Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to You and Yours.

Love, The Kennedys

P.S. Thank you to all our friends and family who kindly sent us Christmas cards. I love getting everyones cards & notes. Don't feel bad if you sent us one and didn't get one in return.....we did not send out them out this year, mainly because I left it to the last minute. I promise you will receive one next year.

Payback.

Story to follow soon.

Bake off.

Our friend Nicole (pictured on the right), hosted a bake off party this weekend.

I have never attended such an event.

Here is what it entailed:

• A house full of women (22 to be exact)


• Yummy food to snack on (props to Trish's spinach dip)


• Everyone brought their own ingredients and recipes


• 3 ovens being used to bake all afternoon


• The funnest white elephant gift exchange I have ever been a part of


• Me taking home pounds of baked goods, literally.

Tell me that doesn't sound amazing. Such good times....thanks Nicole! I hope you invite me next year.

Marisa.

In November, I made some decorations for my friend Marisa's baby shower. She is having a little girl. I met Marisa when I was in the singles ward in Santa Monica. She was so sweet and befriended me (I knew not one person) on my first visit to the ward. I never forgot that day.

At that point in my life, I was not as strong in the gospel. I looked at this girl who was a convert and was so nice to a perfect stranger. It reminded me of the Savior's love for each and every person. I continued to attend that ward and have not looked back since.

Later, Marisa and Jay were married on the same day, in the same temple, and just an hour apart from Jared and I. We ended up in the same family ward. Jared and Jay served in the young men's program together and became friends. We were bummed when we had to move away. It was hard for both Jared and I. However, it turned out that we ended up in Manhattan Beach, not far from Culver City and now we are still close enough to hang out with our old friends.

Marisa, if you read this, I want you to know what an example you are to me. You radiate kindness and it is always uplifting being around you. Thank you for being a friend to me. You'll never know how much I needed it. I am so excited for you to embark on this new experience in your life and know with certainty that you and Jay are going to be excellent parents. This little girl is so lucky to have you guys. We can't wait to meet her.

October Review...prepare yourself, its a long one.

I am so behind on my blogging...

I could say that I have some good excuses but, I know that there are people out there who are far more busy than I and still manage to update their blog.

So, with that being said, I will just say that I have been busy, tired, and lazy.

Let me take you back to October...

First, we celebrated Tom's (my mom's bf) birthday. Which was technically in September. Mom and Tom started the day off by going to Disneyland (so jealous). Later that evening, we gathered up most of the family and headed to Buca di Beppo for an Italian feast, literally. We all ate until we could eat no more. It was delicious. Tom opened gifts and we ate some yummy cake. As always we had fun...Happy Belated Birthday Tom!!!

Second, we celebrated Mom's birthday which is just over a week past Tom's. We decided to go to one of our families favorite Mexican restaurants in Playa Del Rey called Hacienda. We have been there many times. It's especially fun when it is someones birthday because they embarrass you by making you wear a sombrero and singing so the whole restaurant can hear. Although, we had a good time and the food did not disappoint, we waited SO LONG to be seated even though we had a reservation. A simple annoyance but, we didn't let it ruin our night.

We then went to Maren's place to have cake and ice cream. We bought a cake because I waited to the last minute and did not have time to make one. Oh well....

All and all we had a great time. Happy Super Belated Birthday Mama!

No caption needed.

We welcomed my niece Ella Michelle into the world on October 11th. She weighed 8lbs. 12oz. I went to Oroville with my Auntie Cathy and cousin Trisha to visit Ella. We all are SO excited to have a baby in family. It's the first little one on my side. I will admit, it definitely made me yearn for a little one of my own.

Jared and I went to the BYU game against SDSU. My dearest Allie got us great tickets. We also had a bunch of friends that were at the game and there happen to be plenty of open seats by us. So, we all got to sit together. It was lots of fun.

The night before Halloween, we went with a group of friends to Medieval Times. I think the last time I went there I was 10 or so. We had such a good time. Jared was a hit....he liked BOOing the other knights. You had to be there.

(sorry Fred this is the only one I had)

thankful

....to be leaving town today.

We are headed to the bay area for Thanksgiving.

Soooooo looking forward to having a mini vacation.

p.s. I am working on an "October Review" since I am so behind on blogging.

Have a GREAT Thanksgiving!!!

My heart has been so heavy this week....as my friend Garrett unexpectedly lost his father. Rick Campbell was such a kind, loving and generous man. I feel so blessed to have known him and to have spent time with him.

My heart aches for the Campbell family.

Thankfully, we believe that families are forever.

They will see him again someday.

Until then, may the Lord bless them with comfort and peace.

On our way to Costco today, Jared spotted something and yelled two words......

That's right people....a Cafe Rio is opening up, just down the street from our house! I know this is not exciting to all my friends who live in Utah and Vegas but, I crave that chicken salad and the cilantro dressing pretty often.

I am ECSTATIC!!!!

Attention: all NIE NIE readers

NIE NIE is going to be on Oprah on Wednesday, October 7th.

For those of you who have no idea who Nie Nie is click here.

Nie Nie Dialogues is a blog that I have been following for a while. Nie Nie has inspired me in so many ways. I highly suggest you tune in on Wednesday to hear her story of survival and courage.

I can't wait.

Thanks for the heads-up Lily!

The Forest Lab

My very good friend (of 15 years or so) Garrett, just launched his clothing line website.

Check it out and help support their creative business.

www.theforestlab.com

Skyy.

Yesterday, was our nephew Skyy's 6th Birthday. He lives in Florida. We were bummed when we realized that because of the time difference he would be asleep when we called. So, we didn't get a chance to wish him a happy birthday.

I have never met Skyy but, Jared had told me a lot about him and I have seen tons of pictures. They had an especially fun time in Florida before Jared and I met. Jared talks about that vacation a lot.

We love him and keep his pictures up in our home. As you can see from the pic below he is a cutie-pie. We miss him and I hope to meet him soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SKYY!!!

weddings, weddings, weddings...

We are the official wedding goers. Jared and I have been to SO MANY weddings in the past year.

I suppose we should take it as a compliment. People must love us a lot to invite us to share in their special day!

All of these weddings have been AWESOME and unique in their own way. I of course LOVE all the decor. I have come away with so many great ideas - all of which I will implement someday.

I would love to start a little celebration (weddings, birthdays, parties, baby showers etc.) design business on the side.

In fact, I may get that started sooner than later.

2 weeks ago we went to a wedding in Livermore, CA. Our friends Josh (Jared's friend of over 23 years - side note: can I just say how jealous I am that my husband has so many friends that he has known for over 20 years) and Jen got married. The wedding decor was so creative. This wedding will be in Martha Stewart Weddings, for real. The MS crew was there photographing the whole thing. Josh and Jen are two happy-go-lucky people. They are so refreshing to be around. As always we had an amazing time socializing, dancing, eating (good food) etc. Congrats!!!

Loved the pinatas filled with TONS of confetti and scratchers

Jared giving it a swing!

Loved the guest book/sign in table. It was an old desk, with stamps and pens to create your own page...love it.

The tables had individual menus printed on an envelope. Inside the envelope was your silverware and a salt/spices bag (white little bag in the pic above)

This past weekend was my co-worker, turned good friend, Ashley's wedding. Ashley has worked with me at WL for over a year and a half. She is my go-to girl for so many things. Ashley is contagious, seriously. She is so fun to be around, is down to earth and is a great Interior Designer. Can you tell that I love her? We always bounce design ideas off each other and of course we talk about lives and men (both our guys are Geminis).

Ashley and Andrew got married in Torrance, CA. They had a wonderful ceremony, I got misty eyed when she walked in. She looked amazing! After the ceremony, the festivities began at The Cheesecake Factory (she has worked there for 10 years and still does) in Redondo Beach. They had the whole top floor over looking the marina. It was gorgeous and reminded me of my marina reception. They had a photo booth for guests to take advantage of - see our pics below. Ashley and Andrew are such a cute couple and I'm so glad she wanted us there to share in their special day. CONGRATS MRS. AUSLAND!!!!

The HAPPY couple....welcome...Mr. and Mrs. Ausland!!!

I LOVED the simplicity and elegance of her flowers - all white, looked soooo good

Cutting the cake, look at Andy's face. Love it.

Photo Booth

and we're off...

to the bay area to see Josh and Jen get married!

Looking forward to good times with good friends!!

Some pictures to follow...

I will be starting a new project in a week or so.

Location: Trump Tower, New York.

Concert in the Park.

We live right next to a big park, Pollywog Park. Every weekend during the summer, they hold a concert. Two weekends ago we went for the 1st time to see a Beatles cover band. I had heard that the weekend before there were over 5,000 people to see the Neil Diamond cover singer. So, we thought it would be a good idea to go an 1-1/2 hour, just to be safe.

That was not early enough. It was PACKED! Supposedly, people come at noon and hang out all day. I heard there were over 7,500 people there.

We did find a perfect little spot under a tree where we could still see the band. It was fun to relax with the fam.

The Beatles (in neon)

Trisha and Auntie Cathy

The large crowd, this pic doesn't even do it justice

O-town Hombres.

You may be thinking to yourself....who the heck are the O-town Hombres?

Meet the O-town Hombres.

Asa, Tara (my first cousin - on my dad's side), Baby Ella (inside Tara's belly), Paul

and Auntie Karen (not pictured)

We [Auntie Cathy, Trisha, Jared, Jocey and I] went to visit them a couple weekends ago in Oroville. We had some good family fun.

• Swimming in pool without Cody (the dog). Thank you Tara.
• Potluck BBQ
• Rock n' Bowl aka Cosmic Bowling
• Good food at a Mexican restaurant and a Hamburger Joint
• Took a pontoon boat on Oroville Lake. **Favorite activity**
• Family Rock Band - family members only
• Visit to the Hatchery
• Visit to a cemetery in the mountains - a little creepy.....I did not take pics!