Spring Break, Panama City Beach and Beer!

Wow, what a different meaning those words have taken on in 14 short years {ouch...14 years since my first Spring Break to PC}. Here's a look...

Then: PC Beach - Spring Break 1996 - Club La Vela


Now: PC Beach - Spring Break 2010 - The Summerhouse


Okay, so technically I wasn't in the "now" pictures. And I honestly can't say that I know a good majority of people in that first photo. I think they were other Spring Breakers that just jumped into our girls pic {I am seated in the back, 5th one from the right}. At any rate, things have changed, right?

Last weekend we took a little trip over to P.C.B. to visit with Ben's Grandma Johnson, who at 87, still snowbirds in the Sunshine State for three months out of the year. It was nice to get a few pics of one of the only two surviving great-grandparents with Jack and Paige {we are planning to get over to Jacksonville for a visit with Great-Grandma Josie soon}.



The trip perfectly coincided with seeing Ben's sister, Katie on her college {senior} Spring Break, too.


Also, it worked out great to meet up with Roger and Vicki in P.C. to send Jack over to spend the week at their house in Gulf Breeze {while on his Spring Break}. Jack was so excited to be spending the week with them catching crabs off the dock and going to the Dollar Store to pick out $1 toys. I think they had a lot of other fun activities planned, but those two activities were surely enough to keep him happy.

It's been quiet around the house and kind of surreal. It's weird having only one child again and a lot less exhausting. We've even been able to sleep in a little. Wow, words I never thought I'd say with an infant. Still we desperately miss the little guy and love talking to him on the phone at night to get reports about his day. We look forward to having him back for a fun-filled Easter weekend.

Oh, and I promised more pics of Grooters Brewing Company, Tallahassee, FL. Ben and I managed to bottle the beer on Sunday after returning from P.C., so here is a look.

After the beer is done fermenting (7-10 days) in the carboy, it is ready to be bottled.

We {and I mean Ben} siphoned the beer out of the carboy and into the bottling bucket and added the priming sugar (which carbonates the beer).

We let that settle for about 30 minutes and meanwhile sanitized the bottles and caps.


The kit comes with a special tool that helps you fill the bottles while not allowing air into the tube. This is usually my job, but for the sake of photos, Ben is demonstrating.

Then, cap the bottles with this special tool. This takes a little muscle, hence why this is Ben's job. We do a two person team, because you want to limit the amount of time that the beer comes in contact with air, so you have to work quickly.

Now, this will go into a dark closet for 2-3 weeks to carbonate.


At the end of two weeks, we will chill and enjoy our hard-earned beer!

Incidentally, we will not be funneling this beer {or beer bonging as the kiddies call it these days}.

No, it will be savored, sip by sip.