We spent Halloween on a Disney Cruise out of Miami and the kids had a blast. Vince mentioned earlier in the year that he would like to go on a cruise. We told the kids that if we saved up our money-quit going through the drive-thru for french fries and drinks, cut back on eating out, and other random spending, that we could do it. Vince was the biggest spend-thrift of all. He helped keep us all in line and not buy silly stuff or necessities. "MOM, THAT COSTS!" We had a big yard sale and got rid of lots of random stuff that we have been carrying with us through the last two moves. We sold lots of our sports merchandise, tooth brushes, and lots of other kitchen stuff, and toys. What didn't sell went right to the Goodwill!
Thanksgiving we took the Amtrak train from Tampa to Jacksonville, FL. I FINALLY convinced Jeff that it would be something fun for the kids to do-I had such fond memories of train travel as a kid. It would have been great if the train wasn't 3 hours arriving into Tampa-we figured that the amount of time we spent in the train station, we could have driven all the way to Amelia Island by then! The kids enjoyed the ride and it was a great time in Amelia Island with the cousins and the rest of the family. Jeff and I did a "Turkey Trot" on Thanksgiving morning. It was pretty chilly, but it was nice to get up and exercise. We did have a small mishap that morning when the window crashed into Jeff's face while he was trying to lower it. You may notice a huge cut across his nose in the picture.
G-Mama came to visit for Christmas and became a pseudo "snow bird" for January. Just before Christmas Jeff took the kids over to Disney for the weekend and met up with his sister, her fiance, and their son. The kids enjoyed being with their cousin Eli, and they were able to hang out together. Gary, Lin, and the boys came down the week after Christmas and we spent some time in Fort Myers, then a few days over at Disney World. Their boys had never been, so it was a real treat to go after Christmas and New Years, but still enjoy the Christmas decorations. I think they stayed 12 hours in the park!
G-Mama had friends come just about every week and they spent some time in Naples, Sanibel, Captiva, Sarasota, and downtown Fort Myers. Each group was a little different and wanted to see various things, so it was great for her to be able to do so many different attractions and places-all with people that she knew. We were all sad to see her leave the first weekend in February, but I made sure to call her during the first of several snow storms in North Carolina to remind her that it was in the mid-70s and beautiful in Southwest Florida.
February was our birthday month-I spent my birthday in Birmingham, AL with some of my sorority sisters from Alabama. We had a wonderful time-took a day trip to Tuscaloosa where we were able to tour the Theta house, went to some of our old stomping grounds, saw our old houses, and had many many laughs over the course of the weekend. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends from college that we can all just pick up where we left off, regardless of where we are in our lives right now. Two weeks after that, I completed my second half marathon at Disney World. My time would've been better this year if I hadn't stopped to wait in line for the bathroom!
The kids agreed to not have birthday parties this year if we could go over to Disney at some point and maybe do a Character meal or special dinner celebration with them. Vince's dinner choice on his birthday was Iguana Mia for Cheese dip. Savannah chose Texas Roadhouse (again) for her birthday night. That child loves some ribs!
Savannah has been active with a Odyssey of the Minds Team at her elementary school and they recently competed in the State Regional Competition here in Fort Myers. Her team won first place out of 17 schools, and they are advancing to the State Competition in Orlando in mid April. She was so excited when her school was announced as the winner. She looked like her name had just been called on The Price is Right and she jetted to the podium to receive her medal!
Things are still going well at Edison State for Jeff and I am still enjoying my job as a real estate assistant for The Fagan Team in Bonita Springs, FL. My drive has been a little longer since it's the season and there is more traffic on the road, but I like the group I work with and the flexibility that the job offers.
We are making plans for our summer already! Just in case I go another six months before I update again, we plan to be here for most of the summer, and in North Carolina for two weeks during July. School starts back for the kids the second week of August.
