NEW YEARS EVE

What a night!! This year, in honour of Ryan turning 10 on December 31st, we decided to throw a huge family shindig for New Years Eve. The venue - Mum and Dad's house; the guest lists - all 3 generations; the theme - friends, family and fun! Always at the important milestones, Rachel, Steven, Rebecca and Joseph flew in from Atlanta for the week. From young in age to young at heart, about 130 close family and friends danced the night away. DJ Craig spun tunes from old time Jamaican music to top 40 hits and by 11pm the dance floor was packed. The kids had their own party area complete with a big movie screen and popcorn machine a disco tent, and all you can eat pizza, but by the time the dancing started, they joined our party and showed us a few dance moves of their own. At 4am as the party wound down, we relived the evening as we sat under the stars and sipped champagne; the first quiet moment of '09.

CHRISTMAS DAY

Christmas Day in the Kirkaldy House is always a fun filled, busy active one. Mum and Dad came over with Pat in the morning for breakfast. We enjoyed opening presents and our first feast of the day before heading off to Church. At noon we had Christmas lunch with David's family, and friends. About 40 gathered for the festivities, including the Pereira Clan from Jamaica, and the Mirrlees family from Canada. After a short afternoon nap, it was time to get all dressed up for the Christmas Dinner at the Godfrey house. The setting was formal, but the evening was, as always, a casual one with laughter, entertainment from the kids (Taylor played a violin solo and Bampa accompanied JC, Ryan and Taylor as they sang Bob Marley and a variety of Christmas songs). After the Christmas pudding was served, David treated us to a fabulous fireworks display. The day, as always, was one filled with the love of family, the laughter of children, and the joy of friendship.

Family Photo Shoot

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

John & Tara have a wedding to plan

My brother, John, and his girlfriend of 2 years, Tara, got engaged last month. Tara and her 2 children, Alianne and JC will be officially joining the Godfrey family in February. A small wedding is being planned in Jamaica.

Taylor's Tap & Jazz concert

The little reindeers did a great job showing tapping and jazzing for the audience.

CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS EVERYWHERE

It is concert time at the kids school.

Ryan's class, Year 5, based their concert on a local twist of Scrooge. Old Ebenezer was visited by the ghost of Bob Marley who convinced him that a sunny vacation in the Islands is what would cure him of his Scrooge-ish ways. Ryan played young Ebenezer.

Taylor's class did a twist on author Julia Donaldson's book The Tiddler. Julia Donaldson had the school a few weeks earlier and the Year 3 students wanted to honour her visit with their own version of her story.

DAVID GOES TO NEW ORLEANS

NOVEMBER 14 - 16.

David went back to his college roots to attend the 25TH anniversary of the presence at Loyola University of his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Ryan runs another 5K

NOVEMBER 14.

Ryan's passion for running continues. He ran the Pirates Week 5K in 26:25 and came 2nd in the 14 and under.

The Wenches of the SOS Dancing Queen

NOVEMBER 15TH. Pirates Week.

Some girlfriends, lead by our Head Wench Lisa Uggeri, created a float for this years annual Pirates Week Float Parade. Weeks of planning, building, and dance practice (yes, we had a routine to Abba's Dancing Queen which we performed over and over and over again), paid off when we won 2nd place in the General Category for our float, the SOS Dancing Queen. Below is the blurb that Wench Diana wrote for the judges:

"Having sailed the Seven Seas, since she last graced the shores of the Cayman Islands in 2002, SOS Dancing Queen and her crew of Wenches is returning to her favourite and home port. Their gathered loot will provide ample subsidy to the people of these verdant isles, so that the finest products from the four corners of the earth will Cost U Less and provide Massive savings to one and all. The streets of Cayman will be sweetened as they pass providing temporary sustenance to the joyous revelers gathered along the way… The Wenches of the Dancing Queen have indeed gathered many treasures and proudly display their over-flowing chests as they parade through George Town having the time of their lives. They can Dance….. And you can too…. Welcome Home Wenches!"