Hollenbeck Thanksgiving

We were so thankful Matt's Dad and Stepmom joined us in San Diego for Thanksgiving and a week full of exploring! We enjoyed the zoo, Safari Park, beaches, fun restaurants, shopping, Christmas decorating and so much more. Matt and I even had a night out thanks to Papa Steve and Grandma Sonya...terrace seating at George's at the La Jolla Cove overlooking the ocean and listening to the seals sing in the distance. So amazing! We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family where you are.

Pinch Me

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Sometimes I just can't believe the pure beauty of Del Mar.

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So Very Thankful

I just spent four days with two amazing ladies and friends. I am so grateful for their friendship that began long ago...Mendy and I have known one another since preschool; Kelly and I since fifth grade. These are lifelong friendships that I feel are so rare these days. Although we parted ways physically after high school attending different universities, achieving different dreams and settling down (well, sort of) at different points in this country, we have always been there for one another. From traveling to have weekends together to being support for break-ups, big job decisions and even those fun decisions of what to wear and where to eat! We take comfort in knowing that in less than two years we will all live within 3 hours of one another, instead of days. Nothing was different this weekend as we enjoyed a hike in the Torrey Pines Reserve, good food and conversation at various locales, shopping and laughing and more shopping and laughing, and sharing moments with my family. I can hardly wait to be close to these ladies and their families, and for the reality that we can get together so much more and raise our families together.  

 

 

Boo from the Beach!

 The astronaut, elephant & shark are ready!

 Blake with his friend, Mateo

 A shark tale...

 The only (and blurry) shot I got of Dane during the school parade

 Blake showing off his costume with his class

 Marching in the Halloween parade!

Off to meet up with friends for a fun-filled night of trick or treating!

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Wow! Halloween in Del Mar is one big PARTY! It started off bright and early at school with an 8:00am Halloween assembly, performance and parade. Every single child was in costume, every single teacher and administrator were in costume and the majority of the parents. It was awesome. The children were never allowed to do this in South Carolina and I found out how important it is for the kids to have this experience...so much fun! Matt was able to make it home to leave around 6:00pm to head over to a friend's house for trick or treating in their neighborhood. It was a big neighborhood extravaganza! Parties at many of the houses...all of the houses decorated better than I have ever seen with smoke machines, music, the whole nine yards. We met up with our new friends then met up with even more until there were several kids from the boys' classes and their families all trick or treating together. All of the kids had a blast and we have a ton of candy and tired kiddos on this day after Halloween. It was SO worth it and I can only hope we find friends and a neighborhood like this in Wichita.



Dane is 6!

Dane had fun celebrations, both at school (I forgot the memory card for the camera) and home, yesterday! Blair and I enjoyed taking treats to the entire class and watching them devour every morsel of their sweets. We were also able to celebrate as a family (Yay!) eating Dane's pick for dinner - pizza! - and opening gifts from family and friends. I just love the picture of Dane and Matt above. Pure joy finding out he is going to his first REAL college football game this weekend with Daddy at the big NFL Qualcomm stadium here in San Diego! Happy, happy birthday to our sweet, smart, funny, curious yet sometimes challenging little guy :)

Fall Festival!

 Future QB?

 Perhaps! Nice shot!

 Enjoying the *free* ice cream!

 Scooter board races

 The beautiful ocean view from the playground

 Enjoying the food truck yummies...fish taco and vinegar fries!

 Blake braving the rock wall...way to go!

 Dane is on the left climbing the rock wall with one of his friends and classmates

 Go Dane!

 Frisbee toss game

Blake used all his might to throw those Frisbees!

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We enjoyed the Del Mar Heights Elementary Fall Festival yesterday! As a family, even with Matt being on call. Everyone had a great time playing, eating, & socializing in the sun. It has taken a bit to adjust, but Del Mar does have a great community feel and they are committed to wonderful schools. So much fun!



Daddy's Birthday!

Today is Matt's 37th birthday, and he was able to be home to enjoy dinner and a treat with all of us. It seems obvious and simple for one's birthday, but with him being a fellow and having such a demanding schedule it's rare for all five of us to sit down together for a meal. We enjoyed chicken fajitas and homemade chocolate tacos! I wanted to do something different and special in lieu of a cake and luckily the tacos turned out great and were delish! The kids enjoyed making a card and writing their thoughts about their Daddy, which included his love of skateboarding (what?) and his birthday wish for a new x-ray book (totally unprompted). It was so fun to watch their excitement and pride when doing these things for their Daddy's birthday, and even more fun seeing Matt celebrate with all of us! Happy Birthday to a great husband, Daddy, brother, son, friend and surgeon. We love you!