Christmas 2007

This year for Christmas Aaron and I split our time between Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles. We flew up to Portland Thursday evening on a super small plane (I don't think we'll be booking Delta again anytime soon!) and Aaron said that the whole ride was pretty bumpy - though I wouldn't know it since I was asleep just a few minutes into the flight. I am so thankful for that talent!

After an afternoon of hauling dry-wall into my brother's basement, Aaron and I babysat our nephew Carson Friday night. Overnight! Saturday we headed back to my mom's for some chili and cookie decorating. This year we were a little competitive with who could decorate the best one. Sunday morning, Nate's fiance Amanda picked up my mom and me so us girls could head to Amanda's grandmother's home for a bridal brunch while the boys started hanging the dry-wall. Monday was pretty quiet, so Aaron and I braved the crowds for a some shopping. We were pretty surprised to see the stores as empty as they were - everyone else must have been waiting for the after Christmas sales.

And now finally, it was Christmas Eve! We went to church and were all pretty surprised that the 5:00 family service was finished by 5:30. I'm pretty sure we spent more time driving there and home, than actually in the church. My mom prepared a fantastic Christmas Eve dinner and then we exchanged gifts and watched little Carson play with his toys. Aaron and I flew back to LA on Christmas day in time to have dinner with his family. Aunt Linda hosted the group for an evening of food, family, and presents.

Extending the holiday for another few days... my dad, Julie, and Jenn came over to exchange gifts before going to visit my Grandma for a Christmas lunch.

All said and done, this was another good Christmas - we got to celebrate with so many people!

Some photos:

Julie and Carson watching Aaron count to 5 (borrowed from Amy's blog).

How handsome is this Jewish man standing next to the Christmas tree?!

Me and Grandma Fritzi

More photos from Christmas at Aunt Linda's are here.

My dad, Julie, and Jenn's visit.

More photos of celebrating with my dad, Julie and Jenn are here.

So long, farewell

This weekend we hosted a bon voyage party for our friend Alanna who is moving to Australia. We had about 75 of her closest friends over for a house party - tented the backyard and everything. Special thanks to Aaron's parents for letting us borrow several of their party supplies. It's amazing to think that in just a short time she will be living on the other side of the world!

Click here to see some photos from the party on Alanna's blog.

Babies, dreidels, and cookies

This past weekend Aaron and I had a *lot* going on. Friday night we played on our co-ed volleyball team - doing pretty well for a nice change of pace. Saturday we went to our friend's co-ed baby shower. This was only Aaron's second baby shower ever and I think he had a pretty good time. On our way home we stopped to pick up my good friend Alanna and most of her things. She is staying with us for her final week in Los Angeles before moving to Australia. But we just had time to drop things off at the house and quickly dash down to Aaron's parents for a rowdy Hannukah celebration. It was a full house with all three of Grandma Fritzi's children there (plus most of their families, of course). A couple of bonus people were Grandpa Shel, Alanna, and Uncle Robbie's newly 'adopted' daughter and grand-daughter. We played bingo for prizes just like year's past, ate way too much food like always, and really just enjoyed each others company.

Sunday Alanna and I spent a chunk of the morning shuttling back and forth between my place and hers to gather the rest of her things. Then while Aaron was still out playing basketball with his friends we cooked some soup and prepped for Kelley, Zach, and Rosemary to come over. We had our annual cookie decorating tradition, ate dinner, played Taboo and toasted Kelley and Zach's 6 month-iversary.

**Finally, some photos!**

From the shower:

Jonathan & Karen - the soon-to-be-parents

Me with Austin Chang. He's anxious to meet baby Fu, too!

Karen, Aaron, and Darren. Get it - it all rhymes. :)

Click here for more photos from the shower.

From Hanukkah:
Having a good time!

Cousin Wendy, Alanna, and me waiting for the next Bingo call.

Grandpa Shel calling Bingo with Auntie Sandye.

Click here for more photos from Hanukkah.

Thanksgiving

So much has been going on in the Schneider household since I last posted. Aaron and I spent Thanksgiving day at three different Aunties households. Appetizers at Aunt Kath's, dinner at Auntie Linda's, and a visit with Auntie Sandye after we were stuffed full. The main event for the weekend though was a visit from my brother's family... Jason, Amy, and Carson arrived Friday morning and stayed through Tuesday.

Immediately after picking them up from the airport we went to Fullerton for a 'Friday Feast' with my mom, Dave, and Aaron's parents. Saturday the boys went to the UCLA v. Oregon football game while my mom and I took Amy and Carson to their first visit at the La Brea Tar Pits. Sunday we 'hiked' on the Getty View Fire Road trail. It was an easy access hike so that Carson could join us in the stroller. He slept most of the way, if I remember correctly.

Monday we relaxed some more at home (I worked a half day in my PJs) and that evening Jason and Amy went out on date night while Aaron and I babysat little Carson. He's such a good kid - it was sooooooo easy! We played with blocks, read some books, and put him down for bed.

Tuesday we met Aaron near his office for lunch and then I rushed the Oregonians back to LAX. It was really nice to have them here - and we'll get to see everyone again at Christmas in just a few weeks!

Since Thanksgiving, it's been pretty much back to the usual for Aaron and I. Though this past weekend we had a little bit of a strange rec sports weekend. Thursday's kickball game was moved to 9:00, but no one told us so our whole team arrived at 8:00. Friday we were literally just out of our garage to go to volleyball when we got a call from a team member telling us that it had been cancelled. Again - no one told us! And then Sunday morning we were both up and out of the house early to get to Aaron's basketball game only to realize that it too had been cancelled. This time Aaron recalled (a little too late) that he had actually gotten an email about it. But weeks get busy and sometimes these details get lost. :)

(something is up with our memory card, so I'll have to post photos later)

Two weekends at home

Aaron and I have spent the last two weekends at home in Los Angeles... but did we rest? Not quite. Last weekend were up early to get to the Rose Bowl stadium in time to tailgate and then cheer on the UCLA football team. That evening we rallied to head out to a favorite local bar, The Arsenal, to celebrate our friend Vince's thirtieth birthday. Sunday morning I took a bike ride with Alanna while Aaron played in his basketball league. We then headed down to Orange County and kicked off the holiday season with Kelley, Zach and Rosemary by ice skating at the Irvine Spectrum. I have to brag just a little that I was a bit more of a natural than Aaron.

This weekend we watched the LA Lakers beat the Pistons (thank you to Aaron's grandfather for the tickets!). We boogied out of downtown to get to Hollywood in time to watch our friend Minh's band's show. It was a pretty big deal since they were in town from Austin, Texas. Finally we had a chance to sleep in on Saturday morning - felt like the first time in months. That afternoon we went to a couple of house parties/BBQ's in the South Bay. Having made a stop at Lowes yesterday for some supplies, Aaron and I were able to work some more on our backyard this afternoon. Just as the sun went down it was time for me to head out for my book club. This time we read In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson to commemorate that one of our members is leaving to live in Australia.

Weekend in the Bay Area

This past weekend Aaron and I were in the San Francisco bay area visiting a couple of good friends. We started our visit with two nights with Rafunzel and Lisa in the city. They have an awesome place right in the heart of things and we spent most of our time together walking around the city shopping, eating and laughing.

Lunch was a 'must' at Hooters near Fisherman's Wharf. Yes, we passed up the traditional clam chowder in a bread bowl, but it was in an effort to take a small trip down memory lane. In Aaron's first glimpse of me on my Friendster.com profile (it's a pre-MySpace social networking site) I was eating a chicken wing at Hooters with Funzel. We figured that it was about time for us to all officially commemorate the role that Hooters has in our relationship. Now we don't ever actually have to go there again. :)

Saturday morning we headed down the peninsula to attend a friend's father's memorial and then to see Aaron's best man Jason, his wife Andrea, and their son Eric. Saturday evening we checked out Main Street in Los Gatos with a very important stop at the local candy store. Sunday morning after grabbing bagels we all went to the San Jose Tech Museum. Aaron and Jason may have had even more fun playin with all of the gadgets and displays than little Eric!

Two long weekends away in a row (whew) is exhausting, but very much worth it.

Aloha!

Aaron and I just returned to Los Angeles after a long weekend in Hawaii. Some friends were getting married in their home town Honolulu, so of course we were excited when we got the invitation to help them celebrate! We arrived on Thursday afternoon and spent some time walking the beaches and window shopping in Waikiki. Friday we hiked up Diamondhead and enjoyed some Hawaiian Shaved Ice once we made it back to sea level. The wedding was Saturday morning and later that evening a huge group went to a club to continue the party. Sunday was a water day - we went boogie boarding in the morning and then spent the afternoon snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. I was surprised by how *huge* the fish were and very tame. They barely swam away when we approached them for a closer look! We spent our last evening on the island with our friends Karen and Jonathan driving through the countryside to check out Northshore. It was a nice extended weekend away!