Kyla's 30th B-day!

The last weekend in May was spent in the OC visiting friends. It was Kyla's 30th birthday and when Sarah and I arrived Friday evening, she had exciting news for us! Kyla was pregnant!!! WOW! Very exciting and a perfect birthday gift. After getting settle in we went to a Vietnamese restaurant right across from Kyla's condo. After a delicious dinner we back to Kyla's and chilled. The next morning Kyla and I walked to a near by salon and got pedicures and while walking back home we ran into Kyla's sister, Kendall, her boyfriend, Scott and their new puppy! After we got all packed a big group of us went to a near by camping grounds and got setup for a afternoon of playing games, BBQ-ing, eat smores and fun!! It was a blast!! The next morning Lisa Fine graciously went to a near by cafe and picked up breakfast burritos for everyone. Once the tents were packed up we all went back to Kyla's and laid out by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Nana heard about a house party, so we stopped by and hung out on the roof-top. Jenny and Nana got to meet up with old friends. Cindy, Sarah, Ryan, Jeff, Kyla and I decided to grab dinner was at an Italian Restaurant where the staff was ridiculously friendly. Both service and food were outstanding! The next morning we had more good food at our favorite breakfast joint, Wilma's Patio.

White Elephant Party

White Elephant Attendees...

Last Friday (the 12th) I went to probably the most entertaining White Elephant party I can remember. Chris is a student, a lieutenant in the Navy, at NPS and his one of the nicest people I have ever met. He can make conversation with just about anyone. He and his wife had a Christmas party over at their house. I met lots of students and their wives’ and we all ate really good food. During the White Elephant game, there was lots of stealing and laughter; especially, when people started getting competitive over a remotely controlled skunk!!! I guess you had to be there, but it was hilarious!! I hope they have a party next year, too.

Saturday, I watched Anthony swim again. He’s doing great! The rest of the day was spent sending out Christmas gifts, buying gifts, writing Christmas cards, etc.

Sunday after church, Julie, Anthony, and I went to eat at one of our favorite breakfast restaurants, First Awakenings. Then they came over to make gingerbread houses! My sis’s friend, Mel, came over to help, too. Then, we all watched the Cowboys win and move into the Wild Card game!! Woo hoo!!

Your Three Words

ABC and Good Morning America does a segment called "Your Three Words," that features all kinds of different videos people take of what is important to them. My nephew, Brady, was on ABC.com with his video and then on December 13th they aired his video on Good Morning America!! I'm bummed I missed it, but here's the link to it:

http://ugv.abcnews.go.com/Player.aspx?id=6453566

It's only ~2 minutes long, check it out. You'll probably have to cut and paste link into your browser for it to work. Brady is the last video in the set. Above are the screen shots I took of the video. Brady is living proof!! I love that little guy, he's sooo precious!! :)

fun filled weekend

This Friday I went to the movie called Australia. It was an epic adventure filled with a little bit of everything: romance, action, suspense, etc. I loved it! It is 3 hours long, which I wasn't expecting, but it was worth it! Saturday I went to Anthony's swim class and he is swimming very well now. I'm very proud of him. Then, I went with a friend to what we thought was a Christmas party at a winery, but we were a day early! Opps!! So, we stayed and did some wine tasting. That night was the annual Ornament Party. This year it was held at the La Playa Hotel in Carmel. We had our own room and that even had a decorated Christmas tree. As usual, the girls who put it on did a great job! It was fun to see the girls, it had been too long...

Anthony's Birthday!

Go Raiders!

After the game, we were still smiling!

Anthony and his Mama

Group shot

The shark cake, with a leg (aka a cracker) hanging out!

The car ride up Anthony was between Dre and Mel.

Anthony blowing out his candles.

November 30th was my nephew Anthony's 7th birthday!! My friend Caitlin, hooked us up with free tickets to the Raider's game that day. When Anthony found out that we were going to the game on his birthday, he was in the shower, and he started jumping up and down and dancing, saying "oh yeah, alright, woo hoo!!" So, Julie, Anthony, Melissa, Andrea (Dre), and I went up to the game on Sunday. Alberto was sick and couldn't go, which was really sad because he's the only real Raider's fan out all of us! We had a good time eating hot dogs and watching the game. Unfortunately, the Raider's lost the Chief's and it made Anthony really upset! :( That night, once we got back home we had cake for Anthony. He wanted a ocean cake with a shark in it and he also asked the Baker to put red in the cake...like blood!! He's such a boy!! Julie didn't allow any "blood" in the cake, so we eat pieces of a more peaceful (less violent) looking cake. :)

Thanksgiving weekend

Wednesday night Sarah and Ryan came into town and we went to Island's for dinner. Thanksgiving morning, Sarah, Julie, Melissa, her friend Vinnie, and I did the Turkey Trot/Run at Lover's Point. It started at 8am and no one was allowed to wear watches. Everyone had to run or walk towards Asilomar and then we had to turn around and try to make it back to Lover's Point exactly one hour later. We actually were only a minute or so off! But, we didn't win the prize. That's OK, it was a lot of fun. Then my sis and I went to her in-laws for a tasty feast. We watched the Cowboy's destroy the Seahawks! And, then Mel came over and we watched movies the rest of the day/evening. Friday evening, we met up with some Class of '97 people downtown and that was great! It has been a long time since I've seen some of those people!!

Zarin's Wedding

On October 26th, one of my best friends from high school got married in Berkeley. Zarin and J.P. (now he goes by just Patrick) dated back in high school and kept in touch over the years. They got back together almost 2 years ago and they tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony. They were dressed in traditional Afghan dress and then for the reception they were in traditional American dress. It was a blend of both cultures and absolutely amazing!! I'm waiting for friends to email me pictures and I hope to be able to put up pictures by next week.