Merry Christmas!

Here is one last post before we go away for who-knows-how-long. There are quite a few pictures (a couple special ones just for Grandma Epp - can you guess which they are?) from this last week, as I had my thirtieth birthday on Friday. It started on Thursday when Saralee showed up unexpectedly and gave me the gift of a lifetime (from Daniel, too) - Bon Jovi concert tickets!! Anyone who knows me knows that I've had this obsession with Bon Jovi since I was in elementary school (I even dreamed he asked me out once, but I turned him down because I was dating Cam). Saralee helped 80s me up, and then sent Cam and me off while she looked after John. The concert was so much fun - probably the most fun I've had at a concert. Then my real birthday came. I'd been telling Cam for the last several years that I wanted to go winter camping for my thirtieth birthday to prove that I was still young. Having John now changed the feasability of these plans, so Cam came as close as he could: he rented a cabin (which got upgraded to a luxury condo because the heating in the cabin wasn't working) in the Cypress Hills for the weekend, and all my family came, plus Saralee (who belongs to the Engels just as much as to the Epps). My Mom's birthday was the day after mine, so we had a joint celebration. It was a lot of fun to sit around, play games, eat copious amounts of junk, go for walks, and just hang out. Cam took care of most of the cooking, and did a fabulous job. Saralee, Shayna, and I put together an amazing sychronized swim routine that is on my mom's camera, so I'll try to get it posted in January. It's not to be missed. Besides that, we had our Christmas dinner with Bruce , Michelle, Kerrie, and Soraya on Tuesday. I made my first turkey, and my first stuffing ever, and I think it turned out pretty great (not enough gravy, though). Then, last night, we headed out to Zoo Lights with Bruce and Michelle, which was amazing, but I wish we could see more animals. Anyway, here are some pictures and video (Cam and Craig swimming, and John playing "Nuscht" with Grandma Engel) from the past week. Have a very Merry Christmas and a great New Year. Enjoy your celebrations. Amy