December 23, 2009

Christmas in Florida Again

Meredith and I flew down to Florida for four days to spend Christmas with my parents!

Wednesday, December 23rd

leigh — Leigh had just gotten back in town from a trip to Turkey and came over on Wednesday so we could swap gifts before we left for Florida later that evening. It's an...

leigh, maddy, meredith — ...ice cream maker!

Before getting to the "real" gift, Leigh busted out some souvenirs she'd picked up especially for us in Turkey. Like this mini-hookah...

...and this jar of Ali Baba Aphrodisiac for Man & Women.

IF YOU TAKE THIS YOU CAN MAKE LOVE 5 TIMES IN THE NIGHT.

5 TEASPOONS OF DUST. GOOD LUCK!

meredith — After we'd finished marveling at the tiny green man's erection, Leigh busted out the big gift...

maddy — ...a Flip video camera with a PICTURE of Maddy on the back of it. Hahaha. Amazing!

maddy — And a card of a dachshund that Leigh PAINTED (with spots and one blue eye!) to look just like Maddy.

leigh, me — Thanks, Leigh!

me, meredith — By 6pm we were in a cab to the airport and on our way to enjoying...

meredith — ...some delicious La Guardia airport Chinese food!

Shametastic!

Plane to Ft. Lauderdale.

Landing.

Thursday, December 24th

All the guest rooms in my parent's house down in Florida have double beds!

meredith, mom — Everyone let me sleep in! I rolled out of bed around 1pm to find Mer and my mom hanging in the living room.

My parents live on a golf course. Their back porch looks out onto the 17th hole.

Leftover pineapple pizza! My parents had this waiting for Meredith and I when we arrived the previous night!

me, meredith, mom — Merry almost-Christmas!

Later that afternoon, Mer and I went to the pool to enjoy some Florida sunshine.

meredith — Mer forgot to bring a bathing suit and had to borrow one! Haha.

Later that evening, we went to my parent's to their neighbor's Holiday Party.

meredith — Despite being in our 30s, we were the only "kids" at the party, so we hid out in the corner feeling shy. Haha.

The good news was that they people had two really cute dogs that we made friends with. This guy...

meredith — ...and this guy! This greyhound was a racing track rescue who was so sweet and friendly!

meredith — Giving kisses.

meredith — Check out that grill, dawg! Hahaha. Soooo good.

Aw, you're pretty good too, tiny buddy.

maddy — Later that night we emailed Leigh the picture of the dogs we met and she texted us this photos of the hounds back in NYC. Haha.

dad, me, meredith, mom — Christmas Eve dinner back at my parent's house.

Chocolate pudding pie with whipped cream and raspberries! Yes, please!

After dinner, we decided to honor the Battjer family tradition of opening a few presents on Christmas even. Nothing too serious, just a little present-foreplay. We started with the gifts from Santa.

dad, meredith — Dad doing some unwrapping.

dad — Golf balls!

dad, mom — The next gift was controversial. Mom was as appalled...

dad — ...as dad was excited about this box of treats we brought for him. Haha.

meredith — Mer got...

...a bracelet....

...and assorted hot cocoa mixes!

mom — Mom opening some of her stocking stuffers.

mom — What these are?

I recently bought a keyboard and started teaching myself piano so Meredith's parents got me a bunch of awesome books on music theory!

Tshirt from Mer!

Bonsai tree from Brett & Amy!

Awesome Space Invaders tie from Mer!

Friday, December 25th

dad, mom — Mom in dad in matching Christmas red on Christmas morning. Awwww.

Solid breakfast.

me, meredith — Merry Christmas, good one!

We went back to the pool to soak up some more of the wonderful Florida sunshine.

meredith — NEED VITAMIN D.

A little after 3pm, the storm clouds rolled in and we retreated back to my parents place. The rain turned into a beautiful sun-shower...

...I sat out on the lanai (that's what people in Florida call those screened-in porches in the backyard) and ate pizza and read a book that I'd picked up in the airport earlier in the month but hadn't gotten around to finishing.

dad, me — Which turned out to be the same book that my dad was reading because HE had picked it up last time he was at the airport!

dad, meredith, mom

We now return to you to your regularly scheduled Florida sunshine. Woooo!

dad, mom — Lasagna time.

dad, me, meredith, mom — Family dinner.

Mmmm.

meredith — Post-dinner food coma.

So much lasagna.

meredith — After dinner, it was time for stocking stuffers!

Various assorted treats and a lottery scratcher.

My mom also gave us a Christmas tree ornament to commemorate our wedding.

Awwww.

meredith — Cupcake decoration kit.

Meredith got me a book by John Lennon.

A giraffe t-shirt. (Giraffes are my favorite).

Mac and Cheese high five!

And my mom got my holiday boxers...

...which upon closer examination turned out to be SAUCY holiday boxers. Jingle my bells, indeed!

Later that night we went to see a movie.

meredith, mom — Back at the house, my mom and Mer got crafty...

...and made a gingerbread house that someone had gotten as a gift.

I want to eat your peanut roof!

dad, mom — Late night relaxing...

...and recalling Christmases of the past! Merry Christmas!

Saturday, December 26th

june, meredith, mom — On the way to the airport, we stopped off to have lunch at the Sailfish Marina in West Palm Beach and met up with my grandfather's former girlfriend, June for the second year in a row! (June dated my dad's father for a few years after my grandmother died and before last year's get-together, I hadn't seen her since I was 12 years old!)

dad, me — She brought her "new" husband (of 10+ years) Bob to lunch! He is awesome.

maddy — Laughing about the fact that we were carrying 3 electronic devices between the 2 of us; all that featured pictures of our stupid little dog. Haha.

The marina has a bunch of huge pelicans.

Just in case you were wondering what happened to the dinosaurs!

2 comments

chipmarch 28, 2012
The Greyhound's grill totally caught me off guard.
clanglaisjuly 24, 2012
You gave a similar Bonsai Tree in a Box to Emily for her birthday in June 2007