The Lee Family: November 2019

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Go Gators!

Last night, CK and I went to the last University of Florida Gators football game for their season. CK's friend, Hugh, owns a bank that is right across from the Gator's stadium. His wife and he got to all the games and they invited us to go with them to the game, which is such a fun night. Plus, we have free babysitting! Hugh and Valerie picked us up around 5pm and we drove to the bank in Gainesville. Even though the game was hours away, downtown Gainesville was already totally crazy and the streets were full of people. It was such a luxury to have a parking spot in a garaged right across from the stadium. We rode the elevator to the 2nd floor bank where there were already a lot of folks from the bank there to tailgate. There was bbq ribs and pork, potato salad, cole slaw, rolls and cookies all set out for us to eat. It was fabulous. We ate, while we watched the LSU game. After we ate, CK and I went out on the balcony and people watched which was absolutely mesmerizing. It was so much fun to people watch! There was one girl who dressed up like a plant and then would reach out and scare people. It was so fun. Some people tried to play it off like nothing had happened while others completely freaked out and were scared. Such fun.

When it was time to go to the stadium, we crossed the street and had to walk less than 10 minutes. Along the way we stopped to have a picture with Albert Gator, the UofF mascot statue. We got to the stadium and made a plan to meet with Hugh and Valerie after the game back at the bank. They have 6 seats at the stadium but they are a set of two in one afea and a set of four in a different area of the stadium. We actually sat with Hugh and Valerie's daughter, Samantha and her friend, who joined us. They were very sweet and fun to enjoy the game with.

The Gator marching band and flag girls took to the field and it was incredible! It's such a crazy overwhelming event to go to a football game in the stadium! The band and flag team were incredible! Then the team rushed onto the field and the crowd went wild! It was totally overwhelming and exciting! The game started and it was so much fun! When the other team made a mistake the band would start up and the crowd would chant. CK and I couldn't figure out what they were chanting, so we asked Samantha and her friend. They said everyone was chanting "Move back, you suck!" It was so rude and hilarious at the same time! Samantha said the UofF president had even talked to the student body when she was a student and urged everyone to stop the chant, but it continues.

The game was super fun and the Gators won easily. They played well which was fun to watch. It really was amazing to be a part of and we felt so lucky to be included by Hugh and Valerie. After the game, we met Hugh and Valerie back at the bank and we headed to the farm. We were back at farm by 11pm! Such a long afternoon and night but well worth it! Everyone was asleep already, so we just snuck in an went to bed. Such a fun day.

One of the trees on the farm. Took this picture while walking Buddy and just loved it.

Jillian and Olivia had to say goodbye Saturday morning. Cynthia and her family left for home after breakfast.

On the bank's balcony people watching.

Looking toward the stadium.

The spread! Yum!

CK and me!

Getting closer to game time!!

With Albert Gator.

We made it! Watching the band!

CK and me at our seats.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving started with Connie putting the turkey in the oven and all of us eager for the amazing meal ahead. Connie is the pro of entertaining groups of people throughout the year and of making food ahead of time so that it all feels easy and effortless. CK took our cheesecake out of the fridge and removed it from the springform pan. It was perfect! We were both so excited. He put it on the cake stand and added a few berries to dress it up and then set it on the table full of desserts.

Meanwhile, the table was set and Connie had us put the kids in between adults who aren't their parents. Which is a great idea to create conversation and allow us to spend time with those who we don't get to see often. CK and I made the brussel sprout dish that is one of our favorites and we actually eat it often throughout the year. We cut up bacon, saute it until crispy and then remove it and add the brussel sprouts. The actually cook up perfectly in the pan, although we used to cool them in the oven for months. Once they are done, the are removed, the bacon is added and a light drizzle of balsamic reduction is added. It is so delicious and easy. Once all of the dishes were done and ready, we gathered around the kitchen to say our thanks and then we dug into the delicious food.

We found our seats and of course Olivia was a little sad not to be sitting next to me. She is independent and yet she often gets very attached to me and wants me to sit with her or next to her at meals, but not always. It's actually very sweet and I appreciate that this time won't last forever. Meanwhile, Sofia was perfectly happy sitting at the far end of the table from me sitting between Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Jay. As we ate our delicious Thanksgiving meal, Connie told us to carefully feel under our plates for questions. Each of us had a conversation card that had questions like "What is one of your favorite memories?" or "If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?" It was really fun to hear everyone's answers and really got conversations started. Such a great idea!

Once everyone was done with the great meal, we cleaned up a bit before moving on to dessert. The dessert table was overflowing with great sweets. They were all delicious but the cheesecake really turned out perfectly. We did the dishes and cleaned up all the leftovers and then the kids ran out and played and CK headed out to give Cub rides. I called my Aunt and Uncle, who were in Santa Fe and they said they got several inches of snow and had to postpone their Thanksgiving meal, since none of their friends could make it to their place! They sent pictures and there was a lot of snow. I showed the girls and they were upset, since it's the one year we haven't gone to Santa Fe for Thanksgiving and they would have LOVED playing in the snow. I missed watching my Uncle make my Grandma's apple pie from scratch and his pumpkin pie recipe, which is new each year as he experiments with different recipes. Then all of us would cook in the small kitchen and talk about various Thanksgivings past or any other topic. I was surprised at how much I missed those traditions we've made but happy to be at the farm and make new memories and enjoy Thanksgiving with CK's family. It really was the perfect Thanksgiving.

The turkey goes into the oven!

CK and our cheesecake.

Perfection!

And now it's ready to be eaten.

Each of the table settings - beautiful!

The Thanksgiving table!

The dessert table!

The Thanksgiving menu!

Connie and her delicious Thanksgiving meal!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's hard to decide what to eat! It's all so delicious!

Cousins.

The four of us!

The whole gang.

Olivia in the Cub.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving!

We arrived at the farm on Tuesday around 5:30pm, just before sunset and unpacked before it got dark. The girls were so happy to see their Grandparents and we were happy to have arrived. After we got settled, we drove into town for Sunny's BBQ - our usual first meal after we arrive at the farm. It's so delicious and we all look forward to Sunny's with each visit! Cynthia and her crew actually arrived a few hours after we did, so the girls were super excited to see their cousins.

On Wednesday, I woke up at 7:30am, as usual, to walk Buddy to the end of the runway and back. Because of the dew, the grass on the runway is sopping wet, so my shoes were drenched and squeaky within a few minutes. Buddy loves the farm and runs all over the runway to pee on whatever he can. Once we made it to the end of the runway, the horses, donkeys and cows were terrified of our little blonde dog. Finally, the two donkeys worked up the courage to walk over and sniff Buddy. Buddy was a bit uncertain, but after a quick sniff he was unimpressed. After our walk and getting ready, CK and I headed into town to buy our ingredients for our side dish - roasted brussel sprouts with bacon and balsamic glaze. We also wanted to make a traditional cheesecake from scratch, which neither of us have made since we’ve been married. Ironically we both made one shortly before we met on our first date. Plus, we were making an appetizer plate for Thanksgiving night for us all to snack on while we opened our presents, so we needed to buy cheeses, meat and crackers for that too.

Once we returned to the house, we started working on our cheesecake, which was surprisingly easy to make from what we expected and remembered. Meanwhile, the cousins were having a ball together driving the Gator around the farm like maniacs. They each took turns, so we’d see Sofia driving while they all held on in the back, and then a few minutes later Jackson would be driving, etc. It was pretty cute and they all had so much fun together and enjoy spending time together. At one point Jillian and Olivia took a break from the Gator and created a restaurant in the garage, where they served us dinner. They wrote out a menu, set up their kitchen, set their table right outside the garage under the tree, and then asked Grandma, Cynthia and me out to eat in their restaurant. They gave us each a menu explained all of the food and then let us order. After our order, they returned to their kitchen, prepared our food and then delivered each of our plates! It was so cute. They had so much fun running their restaurant and it's fun to watch them together. They are big buddies and get along so well.

At one point, Grandma had all of the grandkids in to work on a 'turkey cookie' and an 'acorn cookie' project. The kids loved it and they especially loved testing those that didn't make the cut. They originally didn't want to take a break from the Gator, but once they were working on their cookies, they had a great time. Of course, Jackson had to be next to Sofia throughout the experience. He adores Sofia and wants to be wherever she is. It is so adorable.

The cheesecake came out perfectly and we found out on Thanksgiving just how delicious it tasted! It really was perfect and not really that hard to make. We both remember our respective cheesecakes in the past taking several hours to make all those years ago. It was so fun and easy!

With our cheesecake finished, we were done with our chores until the next day. We decided to go out in the Cub and it was a perfect day to fly around and check out Orange Lake. We looked for alligators, but had no luck finding any! There were lots of birds and some cows on the shore and a few airboats. It's such a picturesque lake and so fun to fly over. Such a fun day before Thanksgiving!

Buddy on his morning walk - his favorite part of his day.