Christmas Break Part II

Next up on Christmas Break was Christmas Day.  As usual, my mom made a yummy turkey with all the normal side dishes of mashed potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and cranberries. It was a gorgeous weather day (about 80* and sunny) so after eating, the boys and my dad went down to the clubhouse to play shuffleboard while I stayed behind to help with the clean-up. Then I took Ollie for a walk to check up on the game and somehow ended up taking my dad's place. 

I had never played before and wish I could say I had beginners luck. I think CJ was getting a little frustrated with me as his partner. Ha ha.

After Christmas, things took a turn because Zack got sick. He had all the symptoms of Co-Vid but we were unable to get him tested so we ended up deciding to just keep him home and that meant, I pretty much just stayed home and did nothing too. 

My one other excitement was going to the Lightning game on Tuesday with CJ. 

They played Montreal and had quite a few people (including both goalies) were unable to play due to Co-Vid so I did not have high expectations for the game. Most of the game was pretty even with the teams trading goals throughout most of it...until Montreal scored twice in a row to go up by 1.

I decided to leave and start walking back to the car with about a minute left -----------BIG MISTAKE. As soon as I walked out of the building I heard a collective cheer. They had scored with 19 seconds left and then won shortly into overtime. 

And that was it for Christmas break excitement. 

AND...just because she's so cute...

Then It Was Christmas Break Part I

 Since moving to Orlando, Christmas is very different  for us. 

When we lived in Wisconsin, our year would revolve around our yearly Christmas trip to Florida. We created so many memories on those trips and it was always such an exciting time for us. Even tough this is our 7th Christmas down here, Around this time of year Zack and I still will often say to each other, "remember how much fun we had __________ (fill in the blank with something we did on our trips." 

So the last two weeks of December are a melancholy time for us. This year's Christmas break was a combination of time with family, time at home, and sickness. 

Let's start at the beginning...

Friday December 17 we made our way over to CJ's for game night and played a few hands of UNO and cribbage. It was an enjoyable evening - but it's always more fun when Jon joins us. 

Saturday December 18 I started the day with a Target shopping trip. I got a few gift cards from my students so I went to get some needed items and a couple things I've always wanted but didn't want to spend the money on. I love shopping at the Target close to us because it is 90% less crowded than Wal-Mart. I enjoy getting myself a white chocolate mocha from the Starbucks and then peacefully and leisurely wander around. I took a looooooooong nap (almost 5 hours) that afternoon and then Zack and I picked up a pizza and brought it over to CJ's and watched Bride of Chucky. 

Image from Google

Monday December 20 CJ, Zack, and I went to City Walk and had a pizza at the Red  Oven...

Image from Google

And then went across the street to the Cineplex to see the much anticipated movie Spiderman No Way Home. 

Image from Google

On Tuesday December 21 Zack and I TRIED to use a gift card to have lunch at Chick-Fil-A. It didn't go well. It was, of course, crowded and that I didn't mind. However, the family next to us had 6 kids and allowed them to run absolutely wild! And LOUD!!! They were practicing their cheerleading skills right there in the restaurant complete with front flips. We decided to pack up and finish eating at home. Then I went to the Artegon Cinemark to see West Side Story...the talent in the movie is unbelievable, but I was not impressed with the movie as a whole. 

Image from Google

Image from Google

Image from Google

On Thursday, December 23, we made our way to the Amway Center for the Orlando Magic game. The Magic are not good at all this year and, once again, I went in with very little expectations but was pleasantly surprised. They didn't win, but they did manage to erase a 20 point deficit and got within 2 late in the game. 

It was a great night. 

Zack and I drove over to my parent's house on Christmas Eve and stayed overnight. I started planning my mom's Christmas gift in August and could not wait to give it to her. While I was growing up, we owned a camper 

like this

Image from Google

Image from Google

Yeah... it was called a Rolite and would raise and lower by just pressing a button. It was pretty state-of-the-art back in the day (haha).

Anyway, my mom kept extensive diaries of our travels in notebooks -  even including the camp fees which were anywhere from $1-$10 a night. About 6 years ago, I took them and began typing them for her in Word and never gave them back. She has been asking for them non-stop over the past year so I decided to put the entries in a  Mixbook and download some pictures to add to them.  It was an expensive undertaking so for now I was able to order and give her the first four years (books). I'll send her a new book every month so she has something to look forward to. 

As usual, after gifts, we went to look at the Christmas lights at Town Center. We laughed as we remembered how we all had to wear masks last year. 

Part II coming up...