Disneyland Again....

Larry and I had a long weekend away that incorporated Larry's work Christmas party in Pasadena and a trip to Disneyland, of course.

On Saturday, we left for Pasadena to join his colleagues at Bistro 45. We then spent the night in Pasadena so that we could do a little shopping in the Historic Old Town Pasadena and have lunch at the Paseo Colorado the next day.

Without "Goofy" hats ...and with "Goofy" hats.

We then spent the next day and a half at Disneyland and California Adventure. The decorations and festivities were incredible and helped get us into the Christmas spirit. Guess which photo made us sad....

Work Christmas Party

Cheesecake Factory was the destination of Erin's work Christmas party. Erin is fortunate to have such a great team!!

The is a photo of the entire KP HealthConnect Long Term Support team at the Woodland Hills Medical Center.

Teresa and Michael are at the top of the photo. Jennifer (my co-trainer) and Francisco are to my right.

Here is Anthony, Odie and Dawn.

Dominic's Baptism (Reception)

Our little miracle child, Dominic, (son of Adrienne and Scott) was baptized in the hospital because they were unsure about his health. However, a reception ceremony and mass were celebrated on November 25th. Larry was a proud Godfather and Erin is calling herself the Godmother-by-proxy. Scott's brother, Kevin, a newly ordained deacon, performed the ceremony.
Below Photos: Dominic with favorite "calm me down"snake that plays music when you squeeze his head. Adrienne still can be on the cell phone and do a few other things.
Dominic's Grandfather gives him a blessing. The ceremony begins at St. Dominic's Church, of course!

Many Thanks

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my uncle Randy and aunt Kari's house in beautiful Laguna Niguel. I can't remember the last time I celebrated Thanksgiving with my Grandparents. It's was a memorable evening with good conversation, scrumptous food and thanks-giving all around.

Smile

I took this picture at California State Univerity Monterrey when we went to watch Christine, our cousin, play a great Volleyball game (October 1005)...It always makes me smile and thought I would share.

St. Bonaventure Festival

This is the first time in 11 years that I had a chance to go to my childhood festival. It's been going on more than 30 years and is as big as ever. It was great to see some old friends and be with family. I am sorry to report that although Larry wanted to ride the "scary" rides, Scott, Monica and I only felt safe going on the Ferris Wheel. We have all seen and heard of a few accidents through the years...no thanks.

Patrick Martin's Baptism

We were so honored to be at my friend Nikki's youngest son Patrick's baptism. Nikki is traditional and likes to go "full body dunking." Welcome to the Christian family Patrick! Isn't he a the cutest???

To Agoura Hills

Well, after 3 long months of trying to sell our house, we received one more offensive offer and learned of interested tenants. After much discernment, we decided to rent out our house in Alameda to a nice young couple.

Therefore, we needed to move all of our furniture and "stuff" either into the attic or down to the Valley. We found a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment in Agoura Hills. It took about 4 weekends of moving and getting the house ready for renters, but we feel very blessed that we found a nice place to live that is a far cry from the Calabasas dungeon.

Where We Work

Larry's Work: Bank of America, Century City
Senior Vice President, Private Bank Trust Group
Erin's Work: Kaiser Permanente, Woodland Hills Medical Center
Senior Learning Consultant, KP HealthConnect (trains the Hospital and Clinics on the new Electronic Medical Record system while reaping the benefits of unlimited answers to odd, but interesting medical questions before or after class)

Our New Parish

St. Maximillian Kolbe church is the first parish that Erin found on the internet. She called some of the parishoners to see how they liked the area and the parish. She talked to some very nice people who raved about the community.
We love the simplicity of the architecture and the meaning behind all the details. The liturgies are also right on!!
St. Maximillian Kolbe is a 20th century saint from Poland who offered to die in order to save a man from death during World War II. This man and his family were able to be at his canonization in 1982. To read more about this saint click here. http://www.stmaxchurch.org/info/patron.htmlTo

Universal City Walk

We finally found some time for a little taste of L.A.'s newest famous Universal Walk next door to Univeral Studios. We decided to save that theme park for another day.

After Work Picnics in Malibu

Sometimes after work, we grab some Italian deli foods and head over to the Malibu pier. We are decked out in our fleece (rarely do we need it) and our beach chairs. We watch the very talented surfers to the right of the Malibu pier, one of the most famous surf spots.

Visit from the Parents

We had a nice afternoon with the Parents at the Italian Mediterranean style (strip) mall in Calabasas. There are a couple ponds with Koi fish and turtles, water fountains, iron statues of children(bottom left corner), bell towers and music playing while you window shop. They spared no cost for these high end shopping centers. There are similar ones in Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village. Although they are nice, let's hope we fin other pastimes!!!

Going to Malibu

The Malibu Canyons surround us as we drive to Malibu for one of our almost weekly evening picnics on the beach. Palm Trees indicate we are almost there.

The modern monolithic cross and expansive lawn at Pepperdine emerge as we approach Pacific Coast Highway (lower right). Here we are at Malibu Beach next to the pier,
the hot spot for surfers who don't mind crowded surf (lower left). The Malibu Sport Fishing Pier (lower middle & bottom right).

If you look really, really close you can see many little black specs...those are the surfers. Next time I will get a closer shot.

Shalani's Wedding

Congratulations Shane and Leilani !!