Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Heather Goes to Florida

It was approaching the time of the year for Heather's trip with her dad. The problem we were facing was James' schedule. He recently added quite a few new clients to his growing business and needed to fly out and set up their offices. This meant that most of his weekends were booking up and he was heading into Tithing Settlement season. When James realized he would have to go to Florida he asked Heather if she would like to meet him there. This plan meant that Heather would have to fly by herself to Florida. I was a nervous wreck putting Heather on a plane by herself. I told James I would never do it again. I learned a lot from Heather though. I asked her if she was nervous. She told me she was that morning but she had learned that if you think about something to much, or tell yourself something too much, your brain will start to believe it, therefore, she had decided to tell herself she wasn't nervous and she would quit thinking about being nervous. I was very proud of her. She was quite grown up about the whole thing. Everything went off without a hitch. Of course, I was calling James constantly to make sure he was OK and would be at the airport in time to meet her. He went to the airport three hours early just to calm me down.

They had a great time together. I've heard the high point was visiting the new Harry Potter World at Universal Studios. James informs me he couldn't get enough of the Butter Beer. He brought back mugs for all of us. I had a suspicion to how he'd gotten the mugs. Upon inquiry, he confirmed my suspicion. He had drunk that many mugs of Butter Beer. He said he didn't want to leave anyone out from having a mug. I'm sure we all agree it was an excuse to have more Butter Beer.

Heather told me she liked the Wet 'N Wild waterpark best because there weren't any lines and they got to go on whatever rides they wanted. They also made it to SeaWorld. The two "kids" had a lot of fun together and came home a little bit tanner.

Pictures of the House

Our remodel project is slowly but surely moving along. Most of the upstairs is framed and the electrician is working so we can get to the four way inspection. I've been told that as soon as the inspection is over, the other sub contractors are ready to jump right in and finish the project. I've decided I'm just happy when anyone shows up and progress is made. The outside of the house is nearly done. For those who may not have heard, when they started pulling the brick off our house to knock out the side, they discovered that when the house was originally built a weather barrier wasn't placed between the brick, stucco, and the wood. When you leave out the weather barrier you end up with rotted wood on the other side. We were lucky to discover this problem because we have been told that in 7-10 years we would have had seepage into the insulation and a huge mold problem. The downside of discovering this problem was that it needed to be fixed. This meant pulling the brick and stucco off of the entire house and replacing it while adding a weather barrier. I look on the bright side that you won't be able to tell where the new part is because all the brick will definitely match!

This is my new pantry, my favorite part of the whole thing!

A view of the kitchen area.

The stairs are getting a face-lift.

A view into the dining area, through the arches.

Looking inside the arches.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

It seems like Halloween snuck up on us this year but we did manage to get some fun things in. We went to Lagoon on Saturday, the 30th, which was actually Halloween out here in Utah. Lagoon always puts on Frightmares at this time of year. We had a really great time. One of those days where the kids get along and ejoy each other. We only planned on staying about an hour but ended up staying five hours. When it was time to leave, the haunted houses were just opening up. Heather really wanted to do a Haunted House because she hadn't done one before. It was starting to rain so James took the others home and Heather and I stayed. It truly was a haunting experience. The haunted house we went through was 3D. We had to wear glasses as we walked. After the first room, Heather took hers off so it wouldn't be as scary. I have to admit, I was pretty freaked out too. With the 3D glasses, the black lights, and the costuming, it really appears people are coming out of walls, etc. The actors were great at getting right up into your faces and making you feel like you couldn't get past. At one point, I literally had to push Heather forward so we could get out of this area. (I'm laughing as I type this because it was so funny, scary but funny!) We finally worked our way through all of the areas but ended up racing out at the end because we were being chased by chainsaws. It was an experience I will never forget and I'm glad I shared it with Heather. I don't know if I'll ever get to again because she may never go into another haunted house!

If you went trick or treating in our neighborhood, this is what you would have seen:


We had a big rainstorm but we also got to see one of the prettiest rainbows at sunset. The sky was orange and red and there was a rainbow in the middle of it. It was beautiful!

Most of the kids went trick or treating despite the rain. Luke didn't trick or treat this year because he had a party to go to instead. I got to help at the party, I was having withdrawals of not having our annual Halloween party so I was grateful to be a part of this one. The kids came up with great costumes this year. I had to do some rummaging at the DI to help them but they were very creative.

Luke as the Mad Hatter.

Lindsey as Frankenstein.

Heather as "Road Kill"-- very clever I thought.

Savannah as a Pumpkin Witch-- the costume I made for her birthday party.

Matthew as our fearless Knight!

Matthew is Four!

On the morning of October 28th, at 6:30 to be exact, the lights in our bedroom flipped on and Matthew proudley announced, "It's my Birthday!" I'd set out his presents in his room the night before and he woke up, saw them, then got everyone out of bed. I told him to get back in bed so I could bring him breakfast. He did, but he didn't eat much because he wanted to open presents. Matthew got race cars and a race track along with a pillow pet which seems to be the popular present with my kids this year. Matthew also got his first bike for his birthday. Unfortunately, he suffers from the Anderson disorder of not being able to pedal. We are working on it and soon he will be zipping around the house. The good part is, he gets to practice inside the house as it is still under construction and very open right now.

Matthew wanted to have a party with Luke, Lindsey, Heather, Savannah, Mom, Dad and Smudge. That made it easy for me. He is quite an animated little boy and a lot of fun to have in our family.

The Roadshow is Over!

After making my October month quite stressful, the roadshows are over. There were many frustrating moments, but with everyone's help, we pulled it together. Our title was "Once upon a Trek." We did a spoof on pioneer trek with a mix of Star Trek. We added songs that went to Addams Family and Happy Trails (new words, of course) along with some popular primary songs about pioneers. We had some actors that ad-libbed and added their own lines which is always funny. Despite never getting to practice on a stage or with a sound system, it went off fairly well. Our biggest problem was those persons controlling the lights (not anyone from our ward) turned them off a couple of times in the middle of the show-- but what do you do? I can honestly say that there were some blessings that came from this experience. The greatest blessing was working with great people in our ward and getting to know them better.

Of course, being the "executive producer," I enlisted all of my kids, minus Mattew, to be in the production. Luke was in the oleo, a short skit in front of the curtains, with three others his age. They did a spoof on "Oregon Trail"-- you know that old computer game we played as kids. Luke turned out to be quite an actor. Heather also surprised everyone as a pioneer. She had a couple of really funny lines that she pulled off. I knew Lindsey was good because she had been in her school play. She was cast as a trekkie who introduces lime jell-o (affectionately referred to as lemejello by those from outer space) to the pioneers (which they promise to cherish forever.) She did a great job too. Savannah didn't have any lines but she really got into the music and dancing. I could tell she was enjoying herself. That was another blessing from this experience, getting to work with my kids.

Savannah Turns Seven

Savannah celebrated her seventh birthday on the 22nd. I can't believe it she is that old! She finally reached the age where she was willing to have a Halloween themed birthday--my favorite.

Savannah woke up to her breakfast in bed which was once again, blueberry pancakes. She opened her presents. Her favorite presents were a pillow pet and a purse full of nail polish and beauty supplies. After school it was party time!


Due to the construction and mess taking place within the walls of our home, we converted the garage into a party room. With decorations and some black plastic, we were able to construct a fun party place. Savannah had invited her friends to join her for a witch party. All of the little girls dressed up like witches. It sure was cute to see all of those witches together. They had fun dipping carmel apples, painting their nails and faces with with glitter and polish, and playing halloween games. Of course, the most fun games are those that the kids make up while they're waiting for the parents to come.




I can't believe how fast my sweet little girl is growing up.

Luke Football Team Wins Championship

Luke tried another year of flag football. He moved up in levels and played on the junior high age team. The kids on this team were much bigger than last year and much better. We really enjoyed watching his games. Luke played offensive blocker most of the time. One of the highlights was when he scored a touchdown! His team has a trick play that they call "Luke 22". Whenever they called that play we would know they were passing it to Luke. During one game, they were somewhat close to the end zone, they called the play, Luke caught the ball and ran it in. The excited look on his face was great. His team made it to the final game and won the championship. I guess you can call that a great season!


A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch


At the beginning of this month, Matthew and I got to go to the pumpkin patch with his preschool class. It seemed strange to me to only have one child to keep track of. We had a lot of fun wandering through the pumpkins. Matthew finally found the one he wanted but after we picked it he wasn't too keen on carrying it because "it was dirty." After everyone had pumpkins, we met back for doughnuts and the kids got to play on the various attractions that were set up. Matthew loved the slides they had put together with hay bales and plastic sheets. He could have stayed there all day. I was surprised how daring he was jumping down the slides. My favorite part was watching his face and then getting a big bag of freshly dug carrots to take home-- ones that I didn't have to wash.
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Luke is Officially a Teenager

Luke had his birthday this last week, September 23rd to be exact. It's hard to believe that he is now a teenager. He informed me I would have to get up earlier than usual to get his breakfast in bed ready because he is now in Junior High and it starts earlier than elementary. I set the alarm for half an hour earlier than usual but Luke was excited for the day and woke up even earlier than that. He was showered and dressed by the time I awoke so he had to have his "breakfast in bed" on his bedroom floor fully clothed. Then I made him wait a while before waking up the other kids to open presents.

I've discovered it's not easy shopping for a teenager when they won't give you any specifics about what they would like. I also discovered that sometimes, after thinking it over, they will present you with a list the night before their birthday. Unfortunately, that is not enough time to shop! I think I did pretty good getting Luke some surprises for his big day. It turns out his favorite gift has been a Gatorade water bottle and instant Gatorade mix to fill it with. It's funny how the simplest things are usually the best. Just as a side note, I was very excited to finally find instant Gatorade mix--it brings back a lot of memories from playing high school sports. Luke agrees with me that it's better than the bottled stuff.

Lindsey and I snuck up to the Junior High to fill Luke's locker with treats and decorations. However, once there, I was unable to open his lock. I had to laugh at myself because during his 7th grade orientation, the student advisors made such a big deal about letting the kids practice opening locks and buying them locks to practice with, etc., that I found it comical and was even mocking the idea that if locker locks was the most worrisome thing a student encountered, their school career couldn't be all that difficult. I guess what goes around comes around because I soon found myself at the junior high unable to unlock a locker. What can I say, at Beaver High, no one locked their lockers! Anyhow, we had to settle on decorating the outside of his locker and hope that no one ate the candy before he saw it.

That evening our family enjoyed dinner at Outback Steakhouse, Luke's choice. Of course, Luke ordered the biggest steak he could. After dinner, we returned home to have blueberry pie and ice cream.



Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Howdy Y'all!

The three girls and I recently returned from a trip to Texas. My sister, Nicole, lives in Lubbock and has lived there for nearly 14 years. This was the first time we had journeyed out to see her and her family. In my defense, she often told me how there was little to do, the scenery was drab, and the wind always blew. She couldn't have gotten a job with the local travel bureau. However, after spending time there, I found the area quite lovely. There are cotton fields everywhere, blue skies with large cumulus clouds, and very kind people.

We arrived on a Wednesday evening. The actual plane ride is not long but there is no direct flight so we did have a layover in Albuquerque. Upon arrival, Nicole picked us up at the small airport and shuttled us off to her home. The kids were excited to see their cousins. They got to hang out for a bit before bedtime. The Cluff's had school the next day so had to get some shut-eye.

While the kids were in school, we hit the Lubbock mall. We got some great deals on shoes and the girls even found some unique Christmas presents for all of their girlsfriends (one less thing I'll have to worry about in December.) After school got out, we were able to watch Emily play in a tennis match. She's quite good. I also learned about Texas High School Football. The school's stadium was next to the tennis court. It was larger than many of the smaller college stadiums I've seen. They also have indoor practice fields for the high school team. I had to get a picture to convince James it was true. I guess that "Friday Night Lights" deal is actually true.

On Friday we took a trip into New Mexico to a place called Carlsbad Caverns. We hiked down into a cave that was full of various caverns. The hike down was just over a mile. We passed some bat caves which, in my opinion, are quite stinky. It didn't raise my opinion of the nocturnal rodents. I still find them very creepy. The caverns were beautiful. The kids enjoyed exploring the miles of stalagtites and stalagmites. The best part is, you get to take an elevator back to the top. I was relieved we didn't have to go back up the way we came.




Saturday was Justin's baptism, as well as a few soccer games. Lindsey and Emily played a piano/violin duet that was great. They only had a couple of days to pick a song and practice but they sounded very good together. We could tell Justin was excited. Baptisms are always neat experiences and the Spirit is so strong. Justin's baptism was no exception. We are thankful we were able to be a part of it. The Lubbock Temple is right next to the church building that the Cluff's attend so we were able to see the temple grounds and feel the Spirit of the temple.



Justin was supposed to have a soccer game after his baptism but apparently, Texas Tech (the college there) had a football game and no one wanted to miss it so his game was postponed. (I told you football was big there.) We made plans to go to an amusement park instead. The park was closed for the season but we were next to Prairie Dog Town so we decided to stop for a look. Unfortunately, there was not much to see. It was a field of grass with a couple of animals. I'm not sure what the purpose was and who would actually drive out there to sit and watch prairie dogs but there is a pavillion and an area to set up chairs if you are so inclined. We were not inclined and decided to hit a corn maze instead. This was probably the most enjoyable corn maze I have been too. Not only was the weather perfect, cool and dust-free, but we had the option of getting a map to help you find your way out. I find a corn maze much more enjoyable when I don't have to wander aimlessly around searching for the exit. I know for some that's part of the fun but I'd much rather know where I'm going. At the end of the maze they had corn cannons you could shoot. These were air compressor cannons that the host would shove ears of corn into and you could aim and shoot at targets out in the field. If you hit a target, you received the prize labeled on the target. Heather was the only one that consecutively hit the target. She received a couple of bags of candy. Grandpa Yardley tried to show us how it was done but Heather outshot him as well. We all had a great time at the maze.

Our next activity of the visit was viting the Science Center. This place is similar to a science museum we used to go to in Oregon. The girls, along with Ryan and Abigail, ran around trying out various experiments. There never seems to be enough time in a science center and before you know it, we were headed to the airport to catch our flight home.

This was our first mother/ daughter trip and we had a blast. Thanks to the Cluff's for their hospitality. I worked hard at it, but I'm pretty sure that I'm Ryan's favorite aunt now!



Tuesday, September 14, 2010

A Little Bit of Drama

It appears the drama bug hit our home and decided to burrow in for a while. We just had the Primary Program in our ward. It was fun to watch the kids, not just mine but all of them. It was also a little strange to have Luke sitting next to us in the pew. Savannah delivered her part beautifully, she just went with the wrong group. Matthew taught us all that "Joseph Smith went to the grove to play." And Heather and Lindsey entertained us with a violin performance. I have to commend our Primary Presidency for including all of the kids in a very large primary, and letting many of the kids share their talents.

Just when I thought we were finished with practices I got called in and was assigned to do the ward roadshow. Our First Counselor (apparently the Bishop was afraid to extend this calling to me) informed me the roadshows were going to be held in October. I replied, "Oh, so they're next year." His response--"No, next month!" This should be a fun adventure.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Update on the House, Chapter 2

I know there are some wondering about the progress of our remodel. Here are some pictures of what you see when you look out our windows or from the street.


The walls are finally going up and the brick has been coming down. It seems to be that I have very little warning before moving and cleaning has to be done. I was in the kitchen when all of a sudden there was loud pounding and things started falling off the walls. That was the day they started removing the brick. I quickly ran around and took down all our pictures and wall hangings. While we were on vacation we received word that the remainder of the things downstairs had to be cleared out. Thank goodness for Marcia, Dan, Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Paul who were willing to help us out there. I will now begin packing up the kitchen things that we don't use so it won't be such a surprise when they come in and say it "needs to be done by tomorrow."

I did meet with the cabinet maker, a man from our ward. We went through the first draft of the cabinets and shelving for the addition. It was fun to see the kitchen in an actual 3-D drawing. The hard part is making the decisions of what I like and want. There is so much to choose from.

You can open the back door without fear of falling into a 10 foot deep pit. The kids like to go out and see. They are very fascinated that the builders left a bag of "Chips Ahoy" wedged between the framing. I know they so badly want to eat them. I'm pretty sure they don't like that type of cookie but the fact that we have a bag of cookies stuck in the wall brings them great joy.

"Faith, Hope, Charity, Honor" and some FUN!

James and I just returned from a trip to the east coast. We boarded a plane to join thousands for a march on Washington supporting a Return to Honor. When James heard about the Return to Honor event he immediately wanted to go. I agreed to join him, I'd never marched on Washington--why not?! The morning of the ralley we decided to park in Virginia and take the Metro into the city. We weren't the only ones with that idea. This was our first insight to how many people were actaully attending the event. The line to board the metro had thousands of people. The city eventually opened up the gates and let everyone ride for free to get them through.

We arrived at the mall a little late but still in time to join the hundreds of thousands who were already there. It was overwhelming to be a part of a crowd that size, everyone there for the same purpose. The crowd was quite diverse as well. There were young families, retired couples, veterans and soldiers, church groups, motorcycle gangs, punksters, college frats, etc. The best part- everyone was kind, respectful and attentive. It was quite an uplifting experience. The message conveyed encouraged everyone to turn to God, understand your relationship with Him and what He expects of you. Remember that Heavenly Father had a hand in establishing this country and its constitution and He expects us to protect it. The first step is to live honorably. Participants were encouraged to pray, be completely honest, and to serve others. These seem like simple things but if you think about it, if everyone did this, we would have a very different government. There would be no more corruption, selfishness would fade away and we wouldn't need such big government programs because we would be taking care of each other. It sound utopic but things actually used to be more that way. Many different religious leaders were present and heard from. Medals of valor were given out, John Huntsman receiving one of them. Overall, it was a unique and uplifting experience. I'm glad James had the idea to go.



James and I got to spend a few days in Washington DC after the ralley. We visited some of the sights we had missed on previous trips. We went to the Library of Congress and actually got library cards so we could go into the reading rooms. We saw the Supreme Court building and the remodeled American History Museum and the Korean War Memorial (in the daytime). I know I've mentioned it before, but I'll say it again, Washington DC is always an inspiring place to visit.


After a few days, we took a train up to New York City where we planned to meet up with our friends, the Freis and spend some time there. We arrived in New York just in time to buy some tickets and see a play. We got to see "The Screwtape Letters," which is based on C.S. Lewis' book. It was basically a two man show, Screwtape and his sidekick acting out the writing and recitation of the dialogue between Screwtape and his nephew, Wormwood. It was well done, but would have been difficult to follow in some spots if I hadn't read the book. We actually got to meet the actor that portrayed Screwtape after the show. He told us they were actually considering Utah as a venue for the show when they took it on the road. We informed him that a lot of Utahns/Mormons were familiar with C.S. Lewis' works and would probably be interested.

The next day our friends arrived. They had tickets to see Lady Liberty that morning. Since James and I had had that opportunity more than once, we split up and went to the US Open. I could tell James was very excited to see some tennis matches. I was less than enthused but ended up really enjoying it. We got to see two matches before it was time to meet up with the Freis. We got back to Times Square in time to get tickets to "The Addams Family." What a treat that was. I don't think I've ever laughed so much during a broadway show. The music and set was amazing and the actors were top notch.

Thursday was the Yankee's game which was the main reason we had come to New York. James and Greg (Frei) had talked about how much they would love to see a Yankee game and so a trip was planned. Despite the extra hot and humid weather, the game was great. We got there early enough to go through the Yankee museum and see some of the history of the team. The Yankees played the A's, beating them. We were all decked out in our Yankee gear, looking like true blue fans.



Our last day was spent exploring 5th Avenue and Central Park. Just wandering around the city is an experience. Going into the stores and watching the people is fun. Central Park was beautiful. We visited the castle in the center and walked through the zoo area. We also got lost, more than once, along the many paths that wind through the greenery. Eventually, we made our way back to Times' Square in time for one more play. The Frei's had tickets to Wicked, we had already seen it so decided to try our luck elsewhere. We chose a play called "True Crime." The pamphlet claimed it was the longest running play on Broadway. We discovered that always isn't a good thing. After we climbed the five flights of stairs to get to the theatre, we realized we may have made a poor choice when there were only about 20 people in the theatre. Just before the show started, the usher came in started asking everyone if they would like to move closer to the front. I don't know if he didn't see us or what but everyone was seated in the first four rows while James and I were still sitting five rows behind all of them, by ourselves. We finally asked if we could move forward too. He seemed surprised we would to move but agreed to let us. As we looked over the playbill, we realized the lead had played the same role for the past 22 years. Can you imagine playing the same part in a play for 22 years, and missing only 4 performances?! I don't consider that an accomplishment, I think it's strange. When this actress entered the stage, we quickly realized that the picture they use in the playbill was probably taken during the first year of the play because she doesn't look much like it anymore. I'll sum it up by saying that the play was interesting and we laughed a lot, even though it wasn't a comedy. James was unsure of the plot and had to ask for a "key" to the play at the end. It probably wasn't the best two hours of my life but the company was good. James and I had fun despite the performance. We made it back to our motel before the Frei's who got held up because Times' Square was shut down due to a bomb threat. It turned out to be nothing but they got to go home with the tale of being a part of a real life bomb threat in Times' Square.

Overall, we had a great vacation together. It is always fun to get away and reconnect.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Luke Starts Junior High

A lot has been going on here but my computer has been out of commission. I was given half a days notice by my contractor to move all of the furniture from the three rooms in the basement to allow the concrete guys to cut through the cement. This entailed disassembling my computer and it hasn't been put back together yet. Because the office computer is in much higher demand (especially by Matthew who loves PBSkids.org), I don't get much computer time.

Luke has started his junior high career. I could tell he was nervous, even though he denied it. He had that nervous energy about him as he paced around the house trying to find things to keep himself distracted. He claims all went well his first day. He is now a part of the Legacy Silver Wolves. It is a brand new school and very nice. I enjoyed back to school night and I got a lot of exercise going from one end of the building and up and down the stairs between each class. I had a little empathy for Luke. Each of his classes in order are on the opposite end of the school and the opposite floor. It reminded me of going to college and trying to coordinate class schedules to keep classes close together. I guess junior high kids take what classes they get.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Construction Begins

When I returned from Beaver, I was met by this rather large lawn ornament.

I am pleased to announce that a hole has been dug around the side of our home in preparation for the foundation to be poured. It is nice to see some physical progress.

24th of July

We made our annual trek to Beaver for the 24th of July celebration. Luke and James didn't join us this year, they had to attend scout camp. I'm not sure who scheduled scout camp over the 24th of July holiday but it just doesn't seem right.

This year I had the opportunity to attend my class reunion. That's right, 20 years have passed since I walked the halls of my alma mater. Well, I'm sure I went back a few times within the past 20 years but they have torn down my high school and built a new one, so it has been many years. We didn't have a great turnout to the reunion but I was able to reacquaint with old friends that I haven't seen since college. It was fun to catch up on their lives and spend time with them. When you graduate in a class of 54 students, you know everyone. It was exciting to hear of the many successes they have had over the years. There were a few health problems and a couple of financial disasters, but overall, everyone is doing quite well. We even got to ride a float in the parade.

The 24th of July celebration started off with the cannons blasting at dawn. We rolled out of bed and headed for the annual 5k run. I was hoping to skip it this year but Lindsey woke up ready to go so I joined in. It's always amazing to see how the race has grown over the years. The first year there were 15 people. This year was the largest group yet, 193 participants. Lindsey took fourth place in her age group and was awarded a medal.


We showered and headed to the parade which is always an interesting event. The highlight is the final entry which is the fire engine that sprays all the kids. They follow it down the street getting wet. Matthew was a little hesitant at first to stand under the spray but was happy when it cooled him off. The races on the park are always fun. I've decided these are becoming my favorite pictures. Each year I look at the photos and laugh at their expressions and running posture. This year did not disappoint. They all claimed their prize of a Tootsie Pop and Heather actually won a snow cone coupon too. The kids carnival on the park was about what you would expect, hot! The kids had fun at the fish pond, duck pond, etc. The final event was visiting the Family File Tent. This was a new addition. The Church had set up a big (air-contitioned) tent that held displays of various settlers of the area. It was neat to show the kids their ancestors that settled the area.



After the city festivities, we went out to Minersville Reservoir for some boating fun with Mark, Melinda, and their kids. They showed us how to surf, kneeboard, and wakeboard. A few of us tried it but we weren't nearly as good as they are. I think they get a lot more practice.






We ended the day with the traditional family barbecue at Jim and Alison's home. It is always fun to hang out with everyone, eat, play volleyball, and watch the fireworks show. It is awfully nice of Jim and Alison to open their home to all of us. It seems to grow every year. I know it is becoming a tradition that we all look forward to attending. It has become my favorite part of the day. We went home that night, tired, full, and happy. (For more pictures visit the photo gallery).