Georgia!

We attended the most amazing fireside! It was Rob Gardner discussing the process behind the creation of the Lamb of God. He is not only a genius, but inspiring with his knowledge of Jesus Christ and his testimony of the Savior. I am so grateful we were able to attend.

Here we are after. Rob was swamped with admirers so we didn't get any pictures with him this time.

The next day, Monday, April 9th, my mom and I flew to Georgia. 

Our plane left at 8 pm Arizona time and we arrived in Atlanta at 1:30 AZ time, 4:30 GA time. We then got our rental car and started driving to Brunswick which is a 4 1/2 hour drive. We got so tired that after 2 hours we pulled over at a Loves gas station and slept for 3 hours before continuing.

It was SO WONDERFUL to see our Georgia family!! 

We got settled at Aunt Faye and Uncle Mike's house and ran to the store to get a few things.

Only in the south, ewww.

That evening, everyone came over for dinner; Danny and his family, Michael was out of town, but his family came and Lisa and her youngest, Noah, came.

Brett, Steph, Danny and my Mom.

Wesley and Chris

Kaycee, Steph, Melissa, Natalie and Mom

Michael joined us for a bit on a video call. Dinner was delicious, as always. They are all so loving and fun!

The following day, Faye, my Mom and I went out to do some thrift shopping. One of the shops was downtown so while they shopped, I walked around and soaked in the beautiful weather and the GREEN everywhere! I love the Spanish moss!

The ferns were growing up the side of the tree. AMAZING!

For dinner, they took us out for seafood! It was SO YUMMY!!!

It is so homey and comfortable to be with the Harden gang. They are all so sweet and easy to visit with. It was fun to hear my mom and Uncle Mike reminisce about their childhood. 

We got to go to church with them Wednesday night. It was nice to be there with the family and to meet there friends.

Silly faces

Everyone came back to Mike and Faye's after church to visit and have fun. Natalie sang a song for us as Aunt Faye played, then the rest of them joined in toward the end. I loved it!

The next day we went to St. Simons Island for lunch at Iguanas. I thought the seafood the previous night was wonderful, but this was even better! They spoiled us with so much delicious food!!

Then we went to a cute shop across the street. It was a charming area on the island. I loved it!

When we got back we relaxed on their screened porch. It was perfect. They had a cute little lizard climbing around. He was trying  attract a mate by puffing out his throat. It was cool!

That night we went to Denny's with the whole gang. It was a ball! They are a bunch of goofballs. I was sitting by Danny and Michael who kept me laughing and entertained. I enjoyed visiting with Rhonda, Kaycee and Lisa too. I am hoping that they will be able to come out to visit some time soon.

Melissa and Brett were not with us, they were on a band trip to DC. We missed them. 

This was our last night with them so we got more pictures. It was so wonderful to reconnect with them all. It was hard to leave.

Friday morning, we left for Wetumpka, Alabama to visit with my Great Uncle Gene and Aunt Gloria and some of their kids. It was a 6 1/2 hour drive so we had to stop for Chinese food along the way at King Buffet in Tifton, Georgia. It was yummy!

Driving through Georgia

The houses in Eufaula, Georgia were splendid!

I loved the tree lined streets there too!

We visited at Gene and Gloria's house with them, and my mom's cousins, Marsha and Lewis and his wife Melinda. It was wonderful! I loved getting to know them a bit. We went out to Mexican food with them. It was not AZ Mexican food, but it was pretty good. We had fun and laughed a lot.

After dinner, Lewis and Melinda took us to see their house in the woods. It was gorgeous! Lewis designed it. Then we visited more at Gene and Gloria's until about 10:00 pm.

Then we hit the road again to drive to my Gram's condo in Columbus, Georgia, another 1 1/2 hours of driving. Luckily, I love hanging out with my mom. We do not get tired of being together.

My Aunt Kathy was already at my Gram's place so she stayed up to let us in. We went to bed pretty quickly. We were beat!

Then next morning we went out to three second hand shops / boutiques. I love looking at old things, well, cool old things. Things with history. It was a fun time!

Gram was being pretty cheery and fun, even a bit silly. She modeled this bow for us. So cute!

My mom tried to photo bomb, but it distracted Gram. So funny!

We also drove around downtown Columbus to see where my grandparents used to live in the historic district. They restored this house years ago. I remember being there when I was a little girl and sleeping in a brass bed and bathing in their claw footed bathtub. It was fun to see it again.

I have a picture of me sitting on these same steps as a little girl, so it was fun to reenact it.

Then we went out to a chinese buffet. It was so good! I loved every bite. I don't think you can have too much chinese food.

That evening, we left Gram and Aunt Kathy at the condo and drove around to my mom's old stomping grounds. This is the house her mom's mom, Mittie Rigsby Messer,  lived in when my mom lived with her as a little girl. 

These bars have been next to the house since she was little. She and her brother, Mike, thought they were their own private monkey bars. They had to be careful not to hit their heads on the cement steps when flipping around on it.

We walked over to the garage in back of the house and found that my great-great uncle Doris Earl Rigsby (Great Grandma Mittie's brother) had signed his name in the cement! It was such a cool find! We don't know whose feet and initials are above his.

In the same neighborhood, there is an old plantation house that my mom use to visit and dream about, St. Elmo. We drove by. It is beautiful! It was built in 1833.

The next morning, Sunday, my mom and I went to church for sacrament meeting and then we drove around to 4 cemeteries to find family graves. We first went to see her mother's and grandparents' graves. We didn't get out and take pictures, because it was raining, but we drove up to the grave side.

Then next cemetery we were looking for Mittie Rigsby Messer's parents graves. We hadn't seen them before so it was a hunt. We knew what section they were in, but there were still hundreds of graves to search. It was still raining too, so we drove around and looked from the car until the rain stopped and then we got out and hunted. We found them!!! John William and Missouri Elizabeth Rigsby

We also found their son, Darling James Rigsby. He died 1920 at age 25, leaving a wife and two kids behind.

Then it was on to the next cemetery where we hunted for my grandpa, Ben Harden's maternal grandparents, John Thomas  and Ema Idella Johnston. We had to hunt for them too, but we found them!

Then next cemetery we hunted for my grandpa's paternal grandparents, William Henry  and Martha Harden.

So pretty!

We also drove by many ancestral homes including this one, which was a home in the back and the front pop out was the family grocery store that my great grandparents owned. It is amazing how many of these old places are still standing.

Of course we had lots of time for visiting with Gram and Aunt Kathy too. I loved hearing my Gram talk of when she first met my mom and Mike (she's been their step mom since my mom was little) and then she moved to Japan with them and her son Maurice to be with my Grandpa. I had never heard her version of the story. It was quite eye opening. It was a big scary move for her, in a foreign country, with two new kids and a whole new life in the military, which she knew nothing about. She shared her regrets as a mother and how she wishes she had done things differently, but was just desperately trying to keep the kids in line while trying to find her way. She was not making excuses, but just sharing regrets. Also, she was so happy to finally be reunite with her husband after being apart for a year. She loved him and said that they had so much fun together.

These two sisters are the best! They are so much fun! I loved every minute with them.

Gosh, I sure love this lady!

We packed up Monday morning and said our goodbyes then headed home. Our flight left at 6:00 pm GA time and arrived home at 7:10 pm AZ time. Funny how that works.  I was ready to be home with all my sweeties. I missed them, and they missed having Mom at home. I also missed my bed. It is the best bed ever!!!

I'm so grateful to all the family that made time to play with us. It was a wonderful visit and I can't wait to come out again! Love you all!