Thanksgiving in Florida

Justin, the kids, and I flew to Florida for Thanksgiving. We arrived the Friday before Thanksgiving and then flew home on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. We had a very nice visit. We stayed at Justin’s Dad’s new home. It was beautiful of course. Carol had designed the home before she passed away. Thanksgiving was a mix of emotions because she wasn’t there this year and it would be Tim’s first holiday without her. They had been married 48 years. We had a very nice visit with Tim and it was so generous of him to welcome our rowdy brood to his new home. The weather was really nice while we were there, family was very welcoming, and it was wonderful catching up with family on both sides.

Thank you Tim for having us!

Grandpa Joe and Evelyn with the kids and I. I had to get into the photo holding Alex because he was not being as cooperative at Brielle and Charlie.

On a very happy note, my nephew Rory was born while we were visiting. My sister Rachel, the NBC news anchor in SW Florida. She was on-air anchoring the morning news, Wednesday before the baby was born. After she worked that morning she had her weekly OB checkup, and then she met me, my longtime friend Renae, and  Brielle at the Miromar Outlets in Estero for some shopping. Her water broke the next morning on Thanksgiving and he was born just before 11 am that morning. Amazing how much she was doing up until the end and he was a big boy! Rory was born at 9 lbs 2 oz. Huge congratulations to Rachel and Matthew!!!

We have lots of family living in Fort  Myers and Estero. Both Justin’s family and my family reside there. I lived in Naples long before my family ever started moving there. I like to think I set the trend. Now half of my family lives there! My parents, my brother Mitchell, my sister Jessica (along with her husband Steve and sons Stephen and David), and my sister Rachel (along with her husband Matthew and their three kids: Lydia, Piper, and Rory). Justin’s 95 year old Grandpa Joe (his Mom’s Dad) and his wife Evelyn live  just a few miles from Tim. Tim’s two brothers and their wives (Dennis and Kathy & Bob and Ruth)  also live within walking distance of Tim’s house. Dennis and Kathy’s son Todd now lives in Fort Myers too. We got to see everyone! Including Evelyn’s son Larry and his other half Harriet. It was nice to see EVERYONE!! Did I mention we have a lot of family living there??

Here are some photos from a dinner my parents hosted at their home for us. It was a full house. Thank you Mom and Dad for hosting!

We spent some time at the beach one day with my side of the family. I was feeling under the weather, so I wasn’t too active. But it was nice to just be there to visit with everyone and watch all the kids playing together. Brielle adores her cousins! The twins are finally old enough to enjoy playing with their cousins too. It was a great beach day too, as it wasn’t too hot!

Our big Thanksgiving dinner was at my parent’s house. Of course the dinner was amazing! Lots of people, dogs, kids, and toys. It was a busy few hours. Then we went over to Dennis and Kathy’s house to see Tim’s brothers and their wives. After that we took the kids back to Tim’s to swim, so we could wear them out for the day. Soon after that Justin’s Grandpa and wife Evelyn, and lots of other family came to visit and have dessert. I ate dessert for a third time that day. I am still full thinking about it.

I look forward to visiting again the future. Maybe not next month or too soon. My kids are a handful on a flight as you can imagine. 23 months old twins on a flight, on our laps. Not a great deal of fun, but I have to say that Charlie was a good sleeper and cuddler on the flight home. I wish I had been feeling better this trip. I had a bad sinus infection and lost my voice during the visit. Not fun, but glad we were there to see everyone and celebrate Thanksgiving with family.

Below are some photos from Thanksgiving Day. The twins ate everything we put on their trays. They are good eaters and enjoyed all the food. Brielle on the other hand only had some turkey. Which of course we had to tell her was chicken, so she would eat it.

My mom gave us our Christmas gift on Thanksgiving morning. It was a beautiful painting of Brielle. It was painted from a photo that my friend Elizabeth Perez took of Brielle swimming underwater. Such a meaningful and sweet gift! My Mom is a talented artist and we love the gift. Of course Brielle loves it too!

It was a nice visit, but I am happy to be home! I think I need a few extra hours of sleep tonight. I am worn out!!!