For awhile, Julie had been thinking of flying to Florida with Alex to attend Justin's baptism. A day or two before New Year's, Julie found and booked a great deal on fares. Julie and Alex flew from Detroit on New Year's evening, with a late-night arrival in Orlando. Julie arranged for a shuttle to the Best Western near the airport, where she and Alex spent the night.
Gary and Rhonda flew from Detroit to Orlando the following morning, rented a ritzy Cadillac sedan, then picked up Julie and Alex at their hotel. While the trunk of the Caddy was pretty large, it took some thoughtful rearranging before space was finally found for everyone's luggage and carry-ons. Besides taking much floor space, there was also a tall stack of smaller bags between Julie and Alex on the backseat, which was often threateningly shaky.
As we neared the end of the three-hour drive to Coral Springs, we hatched a plan for Julie's and Alex's surprise arrival. While Gary and Rhonda rang Kristen's doorbell, Julie and Alex stood around the corner of the porch, partially concealed by the hedge. As it turned out, Kristen was at home while Seth napped, but the older boys were away at ball practice. Kristen was indeed surprised and excited to see Julie and Alex! It wasn't long before the guests were also greeted by little Seth. When Aaron arrived home with Kyle, Parker and Justin, warm hugs were exchanged with all the visitors. Fun!
We had already arranged with Kristen to eat dinner at one of our favorite places, Benihana's. Our group took up two grills! Great meals were enjoyed by all. Then it was back to Kristen's house to visit and catch up on many bowl games on Tivo.
