Sunday, December 21, 2008

Nutcracker 2008

Nutcracker 2008

We took the girls to the Nutcracker on Friday night and we all had a great time. It was the first time that the girls have seen the Nutcracker ballet. They really enjoyed it. It was snowing when we got into downtown Portland and the whole night was such an incredible memory for our family! I hope that this can be an annual thing for our family.

Mommy and her girls!

Our Christmas Card 2008

Family Photo 2008

We had a fun night with the kids awhile back trying to get the photo for our Christmas card. Stacy came over and took the picture for us. After Bill did a little photo shop magic, we ended up with a pretty good picture!

Of course, there's always Taylor being Taylor....ha ha!


I made a big Taco Salad for dinner before the pictures and it was nice to hang out with everyone and just enjoy being a family!

Here is a wonderful picture of Bill and our tree and stockings. Bill took the time to cut out all of the letters and ironed them on our stockings. They turned out perfect! Thanks honey!

Arctic Blast 2008

Let it Snow!!

We have had quite the snow storm over the past week. It started last Sunday and we ended up having the entire week off of school and work due to the weather. We are now officially on Winter Break and we will have a 3 week break instead of 2. NICE!!

Last night we had about 8 inches of new snow. Today we woke up to a sheet of ice covering the snow. Very dangerous, so I think we'll stay tucked in with a fire, movies and a nice hot toddy!

Here are some pictures of the snow...Enjoy!


Our Home in the Snow


Can you see me?

Dude! Where's my car??

Matthew's Snowman


Our Weber BBQ!


Chloe & Joey loved playing out in the snow...So cute!

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Santa, I can explain

Kaela....December 2008

I just love this picture of Kaela!
Santa, I can explain
....


Every year the kids take a turn putting our angel on the tree.
This year....Kaela's turn!


  • The holiday season is off to a great start!
  • The tree is up
  • The stockings are hung
  • I will finish the Christmas shopping next weekend
  • Company Christmas party next weekend
I actually feel a little bit ahead of the game....Weird!

Monday, December 01, 2008

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving in California 2008

I should probably warn you that this is going to be a long post. I have so much to say and so many pictures to share of the wonderful time that Bill and I had in Sonoma County with my family. It was the first time that Bill and I celebrated Thanksgiving without the kids. It was a little strange without them, but we truly enjoyed having some alone time to reconnect. In case you wondered where all of the kids were....here's the run-down. Taylor, Jalen & Courtney spent Thanksgiving with their Dad. Matthew & Kaela stayed with Uncle Jon & Aunt Sheri and spent some time with Papa Ray. Allie went to Sunriver with Alex's family and they all had a great time. We stayed in touch with the kids quite a bit during our trip, thanks to the wonderful world of text messaging.

Wednesday
Bill and I left on Wednesday afternoon after a bit of drama. Our Honda started making horrible noise like maybe a belt was slipping or something. We rushed around in afternoon traffic and rented a car at the last minute. It was so stressful and at one point we had to just laugh before we started crying. We got such a late start, that we didn't make it into Sebastopol until 2:30am! Thank goodness for 6 hour energy shots! It really saved us on this trip. We also listened to audio books the whole way down which was a great way to pass the time driving down I-5 in the middle of the night.

Thursday

Thanksgiving Day...We went over to my cousin Paul's house with my Dad and Linda. Of course, we were greeted with the most amazing smells of Paul's cooking as we came in. Both my cousin Paul and my cousin Ryan are chefs in Sonoma County. I'll tell you more about their restaurants later in my post. First I want to talk about the fabulous menu! Ok, here it goes.....

  • Smoked Willy Bird Turkey with Gravenstein Apple Bourbon Glaze
  • Kurobuta Black Hog Ham with a Spice Whiskey Glaze
  • Fettucinne Pasta with Lobster Carbonara, Caramelized Parsnips, & Uni Cream Sauce
  • Brussel Sprouts with Smoked Andoulille Sausage, Apples, Currants, & Point Reyes Bleu Cheese
  • Wild Oregon Mushroom Stuffing
  • Russett Mashed Potatoes with Creme Fresh & Chives
  • Cranberry Pineapple Chutney
  • Woasted Wing Wing Gwavy (ha ha...This was a bit of an inside joke)
  • Sourdough Butter Rolls
  • Bourbon Spice Apple Pie
  • Zinfandel Blackberry Pie with Pepper
  • Marshmallow Studded Pumpkin Pie
  • Champagne, Wine, Champagne, Wine
Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving....Enjoy ~


Bill & Angie


Bill climbed up my Uncle's Avocado tree. My little Monkey!

Bill smoked the Turkey and it was the best Turkey that we've ever had.

My Cousins.....Ryan, Alex & Paul. I love you guys!!!!

The boys...Paul, My Dad, Ryan & Bill


Friday

We woke up with smiles on our faces and headed out to a wonderful little candy shop in downtown Windsor called Powell's Sweet Shop. Every time that we go to Windsor, we make it a point to stop by this shop and pick up some candy. They have all of the old fashioned candy from your childhood there. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is playing on the big screen and you can really get lost in this store. I can't even count how many times we said, "Oh, do you remember these?"

All of our candy treasures.....

I found my favorite soda from when I was a kid....BUBBLE UP. It was so good. Gosh, I wish you could still buy these at the grocery store.


Next stop, we headed out to Dry Creek Road in Healdsburg to check out the wineries. When you drive down Dry Creek Road, you find signs at every intersection with arrows to tons of wineries. We were really in the California Wine Country!!


We decided to stop at Ferrari Carano Winery. It was by far the most incredible winery that Bill and I had ever been too. And for those of you who know how much we enjoy wine tasting, you will understand what a bold statement that is.

The entrance to the winery

Silly Billy


This room was beyond incredible. Look at all of the wine barrels! There was no access to this room for the public, so luckily the picture turned out OK through the glass.
It was decorated so beautifully!



The tasting room downstairs....3 stories down

Dad, Linda & Angie

Bill & Angie


After wine tasting, we went to have lunch at my cousins Paul's restaurant...Monti's
Thanks for a wonderful lunch Paul.
You are an amazing chef and we are lucky to have you in our family!


After taking a rest from all of the wine and food, Bill and I headed out to Healdsburg to my cousin Ryan's Restaurant...Willi's Seafood.
How did I get so lucky to have such amazing chefs for my cousins.
Ryan's restaurant was so wonderful and we left so full and happy!
Thanks Ryan....YOU ROCK!!


Saturday

We made it to Saturday!
Bill and I met my Aunt Loretta (Auntie Lo Lo) and Uncle Danny for Breakfast at KC's. It was so nice to be able to catch up with them.
We are trying to get them to come up to Oregon this summer.



Dad & Linda headed to Sacramento to visit her Dad and catch their plane back to Pasadena.
Bill and I drove about 3 1/2 hours to my home town of Eureka. We met my Aunt Darline and Uncle Ray there for an early dinner at the Lost Coast Brewery. We also wanted to watch the Oregon Civil War Game. Even though the game didn't turn out like we had hoped
(poor Beavers), it was so nice to see my Aunt Darline & Uncle Ray.


We stayed the night in Eureka and headed home on Sunday.
Whew....I told you that would be a long post. But we created memories that will last us forever.
Bill and I are both heading to the gym after this trip. Way too much food and fun!