Happy New Year

It was the perfect day for it to rain during our time in Florida.  We had planned on spending New Year's Eve in Ocala visiting several of our favorite stores, watching football and enjoying game night.  Thus, the weather didn't really effect us at all. Shopping was a success as Meg, Nick, Cameron and I all found items that we had been looking for at Kohl's, Barnes & Noble and the Paddock Mall.  The funniest moment of the day occurred as we were leaving the shopping center.  Someone stopped us while we were driving through the parking lot (holding up a lot of traffic) to see if we were really IU Alumni as my license plate stated.  During the enthusiastic conversation we found out that he was from Warsaw.

Once we were done shopping, we focused our afternoon on watching The Twilight Zone marathon and the college football playoffs.  Uncle Phil and Mollie joined us for the night.  Last night we had met Uncle Phil at Hiatus Brewery which we really enjoyed.  We also gave him his Christmas gifts - a Jump Around Wisconsin shirt and a 1980s trivia game.  Tonight's dinner revolved around Doug's queso dip, pepperoni pinwheels, and taquitos for our meal.  The menu was a hit with everyone.

After Michigan lost a close one to TCU in a very exciting game, we took a break to play Chameleon and Herd Immunity afterward.  Last night we had taught Uncle Phil to play Donner Party, which I thought was his favorite.  No matter the game, all were definitely a lot of fun.  The Ohio State vs. Georgia game was  closer than I thought that it would be with the Buckeyes leading most of the game.  Once we saw that, we decided to take a break from our own games to watch it.  With only a couple of minutes left in 2022, OSU was in position to kick a field goal for the win.  We decided to pause the game to watch Dolly Parton host the ball drop.  As soon as it did, we heard a lot of noise outside.  We ran out just in time to catch multiple firework displays.  Mollie didn't like it, but we sure enjoyed it.  The Ohio State game ended much as the Michigan one did with the Big Ten team losing a close one.  All in all it was a wonderful New Year's Eve celebration in Florida.  

Beach Day

We decided to take Doug and Cameron to Clearwater Beach today as they had never been.  We left a little later than normal and ran into some really heavy traffic on the bridge from Tampa Bay to Clearwater.  As we drove we figured out the reason why - It was Bowl Day on the beach.  Both the Illinois and Mississippi State football teams plus their fans were enjoying activities such as Tug of War all sponsored by the ReliaQuest Bowl.  It was fun to see them there and overall the crowds really didn't really effect us except for the drive into Clearwater.

Our first stop was lunch at Jimmy Hula's.  As soon as we ate at the restaurant last March, Meg said that her Dad would love the place.  She was right.  The tacos and the atmosphere were perfect for him.  Cameron had never been either and enjoyed his Shrimp Po' Boy sandwich as well.  Afterward, we all went shopping at Surf Style Surf Shop.  Cameron and I found some great shirts while Meg picked out a headband and lanyard.  

After lunch and shopping, we headed to the white sandy beach.  The water was extremely cold, but wading in it was no problem.  Cameron and Meg looked for shells and played catch with Nick and Doug for awhile.  As we walked along the beach, we saw the entire Fighting Illini football team up close and personal.  That was really neat.  We ended our afternoon in Clearwater with ice cream.  It was the perfect way to top off a wonderful day on the beach.  

One Long Trip

Doug strongly prefers to leave from Brett's when we are driving to Florida.  I completely understand his rational as it cuts about four hours off of the trip.  When we are driving with any of the Heinisch children it also makes it a lot easier on them as Doug doesn't like to stop a lot.  The biggest draw back to his plan for me is that I usually do not sleep well at Brett's the night before we leave.  I don't know if it is the change in atmosphere or the anticipation of the trip.  Either way, it is usually a rough night for me.  Last night was no acceptation.  I fell asleep quickly but was wide awake at 2 a.m.  I tried everything to go back to sleep, but nothing worked.  I did my best to make sure that I did not wake up Doug as his sleep was more important than mine since he would be doing the majority of the driving today.  Some time after 4 a.m. I finally drifted back off to sleep.  I was thankful for that, but it did make for a challenging 6 a.m. wake up call.

All went well getting out the door and picking up Nick and Meg.  By 6:40 a.m. we were on the way, excited to be going to Florida.  Meg and Cameron slept for several hours missing almost all of Kentucky.  Everyone was wide awake, however, by the time we stopped just south of Nashville.  Doug had a work call to make and we were glad to stretch our legs.  Everyone was pleased that the first third of our trip had gone so well. We were scheduled to be in Ocala by 7:30 p.m.  

That all changed shortly after we got back in the car.  We set our GPS for Buc-ee's just north of Atlanta and realized that the time had crept up a half hour or so.  We soon figured out why as we ran into stopped traffic in Chattanooga that was caused by several accidents.  It took awhile to get through the rest of Tennessee, but we made it Georgia and on to Buc-ee's for lunch only 40 minutes late.  Everyone else on   I-75 must have had the same idea as the place was packed.  We had fun, however, looking at the merchandise and picking out our sandwiches.  Doug had just finished up talking to Hetal when we got back to the car. 

We reset the GPS on Doug's phone to Ocala and started heading toward Atlanta.  That's when both of us became concerned.  The time had increased to 8:45 which was a lot later than I had thought that we'd arrive in Florida.  Doug wasn't really surprised.  By the time we had reached the north side of Atlanta, we realized that there was a 45 minute backup downtown.  We decided to follow the new route on the phone and get off of the interstate.  I was a little nervous, but we navigated the streets of Atlanta well and were soon back on I-75 gaining a half hour of time.  That changed, however, when we got south of Atlanta as there were several more backups.  We decided at that time that everyone must be roadtripping to the Sunshine State and that we might as well just accept that fact that we were going to arrive a lot later than we expected.

We did stop one more time in Valdosta, Georgia.  It only added another level of frustration to our trip as the gas stations were packed and the Circle K that we stopped at did not have Diet Coke.  A quick run through the drive-thru at Arby's solved the problem and soon we were back on the road without traffic and a new end time of 9:40 p.m.  It was definitely later than we had planned, but once we stopped at Marco's to pick up pizza for dinner, we were all smiles.  It was warm outside and we had arrived safely after the 15 hour trip.  Plus, we had a great week in Florida planned and Doug said that the guy at the register even recognized him.  I took that as a sign that we were "home."  

Traveling South

Cal and Rachel left yesterday afternoon.  We were sad to see them go, but knew the they had a busy couple of days ahead of them.  Rachel's friend was getting married in Milwaukee on New Year's Eve and they had to be there Thursday.  Cal realized right before he left that he had forgotten to order his tie.  Thankfully, Amazon had one that matched Rachel's dark green dress and could be overnighted to him.  

As Meg had plans with friends most of yesterday, it was only Cameron, Brett, Doug and I at home.  We used our time together to listen to Cameron's new vinyls, play Eels and Escalators and watch A Muppet Christmas Carol.  Afterward we invited Grandma and Grandpa up for a game of Oh Hell.  It was definitely a different game with six players, but a lot of fun either way.

Today was spent cleaning, finishing putting away the Christmas and packing for our trip South.  Brett was the first one out the door.  He had a car full as he had all of his Christmas to take back.  Grandma had also loaded him up with groceries, and then he took the PS2 and Xbox 360 consuls and game with him.  Thankfully, Nick was able to help him get it in the CR-V and we were all there later in the evening to help him unpack.  

Nick and Meg left about twenty minutes after Brett did.  They had to drive separately as Meg would be returning to Bloomington on our way back next week and Nick would have to work.  Doug made it home by 1 p.m. and we were able to be out the door by 1:40 p.m.  Cameron drove the van to the Indianapolis Airport as he will fly back alone on Tuesday.  I was impressed with how well he did.  There was even an accident right behind us that he saw in his rearview mirror.  He didn't let it bother him and kept on driving.  

Doug picked us up at the economy parking and we were in Bloomington in less than an hour.  Once we unloaded Brett's car, the four of us and Nick headed for Tracks on Kirkwood.  Meg stayed behind to pack.  Tracks went well as Cameron found a Drake vinyl that he had asked for Christmas that I could not find.  Dinner was very interesting.  Doug wanted to go to Mother Bear's, but it was closed.  Brett really wanted to go to Yogi's.  The menu looked great, but with no waitress in sight after twenty minutes, we left.  On the way to the car, we saw a new restaurant, Metal Works Brewing Company, and decided to try that.  The atmosphere was awesome, but they were sorely understaffed.  We decided to wait it out as they had board games for us to play.  We, of course, picked Ticket to Ride which helped the time pass quickly.  We all liked our meals and the beers that we tried.  Cameron love his sandwich, but was most excited about his win in North America.  Overall, it was a great first day on our trip south.

Haircuts

As soon as I walked out of my bedroom door today, Cal asked me if I would cut his hair.  I wasn't surprised to hear him say that as it was getting pretty long on top.  I hadn't cut it since Thanksgiving, so it took a little while to do.  It went a lot smoother once he wet it down on top.  I have found that cutting bed head hair can be challenging.  

Right after I finished Cal's hair, Rachel asked me if I could cut hers.  I was a little nervous when she asked as I am way more used to cutting guys hair then girls.  As she only wanted a trim, I figured that we might as well try.  It would save her some time and money and give me a little more experience.  The back was super easy to cut and I quickly took an inch off for her.  The sides were a little more tricky as her hair was tapered in the front.  I didn't want to take too much off as it would be a lot harder to even out.  Thankfully, we were both patient and soon haircut #2 was done.

Brett and I had already talked about him getting a haircut while he was home, so I offered to do it as soon as I was done with Rachel's.  All things considered Brett's was relatively easy to cut this time.  It hadn't gotten too long since his last haircut, so mostly just the sides needed it.  All in all I spent an hour and a half cutting hair this afternoon.  It felt good to help everyone out.  I know that scheduling an appointment can be hard with works schedules.  It's also nice to save some cash as well.

Another Day of Family Game Time

There was more time together in the Heinisch home today.  Although Doug worked from home this morning, he was even able to enjoy the afternoon with us.  Brett, Cal, Meg, Nick and I started if off by playing Escalators and Eels, a fun (but complicated) SpongeBob game.  Afterward Nick and Meg left to drop off gifts at the Yoders and enjoy lunch at Hacienda.  Cameron also spent part of the day outside of the house visiting Alina.  That didn't stop the game playing for him, however, as he and Alina enjoyed several rounds of Scattegories with her family.  

While Nick, Meg and Cameron were occupied, Brett and Cal invited Grandma and Grandpa to our home for some more game time.  Rachel, Cal, Grandma and Grandpa all played Hearts and Racko while Doug, Brett and I played several games of Ticket to Ride.  We ended the day with a rousing game of Sequence where Brett and I barely edged the others out for a victory.  

We took a break from games in the early evening, so that Doug could fix dinner.  He made several delicious appetizers including Cal and Cameron's favorite - Buffalo Chicken Dip.  He also had time to help me take down the majority of the Christmas decorations which I greatly appreciated.  While we were busy, Cal and Rachel watched "What Lies Beneath?", a Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer thriller, while working on the extremely challenging Squishmallow Puzzle that we gave her for Christmas.  

Everyone was home for dinner tonight and appreciated our traditional Christmas Eve meal a few days late.  Code Names was the last game of the evening and we all enjoyed it just as much as we did over Thanksgiving.  We ended the evening watching Garfield's Christmas and A Year Without a Santa Claus.  Overall it has been a wonderful two days of family time.  I appreciate how much everyone still has fun when we are all together.  

Merry Christmas

Today we celebrated our 25th Christmas on Sunset Dr, and it was definitely one of my favorites.  I was so happy that it went well as it was the first time that we ever had guests join us for Christmas morning.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy their gifts and most importantly had fun giving them to each other as well.  I don't know if anyone had a real clear cut favorite gift this year, but Brett was excited to finally have a FitBit, Cal was happy with all of the new clothes, Meg absolutely loved her "Edna Turnblad" dress and Cameron was thrilled to receive some new vinyls.  Rachel appreciated the new game and puzzle that we got for her and Nick was all over Herd Immunity.  I received so many wonderful gifts this year and tried on my Cinderella sweatshirt right away.  My favorite gift out of everyone's was the Walter Payton jersey that "Santa" brought Doug.  He had wanted one for years and I was so happy to finally see him wearing one.

Grandma Jane and Grandpa Cutes arrived just after 1 p.m. with more gifts for everyone.  They appreciated the golf balls and family blanket that they received along with some other fun gifts.  Doug made lasagna this year which the majority of the Heinisch children preferred instead of our traditional ham dinner.  It was delicious.  Rachel had brought some Crumbly Cookies for all of us to try and everyone enjoyed some of Grandma's traditional fudge.

After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon playing games including Nick's new one as well as the Hot Seat game that we gave to Rachel.  Grandma and Grandpa left shortly after Cal and Rachel went to North Webster to visit Cameron Adams.  While they were gone, I took some time to post pictures from each of our twenty-five Christmas' at our home in Syracuse.  Meg and I had a lot of fun yesterday sorting through all of the finding the perfect ones.  We ended our evening watching all "It's a Wonderful Life."  It was the perfect way to end a wonderful day.