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That's Jack, last year, watching the BMX stunts at Oakley :) This trip is just amazing. First off, it has to be, by far, the largest gathering of widows and their children. It is a chance for everyone to come together and have a little fun right before the holidays. The holidays are so hard and this helps a little. When we went to Oakley for the party and pulled up in the buses there were people lining the streets. One of my widow friend's sons started to cry. He thought they were protesters. Then he, and everyone else on the bus, realized that there were hundreds of people waving flags and holding signs (a lot like a Walter Reed Friday night FReep!) Everyone on the bus started crying....realizing how many people were there honoring our Fallen loved ones. Volunteers are there the whole weekend. So many people who are spending there time doing things for us to make this trip special. It is a little overwhelming and really, I don't know if they truly understand how much they are giving and how much it means to us. I really hate Christmas now. It is so hard without Don. In 2002 we celebrated Christmas as one happy family (I have this on tape...Don describing all the toys the kids got and what we were doing that day), he left for Iraq January 25, 2003, and he died March 25, 2003. If I look at that tape of Christmas I see our happy little world and I know 90 days later it is all OVER. Snowball Express is the only thing I'm looking forward to this Christmas season. The trip to Disneyland is part of the Snowball Express event. My kids, of course, loved that! They get to go to Disneyland with their friends right before Christmas! Their friends that also have Fallen fathers.....so they are not the "ONLY ONES" for a bit. I'm getting excited to go just thinking about it :)