Christmas Break in Florida

Ryan had a lot of vacation time that he either had to use it or lose it by the end of the year, so we of course used it.  Ryan's sister, Michelle, and her family live there while Marc specializes in endodonics (root canals) at the University of Florida in Gainseville.  All of Ryan's family, except for his parents and  his brother Kevin's family, came to Florida as well.  There were 7 adults and 6 kids total.  It was so much fun to see everyone.  We did so much though and all seemed to have our cameras out that I don't even know where to begin with posting about it.  But here's a shot.

We drove down to Florida on Saturday December 22nd, and stayed until January 2nd.  It's about a 13.5 hour drive, but it took a little longer getting down there because of an accident in Atlanta, so we rolled in after the kids were all in bed.  Lucy actually did pretty well on the drive, thanks to our DVD player and some Baby Einstein movies.  She also warmed up to everyone way quicker than I ever imagined.  She loved exploring all of the new toys and things around. The next day was fun as all the kids woke up and we got to really see everyone.  We just went to church, hung out and talked a lot, and ate.  Marc's birthday was the day before we got there and Michelle got him a new game for his birthday called the 7 Wonders (I think?) and we played a lot of rounds of that game that night.  It was kind of complicated, but once you figure it out and develop some strategies it is fun.  It was fun staying up late playing games, talking, listening to Christmas music, and eating lot's of treats.  Definitely a good way to start off the vacation!