Fourth of July Block Party

Ilene and I had a great turnout for our neighborhood block party! Nine families from the 'hood and two other families joined us to celebrate on the 4th. We are so happy there was so much interest from the neighbors! We'll have to do it again soon!

Our invite read:

"We the People (at 2XXX Calle Patina),

In order to form a more perfect party

Hereby invite YOU to an Independence Day celebration!

Oh say can you bring your lawn chairs and a side dish to share?

Please R.S.V.P. by July 3rd to ..."

Our nice, big backyard played host to the par-tay!

Mmm. Dessert. The most important part of a well-rounded meal.

Homemade apple pie with streusel topping--I used apples from the tree in our backyard.

Neighborhood crew

More friends

Grill Masters Darrell and Jared

Hostess(es) with the Mostest: Ilene and Adri

One year older and wiser too

I celebrated my birthday worrying about a final exam, and Jared celebrated his birthday alone in Hawaii (I know--terrible life). But, we enjoyed a cake together, despite. We are one year older (and wiser too) and almost burned the house down with all the candles topping our cake!

Holiday Traditions

Jared's mom always purchases a new ornament each year for us to place on our Christmas tree. She writes each person's initials (and the year) on the ornament so we don't forget when we received it. I think it's a great tradition and I am glad she passed this tradition on to us. Jared has some of the sweetest little ornaments from his childhood. When he puts them up, I think it causes him to reflect upon the fact that he is getting old!

This year we were all able to help decorate Jennifer's Christmas tree on Thanksgiving. Kayleigh was a great helper!

Thanksgiving

We bumped Thanksgiving up by 4 days this year (to Sunday). Jared's sister Jennifer had a scheduled C-section on the 24th of November and we didn't think she, baby and Granny would be home in time to feast with us on Thursday if we waited. Moving up the day took so much of the last minute stress out of the holiday! And, since left-overs are the best part, we were actually able to eat them on Thanksgiving Day!

The Turkey

Jen's Greenbean Casserole

Judy's Homemade Yams

Adri's Brownie Cheesecake Pie

Yep, she's definitely Jared's neice: "Kayleigh the Carnivore"!
Jared and Jennifer breaking the wishbone...hope your wish comes true, Jared!

Happy Birthday Rachael!

Make a Smilebox free ecard

Fourth of July Weekend

Happy Independence Day everyone!

After enjoying several barbeques on both Friday and Saturday afternoon, we spent Saturday evening at the Torii Station Jazz and Wine Fest.

The first video posted is of 4 little children (they looked to be under the age of 8 years) who are dressed as Shisa Dogs and are dancing. Their costumes were really neat and they did a really great job!

One of our favorite shows of the evening was that of Okinawan drummers...they were really working up a sweat! From our home, you can frequently hear drummers practicing in the distance at nighttime (9-10pm) for the many festivals that take place throughout the year.

Our festivities ended by watching fireworks and enjoying ice cream complimentary of the Gibbs. Thanks again!

Jared's Return From The Land Of Smiles

Two weeks ago, Jared returned from a month abroad in Thailand. Although he was very busy with the Marine Corps exercise that brought him there, he was able to take several day trips, including one to Bangkok. His greatest adventure, that of riding in a tuk-tuk, was caught on video. The video Jared wanted to share is too large to add to the blog, but do know that you can hear background laughter throughout the entire 3 minutes and 30 seconds videotaped due to the driver darting in and out of traffic fearlessly. Below is a short clip to whet your appetite:

Jared also returned home with a quite a few treasures. My favorite is a hand-carved wooden elephant scene (we still need to decide where to hang it!) and three pieces of artwork (again, the elephant below is my favorite) made out of/with coffee beans. They even SMELL like a good ol' cup o' joe!

As you can see, it is beautiful and very green in Thailand:

WELCOME HOME JARED!