This video is so funny…very appropo for D, even though it is really about a Berkeley High (not Cal) alum. Thanks Janelle!

While this list is not nearly as popular as my Restaurants and Destinations list, I have been working on it over the Christmas and New Years break to ensure it is ready for prime time.

This list highlights Cal Golden Bears and Hoosier Athletics, which includes alumni playing professional sports/Olympics. I focused on football, basketball, and Olympic sports.

Take a look. I am looking forward to comments…

College Sports List

It is difficult to believe, but it was five years ago that k came into our lives and changed us forever.

Although I miss holding her as a tiny baby, I am SO glad that I don’t have to relive those first couple of weeks. I think Christmas 2006 was the best AND worst of my life.

We kept it low key this year, celebrating over the weekend with my parents/sister/grandma and tonight with just the four of us.

From Drop Box

Tonight we skipped a formal birthday cake since we had it on Saturday. Instead, we had Sno Balls! D’s co-worker brought in a bunch of Hostess goodies into work and D brought some home for the kids (and himself). Thanks, Betsy!

We had just put the kids to bed when we heard sirens and someone on a megaphone booming, “Santa Claus is on his way!” I thought we might have missed the annual neighborhood visit, so this caught us by surprise. I had the kids quickly put on their shoes, and D led them out (the stop is right in front of our house!)

n looks like he is in shock. I think he was about to fall asleep, so he had no idea what was going on.

Friday night we went to k’s preschool Christmas performance.

Pre-schoolers are so funny. There’s always a few performances that crack me up. One kid almost choked himself with his scarf. Another had to run off stage at the end of the song to go to the bathroom.

Saturday night was our church’s Christmas program.

Both k and n sang, but n is hidden behind the big kids. That actually turned out to be a good thing, since n decided that he wanted to flash his tummy by rolling up his shirt multiple times! I wasn’t able to get a good picture, but one may be sent to us. If so, I will be sure to post because it is hilarious.

They did an encore performance on Sunday during service.

This blurry picture was the best I could do. We’ll see how the video came out.

That was a lot of singing for one weekend. We let the kids have a picnic dinner tonight as their advent activity.

Yesterday D and I went to a wedding of one of my friends from high school. The kids had a sleepover at my parents’ house, since we knew we would get back late. The ceremony was at a Catholic church in Azusa.

My friend looked so beautiful, and although she is always a very happy-fun-giggly person, the joy really radiated from her yesterday.

Yeah, there’s a little bit of a height differential there, haha. Opposites attract, right?

When I looked up where the ceremony was, I became excited because I saw it was close to Glendora. The only thing I know about Glendora is that it is the home of Donut Man! I have always wanted to try this place because of all the rave reviews, but I never found myself out that way (it is located on Route 66). It ended up only being three miles away from the church, so I told D we had to stop by.

Unfortunately, it is not strawberry or peach season, so they didn’t have either of their two specialty donuts available. We picked up a small assortment and bought a couple for my parents as well. I can see why this place is so popular. Such a large variety of unique donuts. We even tried a pumpkin pie one with pumpkin pie filling piped on top. If you are ever in the Azusa/Glendora area, it is a must stop.

The reception was at a place called Imperial Palace Banquet Hall. We arrived a little early, and the parking was valet-only, so we ended up driving up and down some side streets trying to find a good place to stop. There, we came across first hand evidence of the devastation left by the wind storms of last week.




In fact, we had been planning to meet up with one of my friends that moved to Pasadena in between the ceremony and the reception, but she had been without power since Thursday, and didn’t know when it would come back. I can’t imagine what that would be like. Note to self: stock up on emergency supplies.

The banquet hall was very glitzy.

I really enjoyed the food…it was kind of Greek with hummus, eggplant, dolmas, steak, beef, and chicken kebabs. An excellent variety of food, and not the standard “wedding fare”.

First Dance

Thank Yous

Going home, I found myself becoming nostalgic for the “old days”. I also started to become sad because I thought of all the people I have lost contact with and the fact that this particular couple is living across the country now. However, I am so happy for them and their new life together.

k and I (D) were outside for an early morning bike ride around our neighborhood today. Since she used the balance bike, she knows how to ride her bike without training wheels; however she needs a push to get started. However today she started by herself! I was amazed. I asked her have you ever done that before?! And she said no, and at that point, realizing I had witnessed a first, I started clapping and whooping it up. Happy Thanksgiving!

On Saturday k went to a princess party at Wowzville. I don’t really remember going through a princess stage, but k is certainly in it.

The party was for two sisters, who sat in the two princess chairs, of course.

Next was a mini movie in the adjacent princess room. The girls dressed up and each had a pink or purple bean bag to sit on.

That night, I overheard k telling n about the party. She told him that “there was this room, with beautiful butterflies; and they were REAL”. So cute. (To her defense, the butterflies were life-like, and they did flutter their wings every so often). She did know, however, that the twinkling lights were not fairies as claimed by the woman in the movie.

Princess k

Coloring the castle

The afternoon ended with eating of the princess cake!

D and n stayed at home. I’m sure n would’ve said, “Ew…too girl-y” (that’s one of his favorite phrases these days).

On Sunday our church had an appreciation lunch for those who volunteer for the children’s ministry. We had deep-fried turkey, which was probably the best turkey I have ever had…very moist and flavorful.

We learned that n really likes cranberry sauce-jello and k really likes asparagus.

D enjoyed his turkey leg.

Not surprisingly, these cute turkeys were a big hit with all of the kids. (Just had to be careful to remove the peanut butter cup for k and n).