Florida Trip - January 2008

I left for Florida on Wednesday, January 2. The first leg of the flight went well. The plane was on time from San Jose and we landed in Las Vegas, Nevada on time. I was supposed to have a 45 minute layover (enough time to get off the plane and find my departure gate to Orlando, Florida), but due to the second leg plane arriving to Las Vegas late, my layover turned out to be closer to three hours. I spent the time talking to my sister and John off and on. I threw a couple of dollars in a nickel slot machine - didn't get anything... bummer!

The second leg of the flight wasn't too bad. I was seated in the front Emergency Exit row, so I had great leg room! The men next to me were father and son on a business trip. They were quite funny and nice. The son accidentally spilled my coke on me, so I was sitting in wet jeans for most of the 4.5 hour flight to Orlando. Overall, it was a good flight.

My dad picked me up from the airport. I was in later than expected, so I didn't actually get to their house until around midnight. We made a stop at Denny's on the way home. My sister and her family had driven to Florida from Georgia, and she was already at the house. To my surprise, she was still awake! She, mom, and my nephew, Bo, were awake when we walked through the door. We stayed up and talked a bit before finally retiring to bed.

The next day, I had Bobby open his "birthday gift" which happened to be brownie and jell-o mix (2 boxes of each). The man makes really yummy brownies and I wanted to ensure I got some this trip! My slide show shows him in his Sponge Bob Square Pants making the brownies and acting like a goof (as is normal for him). I also had my niece, Kirsten, assist her brother, Bo, with opening his birthday gift (he turns 1 at the end of January, but was not interested in opening gifts). She took that as permission to open her Uncle Shaun's birthday gift as well. :)

We spent most of that second day and the third shopping and lounging...until my brothers showed up with their families! It was a free for all at that point! It was fantastic! We all had a great time playing games on my brother's Playstation 2 and visiting with everyone! My dad's sister, my Aunt Sharon, came over and I got to meet her and my Uncle Dennis for the first time! It was also the first time I met my nephew, Austin, and niece, Sierra. I gave Shaun his re-wrapped birthday gift when they arrived. Austin's birthday was on Christmas, so I made sure he got his birthday gift as well.

On the Saturday I was there, we all (16 of us - 7 children and 9 adults) caravaned to a photography studio and we had family pictures made. The owner was very accommodating and patient! We had a large number of photos taken:

1 with all of us in it (all 16 of us)
1 with just the children
1 of us kids with mom and dad
1 of just mom and dad
1 of Krystal, Bobby, and their children
1 of Kevin, Carolyn, and their children
1 of Krystal and me

The request was to have me get some with just me, but everyone else had at least one other person with them, so I dragged my sister out with me. Shaun didn't get one of he, Crystal, and their children because he had just gotten family pictures made.

After the photos were picked out, ordered, and paid for, we went home to start our Christmas! We had a very good home-cooked feast! We ate, then we opened gifts. We sat playing with all our new stuff and chit-chatting.

On Sunday, January 6, all three of my siblings needed to leave to get back to their lives. My sister was the first to leave, but not until after Bobby baked the second box of brownies! :) After we said our goodbyes, Carolyn, my nieces, and I went into town to shop a little while everyone else watched Convoy. By the time we returned, Shaun and his family had left, so I wasn't able to say goodbye to him. My Aunt Sharon and Uncle Dennis were back, though. I talked with them while Kevin and his family were getting ready to leave. We made plans to eat dinner the next evening (my last evening in town).

On Monday, mom and dad were busy with work. I kept myself busy with watching some DVDs I brought from home and by catching up with emails. We went out to "brunch" and then we went to Red Lobster for dinner with my Aunt Sharon and Uncle Dennis. It was there that my Aunt Sharon gave me a very special gift. She had gone through the jewelry she received from my grandmother's jewelry box after she had past away and found a necklace she was willing to give to me. She said she wanted to be sure I had something of my grandmother's, even though I didn't get a chance to meet her at all. It was very thoughtful of her and it means a lot to me.

We all went to bed fairly early on Monday. We needed to leave the house at about 4:30am so that I could be sure to catch my 7am flight out of Orlando. The flight home was uneventful, with a 53 minute layover in Phoenix, Arizona.

Mom, Dad, and I are planning for my next trip out in June. They want to take me to Arkansas to meet everyone! I am very excited and I'm hoping that John will be able to make it out with me. It is important to me to have everyone meet him! After the Arkansas trip, there will be a Georgia trip required! I want to see my sister's house. I also hear there is a good chance that I'll meet my cousin, Chris, and his family at that time! I'm very excited about it all!