Portuguese Mafia

And that is a whole lot of pretty.

2008 was GREAT, but 2009 will be DIVINE

Happy New Year!!!!!

St. John's Hall was the location of this years Fete. The Borges clan was in attendance for a good time to be had by all. Acoreano was the night's entertainment and there was plenty of food, drink, and dancing.
Mae and Pai treated the four of us to tickets and joined us in the celebration. They are a tremendous amount of fun. We absolutely love to be with them.

At midnight, Joe was in charge of the countdown with everyone on the dancefloor. As the chimes tolled and the ballons fell, David and I shared the last kiss of 2008 and the first of 2009. It was beyond perfect.

The last video here is the Waltz. It is a beautiful traditional dance. But it is never danced more beautifully then when danced by Art and Maria.

Griffin vs. Evans

We had a great time having everyone over for a house party to watch the UFC fights. A little food, a little hooka, a little rock band, and a lot of friends. Thanks to everyone who came.

Show me the flop!

Texas Hold 'Em nights are always fun. It always turns out to be a gathering of friends and family full of junk food, smack talk, and good times.

Merry Christmas / Feliz Natal

It was the PERFECT Christmas. We had a busy schedule, but one can never have too much to do. It was our first Christmas together and it was the perfect series of events and memories. We started the festivities with dinner in Bakersfield with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law and my sweet nephew Bodhi. It was great to be with him for his first Christmas and to have the kids at my parents' house again.

Everyone had a good time it seemed. Aunt Mary stopped by (sorry, no pic). It was great to see her again. I really do miss the family. And, of course, every moment with Ray is cherished immensely (even if he never adds us to his blog...) The kids love playing some pool (I think Antonio is a Shark...time will tell). This pic amuses me because it is a great depiction of what we lovingly refer to as Mini-Dave.

I think the following picture is my overall favorite. It is just classic. Pretty sure its going to be an enlargement on the wall soon!!!

The second half of the day was spent in bliss with the Borges clan. Again, it is sucky to be missing Colby (oh the joys of split families), but it makes the memories so special when we can get 'em. Chris' mom joined us (that was way cool) and afforded us the opportunity to get a family shot (minus Colby...ugh). Mãe cooked us another meal enjoyed by all. And a call from home in the Açores was cherished indeed. We have to draw attention to the picture of the oldest grandchild giving kisses. It is a sweet sweet sight. How can you NOT love that?

After we ate, we all opened a second round of gifts, then dug into some traditional portuguese sweets. Sarah particularly likes this picture and I am pretty sure we hear her tummy growl each time she does. LOL.

This last pic is one I have wanted for a while. I think it is a particulary good shot of mom and her two unbelievably cherished sons. She does so love them!!!

Merry Christmas all. It certainly was around here.

Feliz Aniversário

December 19th was Mama Borges' 61st birthday.

I was sick sick sick, but wanted to be there to celebrate with her. The four of us took Mom and Dad to Yosemite Ranch for drinks and a yummy dinner. Although we waited for some time, everything was delicioso! We had a fantastic time!

P.S.- Chris says this is the way Art looks at her all the time. He doesn't, but we thought it was classic that she caught the look on camera.....lol.