Rotary lunch

We went to the Rotary Christmas lunch this week. It was delicious food, fun entertainment, and (I have to admit) quite nostalgic for me. I remember so many of these events as a kid. I remember being dragged kicking and screaming; I remember making an absolute nuisance of myself; I remember being bored; I remember being entertained.
Xiana was the youngest and cutest member of the crowd. She loved being introduced and clapped and cheered with the best of them. When the performer sang Christmas songs, Xiana cupped her hand like she was holding a microphone and sang into it with her eyes closed and her head swaying. She mimicked the last word to every line of every song. When the President of Rotary asked questions, Xiana enthusiastically shouted answers into the air. When we first sat at the table Xiana asked for a sugar packet ( I have this terrible habit of letting her have one sugar packet whenever we eat out... Brian hates it :). I grabbed one of the sugars and went to open it when she said, "not that one, I want the strawberry one!" pointing at the pink sweet and low. My old high school principal was there and he immediately came across the room to give me a hug and talk with me. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. I only attended Reed for one year, and only went to class for maybe two months so I was quite touched that he remembered me. All in all, it was a memorable lunch and I'm glad we went. There are a lot of kind people in this world that genuinely want to do good for others. It's neat to see; particularly at the holidays. After the lunch, we went to the Chapin's house so that Xiana could see their amazing decorations and be spoiled by our good family friends.
They always do elaborate decorations both outside....
and in!