This is the beautiful view off our balcony without the scaffolding. Looks much better doesn't it. 
Sabbath brought the now annual trip to the Fort Lauderdale Church for their Christmas Cantata. We always have a bit of a disagreement about attending, but always win and get to go. Problem is we are usually in church from 9:30 - 2:00. This year was no exception. It was a cute cantata that had the children and adult choir working together. They also used several of the songs from the Cantata that Sarah did at her school. Their set decorations were great and they even used black light for the stars and angels. We picked up a few new ideas.
I think Leah has had her share of Christmas programs.
It was freezing inside but beautiful outside.
This gives a little bit better view of the set. The manger scene was so nice with the palm trees.
Of course, after sundown we needed one more night of shopping at the big outlet mall. Dan babysat for the first time. His friend Gabby came and assisted. Looks like Leah is ready with the remote.
Daddy prepares supper for her before we leae.
One last kiss and mommy promising to bring her home a treat.
Sunday morning we headed out for the Marriott buffet which we go to at least once when down here. It is great with the make your own omelet, waffles, potatoes, Krispy Kream donuts. And, we don't have to cook.....Dad fixed Leahs mohawk and mom didn't like it. It disappeared before we hit the restaurant. She looks cute with any hair-do.
Sabbath brought the now annual trip to the Fort Lauderdale Church for their Christmas Cantata. We always have a bit of a disagreement about attending, but always win and get to go. Problem is we are usually in church from 9:30 - 2:00. This year was no exception. It was a cute cantata that had the children and adult choir working together. They also used several of the songs from the Cantata that Sarah did at her school. Their set decorations were great and they even used black light for the stars and angels. We picked up a few new ideas.
I think Leah has had her share of Christmas programs.
It was freezing inside but beautiful outside.This gives a little bit better view of the set. The manger scene was so nice with the palm trees. Of course, after sundown we needed one more night of shopping at the big outlet mall. Dan babysat for the first time. His friend Gabby came and assisted. Looks like Leah is ready with the remote.
Daddy prepares supper for her before we leae.
One last kiss and mommy promising to bring her home a treat.Sunday morning we headed out for the Marriott buffet which we go to at least once when down here. It is great with the make your own omelet, waffles, potatoes, Krispy Kream donuts. And, we don't have to cook.....Dad fixed Leahs mohawk and mom didn't like it. It disappeared before we hit the restaurant. She looks cute with any hair-do.
Gabby got on the elevator on 21 and was headed to the pool. See you later.
Delicious as usual.
Thanks for the treat Leah. See you have been well trained by your Grammy on use of the plastic.
Here we are finally in the pool in our new suit. It was pretty successful. She seems to love the water but not so much the sun and breeze
Our pizza tradition did not work for this Christmas Eve since they close early here. So Leah is all excited about going to the Mai Kai for a Polynesian dinner and dance performance.
To bad she couldn't tell us what she really thinks of these ears.
She just couldn't stay awake for dinner.
Virgin Peach Daquiri was great.
Mine was the Pina Colada drink. $6.00 a pop, so Dan put us on a limit of one drink per person. He did allow us a glass of water, Ha Ha. The night was so much fun. We laughed quite a bit and were very happy we were not asked to come up front to do the hula.
Once home it was time for presents. Leah is ready.
That is some present! I think she likes it.
Oh, Leah is not always smiley and happy.
Somebody help me here please......
That's our girl. Daddy has her all wrapped up for the night and she looks pretty content.
It is so nice to have good friends, and Dan has one of the best in his buddy Gabby. While we were arriving, Gabby was dropping off other friends from the condo and then swung by us to pick us up. Sure beats the taxi ride.
We had already set up the Christmas tree when we were in town several weeks ago. You can see there is only one present way over in the corner. It is of course for Leah, her rubber pants, swim top, and hat for the pool. We already had Christmas in Michigan, but when Christmas Eve came around somehow more packages miraculously appeared. Sarah and I exchanged Sephora gifts, Dan gave me a new clock radio that plays and charges our IPods, nice blouse for Grandma Lois, and of course many surprises from Aunt Stella and Uncle Joe. It was great to receive their package down here and actually have some mail. Several folks from Dan's work were very thoughtful and sent a Christmas arrangement and cards. It was a fun but quick week with the kids, but we sure missed Adam, Natalie, and our other relatives. Not the same without us being together. They were spread from Michigan to Mexico to Alaska.
Our condo is getting new balcony glass railings so this is what we see every morning. Most of the time there are 2 or 3 men sitting on it. They should be done installing glass on our stack within the next 2 weeks. Then we can finally open our doors and window again. It has been about 9 months since we could open them. You can see Miami in the distance if you look close.
Dan and Leah bonding as we make up a place for her to sleep. We kept her with us for all but one night so the kids could catch up on some sleep. She did pretty good waking up at about 5:30 for a feeding and always going right back to sleep for a couple more hours.
Night night!
This is the second year they have come to our shop and the guys seem to really enjoy it. 
Adam and Natalie enjoyed the songs. Natalie quit her job for the doctor and has started working with Adam at the family business. She is proving to be quite an asset and we love having her there.
