UPDATE!

Okay I'm not sure what happened to November but life is just passing by at an incredible pace.

Let me recap November for you all and hopefully I can get some pictures up for Christmas before January.

November 4th started off with MacKenzie turning 20. Wow ~ no longer a teenager.

November also brought Thanksgiving - one of my very favorite holidays. It's always wonderful to reflect on all the many Blessings we have received and just how thankful we are for everything. For dinner we invited Donothan's family - including grandma, mom, uncle, sister and nephews. Our friends Garry and Claire also joined us which is always a treat! We had a great day!

December is upon us, the house is decorated, the cards are out and I'm actually enjoying this year.

My 4th grade and 6th grade teachers, Paul and Sue Remaley visited Southern California from Idaho for the first time and came for dinner Saturday night. What amazing people that have no idea the impact they had on my life.

Our next visitors are my oldest brother Stan and Merlynn who are coming down on Sunday for the Boise State Poinsettia Bowl game. They have finally converted us to Bronco fans and we are so excited to cheer four the famous Blue and Orange! GO BRONCOS! We can only hope this years game is as exciting as last years.

I will update some pictures soon - I PROMISE!

Happy Halloween!

In our family you are never too old to Trick -Or-Treat or dress up. Even Taffy gets a costume each year.





I'm so embarassed!



Strawberry Shortcake ~ Our Dalmation Doggie ~ Our sweet Bee!


Strawberry Shortcake and Huckleberry Pie (Aren't they cute?)



Our Trick-Or-Treaters for Halloween 2008 (Oops got a real live Trick-or- Treater in there)

Apple Picking

Okay even though our girls are all grown up we can still go apple picking. We had a great time last Saturday with our dear friends the Moses and the Calahans and their sweet little ones. Our girls were working and on a date.






Mike, Kim, Katie and Michael



Sean, Michelle, Avery and Morgan

I Love my Brothers!

I just returned from a week visit to Idaho to see my family. I have five brothers that have only been all together four times in the past 27 years - that is way too long to be apart from one another. It is always fun to get together and share stories of our past. The age span is twenty two years so there are many stories to share.



It was also nice to visit with our mom who turned 80 this year.





We also visited with dad who is recovering from a bad fall off a ladder last year. We are so thankful that we were all able to get together again.

Homecoming

It was bound to happen... Donothan and Hailey have been planning this year's dances even before the school year began. With the simple hope of Donothan asking her to the dance, Hailey was blown away when she came to find this little surprise waiting for her after many purposeful delays and thoughts of when he would invite her.

(Quote from Beauty and the Beast... And look, now Hailey has her own everlasting rose)

Signs leading from the front door to Hailey's bedroom told a story of homecoming, but not in the natural teenager perspective, instead it was through the eyes of a fairy-tale told long ago of a beauty and a beast that transformed into the Prince of Princess of each other's life.

T.G.I.F. Time

Lunchtime with dad is never a normal experience...

...But thanks for lunch, dad. We love you.

Idaho Here I Come

Okay so I must admit this has been a very busy year for me traveling to Idaho. When we were in Idaho in July I told everyone that I would not be back for at least a year as this was my 4th trip since January. Well I should have know better than to say that as I will be flying up there tomorrow afternoon to visit all my brothers! I am so excited to see them as it has been over five years since we were all together. For you that don't know I have five brothers from Indiana, Alaska and three in Idaho and then of course the Califonia girl. My brothers do not know I am coming so it will be a fun surprise for all of them. Also we will be spending time with my mom who just turned 80 in July.

Doug and the girls are staying home so hopefully the dog will get fed and not starve to death while I"m gone.

All the Newbry's do is eat out?

Just want you all to know that we actually ate at home this evening!  Have to admit eating out is so much better- no mess, good food and nice and relaxing!

Thanks for reading our Blog and keeping up with our family!

The Melting Pot

Another fun dinner.
At The Melting Pot, fondue truly becomes a memorable four-course dining experience where patrons can dip into something different - and discover all the ingredients for a unique dining experience including a relaxed atmosphere, private tables, attentive service, fine wines and signature fondue dinners.

Benihana Night Out

Benihana



For more than 40 years Benihana has been cooking the freshest food in the most welcoming way. They refer to it as cooking for friends. A meal at Benihana is much more than a meal. It's an experience. An extraordinary experience at that the smile of the chefs, the sizzle of the grill, the aroma of the steaks, and, of course, the unmistakable taste of the teppanyaki cooking.

First Day of Senior Year

First day of school, and with Senior year comes fun filled memories that are bound to occur and last forever. Let's go Diablos!



Schedule for the up and coming school year:
Advanced Photography
Engineering Drafting I
Economics
English IV
Photography as Art

Finally after six years no more school bus!

Monday Fun at Knott's

Well, Monday brought a trip to Knott's with Kyle, MacKenzie, Hailey, Donothan along with some of Hailey's friends. A typical day at Knott's consists of riding roller coasters that bring about head-aches, adventuring on the Sombrero Hats ride that, if done correctly, should make a person want to throw up, and eating so much junk food that by the end of the day there's no room for funnel cake. This rowdy group of middle-aged teenagers (Yes MacKenzie, you are still considered one of those), succeeded in doing all three of those. Sneak a peak at just how fun the trip to Knott's really was!

Kyle embarking on the Log Ride

Cup, but where's Bucket?

Family Fun Day Sunday!

So, I was really against posting irrelevant things about our every day life on this blog for the world to read (this is MacKenzie.. typical yes?) but i decided i should showcase my amazing family after the fun day we had on sunday! We spent the entire day (meaning after 1 since Hailey and I are dead to the world until noon!) down at the beach. We took a trip to Newport and realized the hastle of just finding a spot to park was not worth the wait, so we drove up to Huntington. We decided to eat out on the pier at Ruby's ( not smart on a windy day when your wearing a dress... DONT DO IT!), and then we enjoyed some fun music all played by different types of drums. I must say, it was just like being back in Africa.. which of course made me happy! After we took a walk and spent time together on the beach, we were ready for dinner, and let me tell you.. i had been waiting for dinner for over a week!! We went to Joes Crab Shack, and had an assortment of AMAZING crab!! Just thinking about it, is making my mouth water! After equipping mom with a crab opener and bib ( as she is not very good on her own with the crabs) dinner was the great ending to a wonderful day with the fam!!

Huntigton Beach's Sunday affairs.

Joe's Crab Shack!

(We cherish the crab!)

God Does NOT Waste a Pain!

I spent the past couple of days at the Celebrate Recovery Conference at our church since I am involved with the student ministry Life Hurts God Heals.  I have found a special place in my heart for hurting teens and one of the girls from my group gave her testimony in front of 3000 people.  This is an awesome program for Jr High and High School students and is spreading all over the US currently in churches, juvenile halls, and schools.  It was written by a female minister at our church Megan Hutchinson.  She has also written a couple of books for hurting teens.   We all know at least one teen that has struggled with LIFE!

Thanks Hailey

Hailey and her creative mind put together this Blog so we can update our family and friends to what's happening in our little family in Southern California.

Father's Day

Father's Day: Without MacKenzie for Father's day this year, the Newbry clan had to find some way to have fun without the fourth member of the family. With cinnamon buns, Belgium waffles, and coffee for breakfast, Doug, Kelly, and Hailey were ready to take off towards Oceanside for the all-day fair extravaganza!

Cinnamon Productions

At the fair, the family had a blast viewing exhibits, eating hot dogs (Yeah right), and watching race upon race of exotic animals; there were turkey races, ostrich races, chicken races, and yeah you guessed it, camel races.

After one of the funnest Father's day the Newbry family, minus MacKenzie, went home, sunburned and tired, and opened presents, thankful to have an amazing dad to celebrate for.

Shoshone Falls

Another Little Trip of Ours: Shoshone Falls, one of the wonders of the country that isn't all that publicized. At just past 212 feet, it stands higher than Niagra Falls, and even without the tourist look-out points, it is still amazing viewing the visible beauty of the falls. With MacKenzie, Hailey, Tyler, Whitney, and Katrina all together taking a peak at the thousands of gallons of water rushing through the falls, they can say that this was a memory made and not soon to be forgotten.

Trip to Hailey

That's right: smack-dab somewhere in Idaho, there's a place called Hailey. Known for its bikers, celebrity-owned bar, and even its ownership of fifty percent of the country's thrift stores, Kelly, Hailey, and Tyler felt the need to take a vacation away from theIr vacation and go sneak a peak at just what happens in the little towns of Idaho.