yosemite treat

i took a few days off and went to yosemite with shannon... we stayed at the lovely awahneee and drank wine by a huge fireplace (so large you could have a party in it, seriously).... and attended the chef's holiday event. we met the lovely founders/owners of cowgirl creamery - one of my favorite local cheesemakers, here in the bay area... and also michael reccuiti, founder/owner of a fancy chocalatier in the ferry building downtown SF... and charles, the chef of slanted door- a great asian restaurant downtown too.

we had wine and great food and beautiful scenery - tahoe is quite pretty this time of year... snowcapped halfdome, gushing waterfalls, and cozy fires inside the lodge.

good times. can't wait til next year!

laugh fest

tonight at dinner we had a wellborn family laugh fest... we took turns doing our best, deep, full laugh! daddy's was just plain scary... stella's was hilarious... sammy's was absolutely adorable (full head back, milk spilling out, ripping it), and mommy's was sophistocated. =)

soquel christmas

each year, the brosings (janel's mom's side of the family) get together for a family christmas celebration, in january.... this is because it's less hectic for everyone and easier for aunt juli/uncle keith to fly down on standby. it was a nice treat to have uncle keith join her, and of course we missed jenna (and braden), but they were in our thoughts (especially mine since jenna drew my name and gave me a great cookbook and cheeses!)... juli picked stella's name and got her the perfect gifts - she made her dress up outfits - a beautiful princess cape, and a fabulous pig face and rat face! and a great long black wig, and all kinds of fun surprises (like a feather boa and pirate's hat)!

we went to kim & karl's house and had such an amazing weekend. it was lovely to see everyone, and the girls really enjoyed playing with their cousins! they especially enjoyed exploring blake's half pipe out in the back yard!

i was so proud, since aunt juli brought a copy of her newly published text book! how exciting and IMPRESSIVE! i've always admired her, and she never ceases to keep stretching herself, and growing, and contributing, and just making it all look so darn easy!

karl and kim were wonderful hosts, as always, and their home was cozy and the food was great, and it was so nice to see them and their beautiful family.

auntie lygia was there with her new sweetheart, tom, and karla and tyler joined in too! we missed max, of course, but he was off galavanting around in NYC, so i guess he's excused! tom got sammy's name and gave her a beautiful keepsake plate and a cute bunny that used to belong to his son!

grandma and grandpa neuman were there too, and they brought the chocolate fountain, which is always a big hit, and stella and sammy enjoyed having the bonus time with them all weekend long.

all in all - a lovely time, as always... i only wish i didn't have to wait another year to enjoy being all together!