Christmas Southern Style!

As I write this entry, I am sitting at Rob's sisters house in Memphis, TN. We are still on our Christmas vacation that began over a week ago as we left Columbia and drove south to Orlando! There we had a nice dinner with Great Grandma Moak, Aunt Doreen and Uncle Al. The next day we enjoyed a fabulous visit to Sea World, compliments of Grandma and Grandpa Moak's Christmas generosity! Ben was able to participate in the Beluga Whale Interaction which he will blog about in another entry! After a much fun filled day, we got back in the suburban and traveled the remaining three hours to Marco Island where we relaxed in the sun for five glorious days! We felt totally spoiled as we lounged by the heated pool, collected sea shells on the beach, slept with the warm breezes of the ocean blowing on us, and lived in a sixth floor luxurious condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico (thank you Evons!!). God smiled on us with temperatures in the low 80's and lots of sunshine! Celebrating Christmas without snow was a new experience for all of us! We opened presents around a potted plant which we decorated with a paper star on the top! The kids were overjoyed to receive a Nintendo Wii and struggled with playing that or going out into the Florida sunshine (boy is that bad parenting or what?). We reluctantly left Marco Island on Sunday, our bellies full of delicious coastal fish and other treats! Sixteen hours later we find ourselves here in Memphis, anticipating four fun days with Sandy, Pete, Hayley, Katie, Laney and Lydia Hansen!