The Tallahassee Trip

Earlier in the fall we decided to plan a trip to Tallahassee to visit Mema and Papa and to spend some time at FSU.  We were able to make a weekend trip with all of the kids, scheduling it around an FSU football game and it worked out great! (If we could have had warm, sunny weather the whole time, it would have been absolutely perfect.)

We arrived at Mema and Papa's house late in the evening after traveling all day.
The kids got busy with the toys right away.

Eliza's first order of business: tea.

We had fun at Momo's, a fun local pizza place with...

"slices as big as your head."

Next we spent some time at the Tallahassee Temple construction site.
It was so cool to hear the missionaries talk about their experiences
at this sacred site and teaaching the construction workers about the gospel.

Thursday night fish fry!

Family scripture time

Cat loved FSU!  And we loved getting to tour the campus with her.

This is my freshman dorm, where Ben used to pick me up and give
me rides to places since I didn't have a car.  We started dating that summer.

John and Sarah drove over from Jacksonville on Friday.
Sarah brought some little Thanksgiving crafts for the kids to do.

Mema made us a delicious early Thanksgiving meal that afternoon!  It was such a treat to feast with family we don't see often enough, in Mema and Papa's beautiful new dining room.  (I didn't take any pictures but if I find one someone else took, I'll add it.)

That night we braved the cold and rain to go to the North Florida fair.

The animals didn't seem bothered by the weather outside.

We had elephant ears!

Bonus Mema time after the fair, playing a fun new game called Lattice Hawaii.

On Saturday morning we visited Mission San Luis, the site of a Spanish Mission
to the Apalachees beginning in the mid-1600s. The fort is behind us.
Here, the Spanish and the native people lived and worked together, teaching
each other and intermarrying.  The fort was used to protect the entire area from the British.

.Don't worry, these battle axes look real, but they're made of foam.

The friary, with a Guidonian Hand on the wall.

Making note of the voice amplification system in the Franciscan church.

Painting of St. Francis over the choir loft.

Eliza swept the chapel.  The shells on the broom scared mice away as they clanked.

After Mission San Luis we went home for a quick lunch,

then drove to FSU for the football game.

The fist stop was the baseball stadium for the Skull Session. This is where
each section of the Marching Chiefs performed student-arranged pieces to
get warmed up before the game.

It was our first time and we loved it!

The next stop was the Sod Cemetary, where the team takes some sod
from opponent's field when they have big wins on the road, usually a rivalry
or where we're the underdogs.

Go Noles!

This is the Unconquered statue - Chief Osceola on Renegade,
in front of Doak Campbell Stadium.

Excited for the game to begin!

We loved watching the game together, even though we lost.  It was so fun to be there, and it was a great way to punctuate an awesome Tallahassee weekend.  We left first thing the next morning to drive to Atlanta, then fly back to Utah.  We had a wonderful time!