After returning from our cruise Saturday morning (see previous post), we headed over to Belleair to see David and Jan. We had a great time hanging out with them for the afternoon. The four of us left about 4:30 to drive to Lakeland because we were celebrating Grandpa Hooks' 90th birthday! Grandpa's wife, Lois, had planned a wonderful birthday party at Greenlands Country Club. There were probably about 100 people there to wish Grandpa a happy birthday.
We enjoyed cocktail time for a bit while all the guests arrived. Ryan and I had a great time catching up with his family who we don't get to see much at all. While everyone mingled a slide show played to the side which had tons of great pictures of Grandpa through the years. Soon it was time for dinner, and we all enjoyed a wonderful meal: mixed green salad, steak, mashed potatoes and asparagus.
After dinner, it was time to start the festivities. David and his brother, Hollis, were the emcees for the evening; they did a great job. While we ate birthday cake, they introduced several different people, including Grandpa's brother Syd, to talk about their times with Grandpa. Syd talked about growing up with him, but others talked about their time at the University of Florida, his distinguished military career, his leading of the Florida citrus and phosphate boards and his time in retirement (if you can call everything he does "retired!"). We wrapped everything up by standing and singing "Happy Birthday." This was a wonderful evening celebrating an amazing man!
Ryan, Grandpa and David
Hollis, David and Helen with their dad.
Ryan with his cousins, Hamilton and Emily. We wish we could see them more often!
Ryan, Emily and Hamilton with Grandpa and Lois.
No comments:
Post a Comment