To Florida for the holidays...

Having been away for most of the year, it was such a treat to be able to reconnect with family for the holidays.

We arrived in Florida for the holiday season excited and surprisingly well-rested.  We had been lucky to "win" the brilliantly designed "upgrade auction" in Etihad Airways where passengers can bid for the empty business class seats.  Perhaps because of our success in the auction we were surprised to be unexpectedly upgraded for the second leg of the trip on American Airlines. We were almost oblivious to the jet lag after such a restful flight!

After a couple of days catching up with Beth's parents, sister Karen and her family arrived and the full house and holiday festivities kicked into full gear!

Whether it was quirky evening family games, tons of baseball trivia and "words of the day", valiant attempts to fly small drones and also get our nephews to eat carrots, to lengthy family dinners and a new tradition of "elf boxes", it was a great gift to spend the holidays with our loved ones.