Christmas 2005

Christmas Story

January 2nd, 2006

First let me say that I had a wonderful time on our vacation to Florida. Second, let me say that I will never go on vacation again; not until Mira's about 42. Actually, Mira was an angel on the trip. The flight down was uneventful. We arrived at the airport early and just let her walk all over the place. Mike got on the plane first so as to stow the bags. Mira and I were some of the last to get on. She fussed a little, and then slept through most of the flight. Grandma and Grandpa met us at the airport in Orlando Thursday evening and after a meltdown in the car, we made it to their house in one piece.

Friday, we all piled into a golf cart and Grandpa gave us a tour of The Villages. The weather was beautiful - sunny and in the high sixties. We got out at one of the downtown shopping areas and after some window shopping, Mira insisted on walking by herself! She charmed quite a few people with her uneven gait and furry boots (the Robeez sherpa booties). Then it was on to the other shopping area where we looked at bikes for Grandma and Grandpa and eventually we met up with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Bill and their kids and their kids' kids for lunch. Someone has a great picture of Grandpa, Mike and Rudy changing an epic poopy diaper. That night, Mike's sister Melissa and her dog Josie made it into town.

On Christmas Eve, the 7 of us piled into golf carts for another tour of the area. Beautiful weather, sunny and warm - the exact opposite of weather we've been having here in the frozen tundra. The bird life is amazing in this place. We stopped at a little pond just off the golf cart path and took pictures of a great blue heron and a great egret. Did I mention that Grandma and Grandpa have a hot tub? After our tour, cousins Jason and his wife Sarah and their son Rudy, Shannon and her husband Eddie, and Aunt Nancy came over for some hot tubbin'. That night, Mira's great uncle Jim and great grandparents joined us for a Christmas Eve dinner.

Mira had been fascinated with all of the presents under the tree and had been great about not opening them. After breakfast, Mira was finally allowed to open presents and she had a blast helping everyone open their presents. The boxes and paper were more entertaining to her that the actual gifts inside! That evening we went over to Aunt Nancy and Uncle Bill's house for dinner - yummy ham and pickled cabbage, potato salad, and other good stuff.

Monday we met up with everyone for some Pickle Ball. Shannon and I took the girls for a walk while Eddie and Mike creamed Jason and Sarah on the court. It looked like lots of fun. After all that work, more hot tubbin' was in order.

Tuesday, Melissa left for North Carolina, and Mike, Mira and I left for Savannah. We got into town around 5 and were amazed by how much has changed as well as how much had stayed the same. My brother Ben and his friend Jason were kind enough to let us stay at their house - a cute little bungalow in a cute little neighborhood. Now, for those of you who know my brother Ben, prepare to be shocked, because the boy made dinner for us. And no, it wasn't Kraft macaroni and cheese. He made chicken, real mac and cheese, and green beans! Mira went to town on the beans. Ben's neighbors Andrea and Ray joined us. Andrea made a fabulous cake for dessert. And after we put Mira down, I was finally able to open my Christmas present from Ben. Last year, I sent Ben and Jason replica light sabers that actually light up and make light saberish sounds. Needless to say, they loved them. In return, they 'filmed' an homage to Star Wars for me as my gift. If I have the disk space, I'll post it here!

The next day, we drove out to Tybee to spend the day with old friends. MikeR had kayaks loaded up on his truck and the guys went fishing while the girls hung out at Mike and Cindy's house. And even though Mike and Cindy brought home their son just last week, Cindy, Debbie and I made it to the Breakfast Club for some brunch. Grits never tasted so good! Mira loved the toast, so much so she smeared it on my pants and then proceeded to take a big gulp of water from my glass, most of which ended up on my lap! Once we got back to Mike and Cindy's house, Mira crashed for a long nap. The guys got back from fishing that afternoon and prepared for an oyster roast. Boy, I forgot how much I love steamed oysters! Mira was able to meet lots of our friends from Georgia, Debbie and Dale, Matt, Dan, Debbie and Kevin, and Jamie.

Thursday we headed back to The Villages. That night, Grandma and Grandpa took us out to dinner at the country club. Mira was very excited about all the people and things to look at, so we took turns walking around the building. Mike had some great pork diane and I had shrimp and pasta. It's been a LONG time since we've been out to a nice restaurant, so I had fun deciding on what to eat.

Friday came way too fast. In the morning, the guys and Mira went on an adventure. We had to find some geeky cords for Grandpa's computer and while we were out we picked up some more oranges for juice. Grandpa makes the BEST orange juice. I'm going to try to replicate it with frozen oj and some fresh grapefruits and lemons. We'll see how it goes. Then we went on another golf cart ride down to the lake for a boat ride. Mira had lots of fun pretending to be captain. That night we went over to Bill and Nancy's for a New Year's Eve's Eve party and this time both girls got to play with each other. Jordyn was fascinated with Mira and kept trying to pull herself up, using Mira to steady her. We all had lots of fun, but didn't stay late as we had an early flight back here the next day.

So that was our Christmas vacation. I think my mom is out of luck when it comes to Christmas. Sunny and 70 degrees is hard to pass up! She'll just have to come with us next time!

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