At night we played poker at the front house. I played early and not very enthusiastically. I tried to gamble some Ross Dollars but it didn’t work. Finally I went all-in on a pair of twos… .. and won. Dang! I played for a while more, but was tired from the long day and went out soon. I hung around a while longer but headed up to bed at about 11:30. Dallas said he went to bed at about 1:30. I heard the poker game continued on until something like 3:30 a.m.!
Tags:chad·dallas·Hawaii·hoonani estates·kauai·limey·poipu·poker·ross·texas holdem·trent
Ed
Dallas
Trent
Quinn
Greg
Jen, Quinn, Chen-Je
Hold’Em
Don’t Ask
Chen-Je Downing an Irish Car Bomb
Champagne
Brian: “2008, Bitches!”
Jill: “I married that guy?”
Danny & Caroline
Every year (2005, 2006) we go to Jen and Chad’s house for their New Years party. We like it because a lot of our friends go, it’s casual and laid back, and there’s no battling crowds in a packed bar or paying megabucks to get into some fancy club. Also, no need to try to get a cab on the busiest cab night of the year, since Jen and Chad are only a block away.
This was Quinn’s first Christmas and New Years. I think he made it til about 8pm. Maybe next year he’ll make it to the countdown.. probably not, though!
I like the photos I took this year, although a few of them are fuzzy. I think the liquor was making my brain fuzzy and I didn’t always check all the settings. Oh well.
Tags:brian·caroline·chad·champagne·chen-je·Chicago·dallas·danny·ed·greg·irish car bomb·jen·jill·new years eve·poker·quinn·roscoe village·skill kill·texas holdem·trent
Seared Ahi :: Roscoe Village, Chicago
Getting the Champagne Ready :: Roscoe Village, Chicago
Christina, Caitlyn & Jill :: Roscoe Village, Chicago
Max, Danny, Chad & Brian Watching the Ball Drop :: Roscoe Village, Chicago
My Winnings :: Roscoe Village, Chicago
This year we went to Jen and Chad’s for New Years Eve again. Hard to pass up that party since now it’s only a block from our house and there’s no need to worry about a ride or getting a cab or anything like that. Dallas made more poke and we also seared some ahi. We ended up staying up until 4:30am and I beat all the boys to be the big Texas Hold’em winner. We were playing a cash game, which means that each chip is worth $1.
Today we went out to Jeff & Heather’s house in Schaumburg to visit with Dallas’ family. As always the food was excellent and we all ate our red beans for good luck. One last baby fix for the holiday season.
Tags:ahi·brian·caitlyn·chad·champagne·Chicago·christina·dallas·danny·heather·jeff·jen·jill·max·new years day·new years eve·poker·roscoe village·texas holdem
Toasting the New Year, Roscoe Village, Chicago
Toasting the New Year With Jill, Roscoe Village, Chicago
Drake & Cortez Call It a Night, Roscoe Village, Chicago
Even though I came in 3rd place in the Texas Hold’Em tournament AND my sweater was the color of money, I didn’t actually win any dough. Still a fun night at Jen and Chad’s.
On New Years Day we went to Jeff & Heather’s for football & food. Tons of food. The food this holiday season has been amazing, but I’m glad the holidays are over. I can get back on track. Well, after we finish all the sushi, char sui, shumai*, inari, and other leftovers that were sent home with us.
*Dallas’ Aunt Gail’s pork shumai was my favorite dish yesterday, the best shumai I’ve ever had. I’m afraid when we go out to restaurants now I’m going to think all the shumai is crap and just be like “This isn’t like Auntie Gail’s shumai!” I’m ruined forever!
Tags:Animals·Chicago·cortez·dog·drake·gail·heather·Holidays·jeff·jill·new years day·new years eve·poker·pork shumai·roscoe village·texas holdem
 Kalbi Ribs |
 Katsu Chicken |
 Mac Salad |
 White Rice, Katsu Chicken |
Dallas said the High Life in the can was an integral part of his meal.
Rachelle’s Dinner
Birthday brownies with make-do candle.
Left Right Center Dice
Left Right Center Dice
On Friday we celebrated Dallas’ birthday by inviting a bunch of people over and getting Hawaiian food catered in from Aloha Grill. We had kalbi ribs, katsu chicken, mac salad and rice. Billy, these photos are just for you!
After dinner we had brownies that Kristin made. The candle there isn’t some sort of weird Hawaiian thing, it’s the closest to birthday candles we could find in the house. Can’t have a cake without at least one candle for a birthday wish.
To work off all the food we played an epic game of Left, Right, Center. 12 people x 3 dollars/round x 3 rounds. No one could believe it pushed into a third round. Jen took home over $100 by rolling that dot at the end. Texas Hold’em was next. I went to bed at 2:30 and there were still 3 people in the game with pretty evenly distributed chips. I think it went on til like 4am, when Darren ended it by taking down Trent.
Tags:aloha grill·birthday·brownie·Chicago·dallas·darren·dice·jen·kalbi·katsu·kristin·left right center·mac salad·miller high life·north center·poker·rice·texas holdem·trent