Enjoy the Journey: Christmas 2014

Wow, am I glad that I found those $34 tickets to Florida. One week of sunshine and warm weather would not have been nearly enough. Plus it was an extra bonus to spend a few days with Melissa's family before they left for Missouri. I just wish the kids would have had a month off of school because I could have stayed much longer. I was not anxious to get back to below zero temperatures in Nebraska.

We spent the first few nights at Billy and Kristen's home with their family. They are always terrific hosts and I always feel bad taking their time because they are so busy. But it was wonderful to spend time with them and the girls. The rest of the week, we spent at Grandma and Papa's house so we could spend lots of time with them, Nonnie, and Melissa and Charlie's family just down the street. We had a wonderful week of soaking in the sunshine and going to the beach, spending time together, boating, and lots of eating out.

On Saturday, I borrowed Charlie's car and checked into a condo on Venice Beach. We told ourselves when we bought our home in Venice, that we would rent it out annually but then spend a little money on a condo or home in the area when we came to visit. Mario and I were so happy that we decided to get the condo. It was a great location, right on the beach and had a heated pool with a full kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms. It was perfect for our family. Mario and the big kids joined us at the condo about 8 or 9:00 that evening after driving all the way from Nebraska.

Erin would wake up early each morning and spend at least an hour swimming in the 66 degree water. The other kids would swim too but never as long as Erin. Mario loved it as much as Erin and spent hours with her in the water.

On Tuesday, we went to Busch Gardens. Erin was really excited because she had a friend, Leah, from Nebraska that was visiting Florida the same week. So they planned to go to Busch Gardens the same day. Unfortunately, just a couple hours into our day, Erin hit her head hard on a roller coaster and she had a bad headache the next few hours. So we left the park early in the afternoon and returned to our condo in Venice. We had gotten there early so they were able to ride all the big roller coasters early before the lines got long. So no one was too disappointed about leaving early. In fact, they were happy to get back to the beach in time to swim before dark. Thank goodness 4 of the tickets were free or else that would have been one expensive short trip to Busch Gardens.

Christmas Eve, the whole family went to Billy and Kristen's house for swimming, dinner, and opening presents from grandparents and aunts and uncles. Kristen made a delicious dinner and we enjoyed spending time as a family.

Christmas morning, we decided to take our presents down to Grandma and Papa's house to open. I had gotten Mario, Nate, and Zach a new Wii U for Christmas and so we needed an internet connection to download updates. We also got the kids a new MacBook for Christmas because we figured it was time to be a two computer family. Plus Erin will need the MacBook for her school in Spain. The kids loved their gifts but Eric was disappointed that he didn't get his own MacBook. Eric will get a free laptop with his scholarship so he'll be set in college.

We had a nice Christmas lunch at their home before driving back to the condo. Then everyone, but Billy's and Missy's family came up to the condo for the evening. We left for a short time to go see our home in Venice. I had never been inside, so we got the full tour from our tenants. It is absolutely beautiful and I can't believe we were able to find such a nice house in a great location just by looking online. Mario did an amazing job finding wonderful tenants because they taking such a great job with the home. They have updated all the landscaping at their own expense. Mario and I wanted to raise the rent because our taxes went up several hundred dollars, but after seeing how well they are taking care of the house, we told them we wouldn't raise the rent. After touring our home, we returned with take out Chinese for everyone. It was a great Christmas!

Friday, Billy and Kristen took us boating again and we enjoyed a nice lunch at a little restaurant on the water. That evening, we celebrated Gabriella's birthday at their home and had our goodbyes with the family. We left to return to Nebraska early Saturday morning. We left Erin with Billy and Kristen to stay a few more days. We had found her a plane ticket to fly back the next week for $120. Unfortunately, Erin got really sick after we left and was texting me in the middle of the night Sunday night saying she had a really bad headache still and didn't know what to do. I thought for sure she had a concussion from Busch Gardens. So I had Kristen take her to the ER the next morning. Fortunately, she didn't have a concussion, she just was really sick with a bad cold or possible flu. I had gotten sick too as I was leaving Florida and I slept almost the entire drive home, just waking up for a few minutes at a time. I was sick in bed for the next several days and even after that, I was weak for the next several days. Erin flew back the following Wednesday and started feeling well enough to start baking junk food and she started exercising again. But I can tell the sickness really left her weak. We are both almost fully recovered now. But it was a long illness.

It was such a great trip. I got to meet Charlie's wife Mel and their new baby Henry. What a blessing Mel is to Charlie. I'm so happy that they found each other. I couldn't get over how adorable Henry was and I loved holding him. I usually am not a baby person. But he was just so cute. Being there just made Mario and I long for the time we get to move to Florida. Only 3 more years if Spain is our last assignment. But we often think we will do one more after Spain. We'll see.