The Swicegoods
Patti and Allen - Established 1979

I guess I need to update the site a little. Thanksgiving has come and gone as Sarah pointed out in her last comment. It has just been very busy around here lately so I haven't taken the time to write.

Christmas cards are ready to mail. All of my shopping for gifts is now completed. I'm still waiting on one gift that I ordered to arrive but everything else is here and wrapped and ready to go under the tree. The tree...it isn't up yet but I hope to have it up this weekend. I have all of my other decorations up and in place. This is going to be a really fun Christmas! Alex is the perfect age for the holidays! He is so full of wonder and excitement and oohs and aahs at everything. He loves the lights and he loves music! He wants everything to play music! He is singing Jingle Bells now and he loves to 'dance' whenever he hears Christmas music! He is such a delight! I love watching the expressions of excitement on his face! Every time he comes to our house he wants to 'help Grammy' and he reminds me that he is a 'great helper'! He is so much fun!

We got our first snow yesterday...about 3 inches. It is supposed to stay around freezing for the next week or so and we may get more snow here this weekend and next Tuesday. The snow sure adds to the holiday season! Can't beat hot cocoa by the fire in the evenings!

Hope everyone else is enjoying this special time of year! Leave a comment and let me know what you are up to!

We wish everyone a blessed Thanksgiving Day!

Today is Sarah's 25th birthday! A quarter of a century old! Happy Birthday! Hope you have the best birthday ever! We are so proud of the young woman you have become and love you dearly!

It has been a busy couple of weeks around here. Allen and I made a quick trip to Arizona to help Travis and Megan pack up their belongings and move their stuff to Kansas City. They will be staying with us for a while so they can take their time and look around for a house. We got all of their stuff unloaded and into our basement (thank goodness for walk-out basements!) with the help of Sarah and Keith. Thanks, guys! They are still getting settled in and locating items they need to unpack but things are starting to become normal again...if there is such a thing! It is great for everyone to be in the same city again!

Congratulations to my sister, Beverly! She and Barry are getting married and have bought a new house! We all wish both of you the very best and are looking forward to getting to meet Barry!

Sarah' birthday bash is set for this next week so that should be fun. We'll be busy with last minute preparations. After that, things should settle down for the rest of the summer. I am looking forward to fall...all of the sounds, sights and tastes!

The results from the American Royal Barbeque are in...the Outhouse Cookers ranked 310 overall out of 474 entries. Not the best but certainly not the worse! You have to remember that these guys only get together once a year to cook so I think they are doing great! Some of the other entrants do as many as 30 to 40 cookoffs a year traveling all over the country to do so. What I tasted was excellent! But the most important part is they all had a great time and a lot of fun! My German chocolate cake was entered in the dessert contest and ranked 61 of 126 so that is right about in the middle! Oh, well! There is always next year! :)