Visitors

The Smekals have left but some visitors remained a little longer and new ones came! Sam arrived on Wednesday and we all went up to the city on Thursday before dropping Deedee at the airport. Saturday Sam, Staci, and I made a successful trip tp ski at Badger Pass in Yosemite. Pictures of this and other fun post Christmas events can be found here.

Ride the Bull

The Smekals arrived this weekend for some good holiday fun. Many adventures were had including a trip to Yosemite, ear Candeling, and duck cooking. Pictures of these events can be found in the new Christmas section. But the highlight had to be the Bull riding at Big Bad Bubba's BBQ. Don't miss the short movie.

Parade & Party

We had our annual Holiday Party this past Saturday. Weekend before we went to the Merced Holiday Parade. Both events were fun but not rip roaring as the pictures will make clear. But the party especially was better than I think Staci or I expected. Too much food left over however. And booz. Faculty do not drink as much as undergraduates... Pictures from the party & parade can be found here.

Getting a Tree

Staci and I went to get a tree. I found a Christmas tree farm that supposedly had a limited selection of Blue Spuce. It was 3 hours away. After the drive we find limited selection means 1 tree. It was a fat not attractive tree at that, so we begin a 2 hours hunt for something better. This place sucked. Small trees. Nice trees but small trees. We did find a nice one eventually. Pictures from the trip and decorating can be found here.