Christmas in Florida

On Wednesday, December 22 Nick, Brin, Lola and I left Illinois and drove just south of Louisville, KY. We stopped for the night, as Nick and I had worked that day. We got up and were on the road the next day by 9am. The baby and the dog were AWESOME travelers…they both slept most of the way…leaving great conversation for Nick and I. We arrived at Tim and Kelly’s house in Sanford, Fl about 11:30 pm. We stayed with Tim and Kelly as Chris and Nona and the kids were staying with my mom & Don.

The next day was Christmas Eve…we stayed at Tim and Kelly’s and relaxed and helped Kelly make Taco soup and Potato soup for dinner that evening.

Lots of family came over for dinner. We had a great time visiting and anticipating Santa’s arrival with the littles. After dinner, we headed to Uncle Bob and Aunt Tammy’s for their annual Christmas Eve Party.

It seems to becoming a tradition that when we all get together, someone has their camera and starts “shake face”. Here are some pictures of late into the night on Christmas Eve of “shake face”:

The kids “shake face” earlier in the evening:

As the party was coming to an end: 

Cookies for Santa @ Uncle Tim and Aunt Kelly’s:

Christmas Morning:

Always a HAPPY baby when she wakes!Santa was HUNGRY!Stocking s for BOTH of our girls!Uncle Tim & Aunt Kelly just love HER…and we love THEM!Brin loved her stocking goodies!Brin opening her  gift from Uncle T & Aunt K.         SUPER CUTE outfits!

Christmas Day at Grandma & Papa Eylander’s:

When we arrived to Grandma’s, we enjoyed the crazy tradition of bacon and homemade cinnamon caramel rolls. Every year, Grandpa, who doesn’t cook anyother day of the year, cooks 5 pounds of bacon and grandma makes YUMMY rolls. After munching on breakfast, we opened some presents and enjoyed our time together.

Summer and Sofi enjoying their art easels. The weather was perfect. They sat in front of the pool and painted for hours!Nona and Angie worked on a puzzle…5 days later…the puzzle was almost done…Don took it apart and put it away…Let me just say…Boy was he in TROUBLE!!!Bear and his Lego creation (or convention as he likes to call it)  Aunt Tammy & Brin                 Will & BrinTim and LolaSummer & Brin

Here are some pictures of the rest of our stay in Florida. We had a great visit and look forward to seeing everyone soon!Bearett was showing Brin how to crawlShe is really working hard to get it…she is SOO close!It was time for a bath and all of the kids wanted to get in on the fun…here they are giving Brin a bath in Grandma’s sink.FINALLY…Holding her own bottle!!!!Brin and her 2 grandma’s at Jackie’s Bridal showerBrin not wanting to take a nap..and Mommy was TIRED!!!Brin and Aunt Denase talking to the angel at the top of the tree.

Wearing Mason’s new hatThese 2 kids CRACK ME UP!!! (Sofi-2nd grade & Bear-Kdg)Mason helped Lola to stay calm as much as possible.

Our trip to Florida was a nice one. We are always glad that we take the dog and drive. I think, tho, that we will take a year off, and spend next Christmas at home. We always make wonderful memories while in Florida and this year is no different….wonderful memories have been made. We look forward to many more Christmas’ with family  making wonderful memories!