welcome 2010

ringing in the new year was especially fun this year....at the last minute we made plans with eric and lita for a fun fondue dinner and fireworks. we hung out at our house while the babies slept in the other room. it was cozy, relaxing and exciting. our fondue was delicious....and thanks to eric our main course of bite sized marinated steak was the best part. (well i loved the cheese app the best, hello!)

so much to be thankful for as we look behind us at 2009.....the big moments and the little ones.....sammy turned ONE with the cutest cupcake party, she learned how to float with infant survival swim lessons, tyler began a full time afternoon job teaching tennis each day, we said a sad goodbye to my brother when he moved to texas, i went back to teaching, we took samantha to OC for the first time and her first ride on an airplane, had a special spring tea party for her little girlfriends, took our first girls roadtrip, just the two of us, celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary and our first night away from sammy, downtown at the Inn of Naples, traveled to Sea World together as a family, saw a few sunsets & had cheeseburger picnics at the beach, never felt more tired from being a full time teacher/mother/wife/sister/friend, had to take Sammy to the ER on easter eve, welcomed our first and only adorable nephew, baby Rylan in April, clapped as samantha mackintosh took her first steps and learned to walk, visited the beautiful Butterfly world, celebrated three friends' weddings, and had fun at lots of playdates and birthday parties with baby friends. whew....now thats a BIG year and so many wonderful memories. i have so many family and friends who support us and encourage us and I feel thankful from the bottom of my heart. now here's to 2010.....wohooo!

took all four of us to make the fondue....thats a lot of cooks in the kitchen

sammy's favorite thing to do, give the baby a bottle

the following night she figured out how to make the new year's blower work



maybe this was the cause of his partially-ruptured eardrum that came about the next day

notice my handful of 12 grapes (it went along with 12 wishes, one of lita's colombian new year's traditions)

happy new year!!