The Roblee Blog

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

A November to Remember

Ok, I'm a little bit behind (ha!), but what's new? November was another family-filled month, of course ending in a huge Thanksgiving feast at the Heublein's in Valley Center, CA.

I started the pictures with some random family shots from the month. Dane and Ryan are growing into such lovely, active, curious boys with so much personality. Not a day goes by that Mike and I don't laugh and share the "what did we do to deserve them?" look. It's awesome. Dane is now 44 in. tall and about 48 lbs., and Ryan is 31 in. tall and 24 lbs. Ryan will be 10 months on January 5th!

Since Adele (my mother in law) was in the hospital for her birthday this year, we went to see her and brought party hats and presents. She was not happy to be in the hospital, obviously, but at least she got to see her precious grandchildren for a bit. (Note: Unfortunately, after going home last month and doing much better (even walking!), Adele was readmitted on the evening of December 23rd as she has more infections at her incision site. Needless to say, she is struggling right now with being in the hospital yet again, and having to miss Christmas with us this year was understandably very painful for her. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as doctors keep her under close watch.)

Thanksgiving was lively and eventful as ever, with some new "additions" to the group this year. AJ's girlfriend Shelby was there to experience the insanity of our family. Also, this was Ryan's first Thanksgiving, so we had a fun time shoving endless amounts of Thanksgiving food at him. He loved it as you'll see in the pictures! Kimmy's boyfriend Bart (whom Dane lovingly refers to as "Bark") also made an appearance, and I think judging by his smile in the pictures, he had a fantastic time. And last, but certainly not least, Lauren's (aka Colorn) boyfriend Jason made it down for the feast. We had quite a few newbies in this group, but it felt like they fit right in:)

Take some time to soak in the photos...the December post is already under way and will be with you shortly. Happy Holidays everyone!

Nice hair, daddy!

"Mmmyes, Hobson, would you please bring the car around?"

At the hospital to celebrate Nana Adele's birthday.

Dane always loves a good reason to party:)

My dad calls this "Roblates;" pronounced Ro-blah-tees. Sigh...

I love the differing sentiments of Blizzard and Sid.

The beautiful Heublein home - hey, who built that patio cover? :)

Sisterrrrrrs, sisterrrrrs!

Asher and Roger enjoying the day together.

Uncle Kenny and Marsha with some R & R.

Cooper, chowing on a Heublein orange! Nothing better...

The Hamilton Family!

Masters of the grill (and family functions)!

A funny thing happened on the way to the Heubleins...

Reginalda Jaime, looking dapper:)

Time for Janis to entertain the kids - hokey pokey? The bunny hop? It doesn't matter, they're busy!

Uncle Mark and Uncle Bill having a man to man.

Look at that table! BEAUTIFUL!

Dane could have gone to bed at this point for the night, but it was party time...

The lovely Hernandez Family:)

Ah, a father-son moment.

The lovebirds Jason and Colorn...

At the kid table - let the games begin!

Fork wars!

Kassady stays out of it and just watches. Smart girl.

That's Auntie Bob and Grandma Moggy. Just trust me.

OMIGAH! THEY'RE HERE! SHELBY AND AJ! Straight off the red carpet:)

Ahem, my pies were the best, of course. Banana cream on the right and pumpkin cream cheese on the left. I mean, HELLO.

Courtney, Colleen, Kass and Lindsay.

The Brothers Roblee.

Courtney and Moggy - what a stunning picture.

Janis and Roger.

Bark and Kimmy:)

Jason and Colorn:)

Um, Kimmy? I think that's too small for ya.

A great Thanksgiving Day group picture!

I just LOVE this pic of Megan and Asher.

Ah...Michael Roblee and his FSB! (Faithful Sidekick Blizzard)

Kimmy and Colorn's prom picture.

Kristy and Mike's prom picture.

Bark and Kimmy's prom picture.

I really don't know what we're doing here.

MY FAVORITE PROM PICTURE! My parents, Alan and Debbie sharing the BEST awkward prom picture moment ever!

I love this pic of Ryan - he looks so much like I did as a baby!

Reggie entertaining the children - as usual!

The usual "goodbyes" commence:(

The kids are TOAST.

ARGH! This pic of Ryan and my dad melts my heart.

Another cute one of Meg and Asher.

Look at those eyes half closed...

Aaaannd he's spent.

Blizzard - always on the outside looking in.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

A Halloween Miracle

I know I'm behind (thank you, Mexico), but better late than never, right? Halloween was an absolute riot this year. Not only did Dane choose his own costume for the first time (he chose to be a "Fire Fighter Guy"), but this was our first time trick-or-treating in Carlsbad, which is a big deal for us!

First, Dane got to wear his Fire Fighter Guy costume to school and he was absolutely thrilled about that. Walking proudly through the doors, he marched in there and said, "HEY KIDTH, LOOK AT THITH THOOT!" He was a happy camper for sure and the children obliged with the expected "ooohs" and "aaaaahs." Good kids...

After a great day of Halloween fun at school, it was time for trick-or-treating. Auntie Kimmy came down to hang with us for this momentous occasion. There aren't any photos of her because she was in charge of taking pictures! Thanks, Kiuh:)

We weren't very excited about the lack of decorations we were seeing around our immediate neighborhood and in turn, we were skeptical about the quality of trick-or-treating that lay ahead. After all, having lived in Monrovia the last four years, we saw some awesome trick-or-treating. It was going to be tough to beat! Mike decided to go across the street and up a block to see what was over there. As we crested the hill and made a left turn, what we saw was nothing short of a Halloween miracle! (Sort of oxymoronic, I know, but just go with it.) Everyone and their dog was out trick-or-treating. There were throngs of children in costume everywhere, running around, getting lost, screaming for their mothers, high on sugary candy - it was incredible!

Not only was the trick-or-treating fierce, but so many people were serving yummy goodies out of their garages. One house had a gourmet chef, also the owner of a restaurant in Carlsbad, serving fresh pumpkin soup! He was handing out recipes to go with it - delicious! Then a couple houses down, they had a plethora of large candy bars for the kids, and warm rum butter cider for the adults. Can you imagine? We weren't complaining. A few houses down from there, an older woman and her father were handing out hot dogs as well. It was insane...and a Halloween I will never forget. Everyone knew each other there and had lived there for 30+ years, so there was such a sense of community. What a fun night...

Lesson for next Halloween: Do NOT eat before trick-or-treating.

Here are some photos from the day. I added some random ones at the end, too. Also, PLEASE don't forget to check out our video page. There are some real gems on there that I uploaded today. Take care and happy holidays!