A Grand Old Irish Xmas

From Xmas at Tir N...

IN THE PARLANCE OF THE LOCALS, we had great crack in Ireland over Christmas this year. Highlights included Sean's buddha curry (1 and 1/2 pounds of butter), Shamus the butcher's spiced beef, Natasha's brined turkey, Daphne's caviar, smoked salmon and champagne brunch, learning power slides on Omie Strand, seriously hurting ourselves trying to fly a kite on the same strand, Guinness at Sweeney's Pub and keeping the coal fires red as the wind blew a gale.

Thanksgiving 2007

From Turkey Day 07

ORPHAN'S THANKSGIVING '07 was one for the record books with cries of "Can I have some more please!" being heard well into the 11PM time zone. As usual all the kiddies kicked in a heap of yummy: Dave's crab bisque, the Hawkins' sausage stuffing, the Smuts' cabbage gratin, John's stinky cheeses and Jus and JJ brought the string beans and libations. By 2AM the last of the stragglers were slapping together for-the-road sandwiches and rolling their bellies out the front door.

Scary or what?

From Halloween

LEFT TO RIGHT: Um, no idea... professional wrestler?; The Little Mermaid with big tits (one of the only perks of being 12 weeks pregnant); chain saw maniac from some horror movie we can't seem to recollect; knocked up Catholic school girl; knocked up Catholic schoolgirl's boyfriend, the all American tattoo artist.

It's raining babies!

From Raining Babies

THE LAST FEW MONTHS have seen the birth of 3 beautiful, healthy little girls: top Izabela Molina (daughter of Dan and Enis), middle Tess Wiley (daughter of Lauren and Seth) and bottom Lyla Powers (daughter of Robyn and Zak). Click on the link above for pics of my visit to Philly to meet Tess back in September (picasa.com/sethwiley for more recent updates from the proud 'rents). Visit lylameadow.blogspot.com for week-by-week slide shows of Lyla. A big congratulations to all!

P.S. Our own wee Dillahunt is due to arrive mid-May next year. :)

Attack of the Axe

From The Axe Accident

Passing time at Arrowpoint Drive

From Fun at Arrowp...

On the look out for Washington wines

From WA/OR wine tour

SUPER GRANNIE!!

From Super Grannie!

SHE'S THE COOLEST GRANDMA ever, is she not?! Especially sporting her rad new shades (good riddance welder's glasses). Poor Grannie had a poor sore toe while she was here in August (and poor Tash had to nurse the nasty thing), so we didn't get to do up the town quite like we'd hoped. BUT we still managed to get in a classic NY pedicure, a shopping spree in Manhattan, some live African music in the park and a lot of good grub. Grannie's an eating machine.

The Shipleys Belong in Brooklyn

From The Shipley V...
ANN & BRIAN CRUISED into NYC at the end of July to mucho fanfare. It was absolutely fantastic to have them back in the 'hood. Kinda like they never left, really. Little Iris was such a bundle fun the whole week—clearly she felt right at home in her birth town of Brooklyn. The week went by in a flash, :( but there's titillating talk of a long term comeback in a few years. Sa-weet! (No pressure guys!) Check out more pics from their visit at www.theshipleyfamily.com.

Lookin' good, ladies!

From Bard Girls
10-YEAR BARD REUNION next year? Hells yeah! And we don't look a day over 25, right?

Return of the Smutts

From The Beach Party

Can we talk yachties?

From The Yacht Club
UM, NOT. Mike Stone's 30th birthday brought together a bunch of fun peeps out at the Manhattan Yacht Clubhouse—a double-decker barge anchored next to Ellis Island. We dragged Mark from LA (yellow T-shirt) and Joe from DC along for the ride.

Dad makes it to NYC!

From Dad's visit
IN THE BRIEF 48 HOURS Dad spent with us in NYC, he schmoozed with the locals at the Fort Greene garden party, took a lot of naps, made 2 beer runs, adopted a son, talked golf over Japanese, rode the 2 train, hoofed across the Brooklyn Bridge, checked out China town, rode the B train, took more naps, put his foot in it once, munched on beer-battered onion rings, ate "pretty good" Thai food, and met Dave, John, Suz, Lon, Wynden, Jared, Gandalf, Nicola, JJ, Zak and Robyn! Phew! Hopefully he'll visit us more often now that he's checked out the happ'nin' scene and realizes NYers are pretty cool. Great to see you, Dad. Come back soon!

6 billion and 1, Radley "Little Bruce" Hawkins!!

From Little Bruce

OUR DEAR FRIENDS THE SAGEHAWKS successfully delivered their son Little Bruce at 10:03 this morning. It was a rainy Monday here in NYC, but that didn't stop this 7 lb 5 ounce ray of sunshine from bursting his way into the world. Like a true NYer, he wasn't hanging around for anyone. He made his journey from womb to labor room in 40 minutes flat—quicker than Jeremy could get through his first cup of coffee and pour another! It was amazing to see how easily and naturally he was welcomed into Wynden and Jared's arms. No doubt they will make fantastic parents. A big congratulations to the new 'rents and their families out west! To see even more pics of the munchkin, visit sagehawks.com.

In memory of Christopher Holsapple, 1971-2007

From Chris's Wake

AS WE MOURN THE LOSS OF A FRIEND, son, brother, uncle and husband, we also find strength and comfort in the solid community of loyal and loving family and friends that still stands by us. We will miss Chris and the kindness he so enthusiastically bestowed on all those around him very much. Let us take inspiration from the lessons he taught us and continue to spread his spirit of generosity and love—and great big smiles—throughout our lives.

Ahoy there! Natasha turns 29—again!

From Tash turns 32
JEREMY ORGANIZED A FABULOUS CRUISE on the 82-foot classic clipper Shearwater, complete with hors d'oeuvres and scrumptious buttery-sweet cup cakes. Isn't he darling?! He thinks so. Watching the sun retire behind the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline twinkle on the water was well worth the chilly ride back to port. Thank goodness there were plenty of blankets and beers on board. Thanks to all the kids who sailed with us. It was a blast!