United States

Atlanta

My sister, mom, and youngest brother live in Atlanta. Many of our friends do too. We saw many of our Atlanta friends as well as our worldschool friends, the Crabtrees while they were passing through Atlanta. My friend Jewel also drove from Chattanooga to Atlanta for a visit. It means so much to us when friends take time to meet…

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United States

Thanksgiving in California

We touched back down in the United States for Thanksgiving in Sunnyvale, California. My oldest brother Sam and his wife AC live there. We also saw our niece, Nell, a junior at UC Santa Cruz, and we met our long-lost cousin Dan, also a student at UC Santa Cruz. We enjoyed spending time with them. It was the perfect spot…

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Asia, Central America, South America, United States

The Watkins Family’s Global Pickleball Adventure

We travel the world with carry-on luggage and backpacks, but we have room for pickleball paddles. Our travels have taken us to five continents, and on that journey, we have had a whirlwind pickleball adventure. Our pickleball odyssey began in Costa Rica back in 2020. The owner of our hotel in Tamarindo invited Michael to play pickleball. Soon enough, we…

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United States

We Went to Arizona in the Summer

We try not to visit Arizona in the summer, but this year it was our only chance to visit Michael’s family. We braved the heat and had a fun time. Melissa and Mike have a great house and a pool, and they recently added an RV garage, casita, and pickleball court. We played a lot of pickleball in the morning…

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United States

Our Last Days in North Carolina

We had a wonderful time with my dad and Kay in North Carolina. We have a good rhythm when we are there. Lucas and I often play tennis with my dad and his tennis group. We play pickleball in the driveway. We walk a two-mile loop almost every morning. Vivian spent a few more days with us after the beach.…

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United States

The History of Cousins’ Weekend

The first official Cousins’ weekend took place in Charlotte in 2014. My brother Seth and his family met us in Charlotte, North Carolina at our cousin Josh’s house. We spent a weekend hanging out at their house and swimming at their community pool. At that time Josh and Kristen only had one son. Now they have three kids. Almost ten…

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United States

Seabrook Island

We coordinated a family beach week in Seabrook Island, South Carolina. Not everyone in our large family could make it, but there were twelve of us. We stayed in a beautiful house, steps from the ocean. Seabrook Island is a private community about an hour south of Charleston, South Carolina. The island has golf and tennis. Sea turtles lay eggs…

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United States

Lucas is a Teenager!

It’s official. Lucas is a teenager! Lucas turned 13 in June. He had two requests for his birthday. He wanted to play pickleball and see a Braves Game. We made it happen even though we were on our way home from Michigan. We stopped in Cincinnati the day before Lucas’ birthday because the Braves were in town playing the Reds.…

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United States

Georgia – Work, Camping, and Play

After Tennessee, we headed back to Georgia. Lucas and Henry asked to go camping, so we headed to Stone Mountain for a long camping weekend. We went camping with some of our Atlanta friends. It was nice to reconnect. Our air mattress was too big for our tent, but we managed. Lucas and Henry are old enough now to take…

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