Friday, January 29, 2016

December ~ Cliff Notes Version ~

December was a busy month for us too, and once again, I'm cramming it all into one post.  I'm gonna do a separate post about our actual Christmas celebrations on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day though because otherwise this would be way too long.  Just fyi, these are all iPhone shots so please excuse the terrible quality.  Here goes...

We watched the annual Indian Rocks Beach Christmas parade with my mom and grandpa.  It is so fun to celebrate Christmas Florida style.  This was the first year we'd stayed here for the holidays since we moved here.

Our friends had a little party that same day and the kids all made gingerbread houses.

More parade fun.

Showing off all his parade swag.

We also watched a boat parade with my mom.  I thought it was pretty cool, but the kids weren't as impressed.  The boats go pretty slow and we got there really early so we could find a place to sit.  It was still fun though if you ask me.

My good friend Kelly and I were talking one day about how fun it would be if we could surprise our girls and get them together for her daughter's 13th birthday in Ohio.  After some thought about it and research into flights, I realized it would only cost about $50 for a one way ticket!  Just so happens that my mom was headed back to Ohio for Christmas and then just a week later my brother was driving here for Christmas.  So...you guessed it, we sent her to surprise her friend and it worked!  They facetimed each other and my daughter was at her front door and she came to answer the door and was shocked.  How fun!  She spent the week hanging with friends and family in Ohio and made the long drive back with my brother.  To tell her about this surprise trip (I didn't tell her in advance because I didn't want her to have to keep a secret from her bff that long) I made a scavenger hunt and she had a bunch of clues all around our house.  At the end she found a box with the last clue cut into a puzzle.  She was so shocked!  Of course, the whole time her brother didn't really realize that this was a gift just for her and he was outraged at the unfairness of it all.  To make it up to him I made him his own scavenger hunt the week she was gone.  At the end of his were tickets to see Star Wars.  I'd had him convinced that he wasn't going to be able to see it since we don't normally let him watch movies rated PG-13 so he was very surprised and excited.  We also took him putt-putting that week and tried to make his week extra special.

The day before my mom and daughter left for Ohio we opened gifts at her house since she wasn't coming back until January.  My girl opens gifts like a girl, and my boy opens gifts like a maniac.

My grandpa got these amazing chocolates.  They were almost too pretty to eat!  My girl made cards for everyone and this one was my favorite.

This year was the Christmas of BB-8.  He was obsessed.  He was so excited that every single one of his gifts from my mom was BB-8 themed.  He even loved the shirt and he hates getting clothes!
My girl got the cutest outfit from my mom and her own CD player for her room.  She was very happy.

A week later and the cousins were all together!  They had a lot of fun.  I miss them and can't wait for them to be back for Easter!

We went to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and got to see Winter.  Another dolphin that lives there named Nicholas was happy to show off for us during a session with his trainer and that was our favorite part along with the ferry ride across the intercoastal waterway.  I think my boy's favorite part might have been the puffer fish.  The kids all had fun trying to pet the stingrays too.

The kids had fun swimming in the hot tub.  The pool water was pretty cold but they would dare each other to jump in and then get right back in the hot tub.

Just some other random cuteness from December.  My girl decorated her bedroom door to look like a snowman.  They love any sort of game with their dad that includes wrestling or him trying to get them off of him. :)

Next up, Christmas!

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