Christmas 2017 was a good Christmas. On December 22, I attended Fireside Singers Christmas concert to see Mary performing. Yes, there were many talented singers and musicians, but I go to see my little girl perform. The concert was fantastic, as usual. My favourite memory from the concert was seeing a profile view of Mary on stage. Her little tummy is fast becoming a lovely bump containing what our family is referring to as "Little Peanut Kolach/Battersby. Mary has had a very healthy pregnancy. She gives me regular reports of Peanut doing acrobatics in her womb. Many people ask me whether Mary knows whether the baby is a boy or a girl. Thankfully, Mary is waiting until birth to find out.
Mary and Morgan went up to Morgan's parents' place near Shell Lake on December 23-26. There haven't been many Christmases in Mary's 30 years that she has not been home. Mary and Morgan had fun with Morgan's family playing cards, eating, and ice fishing.
Haley and Dustin helped me as I hosted a Christmas Eve party, carrying on a tradition initiated by our beloved Judy. We also attended the Christmas Eve service at Judy's childhood church home, Christchurch Anglican. Our family has wonderful memories of Christchurch, especially Judy's mom singing "O Holy Night" and Judy's dad tape recording everything on his boom box. Click.
After the service, we had about 15 guests attend our Christmas Eve party.
On Christmas Day, I went to Haley's inlaws, the Bartsches, for gift opening and lunch. I went to Judy's sister's new acreage home for Christmas Dinner. My role has always been to prepare the mashed potatoes. I had only one job and I nearly blew it. I realized at 10 pm on Christmas Eve that I forgot to buy potatoes. Finding 5 lbs of potatoes on Christmas Day is no easy feat. Luckily, I live next door to a major potato producer. Yes, Bridget bailed me out with a five gallon pail of spuds. It's a small price to pay for keeping their laying hens in my garage.
The Christmas decorations came down on Boxing Day and I put the house in order because we had to be at the airport by 5:30 am on December 27. The highlight of our travel to Orlando was a young lady at Pearson Airport. She had a combination of autism, OCD, and Tourette's Syndrome. She was quite loud and kept on repeating, "Roar!" We wondered who the lucky passenger would be that sat in front of her. Wonder no more...out of 44 rows of seats, she sat in the seat behind me. "Roar!" The roars intensified especially as we circled over Manhattan on our way to LaGuardia Airport in NYC. Hilarious.
Our first day at Disney was at Wild Animal Kingdom, then we went to Epcot the next day. On December 30, we spent the day at Magic Kingdom. On New Year's Eve, we went to an NFL game in Tampa. We took in the tailgating experience and enjoyed an amazing game between Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints. The Bucs pulled out a win with 8 seconds remaining. To add to the excitement, I lost the key to our rental somewhere in the 60 000 seat stadium. Getting in touch with the rental company on New Year's Eve was a challenge, but my prayer was answered when the company came through with a spare key. Praise the Lord! When we found out a key was available, we were able to celebrate New Years. We actually found a Smoky Bones restaurant that was still open on NYE. We got back to our rental at 11:50 pm, did the countdown, hugged, and then went to bed.
On New Years Day, we went to Cocoa Beach on the Atlantic. We shopped at Ron Juans Surf Shop, walked on the beach, and ate an amazing seafood meal at the Cocoanut Restaurant. The entertainment was a young man playing Ed Sheeran, Jack Johnson, and Jason Mraz tunes. It was a moment to polish and keep.
We went back to Magic Kingdom on January 2 to use the last day of our 4 day pass. The kids really enjoyed the Disney experience. Although Disney is expensive. Mickey Mouse headbands are 25 bucks; Mickey Mouse helium balloons are 15 bucks. Hot dogs are 10 bucks. Smoked turkey legs 12 smackers. Of course, the crowds were horrendous because of the time of year. But it didn't matter. We were in "the happiest place on earth". The girls used the Disney App to organize our days. We had a ball. Everyone got along. We laughed. We soaked it all in. We made great memories.
Our last day in Orlando was spent shopping. We made a haul at the nearest factory outlet store, then toured Celebration, Florida. Thursday was a bit of a downer. Because of the storm on the east coast, lineups at the airport were long. Haley and Dustin got on the plane. I could have got on the plane, but I chose to stay back to help Morgan and Mary because they missed the plane. They were held up in the screening line. Once we recovered from the disappointment, I rebooked our flights. The earliest we could return to Saskatoon was Saturday. We rented a car and booked a hotel for two days. After a stop at Target for clothing and toiletries(Mary and Morgan's luggage was on the plane. I had carryon so I was okay), we went golfing. On Friday, we went to Gatorland. Darn, stuck in Florida for two more days! When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.
So now we are home, happy and satisfied. Haley is on educational leave. Mary, Morgan, and Dustin are back to work. I am back to my occupation as a full time athlete. Life is still good. Next adventure for me is Huatulco at the end of January. Life is still good.
