Tag: Faceys

Christmas 2008 at the Faceys – another perfect Christmas!

After a wonderful Christmas Eve at our house with Ed’s family, we spent Christmas at Carrie’s parents’ house, with Eric, Shirley, the Facey kids, Debbie, Taylor, and Millie coming in from Perris. As has been the case since we’ve been married, we had yet another wonderful Christmas day filled with holiday joy, great food, and quality family time – especially with the Facey kids!

We got to Larry and Mary Anne’s house a little before Eric’s family rolled in, so we went to town right away with our presents. We got so many cool things, not the least of which was our choice of a musical theater show in 2009, complete with dinner! Eric and Shirley got the same thing, so we’ll most likely make it a double date!

Here’s us with a very cool cocktail book (accompanied by what is quickly becoming a new tradition – two cool new martini glasses!):

And here’s Larry and Mary Anne with our present for Larry – a really cool Disney Christmas tree skirt. We were pleased to hear from Mary Anne that Larry had been eyeing it for the past couple of years, so we’re glad he’s now the happy owner of it!

After a wonderful Christmas Eve at our house with Ed’s family, we spent Christmas at Carrie’s parents’ house, with Eric, Shirley, the Facey kids, Debbie, Taylor, and Millie coming in from Perris. As has been the case since we’ve been married, we had yet another wonderful Christmas day filled with holiday joy, great food, and quality family time – especially with the Facey kids!

We got to Larry and Mary Anne’s house a little before Eric’s family rolled in, so we went to town right away with our presents. We got so many cool things, not the least of which was our choice of a musical theater show in 2009, complete with dinner! Eric and Shirley got the same thing, so we’ll most likely make it a double date!

Here’s us with a very cool cocktail book (accompanied by what is quickly becoming a new tradition – two cool new martini glasses!):

And here’s Larry and Mary Anne with our present for Larry – a really cool Disney Christmas tree skirt. We were pleased to hear from Mary Anne that Larry had been eyeing it for the past couple of years, so we’re glad he’s now the happy owner of it!

And then the Facey kids arrived!

Our present to the Facey kids was a weekend with us where we’ll take them to a cooking class. In the meantime, we got them these aprons, paint markers, and a Ratatouille cookbook to get them ready for the experience! We can’t wait!

We got Eric and Shirley a framed history of the Facey name. Hey, you gotta know where you’ve been to know where you’re going!

Jordan, ever working her way up to Master Magician status, got this great book of magic tricks! She took great care not to let any of us look inside the book – a magician must keep her trade a secret!

Here’s Kendall with one of her presents – a Disney cook book! Oh yes, those Facey kids are going to be master chefs in not too long…

And here’s Ella with some cute new duds:

Wow, there’s no doubt they share the same genes, huh? Look at the chin, cheeks, eyes, and eyebrows!

We have no pics of it, but Kendall is growing more and more into a lady each time we see her. She got a cellphone this Christmas! Pretty grown up, if you ask us!

Here’s Ed with the Facey kids (minus Ella)!

How cool is this? The girls (minus Ella) all got watches that look just like Auntie Carrie’s!

And the festive placesettings for dinner:

Ella’s expression here is priceless. Do you think she was having a good time?

Mikayla took this photo of us. Hmm…does she have a future as a photographer? Great pic!

Great pic of Carrie and her dad!

Ed and Mikalya!

Merry Christmas, everyone! We wish everyone a peaceful and wonderful 2009 too.

Christmas 2008!

A little bit of bragging … and a lot to be thankful for.

Because Ed is such a modest guy, I am taking the liberty of spilling the beans on a very exciting thing that happened two weeks ago. He was in Germany visiting some of his European clients … BMW, Audi, Porshe, and Volkswagon. During his meeting at Volkswagon, the one of the directors was so impressed with Ed and his extensive knowledge that he asked Ed to return to Germany this week to be a Keynote Speaker at the Global Volkswagon conference in Hamburg! It was a really big deal. Such a big deal in fact that we ALL (all = family & every friend who heard about this!) insisted that he return to Deutschland to make his presentation.

The downside? The conference was during Thanksgiving. So we made the best of it. We got together with all of our parents the weekend before an had a lovely dinner at the Facey Parents house. Afterall, there was no way my mom was going to let him go without her stuffing this year!


That’s Dad carving the duck my mom made.


Our awesome parents with Ed!

Thanksgiving Day was delicious as usual, but we definitely missed Ed. The happiest part of the day was when I got a call from Germany …

And of course … here is me with my family!

Each year, I feel like the holidays get better and better. I am so thanksful for my wonderful family & friends!

p.s. Ed’s presentation went great! He’s on his way back from Germany as I write this!

Dad’s 60th is a success!

Today we celebrated Carrie’s Dad’s 60th Birthday with a bang! He has been planning this extravaganza for a long, long time – and our family was lucky to reap the rewards of his plan! Basically, we all checked in to the Disneyland Hotel on Monday night, enjoyed a delicious dinner at The Storybook Cafe, and woke up early this a.m. to go to the park. As hotel guests, we were granted access to the park an hour earlier than the general public. Then, at 5pm, we headed over to Goofy’s Kitchen, for a buffet dinner and party with some dear friends. It was a blast. We get to spend one more night here at the hotel, and tomorrow we’ll return to the park for another complete day of fun! Lucky us.

We’re beat, so it’s off to bed for us … but check out the album for Day One of the extravaganza!*

Dad’s 60th Birthday

*11/6/08 – the album now has photos from both days. Enjoy!

This one’s for you, Dad!

We are so embarrassed at our tardiness on posting Father’s Day ’08 with the Facey’s pictures! We took Carrie’s dad down to Laguna Beach for lunch at Las Brisas. It’s a beautiful place with delicious food! So delicious in fact, that we forgot to take a lot of pictures! As you can see, between the scenery and the colorful drinks, it was easy to do …


A margarita for everybody!


Enjoying the view!


A perfect day to be in Laguna Beach!

Afterwards, we had to take them to Sprinkles – they’d never had a Sprinkles cupcake before, and that just needed to change! Mom had the Ginger-Lemon, Carrie had the Cinnamon Sugar, Ed had the Strawberry, and Dad had their famous Red Velvet!

Love ya, Dad! We didn’t forget about you!

Mmmm…mmm…Canter’s.

It’s been way too long since we’ve been to Canter’s Deli on Fairfax, but when Carrie’s mom requested lunch there for a post-Mother’s Day celebration, we were all over it. Happy belated Mother’s Day, Mom!



Fun Canter’s facts:

  • Over 4,900 lbs of Pastrami are sold per month.
  • There are 1,500 gallons of Chicken Soup made per week.
  • 4,000 Knishes are baked per week.
  • Seating capacity is 465 people.
  • Canter’s Delicatessen is 14,000 sq ft, making it one of the largest delicatessens in the country.


An homage to Canters, one of our favorite time warps: