Al and I had a real treat on Saturday, February 16, 2013, when Matt Best came from New York City, and David and Janet Best from Rochester, NY, and joined Nancy and Gary Bennett and us for dinner at Lombardo’s.

They arrived about 3:30 in the afternoon and we had time to chat about their many activities since we had seen them. David and Janet had missed our December 27 family dinner because of 15 inches of snow.

Matt pointed out his apartment on the photo he took at the new tower at the World Tradecenter that he posted on Facebook. It is in the far light area in the north east quadrant near the river.

We talked about his friends, Terrance Carroll and Lindsey Guim, who live near him in the East Village. Matt and Terrence run marathons together.

David and Janet told us about their adventures with Jacob, this time learning to skii. He also plays the cello, loves skate boarding, and is the one who has shown the most interest in working on projects in David’s wood shop.

Nancy and Gary had sent us Valentine roses, and met us at the restaurant.

Elly and John flew to Lexington, KY, this weekend to see Jaime’s family, especially Reed, who is now six months old. They missed seeing them at Thanksgiving time when they were in London. They only have about 12 weeks of law school left before graduation on May 19.

Matt brought us back from the restaurant after a fun time together, and returned to NYC that evening because he had work to catch up on. David and Janet joined us at church Sunday morning, and had dinner with us. They left to spend the rest of the day with Janet’s sister and family in Leola, returning to Rochester Monday morning.

It was so good to get together with family and continue to be a part of their busy lives.

Elly Bennett and her parents, Nancy and Gary, came for dinner with Al and I on Friday evening, February 1, 2013, on her way to visit a friend in Philadelphia for the weekend. We heard all about the Inauguration and the Ball she attended with John Thompson and his brother, who had helped with the campaign and found a ticket for her at the last minute.

Nancy and Gary again this year invited us to their home in Lancaster to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday evening, and we had a very enjoyable supper and game, especially since the Baltimore Ravens won.

It was one of the most exciting bowl games we have seen. We left at half time, as usual, and had no trouble getting home, even though some snow showers surprised us when we left. It was a great weekend!