mirror of https://github.com/nealey/woozle.org.git
447 lines
8.3 KiB
Markdown
447 lines
8.3 KiB
Markdown
Title: 2010 Christmas Letter
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Happy holidays to our friends and family! Here's a look back at our year
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in pictures!
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IMAGE(img_0082)
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Ginnie continues to take ballet. Here, she gets ready for her recital
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with her classmates and teacher Susan at the New Mexico Dance Theater
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studio. She loves to dance, and in August took up Irish step dancing.
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IMAGE(Image034)
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Fitri, our exchange student from Indonesia, was with us for half of the
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year, and we think she got to see some neat things in New Mexico while
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she was here. Here, we took the girls to the zoo in Albuquerque for a
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day trip.
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IMAGE(img_0115)
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The girls checking out some pirhanas. Turns out a lot of the animals at
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the zoo are from Indonesia...who knew.
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IMAGE(img_0123)
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Ginnie and her dad at our favorite restaurant in town, the Coffeehouse
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Cafe.
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IMAGE(img_0134)
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Ginnie got to try out a climbing wall at a birthday party this year. She
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did pretty well, and reached about 2/3 of the way up the wall until it
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sloped out over her head, and got a little intimidated. Good job,
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Ginnie!
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IMAGE(img_0140)
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Fitri took advantage of the awesome snowfall we had last winter and
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built a snowman, with Ginnie and the dogs looking on. I think Jada just
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wanted the carrot.
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IMAGE(img_0143)
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The finished product!
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IMAGE(img_0190)
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Ginnie's Baga and Bada (Christy & Steve Pickett, her grandparents) took
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her to the circus for her birthday!
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IMAGE(img_0189)
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These clowns actually look nice!
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IMAGE(img_0201)
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Bada, Ginnie's grandpa, has her convinced that their dog Loki (a little
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terrier mutt) was shot out of a cannon, like this guy, when he used to
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work at the circus. We're a little afraid of what's going to happen when
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she figures out that Loki was never actually in the circus...
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IMAGE(img_0240)
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For Ginnie's 5th birthday in February, she had a castle cake and a
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scavenger hunt. Here's a gratuitous shot of the cake Amy made...thank
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God Auntie April was there to save the day with the frosting!
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IMAGE(img_0300)
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Some of Ginnie's guests look for a clue in the scavenger hunt outside!
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February birthdays make it so hard to get outside...
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IMAGE(img_0366)
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Ginnie and her cousin, Ariana, who came down from Denver to help
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celebrate with Auntie April. If you think Ginnie's nose looks a little
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swollen...
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IMAGE(img_0365)
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...that's because she landed on it after jumping off an ottoman in the
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living room and tripping on the dog in midair. Not a good thing to
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happen on the day of your birthday party! Don't worry, her nose
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recovered.
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IMAGE(img_0372)
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The girls with their Baga.
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IMAGE(img002)
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In February Neale put on the first Tracer Fire competition at the
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Buffalo Thunder resort down the road, which is a capture the flag-style
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hacking contest. It got great reviews, and he's doing it again this
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year, with hopes to put it on for high school students in the state,
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also. Here, Amy and Ginnie help the guys run cables in the ballroom.
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IMAGE(Image027)
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See Jada in this picture? Every day at 7pm sharp, she walks around the
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house squeaking her squeaky toy repeatedly. That's what we get for
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having a cattle dog - everything has a routine, even her squeaking.
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IMAGE(img_0408)
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Fitri had to make empanadas for her New Mexico State History class. She
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did a great job - these are fruit empanadas she's holding.
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IMAGE(img_0414)
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Ginnie trying on Neale's blazer from his suit when he was about 5 years
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old. We blame Fitri for teaching Ginnie how to pose!
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IMAGE(img_0437)
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Fitri and Ginnie on the way up to Denver. We stopped here to check out
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the canyon views outside of Taos.
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IMAGE(img_0443)
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Cousins at Buca di Bepo. That was a lot of food.
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IMAGE(img_0499)
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The Picketts and Oteros on Fitri's last trip to Denver. She loved
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Ariana, who is admittedly pretty cute.
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IMAGE(Image050)
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We took Ginnie on a bike ride to the Ponderosa Campground near Los
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Alamos' back gate in the spring. She stopped to eat. A lot.
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IMAGE(img_0514)
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Ginnie was SO excited when Fitri got dressed up for prom.
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IMAGE(img_0519)
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We tried to explain why getting a picture of just Fitri and her date
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would be nice.
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IMAGE(img_0538)
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Ginnie and friends getting ready for their end-of-year recital.
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IMAGE(img_0630)
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In May Ginnie "graduated" from preschool. Here she gives Ms. Mo, her
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teacher, a final hug. We had a great couple of years at Little Forest.
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IMAGE(img_0644)
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Fitri got to walk in Los Alamos High School's graduation ceremony. Here
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the girls show off their commencement finery!
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IMAGE(2010-06-05T18.29.54)
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Ginnie and her Bada.
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At the end of June we said goodbye to Fitri, who traveled to Washinton,
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D.C. and then on home to Indonesia. She graduates from high school this
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spring and she thinks she'll be going to college in Australia!
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IMAGE(IMG_1003)
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We went on vacation for 2 weeks in August with Kellie and Bill to visit
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some national parks and family. We stopped in Arches National Park,
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drove up through Utah and saw Yellowstone. Then we drove over to Butte,
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Montana, where we got to see Amy's Uncle Frank and Aunt Nancy. Here,
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Ginnie checks out the Superfund Cleanup site, the Pit, in Butte, with
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Aunt Nancy.
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IMAGE(dscn3427)
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Ginnie checking out the differences between sandstone and...some other
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stone...at Arches. She did the junior ranger program at 3 different
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parks!
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IMAGE(dscn3384)
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Amy and Ginnie under an arch.
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IMAGE(dscn3419)
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Ginnie and Auntie Kellie in Moab, Utah.
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IMAGE(dscn3444)
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Bill wanted to check out an Airforce museum in Layton, Utah on the way
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up to Wyoming and Montana. Also a fun stop.
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IMAGE(dscn3596)
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Amy and Neale at the Grand Canyon in Yellowstone.
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IMAGE(dscn3478)
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IMAGE(IMG_1032)
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We went up to Glacier National Park next, which was amazing. We stayed
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at Apgar one night, and camped at Fish Creek the next. No bears! We plan
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to come back here for a longer stay. Winterkeepers, anyone? Apparently
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that job was open over at Many Glacier!
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IMAGE(IMG_1090)
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Ginnie checking out a marmot at the St. Mary visitor center. It was
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really cold, wet. and rainy at the top of that ridge!
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IMAGE(IMG_1092)
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The morning we left Glacier we visited the Montana Vortex, which is just
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south of Apgar. Amy and Bill were pretty dubious about the whole thing,
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but who can resist a crooked house? And we did have fun in the end.
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Kellie volunteered to participate in some kind of Incredible Shrinking
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slab exhibit, where you somehow shrink in comparison to another person
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as you move from one side to the other. Poor guy...because of us, the
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other group members were probably less than convinced about the vortex's
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magical abilities.
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And then Ginnie started Kindergarten in August. Amy wasn't sure how much
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food she'd need for one day, so she sent enough for 10 Kindergarteners.
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That was the last time Ginnie used that lunchbox.
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IMAGE(IMG_1093)
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She gets to walk to school every day, lucky girl.
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IMAGE(IMG_1125)
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Over Labor Day weekend, we relandscaped part of our front yard. It was
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hard work and took the entire weekend, plus some, but it was worth it.
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IMAGE(IMG_20100922_153537)
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And then Ginnie learned how to ride her bike sans training wheels or Mom
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& Dad! Very exciting!
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IMAGE(IMG_20100922_153632)
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Ginnie on her new wheels.
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IMAGE(IMG_1161)
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In October, Amy and Ginnie went to Missoula for Amy's grandfather Jim
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Gaul's memorial service. We got to see just about everyone in the
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family. Here Ginnie poses with the rest of her 2nd cousins.
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IMAGE(IMG_1173)
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The Gaul family. A few missing but almost everybody's there. It was
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great to see everyone again.
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IMAGE(IMG_4618)
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Ginnie as a kitty for Halloween.
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IMAGE(IMG_1214)
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Ginnie started Girl Scouts this fall. Here they are, Troop 10348 at
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their "induction ceremony!" Oh, and by the way, Neale volunteered us to
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be the cookie chairs, so if you want Girl Scout cookies, you know who to
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contact!
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IMAGE(IMG_1223)
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Ginnie was cast as a snowflake in her dance studio's Young Dancers
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production of T'was the Night Before Christmas.
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IMAGE(IMG_4623)
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Before going downtown for her performance, she accepted a few
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"good-luck" phone calls from adoring fans (her grandparents).
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IMAGE(IMG_4653)
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IMAGE(IMG_1228)
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IMAGE(IMG_4674)
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Post-performance at Fuller Lodge.
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We hope you all have a great holiday season. We're having a really dry,
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sunny and warm late fall so far, so if you want some Vitamin D come and
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visit! Amy makes fantastic enchiladas, if you need another reason!
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Love,
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The Picketts (Neale, Amy, Ginnie, and the dogs, Dingo & Jada)
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