It's COLD in the Sunshine state!

OK so, I promised some friends I would update before I skipped town and another month passed with those silly Halloween pictures. So, I guess Thanksgiving happened. We spent Thanksgiving in the Keys. We camped at Bahia Honda State Park and can I tell you how much I LOVED it! We love a non-traditional Thanksgiving, we love exploring and doing new things and we love putting a big fat check on our Florida to-do list! It was perfect. Seriously, we camped on the beach got up early Thanksgiving morning and watched a sunrise then spent the day playing on the beach and just for Brooke, Kade and I built a "snow"man. As we were driving down to Key West we saw a sign warning us to watch out for key deer. Mike insisted on finding one, and we drove around until we did (didn't take very long, the place is tiny). So just in case you were wondering if they really exist like Mike did, they do and they are tiny! ...How did they get there? Really though, a bunch of deer on an island 100 miles or so off the coast of florida..Hmmm, I'm stumped. Later that evening our Thanksgiving feast was compliments of Cracker Barrel and I would do it again for sure! So delicious!
A few Thanksgiving pictures in case you don't look at the smilebox.

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Pretty much after Thanksgiving hit I locked myself up in the house and have been working like crazy on projects for Christmas. We had our annual Santa Bingo Party which was a ton of fun but I'm kinda a sucker for Bingo.
The weather here is cooling down and for a few days it was downright cold! It was probably only in the low 50's but it seems that I'm a true Floridian now. I remember the Rexburg days when the sun would come out and it would warm up to 50 and we'd wear short sleeve shirts and no coat! My roommates and I would get so excited that it was getting warmer. Ha ha!
Other than that, we visited Santa and Bree wasn't too fond of him, Kade just wanted a candy cane. We spotted a manatee, a mom and her baby, from our window. Our entire family is SO fascinated by them! Everyday Kade goes to the window hoping they will be back and I check a few times a day too. (: We went and stood on our dock and they swam right under us. They are HUGE. Maybe that's why they're called the elephant of the sea.


So one Saturday morning Mike left to play basketball and I was playing with the kids in their room. I was reading books to Kade and Bree kept crawling away. Kade ran to the door and then came back and told me he locked it so Bree couldn't get out. I didn't think much of it until about 20 minutes later when I went to leave! Yep, he locked all of us in! I wasn't too panicked, I tried a few things to no avail and just gave up knowing Mike would be home soon. After Mike came home and let us out we walked back into their room and he's laughing at the fact I was locking in there for an hour. Just as Mike was telling me we shouldn't let Kade think it's funny cause he'll probably do it again... -Locked! So now the entire family is locked in. Long story short, I'm laughing really hard and Mike is banging away at the hinges with Kade's Handy Manny screwdriver and hammer! I thought it was the funniest thing ever. Thank goodness we had tools in the room, right? (:
Anyway, we leave Saturday for California. Mike's brother is coming home from his mission and then we'll be spending Christmas with the Andersen family. We are so excited to take a break! I have to make it through the next couple of days and then it's party time!!
JOY, it's the most wonderful time of the year and for a great reason! I miss all of you who are far far away, I think about you all the time. This time of year sparks lots of fond memories and it reminds me how lucky I am to have such great friends and family. I've got some really great friends here who really are my family away from home. I can't believe this is my last Christmas here. I love you all. Merry Christmas and Happy new year! (That seems a little premature but lets face it, I won't be on here again until next year)
A few pictures for your enjoyment (: Somewhere in the mess of pictures, visiting Santa, my attempt at the kids in their Christmas outfit knitted by "Aunt" Carol. She's amazing!! Kade the professional mess maker, playing at the park (with our hats and long sleeves cause it's cold here), our outside view (Everyone else has been posting pictures of their outside view and the snow, I got nothin' but it looks sorta chilly, right?)