It's a Girl!

The Essamas would like to welcome the newest addition to their family--Bella Essama! Bella was rescued from the Humane Society of Fairfax County on Sunday, July 27th. Bella is a 5 month old beagle/German Shepherd mix and she is the cutest thing ever! Her first few days she was very quiet and cowered to Hokie, the cat, but she's coming out of her shell now and enjoys howling and chasing the cat, much to Hokie's chagrin.

Bella enjoys long walks with her Mom and Dad (but not peeing during those long walks, she saves that for inside the house), having delicious treats and hates her crate.

Stay tuned for a little slideshow of Bella sleeping and being cute. For now, here is her mugshot from the Humane Society.

Caryn's Shower and Bachelorette Party

Longtime blog reader and good friend Caryn had her shower and bachelorette party this past weekend! Many of her friends came in from out of town to help her celebrate a weekend full of fun!

Saturday night was the bachelorette party which started off with a dinner at Marrakesh Palace in Dupont. Caryn did a little routine with the belly dancer, which provided us with much laughter. Then her BMs created this great game named Monogamy (based on Monopoly) which made Caryn answer questions about her life and shenanigans--it was hilarious!!! We had fun bar hopping around Midtown and Adams Morgan (see picture below).

Sunday afternoon was Caryn's shower, which I must say was so thoughtfully organized and fun! It was a traveling theme, as Caryn and Brett do a lot of together, there were different stations related to places they have been or are going, with related food. For example, there was shrimp on the barbie at the Australia station and little pigs in a blanket for NY. They even made the chair she sat in look like an airplane chair, complete with neck rest, headphones, barf bag, seatbelt and airline magazine.

She got a lot of great presents from her friends and some very meaningful ones from her family--of course she cried a lot!! A great time was had by all!

Can't wait for their big day at the end of August! They will wrap up the Essama Wedding Tour of 2008!

Jenni's Shower and Bachelorette

I'm almost caught up on everything I have been remiss in blogging about over the last month or so!

Last month, The Essamas good friend Jenni celebrated her bridal shower and bachelorette party. The shower was really nice, with a Hawaiian theme. Yummy food and a great sherbet punch was enjoyed by all.

We then headed into the city, where Jenni's good friend and BM, Christine, was able to hook us up with a nice table at the Park on 14th. We had our own table with our own security guard and waitress who served us all night long. They played great music and a great time was had by all!

Looking forward to Jenni and Michael's wedding in a couple weeks!

Fun fact: Sara and Christine set Jenni and Michael up at a happy hour at Whitlow's almost 2 years ago on Halloween b/c we thought they'd be perfect for each other! Little did we know just how right we were!!!

Happy Birthday Megs!

Happy Birthday to my only female cousin Megan (or Meggie, Megs, Meg-goozle as one of the assorted names I like to call her)! She turns 17 today and is now a senior in high school--good grief, where does the time fly? I seriously remember when she was born!!

Happy Graduation Alex!

My little brother Alex graduated from high school on June 17th in Irvine, CA. We are so proud of him and all of his achievements (all 5's on his 9 AP exams, a ridiculously high GPA, won the Science Medal given to only one senior every year). I can remember when my munchkin was a little baby and now he's all grown up.

My dad and Karen threw him a dinner celebration attended by his family and a few close friends and we surprised him with his graduation present--a 2 week trip to the Western US and all the national parks.

Alex is off to Berkeley next year! Congrats Zander!

Striking a pose

Alex, Karen, Dad and Miriam, his girlfriend

The whole gang--minus a fewAlex in front of the great memory board Karen and Dad did for Alex. On the back of it was a map and itinerary for his surprise trip!
Gratuitous shot of us at the beach

Congratulations Jacqueline and Todd!

As I try to catch up on everything that fell by the wayside in the last month or so of chaos, I would be remiss if I didn't congratulate our good friends Jacqueline and Todd on their marriage on June 14th! As she likes to say Hurricane Jacqueline came into town that day and forced the outdoor ceremony inside, but a great time was still had by all!

Fun fact: Belinga and I originally wanted to get married on this date since our anniversary is June 15 and we could continue to celebrate it that day. This was really a shameless attempt to not have to remember another anniversary date. :-)

Happy Birthday Belinga!

Happy Birthday to my husband of 3 months who turns a sprightly 33 today! We are celebrating both of our birthdays with a yummy meal at The Palm tonight, can't wait!