Matthew and I had a busy Christmas season. We drove down to Tampa last Tuesday to stay with Matt's dad and family. Jim, Brittany, Matthew and I went to Bonefish for dinner. Yum! After dinner, we opened presents back at the house. Matthew is so excited about the Nook that Jim and Jean got him. It is on back order until February, so that just gives us another reason to go down for a visit. :) I'll be honest, we haven't cooked since we got home, so we haven't been able to use our food chopper yet. Unfortunately, Jean and Brittany had to work Wednesday, so Jim, Matt and I went out to breakfast and then to the Tampa history museum. It was really interesting. There was a lot of information about the Native Americans that lived here, the Ybor city culture and the cattle that live here. Brittany picked us up for lunch (she only had to work a half day). We left after lunch to head to Matt's mom's house.
We helped Barbara finish wrapping some gifts and then Mimi and Gramps came over for dinner. After dinner we went to the Botanical Gardens to see their lights. It was fun but a little crowded. Here are some pictures from our time there.
Thursday morning we opened presents! (There are still more presents to come, Matt and I were very good this year!) Then we made ham omelets from the left over dinner ham. Later that morning we went out for a walk on the beach. The weather was perfect, though a little breezy. I was glad I decided to grab my sunglasses from the car. After lunch we headed to my parents house.
Nick and Robyn went to Christmas Eve service with Jonathan and Chat, so they weren't there when we arrived, but it was nice to spend time with mom, dad, Lisa and Erik while the kids were still napping. Ok, Kayleigh didn't nap, but she was lying down. I know mom and dad loved having all of the kids and grandkids at their house for Christmas Eve dinner. We had the traditional Noche Buena dinner of pork, black beans and rice and plantains. Yum! Chat made flan for dessert. We went to bed very full!! The kids had a great time playing together. It was so much fun watching them playing together, too. I just felt bad for Brian. He was too young to join in with everyone.
Christmas morning we had pancakes and French toast as we waited for Jonathan and Chat to finish up Christmas at their house so we could open gifts. It was a bit crazy with 10 adults, 4 kids that can get around and a baby. The kids did really well, but I think it helped that we didn't all sit around and wait turns to open gifts. Of course, the nieces and nephews got a lot of the same gifts, so they would have been opening at the same time anyway. And there were presents for me and Matt. :) Mom and dad bought Matthew a new computer keyboard. Unfortunately, it didn't come in time, so they wrapped up an old one for him to open. Nick did have the flash for his camera get delivered Christmas day! Who knew the post office would deliver Christmas day???
After opening gifts Matt and I headed over to Mimi and Gramps for lunch. Everyone was over there and apparently there were a lot of good boys and girls this year! The aunts and uncles bring gifts, so you just find your pile and open up. Poor Mimi was so worried about lunch that she didn't open her gifts with everyone and waited until after we ate to do it. Lunch was delicious. And Matt's mom brought her iced sugar cookies for dessert. We always look forward to them! After lunch we played "Which Came First?" where you have to pick between two items (indoor plumbing or toilet paper, Halloween or Valentine's Day). We lost, but it was fun and educational! Then we played "Mystery Mansion". One team picks a suspect, weapon, reason and location and the other team tries to figure it out by process of elimination. It's kind of like "Clue", but quicker.
Then it was back to Mom an Dad's for Christmas dinner with all of my family. Mom had the great idea to make a video of everyone "entering" the family, where they came in the picture in the order they came in the family, either by birth or marriage. The hardest part was getting Nathan and Brian in (Lisa had to go get Brian and Nathan kept stopping to check things out on the way). Scott was sick so April took him home, but Barbara and Jack offered to take the boys home after dinner so they could play with their cousins. I strategically placed myself by Barbara and Jack at dinner so I could talk with them because that was the only time we would see them on our visit. Grandma made friends with Taylor because Taylor is much more calm than the others. This year I got to make the family calendars and hand them out after dessert. Chat has done it for the past two years and wasn't able to do it this year, so I offered to. It was a lot of fun and I love the tradition Chat started and I couldn't imagine not having one this year. I don't know if the kids were able to take a nap that day, but they all were great and play so well together. It really was great having everyone together.
Nick, Robyn and Taylor left after breakfast the day after Christmas. I know they were hoping Taylor would sleep in the car, though the first thing she asked was to watch a movie. They were going to stop at Lisa and Erik's on their way home to get out of the car for a while and maybe to get Taylor to take a nap. Erik took Brian and Kayleigh to see Granny and Aunt Ola and Matt went to breakfast with his mom, aunt and grandparents so Lisa and I were able to get in some good Farkle time. It's much easier when Kayleigh isn't trying to take a turn or grab the dice. And she's lucky for Lisa, so I was glad to get rid of her! :) Matt came back to pick me up and we headed home around 1. It was a great time!!
1 comment:
The one with grandma and her great-granddaughters is so cute. Looks like y'all had a busy, but wonderful holiday. Also, you look GREAT!
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