We spent the last few days in Florida, starting in Vero Beach visiting my family there. We stayed with my Aunt Kathy and cousin Tara. Our first night we spent with my Grandpa Howard, Grandma Karen and Karen's daughter Cindy. They're the official MI "snow birds" who have a place in Vero to escape to in the winter. We had a great time catching up, grilling out, and challenging each other to ping pong. Ok, I didn't do any of the challenging...
Right before we were about to go to sleep (Tara already in bed), Aunt Kathy noticed that there were people in her front yard. It was midnight so this was a little odd. Sure enough, we run out there and see a mob of kids (and by kids I mean 15-17yrs. old acting like they're 2) running away and yelling not so nice things at Tara. We couldn't quite grasp what they left behind. Our rental car was covered in something that was several different colors. The yard looked like it snowed. Mandi (their chiuaua) was barking up a storm and Aunt Kathy yelled "get em Mandi" but she only went so far then high tailed it back into the house. All bark, that one ;)
My heart stopped when I saw the car covered. I was looking all over it and calculating the possible damage costs Avis would charge us. Nate and I would've ran after the kids but we were so puzzled. Were they sticky notes? Is that plastic forks in the ground? Is that straws coming out of the wheels? What on earth?! We looked closer and sure enough they put post-it notes all over the car, plastic knives, forks, and spoons filled the yard....
They put straws in the wheels too.
Tara woke from her slumber with all the commotion and came outside. Needless to say, it didn't feel like just a prank so Tara and I jumped in Aunt Kathy's car to try to find the kids. We quickly passed a car full of kids about to drive past the house (obviously to look at their handi-work).
So maybe what happened next wasn't our brightest moment, but I was really worried there could be damage to the car and Tara was clearly offended as she was the target. We went on mission "tail those kids and confront them." I'll spare you the details, but we were able to stop them (don't ask how) and it wasn't the most pleasant exchange. Our inner fighter came out in both of us when they denied being involved, but we got the license plate number which was our biggest goal.
We started driving back to the house and saw Nate and the neighbor from across the street (he came over when he heard the commotion too) running to find us. Apparently they could hear us politely ask those kids what they thought they were doing and became concerned. We were relatively nice, just stern. Don't mess with these girls ;)
We got back to the house and Aunt Kathy had called the police (still at this point we weren't entirely sure there wasn't any damage). I told them, "no worries, I got their license plate." Aunt Kathy said "great what is it?" .... I briefly forgot the plate number (shoulda just grabbed a sticky note off the car!) but remembered later.
The cop shows up, we tell him who it was and that they were at a house in the neighborhood. This cop was special. You could tell he was trying so hard not to laugh. But he went to the house and came back saying the parents claim the kids never left the house and that the same thing happened to them too a few nights before. Yeah, sure... then why did we just go after the kids Dukes of Hazard style as they tried to leave the community in their car? Whatever.
Luckily, no damage and it was a breeze to clean up. The cop even helped. The mailbox was covered in sticky notes too, so he checked inside and came out with a handful of more plastic ware. Makes sense. We got a good laugh out of it, but kids are strange these days. Apparently it's the new thing instead of toilet papering a house. I will give them this, it's much easier to clean up. Way to get the wrong car though ya idiots!
The next morning Tara and I kicked some butt at Zumba and then we got ready to visit with Grammy. She's still in rehab for her leg, so we "broke her out of jail" for a fun lunch by the water. I love her so much - her strength and determination to get through anything is something to be admired. It was amazing to watch how well my Aunt Kathy takes care of her too. She's such an angel and our entire family is so very lucky to have her there to help! I don't even want to think of how different things would be if she wasn't there. We also stopped in to visit Grandpa Paul who is at home while Grammy is in rehab. He misses her so much, but hopefully Grammy will be able to go home in just a few weeks.
We then had a homemade pizza party at Grandpa Howard & Grandma Karen's and Nate and I got to enjoy... The Chair. Grandpa has this massage chair that is AH-mazing! Kinda hurts, but it's a good hurt. Trust me when I say, it massages everywhere and is simply awesome. You get strapped in like you're going on a roller coaster! He calls it his "treatment chair". Nate and I had about 5 treatments each while we were there. Grandma Karen also made some homemade baileys which I can't wait to make a batch of our own - so yummy! Stay tuned, adventures with that one is sure to follow. We finished the night off with a little creme de menthe~
GO GREEN!!
The next morning was the day of New Year's Eve. We had a lazy morning and then ran over to give Grammy another kiss goodbye (we also had to stop back at Grandpa's because I forgot my sweater - always leaving crap everywhere!). I hate leaving family. I wish we all lived close together. It's just too hard to say goodbye and not see each other more than once or twice a year, if that. Nate and I promised our next visit would be at least 72 hours as we always seem to jet down there for only 24-48 hours :(
But after all the holiday fun and running around, we wanted a few days alone to ring in the New Year and relax before heading into 2012. So we headed further south to Delray Beach. I'll address it now since I've already been asked a million times - no, there was no marriage proposal. Nate is sneakier than that and refuses to let me see it coming. Good luck with that buddy ;)
We were pleasantly surprised by Delray. It was very nice and more quaint than touristy. They had a HUGE 6 or 7 block party for New Years Eve which we enjoyed. Music, dancing, photo booths, etc. flooded the streets and was a great party.
Party hats on and ready!
They even had a 100 ft. Chirstmas tree!
Instead of a ball drop they had a "Fiat Drop"
At the stroke of midnight, they shot out hundreds of ping pong balls and had a very impressive firework display.
No better way than to ring in the New Year in 80 degree weather and in flip flops!
Nate picked Crane's Beach House which is a tiny and private resort nestled in a ridiculous amount of palm trees for maximum privacy. Only 28 rooms, this place was adorable and a perfect escape (especially because it was only 1 block from the ocean!).
If you look out the room's window or you walk out the door, this is what you'll see - green & palm trees everywhere :)
Same thing as you walked through the grounds - they even had Christmas decor and trees still up everywhere.
No worries here, that's for sure!!
It really made us feel like we were on a tropical island, it was so great! They had two pools with waterfalls and were surrounded by hammocks in their own little corners for a perfect nap spot. I'll take a place like that over a crowded Marriott any day!
We had great weather, their food was amazing there but the only downside was the jellyfish. They apparently have been a problem for a while. They were literally everywhere so it wasn't smart to swim :(
Nate's always up for a dare!
But, the beach was beautiful as usual~
For my birthday, the Spartans pulled off a surprising win in triple overtime! We made a bar that has an open deck onto the inner-coastal waters our home for the day to watch the game. We met this adorable and fun couple. They are Spartan fans from outside Grand Rapids and had their dog too who was even sporting a Spartan scarf! We screamed, cheered and about had a heat attack with them all day.
Later Nate and I went to this amazing restaurant for my fav - filet mignon. Seriously was the best I have ever had. Just perfect! Nate got the pianist to sing me happy birthday too. It was a great birthday!
Our last day the cold front set in so we decided to drive along the beach up to Palm Beach area for lunch. Holy mansions! I've never seen so many especially on the ocean. We were tempted to go door to door to ask them what do they do and how do they do it! We grabbed sandwiches, took them to the beach & gazed out at the ocean and watched the surfers before having to leave.
Always sad to leave, but it was the best way to wrap up our break. Not to mention one of my birthday presents was upgrading to first class. It's quite the experience and I'd like to do it everytime - just need to get some advice from those Palm Beach millionaires so we can afford it!
Our baggage was on the flight behind us returning to DC so we had to wait and got home way later than we should have. But it just made the feeling of coming home that much better. There's something about laying in your own bed & putting your head on your own pillow that is priceless. Ahhh, home sweet home!
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