December Family Portrait.

This just in! Do you see what is sitting in back of us in this picture? That's right baby: its the Golden Gate Bridge!!! I was so excited to get this last family picture for December. What a year 2010 has been! This excercise in family portraits has been such a rewarding activity for me. I can not tell you how gleeful I am at taking 12 family portraits for each month of this year. A part of me is really shocked I followed through and did it. I am totally going to try to make a go of this again in 2011.

We just got home tonight from "The Great California Mission Adventure." If I can find the time, Im going to write about it tomorrow and include some pictures from our trip. Right now, however, I need a shower and a glass of wine (maybe two.) In addition to San Francisco, the Four McGarveys and my parents visited Sonoma, Morro Bay, Santa Barbara and a little town up north called Cloverdale. We did our traveling over the past few days by car. It may sound kind of crazy being kooked up in a car for that long, but we made some great memories. More later.

Happy Thursday night. :)

September Family Portrait

Better late than never....

Here is our September family portrait. Its taken me a while to post it because I didnt have it on my computer. I had to track it down. Before the Paweleks left for Madison this past September, Miranda's fiance Chris took a bunch of pictures of the family. He took this one of the four of us.

He Had The Time of His Life...

For years now, Finn has asked to have a birthday sleepover. This request began early - like in the 1st grade. When he was younger, I didnt think it was age appropriate. I imagined boys getting scared in the middle of the night and parents being hesitant about leaving their young sons. Finn never gave up hope, though. Every year he asked to have a sleepover, and every year I made excuses why it wouldn't work. On December 5th 2010, Finn turned 10 years old. It was a big birthday milestone and for the first time a birthday sleepover seemed appropriate. The time was right.

On the second Friday of December, seven boys stayed the night for Finn's birthday. Matt and I have hosted sleepovers before, but never at our house. This was our first time and we were understandably nervous. You see, we have a very small house. Logistically, we realized this sleepover would be tricky. The number of kids had to be limited because we could only fit so many kids in our house at one time. Once we figured out where the kids could sleep, the rest of the plans fell easily into place. Pizza was ordered. Rootbeer, grape, and orange soda filled the fridge. Snacks were limited to popcorn, fruit by the foot, tangerines and sugar cookies. The kids we invited were either children of good friends or boys from school that were also in Finn's cub scout troop. Since Matt is the cub scout leader, we anticipated correctly that the parents would feel comfortable with their sons spending the night. An added bonus was that Matt and I personally knew each of the boys well. There were no surprises with the guest list.

The party was loud and the noise didnt really subside until well after midnight, but that was our only discomfort. Nothing was broken - not any kids nor any home items. Only one drink was spilled and it was done on the floor by Finn . The boys played videogames, had nerf wars and conducted bey blade tournaments throughout the night. The last kid fell asleep at around 1:30am and after several nighttime checks, I fell asleep an hour or so later.

I gotta admit, I loved the entire experience. In fact, I felt like I was on a bit of a high the next morning after I was sure things turned out fine. We will definitely do this again, and maybe not even wait for a birthday to accompany it.

The best thing: Finn was in hog heaven. He was so damn happy - it was impossible for him to hide it. There is no doubt he will remember this birthday for the rest of his life. That makes me super happy.

Happy Monday.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1

On Friday November 19th Matt, the boys and I went downtown to our local movie theater and watched a 10:15am showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. It was a long time coming. The anticipation leading up this this day was intense. Not since Star Wars Episode 3 have we collectively and as a family anticipated a movie like we did this one. The kids didnt go to school that day. I kept them home so we could skip the crowds and watch the movie together. They looked so adorable in their Hogwarts uniforms. I was really kicking myself for not buying my own tie and cloak at the Halloween store when they were 50% off. Matt also played hookey from work. To be honest, he wasnt as into the festivities as the boys and I were, but I think he got caught up in the excitement anyway. Matt is the only one in our family who has not read the Harry Potter books. I havent given up hope on him, though. Heck... if I can get Seamus to read all 7 books Matt should be a breeze. I just havent focused on him yet.

Was the movie good? Heck yes it was! I was captivated the entire time. Its a BIG SCREEN type of movie - very cinematic. True to the book it had a different feel to it than the previous movies. There wasnt as much action and it had a much slower pace than its predecessors. At one point during the film, I looked over at the boys and wondered how they were liking it. They seemed into it, but I wanst sure. There is no Hogwarts in this film. I knew they liked the magical school and daydreamed about being a student there. There were no professors or students. There was no tension or intrigue between Harry and Snape. In fact, there was little interaction other than between Harry, Ron and Hermione. After the movie, I asked how they liked it and thankfully, they gushed. The four of us are hoping to go see it in the theater again.

Now the hard part comes - the wait for the last movie. Its going to be released July 2011 and in an odd way, Im grateful for the next 8 months. That last movie coming out is going to be very bittersweet.

Happy Thursday.

Me Gusta! - Handmade Hats and Scarves

I am a cold blooded person and Im not talking metaphorically. I literally feel cold a lot. Summertime is the only time of the year where I feel warm. I have had numerous tests taken at my doctor's and we think it might be due to low blood pressure. We're not sure though. Once it starts getting cold outside, I freeze in my own body. It is not uncommon for me to be seen INSIDE my house with a hat and/or a scarf on. And listen... I live in Southern California. Relatively, it doesnt get cold here. I cant imagine how frigid I would feel in places like Chicago or Buffalo or Ottawa.

Now that the weather is getting colder, I wanted to share some handmade etsy images that have caught my eye. Seeing these items makes me yearn to learn how to knit and crochet. How cool would it be to give gifts each Christmas that I have made? Dama Shan could get a blue scarf. Barry could get a navy and red scarf. Abbey could get a pink one. That would be super cool! My mom can knit and my grandma can crochet, so its kind of in my genes. ha ha I actually have a hook and yarn here in my house at this very moment. Im feeling very inspired right now. Too bad I have so much other stuff to do.

from Dendritic Headwear.

from Lainedesign

from Adornada.

from Pixiebelle

from Babes In a Blanket

from Piquinina

from Lucky In Love Designs.

from One Of Everything.
I have a hat similar to the one above but its lavender instead of blue and green. My Grandma Nena made it for me, like, 10 years ago. I wear it every single year. Doesnt it totally look like something your grandma would make. I (((heart))) it.
Happy Wednesday.

Cabrillo with Kris and Karen/October's Family Portrait

Back in early October my sisters in law, Kris and Karen, came out to visit us here in California. They were only here for a weekend, but boy was it great having them around. On an overcast Saturday we ventured off to Cabrillo National Park for a small hike and some sight seeing. This was the second time Matt, the boys and I had visited Cabrillo this year and once again, we missed the appropriate time to visit the tide pools. Apparently the tide pools are a winter exhibit. In October we were able to stick our fingers in a few anemones, but Id love to take the boys down there during low tide. I am going to make it a point to check back at Cabrillo this winter. I love me some good tide pools and Ive heard the ones at Cabrillo are the best.


While we were at Cabrillo, Kris snapped a shot of the four McGarveys for our October family portrait.

It was a good day.

November Family Portait.

I know I missed posting October and September. I have no excuse. It just didnt happen. I actually have them, I just havent posted them yet. Maybe I will do it right after this post
Here is November's. My sister Jennifer took it on Thanksgiving.

Happy Friday... oh crap. Its only Thursday! Damn this week has been long.
Happy Thursday.