It's over (and we're sad)

You'll have noticed a lack of posts lately. That's because the main purpose of this blog is to keep the Utah kids informed of the happenings at the 813. Well, they were here and an integral part of the activities for a fabulous ten days; they didn't need to check the internet. But now they can have a reminder of our fun times, and the rest of you can enjoy them vicariously as well. The crew arrived anxious to see Brad for the first time in over two years. We were pretty excited to see them as well, even if it had only been a few months since our last visit.

First on the schedule was painting the baseboards. (I forgot to take pictures, but they all worked together to get it done.) We wanted to make sure they appreciated the fact that they didn't have to study for finals anymore! Michelle DID have homework, but it involved a trip to the Dali Museum in St. Pete which we were able to follow with a quick trip to the beach. It was a little chilly, but at least there weren't any snowflakes around to destroy the fun.Christmas Eve afternoon we took a stroll around Lykes Gaslight Park in downtown Tampa, and took some time to "rest and relax" following the instructions in the guidebook.

Then it was time for a yummy dinner and our Christmas Eve tradition of opening a new nativity, reading the Christmas story from the Bible and singing selections from Handel's Messiah, along with our friend's wonderful Christmas Cantata. No one left cookies for Santa. I guess they figured he didn't need any.

But Santa came anyway. And so did a phone call from Elder Jeff. Merry (Belated) Christmas to everyone!

Then it was time for some more family adventures. Due to his bum knee, Weston got out of walking 12 miles of the Pinellas Trail, but no one else did. We ended the section at Honeymoon Island State Park. Don't plan your honeymoon trip there for December - it was pretty cold!!

The next hike was at Flatwoods Park. This time it was a loop, and Weston managed to hobble around while Brad and David decided they would jog the whole way. The weather cooperated and we had a gorgeous day for our family activity.

Then it was time to work again! The girls dismantled Christmas and the boys trimmed a giant tree. Of course, all along there was still time for normal holiday pastimes - eating snacks, watching football, playing games, and staying up late.
There was one more hike on the list - the Orlando City Walk. Michelle stayed home to babysit, Steven stayed home to do homework, and we took the college kids to Orlando. After time spent in the temple, we had lunch and then enjoyed walking around Lake Eola downtown.

The next day the kids took a final trip at the beach before they had to board a plane and head back to the snow. Hopefully looking at these pictures will warm your heart if nothing else. We miss you!