December 24th, 2009  Wow, have the crowds grown.  It's been crazy outside the last few nights.  Hank and Mia can hardly keep up.  :-)

We'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and hope Santa is very good to all of you.  

Dan, Cindy, & Kyle

December 13th, 2009  We had a great night tonight.  Hank and Mia next door handed out hot chocolate and candy canes for all the kids with the Variety Club who came by.  Thanks again to De Dutch Pannekoek House for providing all the treats.  If you do come by, please stop by and visit with Hank & Mia and have some complimentary refreshments.

It's been a pretty slow start for visitors so far, but just this weekend things have begun to pick up.  Next weekend should see the crowds and tour buses.  :-)

We had a slight dusting of snow today.  Just enough to give everything a festive glow.  The forecast says this will all be gone on Tuesday.  Hopefully, we won't have a repeat of last year.

December 10th, 2009  Here's a few pics of the display that Charlie took tonight.

We're actually considering taking down the large tree this weekend, and rebuilding it with the LED's we've purchased.  I guess it'll depend on whether the forecasted snowfall actually materializes or not.

December 6th, 2009  Lightup went without a hitch.  All had a really good time.  I was a bit nervous, as I did not watch the show in advance this year, so I did not know how it would turn out.  

Pics:  T minus 2 hours, Lightup night elves (GREAT job kids), and my insurance against any snowfall this year.  lol

We have the 2009 videos online

December 1st, 2009 We've almost got the setup licked.  Here's some random photos I took last night to give some more detail into the actual setup.

Clockwise from top left:  3 of the CTB-16D boards, cabling leaving the garage (Note unused hole above.  This is not required this year as much of the hardware is located outside), power cords mostly installed, PC-16 power cords, same CTB-16D boards with lids on, and our signage all ready.

Tomorrow I hope to get most of the last minute things done, including pressure washing the driveway...

We changed the method in which we secure the arches.  Originally, we tied them with twine, but that required anchoring them to the fence.  Last year we used black 1x2, but this year we used EMT (Electrical conduit).  It works way better.  You can see photos here.

November 30, 2009 What was I thinking?  Take a year off.  Ya, right.  We're so excited about lightup, we could never take a year off.  

We're sitting pretty good right now.  The display is mostly up, just lots of little things left.  The programming is all done, and came out really well.  I'll try to get some more pictures up here in the next couple of days.  T minus 4 days...

November 22, 2009 We had tons of help from the neighbors today.  Thanks guys!!!!

We got most of the arches done, plus most of the large tree, and the roof (no broken legs, Mom).

We still have a pretty lengthy 'to do' list, but we'll make it no problem.  I just have to concentrate on the programming...

We decided to also replace all the arch lighting with LED's as well.  The 24 foot tree will be next year.

November 21, 2009 We got a lot done the last 2 days.  Thanks to Ross & Steph.  Here's a few pics of our wet adventures.  The last picture is Steph saying "You take the same picture every year!!!"

November 19, 2009 11:00 PM  OMG!!!  I'm officially in panic mode.  I just realized how much we have to do... lol  It's a work night, and I'm in the garage at nearly midnight painting....  

November 18, 2009  Still no photos, but we will have several up early next week, as this weekend is our big push.  As usual, this is the latest we've ever begun the setup.  As I type this, we have 17 days until lightup, and most of the display is still off site in storage....   The forecast for the weekend is for more winds and heavy rain, so it'll be just like every other year.  ;-)

We began the LED conversion last night at RONA.  Ouch.  Obviously, this will happen over many years.  This year, we will have LED's on the two 10 foot trees, and on the windows and doors.  Next year we're going to change out the 23 foot tree, Island tree, and with the power we save, we may move back into the neighbors yard again.  What do you think Glenn????  lol   Now, more than ever, we need a light vendor as a sponsor.  Any takers???  :-)  

October 27, 2009  OK, OK, OK...The display is a go this year.  :-)  We've just begun the programming, and have 1 sequence completed.  We're going to try to use all brand new music this year, but may have to bring 1 old one back if we run out of time....

September 16, 2009  Kind of a late start to this years comments, but we've been incredibly busy this year.  We're... say it ain't so... considering taking a year off from the lights....  I thought I'd just post this comment now, as I've had so many of my fellow light buddies email over the last month to ask what's going on...  We'll keep you posted.  We'll have to make a decision one way or the other by the end of the month.