Weekend In Hollister & Monterey

This past weekend we headed to Hollister for Chad's grandfather's 95th birthday.  Uncle Ted and Aunt Diane hosted a large party in Grandpa's honor in their beautiful backyard, and the entire Dryden clan was present except for one (cousin-in-law Ben is a firefighter and had to be on duty).  "Pop" is still going strong at 95 and boasts 7 grandchildren, 5 grandchildren-in-law, and 10 great grandchildren.  It was fun to see him with all of his friends, and to have another opportunity for a large family photo (our last was at his 90th birthday party in 2009).  Tess had fun playing with her cousins, and Kate was the darling of the party. 



The Dryden Family

 

We stayed night with Chad's Uncle Dave and Auntie Kim, and on Sunday we decided to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  It was a great little getaway to much cooler temps!  We enjoyed some local seafood, live music at Steinbeck Plaza, and all the marine life the aquarium had to offer.  Chad and I felt like professional parents, navigating Monterey in our double stroller, keeping after Tess, and caring for Kate as needed.  Even though I was a little stressed about everything that had to be packed and accounted for to get out of town, it seemed to go off without a hitch! 

Christmas 2013

Here are some slide shows from various Christmas-related events this Holiday season! 

First up...decorating our Christmas tree.  Since it was our first Christmas in our new house, we weren't sure exactly where we would put our tree (and where it would fit best). On Thanksgiving I managed to score a really skinny artificial tree for about $50 that I knew would work until we had some experience with our new space.  Tess had a blast helping decorate it, and true to toddler form, most of the ornaments she hung ended up on just one or two branches of the tree.  It was a joy watching her open each ornament and exclaim, "Oooh, this one's SO pretty!"

Next... our Holiday gathering with Chad's extended family, the Drydens.  The majority of the Drydens live in Hollister, and the whole clan came to Fresno for a party at Chad's parents' home.  Tess had so much fun playing with all of the cousins and it was wonderful to spend time with everyone!

 

 

Below are some pics from our Christmas Day.  Tess awoke to the special present Santa had brought her: a play kitchen!  After getting ready, we headed to Reedley for our traditional family breakfast (stuffed blueberry French toast casserole) and opening stockings and presents with the Unruh/Haas family at American Avenue.  From there we headed to River Bluff Drive, where Chad's parents Paul and Barbara joined the Unruhs and Haases for Christmas dinner.  Tess enjoyed watching Grandpa's model train circle around the Christmas tree, and listening to us sing carols around the piano.  In the early evening as we headed home, we stopped to visit Chad's parents Geoff and Toni and open a few last-minute gifts there.

 

It was an exhausting and wonderful day!  In all of the excitement and busyness, we totally neglected to take a family picture...at least not one I can find in any of my saved photos anywhere.  I'll keep looking!  Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas this year!

 

 

Some Cousins And A Pumpkin Patch

Tess and Everlee bouncing at the Fugman
Elementary school carnival.

Last weekend our cousins Greg, Jayme, Olivia, and Miles came for a weekend visit.  (Greg is Chad's first cousin...and instead of getting technical, it's just easier to call us all cousins!) We had such a fun time just catching up, eating great home-cooked food, and watching our kiddos play together.  On Saturday we went to the school carnival at Fugman Elementary (Tess's future stomping grounds) and were joined by our nieces (and MORE of Tess's cousins) Elise and Everlee, who were in town visiting Grandma and Grandpa for the weekend.  Then on Sunday, we ventured down to the Hillcrest Pumpkin Patch in Sanger.  We had a fantastic time riding the train around the property, walking through the cornfield path, and looking at all the different varieties of pumpkins on display.  After Hillcrest, we popped into Reedley for lunch before the Drydens headed back home to Simi Valley.  We're so glad they made the drive up to Fresno and we always wish we could spend more time with them!  Below are some pics from Hillcrest and a cute video of Tess and Myles on the "choo-choo train."

Happy Holidays 2012

As usual, the Haydens enjoyed a busy holiday season full of gatherings with family and friends.  I have always felt like we were light on tradition, but as I wrote this I realized just how many holiday traditions we do enjoy each year.  We are certainly blessed as we head into 2013!

December 3 - Junior League Holiday Social at Piazza Del Pane.  Below is a pic of me with the rest of the 2013-2014 Board of Directors.  Next year I take on the role of Board secretary!  This was a fun little social designed for girl time, cocktails, and a "favorite things" gift exchange.  A great way to kick off the holiday season!

I'm in the back row, second from left, in red!

December 7 - PrideStaff Christmas Party at Fort Washington Country Club.  This is our favorite holiday party every year -- PrideStaff never disappoints!  Somehow I missed getting a picture of Chad and I together, but I got a few with the girls and PLENTY with our special entertainment: Elvis!  Local Elvis impersonator Jeremy Pierce has been a regular at the PrideStaff holiday parties for at least 10 years and he never gets old (literally and figuratively)!  He's also an old debate buddy of Chad's, so it's fun to say "We knew him when...."

Sarah & Dani. Love the dress she loaned
to me...and then GAVE to me!

Elvis in the house!

December 9 - Gingerbread Houses with "the cousins."  We are really enjoying this holiday tradition that we've graciously been included in!  Each year we get together with my aunt/uncle/cousins (and their spouses/kids) to decorate graham cracker "gingerbread" houses.  It's super fun despite the fact that our structural integrity and artistic flair are devolving as the years progress.  Year one we had the standout house, year two our roof collapsed, and year three I spent so much time working on a house that would stand up that we lost precious decorating time.  OH WELL!  Although next year I'm going to suggest that we all come with our houses pre-made, blank on the outside, so that we can concentrate on eating candy decorating them to the hilt.  Here's a pic of this year's masterpiece, omplete with half-marshmallow pseudo-snow tufts on the roof.

December 14 - PrideStaff RiskManagement Department Christmas Party at Nathan and Trish's.  Since our department has gotten so big in the past year, we thought it would be fun to have our very own Christmas party.  Nathan offered to host it at his place, so we made it into a potluck.  His wife, Trish, planned out some very fun games and prizes for us and when we finished "Christmas Pictionary" we were all sore from laughing so hard.  It was a really fun night and we came home with a super plush "sherpa" throw for our couch that matches our living room perfectly.

Clockwise from top left: Nathan, Danielle B., Danielle H. (Dani),
Beverly, Me, Shirley, Maribeth, Rachel.

December 21 - Forensics Christmas Potluck at Christiana's.  How do you know you're a fantastic teacher?  When your students still want to hang out with you over the holidays and/or long after they graduate!  This has turned out to be a new holiday tradition for us -- a get-together with all of the forensics students from class of 2011 (those who graduated and also those who were on the team with those who graduated). This year instead of going out to a restaurant we had a potluck and white elephant gift exchange at the home of one of Chad's favorites, Christiana.  She's a sophomore at Duke this year.  (This is a totally separate topic, but MAN these class of 2011 kids are SMART.)  We had a great time catching up on their latest college adventures and I brought home a Mr. Potato Head for Tess!

The group, minus a few who couldn't make it.

With Christiana ~ she captioned this photo "Two people I really
look up to." Aww! She's about as great as they come!

December 23 - Holiday Open House In Hollister.  We had a last-minute opportunity to spend the Sunday before Christmas with Chad's extended family (the Drydens) in Hollister.  We enjoyed great food and great company, got to hang out with some of our favorite cousins, and Tess got to see her great aunts/uncles and great grandpa.  (On the Dryden side of the family we are up to 6 great granddaughters and 2 great grandsons!)



Here's Great Grandpa ("Pop") with 5 of his 8 great grandchildren.



 December 24 - Christmas Eve Cookie Baking.  Holiday sugar cookie making/decorating is slowly becoming an annual tradition with my Mom (Grandma Melody), and this year we got together at my house along with her sister (my Aunt Debbie) and cousin Valerie.  Tess enjoyed eating the dough and playing around with all the supplies....at one point her hands and mouth were completely red from getting into the sprinkles!

Tess wearing her first little apron and helping
press out the shapes with the cookie cutters. 

December 25 - Christmas In Reedley.  Another Christmas tradition for us is spending Christmas morning in Reedley with the Unruh parents and Uncle Dick, Aunt Debbie, and cousin Valerie.  We typically open our stocking stuffers first (all individually wrapped!) and then have breakfast before opening gifts.  Each year Valerie makes a delicous "stuffed blueberry french toast casserole" with homemade blueberry syrup.  YUM!

All dressed up for Christmas Day.

A tired Christmas Tess enjoying one of her favorite gifts.

December 28 - Christmas With The Eastons.  Our dear friends Michael and Sara Easton were in town for the holidays, and they threw a fun little holiday get together that included a variety of mutual friends we've met over the many years we've known them.  Many guests were people we hadn't seen in years so we thoroughly enjoyed catching up.  We had a delicious dinner, played "tele-pictionary" (hilarious!) and took turns sharing about 2012 highlights and 2013 hopes.  I took my camera but was having too much fun and forgot to take pictures!

December 29 - Christmas Tea At American.  Cousin Valerie just returned from about 3 months in Germany, and a few weeks ago she mentioned she was having a tea party with some of her girlfriends.  I thought it would be fun to put on a tea party, too, so we decided to have one with our mothers and picked the Saturday after Christmas to do it.  The table was set with china and serveware that is full of family history and while we ate we talked about where each piece came from and why it was special.  On the menu: salad with a variety of flavored balsamic vinegars and olive oils, homemade yellow split pea soup, homemade cranberry scones, lemon curd and clotted cream, and Christmas tea from Germany.  Tess was with us and managed to make it through the meal without breaking anything, and ate almost an entire scone by herself!

Table set for beautiful Christmas Tea.

December 29 - Christmas With The Haydens.  Chad's brother, sister-in-law, and our nieces came down for the weekend so that we could celebrate Christmas with the parents on that side.  Although I couldn't make it to breakfast at Geoff and Toni's, we did share a meal with Chris, Kristi, Elise, and Everlee at Paul and Barbara's.  Whenever we do Christmas dinner at the Villescas home we spice it up with Mexican food!  This year was delicious taco salads.  Tess got to play with her cousins and open presents with them.  It was a fun night!

Tess in her Christmas outfit from Grandma V.

The little cousins having dinner together - so cute!

December 30 - Christmas With The Suiches. Our Fullerton family made a day trip up to Clovis to share a holiday meal with us and exchange presents.  Chad and I made a delicious pot roast, mashed potatoes, green beans and garlic bread for dinner and we had an assortment of holiday goodies for dessert.  We had a quiet day around the fireplace television and enjoyed each others' company. Thank goodness for low-key holiday events, because we were approaching burnout!

December 31 - New Year's Eve With Friends.  It's been several years since we went to an actual NYE party where we could cut loose and count down with other people.  This year we marked the occasion with some dear friends made through PrideStaff, whose daughter is also Tess's favorite babysitter.  We ended up staying night at their place (all three of us) and spending a relaxing New Year's morning recovering together.

Happy New Year from the Haydens!

January 1 - New Year's Day With The Unruhs.  Each year the extended Unruh family (all 30+ of us) gets together on New Year's Day to eat up the last of the holiday goodies and do a name-draw gift exchange.  We started doing this many, many years ago when we got too big to get together on Christmas Eve/Christmas day due to other family commitments.  It really works out well because it guarantees we all see each other and is a nice finale to the holiday season.  This year we got together at my Uncle Dave and Aunt Gloria's new home in Sunnyside, and every single family member was present (a rarity!).  We managed to get a group picture without too much trouble, but we're so big now that it's hard to get time with everyone in just a couple of hours.  Even so, it's a wonderful way to start the new year.

This is ALL OF US!  Wow.  Shocking we fit into one pic, and we didn't have to use the wide-angle lens!

Tess has a thing for hats...so cute!

Fall Weekend Getaway

This past weekend we enjoyed a wonderful getaway.  The excuse was for our annual holiday get-together with Chad's extended family, the Drydens, which was hosted in Hollister on Saturday by his Uncle Dave and Auntie Kim.  We decided to extend the trip, with the help of "Grandma" (Chad's mom), who volunteered to watch Tess for us.  So on Friday, Chad and I were able to get away to the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa for a relaxing night and morning to ourselves.  We had a fun time sleeping in, having a leisurely breakfast, and walking Cannery Row.  I bought a copy of Steinbeck's book Cannery Row from the souvenir shop that was the original "Lee Chong's Market" in the book and have been enjoying reading it.  From there we traveled to Hollister for our family celebration, which included pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating for the kiddos, and a delicious meal.  On Sunday we (Chad, his mom, and myself) took Tess to Gilroy Gardens (her second trip there!) so that we could see what all their Halloween decorations and festivities were about. 

 

We came home late Sunday night, tired from a busy weekend but feeling mentally refreshed from our short trip!  Click on the photo below to link to our album of pictures. 

Baby's First Christmas

Our Christmas this year was quite extended, which is to be expected, I guess, when you have an adorable "first Christmas" baby to show off! We spent five straight days celebrating with family, the good news being that we were able to spend each day in one place. The pics below are from Christmas morning and were taken at my aunt and uncle's place in Reedley.

One of our first "family" Christmas photos

 

Tess in her Christmas finery ~ one of her two special "first Christmas" dresses.

On Friday, December 23rd we drove over to Hollister for a Christmas gathering with Chad's extended family.  His Uncle Ted and Aunt Diane hosted, with a special appearance from Santa Claus. It was great to see everyone and take pictures of all the great-granddaughters together.  (Yes, all 6 great-grandchildren are GIRLS!) This was also Tess's first time meeting her extended Dryden family.  We had a great night!



Five of the six great-granddaughters (Everlee was missing)

Tess with Santa (aka Uncle Ted)

On Saturday (Christmas Eve), the Suich family (Ron, Meg & Uncle Richard) and my Uncle Dan all came up for a visit and present exchange.  It was one of those relaxing days where we all hung out at home in comfy clothes, and so Tess didn't get a special outfit OR much camera time!

We spent Christmas Day in Reedley.  It started with a wonderful breakfast (our traditional stuffed blueberry French toast casserole ~ thanks, Valerie!), church at Reedley MB with the family, and then presents and Christmas dinner at American Avenue (my aunt & uncle's place). 

The day after Christmas, Chris, Kristi and the girls (Elise & Everlee) came down from Modesto and we spent the day at Paul and Barbara's.  We also arranged for Kimi-G Photography (who did my maternity photos and Tess's newborn photos) to come out and take portraits of the girls (Elise, Everlee, and Tess) in their matching Christmas dresses. 

On Tuesday the 27th we went over to Geoff and Toni's (along with Chris, Kristi, Elise & Everlee) for a belated Christmas celebration with Tess's Great Grandma Vida and Toni's family (Michelle & Kevin, kids Toby & Kyra, and Melissa and daughter MiKayla).  It was really special to have Grandma Vida there and get pictures of her with Tess. 

By Tuesday night we were exhausted and I was coming down with a cold that lingered for most of the week!  It was great that Chad was still on vacation so that we could relax and recover together.  On Friday we got to see our friends Brian and Colette (visiting from San Diego) and on Saturday our friend Susanna (visiting from Israel) came over for a visit.  SO many people got to meet Tess over the holidays, and we had a great time showing off our precious girl!

Below are some pics of the various festivities.  The formal pics from Kimi-G Photography will be posted as soon as I have them!

Happy 5th Birthday, Elise!

Today we drove up to Modesto for Elise's 5th birthday party, which was themed "Under the Sea" (and of course included Disney princess Ariel). We had a lovely time enjoying the sunshine, eating yummy food, and catching up with family while the kiddos swam and played games and jumped in the bouncehouse. It was a great party, and much more low-key than last year's extravaganza. And this year we had the blessing of having our niece #2, little Everlee Joy, with us for the festivities. I've got to hand it to Chris and Kristi -- they really and truly know how to throw kids' birthday parties!

Memorial Day Weekend In Tahoe

Well, this is a first, and I blame it on my pregnant brain! In the process of trying to download pics from the camera and upload the photo album for this post, I accidentally deleted all the photos from this trip. And yes, they were taken with my brand new camera and yes they were good! Nice. At least I had a few measly pics from the weekend on my iPhone! I will try to borrow and add pics from the others who were snapping away with me all weekend...in the meantime, my meager photo offering is below. And now begins the post!

Over Memorial Day weekend we traveled up to Lake Tahoe to spend time with "the cousins" on Chad's side of the family (the Dryden side). Grandpa ("Pop") has a house at Northstar and for 15 years it's been a fun place for the family to get away to. This time it was just us youngun's! There were four couples and five kiddos (all girls, all age 5 and under).

One unexpected guest for the weekend was SNOW -- and lots of it! We spent much of the time indoors, talking, eating, or playing games and enjoying a fire. On Saturday some of us ventured into downtown Truckee for some shopping and eating, and on Sunday the whole group took a short trip to the Village at Northstar to see if there was anything exciting going on....nope. Just lots of snow!

Turns out, for me, it was a great weekend to just relax and enjoy being around people I really like, and watch the little ones play together. And of course I am always thrilled to see my beautiful nieces, Elise and Everlee.

The photos taken with my phone, and a few "borrowed" from Facebook...

L to R: Chad & Sarah; Kristi, Chris, Everlee & Elise; Dan, Sarah & Lindsey (their other daughter, Lauren, is standing next to Elise); Jayme, Greg & Olivia.

Road Trip!

Heading to Northstar at Tahoe for a "Cousins Weekend" with Chad's family. Hope to catch up on the blog while we are there!

What a handsome chauffeur!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Dryden Family Christmas -- In April!

On April 30th we had a "Dryden Family Reunion" at Paul and Barbara's house here in Fresno. This gathering was in lieu of a large family Christmas get-together, since we are all so busy around the holidays. We had two new babies to celebrate -- Lindsey Dryden (6 months old, the daughter of Chad's cousin Dan and his wife, Sarah) and Everlee Hayden (our gorgeous new niece!). It was also the first time Chad and I met Olivia Dryden, who is now 14 months old (the daughter of Chad's cousin Dan and his wife, Jayme). The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed a delicious meal outdoors. Chad's Auntie Diane also surprised the new and expecting mothers with some fun baby girl outfits.

Our baby girl will be the 6th great granddaughter on the Dryden side of the family. We were willing to contribute a boy but it just didn't happen...so we're waiting to see which of the grandkids (Chad's cousins) will finally have a little guy to carry on the family names!

Congrats To Jenna & Ben!

This past weekend we traveled to Hollister for the wedding of Chad's cousin, Jenna Dryden, to Ben Keller. The event was held at the lovely Paicines Ranch, and pretty much the entire Dryden clan was in attendance. We had fun hanging out with the family, dancing and enjoying brownies & ice cream as our "wedding cake."

Jenna & Ben recently moved to Kodiak Island, Alaska, where Ben accepted a job working with the Coast Guard and local fire department. We're enjoying their updates and pictures of the beautiful Alaskan landscape!

Also present at the wedding was the world's most adorable niece (Elise Mae Hayden, age 3). THIS is what precious looks like!

Fun Family Weekend!

Yesterday we traveled to Hollister, CA to celebrate Chad's Grandpa's 90th birthday. His Uncle Dave and Aunt Kim opened their home to more than 60 guests who came to share their good wishes with the birthday boy! It was fun to see all of Chad's extended family (and of course that adorable little niece of ours!). Kim had also arranged for a professional photographer to take a family picture, so it was nice that absolutely every last niece/nephew/cousin was there. It also provided a good opportunity for individual family pictures.... we're hoping we got a good 10th anniversary photo in there somewhere! Chad's cousin Jenna (the one cutting the birthday cake in the photo slideshow, below) also announced her engagement yesterday.... she leaves Tuesday to move to Kodiak Island in Alaska (where?!) to be with her fiance, Ben, who's in the Coast Guard program up there. Thank goodness the wedding is close to home.... we'll be back in Hollister in August to celebrate!

Memorial Day Weekend At Northstar

Thanks to the efforts of Chad's "Auntie Di" (Diane Schmidt) at our holiday gathering last year, the extended Dryden family decided to spend Memorial Day weekend together in Lake Tahoe, at "Pop's" (Grandpa's) cabin at Northstar. We packed about 15 people into the place -- bunk beds, air mattresses and all -- and enjoyed making meals together, playing games, watching movies, and just hanging out! Some of the more adventurous family members went hiking (and got rained out) while others of us ventured down to the lake for dinner at Jason's. We were bummed that our closest family members (Paul, Barbara, Chris, Kristi & Elise) couldn't make it, but it was great spending some extended, quality time with Chad's side of the family. We're looking forward to it next year in hopes that it really does become an annual tradition!