Meet the Cary's and Chen's

So after church on Sunday we met with Cousin Mari, Fernando, Cousin Ana and Chris. We gathered in Pasadena which seems to be the place us and the Chen's always end up at. So we walked around for a bit to entertain the

Out-Of-Towners!!

(Ana and Chris from Iowa, Mari and Fernando from Fresno)Alvarado Cousins.... No height difference.

This poor fox was so cold and hungry!

After our "Business Dinner" compliment's of the OD, My wife was sang to by the Restaurant Staff. But I think She was a bit overwhelmed by the sugar coma!!!

Stephanie's Birthday

Stephanie was treated to a surprise Tea Party with her close friends for lunch. The main event was scheduled for the evening. We where joined by our good friend Ebony to see "The Color Purple". Stephanie had not seen the movie, so the play was heart warming, sad, happy, and inspiring.

Stephanie and Ebony at Dinner


"The Color Purple" Program


Here is a picture of the stage, you can read the letters that the character "Celie" would write.
A few sentences can be so profound.. I knew this was going to be powerful!!

Christmas Day 2007

Traditions, Traditons...Let's be Spontaneous!!

My Traditions is to open gifts at midnight on Christmas Eve, My Wife's tradition is to open gift on Christmas morning! So we compromised and opened presents at 2 am.

Here are some pictures of our gift giving!

Movies!!!

Can you tell I got something I really WANTED!!!

Something SHE WANTED!

Later that morning we had the Alvarado's came over for Breakfast and to Celebrate Becky's Birthday as well.


Here is Becky and Her Cake...She did not want to Share!!! something about feeding 2 people....sure!

Who is this WACKY ELF?

Christmas Eve 2007

I am very fortunate to have a family that is filled with loved. My sister Maria was the planner and she promised a different and funner Christmas this year. Our focus is to celebrate each other and our legacy past, present and future. We had a night of great food, Singing! yes, singing..which was an experience.. Games and a gift exchange. 
Thanks to Maria for putting everything together, Mom and Dad without you none of us would be here.
Fabio, Rose, Fabito, Martin, Sue, Kevin, Katja the Game coordinator, Ralph, Sean, Devin my Secret Santa  and my Beautiful wife.

Elf Yourself!

I found this website for the holidays... It is SOOO FUNNYYYYY!!

Click on our links below:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1315451813

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1171993106

Oh Christmas Tree

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!
How are thy leaves so verdant!
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How are thy leaves so verdant!

37th Birthday Dinner

Surprise!!

My wife and my very good friends surprised me for dinner at "The Restaurant" in the Getty Museum.

I was taken by surprise as I knew that we were having dinner with Mari & Fernando, and all of the sudden there was Michael Jr, Ebony, Joe, Merisha, Kim, and Richard. I was so floored by the surprise.

My most heartfelt thanks to all of you for attending!

Thanksgiving Day 2007

Thanks to Patty & Carlos for inviting us to spend a lovely and delicious dinner with them and the Family.

The Family was kind enough to celebrate my Birthday as well! Of course, Stephanie wanted to be extra funny by switching the candles around!

Here are some funny shots of the rest of the evening.

LA Auto Show 2007

So I got up early on Thanksgiving Day, called my Brother Fabio and headed to the Auto Show. Here are some of my favorites!

Audi Driving Experience - California Speedway - Fontana, CA

Drivers drive a variety of Audi vehicles including the S5, S4,TT, A4, and Q7 on a number of tracks designed to improve your fundamental driving skills. These tracks include braking, skid control, handling and accident avoidance. Once these fundamentals are established, drivers will lap the road course at the speedway. The most improved driver will get a ride in the R8 on the racetrack. Improved understanding of vehicle handling
Improved braking and accident avoidance techniques
Learning where to look in an emergency situation
Controlling a skid
Understanding quattro and why it gives Audi a handling advantage
Understanding vehicle capabilities and limits

Another Japanese Game Show

100,000 Miles

The civic finally hit 100,000 miles!!!

1 Year Anniversary

We had the privilege to celebrate our anniversary at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica. This is the same Hotel that we stayed when we returned from our horrible honeymoon. The staff is phenomenal; We felt live VIPs for our 1 day stay. The hotel is very low key, but impressive. Lindsay had dinner the night before, and Britney stayed there earlier in the week.

We got in a bit early into our suite and had massages scheduled. Very relaxing experience.

Our view from our room at sunset!

Compliments of the Hotel..Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries!!

We had diner at The Whist.... the restaurant at the hotel, I must say the most unbelievable food.

The next morning we had a fantastic Sunday Brunch. What was pleasant is that every server knew that we were celebrating our special occasion...nice touch!

Wicked The Musical

As a wedding anniversary present I decided to take Stephanie to see a musical, and Wicked was the most recommended. I am not a fan of musicals by any means, until I saw this wonderful work...truly WONDERFUL! Stephanie was a bit apprehensive in the beginning, but by the end of the night...STANDING OVATION!

Here is a picture of the stage.

Stephanie continues to smile after the performance!

Mike & Kathy's Wedding

We had been looking for these two to finally tie the knot. Finally the day came to fruition, and to our surprise they opted to have a photobooth just like we did at our wedding a year ago.

Since we adored the idea of a photobooth, and we did not take advantage at our wedding... we decided to make up for it.

Fantasy Football Week 5

Well I finally won my first game!!! (1-4) But I am still almost at the bottom of the list....I originally signed up for another Fantasy Football League (ESPN), I did not put as much emphasis on that league when I drafted... So Far 5-0 (Undefeated) How funny is that!!

1. NH Wildmen 5-0-0
2. JIGS 5-0-0
3. SD Jawlzers! 4-1-0
4. Gentlemen of Leisure 4-1-0
5. ode to panda 3-2-0
6. K.O.'s Rat-Smashers 3-2-0
7. Puto your Cousin! 2-3-0
8. FlipModeSquad 1-4-0
9. Slammers 1-4-0
10. 3rd String 1-4-0
11. Last Round 1-4-0
12. Oompa Loompas 0-5-0

in 10th place overall, but 9th in points!!

Driving the Audi S5

Today a good friend and I decided to drop by the Audi Dealer and inquire about the S5. To our surprise, they had a demo...and they let me drive it!!!!!!
This car is better than I thought!! MUCH BETTER... The acceleration, the handling and styling...
Here are the bad news.. the car will be released next month...but most dealers will 1 to 2 cars. The next shipment will be around the February time frame... Is that crazy or what? My friend was ready to make a deal on the car, but Audi has forbidden to sell the demo cars. So my friend and I were really dissappointed...but excited at the same time.

Fantasy Football Update Week 2

Well here it is. I am ranked 9th. Have lost 1 really close, and the last game my loss was nasty!!
I am very competitive that this is killing me!! As you can see I have a losing streak :-(

Here are the league rankings!!

1. bow wow wow 2-0-0 1.000 300.84 W-2
2. NH Wildmen 2-0-0 1.000 267.54 W-2
3. JIGS 2-0-0 1.000 229.56 W-2
4. Gentlemen of Leisure 2-0-0 1.000 196.22 W-28
5. Puto your Cousin! 1-1-0 .500 253.00 L-1
6. Slammers 1-1-0 .500 228.18 W-1
7. FlipModeSquad 1-1-0 .500 227.94 L-1
8. SD Jawlzers! 1-1-0 .500 226.12 W-1
9. 3rd String 0-2-0 .000 219.20 L-22
10. K.O.'s Rat-Smashers 0-2-0 .000 197.70 L-2
11. Westbrook + trash 0-2-0 .000 163.36 L-2
12. Another Round 0-2-0 .000 151.38 L-2

9 out of 12 is AWFUL!!

Dodgers :-(

What is going on? The Dodgers Marquee says "Think Blue"! But lately the have me feeling BLUE!!! Come On Dodgers.... You are letting the season slip right by you!!!
11 Games to go and we are 5.5 games behind, and 4.5 games out of the Wild Card Race!!!

Japanese Game Show

Cirque du Soleil: Corteo

Corteo, which means "cortege" in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.

The occasion was for My mother-in-law's birthday. She was treated to a wonderful night. She claimed that it was one of the best birthday presents, she has received.

Here you have my beautiful wife being mysteryous.

Me, at the Circus

Fantasy Football

So I decided to join a fantasy football league. My nephew Kevin suggested I give it a try, so I did. The name of my team is "3rd String" why? because I was a bit hesitant to talk any smack or oversell myself. With this being said, I made my picks...(see below). As the season progresses I will update by talent in football. So Stay tuned.

Marc Bulger
(StL - QB)
Steve Smith
(Car - WR)
Hines Ward
(Pit - WR)
Larry Johnson
(KC - RB)
Fred Taylor
(Jac - RB)
Benjamin Watson
(NE - TE)
D.J. Hackett
(Sea - WR)
Isaac Bruce
(StL - WR)
Jake Delhomme
(Car - QB)
Dominic Rhodes
(Oak - RB)
Brandon Marshall
(Den - WR)
Reuben Droughns
(NYG - RB)
Marcus Pollard
(Sea - TE)
David Akers
(Phi - K)
Pittsburgh
(Pit - DEF)
St. Louis
(StL - DEF)

The Getty

We decided to play hookie on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. We headed out to The Getty. The Getty is always impressive with its rich architecture, atmosphere, friendliness, art collection, and their food...yes their food. "The Restaurant" is by reservations only, and the food was delightful. The menu changes weekly which is an interesting concept.

Here are some of our favorite shots.

There is nothing like the talent of self photography...

Vincent van Gogh: Irises

The Royal Bedrooms:

The Gardens: