Christmas 2011

This Christmas was a unique one for us.  On December 17th we started our 1,000+ miles car drive down to Port Saint Lucie, Florida, where Dana's sisters live.  The night of the 17th we stopped in Mt. Pleasant, SC to spend some with with a family Reuben knew on his mission.  We spent the 18th there as well, visiting with friends and exploring the beautiful area.  In Charleston we visited Battery Park (where the 1st shots of the Civil War were fired), Rainbow Row, and the downtown market.  We ended the night by taking a walk and dancing on the beach :)

The following morning we left for Port St. Lucie, and arrived in good time.  We have a nice visit with Dana's family.  We took walks on the beach, saw palm trees decked out in Christmas lights (which they changed color to the tune of Christmas songs), and it even snowed in West Palm (soap suds actually, but it was still magical :p)!

It was a strange Christmas for us - we missed the chilly air and snow, but it was still enjoyable.  Christmas can't seem complete without family, so we were thankful we were able to spend the holidays with Dana's.  We look forward to spending it with Reuben's next year.

An amazing gift we all received was a surprise trip to SeaWorld!  Neither of us had been there before so we were pretty excited.  While at SeaWorld we saw shows featuring dolphins, exotic birds, sea lions, an otter, a walrus, and killer whales.  We loved watching those graceful animals perform.  It was a spectacular and humbling experience.  We were also able to pet and feed sting rays and dolphins - wow!  As Dana has no idea what she wants to do with her future, she's now considering marine biology. :p

We're excited to see what gifts and surprises 2012 has in store for us!