New Year's Eve 2008

We kept it simple for New Year's. We had some food and drink at home. After a last minute invite, we stopped by to see Sachi and Pedro at their apartment. It was nice to chat with their friends as well. Then, we came back home to toast the new year. Just wonderful.
And yes, Jenelle did get her hair done. It looks fantastic!

Playstation 3 and Rock Band

Well, you might be wondering what Jenelle and I gave each other for Christmas. I gave Jenelle a necklace in a little blue box (her first gift from there), while she gave me a Playstation 3. This gift is actually something for both of us. Because of Rock Band! We love this game and love the fact we can play it together. Jenelle has been on the guitar. I have since moved to the mic from the drums. Is that surprising given my previous post? Rock on!

There it is!



You gotta love our rock personas.

Ah, the Holiday Season: Back to Littlestown

Jenelle and Chris

Here's Brooke playing a game I still don't understand.

Here's Lola (Carrie and Brooke's dog) with some well-deserved rest. Lola had a trip to the vet the night before after finding the bag of dog food. Naughty dog!

We hopped a train the day after Christmas to head back to Littlestown. As always, it was a wonderful visit. My mother-in-law gave me some awesome pajamas (wearing them right now actually). We gave her a digital camera! I met some of Jenelle's friends that I had not met like Amy and Brandon at an amazing holiday party. Speaking of holiday parties, here's footage of yours truly doing some Mary J. at his school's party.

Ah, the Holiday Season: Christmas Day in CT

The Persley/Bartis clan ventured to Meridan to visit Grandma Reggie on Christmas Day. After numerous mimosas and lots of yummy snacks, we opened some gifts. Turns out my granny was good this year as she received a cell phone from her grandson. We also found out that two of the kids received coal in their stockings for some bad behavior. (No joke!)

Pics of my wife, mom and pops, and Granny.

Ah, the Holiday Season: Christmas Eve in Park Slope

Jenelle and I spent Christmas Eve with Mark, Nell, Claudia, and Quinn. Santa delivered some wonderful presents to the kids. Claudia happily opened a mock cleaning cart that had a broom, mop, and other cleaning products. Quinn promptly attached himself to the broom. The adults consumed wine and steak. All was wonderful in the Slope!

Away from Jenelle: POCC

I had my first trip away from Jenelle since we were married. I attend the National Association of Independent School's People of Color Conference annually. It's located in different cities across the country each year and was in New Orleans for 2008. I was lucky enough to be able to do a day of service for Habitat for Humanity in the Upper 9th Ward. Working with two VCS colleagues (Chrissy and Naomi) made it not only rewarding, but fun. I even learned how to use power tools! Here are some pics from that day.


The keynote speaker at the conference was Sidney Poitier. Here he is talking about how his mother would discipline him. Just had to include this.

A Thanksgiving Treat!

Jenelle has a large family especially compared to mine. So, she's been trying to have me meet as many members as I can during our visits to Littlestown. I finally got to meet Jenelle's cousin, Becky, during our recent Thanksgiving trip. This past spring, she and Erica (who I just missed meeting. Maybe next time!) had twins. Jake and Lily are just too darn adorable. Here are some pics from our visit with them and one really cool pic they shared with us.

Couldn't resist this shot.

We met Jake first. Here he is with Becky.

I love that they play together!

Love the support of Barack! They seem genuinely excited.


We also picked up Deacon to take home to my mother-in-law's. He definitely enjoys car rides.