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!

Kaela's Choir Concert

Kaela's Fall Choir Concert

Kaela had her first choir concert on Tuesday night. First of all...She looked AMAZING! She was all dressed up in her new clothes, I flat ironed her hair and she did her own make-up.
What a doll!

Kaela was upstairs doing her makeup and I was downstairs. Then I hear Kaela yell "I'M CUTE!". I burst out in laughter and asked her again what she said. "I'M CUTE!". Yep, that's what I thought you said. Kaela has battled with low self esteem (as I'm sure most young teenagers do), so it's really nice to see this wonderful confident side of her.

Not only did Kaela look amazing, she sounded INCREDIBLE!! Out of all the singers at the concert, Kaela's beautiful voice was the one that stood out. She also had a little solo during the song "Song to the Unsung Hero".

Kaela and Papa Ray ~ Thank you for coming Papa

We are so proud of you Kaela! Great job honey!

Betsy's Farewell Party

We will miss you BOOTSY!

Our good family friend Betsy (aka - "RATBAG") moved away to Pennsylvania last week. She was originally from there, but has been living in Oregon for the past 14 years. She worked at Applebee's with Stacy and Stacy was her "first Oregon friend".

We all went out to the "Old Barn" on Saturday night and said goodbye to Betsy. We had a really nice time, but it was a sad night for us, but especially for Stacy.

Betsy, we have and always will value our friendship.
We wish you the very best and we promise to stay in touch!
We will miss you!

Clackamas Dance Competition

Allie's First Dance Competition of her Senior Year!

We went to Allie's dance competition on Saturday at Clackamas High School. I help do the make up for the team. Allie and I were up at 5am to get ready and get over to the school. Westview danced 2 dances...Jazz and Hip Hop. The first was the jazz routine to "Welcome to the Jungle". The girls did such a great job! We took 5th place out of 8 teams, but there was 1 judge that was particularly hard on us. The girls were a bit disappointed, but we just focused on our next dance which was in the hip hop category.

Here are some pictures of the jungle girls. So cute!!

Senior Captains...........Allie & Ellie

The hip hop dance was so AMAZING! In fact, I'm having trouble coming up with the words to describe how incredible it was. Here...Just watch and see for yourself. Allie is the girl with the black hair on the far left of the screen.

See...I told ya!

Westview took 1st place with this routine. When the announcers reveal the winners, the captain get to come up and accept the plaque or trophy. It was so cool to watch Allie go up and accept the award. I felt so proud of her! Here are some pictures of the hip hoppers. Their boots were donated by Doc Martens. These boots were the icing on their outfits. They looked amazing!

Getting the 1st place award!

And finally, here are our Westivew fan shirts. I just love this picture. It was so great that Alex was able to come home from college and watch the competition with us.
It was a long day so that is what I call LOVE!

Halloween 2008

Halloween 2008

It was such a quiet Halloween this year. Allie went down to Southern Oregon to visit Alex. Matthew stayed the night with a couple of friends, Kaela went to Rock Creek Foursquare with Collette and the girls were with their Dad. Bill and I passed out TONS of candy to the cute little kids in our neighborhood and watched a couple of movies. The candles were going and it was nice to have a little cuddle time with Bill.

Kaela dressed up as a "School Girl". She looked absolutely adorable and she said that this was the best costume that she has ever had. Very cute!




Allie had a great time down at Southern Oregon with Alex. He dressed up as Hugh Hefner and Allie was a bunny. A little bit racy, but she can pull it off. SO CUTE! Big Sigh....My baby girl is growing up so fast!

Matthew's Choir Concert

Matthew's Choir Concert & Solo

Matthew had his first choir concert last week. He did such a great job and had a really good solo. The guys looked FABULOUS in their tuxedos too!
I can't wait to get a copy of the CD and DVD!

Matthew was a HUGE hit at his concert! We are so proud of you Matthew!
You are so talented honey!

Dinner at Taylor's

Thanks to Taylor & Alana for a wonderful dinner!

We had such a nice time at dinner with Taylor and his girlfriend Alana. They had appetizers out when we arrived, the table was beautiful and the food was excellent. They really impressed us!

Taylor fried up some catfish, scalloped potatoes, & Veggies. Alana made some Halloween cupcakes for dessert too!

Oh, and I can't forget to mention my new "Grand Kitty".
Taylor adopted a 3 month old kitten named Kayce. She is a sweetie!

Thanks for dinner guys! We had a fun time with you!

Happy Birthday Stacy!

Happy 35th to my sister Stacy Nicol ~

After rushing around with all of the homecoming pictures, we ended out night over at our friends Chawna's house to celebrate my sister Stacy's birthday! Stacy has a great group of friends that she has had since she was little. Even though everyone is all grown up and raising their families, they all still managed to stay in touch. Almost all of the girls were together to celebrate Stacy's birthday! They came from Seattle and Bend for their friend.
It was so great to see everyone again.

After Chawna's we went to Malone's Cafe to hang out with everyone. These girls sure now how to have fun! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!

Steph, Stacy, Christine, Chawna, Kelle & Crissy (and this is only 1/2 of the group)

Stacy and Kelle - BFF

Stacy has a new haircut. She donated 10" of her hair to Locks of Love a couple of days ago. This is an organization that makes wigs for children with cancer or other disorders in which children might lose their hair. Stacy's hair is absolutely darling! She is such a "do-gooder" and I'm very proud that she is my sister!
I love you Stacy! Happy Birthday!

Homecoming - Round 2 with Matt & Allie

Homecoming 2008 - Alex & Alex

Allie and Alex looked amazing all dressed in blue. Alex came home from college to go to the homecoming with Allie. They went to dinner at Chang's Mongolian Grill.
Allie said that they had a wonderful time!

Awww..What a cute couple!


Kaela, Courtney, Allie & Matt!


**After taking pictures of Allie and Alex we rushed off to
Matt's girlfriend's house to take pictures.**

Homecoming 2008 - Matt & Carlie

Matthew and Carlie looked stunning all dressed in red and black. They were going with a group of kids to Chevy's for dinner and then off to dance the night away.

Matthew's homecoming group

Father / Daughter Dance

Bill's final Father / Daughter Dance with the

dance team....*TEAR*

So, I believe that I warned everyone that as the dance team events started happening this year, we were going to be a big pile of mush as we are realizing that this is our last year with Allie and the dance team. Bill danced the Father / Daughter dance with Allie on Friday night at the Westview Homecoming game. The theme of the dance was "Born to be Wild". It was a great dance. They all dressed up like rebel bikers and hit the football field at half time. Allie and Bill were right in front.

Bill is still trying to get the tattoo off of his arm...ha ha


Allie, Lauren & Kerren....BAD TO THE BONE
Wait...They're too pretty to be bad :o)


I just love this picture of Matthew and the school mascot....The Wildcat!

Thanks for coming to the game with us Courtney! It was a fun night!

Homecoming - Round 1 with Jalen & Courtney

Jalen & Courtney's Homecoming 2008

Jalen & Courtney had their homecoming dance last night. Bill and I went over to their friends' house to take a few pictures! Aunt Stacy did the girls' hair and makeup for the dance and they looked STUNNING!

Courtney and her date Billy

Jalen and her date Trevor

The group!

Powder Puff 2008

Jalen & Courtney's Powder Puff Football Game

Bill and I got all bundled up tonight and headed out to the girls' powder puff game. There were 4 teams. The juniors played the freshmen and the seniors played the sophomores. Jalen & Courtney are sophomores and their team lost to the senior girls. Then the sophomores played the juniors and they won by a final touchdown....scored by COURTNEY!

It was a good game...

GREAT DEFENSE!

What a fun night!

Before the game, the girls had a good huddle with their big brother Taylor! Oh, and all the girls had #11 on their shirts because that is the year they will graduate. It made it really hard to follow the girls out on the field! We were just rooting for #11...!!!!

Birthday Dinner - Round 2

Happy Birthday to us (again)

What a fun weekend! We had a great family dinner at my in-laws house last night. Earlier that day, Kelle surprised us with a great birthday present. I came downstairs to find this....

There is a cute little Beta fish in the bowl named "Sally Banana".
Kacey Lee helped us name her. Thanks Kelle for the fabulous present!

Our family....minus Taylor :o(
Taylor is in Indiana visiting some friends, but it sure was great to have 5 out of 6 kids there!

Mommy & her girls

Grammy made 3 different kinds of soup, a great salad and some rolls. It was a wonderful dinner. The kids all had a great time dining together.

Stacy, Angie & Kelle