We spend this year’s holiday in Florida where I once again spent most of my time kicking myself and wondering why I ever decided to leave this paradise.
Sometimes I wonder if I had all the activities and responsibilities I have in Chicago in Florida, would I still love it as much?
I don’t know. What I do know is that many of the friends and family I have here in Florida are not in Chicago. This to me is the best part of spending time in Florida.
I was lucky to spend so much time with friends and family!
On Christmas night, which was also the first night of Hanukkah, we had a bunch of Devenskys over for a Hanukkah celebration. My cousin Alexa called it “Jewmas”. And so it was christened, if Hanukkah and Christmas ever coincide again….


We had a feast that night! A Latke bar, deviled eggs from my Uncle David, Brisket, Chicken, Kugel from Nancy, a huge salad, Matzo Ball Soup, Challah and for dessert, my father’s famous Rugalug.


Not only was a lucky to see this family, but I also got to spend a wonderful afternoon with my Auntie Doris.

Dad let us crash his friend’s party and we had a blast there together!

In addition to family, I got plenty of quality time with my girlfriends.

My girlfriend Laura made the 3 hour trek from Orlando to come see me for a night.

One day Laura and I went to the mall, the huge mall FILLED with clothes and bought the same exact dress. She went there looking for Vuori clothing but didn’t get any but I did! it was a weird shopping trip! But fun, always fun to spend time with Laura!

Even Ben got to see his friends from Chicago who also spend time in South Florida for the winter!

We also managed to spend lots of time together as a family.
One day we went to Wakodahatchee to see all the different wildlife. We even spotted 2 alligators!












Adam took the boys golfing twice at two different locations.

Also lots more sports! Basketball, Pickleball, Volleyball and many family runs.



These runs were in preparation for a family 5K run we did in Fort Lauderdale on New Year’s Day.

The boys also decided to use some of their Hanukkah money for to buy water guns. They revealed them in Florida and had a massive water gun fight. Many massive water gun fights….



But that’s not all! I know it’s hard to believe we did more, but we did! My friend Laura’s husband works for Disney and gave us Friends and Family tickets so we also GOT TO GO TO DISNEY over this holiday!!!!!!

We managed to do 10 different rides (all without fast passes), park hop to 3 different theme parks, and eat a sit down dinner at Epcot all in one day. Our step counters all read 30,000 steps.


All this activity was accompanied by copious amounts of food too! We ate our way through Florida. Dandee Donuts for breakfast, Havana 1957 for Cuban Sandwiches, Golden Krust for Jamaican food, Max’s Grill for Pop Rock Sushi, Luff’s Fish House for all things seafood, Alaskan King Crab from Pop’s, Acai bowls and Charcuterie at the Waldorf Astoria, and lots of ice cream!

Another great Florida visit. We will miss you, Florida! From our family to yours, wishing everyone reading this a Happy New Year!

But wait, what about the Hanukkah Bears? Don’t worry, they came to Florida too. Stay tuned for the next blog to hear all about the bears adventures this year.
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