Christmas Winding Down

The tree is still up, and Kate's favorite neighborhood Christmas display is still lit (which we visited tonight), but we're getting ready to start putting things away this weekend. I hope she won't be too upset, and she hasn't complained that there isn't candy in the advent calendar when she remembers to look for it.

We're looking forward to a New Years Eve party, then New Years Day at my folks. I'll help setup their new DVD and Blu-Ray player, and Margaret will help setup my Mom's new sewing machine.

14 and counting...

Kevin and I celebrated our 14th anniversary yesterday! Not a big celebration, but Grandma and Papa spent some quality time with Kate so we could go to dinner. We went to Claim Jumper, and brought home a piece of 6-layer chocolate cake to share.

Even with all the bumps, we both agreed life is pretty good....

New stuff...

Life is like a box of chocolates....

Kevin (and Kate) came down with a cold, so he was unable to go to the Labor Day Regatta on Tomales Bay. His Dad did go with his brother Pat and family, and they did sail a couple of races. The points for racing matter at the end of the year, and we were joking that for once in your life you get credit for just showing up.

My sister-in-law Diane came out for a couple of days over the holiday. We had a wonderful time, and it was great to see her. She had request from others left behind to bring back stuff from Bubba Gump's, so we went up to Pier 39 on Thursday, and it was a beautiful day out - perfect day to visit San Francisco. The rest of the time we just hung around home - did a little shopping and went to an art and wine festival. It was wonderful seeing her play with Kate.

Kate is growing so quickly - she is 41" and still weighs just 30 lbs! She's back to preschool and has her favorite teach Miss Monica. She also is the only girl the class, so she gets lots of great attention (6 kids total in the class).

I am doing better after dealing with some change of life issues and anemia - it took a few weeks to get back in the groove, but I'm doing great now. I'm working on getting my jewelry business revamped and ready for the holiday season. I've also been doing lots of great knitting and also making some clothes for Kate.

Hoping you are all well.

August 09

Well, Summer has come and gone! School starts on Monday, August 24! Kate will be back at preschool 5 days a week, and mom is looking forward to recapturing her gym time! Kate is doing great and growing and maturing more every day. It has been great watching her change from a toddler to a fun little girl.

I'm back in the jewelry business, and gearing up for the holiday season. I have 2 shows currently scheduled in December, and probably will do a boutique at my house as well. My business blog is at www.mackeymade.blogspot.com.

Kevin is getting ready for the annual Labor Day regatta on Tomales Bay. I will be staying home with Kate and Farley, and my sister-in-law Diane will be visiting from Pennsylvania for a few days over that weekend.

July news...

Summer has been fun for us and also very busy. Kate is still in summer school and gets out at the end of July. Kevin has been busy with work and also TV shopping since our big TV was having problems. We've had a couple of great visits to Great America, and Kate loves it there because of the water park and the kiddie rides.

Kate just attended a friend's birthday party - isn't this a stylin' crew!!

Dancin' away..

Kate just finished a summer dance camp. The
theme was country music. Aside from loving

dancing to the music, being in a large room with
lots of mirrors was heaven for her!

So what's new...

Kate has started a new preschool with the Milpitas School District. She now goes 5 days a week for 3 hours, and will also get 5 weeks of summer school. Kate will also be taking swimming and dance classes this summer.

We just attended the annual regatta at Whiskeytown Lake (10 miles west of Redding). We had 6 days of camping and beautiful weather. Kevin finished 2nd for the Pelican sailboats. Farley had the best time of all of us, and he's a campin' dog!!

We're getting ready for Kate's 4th birthday in June. We will have a small party here for her - yesterday we picked the them - Ariel (Little Mermaid). She has become a huge Ariel fan since she was the first princess Kate met at Disneyland.

We're wondering when Kate will realize from the pictures that there were 3 different Ariels, 3 different Cinderellas, 2 Princess Auroras........ The picture above is Ariel #1, and this is Kate's first meeting with a princess.

Disneyland 2009

We just came back from Disneyland, and had a FANTASTIC time. Kate got to meet Ariel, Jasmine, Aladdin, Cinderella, Belle, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, and Lilo & Stitch (which she loves right now). We also took her to the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique, where they dress you up like a princess. Needless to say she was in fine form. Enjoy the pictures! (there are so many great pictures, more will be coming!)

Happy Easter

Grandpa telling Kate about biting the ears off of chocolate bunnies!

Wishing you a happy Easter and Spring!!

Kate had great fun coloring Easter eggs with Grandma and Mom!

HRH KJM

Kate is doing well in her Princess training!

The last part of February had the entire family getting over colds, allergies, infections, etc. We're glad to finally be healthy again!

Kevin started the sailing season with a race in Alameda. He tied for first place (not a bad way to start the season).

Kate has started a new preschool in addition to her current school, so now she has classes 5 days a week. She continues to grow and amaze us every day. Today she told daddy that she didn't want him to go to work - too cute!

I (Margaret) got a chance to go to Stitches West, a yarn trade show for yarnaholics. Too much great stuff there! I'm looking forward to delving into some new projects!

Knit this!

Margaret and her two BFFs (that's Best Friends Forever), Mary Beth and Lisa, had their second annual knitting weekend. We find a really good yarn store and then ask them where to stay nearby. This year we were in Los Gatos, and had a marvelous time. Lots of talking, eating, knitting and relaxing. Also we did our good share to help with the economic crisis. Looking forward to next year!

Super Sunday!

We had our annual Super Bowl party, and it was a rousin' good time! It was great that now Kate has friends coming over to the party, too, so we had 2 of her friends over. Lots of great food and a really good game! Turns out we ended up with a house full of Cardinal fans!

New Family Member

Pround grandmother Diane called to let me know that my niece, Debbie, gave birth to a healthy baby girl at noon ET today. Both mom and baby - Eva Ann Pester - are doing well. More details as they are known!

Birthday season!

We got through birthday season - Mary, Diane, Barbara, and Margaret!

For Kevin's mom's birthday (Barbara), we had a great dinner with the Mackey family at Skates in Berkeley on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

I turned 49 this last week, and had a wonderful birthday. I spent the day at home with Kate, and just did stuff around the house (and laundry!). Some might find that boring, but for me it was very sweet. I didn't have to go to work and spent time with my daughter (a miracle in itself). For dinner Kevin's parents met us at Claim Jumper in Fremont, where we had a very nice time.

Quiet on the Set!

Our film maker friend wanted to use our home for a set for a short he was making, so this weekend our home was a busy place! Pretty exciting! The neighbors were pretty intrigued, and we sure have alot of light aircraft flying over!!!!