The LA Drews

GeeGee and Poppee Visit

GeeGee and Poppee celebrated Christmas and New Year's Eve in San Francisco with Val, Frank and Jon. We didn't make the trek because, again, we felt it was too much for me at 7 months pregnant. We were sad to not be with Greg's family, but we were lucky enough to have GeeGee and Poppee come visit us for a few days.  

Happy New Year video from the SF Drews to the LA Drews:

 

Opening our Secret Santa gifts together, with the SF Drews, via Skype. 

             

Mrs. Drews and Greggie love The Getty Museum. There is apparently amazing gardens there...appropriate enough for a 4.5 year old to run around. Plus, there is a train ride from the parking lot to the Museum. So, they did manage to fit a trip in during the visit. Greggie and his mama viewed some art and Rowan and Poppee made some art:

         

There were other fantastic moments - a trip to the Cow's End for coffee and a walk on the Pier, Rowan to see Chipwrecked with GeeGee & Poppee while Greg and I cleaned up the Christmas decorations, lunch at In-N-Out Burger, gelato at N'ice Cream on Abbot Kinney and so much more -  but we either didn't get out the camera much OR I've lost the pictures. All I know is that Rowan had a great time and so did we. 

Thank you GeeGee and Poppee for another wonderful visit. We love y'all!

(pics taken January 2 - 6, 2012)

 

 

Venice Family Holiday Photo Shoots

We wanted to get some nice family photos for our Christmas cards this year so we headed out for some photo shoots in Venice with Parrish, Brendan (and, Evelyn in tummy), found some cool backgrounds and went to work...

I must say, I do believe I have the most beautiful boy in the world!

First, Rowan giving some love to Baby Drews, due in March:

   

(pics taken 12/8/11)

Photo Shoot Day 1:

         
       

Taken by Rowan:

     

Rowan and Ella:

(pics taken 12/10/11)

Photo Shoot Day 2:

                   

Me and Parrish with our baby bellies. Parrish s idue on February 13th and I'm due on March 16th:

 

(Pics taken 12/11/11)

Happy Thanksgiving from Temecula

We spent a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving in Temecula, CA with Greg's family. Temecula is only about 2 hours southeast of LA and is beautiful wine country. We'd never been before, but highly recommend it for a quick out-of-town getaway for LA peeps. It's beautiful. It's relaxing. There's wine. Enough said. 

This year we have so much for which to be thankful:

• a healthy, happy, beautiful, intelligent 4-year old boy who says I can call him "baby" even when he's an old man
• Greg being pretty much pain free after his back surgery a year ago
• jobs for both of us in a still very tough economy
• a cute, albeit tiny, roof over our heads 
• cancer-free and healthy parents
• a wonderful social circle of friends who keep us entertained and are so amazing and generous with our son
• a Thanksgiving holiday spent relaxing, having fun, and catching up with Greg's family
• a beautiful and healthy Baby Drews #2 on the way!

and so so much more....

Hanging out in "the Bar Room":

       

Hanging on the Balcony and Sunset:

      

Bath Time:

       

Fun in the Pool:

   

Egg Races:

     

Family Pics:

                   

(Pics taken 11/23 - 11/27/11)

 

 

Happy Halloween 2011

Rowan's been talking about his costume for this Halloween since the day after Halloween 2010! He was going to be Batman and his best friend, Charlie, was going to be Superman. He never wavered. Then, a few months ago, we were going through a magazine and he changed his mind just like that! I guess he decided Captain America was just cooler.

So, Rowan was Captain America. He decided Daddy would be Batman. And, he declared that I would be Spidergirl.

The weekend before Halloween, we found a festival at the elementary school where Rowan will go next year (assuming we don't move before then.) We thought it would be a great way to get him excited about Kindergarten and let him check out the layout of the land. We decided to get more bang for our buck (these costumes + accessories can get quite pricey) and wear costumes. Rowan was set! Greg...well, he decided that he didn't need to buy a Batman costume. He was going to pull together the best Batman costume ever from "things he already had around the house". The only thing we bought was the cape from the $.99 Store and that looked like a trash bag! Not bad for spending only $.99, but still...poor thing! 

  
  
  

(pics taken October 29, 2011)
 

To be fair, Rowan thought Greg's "White Trash Batman"costume was amazing. And, noone knew us at the elementary festival. But, wifey was feeling a little embarrassed for her (Bat)man and decided we would not show up at Rowan's pre-school Halloween party or go trick-or-treating without the proper costume. As you can see...much, much better!  And, it was really cool to see some of the younger kids interact with Greg. They really thought it was THE Batman. One little guy ran up and gave him a huge hug. Really super cute!

       
  

Oh...and, I talked Rowan into letting me go as a "Pregnant Lady!"

After trick-or-treating, we headed to the Walter residence for our annual yummy taco soup night (thanks Mel!!). So so good! Rowan, Charlie and Luke had a great time passing out candy to the trick-or-treating stragglers while watching a movie (see the candy bowl in Rowan's hands).

 

We had a fun & very happy Halloween season 2011! Wonder what costumes my boys will don next year...my bets are on the Superheros coming to life again! And, I can guarantee I won't be a "pregnant lady!"

(Pics taken Oct. 31, 2011)

 

Pumpkin Carving Sunday Funday with The Moons

After all that fun at the Pumpkin Patch, we headed over to The Moons for a Pumpkin Carving Party, complete with pumpkin decorating & carving, bobbing for apples, dinner & amazing desserts, moustaches, and a viewing of It's a Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

     
  
   
          

Thank you Izzy, JP, Lilly & Hank for such a fun, amazing Sunday Funday Night! Love you guys!

(Pics taken Oct. 23, 2011)

July 4th Weekend Was a Blast!

We headed to Solana Beach to visit with the 3 J's (Jill, Jeremy & Josie) to kick off the July 4th weekend. And, what a fun time we had - hanging & playing at the house, Hawaiian reggae biker pool party, fish tacos, tide pools, body surfing (and Jeremy's first dive into the Ocean since surgery in early May. Yay Jeremy!), Naked Cafe. All around GREAT FUN with the BEST of FRIENDS!

                     
  

(pics taken July 2 & 3, 2011)


Then, we spent 4th of July day at the pool with The (FABULOUS) Moons. For some reason, we didn't get many pics, but here are Rowan and his BFF Lilly at lunch.

  

(pics taken July 4, 2011)

What a kick-off into summer! We're blessed to have such wonderful friends with such wonderful children!

Christmas Family Fun in PA and Happy 2011!

On December 28th, we were on our way to see my family in PA and to finally meet our beautiful new nephew Ayden.  And, I was so excited for Rowan to get to spend some time with his cousins. 

I just could not get my hands on Ayden fast enough! Rowan got jealous...didn't like all my attention on the new little baby. But, he was kind enough to share Mr. Bear with him.

         

December 29: While we waiting for Rowan's cousins to arrive, we had more Ayden time and then The Tripletts and The Drews went in town for the best pizza in the world at Tony's. (ok...I admit it. I now prefer the salad pizza at Abbot's Pizza in Venice. But, before moving to CA, Tony's was my favorite pizza (and favorite cheese steak, for that matter) place of all time.)

Later that day, Tonnie, Doug and Ben, Evan and Carter arrived and Rowan couldn't have been more thrilled. Just look at the gleam in his eyes and the big smile when he's with his cousins. He just adores those boys!

               

December 30: It was cold in PA, but surprisingly, not as cold as it was in Atlanta. So, Rowan and Evan made it outside to run off some of Rowan's energy. And, then it was time to have our Yohn Christmas and open presents. Ayden slept through most of it, but I'm sure he's now enjoying those crazy harmonizing doll things (I forget the name of the doll things, but they really freaked me out! Apparently, it's all the rave for babies/toddlers these days.) 

                       

After gifts, it was time to drive over the mountains and through the woods to the Yohn Farm for a wonderful and relaxing visit with Grandma/Great Grandma (she's 93!) Uncle Jim, and Uncle Phil. And, of course to say hi to the cows!

   
     



December 31: Was another jam packed day for us! We started New Year's Eve day out with the most fun we had on our entire trip - tubing at Whitetail Ski Resort. Too bad Greggie couldn't join in the fun, but he had a great time hanging with mom & dad and Tara, Jon & Ayden and taking great pictures from the sidelines. 

   

We started off at the kiddie slope and Rowan was scared at first. But, I soon grew tired of the whining and just pushed him a couple times and then he was hooked. Uncle Jon helped with the manual labor.

      

It was against Resort policy (kids are supposed to be 5 years old to get on the big slope), but we eventually took Rowan to the big slopes to join his cousins and he had the time of his life. We all did! Just look at these smiles! This will definitely now be an annual activity for us. Thank you Nana & Pap Pap for a wonderful day of tubing!

           

After tubing, the big boys broke out the homemade Country Wine for some wine tasting. And, then we got a very special visit from my Aunt Rose Ann and Uncle Tim, who's sportin' the best Santa Claus look EVER. Of course, all the while, Greg was practicing on the new camera.

While Uncle Tim and Aunt Rose Ann were still there, my beloved Grandma (Rowan's GG) arrived for a visit. We opened more gifts, took some really nice family pics, and had our seafood extravaganza. Then, we happily and lazily watched the ball drop and brought in the new year together.

 

HAPPY 2011 everyone! We wish for a blessed, happy and peaceful year for those we love and adore! Thank you to my family for an extra special Christmas and New Year's and for making it so happy for Rowan. A special thanks to my wonderful, patient and caring nephews Ben, Evan and Carter, who were so amazing with Rowan and made him the happiest boy on earth while we were in PA! We love you all very much!

We flew back to sunny CA on Jaunary 1st. We were sad to leave our families. And, I know I asked Greg on the plane ride back if we should move back east. Probably not yet... 

Hello Atlanta. Merry Christmas. We've missed you.

We did our annual Holiday East Coast Tour again this year. Christmas just isn't Christmas without our families! We went to Atlanta first and were there on Christmas Day with the entire Drews/Escobar clan. What a fun time and we're so happy our visits overlapped.

December 23rd: After our Christmas in LA, we spent the rest of the day traveling. Rowan was perfect, except for landing when his ears were popping and hurting and he was screaming and stressing Greg and I out because we were the only people on the plane NOT sleeping. Of course, Rowan was the most energized of the group and while we were waiting for our baggage, he danced around like a crazy person entertaining the crowd..most of who thought he was just the cutest thing ever. We usually agree. 

 

December 24th: The next morning, a little rested and Rowan is ready for a full day of fun in the ATL. First up...watching a movie and snuzzling with GeeGee and Poppy. 

 

Then, off to see the Afshars! They had their Christmas that morning because they were flying out the next morning for a Mexican Christmas. We picked up Chick-a-Fil for lunch. (Greg's mom always transposes the names of things...or just makes them up. So, Chick-Fil-A is Chick-a-Fil and Costcos is Cosmos.Oh..there's plenty more, but that gives you an idea.of the fun we have with it.) , Lucky duck Rowan had a field day with all of Katie and Jackson's awesome new toys from Santa. And,Katie and Jackson were little darlings and so happy to share everything. Rowan had a blast! Greg and I had a blast catching up with Beth and Dave. We sure do miss those crazy kids and the fun times we had with them while we were in Atlanta. Oh well...at least we still get a few visits a year.

Oh..this was also the first time we got to see their new beautiful, HUGE house. It's gorgeous. And, did I mention...it's HUGE. I mean, we could fit our house in Venice in the (3-car) garage. So, jealous of all that space. Although very tempting, we wouldn't trade it for the weather and beach and lifestyle in Venice. Not yet anyway...

   

After a fun morning with the Afshar's, Poppy took us on a winter wonderland hike in Dunwoody. What a beautiful setting for a family walk on Christmas eve day.

     
            

       

Christmas Eve:

December 25th: What a packed family-filled, blessed Day!

Christmas Morning

 

Christmas Day: Nakedness, a walk in the snow, playing army men with GeeGee, rockin' out with Uncle Jon and Daddy, making cookies and seafood extravaganza.

 

December 26th: Sledding in the 1/8" of snow we got, 3-D movies, reading books with Poppy, family pics (right before Aunt Val and Uncle Frank left), and Uncle Jon and Walter.

  

 

 

Our time is Atlanta is through and we're off to PA to see my family. We had a wonderful and blessed Christmas with Greg's family. Thank you all for everything, but especially for giving our baby such a special holiday and for making him so happy. We love you all so much!

 

Ugly Sweater. Bring it!

Parrish decided she wanted to have a Holiday party this year...at our house. And, of course...why wouldn't we. My only requirement was that we had to make it an "Ugly Sweater" party to have a little fun with it. Not everyone played along, but some of us sure did look pretty uggs - in a good 'ole holiday cheer kinda way. What should be the theme next year? The Grinch or A Chritmas Story or Rudolph? What's your vote?

   

 

And, the Winner of the Ugliest Holiday Sweater contest is...Jeff Brillhart, the man who happily bought his ugly sweater in the women's dept of Walmart. Personally, I didn't think it was so bad. I think my friend Beth would love it. It does have stripes afterall.

  

Look at these amazing holiday treats that amazing Parrish threw together 5 mins before the party. I kid, I kid. It took hours upon hours...many more than I could dedicate to baking. Just look at these cookies! Although they look too good to eat, they were divine. Oh, and Sarah made her famous Wassail. We can't have a holiday without the wassail!.

    

To help spread a little holiday cheer, we asked everyone to bring an ornament for an ornament exchange. And, Mr. Handy Dandy Jonathan done gone and outdone himself by making his ornament. And, by "make", I mean he made a reindeer and sled ornament with a cork and wood and string....with his very own hands, sweat and tears. It was the talk of the party and the one ornament that everyone coveted the entire night.Not only did Staci and Jeff win the ugly sweater contest. Those lucky ducks picked the coolest homemade ornament too!  This picture doesn't do it justice. I know Jonathan posted a pic of it on Facebook, but I don't feel like searching for it right now.

Jonathan - if you are reading this - I'm still waiting for mine! And, send me a better pic please.

 

Happy Holidays Friends! Glad we could all share a fun night together.

(December 18, 2010)
 

O Christmas Tree. O Christmas Tree.

Thanksgiving's over and it's time for Christmas! Time to get our tree. We made a family trip, including Uncle Jon, to pick up a nice, big tree. We looked around for a bit and then Rowan found the perfect....the smallest...tree on the lot. He latched on and would not leave without it. He event insisted on carrying it into the house.

We got home and got right to work decorating. And then Rowan planted his very own Christmas trees. What a nice night, with just the tiniest perfect tree for giving the LA Drews the perfect amount of Christmas cheer. 

(November 30, 2010)