Gary and I

were all settled down for a long winter's night, when we got a call from his sister, Geniel.  She wondered if we were coming to the Ashton party.  Ashton party?  We had just assumed that it wasn't happening this year since we hadn't gotten the usual letter about it.  In fact, a couple of hours before the call, while we were eating our obligatory turkey wrap at Costco, I had commented to Gary that they must not be having it this year.   Aunt Leah passed away a couple of years ago, and as the last surviving aunt from the family, we were not really surprised to think it wasn't happening.  But it was, so I stopped my work and Gary changed out of his pajamas, and off we went. (Apparently the letter just got lost in the mail)  We were glad we went.  Geneil and Dickson had come up from Castledale, and it was good to see them.   This Christmas party has been going on since way before Gary was even born.  There is a double connection in the Ashton family.  Gary's dad, Jess, and his brother, Frank, married two Lewis sisters--Gary's mom, Afton and her sister, Norma.  So we are double cousins to some of them.  You can definitely see the resemblances, even in the great-great grandchildren.

We're getting very excited for TIffany, Justin, Eliza, Ashton, Annie, and Lucienne to come on Monday. I had better take pictures of the Christmas decorations, though, because they'll probably all be dismantled after Luci has been here for a day!    This will be the first year in a long time we haven't had the Bishop family here with us, too.  We will miss them.  But our hearts our with them for sure.  Misty's pregnancy doesn't make it doable this year.