Xmas Brandon Trip

Day before Christmas we decided to surprise the family in Brandon, FL. We decided to rent the Expedition in order to be comfortable for the hour long ride. Once we decided, we contacted our agent with Enterprise and they were unfortunately out of the Expedition, but she was able to have another location deliver one to the location closest to us. It was so convenient since we were running late for out Christmas Eve party. So again Enterprise had saved the day.



So we finally had the Expedition, and we were loving it. This one was a black beauty. We ended up dealing with a lot of traffic on the way down, which turned the hour long ride into two hours. The kids were fine, since they had lots of room to stretch out their legs and be were able to enjoy the DVD player in the Expedition. which was a very nice feature to keep them entertained during the excruciating wait. After many laughs and a full movie, we had finally arrived at our location. The city of Brandon was so nice and calm by the time we got there. The family was thrilled. We were able to surprise the family. We all felt like celebrities. Hugs and kisses flying all over the place. After enjoying some amazing time with the family, we began with the meal. It was delicious, there is nothing that compares to mother's cooking.



After everyone had enjoyed dessert, we had to watch "Miracle on 34th Street". Such a holiday classic, the entire family always enjoys it. It just wouldn't feel like Christmas without it. After the movie, we had to go to bed and give Santa Claus some time to come and drop off presents. So we set up the cookies and milk and fell asleep enjoying the Christmas time. Once we woke up, we knew Santa had come by, since some of the cookies were bitten into, and the glass of milk was almost empty. The gifts were under the tree, and the kids were up and jumping everywhere trying to wake everyone up so that they could open their gifts. It's so rewarding to be able to spend time with the whole family. It's always a happier time when you have everyone you love around you.

Once we had opened all the gifts and helped clean up, it was time to just relax before heading back home. Watching the kids play with their new toys and the grown ups enjoy their new accessories or even their toys was just spectacular. It came time to go home and it was tough, no one wants to leave the party. But we had to try to beat that holiday traffic on the way back home, and we had to return the car the next day before work, so we wanted to be well rested. The drive back was actually not as bad as we had thought it would be. Once we came home the kids stayed up playing around the house with their new toys, as the adults went to bed since we had work in the morning. The car return went pretty smooth as always. Everyone was very helpful and we received some more coupons for our next rental, which made us feel very special. It was a rather nice surprise.