A Farewell to 2009

As expected, we’ve spent most of the past month meeting up with friends and family at annual get-togethers and family gatherings. This has afforded us the ability to take a lot of pictures… and that means we have a lot to put here!

Kicking off December, Kori and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe we’ve been married for that long. Nanny and Auntie Kim watched the kids so that Kori and I could have a quiet dinner at Panda Inn in Pasadena, the site of our first kiss and our wedding rehearsal dinner. (Those were two different occasions. We got married fast, but not that fast!)

Keelie does enjoy a good book. I wonder where she gets that?

To bookend that weekend, we attended a gathering of LaughingPlace.com staff, contributors, and community members. We had the upper floor of a restaurant at Downtown Disney (Anaheim).

Disney Legend Bob Gurr sat with us. Here he is with another great guy, Doobie, holding up a button commemorating LaughingPlace.com’s tenth anniversary.

As you can see here, Kyle was thrilled.

Keelie had load of fun playing with LaughingPlace.com owners Doobie & Rebekah’s other joint venture, their 10-month-old son.

Seriously, they were giggling and having a great time.

Doobie publicly blamed me for nagging him into having discussion boards in the first place. A lot of friendships have been formed through them and some people are extremely passionate about them, and that’s why most of these gatherings happen.

I’m seeing the strong resemblance Kyle has to my baby pictures.

Here’s Keelie insisting on playing in the cold rain runoff pouring down from our roof.

It was straight to the warm shower after that.

And here’s Kyle in his second-favorite spot.

One day was especially busy as we drove up to Pasadena so that Keelie, Kori, and Nanny could attend Teddy Bear Tea at the Langham in Pasadena (Huntington Hotel), before returning to Anaheim and getting ready for the annual Keel Family Christmas Party.

Keelie is ready for Teddy Bear Tea! Thanks, Aunt Vicki!

Awwwwwwww…

She got to meet Santa twice that day.

And here’s Kyle, working the rooms at the Keel party.

Kyle loved being held by the ladies. And they liked holding him. And I liked them holding him.

Kyle wasn’t so sure about being held by Santa!

Keelie wasn’t so sure about dealing with Santa again.

But she enjoyed unwrapping a couple of Clifford’s friends!

We were in Pasadena again Christmas Eve to see Christmas lights, have dinner, and exchange gifts. Cousin Macon holds the youngest male in the family – the kid who displaced him from that spot.

Christmas morning, we were back at the Keel’s for breakfast and exchanging gifts. Here’s Puma and Granddaddy…

And Uncle Toby…

Later, we went back to a different destination in Pasadena – to see Grampa and Grandma Pellman, and company…. and have more good food!

Keelie had a lot of fun playing with the dogs.

And Kyle enjoyed showing Grampa Pellman all his latest tricks. “Am I teething?”

And a kiss for carrying on the Pellman name…

Okay, that’s it for now. Thanks for stopping by and reading. Let us know how you are doing and what you are up to! Thanks again to everyone who hosted us for parties and meals. You can leave a comment here, or e-mail us: KEPellman [at] yahoo [dot] com. Have a healthy, peaceful, prosperous, and Happy New Year!

Christmas Card and Letter

If you read this blog, then you know what we've been up to this year and how we're doing. But we don't want to entirely abandon the tradition of having a Christmas card and letter. So, this is our environmentally-friendly Christmas card and letter, which should work just fine, since you are here reading it.

But if you still need something in your hands, then feel free to print this out.

Click on that card to get a larger image.

And here's our Christmas Letter...

Greetings! This year has been mostly boring in the sense that there really isn’t much to say of the sort that ends up in the traditional Christmas letter. That's a good thing. Although we can't tell you about one of us graduating, or getting a promotion, or about us moving to a bigger, better house, or taking a month-long trip to some tropical island paradise... we didn't lose our home, I didn't lose my job, no major crimes were committed against us, we didn't have to file a lawsuit against anyone, none of us suffered a major illness or injury, and the dog didn't die.

The big thing this year was the birth of our son Kyle, which happened nine days after the arrival of our niece Lainey. Kyle Emerson was born August 30 at 7lbs, 7oz, 20 inches, four hours after we got to the hospital, and fifteen minutes after Kori started pushing.

Keelie (2 1/2) is still at an age where she seems to learn new things every day, so watching her grow has been a lot of fun. She is full of personality and will, and sharp as a tack.

Please keep in touch!
–Ken, for the Pellmans of Anaheim
December 2009
KEPellman [at] yahoo [dot] com

On the Passing of Roy E. Disney

It's the end of an era. Really. I explain why at LaughingPlace.com.

You will be missed, Roy!