Our Weekend Visitors

I can't believe we are only a week away from Christmas!! I've been so busy in the past few days that I realized I haven't updated anyone on our weekend guests!

As an annual tradition, we get together with my two favorite girlfriends and their husbands for a Christmas dinner and gift exchange for the kiddos. In years past, Jim and I have hauled the kids to Bakersfield and participated in the festivities and then returned home in the darkness and fog. This year, I thought we'd take an opportunity to host this blessed event. Unfortunately, Michelle and Jason could not make the trip, but we opted to let the show go on as planned.

On Saturday, my best friends Julie and Gabe and their boys, Zachary (almost 6) and Bradley (1 1/2) made the trek across the county line to celebrate at our house. Having never made a prime rib, I thought we would give it a try. It was FANTASTIC (and well worth the $67)! We also enjoyed a bottle of champagne - although I think most of it ended up in my glass. The boys all enjoyed opening gifts and were very well behaved. This is a feat in itself with 4 of them running around the house.

After dinner, we loaded up the car and headed to the annual Vine Street festival in downtown Paso Robles. We had never been before. WOW!! I would swear that the entire city of Paso was present. We walked up and down several blocks of crowded street and enjoyed the beautiful holiday lights and tunes. There were several "booths" offering free treats and a multitude of activities to partake in, including a snow sledding hill. We enjoyed Starbucks coffee and hot cider. I also saw several familiar faces, and had the opportunity to give my cousin Russ a hug as he cut apples in his garage for "reindeer food." Despite the freezing cold weather, we enjoyed ourselves and will make this another annual tradition.