Back In 2012 we went to Florida with some friends
in January right after Christmas. We went to Boca Raton, Ft Lauderdale, and
Orlando. Lets travel back in time:
~~2012~~
We probably went a little overboard on the kids for Christmas. Because we are going to Florida we decided to keep Christmas light this year. The children gave us their Christmas list and we started shopping and before we knew it? We had too much. But that really wasn't the problem. Every year we play a game. We hunt the house for anything we can wrap and give as a present. I have been given Season Two of Magnum PI for four years in a row! That's the game: you never know if you are opening a cool present, a dud, or something you forgot you had.
Over buying plus the present game left us wrapping presents until 4am on Christmas Day. And then we had to quietly sneak around the house depositing presents, eating the cookies that were left for Santa, and slipping into bed without waking the children.
All of my children believe in Santa Claus. Even the 18-year-old. We made it clear to them: Santa only brings presents to those who believe, and when they were ready to stop receiving those presents, they simply needed to tell us they no longer believed. If you asked my 18 year old if she believes in Santa, she will smile and say "absolutely!"
At 9am our bedroom door burst open and the kids ran in dragging stockings that are almost as tall as they are. Bringing up the rear of the child parade were our cat and dog who wanted to help with the excitement.
And so unwrapping of the presents starts in our bedroom at 9am, moves to the living room, and continues until noon at which point we take a much needed break. I don't want to give the impression our kids are spoiled, although they are. They get some great presents. But most of the presents are part of our game. My daughter loves stuffing, so, I gave her two boxes of turkey stuffing. I received my annual box of Girl Scout cookies, and my oldest son received a giant can of chocolate pudding. An unopened package of pens, a roll of life savers, the sock you thought you lost - anything we can find to wrap? We do.
At noon we take a break to eat and then go back at the unwrapping. By 2pm, we are exhausted and nearly at the end. A giant pile of spent wrapping paper is mounded in the center of the living room and the boys take turns diving into it and getting lost in the paper. Finally the children are opening boxes and assembling their toys while I am looking for that bottle of wine I bought and wrapped and gave to myself.
We have been looking forward to a vacation in Florida after Christmas. With Christmas dinner plates cleared, I went to work assembling toys while watching The Weather Channel.
Our plans are to start the drive to Florida on Thursday, but we kept Wednesday in reserve should the weather be bad and we needed to leave early. What I was watching on the Weather Channel: a blizzard was headed our way! A storm was working up the east coast - directly following our path! Winter storm alerts were in effect from Wednesday 4pm through Thursday 1pm! This could knock more than seven hours out of our driving plans.
Our only hope? Head out as early as possible on Wednesday and hit the storm head-on. Hopefully we would be far enough south so we wouldn't get much snow. We should go as far as we can make it, then pull off.
We called our friends who were going with us to discuss our plans and everyone agreed. Our only problem? With all the work and preparation that went into Christmas - nothing is packed for the trip. With little sleep and a blizzard charging toward us we spent the night packing so we can make an early start in the morning. Sounds like a perfect plan - what could go wrong?
~~2012~~
We probably went a little overboard on the kids for Christmas. Because we are going to Florida we decided to keep Christmas light this year. The children gave us their Christmas list and we started shopping and before we knew it? We had too much. But that really wasn't the problem. Every year we play a game. We hunt the house for anything we can wrap and give as a present. I have been given Season Two of Magnum PI for four years in a row! That's the game: you never know if you are opening a cool present, a dud, or something you forgot you had.
Over buying plus the present game left us wrapping presents until 4am on Christmas Day. And then we had to quietly sneak around the house depositing presents, eating the cookies that were left for Santa, and slipping into bed without waking the children.
All of my children believe in Santa Claus. Even the 18-year-old. We made it clear to them: Santa only brings presents to those who believe, and when they were ready to stop receiving those presents, they simply needed to tell us they no longer believed. If you asked my 18 year old if she believes in Santa, she will smile and say "absolutely!"
At 9am our bedroom door burst open and the kids ran in dragging stockings that are almost as tall as they are. Bringing up the rear of the child parade were our cat and dog who wanted to help with the excitement.
And so unwrapping of the presents starts in our bedroom at 9am, moves to the living room, and continues until noon at which point we take a much needed break. I don't want to give the impression our kids are spoiled, although they are. They get some great presents. But most of the presents are part of our game. My daughter loves stuffing, so, I gave her two boxes of turkey stuffing. I received my annual box of Girl Scout cookies, and my oldest son received a giant can of chocolate pudding. An unopened package of pens, a roll of life savers, the sock you thought you lost - anything we can find to wrap? We do.
At noon we take a break to eat and then go back at the unwrapping. By 2pm, we are exhausted and nearly at the end. A giant pile of spent wrapping paper is mounded in the center of the living room and the boys take turns diving into it and getting lost in the paper. Finally the children are opening boxes and assembling their toys while I am looking for that bottle of wine I bought and wrapped and gave to myself.
We have been looking forward to a vacation in Florida after Christmas. With Christmas dinner plates cleared, I went to work assembling toys while watching The Weather Channel.
Our plans are to start the drive to Florida on Thursday, but we kept Wednesday in reserve should the weather be bad and we needed to leave early. What I was watching on the Weather Channel: a blizzard was headed our way! A storm was working up the east coast - directly following our path! Winter storm alerts were in effect from Wednesday 4pm through Thursday 1pm! This could knock more than seven hours out of our driving plans.
Our only hope? Head out as early as possible on Wednesday and hit the storm head-on. Hopefully we would be far enough south so we wouldn't get much snow. We should go as far as we can make it, then pull off.
We called our friends who were going with us to discuss our plans and everyone agreed. Our only problem? With all the work and preparation that went into Christmas - nothing is packed for the trip. With little sleep and a blizzard charging toward us we spent the night packing so we can make an early start in the morning. Sounds like a perfect plan - what could go wrong?
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