Christmas in Florida

Christmas Cousins

I thought I should probably write about our trip to Florida this past Christmas before, well Easter arrives.  The following is a brief summary of our wonderful 6 weeks in Florida. Enjoy the photo montage at the end.

There are a few traditions we still adhere to when we are back in the States for the holidays.  First a trip to Costco and/or Target of course. Anything and everything at your fingertips, one stop shopping so to speak.  Add to that one entire piece of luggage full of Swiss Chocolate along several Amazon pre-deliveries and we were pretty set for this holiday.  The kids love when Santa comes through my in-laws neighborhood on a fire truck tossing candy to all the girls and boys. It is something they remember for a long time.

Christmas Eve is spent at my step-parents home in Daytona, along with my brother and sister and their families.  We enjoy a delicious home cooked meal and watch the kids open their gifts (as well as swim in the pool in December). And this one was once again memorable. Wonderful food, cousins playing = fun.

Disney World

On Christmas morning the kids awoke to a bountiful of gifts and sweets and stockings full of goodies at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  We were joined by Erik's sister and brother-in-law and all the cousins. It was so much fun to watch the amazement on the kids faces at everything they received.  We were once again truly blessed with abundance this Christmas. We then visited with my Meemaw (my Grandmother, the kids great grandmother) and then finished up with a Warm family gathering at Erik's Aunt and Uncle's where we stuffed ourselves with more delicious food.

The next week was a blur of day trips and fun times visiting family and friends.  On New Years Eve day we had a big birthday gathering at a local park.  It was a special request Alison had several months ago to celebrate her birthday with her cousins and family members.  It was a gorgeous day and a great opportunity to see lots of friends and family members.

We had a mellow but memorable New Years Eve with friends in downtown Orlando, complete with a Stray Cats strut uber ride and lots of Flight of the Concords.

New Years day we settled into our new digs with Meemee and Grandpa who had arrived from North Carolina, complete with their own bounce house.

Later in the week we headed to Jupiter to visit our friends down south and enjoy some much needed beach time.  We have such fond memories of our life there before moving to Switzerland and miss our friends and the beach life.  It was so sweet that friends opened their doors to us and even threw a party in our honor. We spent many days at the beach and had wonderful meals with friends.

Meemee and Grampa

Erik headed back to Switzerland in early January and the kids and I headed back to Orlando.  The next few weeks were a blur of trips to Disney World, the Kennedy Space Center, swim classes, dinners with friends, girls weekend, essential oil classes, visiting and shopping. We tried to spend as much time as we could with family and friends, especially my grandmother (Meemaw) who lost her husband in early December.  It is always so hard to say goodbye.  My fondest memories were watching the cousins play together and catching up with dear friends.  I am grateful to the Aunts and Uncles, Nannies and Papas, Grandpas and Grandmas who rearranged their busy schedules to spend time with us, as well as spoil the kids rotten.

I think the pictures sum it up a bit better than my spotty memory.  All in all we had a great time. We could not have asked for better weather. The expression on Miles face when I told him he could wear shorts was priceless. Many thanks to whomever commissioned the fantastic warm weather.  We are thankful for everyone who opened their homes. lent us a car, supported our trip financially or went out of their way to visit with us.  We really truly appreciate all the effort, support and memories.  BIG THANKS!

 Until next time.

Here is a link to a photo slideshow I put together of our adventures.  Hopefully it works.  Enjoy

https://youtu.be/tMyx7UOBpWA