It was a smiley face if you turn it around the other way.  This is fantastic, I’ve had 3 birthdays so far!

Kurt has the really good camera so I don’t have the group photo yet.  Hope everyone had a good time, I did.  Here are all of the pictures (not just the ones above) from the luncheon.

Christina and I went to Gayle and Bill’s house out in Forrestville, CA on Saturday.  Christina was a good sport and I still owe her big for walking in what turned out to be a downpour of rain on our hike.  Their home backs up to miles and miles of woods so we hiked down to a stream and up to a lookout which was beautiful but the rain prevented us from going any further.  Maybe in the spring or summer we can go back and see it all with better weather.  The house is gorgeous and is being remodelled very nicely.  Gayle even made me a birthday cake (three green candles and two pink ones on the bottom for 32) which was super nice!

We went to Deacon Dave’s Christmas Lights last night in Livermore which was amazing!  In total this year he has 325,530 lights and I have never seen a residence decorate for Christmas to this extent.  Below is some background on his display from this site.

What is Casa del Pomba?
Portuguese for “House of the Dove”, this is the private residence of Deacon Dave Rezendes. On December 4th, 1982, Deacon Dave was ordained a Roman Catholic deacon. When he was ordained, he dedicated his home to the Holy Spirit. The symbol of the Holy Spirit is the dove. Deacon is one of the clergy of St. Michael’s Church in Livermore. He is also the Bishop’s representative to the Deacon’s & Director of Deacon Personnel in the Diocese of Oakland. He also owns a security business in Livermore. A busy man!

Does Deacon Dave plan the display himself?
Heaven’s no! The Deacon names the theme each year, and does some planning and design. A team of advisors, who are specialists in various fields, takes the theme and runs with it! They are dedicated volunteers who share Deacon’s excitement for Christmas. They often have to be reined in because they come up with some humdingers of ideas!

Can we tour the inside of the home?
No, this is Deacon Dave’s private residence. He does have parties for St. Michael’s staff, his Christmas Crew, and families and close friends. Inside the home, there is at least one tree in each room, including the laundry room and bathroom! There are over 20 trees in all, all decorated by Deacon himself. Each one has a theme, either relating to the room it’s in or a favorite hobby of Deacon’s. Some of the themes are trains, Daffy Duck, religious, dove, teddy bears, peacocks, and Native American. The living room tree in the front window changes each year, to either represent the area or display theme.

Where did the Nativity Scene in the front window come from?
Deacon wants to remind people of the real reason for the season, so he has a lavish nativity crèche always in the front window. New pieces are collected each year. The angels hanging above are imported from Italy, and are handmade papier mache. Very delicate, they appear to be flying over the display.

How do you get the lights up in the trees?
The lights are placed in the trees using extension poles with hooks on the end. The lights in the trees in the back yard are placed in the trees using the same poles, but also standing on step ladders on the roof of the house.