Thanksgiving in Florida!

Do you know what the De Falco kiddos look like at 6 a.m. when they're ready to hop on a plane and head to Florida for Thanksgiving? Like this!

And like this about two hours later on the airplane!

And then like this just two hours later! Ready for the beach!!

The kids didn't miss a beat...they were more than ready for lots of beach and pool time. Sebastian loved building (and crushing!) sandcastles...and getting his toes wet in the water. Cheese with Auntie B!

Brie and Granddaddy Rob scouted out the best shells with holes, so she could make a necklace.

Found one!

Sammy always gives Ft. Myers Beach his seal of approval!

As do the chillaxin' parents. :-)

Apparently, the weather was pretty cold back in Cincinnati...

so sunshine and great temps were high on our "thankful" list this year!

So was food! We ate many delicious meals in Ft. Myers, including my favorite bread pudding (made with sticky buns!)...

stuffed poblanos...

and ice cream!

As the week went by, Sammy and Brie's sandcastle-building skills improved and their creations became more elaborate. No surprise, but this photo was taken about 10 seconds before Sebastian demolished it all (with his big sibs's blessing).

Gotta love the blue skies and puffy white clouds!

Ladies at the beach!

One highlight of Thanksgiving week for our family is celebrating Gammy's birthday! This year is her 65th, so we had some extra fun...

with cupcakes...

and a little movie that Beth and I put together with videos and photos (sent surreptitiously to me) from our family and Mom's good friends.

It was very entertaining to see everyone's clips and pics...and really fun to watch Mom's reactions. She was surprised and touched by how many people sent in submissions...nearly 7 minutes of video! Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Speaking of movies, Tony, Beth and I went to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in 3D! The movie was a good watch, and Tony and I were excited to see our first 3D film!

Like much of our vacation, Thanksgiving Day was sunny and breezy...

So we got all dressed up...

And went to Bayfront Bistro! You can't beat a restaurant on the bay!

We even ate outside on their patio! Brie's meal came with a flower, and she knew just what to do with it!

We ate so many yummy dishes...from turkey and stuffing to fresh seafood! Recognize this handsome couple??

"That meal was delicious, Gammy! How did you know that Brie Cheese is one of my favorites?!"

Beauties in blue!!

Did I mention our beautiful sunsets all week??

Hard to beat!!

Happy Turkey (sandcastle) Day from Florida! Many, many things (like quality time with family!) for all of us to be thankful for this year!

P.S. Right next door to our condo complex was the 2016 American Sand Sculpting Championship! The venue was hoppin' all week and we watched the sand sculptures come to life from our window!

P.P.S. The cupcakes we bought for Gammy's birthday were from Perfectly Scrumptious. I found the bakery online, so Sammy, Brie and I drove over to check it out. Not only did we meet the owner and head cupcake maker Amanda in person, but we learned that she was on "Cupcake Wars"!! After eating her delicious cupcakes on Gammy's birthday, we watched her compete on the show (thank you, Netflix). And that, my friends, was our brief brush with Food Network fame during our Florida vacay!