Pictures from the NCFIC Conference: Days 1, 2 & 3

Here are some more pictures from our trip to the NCFIC conference.

Day 1:

Jordan, Caleb and the girls visited with us for a few days before the conference (more pictures of that coming later), and then we all traveled up together.  Here Dad and Mom are enjoying little Berea...

And Uncle Ethan with Victoria....

We met up with the Yuck family, who had arrived there shortly before we did, and we had a nice time of catching up.  That evening we met up with some more friends and headed over to the pizza parlor for supper.

Day 2:

The next day, Thursday, the conference still hadn't officially started yet, so we spent the day fellowshipping, shopping, going out for lunch, and then we all took a drive to the top of the mountain.  

The Hammond Clan

Some of the Yuck Gang...

The fall colors were absolutely stunning...

Sitting around chatting....

Later on that night was when Matthew surprised me by coming to the conference 12 hours ahead of schedule!  Here are some pictures that Dad took on his phone, only a few minutes after meeting...

Very happy!  (My eyes are closed on this one, but Matthew's smiling so much I posted it anyway!)

In this next picture, we were checking our texts.  He was proving to me that throughout the whole joke, he never lied to me....I went back and looked and it was true.  He was vague when I asked him questions, but he never told an untruth!  He even sent me pictures throughout the day that he had taken before hand.  Like one with his car all packed up so that he would be ready to go at 3:00.  He had taken the photo the day before at sunset, so when I texted him Thursday evening and asked if his car was packed, he sent me that picture.  Because the lighting was right for the time of day it was, I never even questioned it.  Too funny!

Feeling light-headed!

Day 3:

Friday started out with Matthew, Ethan and I hiking to the top of the mountain.  We then shared breakfast together with everyone and headed over to the breakout sessions to join up with the Yuck family.  Now, at this point, the Yuck family didn't know Matthew and I were getting to know each other.  However, since Mrs. Yuck is on Facebook and Dad and Matthew are also on Facebook, the news leaked just enough to make her suspicious.  There was a picture of me on Dad's Facebook page and Mrs. Yuck commented "Very cute!" on it.  Well...Matthew liked the photo, as well as Mrs. Yuck's comment.  Her antennae went up right away and she started asking questions about who this Matthew Dickerson was that liked her comment, what was going on, and why we wouldn't just spill it.  Dad, Caleb and Jordan convinced her that it was nothing and that she was reading more into it than was there.

So...back to the conference...

Since the Yuck family didn't know and they were going to soon, we decided to have a little fun with it!  Matthew decided to sit right in front of the Yucks in the first breakout session (we were at the other side of the room) and then introduce himself at the end, but before he was able to, Mrs. Yuck recognized him and introduced herself and family.  Matthew still played it cool and walked over to the main auditorium without letting on that he knew us.  We joined up with the Yucks and Mrs. Yuck quickly pulled us over to the side to explain to us that a certain Matthew Dickerson was here,...at the conference and she just wanted us to know....

*snicker, snicker, snicker* 

We all slowly made our way over to the main auditorium and sat in our normal seats, but I left a seat open for Matthew.  Right before the service started, he meandered over and sat next to me.  He looked down the long row and sent a slow wink in Mrs. Yuck's direction!  The cat was now out of the bag...

Sitting together for the first time...

Here we all are, explaining the whole thing to everyone after the session ended!  

At the dining hall...

All smiles...

Matthew and I enjoying our lunch with family and friends.

We had a little bit of free time in between sessions, so we all headed over to the Yuck's room to play Guesstures.  It's a game of charades, absolutely no sounds.  It was our family's first time playing it, but it was a lot of fun!

Suppertime....

Talking after the service...

Just realizing that someone was taking pictures of us...

A very blurry phone photo, but I couldn't resist throwing it in...

After the main session in the evening, there were impromptu jam session going on and since Matthew is very talented on several different instruments, we convinced him to play along while we listened.  

They started out in the middle of the hallway, but as their group continued to grow, they moved over to a quiet corner to play.

Matthew on dulcimer and Jonah Boucher on banjo.

Our friends, Jonathan Girotti, playing the penny whistle, and Emily, playing the violin in the center.

Meanwhile,....

Savannah and Ethan had joined in with the dancing and were giving it a go.

Lined up and ready for the music to begin!

Stay tuned for more...