Cousin Derek Visits from Dublin

We were so excited to have a visit from Cousin Derek, who was in Atlanta for a few days. We had a lovely dinner and a bit of a sing-song from Allison, who, for the record, is not shy. In fact, she did a song (Taylor Swift's "Love Story"), a poetry recitation (Edward Lear's "The Owl and the Pussycat"), and an interpretive dance (original) until she was ordered to stop by her daddy. If she makes it on "American Idol" or "Dancing with the Stars," her daddy is going to be sorry he squelched her budding talent.

Nonetheless, despite the homespun entertainment, we all enjoyed ourselves and got caught up on news from across the pond. We tried to talk him into getting the Irish cousins all on Facebook, but we don't think we convinced him. We did get ourselves geared up to see the rest of the family at the next Irish reunion, whenever that will be.

Derek begs for mercy: "No mas!"