School continues to go great and it's hard to believe that they have been home for as long as they have. We are fortunate we have been able to keep them home during this time but are looking forward to them returning in person after the first of the year. C has really missed her friends and the daily interaction with those her own age, while she is too big for her britches I have to stop and remember she is only six and still a little kid. She is doing much better in the handwriting department and with her writing, for just being six this girl is a great speller and seldom do I have to correct her spelling, she is really a better speller than J. We have enjoyed ours special time together and the memories we have made this last almost year at home. C was really into the election and the fact there was a female Vice President running, we all watched the night of the election as the votes rolled in and then all watch the night of the acceptance speech, the girls listened closely to Harris' speech and it gave me goosebumps to sit there and watch these two watch the first woman Vice President give her acceptance speech, truly history in the making.
We had family pictures this month in Downtown Sarasota and then headed to their Main Street for dinner afterwards. It was time to update the two year old pictures, the girls have grown so much since the last session and the photographer couldn't believe how big they had gotten! For once they cooperated for pictures, but their hair didn't even after being flat ironed, it was hot and humid that night! They enjoyed another opportunity to go out for dinner, we went to the place we had gone for our anniversary right before quarantine started. We had a nice dinner and of course the girls had pasta and meatballs. We closed on our house middle of month and moved everything to storage or to the temporary condo we'd be staying in the next three months, minimalistic living at it's finest, at least we had a couple of trips to Miami to break up the time with us all in close quarters!
BH's mom and I took the girls to a special lunch the Friday before Thanksgiving to celebrate J's birthday early. We went to a restaurant on the river, the girls loved playing in the sand, climbing on the rocks and watching for "mermaids" in the water. This is the nice thing about eLearning, being able to make our own schedule and getting to do these things with them during the week, I know I am going to miss this time when they go back, especially since the parents aren't allowed in school to have lunch this year with their kids.
We headed down to Miami to spend the week of Thanksgiving and J's birthday with their cousins. The adults took off from work for the week and since the weather was nice we were able to venture out of the house and more than just go on the boat! We spent Monday on the boat ALL day! After our bout the last time with trying to take the kids to the ocean to fish we went straight to the little creek to fish. The fish were biting and we had so much fun catching a variety of fish, it was as neat as fishing in Animal Crossing as we caught colorful and different fish. C fished for a little while, she caught and held her fish, but enjoyed spending more time snacking at the front of the boat, they know anything (well pretty much anything) goes on the boat and they take full advantage of it! We cruised down to the Keys for a late lunch (we had eaten plenty of snacks as we fished) and had lunch outside under the huge tiki hut at Gilbert's. We all enjoyed some fresh seafood, the island music and the low key style of being in the keys, nothing is better than getting off the boat in bathing suits and flip flops for lunch. The girls thought it was neat to be able to drive to lunch in the boat, we were hoping to see some dolphins as we cruised but we didn't have any luck. The weather changed while we were at lunch and the wind blew in, the water was a little choppy on the way back, we all got soaked from the waves and decided to sneak back into the creek to see what was biting and to see if the weather calmed down some. We caught some more fish (nothing to keep this day but we caught a lot of fish) and before we knew it the sun was setting. We got to see the beautiful sunset on our ride back in, it was a perfect day on the boat and had some tired kids that night!
Tuesday we got a slow start, mommy and Aunt Boo baked J's cakes and had some errands to run to get things ready for her birthday. The kids played at home in their jammies before we headed to the park for a Chick-fil-A picnic, the kids in Miami were still in school so the park was empty. They had fun scootering, running around the grass, down the hill and chasing tennis balls. It's amazing what some fresh air and being outside can do to your mentality after the last seven months. We swam and BBQed that night with Nana, it was another great day.
J's birthday was an all day celebration! We started with donuts for breakfast, followed by a trip to the Keys for lunch, cake for dinner and ended the day with going to pick out a Christmas tree. All of the kids had a great time, even though we had to change plans when our tarpon feeding was a fail, but they all went with the flow and made it a great day for J. C was excited to give J the present she had picked out for her, a new Barbie that had colored and sparkly hair.
Friday we recovered from the week of fun we had and just hung out at the house and took it easy. The kids received a special package from FedEx, it was a box from the North Pole with a special delivery from Santa, their elves had arrived and they were excited to see them. Just like everyone else at the time they had to quarantine for the first week, the kids didn't mind as they were able to carry them around the house and take them on outings, for all they cared they could have stayed in the containers. Saturday the guys went fishing and the mommy's took the kids on an adventure to Lion Country Safari, of course the elves came too! Their cousins had been earlier in quarantine and were excited to go again and show the girls the animals. We enjoyed our 1.5 hour ride through the zoo seeing all of the animals up close and personal (we saw quite a few of them poop to which the kids squealed and giggled), we got a little too close to an ostrich that ended up pecking on the car window, of course after we drove by it there was the sign that said "Danger, do not allow the animals to get close to your car"! We stopped at Wendy's for lunch on the way home, I think all but J fell asleep in the car on the ride home, the peace and quiet, after listening to them talk non-stop for almost two hours was refreshing! We arrived back to the daddy's pulling up with fresh fish for dinner, everyone had had a great day on their adventures!
Sunday after breakfast we had to say our goodbyes, there were many tears shed after the great week we all had. We made plans while we were there to go back for New Years, we have been throwing such great quarantine parties that a NYE party was requested, we can't say no when the only kids they see are each other. The ride home was quiet, everyone was tired, full from non-stop eating and just needed to decompress and regroup for the last couple of weeks left in the year. Monday, December 1st the girls woke up to Rainbow, their reindeer pet, and advent calendars from their elf. We had minimal Christmas decorations and no tree, they needed something to put them (and us) in the holiday spirit.
Here are the pictures from the month and J's birthday/Thanksgiving.
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