Christmas on the island...

We're back from our holiday get-a-way in Cedar Key. As always, we had gorgeous weather and the rest and relaxation we felt made the tough days of travel all worth it. Wyatt was so glad to be home, he woke the next morning, rubbed his sleepy eyes, looked around and yelled "home!". He spent the next hour running from room to room, checking out all his toys, making sure everything was in it's place. Finley was glad to see us, despite Dayven's fears that he would have grown accustomed to his new family and forgotten all about us. He had a great time at Charlie's Boot Camp and even learned to "sit" while he was there.

The weather was in the mid 80's almost the whole trip, except for a couple of days. We spent our time soaking up the sun, eating plenty of seafood, fishing and cruising around the island on the golf cart. I read not one, not two, but THREE books while we were there. It's such a treat to read a good book and take a little break from my daily duties (even though Dayven insists I have a cushie "job"). I took advantage of having so many extra people around and let everyone pitch in their share. Even my dad was changing diapers! Wyatt enjoyed all the extra attention from Nana and Poppy. There was always someone around to read books, play cars, fix him a snack, blow bubbles or just fawn over him in general and he soaked it up.

Dayven and I took advantage of the sitter and headed down to St. Pete Beach for the night to hang out with Josh. We scalped tickets to the Buccaneers game and scored seats in a private box. Having a fridge stocked with soda, beer and snacks, a private bathroom, TV with playbacks of the game and air conditioning made the game all the more enjoyable in the heat. We booked a room at the Don CeSar hotel, knicknamed the "Pink Palace", a beautiful old hotel right on the beach. We relaxed in the hotel bar (dropping Josh's name netted us a few free drinks), then grabbed a quiet dinner. The next day, we had a light breakfast, then strolled on the beach, taking in the gorgeous views. We met up with Josh for lunch and a little sightseeing, then headed over to check out the Salvador Dali museum.

Christmas was a little bittersweet this year as it was our first one without Karen. I thought about her a lot, especially on Christmas Eve at Midnight Mass. This service always held a bit of magic for me, ever since I was a kid. I still find it difficult to stay awake that long, but I'm always glad once I'm there. The dimly lit church, the flickering of the candles, the angelic voices of the choir... Dayven said it didn't quite feel like Christmas this year, maybe in part because it was the first without his mom. It also could have been the hot weather. When you grow up in a cold climate, it just doesn't seem right to wear shorts and flip flops on Christmas day. We even had to turn the air conditioning on, not that we were complaining! We had a nice relaxing day, starting with a brunch of shrimp and eggs, followed by our gift exchange. We decided to forgo the traditional ham dinner in favor of steaks on the grill.

New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful. Just a quiet dinner at my parents' house. Dayven was the only one who wasn't looking at the back of his eyelids when the ball dropped at midnight.

We arrived home this weekend after a very long day of travel, filled with cranky airline personnel, delayed flights, frustrated fellow travelers and an antsy toddler. It was -30 when we landed in Edmonton and unfortunately, to top off the whole day, the car wouldn't start. Despite the fact that we had plugged it in (many parking lots have electrical outlets at each space so you can plug in your car to keep the water in the radiator from freezing - Canadian cars are equipped with a plug). Anyway, it didn't help us, so Dayven had to have someone jump start the car. We arrived home about midnight and collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

Now, we're settling back in, catching up on laundry and mail and trying to get used to the fact that we need four layers of clothing to leave the house. Here are some highlights from our trip...