That Time We Drove to Florida....

We have done quite a few road trips. The kids are true road warriors.
Over Christmas break, we thought we'd take it up a notch and do the "rite of passage" drive to Florida adventure.
8 days, 40 hours of drive time, 2,500 miles and everyone was still speaking to each other at the end. Success.

First stop: Savannah.
We decided this was a good halfway point to rest our heads for the night. Dad had fun showing the kids his old "stomping grounds" from his Fort Stewart days.

 We made it to Weston, outside of Ft. Lauderdale, on day 2. We camped out with Boots & Grandan at their timeshare.

And when in the everglades....why not take an airboat, in the dark, to go gator-hunting?

 The kids went to camp for the day, so the adults enjoyed some beverages by the beach in Ft. Lauderdale.

Even Boots and Grandan made the drive over.

 There was even fishing on the docket for the last Florida day.

 And then we began the journey back home. Our stopover on New Year's Eve was Kiawah Island. Fried oysters were not optional.

 So happy to ring in the new year at the beach.

New Year's day happy hour excursion to the Ocean Course with Grandma. She and Grandpa came for the New Year's fun, too.

Florida road trip: Check!

December Fun

And so this is Christmas (almost)....
As always, the most magical and fleeting of seasons.
It was just Thanksgiving what, yesterday?
And yet, we've seen Santa four (four!) times since then.
Pretty sure he's well-versed in the wish list.

Our Elvis the Elf made his (grand) reappearance in early December and has been up to his usual shenanigans. 

We headed to Williamsburg to visit Susie and Byron, and to visit with our absolute favorite Santa at Yankee Candle Company.

Elvis even made the trip down, appearing in Byron's amazing Christmas village.

We had a bit of an ice storm last weekend, so what better thing to do than go someplace even colder? The annual Ice exhibit at Gaylord National Harbor as usual did not disappoint.

After Ice, we had some sing-along fun at a dueling piano bar with the Wolfe pack.

The kids did not pass up any offer to get on stage. Grant was usually first in line.

Even Stewie is feeling the Christmas spirit. He will be sorely disappointed come Sunday morning when his haven is once again exposed. 

Birthday and Turkey

Kacy celebrated birthday #10 on November 11.
A decade.
Just let that sink in a bit.
We celebrated with cake, balloons, presents and a weekend trip to Kalahari in the Poconos.
It was a happy birthday indeed.

 It was a quick transition in to the holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving.

 There were turkeys all around. It was great to have all the Horne cousins together for our Thanksgiving feast.

 We even got a family picture.

 Emmitt loved Grandma's cherry pie.

Not to let too much moss grow beneath our feet, we hit the road the Friday after Thanksgiving to head north.

First stop: Visiting with Ella and her owners in Hartsdale.

Next was Thanksgiving part two with our friends the Freccias.

 The adults had fun at mom's 20th high school reunion in Stamford.