Hugo's Frog Bar

Craig, my Mom and I went to Hugo's for some appetizer's and drinks. We sat at the bar and split a crab cake, goat cheese and red sauce dip with bread, salad and bread. My Dad wasn't feeling well so he stayed home, but we brought him home his own crab cake.

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving this year at our house with my parents, Bryan and Craig's good friend Jon. My Mom and I spent Wednesday cooking the side dishes. We made sweet potato casserole, frozen cranberry salad, green bean casserole and a flourless chocolate cake. Thursday we made the stuffing , cooked the turkey and made crescent rolls. I made gravy from the turkey and it turned out pretty good since that was my first time making gravy from the turkey. (I have only made gravy when I make my pork tenderloin). We bought a cooked turkey at Whole Foods so all we had to do was cook/baste it for about an hour and 45 minutes. Craig made fully loaded mashed potatoes. Jon brought a pumpkin cheesecake from Eli's cheesecakes. Bryan brought two bottles of wine. My parents bought a very pretty flower arrangement and a ton of wine. It was so nice spending time with everyone. We really missed John, Sue and Tommy, but we will see them for Christmas. I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

We only had the kids Friday - Tuesday for Thanksgiving break because we have them for Christmas this year so we decided to put up the tree a little early this year. My parents came in town on Sunday and we decorated the tree on Tuesday before we dropped off the kids. This is the first time decorating the tree in our new place. We were in a hurry so we didn't do our normal Christmas songs and hot chocolate, but we put up the tree and took a few pictures so I guess that's the important part. We still need to put up some decorations and our wreath. I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving!

Celebrating Craig's Birthday (3rd Time) at The Met Club

We celebrated Craig's birthday for the 3rd time at The Met Club, which is on the top of the Sears Tower. We also decided to take some family pictures. (We were supposed to take family pictures by a professional today, but it fell though. We bought a youswoop coupon for a photographer, but he doesn't seem to have a studio even though I talked to the photographer several times and he has a website and everything). Julia is getting her braces off next week so we will take some pictures the next time we have the kids.

Craig's 45th Birthday

We celebrated Craig's birthday at Fleming's Steakhouse with his good friend (and client) Phil. Julia and I went to Nordstroms and bought him two sets of cuff links. He's so picky that we had to send him pictures of them and told him to tell us 3-4 that he liked. We ended up getting him two that were very similar, but he really liked them. He opened up one present at dinner and the other one he will open up when we celebrate with Ethan this weekend. Craig and Phil got a steak and Julia and I shared fish. The food was really good so we will definitely go back. The waiter poured a glass of wine for Julia, but Phil took it instead. Then the waiter comped a bottle of Champagne and started to pour Julia a glass so I stopped him and asked him how old he thought she was...he said 23!! I guess it might have looked like a double date with Craig and Phil on one side and Julia and I on the other and I'm sure he didn't see her braces. Julia definitely looks older...BUT...NOT 23!! That's scary!

Happy Birthday to my Love!!

Dad's Surprise 70th Birthday Weekend - Round 4

Here are some pictures of the kids hanging out. Of course we had to get a picture of Julia and Ethan by the Moose. Tommy loves all of his cousins! They all played so well together. Julia and Ethan are great babysitters.

After the Moose we all went back to Hank's shop. I didn't want the night to end. We all had such a blast! Thanks again everyone for coming and hanging out! I know it meant the world to my Dad!

Dad's Surprise 70th Birthday Weekend - Round 3

Surprise #4:

We threw my Dad a surprise party at the Moose! He was totally surprised...he says stunned! All the family and friends were either already at the Moose or walking with him to the party. They told him they wanted to go up to the Moose for a drink and my Dad says he thought nothing of it and didn't have a clue we were already there ready to surprise him. When he walked in (top right) we all blew our noise makers and said surprise! It was so great to have (almost) everyone there (we missed several people...Dennis, Kim, Tony, Pat, Jenni and the relatives in Holland - Astrid, Herbert, Malu, Hay, Yoke, Sef, Ricki and many more). I put together some pictures of my Mom & Dad from growing up and their wedding. It was really neat seeing those pictures and everyone got a kick out of them. The kids had a lot of fun running around and Julia and Ethan were great with all the little ones.

Surprise #5:

My Mom ordered an amazing cake from Cakes by Christine and she asked my cousin Astrid from Holland how to say Happy Birthday in Dutch. I guess they actually say something like Congratulations on your 70th Birthday so that's what was written in Dutch on the cake. She even put wooden shoes on the cake. My Dad was so surprised when he saw the cake. He read it in Dutch and started tearing up. It was a very special moment. I love hearing him speak in Dutch. He was born in Holland and moved over to the US when he was 9. He has a lot of memories from being over there and I love when he tells us stories about them.

Overall it was a huge success! Everyone had a great time. Thanks to everyone who came!

Dad's Surprise Party Weekend - Round 2

Surprise #3:

My Uncle Frank, Aunt Jan, Cousin Mia and Future Cousin-in-Law Alex all flew in from New York on Saturday to surprise my Dad for his party. My Mom and I were running around town picking up last minute things (balloons, decorations, etc) so we told Bryan and John to keep him busy at home. They told him they were going to go over to Hank's to get some tools because they were fixing my parent's water heater and maybe a beer too. My Dad thought nothing of it so they all went over there (John, Sue, Bryan and Tommy). My Mom and I were already over there with my Uncle Hank, Jackie (long-time girlfriend), Frank, Jan, Mia and Alex. They had stopped by the store on the way from the airport and bought orange streamers so we decorated the place with my Dad's favorite color. They also turned their hats from Steak and Shake into birthday hats for my Dad. It was so amazing to see my Dad's face when he walked in...he was so surprised! He teared up and we all did too. A little later my Uncle John, Aunt Cindy, Cousin Neill, Cousin Stu and his girlfriend Sarah came, but Hank kind of ruined that surprise, but I'm sure he figured they were coming too. My Mom, Mia and I went to go decorate the Moose for the party. My Dad opened up some presents and read cards from everyone.

Here are the pictures from Hank's shop...

Visiting Rosie and meeting Gabby

My Mom, Sue, Tommy and I went to visit Rosie and the boys and meet the newest addition to the Lozano family...Gabby! It was so cute to see how good the boys were with Gabby. She is such a sweet, beautiful baby! Congrats, Rosie and Dan! Tommy had fun playing with the big boys. We tried to get a picture of all of them together, but as you can see that was not easy.

Dad's Surprise 70th Birthday Weekend - Round 1

My Dad turned the BIG 7-0 so I decided to throw him a surprise party in Charleston.

Surprise #1:

Thursday my brother Bryan and I took the train home and my Mom picked us up at the station. We walked in my parent's house and surprised my Dad. He had no idea we were coming so it was funny to see the look on his face when I walked in. Little did he know that he had many more surprises to come throughout the weekend. We hung out at home on Thursday and watched a movie.

Surprise #2:

Friday, John, Sue and Tommy flew in from NJ. They rang the front door so I told my Dad someone was there to see him so he better answer the front door. I had my video camera hidden and was ready to start filming. My Dad opened the door and was in total shock! He couldn't figure out how they got there. It was so special to see him answer the door and my nephew Tommy to greet him along with John and Sue. My Dad had tears and was so happy to see them. Sue was video taping from the front and I was taping from inside the house. I will post them later. Friday night Craig and the kids came into town, but I told my Dad about that because I thought he wouldn't be suspicious of anything if he thought Craig, the kids, Bryan and I were in town to celebrate his birthday a week early. We went to Pagliai's Pizza Friday night, which is of course my favorite pizza. The kids had a blast running around. Tommy was running up and down the hall keeping Tim busy.

Julia's last volleyball game

Julia played in her final game of the season and they won one game, but lost the other two so they were out of the playoffs. She had so much fun playing this season and was the star player (everyone said that - not just us;) Now she starts club volleyball and has two practices every Mon and Wed from 5:45-8pm and the games start in Jan. Congrats, Julia!