Goodbye Friends... Goodbye 2010... Hello 2011

My friend Deanna and her little ones, Tanner and Paige, came home from Singapore (where they live now) for like 4 months!! We were SO spoiled to have them here so long. It is pretty much the only time she will ever be able to come home for that long cause this year Tanner starts elementary and wont be able to take that much time off work. It was great to have her here, even though she was so busy and had so many people to see. And I was so happy she got to see so much of her family and her brothers and sister who all flew in and came together for reunions and Thanksgiving.

We had one last playdate at the park to say goodbye to her and her kiddos. Here the pics we took. Ella and I are really looking forward to picking up our pen pal letters again (and promise if the laptop breaks again that I will remember how to pick up a pen. lol) Love you guys! Miss you already!











Then on New Years Eve we had our friends Kim and Gerry over for a brunch. We had ceasar salad, tomato basil mozzarella, bagels, muffins, coffee etc. It was wonderful. And it was great spending all day with them. Ella thought they were her personal audience for every story, song, dance and item in the house she felt like showing them. She just loves when they come over. Here are some pics we took.






I am so excited that Kim and Gerry made have taken the awesome steps to adopt a child this year. And they wanted to have some pictures taken so they can send them to prospective birth parents who then choose the adoptive family for their baby. Very cool. So I took them out for a mini photo shot. We didn't need a lot just something to capture who they are and the love they have for each other (and hopefully the love they will offer a child soon.) So excited. Here are my favorites of what we took. :)






Later that night we put the kids to bed and Jimmy and I curled up on the couch to watch a movie. Then we watched the ball drop twice, once on NY time and once on Phoenix time. :) And I am not sure who told me about this, but somebody last year shared with me a tradition they do at midnight at the start of the New Year. Wherever they are, whatever they are doing, they pause to walk outside. It is sort of a cleansing ritual. To walk outside and leave all of 2010 behind. And then turn around and walk back in with a clean slate and a clear mind and say hello to 2011. So that's what I did. And I loved it. I plan to do it every year! The next day we went to our annual brunch with our neighbors hosted by The Augustine Family. I was there by 11am and stayed ALL day till almost 6pm. The kids had so much fun playing, the food was delicious, and the coffee was a plenty. But most importantly, the company was wonderful. It is one of my favorite days of the year. I can spend the entire day just enjoying a relaxing lazy day with my neighbors and friends.

It was a wonderful start to 2011 :)