Christmas in Iowa

 

Our time in Iowa was fun while it lasted. We arrived late on the 22nd and spent the first few days at Grandma Becki's house. Trevor, Kianna and I went for a walk on the trail behind our old house. It looked like a graveyard with all the trees gone due to the Derecho and new ones planted with white cylinders around them. Kaylee enjoyed some time with Lily Ford.

We also enjoyed time with the Langfald's. As usual, Sam went all out providing us with a fun-filled Christmas Eve. She recreated the Price Is Right game and did an amazing job. Uncle Mike smoked us with a meat extravaganza full of burnt ends, wings, ribs and Philly cheesesteak. We love his smoked meat. 

On Christmas Day, we had monkey bread and then went over to my dad and Sue's house where we had taco pie with them, Rod and Jada. We played some cards and then went to the new Kurt Warner movie, "American Underdog". It was an excellent day.

On the 26th, we transitioned over to my dad and Sue's house. Upon arriving, my dad mentioned he had had a rough night and was a bit congested. We tried to keep him at the other end of the table as we played cards. Later that night, we went over to the Flender's house for a little party with our old small group. 

On the 27th, we found out that my dad had a rough night and was feeling pretty lousy. Sue went and bought a Covid test and sure enough he tested positive. It was at this point, that our time in Iowa took a turn for the worst. We canceled all of our plans for the next few days. After much debate, we decided that we would rather spend our quarantine back in Florida and not risk being unable to make our flight home on the 29th. We rented a car and were on the road by 1:30 pm. We made it to Nashville, TN before taking a break for the night. We arrived by 8:30 pm on the 28th.

On the 29th, I woke up with a sore throat, so I took a Covid test that came back negative, so off to the beach we went. During the night, I ended up taking another Covid test and this time it came back positive. From there, I spent my time quarantined in our bedroom and everyone else stayed away from me. Thankfully, my symptoms have been mild with the worst being a stuffy nose, back pain and a sinus headache. Thankfully the rest of our crew has stayed healthy so far.

It was a bummer not being able to see everyone while we were back in Iowa. Sue ended up testing positive as well. Thankfully, my dad had a very mild case. We're praying Sue does too. I guess this is life during a pandemic...

Christmas in Florida

                                           

Today is the day we picked to celebrate our family Christmas. We started off by going to church, opened gifts, had a yummy meal of brisket, mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. We ended our day by watching, "A Nativity Story", focusing on the true meaning of Christmas. It was a wonderful day together with our crazy crew. 

Palm Beach Grill with the Shannon's

 

                                                    

I love our date nights with Stacie and Patrick! Not only are they family, but they're our BFFs. Tonight we  got all fancy and had an excellent meal at Palm Beach Grill. Afterwards, we took a romantic stroll through the open courtyards, did some window shopping, and had a photo shoot. 

Christmas Baking

Despite my widening waistline, the girls insist that we continue our Christmas baking tradition. We invited Aunt Stacie over to join in the fun. We made Grandma Carie's Swedish butter cookies, peanut butter blossoms, dipped ritz crackers, homemade caramels, turtles, Oreo balls, and buckeyes. While we worked in the kitchen the guys lounged by the pool. In addition, to our day of baking, Kaylee made some amazing gingerbread cupcakes. Aunt Stacie enjoyed them so much, she hired Kaylee to bake some mini-cupcakes for their neighborhood party. $$$

Kayaking

Stacie, Matthew, Andrew, Kaylee, Trace, Bree, Aliyah and I all went kayaking in Riverbend Park. It was Bree's first time and she was so adorable. She overcame her fears and was a pro by the end. We managed to see two alligators during our adventure.

 

The Amazing Race

Tacky Tourists

 

Biker Gang

Hippies

Squid Game

Get on your marks, get set...

Phil, I mean Trevor, and his assistant

                                          

The Winners

Trevor organized our Second Annual Amazing Race and did an awesome job! We started off the race at 10 am at our house and once we were in our cars received our first clue. It led us to Tropical Smoothie where we had to order green smoothies and record two of us drinking it from start to finish. Once finished, we received our next clue which led us to Busch Wildlife Center where we were directed to take a picture with an alligator. From there, we had to take a picture with the lighthouse. Then we went to Coral Cove where we had to find a specific shell before breaking for appetizers at Blue Pointe Bar and Grill. Before leaving, we had to each eat an oyster and complete a card stacking challenge.

The second part of our race, led us to Loggerhead Marine Life Center where we took a picture with a sea turtle. From there, we went to the Manatee Lagoon and were blessed with seeing some manatees. Then we headed to West Palm to see Sandy the Christmas tree, eat meatballs at Lynoras, eat a dog treat and sing Christmas carols with a stranger. We then headed across the bridge to Palm Beach, where we went to Worth Avenue and sang "Jingle Bells" in front of the beautiful tree. We then posed for senior pictures, which was so much fun. The last event was at Drive Shack, where Trevor had reserved a bay for two hours. Last but not least, we ended up at Stacie and Patrick's house where we had pizza and rehashed all the days events. Trevor did an amazing job. We had such a blast!!!!