Under One Roof.........

Larson Family Winery

We had a really nice Christmas Day.  It was so nice, and the time change stretched it to 27 hours.  Christmas morning was spent on Anna Maria Island.  We had a small but powerful gathering consisting of me, NaNa, Beth's sister Debbie, her daughter Kimberly, Beth and Ben.  There was a nice gift exchange and then we were off to lunch.  Traditional Christmas lunch is with Beth's wonderfully amazing extended family.  NaNa, who is the oldest (don't tell her I said that) has three sisters.  They along with children, spouses, grandchildren and several great grandchildren gather for food and a few hours of fellowship.  It's basically the same group that gathers for the annual beach house celebration in the summer.  The only difference is the beach house lasts for the better part of two weeks.  The Christmas gathering lasts around three hours.  There's a lot of catching up and visiting done at Christmas in a short amount of time.

James looking for Santa

After lunch Beth, Ben and I headed for the airport.  Our destination was California and spending some time with Sarah, Joey and Sweet James.  Getting to California isn't quick.  Tampa to London is only 45 minutes longer than Tampa to San Francisco.  But of course, it's well worth it!
Joey's family was also in town and staying at Sarah's, so we spent the first night at a hotel in Novato.  We checked in right at midnight as our 27 hour Christmas day came to a close.
Joey's parents left Novato on the morning of the 26th.  They enjoyed a few days in the wine country area before heading back to Texas.  As quickly as they moved out, we moved in.
For four fun filled days we were all under one roof.  We enjoyed exchanging gifts, hiking, playing games and simply hanging out.  As you can well imagine, James was the center of attention and kept us entertained the entire time.

The Waterfall Trail in Novato

The Waterfall Trail

Ben's shirt describes exactly how James feels about him...….Fun Uncle!

Breakfast and a puzzle at his new desk

"The Natural"

The Martin Family Band

Yesterday morning Ben had a very, very, very early flight back to Texas (5:25 am).  Beth was kind enough to get up and ride with us to the airport which is about 50 minutes away.  As we crossed back over the Golden Gate Bridge we commented that crossing it is becoming about as common for us as crossing the Skyway Bridge in Tampa/St. Petersburg. The views are spectacular from either bridge.
Late Sunday morning we gathered our belongings and moved about 45 minutes away to an Airbnb at Stinson Beach.  It's a cozy, small cottage just a few houses off the beach.  We'll be staying here through the 8th of January.
This will give Sarah, Joey and James the opportunity to recover and get back into a normal routine but thankfully still spend some time with us.
The greatest gift this Christmas and every Christmas is the time.  Someone once said, "families are like fudge-mostly sweet with a few nuts".  That's us!  We enjoy taking turns being the "nuts" while cherishing the time together!

My turn to be the "nut"