Xmas in Florida

My dad's side of my family lives part of the year in Florida and part of the year in California. They've also got some property in Hawaii that will have homes built on it in the future, so I travel a lot to see my Dad and siblings. My older sister lives in West Palm Beach with her wife and my dad, my stepmom, and my two young siblings live about 25 minutes from my sister in Jupiter on a large property that has been dubbed "Millerville" (my maiden name is Miller).

Kyle and I travelled for about seven hours to reach the Fort Lauderdale airport with one connecting flight in Texas. Traveling all day sure is tiresome and although we arrived at a reasonable hour (5 p.m.) and CA time is three hours earlier, it felt like midnight. My sister Amber picked us up from the airport and we grabbed some quick sushi for dinner.

Kyle really liked Cyrus because you can hold him like a cat because he's so small. I'm slowly wearing Kyle down and convincing him we need a small dog. Cyrus helped. 

After dinner we headed back to Amber's for dinner and I met her new dog Xintro. He's a lanky Weimaraner and he lives with their other dog, who is a miniature pinscher named Cyrus. We got caught up on "American Horror Story Freak Show" (sorta!) because Amber has cable and On Demand services which we do not. Sadly we only watched three episodes because we all fell asleep.

The next day Amber had to go to work so she dropped us off at Dad's. First thing was the kids showing us all their toys and outdoor stuff. I have a baby brother, Lucas, who is three, and a little sister, Nikki, who is almost ten. Both have so much energy that they are quite a handful for me and Kyle who obviously don't have kids for a reason. Dad also picked us up a bunch of groceries because Kyle's so stick thin that everyone just wants to feed him when they see him. It had been four years since Kyle had been to see my family in Florida - usually they just see him when they come to California during the summer.

Nikki showed Kyle her pet bird Kiwi, who is a little green love bird. Later we all went to see the new movie "Annie" with Jamie Fox. It's of course not something Kyle and I would see on our own, but with the kids, it was fun. Nikki laughed at all the jokes and now I understand why people like taking kids of a reasonable age to the theater. It's fun to watch them enjoy the movie even if you personally are not digging the film.

Everyone piled into the back seat. 

Nikki playing with Kiwi and all of Kiwi's toys. The bird just walks around the house and sits on people. It can bite, but for the most part is pretty friendly.

Cute little Kiwi.

The movie theater was in a promenade that had pretty Christmas lights with mini light shows, so the kids had a blast running around and playing with the other kids who were doing the same. It was entertaining to watch them wear themselves out while we waited for our table at the nearby Cheesecake Factory.

Nikki & Lucas posing for a photo.

Lucas is clearly wondering when the photo shoot will be over.

I had a pear martini at the Cheesecake Factory. Delicious.

The kids chowing down.

The next day the kids went to a play of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," so Kyle and I explored the shopping district that was just down the street. Later we ate dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant with water fountains that the kids loved running through. The shopping plaza also had a "snow show" where Christmas music played and fake snow came out of the high trees and buildings. Nikki and Lucas loved that.

Nikki and Lucas at the fountains.

The restaurant had chocolate lava cake for dessert. 

Dad bought the kids light up swords during the snow show.

The Christmas tree in the plaza.

This make me laugh because kids are weird. Nikki says she doesn't even remember why she wrote that there.

The tree this year was a very lean-y tree. Haha.

Lucas in his skeleton PJs. I love this picture. Hard to believe this is my brother. There's 25 years of age difference between us.

The next day was Christmas Eve and my stepmom's birthday. We started they day off with a haircut for Nikki and a tour of the property. My dad is constantly planting trees and he loves his trees so much, so his favorite part of us coming to visit is the tour of the property.

Nikki getting a trim and Dad watching in the background.

There are wild lizards running all around the property. I believe this is a common anole in its brown coloration. They're green when they're near green plants.

Dad cutting down some bananas. They can't leave them on the tree because critters will eat them.

Dad transferring the bananas.

Nikki playing with the leftover banana stalk. Kyle jut observing. Kids are fascinating to watch.

Nikki showing us her pet tortoise.

A toad we saw while Dad was giving us the tour. 

Lucas picking up the toad.

Dad getting ready to chop down some fruit.

Lucas showing me the toad he grabbed. 

One of the many fruit trees on the property. I know Dad grows avocados, 16 kinds of mangos, jack fruit,  bananas, star fruit, and so many more.

Nikki and Lucas feeding Misty the turtle who lives in the backyard pond.

View of the backyard pond. It was there when Dad bought the property and he will have it landscaped one day after the house is built. 

View of some of the old trees on the property.

Kyle, Dad, Nikki, and Lucas at the pond waiting for Misty the turtle.

Misty the turtle!

Nikki feeds Misty old bread and things. Weird because I thought turtles ate fish. 

Misty, who is not a captive or domestic turtle, eating from Nikki' hand.

One last shot of Misty.

Later on Christmas Eve we met Amber at a fancy new restaurant and ate a bunch of sushi and Thai food. Afterwards we all met up at Dad's again and opened Christmas gifts.

Nikki drinking a small glass of wine before we headed to the restaurant. Her mom is European and it's very normal for children to have small amounts of wine with or around dinner time. Clearly Nikki enjoys it!

Fancy rolls I got for dinner with crab on top.

More fancy sushi rolls.

Lucas got some lumps of coal in his stocking! He's been bad at times and is at the age where he's testing how far he can push things. 

Amber, Dad, and myself. Amber looks like my dad and I look like my mom.

My eyes are half closed because my Dad shakes us and squeezes us when he gets to hug us so I was laughing. 

Dad, my stepmom Jane, Lucas, and Nikki. Now you see where Lucas gets his blonde hair! 

Me and Kyle. 

An adorable one of Nikki and Lucas. 

Me and Kyle all washed out. And not much makeup because we were on vacation and in Florida where it's always warm and muggy, there's no point.

We traveled all day Christmas day so it was an odd way to spend the holiday. The Florida airport wasn't busy at all, but the airport in Phoenix, AZ where we had our layover was so crowded there weren't enough seats in the waiting area so we had to stand. Crazy. Thankfully we made it home safely and our kitties were happy to see us.

Until next time!