I went to visit the grandkids for a couple of weeks.  My son and his wife live in Mt. Airy, NC.  It's really very lovely up there and we were fortunate to get about 2" of snow while I was there.  It was great fun to build a snowman and sled down the hill (actually I did help build the snowman, but only watch the kids tackle sledding).

There's two girls and three boys, the oldest being 10 and the youngest just turned 1.  It's a houseful, but thankfully the kids are well-behaved (they're still kids though), so it makes visiting a joy instead of a drudge.

We didn't do too much rambling around, as we usually do, but just sitting around the house isn't bad.  My son, daughter-in-law and oldest granddaughter play guitars and mandolin (as do many of their friends), so the evenings are filled with music and laughter.

Although I do enjoy the visit, it's still good to get back home.  And my husband is thankful also....he was getting tired of eating out.

GW BETA

Last beta was opened for all, but this time those of us who have accounts have three invites available to hand out.  The event starts on March 24 and if any of you who reads this would like an invite, just let me know....it'll be first come, first served.  The first one was more PvP, but I think this one will be more focused on the PvE side.

I'm not a huge fan of PvP, but I really enjoyed participating in this event.  We got a sneak peak of the two new professions and the new Battle Isles.

ArenaNet has introduced some wonderful training areas for those who are just now dipping their toes in PvP waters and I thought it was well done.  Even with as little as I know about PvP, I managed to attain the Zaishen Elite Refuge before the weekend was out and in a PUG, no less.  It took us a while, but no one quit until everyone had completed the quest.

After reading the article in Computer Gaming World about the new professions, I decided my next character would be an Assassin.  However, after participating in the beta and testing both, I've now decided that it's the Ritualist for me.  And I'll have to admit that the only reason is I like the look of the Ritualist better.  Both play very differently and there may be a day when I have both, but I'll develop the Rit first.

Another event will be upcoming before the release of Factions.  According to Gaile Gray, it'll be announced in the next couple of weeks.  I just hope that I'm back from vacation before it starts as I really don't want to miss it.

What a great celebration. The snowball fight arena was the best PvP fun I've ever had. The gifts, quests, and decorations were lots of fun and very entertaining. The candy cane weapons, gingerbread cookie/peppermint candy shields, and gingerbread boy foci are fairly useful items. However, the greatest addition is the observer mode for PvP matches (made more entertaining when some of the participants use their Wintersday Day's weapons).

What a great way to be a part of the action (especially if you're as bad at PvP as I). I love living vicariously through the great abilities of the top guilds.