Recording Session and Light Show

Amanda will be returning to Germany in about 2 weeks, so we were happy we could have her with us to record three new songs for Whistling Prairie's newest Christmas album (for next year). Everyone played while Amanda sang I'm Gonna Be the First One Up on Christmas Morning. Amanda then played harp while Brittany and Crystal sang Come Thou Long Expected Jesus, and finally, Brittany played the piano while Amanda sang What Are You Doing on New Year's Eve.

Afterwards, we went out to dinner in Fells Point, at Brick Oven Pizza. One of our favorite restaurants in Provo has the same name! We enjoyed walking along the Chesapeake bay afterwards and listening to the street musicians. (Some good, and some still in training!)

We finished up at the Inner Harbor, where we enjoyed the holiday light show on the facade of the Power Plant. It is a new tradition in Baltimore, but hopefully, one that will continue. It was very fun. It was hard to get a picture that does it justice. This was the best I could do!

We had just enough time after we got home for some more Scattegories, Catch Phrase and Beatles Rock Band. Today the fun is over. The kids went back to Utah, and left us with nothing but memories!

Decoration Day

Friday we decorated the house for Christmas. I had so much help this year that it went very quickly! It looks so magical with all the trees and the garland. We took time at the end of the day to take some "publicity" pictures for Whistling Prairie. I needed something for my new CD cover. We were lucky John had a good camera. By the time we were ready to take pictures, the sun had gone down, and my camera just doesn't do well in low light!

Even though it looks like we're having a fun time taking our picture, there were moments where it seemed endless. What is Crystal thinking in this picture?

And what are Ed, Amanda and Brittany thinking here? There will be prizes for the best captions entered in the comments section!

Grateful for Friends, Family and Food

We had a lovely, relaxing Thanksgiving. I did most of the cooking on Wednesday, which freed up some time in the morning for us to go to a fox hunt. Miss Carol invited us to the blessing of the hunt. Amanda took Miss Carol to the church service at St. John's in the Valley (Episcopal church).

We met them afterwards and were able to see all the riders and the hounds leave for the fox hunt. There must have been 50 riders, and as many dogs! If you are very clever you can find Crystal in this picture (with a red scarf).

Afterwards, Miss Carol told us a lovely story in the cemetery. When an old maple tree came down near her parents grave, they brought the farm manager over to take a look at it. Her father's dog came along for the ride, and although he'd never been to the cemetery, he went straight to his master's grave and sat there and cried.

Inside the church we met the organist, who gave us a private tour of the organ loft, as well as a mini concert. It was beautiful!

When we got home Brittany and Crystal made some pies, and the rest of us finished preparing for our feast. It was all worth waiting for!

Afterwards we tried to walk it off with a family jaunt down Tally Ho Court. Just when we thought we might be able to button our pants again, we decided to dig into the pies! We finished off the day playing Scattergories and watching a movie, Beyond the Sea. I am thankful for Thanksgiving Day!

Anniversry at Turf Valley

We took an anniversary trip, after all! Ed had Wednesday off work, so Tuesday we went to Turf Valley resort for the evening. I had a certificate for a free night there that was going to expire, and Amanda encouraged us to get out of the house! My friend Carrie works there, and she had asked me to play the piano for their Christmas party last year. I was given a nights stay as a thank you gift. Look how nice and spacious our room was!

We had a great pork chop dinner, although it was hard to pass up on the Tuesday special--1/2 price hamburgers! We enjoyed soaking in the hot and sleeping in (no dog to get us up)!

It is amazing how a trip just 20 minutes from home really felt like a vacation!

Pizza and Roses

Ed and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary yesterday! He bought me 2 dozen rozes, and I "made" him pizza for dinner! It's heartwarming looking back on all the experiences we've had together over 30 years. We have three beautiful daughters (and a son-in-law!) to show for it. If we're lucky, this is only the half-way mark! 

Fog Dog

I didn't have time to go to the gym this morning, so I took the dog out for a quick run up and down our street (twice). It was great for a lot of reasons: a) Coda was really good and was sufficiently motivated by the occasional baco-bit to stay right by my side, b) the fog was very mysterious, and c) I was able to get take such a memorable picture!

Sunbeams and Clouds

I was asked (on very short notice) to teach the Sunbeams yesterday. I was curious to find out if they were as spectacularly uninformed as Crystal said they were. She was their teacher this summer. Turns out she was right! We also had some communication problems. When I asked them to guess what was in my box (scriptures) I thought Elenore said a "weapon."  I didn't realize till later that she had said a "ribbon." I was relieved. The lesson was The Scriptures Teach us Stories About Jesus. I was able to download it to my tablet, which was great, as the Primary was out of manuals. The children enjoyed watching me illustrating Bible stories on the tablet and guessing what they were. Katie guessed this picture was a man "dwowning," proving once more that Crystal's assessment of her students was on target.

A little piece of advice: If you don't want to  be drafted by the Primary, don't dawdle on your way to Sunday School!