The Lee Family: Florida

We headed to Florida on Friday morning and had an uneventful and smooth flight. Buddy was able to go with us so he could spend the week at the farm with us which he loves since he gets to run free and take long walks along the runway every morning. We arrived around 5:30pm and went to Sonny's BBQ, our very favorite restaurant, to celebrate CK's birthday. As always, it was outstanding and we were all surprised at how hungry we were since we'd eaten sandwiches in the airplane on the way over. We returned to the house and sang "Happy Birthday" to CK and then enjoyed his birthday cake and ice cream. After that, he opened his birthday presents from his parents and then we decided to exchange our Christmas gifts. The girls were completely spoiled with all the goodies and toys they received from their Grandma and Grandpa. They each got a new set of sheets - Frozen for Olivia and horses for Sofia. Olivia got an Ariel (her very favorite Disney character) poncho/towel while Sofia got a Frozen towel. They both got doll heads that they could brush and decorate their hair as well as a floating fairy toy. They also got matching fairy outfits, shoes and fairy wings! Olivia wanted to change immediately into her new outfit and Sofia followed her, although it was pretty small and short on Sofia. They both had fun playing in their new adorable outfits though! The toys and goodies just seemed to keep coming and they loved it! After all the gifts were opened, Olivia asked "Can I open another present?" She was really in the mood!

The weekend was spent playing on the farm, taking Gator rides and taking Buddy for long walks in the morning. On Saturday we met up with CK and Connie in Williston for an early dinner at The Ivy House which is set in an old victorian house that is overly decorated and cozy. The food was great and the girls split a steak while each of us had our own delicious meals! It was a fun night out that we ended by going to the Christmas Train nearby. The Christmas Train is on a farm and is a narrow gauge train that was set up a few years ago to go around a course that includes Christmas lights and a light show. The rest of the grounds included a huge movie screen showing "The Polar Express" and "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer". There were several food trucks as well as rides for little kids to go on, a merry go round and a course set up with Model Ts that anyone could drive. The girls had a ball! We rode the train first and it was well done and a perfect night to be outside enjoying it. Next, we walked to the Model T track and the girls rode some of the rides while CK waited in line. Sofia drove the Model T and did a decent job although she was too quick to take her foot off the gas. Otherwise, she kept it pretty straight and laughed like crazy throughout her drive! The girls enjoyed the other rides then finished on the Merry Go Round and then headed home. It was a very fun night!

Grandpa set up the bounce house on Sunday afternoon and the girls spent hours playing in it! On Sunday evening, while the girls played we emptied CK and Connie's kitchen since they had a complete kitchen renovation scheduled to start on Monday morning! It went fairly quickly and we moved all their kitchen ware into the garage, trying to keep the things they would need over the coming weeks accessible.

The girls absolutely loved playing on the bounce house and spent hours making up stories and playing together in some game. They would take breaks to find sticks or explore and find rocks, centipedes, feathers, etc. After the kitchen tear-out started Monday morning, we spent that day moving all of their books, paperwork and things from CK's office to the hanger or garage since they planned to remove the carpet and replace it with wood. That night, CK and Connie watched the girls while CK and I went out to the movies and watched "Unbroken" which CK had just recently finished and I read about two years ago. The movie was well done and it was fun to get out while the girls enjoyed time with Grandma and Grandpa.

On Tuesday we visited Great Grandma and took her out to the courtyard in her new home to enjoy the nice weather and get some fresh air. She looks great and seems to be doing well although. The girls enjoyed visiting with Great Grandma and Olivia climbed right up into her lap and talked to her for awhile. After their visit, the girls spent their time looking for lizards and sticks in the courtyard while we talked with Great Grandma and told her about the kitchen remodel status. We talked about the girls and how their doing and asked her how she is doing. We took a tour of her new home and the girls each pushed a side of her wheelchair and were good little "drivers" without running into anything. That night, we left the girls again with Grandma and Grandpa and decided to go to dinner together. We went to Sonny's once again and had a great meal. It was a fun night and the girls had a ball too.

On Wednesday it was a pretty dismal and wet day and we unexpectedly left for Texas around noon since the forecast for Thursday and Friday in Texas was for freezing raining which isn't safe to fly in. We packed up our things and made sandwiches before we said our goodbyes and loaded up for home. The flight went smoothly and felt quick despite it being over 5 hours long. Olivia took a very long nap which was much needed since she's been fighting a bad cough at night all week and has been waking up early. Sofia sat up with CK and also took a decent nap with her head in his lap. She's also been waking up early so she didn't miss any fun with Grandma, Grandpa and sister.

Since we didn't plan to be home for New Year's Eve, we ended up picking up a pizza and salad at Palio's and eating it at home. We unpacked, got comfortable and the girls played before we put them to bed at their normal time. Sofia really wanted to stay up until midnight but neither CK nor I were up for staying up with her. She ended up staying up and reading 5 Magic Tree House books and staying up "way past midnight" according to her. CK and I went to bed around 11 after a long day. It was a fun visit and I love how much fun the girls have with their Grandma and Grandpa and how much they love the farm. When CK told them we had to leave, Sofia cried and Olivia got really upset. We hated to cut the visit short, but also were worried about getting home. We look forward to our next visit.

On our way to Grandma and Grandpa's house