Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Long lost blogger....

 I can't believe it has been nearly 2 months since my last post.  So much has transpired in that short time, I had to read back to the previous post to see where I had left off!  We've, of course, had many a celebrating in the interviening time.  The begining of November brought us a double birthday celebration, 1st and 3rd respectively, for Vincent and Nathan Camarena. 

The celebration took place at the most adorable spot, an outdoor wonderland complete with a tree house and a real (slightly minatureized) train. 

 Miss Haley in the treehouse

Noah and Jason
 All Aboard!
 The newlyweds


 Miss Brenna

 
Our little conductor

We all had a fantastic time, despite the drizzle, and made good use of the train.

The next day I was off to a conference in San Diego for 3 days, back for 2 before we headed out for our family vacation in Mexico.  This was Haley's first international trip and she did fantastically well.  We met my parents, Lane and Curtis at the airport for our 6:00am flight and we were off!
Haley and Daddy in line at the airport









We arrived in Cabo San Lucas in time for lunch and spent the week just relaxing.  Miss Haley lived in the pool and survived on strawberry daiquiris.  The girls spent most of our time in the spa or with Miss Haley poolside, the boys seemed to favor drinking in town.  Chris and Curtis managed to fit in a fishing trip and we all feasted on their catch for dinner that night. 




 My snazzy Haley girl in a Mexican dress Mimi bought for her
 The girls
One of our fantastic dinners
All in all, a wonderful trip.  Thanks mom and dad!
The night after our return, we attended the wedding of Henry Dill, a fellow Fresno Rugby player. They invited and we brought Miss Haley along with us and she had such a ball dancing with the flower girls and other kids.

Thanksgiving was that following Thursday and we journeyed to the Toyloy house for the usual big Conway family gathering. Miss Haley is a favorite among all my tween and teen cousins and she had such a ball with them!
That following Saturday, the Richardson girls hosted a baby shower for Keegan for the Conway side of the family.  Everything was so lovely. 

Haley and me with the hosts
They thought of every detail down to the pale blue linen and crystal footballs!  Miss Haley helped open the presents for her little brother, was plied with many sees candy suckers and even had a few gifts of her own! 



As always, it was such an enjoyable afternoon and such fun to celebrate our little boy that will be here soon.

The next weekend brought one of our favorite charity celebrations, the Right to Life dinner and auction. This year my parents were chosen as the honorees and it made it that much more of a special event. We had a fantastic time and were so pleased to be a part of such a special night.

That Sunday we celebrated Mr. Noah Gardner’s 1st birthday.



We all crowed into Katie and Jason’s adorable home, feasted on soup and sandwiches and eagerly awaited the arrival of a very special guest…Santa! Unfortunately, Santa was not such a hit with the 3 and under crowd. I didn’t get half way across the room with Haley when she burst out in big alligator tears. To this day she still has a pouty lip if Santa is mentioned. 

The Gardners trying to get a picture with Santa
 Great Godmother Jeanie
We still managed to have a fantastic time and were thrilled to celebrate with cousin Noah!

That night we decided to pick out our Christmas tree.  We have a little Comstock family tradition where we get hot chocolate and listen to Christmas music on our way to Simonian Farms to choose the perfect tree.  We were in high spirits when we arrived at Simonians and then the sky opened up and we were caught in a torrential downpour!  I spent 2 minutes doing a quick lap of the lot while Haley and Chris tried to stay dry under the cashier’s hut.  We found the tree and had it loaded on the Pilot and were off.  Every year, except last year, we seem to have a tree fiasco.  This year was no different.  We got the tree on the stand and it was leaning so far to the right that it nearly fell over!  After several hours, some well-placed corks and books and more than a few grinchly words, Chris had straightened the tree and all was well.  We have learned our lesson…next year exchange the stands and keep the one on the tree on the tree!
There have been a few more trips and celebrations, but I have yet to upload the photos, so those stories will have to wait. We are off to the Comstocks to celebrate Christmas this year. All our love and wishes for a blessed Christmas!






Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Fiesta and Other Fall Fun!

I always love when an event comes together as planned.  I am, admittedly, what some would call a control freak when it comes to parties I plan.  I have instituted a rule, therefore, that I only host with people that will willingly take direction.  My mom and sister are my favorite cohosts...my cousin Brooke is also an ideal choice.  This brings me to the latest event...the 90th birthday fiesta for my grandmother. 

This was an event months in planning.  We went from inviting everyone she knew, to just family, to just family and a few extended and a few friends...In the end we had about 70 people (which is relatively small for us).  We set up a path of pinatas leading to an adorable cocktail area where we served margaritas, sangria, a smattering of Mexican beers, tequitos and chips, salsa and guacamole. 


After an appropriate cocktail hour (or two) we moved everyone to the main dinner area.  We had strung my bulb lights (thanks Curtis) and had our rented taco truck at the ready. 



Along with beautiful fruit platters and homemade enchiladas, it was quite a feast!  My very talented cousin Jessica, prepared a fantastic slideshow and we ended the night with grandma blowing out her candles on a beautiful 2-tiered cake.  Everyone was treated to a favor of a Conway family specialty, Mexican wedding balls. 


Most of the guests dressed for the occasion and it was really a perfect night celebrating an amazing woman!


We had a weeks respite and jumped, head first into the next weekend's activities.  Friday we attended gourmet group hosted by the adorable Patricios.  Everyone dressed for the occasion, though Brooke and Carlos were extra creative and won the best costume award for the night. 

 "Dog" the Bounty Hunter and his wife
 The milkman and a knocked up housewife
 Our hosts


Dinner was fantastic - stuffed figs, tomato soup, Cornish game hen and carmel apples for dessert.  As always, everything was perfect.  We were thrilled to have an evening with such dear friends. 


 Thanks Ashley and Garrett!  The following night we attended a dinner at James and Coke Hallowells.  There view, as always, stole the show and dinner (and the company) was wonderful.  Sunday, we headed up to the Bay for our hair appointment and Chris and Haley got to spend some much needed time with the Comstocks. 

We rushed home to prepare for Haley's 1st trick-o-treating Halloween.  Grandma & Grandpa Conway, Auntie Lane and Uncle Turtur were all in attendance. 


Haley had a fantastic time walking from door to door (we only went to 4 houses).





She had an even better time answering the door for trick-or-treaters to our house.  We finally ran out of candy around 8:30 and everyone was ready for bed!

We are looking forward to a packed weekend again this weekend.  I leave Sunday for a conference in San Diego and do a quick turnaround to prepare for our Mexico trip next Friday.  Quite the schedule!  Until next time...