December 2023

 Again, no pictures. And again just a quick catch up on our holiday. 

When we got back from our cruise, we had a very busy weekend. Our friend/neighbor Dom was graduating from USF, we were throwing him a party, and Olivia was coming home the same day! So, it was a dash to go to graduation (in which Dom had the COOLEST cap- because I made it from him, and it lit up!), decorate and set up for the party, and then running to TPA to grab Olivia (who luckily was on time), and then coming back for the party. 

So, that was a day. And then, Olivia was home! She was here for about three weeks, which was just lovely to have her around. We tried to squeeze in lots of different activities. We had a 'fake Thanksgiving' where we pulled out the table cloth, did a turkey, and even had pie. We were able to pick out our customary ugly Christmas tree, get our Chinese take out and pizza, play all the Christmas games (I still made a punch board with activities and a Christmas Bucks auction), and even have her help finish putting up the lights. We also made a trip to the Budhist Temple, and spent the evening at the Nebraska Mini Mart (after a failed attempt to see the boat parade). 

Oh, the lights- they were gorgeous this year- and so much work- but we literally got them strung across the whole end of Blue Spring Drive before the curve. 22 houses (and only one opt-out). Everyone came together with lights, or money to fund the lights, extension cords (and the use of their electricity), ladders, and even freshly baked cookies to keep us going. We got to meet more people down at the 'north end' (hi Dayna!), and we even had a big block party in ours and Vince's driveway to celebrate when they were all done. Later, some of us went on a Chistmas light bike ride and all decorated our bikes, blasted music, and brought Bailey's for a toast. So fun. Blue Spring is the absolute best of people. 

We also went out to celebrate Mike's birthday- we went to dinner along the water over in New Port Richey, and had a campfire in the driveway to celebrate. Olivia was like 'what is happening?!?' you know, with all the get togethers with people. 

Asa and I somehow found time to squeeze in our normal Disney Christmas day- where we saw the trees at Disney Springs, the Gingerbread concoctions at all the resorts, the new lights and garden in Epcot, and Magic Kingdom's main street all decorated. We finished up the evening back at Disney Springs being 'snowed' on, which I just adored. 

Christmas was all our usual stuff- Santa Pancakes, Seafood dinner, presents (the tree was in the front room, which was a little different- but it was less of tree and more of a bush, so it fit best out there), and general playing games. The big present this year for Calib and Hayden: tickets to see Fall Out Boy in March (spoiler alert: we just went this past weekend, as I'm writing this- and it was AMAZING!) 

And then, in a fun turn of events, the Sattler's decided to come visit for a few days (sans Gwen who didn't want to spend all that time driving for just a few days here). But, Cort, Holly and Garrett decided to surprise my mom by coming down here too. Mom comes down nearly every Christmas, though this year her plane was very, very delayed. I think she ended up landing around 5 am when it was supposed to be midnight. 

Anyway- the surprise went well, and then we spent four days going to the beach, playing games, going for walks, looking for a 'wild suburban alligator' (which we never did find), and eating delicious food. We went to the beach, the aquarium complete with snowball throwing, and Busch Gardens. We ate at Ulele, grabbed an ice cream flight at Sparkman Wharf, finally hit up the Flan Factory (Cort's favorite food), and even ordered a giant pizza from Hawkeyes (who are finally back open!) 

Before the Sattler's left, we made sure to show them around the Clubhouse. And even though it was 50 degrees, we swam in the heated pool,  complete with winter and santa hats, and snuck all of us into the mens sauna. We played some tennis, and we took them to Whit's to get some ice cream. 

All in all, a great couple days- but oh so busy! Olivia flew back home to Phoenix the following day, but grandma stayed through the new year. We did a Costco trip, and had a low key new years. I will note, I promised Hayden I would finally get to fixing up a better ladder for their loft by New Years, and I finished with like three hours to spare. So, you know. I kept my Waterstraut promise. 

Next up: Happy 2024!