New Years Eve

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Tonight we partied at Jennie and Will's. We always have a great time with family, friends, food and fun! I made cake pops again and I think I can actually say I am getting the hang of how to do this. The process all went very smoothly and I don't think I saw any of them crack.

 Ron, Will's sister Erika and her little guy Josiah. He is quite a cutie!

 Jerad, Amber and that baby bump again.  Won't be long and the bump will be gone and we can all hold the baby.

 Nicole got the girls party glasses. I think they LOVED them!

Jennie, John and Amanda.

Hanging out in the kitchen. Seems like this is always the gathering spot as the food is a big draw for quests.

 A little wine...

 or a cocktail - alcoholic or not. Can you see the recipes hanging on the window?

 Hmmm, what's in the wine cooler?

And since we love the glasses so much let's just get another picture. 

 The glasses are pretty cool, right? Just hard to get pictures with the flash.. Oh well, it's the fun that matters.

 You'd think I was a rookie the way I cut their heads off. Sorry, but this was such a cute picture of Lizzy and Simon that I just had to use it.

 Even the little ones have their groove on tonight. Go Lizzy, Go Simon!

It's 9:00 and Happy New Year east coast time. The families with young ones now head home as it's time for the babes, and probably the worn out moms and dads, to go to bed.

The rest of the party crew hangs in there until midnight, watches the Seattle celebration and  wishes you all a

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Christmas Day

On Christmas morning we gathered at Amber and Jerad's to see what Santa had left in our socks and to open our gifts to each other. These socks don't really look like socks anymore, but they sure are fun to open!

 

 You may recognize this fabric from a picture at Amber's shower. Julie made her a baby blanket and since she had some scraps left over I used them to make a small ribbon  blanket for the baby. These are very popular  now and the babies seem to love the ribbons. Jennie with her camera and Christmas sock.

 Yup, we are still looking at our stocking gifts. Jerad got many baby items this year. Santa wants him to be prepared when this little one arrives.

 Next we are off to the Sessions for the afternoon and dinner. Jodie thought it would be fun to have a Swedish theme this year as we have several of Mom's and Grandma Raymond's things that we could use. We all brought a Swedish dish and Jodie and Amber went to Ikea in Canada and brought back some fun snacks.

The table is set with Mom's Irish Linen tablecloth that Dad brought back from Ireland. We also used her sterling silverware and Waterford water glasses. The dishes belonged to our Grandma Raymond and are the Canterbury pattern by Syracuse China. They were used for their everyday dishes when our dad was growing up. I always take a closeup picture of the table, yet on this special occasion I forgot.

 It's after dinner and we all look like we could take a nap. So, you can ignore the people and look at the place settings as this is the closest picture I have of them.

 Our Great Niece Rylie is opening her present from us. She definitley has this present thing figured out now.

 Jennifer and Amber with their Uncle Dennis

 As Luke would say this is our "favorite" nephew Luke and my sister Julie.

Of course we can say that as he is our ONLY nephew.

God Jul

(Merry Christmas)

BETP Christmas

We get together every Christmas for our BETP Christmas. That would be be Becker, Evans, Thompson and Parsons. This year we gathered at Dave and Amy's as it was easier for them with Baby Justin. Hmmm, there must be a picture of him around here somewhere

Here is our family:

Carole, Ron, Jerad, Amber with the baby bump that is due January 25th, Will and Jennifer

 Will and Jennifer                                                             Jerad, Amber and ?

Ah, there is a picture of Justin in the new hat that I made for him. It matches his fishing blanket.

Baby Justin

You may remember seeing Amy in some of my previous posts with her "Baby Bump".  She and David are good friends of ours. Their little guy was born on November 28, 2011 and weighed 7 lbs 8oz and was 19.5 inches long.

 Amy is a professional photographer and since her pictures are so much better than mine I asked her permission to use them on my blog. She was happy to share pictures of her "amazingly handsome little man" He is 3 weeks old in these pictures.

Lions Christmas Ship

The Christmas Ship is sponsored by the Lions. It has been visiting the children in the San Juan Islands at Christmas time for the last 65 years. The ship spends 2 days cruising and making stops at 13 islands so the children can see Santa Claus. Well, that is just the start as there are a whole lot of exciting things that go along with this. The ship leaves from Bellingham Harbor. However, members from various Lions groups come from many areas to participate. One gentleman came from Florence, Oregon and there were many from Canada. It's a HUGE amount of work putting this event together. Here are a few pictures of the preparation.

I have crocheted hats for the last 2 years. There are some men that make wooden toys and on one of the island stops the boys get wooden cars and trucks and the girls get to choose a hat. I made about 50 this year, but looks like I need to make even more for next year.

 We gathered in Don's garage to package up gift bags for the children. He is one of the main organizers of this event and has been involved since he was a boy and his dad skippered the boat.

The treat bags are lined up, white for girls and brown for boys. We filled them with snacks and a toy.

Gift items are collected throughout the year.

 This map shows the route of the Christmas Ship. After leaving Bellingham Harbor they cruise to the following islands: Waldron, Saturna, Pender, Mayne, Galiano, Saltspring, Stuart, Orcas, Shaw, Blakely, Lopez, Decatur, Lummi and then home.

Once on the ship the real fun begins. As they cross into Canadian waters they are greeted by a Coast Guard escort. I think this is as much fun for the Coast Guard as it is for the people on the Christmas Ship.

 Not only does the ship carry Mr. and Mrs. Santa, but also his elves ...

 Pirates, Clowns and a Choir.

The islanders are waiting as the ship approaches and shouts of "He's here!" and "I see Santa" can be heard from the shore. They are very appreciative of this visit and have prepared amazing food and often entertainment for the "Christmas Ship" guests.

The Christmas Ship returned to Bellingham with some very excited Lions. They had an amazing trip, smooth water which is always good, and some wonderful stories to tell.