R is for Rowan

Rowan Mila Stanley was born on October 4th.

She is our new goddaughter and we are so excited she is here! We had a recent trip to Greensboro for the holidays and we able to see her and her parents, Barrett and Joanna.

My first hat ever knitted....was for Rowan.

The Christmas Spanish Tortilla

Silent night, holy night....all is calm.......until the Spanish Tortilla (similar to an American omelette) sticks to the pan! Oh Lila....it was still delicious. Maria, take a look! HAHA!

Lila and Mango's Tree (notice beautiful paper ornaments!)

Rudy assisting Ms. Lila to unstick the stuck tortilla

That' a girl....

Estava delicios!

Night Out With The Days

The Days came to town and we had a great meal at the Last Resort. We miss them so much now that they are in Tifton, GA. Come on guys, you know you want to move back.

The Days! Mara Dare, Cal and Little Grayson Anne.

Leslie, The Days and us.

O Christmas Tree

Finally, we have our tree up! It has been cold here in GA the last few nights which is nice. We played our Charlie Brown Christmas CD and hung our favorite ornaments. It was very cool.

Some updates:

• Rudy is headed off to a funeral tomorrow for a student of his who passed away on Saturday. It came as quite the shock since Rudy had just taught him in class the previous Wednesday. Please keep he and the department in your thoughts as it has been a rough time for such a close-knit group.

• On a lighter note, it appears we will have a new neighbor moving in towards the end of this month. He came by last night and seems like a great guy! YIPPEE! After close to 8 months of the house being vacant, we are very happy to have someone move in.

• Finally, Rudy has done a preliminary interview with State University of New York @ Cortland. It appears to have gone well and we are waiting to hear as far as an in-person interview. They generally do not grant many, so cross your fingers!

The grinch is our 'angel' at the top of the tree

Kira Wishes You A Merry Christmas

We Are Family!

My Aunt Joan is turning 75 and we all headed to her surprise party on Friday, the 23rd in Corinth, NY. It was so fun getting to see all of the cousins, aunts and uncles. It has been several years since I was able to see some of these folks - and it was great. Hopefully we can get together more often.

Happy 75th Aunt Joan!

Aunt Joan and Me

My bros, their wives and kids!

Kira Cutie Pie

Kira and Olivia
watching the paparazzi

Jeff and Mom

My uncle Jimmy (center) and
his two sons Daniel and Kyle (more cousins)

Chris and my cousin Marcy

Mom and Carrie (yes, another cousin)

O and Kira playing a duet (Chopsticks?)

Me and my cousins Shannon and Marcy

Three out of the six Fenton kids: Jimmy, Joan and Mom.

Shannon and her boyfriend Ninja Joe

The Welches and their chicklet smiles

Helen and my cousin Tim

A Crazy Thanksgiving

We had a great Turkey Day. Our friends Lila & Chris came over and Garvin came from Ashevegas. Emily, Doug, Joshua, Stephanie and Rudy's parents completed the group (we missed you Rachel!). Here are the pics:

the before

the after

The prettier pictures:

Rudy's bro, Joshua and his girlfriend, Stephanie

Emily and Dad

Me and the boys

The not-so-pretty pictures:

Blue Steel Tuesday

http://www.wikihow.com/Do-the-%22Blue-Steel%22-Pose-from-Zoolander

The Avett Bros

The Avett Brothers - 11/7/07

This is one of our favorite bands right now. They are from Concord, NC and are a mixture of punk and bluegrass. Scott and Seth Avett and the bassist Bob. They are incredible live - check 'em out (videos below). Although it was a "school night" and we were out very late, it was quite worth it.

We missed you Greggy Poo and Julia Goolia!

http://www.theavettbrothers.com/site.php

Who Says You Can't Go Home?

Flight home to New York to see my family: $350

1 roundtrip train ticket to Newark Penn Station: $15.25

Seeing Bon Jovi sing "Wanted Dead or Alive" in New Jersey with 15,000 of your closest friends: priceless

11/3/07 Bon Jovi concert. They played for 10 sold-out nights @ the new prudential center in Newark. This is a fuzzy shot of JBJ and Richie Sambora.

My sister-in-law, Vicky and I.

Vicky is Jersey girl, so naturally she is a fan.

My brother Jeff, Vicky, friend Mike

and I waiting on our train

Vicky & Rosie (another Jersey girl)

Sam & Sal (AKA President of the'I wanna be the

5th member of Bon Jovi' Fan Club)

Vicky & Jeff

a fairly clear shot of the stage - check it out - Bon Jovi has gone country - they even have a fiddler (click to zoom)

fuzzy shots from the big screen of JBJ

stadium shot

Beginning shot of "Wanted Dead or Alive"

Kira Cutie Pie