here. <-- Ignore this. I'll remove it later.

The 2006 Arrington Family Christmas Eve was hosted by Lori and Steve. After hosting Thanksgiving dinner, Lori suggested a "potluck" Christmas dinner and we all wondered why we hadn't thought of doing that before! It was a wonderful dinner with all the trimmings surrounding a beautiful ham from Shannon. In fact, by the time we were all ready to leave, we noted that there was still enough food to supply another couple family meals! Lori had decorated so very nicely and was a perfect hostess and everyone had a marvelous, relaxed time. We also celebrated oldest grandson Chris' birthday (Yes, he was a Christmas baby.) He turned 16 on the 25th! He's taller than any of us, yet it seems like only yesterday when he was the little guy doing flips for us at the circus. Time moves way too fast once we grow up. Doesn't seem fair, does it? Steve took a lot of photos with his new camera; I'll post some as soon as I get them. Dawn took some, too, with her pocket camera, so there should be some good ones between us all.

Shannon & Doug hosted a casual family gathering at their home last Saturday (12/16) evening. The party was delightful, but the highlight was the surprise Shannon had in store for us when we all took a walk to work off some holiday calories and to see the neighborhood holiday decorations. To say we were surprised would be an understatement! It seems that Shannon & Doug's neighbor, Maria, is a talented artist and, during the Christmas holidays, she applies her talent to decorating her corner lot. And a beautiful job she does, but what makes it so special and unique is the way she incorporates photos of all the neighborhood children, supplied by their parents, of course, into her outdoor decorations. Shannon had been excited about the project for weeks because Connor would somehow be a part of it this year, but she wouldn't breathe a word to anyone about what it was. So we unsuspectingly wandered up the street and... WOW! Maria graciously invited our entire clan into her home and allowed me to photograph. I've posted some of the outdoor images here. Beautiful! And little Connor is "featured" twice.

Family Arrington gathered at Steve & Lori's to celebrate the "bountiful harvest" with a fine Thanksgiving turkey dinner and all the trimmings. Lori was a perfect hostess, Steve carved the bird and we all brought a dish or two to help complete a wonderful feast. Rick and Kim's family celebrated with her parents in Volcano, CA and were missed by us all, but we all understand that we have to "share the love." This year we skipped the football games in favor of focusing on all that we have for which to be thankful. Dawn and I have truly been blessed and especially enjoy having family together for these special occasions. It's wonderful, too, seeing the grandkids, all of whom are growing like weeds and will all too soon be leaving their nests to begin lives on their own. It's all the more reason to spend time together now. It was a wonderful day, made all the more special by beautiful, sunny weather. We're truly thankful for all our blessings. I'll post some photos as soon as I download and process them.

My daughter Shannon scored tickets to the CMT On Tour concert featuring Trace Adkins, Billy Currington and Jason Aldean at Arco Arena last Tuesday night (11.21) and invited Steve, Rick and me to join her. We had dinner at BJ's before the concert and stopped for coffee on the way home. Thanks to Shannon's tenacity and consistent good luck at winning radio contests, we enjoyed fourth row center seats, although Shannon spent much of the concert right up against the stage "close enough to touch the singer's boots" (which, I'm afraid, she did.) She also took some great photos before her camera battery died which I'll post here as soon as she sends them to me. I'll have to remember ear plugs next time - my ears were ringing for days. But that's definitely the way to see a concert!

We celebrated Dawn's birthday with family at BJ's Saturday night (11.18) and once again spent more time talking in the parking lot following dinner than we did in the restaurant! It's certainly, perhaps oddly, one of my favorite things. Some girlfriends had taken Dawn out Friday night, her actual birthday, so we'd postponed our family celebration until the next evening. We had a wonderful time and were so pleased that Rick's family was able to join us. Rick had been ill for my birthday and we'd really missed them. Shannon "passed the mantle" to Dawn of wearing the sparkly tiara and earrings that we'd made her wear on her birthday. I know photos were taken of Dawn all "glamoured up" and I can't wait to post them!

I celebrated my 63rd birthday with family at BJ's in Folsom Saturday night (11.4) over dinner, dessert and lots of conversation. I'm always amazed when I see my children and their children and realize how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family. And I've become acutely aware that my grandchildren, once tiny little bundles of love, are growing up, It seems, all too fast. But they are growing up strong of character and big of heart for which I am both grateful and proud. As has been our custom, we continued our conversations in the parking lot after dinner. I think it may have been Steve who noted that people were leaving the restaurant and returning to their cars whom we'd earlier seen arriving as we chattered away in the parking lot. Surprisingly, at least to me, is that those long parking lot conversations are precious to me. I'm sure photos were taken; I'll post them when I get/find them.

Dawn and some of her girlfriends spent last Saturday night (10.21) at a "sleepover" while Michael, Vic and I drove to Lincoln to listen to friend Larry Gromer and The Rupert Duncan Band play at Dillian's Bar & Grill. Larry had asked me to bring my camera so I took lots of pictures which can be viewed here. Oh, there are more, but this is a pretty good sampling. We had a lot of fun and look forward to doing it again. On the way home, we stopped by Candy's house to, well, "raid" the girls who, not surprisingly, were still up and chatting away. Not wanting to be too disruptive, we left shortly thereafter. I stayed over at Michael's rather than drive up the hill and back down again to pick Dawn up after the sleepover. We got a couple hours sleep, then went out to breakfast (Michael only cooks toast!) The girls showed up much later. Everyone had a good time and there's talk of a follow-up. Anyway, check out the photos when you have a few minutes and let me know what you think of them. Be honest; I'm still learning the new camera.

San Francisco's de Young Museum celebrated the first anniversary of its renovation last weekend with a huge weekend-long party. Dawn and I had gone Saturday, October 14, to see the Quilts of Gee's Bend exhibit and got to enjoy the festivities (and free admission) as well! I've posted an article that includes links to some interesting information about Gee's Bend and the women who made, and still make, the quilts, as well as a link to information about the de Young Museum. It also includes a link to the photos I took while at the museum, all with our little pocket Canon Digital Elph. Several exhibits, including the Gee's Bend, prohibited photography or recording of any kind, while some allowed photography without flash. Accordingly, all my images are without flash and are hand held except for some taken of objects in glass display cases where I used a six-inch flexible tripod and propped the camera on the case. Still, I think they came out pretty well. It was a fun excursion, but a lot of driving for a day trip. We'll go again!

Dawn and I helped friends Michael & Sisko christen their newest home addition, a garden room, September 2. I should mention that, with its special ventilation and ozone filtration systems, it's also Michael's cigar room. It was a wonderful day with lots of good friends, great food and outstanding cigars. I wrote an article about the day, with photos, here.

The family gathered at Samurai Sushi September 1 to help Shannon celebrate her 40th birthday (Yes, I know, it's inconceivable that a young, vibrant guy like me could have a 40 year old daughter - and she's my third child!) We'd picked up a tiara and ear rings (at Toys 'R Us - we spared no expense!) so she'd be easily recognizable to all as the official birthday girl. Dinner was fun, as always, especially teaching Doug Sinclair how to use chopsticks. After dinner, we drove to Leatherby's Ice Cream Parlor for dessert (It's WAY farther than I remembered.) And as has become a family tradition, we made Shannon stand on a chair while we sang her the birthday song. After polishing off more ice cream than we should have, we hung around outside and yakked, another family custom. I have to admit, it's a part of family I really love! Photos are posted here.

Well, I finally got around to posting photos from our July 29-30 weekend in San Francisco to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. It had long been on our "list of things we want to do" and it was finally time. Friends Michael and Sisko offered to share the experience with us which made it even more fun. Typical of San Francisco's often unpredictable weather, it turned cold and foggy for our "crossing" but didn't dampen our enthusiasm in the least. We stayed in a Nob Hill high-rise apartment compliments of one of Sisko's clients which made the weekend especially nice. Dawn and I introduced Michael and Sisko to SF's famous hills as we hoofed it to some of our favorite haunts in the city (Michael complained a lot but survived.) The second day was sunny. Go figure! A fun weekend with good friends! Some of the photos are posted here and here in two albums. All were taken with our pocket Cannon (4mp Digital Elph) unless otherwise attributed.