Lindsay and Ryan

Our daughter Lindsay and son-in-law Ryan O’Donahue were married today!  The ceremony was held in the Earl Miller Burns Japanese Garden on the campus of California State University, Long Beach under blue skies and beautiful weather, even though it is nearly the first day of winter!  

Lindsay was elegant, beautiful, and poised walking with her proud father. The bridesmaids wore red gowns of various styles, and the men wore black tuxedos with red accents. (there are other wedding photos on the garden’s website – none of our wedding, but you’ll see what a lovely setting it is!)  The reception afterwards was held at the El Dorado Event Center in Long Beach (operate the scroll slider beneath the picture for more images). 

Family and friends gathered with the new couple for dinner, dancing, toasts and all the traditional trimmings. I presented a slide show of photos from babyhood through engagement after dinner. What a memorable evening! 

Click to see a photo slideshow of Lindsay & Ryan’s wedding!

I first tasted these bite-sized treats when teaching in Alaska. This popular recipe appears multiple times on the internet, so I can’t credit the source! A few simple ingredients and about an hour’s time provides tasty bite-sized treats to serve, or inexpensive stocking stuffer gifts!

Ryan and Tanya carved two giant pumpkins! Enjoy! (click on the blue button)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our son Ryan and his new bride, Tanya were married August 13 at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse in San Diego. It was a lovely ceremony, and terrific to see them so happy together. The small personal gathering of family and friends was fun for all.

Ryan & Tanya

wedding cake with shells

Jan, Tanya, Ryan & Don

Tanya & Eva

Our dogs are loveable and rambunctious pests at the same time! The two larger dogs, Whiskey and Horatio came with Dan when he moved back from Reno. Duncan, the blonde cocker spaniel has been with us for 10 years. They love the activity of holidays – food, presents, great smells, people coming and going.

This year we have so much to be thankful for! I encourage you to celebrate Thanksgiving in your unique way. Share yourself with others, and adopt an “attitude of gratitude” for your blessed life!

What are your traditions for Thanksgiving? When I was a child, we would regularly have dinner with family friends. We would always have a “grown-up table” and a “kid’s table” – and the kid’s table was MUCH more fun!

This year our immediate family will thankfully celebrate with friends right here at home. Every member selects a dish or two that we’ll be in charge of preparing – and every family member spends time in the kitchen. (My goal is that Ryan, Dan and Lindsay can create their OWN family traditions one day). Sometimes it is downright crowded in there! We gather together, pray and tell what WE are most grateful for this year.

Our favorite foods? Probably the same as yours – Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes & creamed peas (these 2 dishes constitute a food group for our family!), gravy, fruit salad, assorted pies.

A new favorite recipe (introduced by our dear Tanya) is one you might like to try: Curried Pumpkin Soup. Let me know what you think! I’m going to make some this week! As you enjoy your soup, we’ll be savoring ours.

Thanksgiving in the Krentz kitchen

My friends know that I have moved regularly throughout my lifetime – our current home is my 39th! While visiting Omaha recently, I drove past our home where we lived for 6-8 years. Dad worked for the Peter Kiewitt company, and we kids were in our “formative” high school years.

Our home was a ranch style, with a large front and back yard. A couple of weeks prior to my visit, a wind storm had ravaged the Omaha area, and I believe the damaged roof on the garage was possibly due to that storm. Additionally, there is an unexpected open sunny corner in the yard, and a circular pattern of sawdust & wood chips, indicating a large tree had been removed.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS – COMMENTS POSTED FOR MANY IMAGES.

These photos are for my family to enjoy – as we took so many great photos. One of our favorite evenings was the formal night, where we all dressed up and had a lovely dinner together in the dining room. I must say that the dinners were my FAVORITE time of the cruise!

Click on any photo to see a larger view.

 

 Courtney, Jan, Kim, Dana & Shruti

 

family friend Walter Elliott & Joie

 

Joie, Jan & Don at dinner

 

Don & Jan

Courtney, Jim & Dana

   

Paul & Shruti at dinner

 

Joel & Kim at dinner 

 

Shruti at dinner

 

Kim at dinner 

 

Kiran, Aaron, Jason

 

This is the formal photo taken by the ship’s photographer.    Left to right – (front row): Kim, Courtney, Joie, Dana, Jan, Shruti  (middle row): Joel, Walt, Jim, Don, Paul, (back row): Aaron, Jason, Kiran

 

 

The first port of call was Key West, Florida. Some of our family members went on “snuba” adventures, snorkeling in the turquoise waters.

   

   

Key West feral chickens and chicken souvenirs

Don and I decided to take it easy and wander around Key West – it was a short port of call, and we’d set sail by 1pm. We walked along tree-lined streets, enjoying the flowering trees and historic homes. The air was steamy and humid. We were thankful it was early in the day!

 

Key West is famed for many things – electric carts and feral chickens, which live wild and free where ever they please. Gift shops sell Chicken souvenirs, too!

Our goal in Key West – to eat a slice of Key Lime Pie. We walked in search of the Blond Giraffe Key Lime Factory. The pie-making operation was not working that morning, so I found an Internet image to see what it WOULD have looked like!

 

 

Once our pie was eaten, we walked back and boarded the ship. It was heavenly to be back in the cool air aboard ship! It must take more than one morning to adjust to the steamy climate!

This year, my family reunion was held aboard the Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas. What a terrific experience!

All of our family members flew to Fort Lauderdale, FL. We boarded the ship on July 7, and set sail about 5 pm. It was exciting to stand at the rail of the ship’s bow as we pulled away from the pier, and hear the mighty ship’s horn!

The first order of the cruise was the lifeboat drill, as every passenger joins the crew on the deck to learn where the life boats are, and what to do in the unlikely event of evacuation. 

 

 

 

 

Of course, my sisters and I tried on our new swimsuits, sat in the SHADE and drank margaritas!

It was a great day, and the cruise had just begun!