On November 1, we headed to the Santa Anita Racetrack for my mom's 60th birthday for some lunching with the ladies. It was definitely an interesting day with many twists, turns and rearrangements - flexibility was the name of the game for this day as almost nothing went "right." What DID go right was the time we all got to visit and laugh together. The best "mishap" of the day (which actually was a hilarious and welcome snafu) was Bill Stewart showing up for lunch. He and Chris didn't get the memo that it was in fact supposed to be just for the women; however, if we could choose a guy to crash our party, it would be Bill Stewart. We had such a great time! Happy Birthday, moim!
For Thanksgiving, the family (and select friends) headed to Valley Center, CA to the Heublein's for some relaxing, eating, singing, resting, and visiting. As usual, the food was impeccable (had our choice of roasted or smoked turkey - thanks Bill and Colleen!) and the setting was superb. There was definitely a bit of a hole in our group with some important family members unable to attend. Erica and Brian Gomez, Lindsay Heublein and Courtney Anderson couldn't make it to the party, but we certainly felt their love from afar.
It's always a beautiful thing to reflect on our times together as family and friends. So much happens in the span of one year in a group this size and I know our family in particular has had its share of ups and downs. But when we all get together to celebrate during the holidays, the time we spend laughing, smiling and hugging just melts away any sadness or pain and blankets us with warm feelings of love and peace. Pies and cupcakes help with that, too:)
I so enjoyed putting together this blog and looking at the pictures that perfectly capture the vibe of the day. Thanks to dad and Amanda for all of the wonderful pictures! Here's to making more memories this Christmas while we celebrate and remember whose birthday it is...
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| Who's that guy at our lunch?! |
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| The gang! |
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| Asian beauty! |
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| Besties. |
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| Lynn and Moggy getting cozy. |
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| Besties from long, long ago. Mom and Beth enjoying time together! |
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| There's our favorite couple, Chris and Bill! |
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| Denise - never taking a bad picture:) |
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| Colleen:) |
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| Reggie and Lynn:) |
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| Erica and Katie - cousins:) |
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| This was so funny. We caught Colleen putting this silver candelabra in her purse and thought she was stealing it! Her perfect revenge for the "issues" with our lunch. Turns out she BROUGHT it to the party:) HA! |
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| Whoa whoa whoa! Who is that handsome couple? |
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| Sisterly love. |
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| I am not lying when I say Erica made THE BEST cupcakes I've ever tasted for mom's birthday. I NEED SOME NOW! |
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| More bestie pics! Lynn gave mom a great champagne glass...only...it said Happy Anniversary! HAHA! We love ya, Lynn:) |
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| Another cousin pic! Aj and Katie. |
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| Where there are presents...there's a Daney "helping." |
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| More fun glasses:) |
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| A great picture of mom with Mernie, one of her Asian daughters:) |
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| Cheers! |
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| Happy 60th Birthday, Debbie! |
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| You know where the appetizers are because that's where all the kids hang out:) |
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| I absolutely LOVE this pic. |
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| The Roblee men. Mark, Ralph, Mike, Ryan and Dane. |
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| Oh look! It's the Stay Puft Marshmallow man! No wait, that's just Harper:) The eating machine! |
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| Spencer and AJ giving a bro high five. |
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| Gunnar: "I think I heard my granddad say that there is beer in here..." |
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| The Roblee Family! |
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| Bart's wonderful attempt at some fancy jello shots. The ahi tuna watermelon shots:) |
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| Megan looking beautiful, despite feeling yucky:) Baby #5 due in May! |
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| Tradish pic of Bill and Colleen preparing the turkey:) |
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| Thank you Moggy for the wonderful kazoos you gave to all of our children. Nice move... |
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| A studly pic of brasky sipping on a drink... |
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| We found the world's first kid tree! There were quite a few ripe kids that needed to be picked. |
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| Cheer up, Harper:) |
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| Mark and the kitty:) |
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| Amanda's here! |
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| I wish I could remember what I was talking about here. Actually, it's probably good that I don't. |
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| This looks dangerous. |
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| The traditional pic of Colleen and Moggy putting on their "faces" before they take the ACTUAL pic. |
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| And there it is:) |
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| Happy faces all aglow. |
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| I'm sorry, Colleen. This was too good to not include. |
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| Spencer and Katie:) |
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| "The Kid Table." |
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| Buds! |
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| Ken and Colleen sharing a warm embrace:) |
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| That hair is.....well it's simply stunning. |
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| MOST of the gang. HA! |
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| Amanda's having fun taking a million pics of us I'm sure... |
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| A most amazing picture of the Kimgowskis! |
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| Brothers Asher and Harper:) |
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| "Somebody got a pipe that needs fixin'?!" |
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| Time for a sword fight with Gunnar and Dane! |
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| Hokey Pokey time...with kazoos, of course... |
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| There was so much ridiculousness going on in this room that I couldn't stop laughing! |
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| One....last.......tree climb..... |
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| Spiderbro decided to join us in the evening:) |
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| One of the highlights of the day was Kim running into the screen door with her pies, perfectly splattering them all over her shirt. Reggie's already thinking, "AYE!" |
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| Time for bed for the food-meister! |
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