Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Can you believe I have not downloaded any Christmas photos yet? Despite the lack of photos, we did have a very enjoyable and pleasant day! Big Dave and Jan were able to be with us this year. How nice it was to visit and spend quality time with them! The kids finished their semester before the break so, there was no homework or studying at all! Monday evening, we had some Friends over and went Christmas Caroling to a few homes in our neighborhood. That was quite enjoyable! It was pleasing to see the shocked expression of people faces as they were greeted with carolers!

Dave and David took off for a camp out Wednesday morning Dec 30th. They went up to the church ranch which is due south of Orlando. Not many people know but the church owns a cattle ranch here and it is the largest privately owned ranch in the US. It covers some ridiculous amount of acreage. Somewhere among the hundreds of acres, they have established an area for camping and many other activities. One of the ranch hands gets a hold of old billboard signs and they are turned into water slides.

The scouts AND leaders had a blast, literally!

No, Dave is not aiming at the scouts, just clay pigeons! They were able to shoot a variety of guns thanks to a ward member who is quite the gun collector and enthusiast. All I remember is a Beretta, colt 45, beringer, airsoft AR 17 panther, pump action shotgun, double barrel shotgun, semi automatic shotgun!

In addition to the beef cattle, the church operates some citrus groves on the ranch. Here is a photo of a grapefruit about to be chomped by the ranch's everpresent resident.

We have had a very enjoyable break. Monday the kids did not have school either. Monday night, Jessica was trying to take full advantage of her last day of freedom. After dinner, she was determined to get her last game of badminton and Wii in before returning to school and the hours of homework! Steven enjoyed going to Lion Coutry Safari with his friends and Kierstin hung out at the park with her friends! We hope your christmas and New Year was equally pleasant!