Laraway Family

Disney World Jan 2008

Anthony at swimming pool posing before plunging in frigid water!
Chas is so tough he's NEVER cold!? Well, this pool sure put that to the test.
Starks and Adam at the Fastrack ride. I love that they can climb all over these cars!
I absolutely LOVE 2 years old! It is so much fun, and sticks/long grass are always better than anything you could buy them. Life is just good!

Luke, Chas, Adam, Starks, Anthony and Jacob in front of Mission Space. :)
THOSE LIPS! This poor child is kissed all day long from everyone because of THOSE LIPS!
Daddy and Anthony on thier fifth ride on Everest Express. I think Russ' love for it has something to do with the Yeti... I didn't even make the connection with his mountain bike until Ryan brought it to my attention. So, Russ bought a sweatshirt and Yeti skull cap- to wear when he rides. How cute is that?
I just love Chas' face here. He's such a crazy little man.

We went to Disney World in Florida (I know, and Disneyland is like a 5 hour drive away here.) with our friends, the Neading family. Wow was it fun! As you can see, there were four adults- mostly- and 6 boys ages 7, 5, and 2. We hit every park, rode all of the best rides, ate lots of great food, had breakfast with Pooh and dinner at HoopDeeDoo Revue, and even swam in the pool one night! Not only are we the greatest of friends as adults, the boys are, too.
Here we are with our "crazy" pose in Downtown Disney. Good times.... Good times....
Pop came up to visit us before heading back to NJ. This was his first trip ever to Disney World, and it was so neat to share that with him. He had a blast, and he put some miles in those shoes! I'm sure he was wishing he could do it on his bike. :)
This is at Epcot the evening we went with Pop. We had come to know where the good latte vendors were in the parks. :) This was near one. Ahhh.... Disney has EVERYTHING you could want- except for a Starbucks!

Just a beautiful picture of a 2 year old embracing his heritage and joining in the creation of homemade "gravy" for Sunday dinner after Mass.... meatballs in the forefront with beef and lamb... opening the secret ingredients... can you just smell it? ... yum.

So, Anthony turned 7 on December 30th, and not too many people stick around here for the holidays. Most are transplants, so they go elsewhere to see their family. We, however, stayed and enjoyed our two weeks together! So, on his birthday, Anthony first woke up to open two huge Lego sets. We then headed out to spend the many Toys R Us gift cards from his birthday AND Christmas. He bought even MORE Legos! We came home after lunch to actually break open some sets and put them together- only after eating his birthday cake. He asked for Lemon Cheesecake?! Well, he blew out the candles and went to work.
Later, his friends, Daniel and Grace, joined him- along with Daddy and Chas- to see Walking with the Dinosaurs. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show, the drinks, the food, and each other. It was a VERY fun day, and he loved everything about it.
As you can see, Grace is a cutie, and we would be happy to maybe someday have her in our family permanently! ;) The best thing about Grace is her constant giggling. Who doesn't want to be around someone who's giggling?
And, this is Anthony blowing out candles on his Cheesecake Birthday Cake! He's wearing the hat from the store signifying it is indeed his birthday. If you tell the customer service counter it's a child's birthday, they will receive a hat, an announcement over the store that they are celebrating, and a balloon to carry around! Anything that makes them feel special is great!

Well, it was a great day, a full day, and amazing to think he's 7 already. He's 54" tall, so that helps, but he's just getting so big and mature!
(sigh)

Yea!!!! Russ got a promotion to Director at Google, so we took some of our friends with us to La Fondue in Saratoga to celebrate! It was an awesome dinner- we got the normal foods AND the wild combination with alligator, wild boar, ostrich, crocodile, buffalo, and venison. Wow... it was really incredible food and outstanding company, of course. :) We are so very thankful to have such wonderful friends here in San Jose, and we are overwhelmingly blessed.
Now, this picture... taken in front of a glowing, red poodle. Russ isnt' a big fan of how he looks, but I think he looks as handsome as ever. I actually have it on our wall next to a picture of us on our wedding day kind of in the same pose. :) Ahhhh... how cute. And, the dress is one I bought with my friend, Jackie, while we vacationed together in New Orleans last summer. Alas, I had an occassion to wear it!
We had a wonderful evening and fantastic Christmas.