Alvarado and de Leon Family Get Together

Christmas at the Chen's

The first Christmas in our new home.

Thank you Mom for the Pj's.
I wear them every morning while getting ready.
They are so comfortable.

The brother in laws

The Alvarado grand kids

Oh, we can't forget Niko. He is a grand kid too.

All the Presents Are Wrapped

Yeah! I finally finished.

Busted! I knew I shouldn't have put any presents in a bag.

Our awesome neighbors, the Monte family, made us
Delicious Sugar Cookies!
Thank you Shawna, Eric, Trent and Grant
Trent it the 8th grader who mows our lawn.
And he ALWAYS does a fantastic job!

Yummy Yummy Yummy!

Niko's New Bed

Look what daddy (Fernando) brought home for Niko this evening!
Thank you Handsome! Niko LOVES it!

It has been really cold lately and Niko started to curl up on the carpet even though he knows not to go on the carpet. So after we scolded him he curled up on a towel that we have sitting on the floor by the door. (We use it to wipe his feet if they are wet when he comes in from going restroom.) We figured that he was cold so we put a blanket on the floor for him until tonight. Now Niko has a real doggy bed!

16 More Days Until Christmas!!!

Mommy and Daddy Chen at Our House for the First Time

Daddy Chen and Jaylee :)

Mommy Chen and Niko :)

Mommy Alvarado finally got to sit down with Daddy Alvarado
and eat after "helping" me prepare
Chile Verde, Beans, Spanish Rice and home made Tortillas.
(She actually did most of the work....if you didn't already figure that out.)
I think mom looks so cute in this picture.

Here is the Kao Familia, Mom Chen, Dad Chen and
Cousins Ivy and PChang eating dinner too.
Mommy Chen liked the Spanish Rice so much that she had seconds and
asked for the recipe.
Jimmy said it was the best Chile Verde he had ever tasted.
Thank you Mom for all your love and hard work in preparing this delicious meal.

Juliana and I are the first ones to use my Fine China.

The young ones eating breakfast Sunday morning.

On Saturday Juliana signed all the ladies up to take a baking class at William Sonoma.
It was fun.
One of the things I learned was a different way to frost a sugar cookie.
The Hubby doesn't look too thrilled that I made a cookie just for him.
Either that or he wasn't in the picture taking mood.

Thanksgiving Dinner on a Plane?

Our last half day in Kauai.
It was beautiful, fun, adventures....awesome!
Thank you Handsome for taking me.

Going going back back to Cali Cali
(Is that how the song goes?)

Great job Hawaiian Airlines with hooking us up with a Thanksgiving dinner.
I was sad, not having turkey for Thanksgiving for the second year in a row.
Then the Captain announces we are getting a traditional turkey dinner.
We were excited!

Lunch with Mommy and Daddy Chen

Kauai Vacation Day 7

Today we drove all the way to the Northern most part of the Island.
The beach at Haena State Park the waves were so big that the
life guards would not let anyone go near them.
They were the largest waves I have ever seen in my life.

Before the Lu'au we took some pictures near our hotel.

At the Lu'au

I think we had one too many Mai Tais.

Make Room the the Chens!!

The best Lu'au on the island: Smith's Tropical Paradise
First they greeted us with necklaces and took pictures of us.
Then they gave us a trolly tour of the beautiful grounds.
There were chickens, roosters and peacocks everywhere!
Then there was the ceremony where they took the pig out of the ground.
We ate and drank.
Then in an outdoor theater we watched the show.
It was really good with all types of dances:
Polynesian
Philipino
Chinese
Japanese
Hawaiian
Really cool!
There were flames, arrows, fighting, volcanoes erupting..
Very Cool!

Kauai Vacation Day 6

On this day we drove through the Weimea Canyon on the West Side of the Island. Mark Twain calls it the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It was gorgeous! Then We went back to Poipu on the South side of the island to the Hyatt's Anara Spa for massages. It was GREAT! And boy did I need it. My arms were sore from the kayaking the day before.
For dinner we went to Kintaros.
There sushi was really good.
I would rate it the second best sushi I have ever had.
Number one, of course, goes to the sushi we had in Japan.

Kauai Vacation Day 5

On this day we kayaked 2.5 miles up the Wailua River, hiked a mile in a tropical rain forest, had lunch at a 100+ foot water fall, hiked out and kayaked back to where we started. It was dirty, la little strenuous but gorgeous and fun.