December 25 - A Christmas to Remember

Christmas Eve

Our day started out great until.....

4:45pm: "My stomach hurts." - Julia

4:46pm: "Here is a bucket." - Mommy

5pm: Julia starts throwing up

6pm: "I need to take Nic to the ER, can you guys watch Hannah?" - Tammy

So..while poor Julia was sitting on the couch with her bucket (sick on and off) watching Disney's Fairy Rescue, Hannah and I made chocolate chip cookies for Santa and then Hannah and Luke drew Santa some nice pictures. They put the cookies, carrots and drawings next to the fireplace for Santa and we called it a night (Hannah calls the green room her room now, it was really cute!). I slept with Julia and took care of her throughout the night while JD stayed up until Tammy came back to pick up Hannah (2am, Nic is doing much better). 

Christmas Day

We considered sending our elf Christopher to the North Pole to ask Santa to postpone our celebration until the 26th but we decided to go with the 25th. Julia was sick until 7am (yes, it was a long night). However, starting around 7:30am she was able to hold down water (she eventually worked her way up to applesauce and rice). Julia was amazed at all the gifts under the tree (the kids are so spoiled by relatives, thanks everyone!!) but still pretty lethargic and weak throughout the morning. She laid on the couch and we brought presents to her. She regained her energy in the afternoon and seemed almost like herself before bedtime. Meanwhile, Luke had a rip roaring time opening presents but became sicker as the day progressed. He has a fever, is congested and tells me his tummy hurts but he hasn't actually gotten sick (i.e. vomiting). Fingers crossed that he doesn't!

Overall, today wasn't the Christmas we planned for, but nonetheless, it was a day of family and togetherness (and I'm enjoying all the cuddles, even though they are sick cuddles). It will definitely be a Christmas to remember, that is for sure!!

Happy holidays everyone!!

December 25 - Stage 4 [Miami to Houston]

Stage 4: Miami to Houston
Left: 7:30am ET (Saturday after Thanksgiving)
Arrived: 4:30pm CT (Sunday after Thanksgiving)
Stops: several, including overnight in Pensacola
Total Hours of Travel: 22H (43H,  trip total, excluding hotel time)
Miles Driven: 1210 miles (2524 miles, trip total)

We made it! Our Florida trip was a huge success and tons of fun. The drive was long but every mile on the road was worth it to see the family. 

December 21 - 253 Miles [Stage 3, Orlando to Miami]

Stage 3: Orlando to Miami
Left: 12:30pm ET
Arrived: 4:30pm ET
Stops: 1
Total Hours of Travel: 4H (21H,  trip total)
Miles Driven: 253 miles (1314 miles, trip total)

The third stage of our Florida extravaganza took us to sunny Miami to spend Thanksgiving with my grandpa, uncles, Greg, Jill, Victoria and Andrew. The kids had a fab time playing together, visiting family and playing with the pooches. There were 4 dogs in total-Amelia, Brownie (Grandpa's chocolate lab) and the weimie's Lenya and Silver (Brian and Craig's girls). And once again, J.D. and cooked a Thanksgiving dinner to remember. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was the best food EVER (and they had a Thanksgiving ham as well as turkey. I LOVE ham so this was very thrilling). **WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD TO FOLLOW**

Grandpa and his great-grand babies

Fun with Great Uncle Brian

Little Princess (how gorgeous does V look in yellow?!)

The kids watching 'Frosty the Snowman'

Mr. Clean helped prep for the holiday

Julia helped daddy wash potatoes 

The gorgeous table (we ate outside on my grandfather's porch; these pictures don't do the table justice)

Luke charmed Brian and Craig's friend Sally

He also charmed Mickey. Here is Mickey tickling Luke's 'Monkey Toes' (he now refers to his piggies as 'monkey toes')

Chillin'

Tired little dude

 The kids loved the air mattress

Playing with the Train

Puzzle Time

Get this boy a dog! Andrew 'shadowed' the dogs for quite awhile and loved petting them. It was simply too cute for words.

Luke helped Craig water all the gardens

Fun at the Park

Little Monkey's

Cousins - wish we lived closer!

Key Biscayne Beach 

Sorry for this delayed post. Work has been insane lately. I'm working the longest hours in my tenure at the company, usually until close to midnight every night (including weekends). I haven't even read for over a month! For those of you who know me well, you know that is crazy. I technically have next week off but I will be working every night after the kids go to bed. It's not the winter vacation I envisioned, but that's the way the cookie crumbles (yes, I just quoted Jim Carey from some random 90s movie. It's official-I'm working so much I'm losing my mind!).

I have several posts that I hope to do next week, including Julia's winter concert, her first cheerleading competition and of course-Christmas! Unfortunately, our camera broke so I've been using my phone, hopefully the pictures come out well.

Happy Thursday peeps!