Welcome Back!

Well, HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!!!

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas, New Years and various other festivities! Our hope is that you were surrounded by people you love and that you had a wonderful time making good memories. (and that you didn't let the stress get the best of you!)

Thank you, Thank you for all the wonderful cards, photo's and letters! I don't think our mailbox was ever as full as it was this year! We enjoyed each and every one.

I left you on the 21st, right before Christmas and the day before the Fitzgerald Family arrived in their sleigh from the Bay Area. They brought the entire family, including Samantha, their trusty Rhodesion Ridgeback! We made room for everyone and fun was had by all, including the pups. They stayed with us 4 days and it was one of the best Christmas's ever! Everyone chipped in to see that I didn't get too tired. They made me promise to not go overboard and I was a good girl.

A couple of things that we did during thier visit was:

Kim and I finished some last minute shopping for stockings, food and goodies, etc. We had some nice big breakfasts and fussed with the house a bit. (and of course caught up on our girl talk!)

All the boys took a trip down to the big new BASS PRO SHOP down the hill to do guy stuff. It is an amazing store,,,,more of an event or must see, kind of place. Which inspired Johnathon and Joey to go out to an undisclosed location to shoot a few guns, including a newly accuired antique rifle from WW1 that belonged to a grandfather of John's. The young ones stuck to pellet guns out back. That and the ever popular WII................. LOL

Tom brought a cooler full of wonderful fresh, dungenous crab from the north coast down for our Christmas Eve Dinner! Yummmmmmmmmmmmy. It was lovely.

All of us went with our neighbors, the Gilliams, up to Lake Arrowhead for a Christmas brunch after Santa visited us all. We were hoping for a bit more snow. It was plenty cold but not much white stuff. The Gilliams had their entire family together as well, which is nice because daughter, Ellie, has been living in her native England this year.

It was wonderful having a house full of Christmas Spirit!