A fairly last minute trip came together just before Christmas. I knew that one of my brothers and my sister were getting together for a pre-Christmas celebration/cousins hangout. While it sounded fun, I didn’t really have FOMO until my other brother said he and his family were going. Once that happened, I realized it might be one of the few times all four of us could get together. SMS and I spoke briefly about trying to make it a slightly longer Panhandle trip together, but ultimately, we decided that I would go solo (more PTO) and come back Christmas Eve.
I had surgery Monday and, due to a cancellation, I was able to take an afternoon trip rather than the redeye. This was excellent. I stayed at my sister’s family’s AirBnB, arriving very late Monday night. Then, we hung out all Tuesday and Wednesday morning before everyone left on Christmas Eve.
I have two nieces and they are both adorable. One is my little buddy and the other is my future little buddy, but she’s one so apart from holding her (which she liked after the first morning of mild suspicion), we didn’t hang as much. But my other niece is adorable and she took a nap on me at the beach, which was very cute.
I also played catch and soccer with my nephews, which was a lot of fun although the soccer ball was frequently picked up by the 3 year old who would say, “I win.” His parents have no idea where that came from (I have suspicions, lol). There was also one toddler 2-year old meltdown, which was resolved by letting him wander the parking lot touching pick-up truck tires. Safety first, kids!
On Tuesday, we celebrated my niece’s one-year birthday with a family trip to the Olive Garden. Seven adults, seven kids, no tragedies. Success!
That evening, we FaceTimed our parents, who were doing well after a long, much more thoughtfully pre-planned trip that they committed to prior to the Florida plans coalescing.
On Wednesday, I went to a diner with my sister, her husband, and kids and my Florida brother’s kids. A very nice couple paid for our breakfast. Not sure what they saw in us, but hopefully not sister-wives, haha. After breakfast, my brother and I hung out on his deck before I left. I took a quick walk on Pensacola Beach- so beautiful!- and then checked into the pretty quiet airport.
From Houston to SFO, I was upgraded to business-class. I took a lie-flat nap, which was delightful. I love luxury travel so much, but only get it through a lucky upgrade. SMS picked me up at the airport Christmas Eve and we went home for a long Winter’s nap before Christmas Day.
I love that you were able to get together with all of your siblings and their kids. The beach picture is adorable. Yay for a business class upgrade!
I feel very lucky!