We gotta kick out of this ride (Spaceship Earth) at Epcot - Its the ride inside the big ball! They take your pic and make a goofy story with it
Ah- some things don't change. We could have saved the money spent on Epcot and just found some water to play in :)
Carolers at Downtown Disney
Sea Serpent in the lake made of Lego's!
France backdrop all made of Legos
Arielle swore this mammoth had its eye on her!
Eating in the ice cave at "T-Rex"
Inside T-Rex Restaurant
E & E's with Grandmom
Gathering around the Christmas Giraffe!
Toby's new electric scooter
At Grandmom Hazel's house
Christmas morning at Dieckman's
Lights at Largo City Park
Largo Nature Park
ditto
ditto
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Jim & Karen
At Carlouel
Christi & Grandmom at Carlouel Christmas brunch
Grandmom Hazel's front yard
Grandmom Hazel's
Clearwater Bch Pier
Jim calls the bldg in the background the new "monstrosity" it replaces a quaint little hotel that we grew up with
Oh I had so much fun posting these pics and reflecting back on the great trip we just took! We ventured down to Florida for the week before and including Christmas. Jim hadn't celebrated Christmas with his parents in at least 15 yrs!! We have always been in Utah with my family and although we see Jim's parents almost every year, it was really special to spend Christmas with them with year. We also got in a great visit with my Grandmom & my Aunt Diane, Uncle Mark and cousins Garrett and Heather. We were treated like royalty.
Got to stay at Grandmom's who lives on Clearwater Beach. Enjoyed waking up to a beautiful water view every morning. Grandmom likes to sleep in and go out to lunch. We would walk in the beach in the morning then go out to lunch with Grandmom. Some of our favorite places to go with her are Frenchy's on the beach where we can have fresh grouper sandwiches, also Carlouel Yacht Club where we enjoyed a gorgeous Christmas brunch a few days before the holiday. Grandmom also took us to E & E's and her new favorite- Wildflower Cafe. All were delicious!
Later in the day we would be treated to a gourmet dinner at Jim's parents house. Jim's parents love to cook delicious meals. The kind that kept them in the kitchen all day with prep. We sure did appreciate them- yum! Crabcakes, Shrimp Scampi, Lasagna Rolls, Ravioli and desserts like homemade Canolis, Cheesecake, Chocolate Mousse...I know, enough to make you drool isn't it?
After dinner a couple evenings we went on walks with Karen around her neighborhood. It was very festive with lots of lights. One night Chuck joined us and we went to Largo City Park which was covered in lights! One of our day outings with Karen included going to the Largo Nature Reserve where we hunt for gators, turtle and all kinds of birds. No gator sightings this trip (we have seen some in the past) but did see a Bald Eagle, other birds & turtles. Karen appreciates a good walk and seeing the sights whether it be nature or holiday decor. Fun for everyone!
We snuck in a mini trip to Orlando (a 2 hr drive from Clearwater Bch) and took the kids to Downtown Disney & EPCOT. Downtown Disney was really fun! We had never been to this one in FL. It is on the water and had lots of fun holiday festivities. Carolers, free chocolate samples, elves on stilts :) The Lego store was amazing! Lots of huge Lego creations including a water serpent in the lake! We ate dinner at T Rex which was an awesome dinosaur themed restaurant. We ate in an ice cave while a baby mammoth kept its eye on us.
The day after Downtown Disney we headed to EPCOT. Jim & I have always loved amusement parks. We were spoiled being raised so close to Disney World and that became a place where we spent many good times growing up. Some of our first dates were to amusement parks, just the two of us. We wanted to take the kids to EPCOT for old times sake. They have made lots of improvements and upgrades since Jim & I had been there 18 yrs ago! Our favorites were still there (Energy, The Land, Imagination, Spaceship Earth and all the cool countries of course!) And the newbies like Test Track , Mission Space and Sum of All Thrills were huge hits with us & the kids. We ate lunch in China to boot :)
Came back to Clearwater for Christmas Eve & Christmas Day. Treated to a nice dinner at Dieckmans then went to Cagnis where the kids played Wii with their cousins. Went back to Grandmom's for a short Christmas devotional & the kids opened their Christmas Eve gift (the annual PJ's- big surprise ;-).
Santa came to the Dieckman's Christmas morning. He even brought stockings for Chuck & Karen. I don't think Chuck & Karen have received stockings in 50 years, if ever. They were very surprised! They must've been extra good this year. The fireplace looked very festive with all the gifts Santa left!
We spent a nice morning at Grandma & Grandpa Dieckman's until they were run ragged :) Toby, Jim & Arielle rode Toby's new scooter around the neighborhood and Arielle started typing right away on her new typewriter.
Christmas afternoon we spent at Cagni's playing with cousins, snacking and opening more gifts! One of the favorites was "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" which we played with Garrett, Heather, Mark, Diane & Grandmom
Lastly, finished off a nice quiet Christmas dinner at Dieckman's. We were very blessed to have a safe, wonderful trip and great visits with our Florida family!
3 comments:
Holy cow you were up early! Looks like loads of fun to go back "home" for Christmas. I know you have only been gone about 6 months (oh man really?) but the kids have grown soooo much! Toby is getting tall (from who?) You look great all dressed up w/your Grandmom. I hope 2010 brings you all lots of joy!
Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday.
Looks like you guys had a BLAST!! Sooo jealous! I wish we could go back to Disney World. Some day right? Glad to have you guys enjoying this experience with us, it makes it sooo much more bearable! : )
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