Christmas Holiday

What a wonderful Christmas Holiday we have had.  We love the time to reflect on our Savior and spend time with those we love.  This Christmas Season was especially nice because Charles got two weeks off of work.  It is the first time in a long time that he has had vacation time and we actually stayed home.  It was wonderful.  We have loved having each day together.  Isabelle has loved having her Papa home everyday too.  It has really helped her French, she has even started saying a few sentences in French!  The past two weeks have been filled with a lot of fun times and adventures.  I will try and highlight everything in this post.

CHRISTMAS SUNDAY

VISIT FROM A DEAR FRIEND

One of my old BYU roommates, Amy, came down to Florida with her family for the Holidays. They were meeting up with her parents and siblings here.  We were thrilled that they were coming to the Sunshine State for Christmas so we asked them if they could come early and spend a couple days with us, so they did.  We had a great time with them.  It was so fun for us to have a chance to meet each other's husband and kids.  We went to City Walk and spent a day at the beach, yes we went to the beach in December, after all it has been in the 70's and 80's here. We are so grateful for friendships that can last even when you don't see each other for a long time.

On a ferry at City Walk

Isabelle loved the beach!

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Isabelle plays with her bounce and spin pony every day.

Christmas morning was such a treat this year.  Isabelle was in heaven.  We decided to leave most of her toys out, instead of wrapping them, so she could see what everything was.  She loved it all.  

Isabelle loves baby dolls!

Isabelle would always get so excited when she saw Elmo at the store, so we had to get it for her.

MA'S CHRISTMAS PARTY

Every year since I can remember Ma has her Christmas party.  We love the time to gather and see family that we only see a couple times a year.  

Uncle Kenny and Aunt Kim

Aunt Kim and Jessa

Mom and Caden

Erin and Ashley

CHRISTMAS TOYS

Isabelle got this little train from Ma, she climbs on it all day long and still gets excited when she sees it.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

My favorite picture of the day!

Earlier this week we went with Erin to Universal's Islands of Adventure.  Isabelle thought she was in heaven.  She loved all the music and bright colors.   Being that it was the holidays it was very crowded.  We didn't mind though, we were there for the atmosphere more than the rides (that's a nice benefits of having an annual pass, you don't feel like you have to go on every ride to get your dollar's worth).  

Isabelle couldn't figure out why her nose looked like it did.

Patiently waiting in line for the Carousel

This is fun!

In Seuss Landing there was a fun area where Isabelle could run around.

We thought Isabelle would be scared during the Sindbad Show, but this face tells it all, she loved it!  

Erin and Charles are two of the biggest Harry Potter fans I know.  They are thrilled for the new Harry Potter Park at Universal!

I love hanging out with my little sis Erin.  She brightens up any day.

Enjoying a meal at Hard Rock after a fun day at Universal.

Who needs rides when Papa and Tata Erin can pull you along for a thrilling ride?

A VISIT FROM THE CAMPAS

Carol, baby Addison, Chloe, Cassie, and Brian came down on Tuesday.  We are thrilled to have them here, especially considering it was a last minute decision to come.  Carol is recovering well and Addison is still as tiny as ever.  She is such a doll.  They are going to do her baby blessing here tomorrow so we will all be there.  Brian's family is also coming into town for it from Crestview and the Tampa area.  

GINGERBREAD HOUSES

For part of our Christmas festivities we went to the Klinker's house and made gingerbread houses.  You can see that Charles takes this job very seriously.

Laila and Roland working away

Isabelle has a hard time accepting that some of her toys are for her dolls, not her.  

SCIENCE CENTER

Today was our last full day of vacation with Carol and her family here.  We decided to take the whole gang to the Orlando Science Center.  We all had a great time.  We saw two movies in the CineDome while we were there, one was The Grand Canyon Adventure and the other was Wild California.  They were great!  We live in such a beautiful and diverse country.  Isabelle had fun coloring and wandering around while we were there.  

We are sad this Christmas Holiday is over, but we have definitely made the most of our time together.  What a treat it has been to have 2 weeks together.  Tomorrow Charles has to go back to Atlanta for work, but soon all the traveling will be done... at least for now.