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!