Jeff did a great job in helping Garrett.

We took trips to Chuck-e-Cheese!

We learned about Megatron, Bumblebee, which Transformers are the good guys and which are the bad--from who else?  These guys are avid fans!

We were able to be there for Garrett's baptism which was so special.

We loved sitting by the pool in their neighborhood and watching them swim.

We got to celebrate practically every birthday with all of them for over four years!

We will never forget Lola's first birthday--we were trying to get her to blow out her candle and dive into her cake.  She ended up in tears, so we decided to just let her enjoy herself and do what she wanted to do!  Afterall, it was her birthday!

Not too many birthdays later, when her Papa told her to dig in, she really did it!

We loved introducing the Barlows to the wonderful Florida creatures we have here in abundance.

Sometimes we took walks just to find more animal or bird friends.  These Canadian geese were always a favorite.  They lived right down from Jeff and Amy's home.

George showed this snake to the kids along the roadside between our home and theirs.

This one nearly cost all nine lives for George.  As he was on the ladder trying to clear the rain gutter of leaves, he pulled out a whole pile of them and at about eyes level, he noticed this little critter wiggling in the big handful of leaves.  That was truly a startling experience!  Luckily, he held on to the ladder with his other hand and was able to show the kids what he had found.

 The Barlows introduced us to new ideas, too!  One activity we had never been involved with was racing.  Amy loved to race.   Soon, Jeff was participating, and finally even the boys.  We had a great time going to their races and cheering them on!

We got to watch Garrett and Isaac play their different sports and cheer them on.

I can't even number the hours we spent watching our five boys play in their different sports.  We have missed seeing that so much!  Now, we had games and activities to attend.   So much fun!

And we all loved going to the high school football games . . .

and have some funnel cakes!

I have played dolls, kitchen, and whatever games Lola could think of because I think she thought I was her best friend.  Well, that was just fine with me.  It was only hard when she thought I was as short as she was, and I couldn't always get under the tables and inside her little tent with her all the time!

Just like the boys can name all the Transformers, Lola knows every Princess, plus every song from every movie they are in!

We didn't get to go to the beach nearly as much as we would have liked, but when we did go, we had a great time!

The swings--well, I have pushed kids in the swings until I thought my arms would fall off.  But soon, Garrett and Isaac were masters at pumping!  If they would have stayed long enough, we could have had Lola doing it, too!


 We loved going to the zoo.  I think I enjoy it as much or more than the kids!

The merry-go-round at the zoo is always a favorite.  And the zoo at Halloween time is a must for everyone!  So fun!  Everyone is in costume, and there are bounce houses and treats for everyone. 
 

 Looking out at the alligators on Halloween night.

One time, George and I took the kids when they had "Dinosaurs Alive" Exhibit.  It was truly fantastic--with the moving dinosaurs and sounds all around you.  Garrett and Isaac loved it! 

However, George had to literally run through the woods about a half mile to get out of there because Lola was screaming at the top of her lungs because she was so scared.

I think we traumatized her for life!

 

The circle by Jeff and Amy's home was a perfect place to go for rides on their bikes.  Isaac especially loved to ride and ride.  We kept telling him that he needed to take off those training wheels and ride like his big brother was doing.

It was such a great day when he did it all by himself--only 4 1/2 years old!

Then, for his five year old birthday, he got a brand new bike.  Somehow, he still liked his little one better!

Another fun activity was riding on Papa George's lawn mower.  It is really a beat-up looking machine, isn't it?  But, it still works like a charm!

Even Lola tried driving it--under close supervision, of course!
 
 Pizza Hut might have to let a few workers go now that the Barlows are moving.  That place was a real favorite of the entire family!

So, now the time has come for their family to move, and I ask?  Who will actually ask for Papa to "bug" them now?

And on the last Sunday before they left, I thought, "When will I get used to only having two on the row (just George and me) instead of all seven of us?"

Some of Garrett and Isaac's friends came to say, "Good-bye."  The little boy actually cried as he did so.

They all had to have a group hug!

Lisa, the girl on the far right--planned a "Friends of Amy" Farewell party at Chili's before she left.  What a thoughtful thing for all of these sweet ladies to spend an evening with Amy before she left.

 This is the Primary Presidency, minus one girl, when Amy was Primary President.

To the left is the lady that Amy visit taught and became so close to.  Next is the Relief Society President who Amy served with in the Presidency for the past couple of years, and the lady on the right is one of the counselors.

Lots of chips and lots of fun!

The girl on the left has a little girl about the same age as Lola.  They are best buds!  The lady on the right is our Bishop's wife.

 

So many wonderful friends who meant so much to Amy.

The girl on the left has a daughter the same age as Lola who is, also, her best bud.  The girl in the middle is the mother of the little girl in the group hug above.  Garrett and she have been best friends all these years, too!
  The girl on the right is our Bishop's daughter.

Yes, and I was even invited!

So the last night that there was still furniture in the house, we decided to have a little birthday party for Isaac and Lola since their birthdays are both in March, and it would be the first time we wouldn't be there for it.  (Lola keeps telling me to come to Texas for her party!)

So, we let them open their cards and gifts that night.

Isaac will be turning seven . . .

His request was a "credit card" to get a game that he wants, so that's what he got.

 Lola will be turning four.

She seemed pretty pleased with her princess tea party set and . . .

princess magnetic paper dolls.

Amy and Jeff were so organized with everything boxed up for the loading of the truck the next day.

One would think it would have all gone smoothly--however, there just wasn't enough room in that 26 foot truck!  No matter how they stacked it!

Some very kind people from the church, plus even the missionaries were there to help load the truck.  It was so appreciated.  Greg Alexander, the third from the left was there almost the entire day until the very end when the gate was shut after dark!  He is an unbelievably, kind, Christian person!

 

While Amy tried to maneuver the last of the boxes inside, George took a little breather.  All of the items, including the chair, had to be left behind . . . hopefully to be taken soon when another person goes that way.

We made a little "Care" package for the kids to have a few treats on their long 17 hour car ride to Texas.

The Barlows stayed the last night with us.  The next morning, Jeff pulled out with the truck with his car on a trailer behind.  Amy and I ran a few last minute errands . . .

When I say the car was packed, I'm not kidding!  There is even a small fish aquarium on the floor . . . I guess that's still not quite as bad as Cassie having to straddle her feet across a cat litter box when they left!  Hah!

Oh, yes.  And the kids were in there, too!

Suddenly, we heard the honking of one lone goose . . .

letting two other geese know it was time for the "fly by" as a "Good-bye" to the Barlows.  It was so fitting!

Now the street is empty . . . no more laughter, bubbles, fun, bicycles, or kids . . .

Our Sunday dinner table will be back to just two people again . . .

and yes, the signs left on their walls remind us all that our families are truly life's greatest blessing.  Thanks so much, Barlows, for allowing us to be part of your lives for these past four and a half years.  We will treasure the memories forever.  And as you said, "We hope to see 'ya soon!"