Happy Thanksgiving and on to Christmas

Since the time we moved to our old house in Ocoee back in 2012, we started the tradition of having Thanksgiving at our house.  Because of all the work we were planning to do our new place, I think there was some concern that the tradition would end.  But fear not!  I wasn't about to let anything get in the way or our hosting.  And nothing did.

Everything carried on as usual with the menfolk golfing in the morning (they wanted to golf at the course that our property is on - - we are on the 9th fairway - - but alas it was closed for the holiday) to having our meal in the afternoon with a total of 36 persons here.  Sadly the day was somewhat dismal weather-wise with a forecast of heavy rain but the bad stuff, fortunately, never came to fruition.  The kids were still able to do some soccer playing in the backyard which had been my dream (actually my dream was a giant football game but we will save it for next year).

The day before Thanksgiving, Grandma and Grandpa had the kids for most of the day.  Huge help for me so I could work on preparations!

Elaine and Ellen were a huge help in the kitchen during clean-up.

Our spread. Which should come as no surprise...Jennifer caught Dasher eating a turkey leg that he had stolen before the meal.

Desserts...mostly made by Jennifer.

Trying a new recipe...cranberry jalapeño dip.  Not spicy at all because of some sugar but so, so delicious.

Aubree's list of things she's thankful for.

The white on the wall is where the plumbing is.  We had to get the house completely re-plumbed (which old owners paid for).  Haven't fixed the dry wall yet because we are waiting to do some construction stuff in this room.

Funny pic! Attending Thanksgiving were Grodack(6), Gregory(2), Bergherm(5), Bergherm(3), Isidro(5), Isidro(2), Zbaraschuk(5), Brace(3), Wall(3), Herndon(1), and Tangie's work friend from Germany, Tamara.  (Missing for picture are the Walls, Ana, and Bre).

The biggest treat for Thanksgiving was getting to see my niece for the week.  Ricky and Ana got here on the Monday evening before Thanksgiving and Bre had grown exponentially since the summer.  She just turned six months old and is as cute as a button and happy as can be.  The girls loved to hold her!

Duncan got the new iPhone X and one of the features is that you can black everything else out in the picture.

She is just so precious.

David and Yully came over to Saturday evening (after Thanksgiving) to see Ricky and Ana off.  Karlie wasn't excited about the photo op though.

The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, we have the tradition of my going out shopping while Duncan is with the kids.  I hit up Once Upon a Child and also Clothes Mentor as usual and then I called Duncan on a whim and suggested we meet at the Florida Mall.  The girls really wanted to go to the American Girl store but complained that "Dad only lets us stay there for like five minutes when he takes us." I figured I could give them a little more time than that. We arrived in our two separate cars about 1:00 pm and the parking lot was nuts!  It took me at least 15 minutes to find a parking spot and it ended up being at the very back side of the mall and way, way back. Duncan and I were both in awe at how many people were there (I haven't been to a mall in years on Black Friday) and chuckled to ourselves that malls aren't actually dead even though you hear the stories of them closing down.  Truthfully, I love the crowds during Christmas so I found it exhilarating to be walking around in hordes of people.

Bre's first visit to an AG store.

Couldn't believe we found both the boys names on a license plate.

All the people waiting in line at Apple.  Should have been an omen.

We ate lunch in the super crowded food court and then Ricky, Ana, and Bre met up with us at the AG store.  We stayed for a good 45-minutes and hit up a few more stores before the boys and the girls separated.  As the girls and I made the trek to the car at about 4:15, I get a text from Duncan about how he had been sitting in the parking lot, not moving.  I figured he was overblowing the whole thing.  But when the girls and I got outside, I quickly realized the seriousness of the situation.  It was like....a parking lot.  Nothing was moving.  We pulled out of our space but it quickly became evident we weren't going anywhere.  Calleigh started crying in the back seat that she just wanted to go home. Duncan texted me that after sitting in the van for 30 minutes and literally not moving an inch he had given up and gone back into the mall.  Calleigh started pointing out places where she thought there were exits where we could get out but it was a mirage each time.  Aubree started joking that it was like being in a dessert where you keep thinking you're seeing water.

We finally gave up too and joined the boys back in the mall.  Not long after, sunset came and it felt very weird to be in a mall during Sabbath but we were literally trapped. Periodically we would go and check the parking lot to see if things were moving and FINALLY, around 8:00 pm it looked like things were at last happening.  I took all the kids in the van and Duncan took his car by himself.  I could see things had improved because there were empty parking spaces now and we could cut across them.  To our great joy, we got out in **only** twenty minutes.  By the time we had gotten all the home (a 35-minute drive at least), Duncan was STILL in the parking lot. He clearly was in a worse spot (thanks to my parking job).  We determined that the major problem was that all the parking on the far side of the mall had no close exits to the road, causing a big backup.  Oh, and Ricky and Ana got out in only 15 minutes when they left at the original time we did.  They had parked close to where the exits were.  Better us than them I guess since they have an infant.  At any rate, the whole thing didn't phase me that much because we really didn't have to be anywhere (although, again, I wasn't happy about it being Sabbath) to be.  I chalked it up as making a memory but poor Duncan I think is permanently scarred.

Some years ago Calleigh saw a funny TV commercial for Walmart with a little girl saying, "Black Friday means sweet deals." We quote the commercial often (so great job, Walmart) but we had to change it around a little bit after our fiasco.

Never again!  We were that little black spot near the bottom of the picture.  You had to drive all the way around to top of the picture (like in the 12:00 position) to get out.

Backing up a bit, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Duncan and I went to the Florida Hospital Gala as we usually do, along with Bruce and Jennifer.  Once again, Jennifer had donated a basket of cookies and other baked goods to be auctioned off.  When we got there, it took us a long time to find her basket and then when we did, it was in a really odd place and had no number on it for people to even be able to bid.  We were all so mad!  Someone finally took care of it and the basket did sell for $350 so in the end, it all worked out.  The entertainment this year was Josh Groban and I was very, very happy.  He didn't sing too many Christmas songs (which is the music I probably listen to of his the most) but he did end with "You Raise Me Up" sung with a choir.  Then for the encore he did "White Christmas" which is one of my very favorite Christmas songs!

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of our table before it began.  But this was after.  We were sad that we didn't get to sit with Bruce and Jennifer and we were especially sad that they skipped the soup from the meal this year.  My favorite part!

This past Sunday, the kids and I went to Green Meadows Farm in Kissimmee to celebrate London's 3rd birthday.  Duncan had to go into work so we missed his company.  We hadn't been there in years and we really had a great time with all the animals.  It was a beautiful day and there was hardly anyone else there.  On the way home, we were able to meet Duncan and get our Christmas tree.  So glad to have it up!  Nothing beats sitting in my living room with the lights dimmed, tree glowing, candle lit, sipping a tea and watching a Hallmark Christmas movie.  One of my very favorite things to do during my favorite time of year.

Love this!

Colby learning how to milk a cow.

Brady touched lettuce! Brady touched lettuce!

Holding a baby chick.

And a big one.

The happy birthday girl!

We didn't mess around by going to Lowe's first this year.  We went directly to a place on 434 that has the trees all out so we could pick.

Very happy with our selection!

On Thursday the family headed down to Lakeland for some fun activities.  Duncan was supposed to be in Tampa for the day for work and was going to meet us there but at the last minute, it got rescheduled which worked out great.  His schedule was "free" so he could leave with us mid-afternoon and drive together.  Our first stop was Common Ground playground which is seriously the best playground in the "world" or at least that I've ever been.  There are so many activities to do there.  Afterwards, we hit up "Palace Pizza" which is along the main drag in the downtown.  Lakeland is really a charming little town especially decked out for Christmas.  We sat in the outdoor seating and it was very lovely. And the pizza was really, really good!






Following that, it was the main reason for the trip down....the Gaither Christmas Homecoming Concert! When you have the Gaithers combined with Christmas you can't help but be happy.  The concert was held in the same building as when we went to Wild Kratts Live but in a different area of the building (bigger venue). Unfortunately we had rather crummy tickets, WAY far back, because I held off on buying them thinking another relative or two may join us.  But, it is what it is.  Let me tell you...you get your money's worth.  The concert started at 7:00 pm and didn't get out until 10:20 although it did include an intermission.  The first half they did only a few Christmas songs but the second that was mostly all it was.  It ended with the audience singing along with an a cappella "Silent Night" (complete with people waving their little flashlight things they had handed out) and then transitioned to "O Holy Night" as the grand finale.  I was sad because my favorite singer, David Phelps, left the vocal band earlier this year but the guy they had sing it, Wes Hampton, did a truly amazing job.  I had no idea he could sing like that.  Total goosebumps!! Of course, the song is already near and dear to me since it was sung at my wedding.


Colby fell asleep at about 9:15 and Brady for the last few minutes.  We filed out with Colby asleep on Duncan's shoulder and as we neared the car, Duncan suddenly says, "I don't have the car key." He throws Colby at me who promptly wakes up and does a frantic search of each pocket with no success.  I knew I didn't have it because I had no purse or pockets. We were in a grassy area near the parking lot so I said I'd just wait there with the kids while Duncan went back inside to search around our seats.  He takes off and mumbles, "It could be a very long night." He had gotten about 30 or 40 feet away and Calleigh says loudly, "Maybe we should check if the car is unlocked." Duncan reverses course and run over to the car.  We are standing there with baited breath as he pulls on the door handle....and the door opens!!!  Ahhhh!!!  Yup, we never locked it and took the key out in the first place.  We had all the iPads and Duncan's work computer in there not to mention that someone could have just driven off!  Thank goodness we were at a christian concert. Ha!  So Calleigh was the hero of the night.  I asked her how she thought of that and she said she was just thinking in her mind that she didn't recall hearing the beep of locking the car when we got out.  I don't even want to think of how this story would have ended had she not thought of that.

A few more random pictures...

Stopped to look at a house with a bunch of lights the other night and took a photo in the sleigh in the front yard.

My friend/former boss, Tim, has season tickets to the Pats and graciously gives out the tickets when he can't go.  Rad and Alison were the excited recipients.  It included field access and this is where they stood for the game!

We actually saw them during the telecast!

Working on the human body for school and this is our skeleton we put together.  Took me basically a whole Christmas movie to cut the pieces out!

Soccer ended last Sunday and the kids got their medals.  They had a terrific time and were sad to see it end. Brady scored quite a few goals this season.

Hiking in Wekiwa Springs State Park (this is literally across the street from our community so we now have an annual pass)

Have a great week!