Christmas 2005

Christmas was a busy day for the Pastas' as it is for many. We started at the Pasta parents' house down in Clear Lake. They generously invited Dave, Barbara, Ted, Kathleen, and Tadd down for breakfast, present opening, and lunch.









After unwrapping great gifts and sufficiently stuffing ourselves, Ted, Kathleen, Barbara, Dave, and Tadd headed back to D&B's to get ready for dinner. As the guys worked on getting an extra table for the meal out of the garage, Barbara and Kathleen worked on dinner--beef stroganoff, spinach madeline, and stuffing along with many delicious sweets.

Nick, Heather and Elissa joined us to open presents. Dave and Nick reacted like little kids as they unwrapped the light sabers Tadd had gotten for them. Elissa didn't seem to excited about all the activity and Barley enjoyed hiding in the presents under the tree. Dan, Margie, and Joanne joined us for dinner.

Brazos Bend State Park

Barbara, Ted, and Kathleen checked out Brazos Bend State Park today. Dave, unfortunately, had to work. It was a Texas beautiful day, the kind that makes those 90 plus degree days in August worth it. Our original intent was to test out Ted and Kathleen's bird watching skills, but we ended up seeing several other species that make their homes on the ground. We saw armadillos, snakes, and many alligators. Typically, the alligators are hard to find in the winter at the park, but since it was such a nice day, many were out sunning themselves. Fortunately, they were far enough away that we didn't have to make any mad dashes to the car. Our final count was 19 alligators of varying size. We recommend checking out the park. There are several trails and a planetarium which is open on Saturday nights.

2005 Christmas Ale Tasting Party

A fun time was had by all at the Annual Christmas Ale Tasting. We had several out of towners including Denver friends Eric, Anida, and Daniel Wheatley, along with Barbara's brother Tadd and dad Ted.

As in the past, guessing the correct beers proved to be quite a challenge. In the end, Dave identified the most, four out of fifteen, and started the White Elephant gift exchange. A wide variety of interesting, one of a kind gifts were brought. A Freedom Pack, Terrorist playing cards, a Got Beer belt buckle, and a special body "improvement" fund were all up for grabs.














After the gift giving, receiving, and stealing was over, many went outside get some fresh air by the chimnea. At this point, all flammable items were up for grabs. Several candles, bottles, and other objects unfortunate enough to be near the chimnea met an untimely, fiery death.



We hope everyone has a great a time as we did and we look forward to seeing everyone back here next year for the 2006 version.

Merry Christmas everyone!

'Horns going to the Rose Bowl! Dave went to the game with Greg and J.J. We biked from the 'Hood, running the gauntlet of car dealership helium balloons on I-610. We sat in the endzone, 9 rows up. UT-70, CU-03 - and we stopped playing after 2.5 quarters. Our 2nd string QB kept making 3rd downs so we put our 3rd string in. The ceremony for the Big XII trophy was cool, and then a rep from the Rose Bowl made the invitation. The players ran around the stadium high-fiving all the fans. Quite an experience!

Barb and the girls (including a special guest appearance by Beth) spent Sat. at Dickens on the Strand and then seeing the Fantastick's. Sunday was scrapbooking day for them, light hanging for Dave.