One good excuse for a trip sometimes turns into many. The next one to come along was the belated celebration of Evan's birthday. This was a complete family affair. Before the real celebration got started, Hailey and Wicket (he with the green glowing eyes!) took time for a little rest from the hard trip over from Sebastopol, while Tanna had a slightly less restful time with Ian. Eventually dinner was just about ready, but not before we had a few quick pictures of the table and anxious diners (well, all but Evan, taking the picture - but it was his birthday). In the end, though, he is the one that got the candle.
Since we would not all be together for Christmas, maybe we better use it as an excuse to celebrate that, too. We started by popping open the Christmas crackers, putting on the silly hats, reading the silly jokes, and playing with the silly toys. Not sure I recall when we picked up this silly British habit, but we have fun with it anyway. Afterward we opened our books from the "Grandma Franke Book Fund" (Beulah Franke - born 99 years ago today). Here Laura, Fiona, Ian, and Grammy enjoy looking at one of the books. Stephen and Tanna appear to be enjoying the festivities. Finally a last shot of Ian and Fiona with the Christmas tree before we head for home.