An 85-Degree Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving this year in Ft. Myers with my mom and Don. What we lacked in the weather department during last year's trip in January, we totally made up for this time around! It was BEAUTIFUL there—mid '80s and sunny every day. We saw a few clouds here and there, but other than that, we couldn't have asked for it to be nicer. To be honest, it didn't feel very Thanksgiving-ish to me. But other than that, we had a fantastic trip.

Elsa turned into a fish at some point since our last trip to a swimming pool. She must have spent several hours in the pool every day that we were there.

And the more time she spent in the pool, the braver she got about the water. By the time we left, she was swimming around by herself with a noodle, going underwater (and loving it!), and I think she might even have jumped in a few times (with someone to "catch" her, of course). Once I get her back into swimming lessons, I'm sure it will just take a session or two and she'll probably be swimming on her own.

Claire loved the pool too, although she didn't especially care for going into it.

She mostly just liked running around it, grabbing balls out of the water and throwing them back in, and sitting down on the side with her feet in (kicking and splashing up a storm, of course).

Grandpa swinging her over the water was pretty fun, too.

Unfortunately, Claire wasn't altogether cheerful on this trip. She didn't sleep much—she normally naps for about two hours, but on this trip, we were lucky if she slept for an hour. She also woke up much earlier than she ever does at home—two to three hours earlier! And on top of that, I actually think she might have been a little homesick. She kept going over to the front door, banging on it, and saying, "Why, why." As amusing as that sounds, I don't actually think she was asking why we were there. I think she was trying to say "outside," or "leave," or something along those lines. It was clear that the poor kid wanted to go home. It's still relatively difficult for her to take part in most of the fun things Elsa does (like swimming in the pool), so I guess at a certain point she was just ready to go.

Anyway, when we weren't swimming, we were mostly relaxing around the pool and eating. See what I mean about it not feeling very Thanksgiving-ish? : )

For dinner, it was just the six of us, which made for a very small group, but that was a nice change.

Although it seemed like there was enough food for an army of 600.

For Thanksgiving dinner, Elsa wore a dress that I MADE! I can't believe it actually turned out! The white parts are velvet, so it's kind of an odd dress since it doesn't have sleeves, and won't really be appropriate for summer. But since it turned out okay, and it was easy and fun, I might have to make a summer version (or two) for this coming summer.

And Claire looked adorable in this little apple dress, which was Elsa's, but I'm not sure Elsa ever even wore it! Does that mean it's not really a hand-me-down? : )

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving in Florida–thanks Mom and Don for making it so fun and relaxing!