It's becoming one of my favorite traditions...the pre-Christmas grandkids' sleepover.  I'm hoping that as the other grandchildren get a little older, they can ALL spend a night together at Grammy and Pappy's cabin, but for now it's the oldest four that live next door.

The skies were threatening, but it wasn't raining yet so I dragged my reluctant man to the Morehead City waterfront to watch the annual Christmas flotilla.

A beautiful day dawned as Kim and I anticipated attending the 30th Annual Core Sound Decoy Festival in Harkers Island, NC.

Winging our way to Harkers Island, North Carolina for the 30th edition of the Core Sound Decoy Festival this weekend.

Our much-anticipated annual trek to Emerald Isle, North Carolina always begins with an early morning departure.

There we are, about half of the eventual 71 relatives who joined us for our annual family reunion on Saturday.

Christmas in our family lasts more than one day...we somehow seem to manage to stretch it out over most of a week. And I love that about it!

There are certain time-tested traditions that accompany our annual family beach vacation.

For the past several years, Kim and I have stopped for breakfast at this little family-owned restaurant in Washington Courthouse, Ohio where the same lady always waits on us...

Here we are...in the final days of October.  And what a spectacular October it has been!

What an incredible week we spent cruising Alaska's Inside Passage on the Coral Princess!