For several years the Seeses had been renting in Hickory. In
2016, they decided it was time to find a place to call home.
They found a beautiful house in Conover, NC.
One of their favorite features was the huge screened-in back
porch
Family Vacation to Cherry
Grove Beach, South Carolina
The Seese and Loftin families planned a
family vacation to the beach for June 2016. It was the first
time in six years that the Seese family, as well as the Philip
Loftin family and the Curtis Loftin family, had been able to
plan a vacation all together. Cherry Grove Beach is a family
favorite and we always enjoy staying at Xanadu.
Savanna (Left) and Alexandria (Right) spend some time playing
with their younger cousin, Kayli
Alexandria, Savanna and Kayli enjoy the water -
CLICK HERE
The older girls got their exercise running in and out of the
water as they followed Kayli
There's always something going on in the water
Sometimes you just need to take a break from the sun
Beth, Brad, Savanna, Alexandria, Kayli and
Philip
Everyone went down to the beach except for Poppi and Nonni -
They watched from the 2nd floor balcony of Xanadu
Cruise Ships - Fishing - or Just a Leisurely Ride Down the
Coast
The girls head to the pool in the late afternoon
After a day at the beach, we're all cleaned up and ready to
go out to eat
Brad, Beth, Savanna, Alexandria, Philip, Leslie and Kayli go
out for some Put-Put
The "Old Folks" showed the "Young-uns" how it was done -
Brad/Dad is always up to something
The family went out to get some ice-cream - several times
Nonni worked with all the girls during a manicure as they all
put on some new Jamberry nails
We always do family photos when we go to the beach - just to
help us remember our fun times together
Brad/Dad had to go back home for a few days at work so he
wasn't here when we took the photos
Uncle Philip had to take his photo when he came back to the
beach and then insert him in the group shots
Beth, Alexandria and Savanna - Nonni and Poppi
Philip, Leslie and Kayli
Alexandria, Kayli and Savanna - Kayli "LOVES" her cousins
The Beach was beautiful at night
Poppi took lots of night snots with his camera just to get the
best photo of the moon reflecting on the water
And before we knew it, the week had passed and it was time to
go home
Nonni had been trying to talk Poppi into
letting her have another Chihuahua puppy for six years. Just
before the beach trip, he said "Yes". So Nonni went on-line and
found a female with the coloring she had been looking for in
Wilmington, NC. The owners agreed to hold the puppy until after
the family beach trip. Instead of driving straight home, Nonni,
Poppi and Alexandria drove to Wilmington to get the puppy. It
was love at first sight. The car was packed down with luggage
and other beach stuff so Alex got to hold the new puppy all the
way to Nonni & Poppi's house. They decided to name the new puppy
KC.
Just like her sister Savanna, Alexandria
applied and was accepted to do her high school education at
Charter instead of going to Bunker Hill High School like most of
the other nineth graders from her class at River Bend Middle
School. When Alex finishes her four years of high school at
Charter, she will also have a 2-year associates degree from
Catawba Valley Community College. At this time, Alexandria is
seriously considering becoming a school teacher just like her
Mom, Beth, and her three grandparents, JoAnn Seese and
Curtis & Carolyn Loftin.
Brad and Beth gave big sister Savanna, who
got her driver's license in April, permission to drive the girls
to school. Alexandria started her Freshman year while Savanna
started her Junior year.
The Seese family has been friends with the
Neigel family ever since Brad first met Jeff and Denise when
they were all students at Appalachian State University. The two
families do numerous fun activities together and in October 2016
they decided to dress up for Halloween.
Alexandria wore a cute steam-punk costume while Savanna was
dressed like a mannequin
As always, the Seese family joined Philip,
Leslie and Kayli at Poppi and Nonni's house for Thanksgiving
lunch. Years ago the family dropped the usual Thanksgiving meal
consisting of turkey and chose to go instead with country-style
steak. We also had mashed potatoes, green beans, yams, deviled
eggs, potato salad, stuffing/dressing (without the turkey),
broccoli pie, squash casserole, biscuits, apple dumplings,
pumpkin roll, tea and soft drinks. YUM! Makes me hungry just
thinking about it.
The three families usually go back over to
Philip and Leslie's house after lunch to have some family photos
made in his studio. This year, however, Great-Granny Willie
Loftin was having difficulty with her mobility so the family
opted to do family photos in Poppi and Nonni's den.
"Happy Thanksgiving 2016 from the Loftins and Seeses"
Granny with her great-granddaughters Kayli, Savanna and
Alexandria
After the photos were finished, the family decided to play a
game of Hedbanz - and Oh what fun we had!
Because of several conflicts with scheduling
Christmas lunch with Nonni and Poppi, the family decided to do
their Christmas meal on December 26th so that they could have
more time and nobody would have to rush. The meal itself was
very similar to the Thanksgiving meal.
Poppi and Nonni had decorated everything with Christmas
festivity
Ali posed with KC and Mickey Mouse
Everyone was glad to see Great Granny
Beth and Brad picked her up at Cardinal Healthcare and brought
her to Poppi and Nonni's house for lunch and the afternoon
Leslie, Philip, Isaiah, Savanna, Brad and Beth enjoy Poppi
and Nonni's cooking
Alexandria, Kayli, Isaiah and Savanna
After lunch, everyone moved to the den to open Christmas
presents - Kayli went first
Kayli shows some of the clothes that Poppi and Nonni gave her
- then crawls under the coffee table to open this small one
Poppi and Nonni gave Alexandria some money, an adult coloring
book and a watch with some other jewelry
Uncle Philip and Aunt Leslie are always very creative when
they give Christmas presents to Savanna and Alexandria
This year they got an umbrella - with five-dollar bills hanging
down from all the spokes
The HEDBANZ game was such a success at Thanksgiving
that Beth and Philip both brought games for the family to play
after presents were opened.
Ali, I love you so very much. Every photo that I've added
to this page made me smile - and reminded me just how special
you are. You're kind, sweet and gentle. May you
always follow after the ways of the LORD and may you grow up to
serve Yeshua/Jesus with zeal and passion. Only "true"
happiness comes from Him. Love you, Poppi.