Just one big celebration

First we have to put the tree up. This came out looking better than I expected. We have a tree, some lights, and a nice collection of balls, but the rest of our Christmas decorations are still in Raleigh. It's enough to get you in the spirit.



On Sunday, the moms rolled into town. That's Joan Fernane (Julie's mom) on the left and Emily Joyce (my mom) on the right. No idea what she was talking about, or even to who. (whom?)



The birthday girl! Julie's birthday is the 26th and this year it fell on Thanksgiving Day. A bummer since we were doing dinner for eight and she was in charge.



How may experts does it take to put some candles on a cake? Joan, Loris, Bill and Kathy all seem to be playing an active roll. Seems like a lot of help when you see how few candles are actaully on the cake.

The great news is that Julie picked a Deer Valley Carrot Cake as her birthday cake. Yum!! We also had two different homemade pumpkin pies in case the cake wasn't enough.



Not sure why Bill Benson (left) is smiling. That's his wife Loris with Jim Covaleski, and they are both smiling.



The birthday girl, blowing out all the candles. Instead of having trick candles that keep relighting, we had one that seemed to refuse to stay lit.



It was a great day. We had family in town. Friends over for dinner. Awesome, sunny warm weather. Food to die for. And of course, wine. What an excellent Thanksgiving and Julie birthday!