"My Girls"

As I sit here on Sunday morning trying to think of what to say about “My Girls” my mind spins. Why won’t the words come to me? Why can’t I say what I feel? What’s wrong with me today? These women are my very best friends and we have been through so much together. The words I want to say about them should flow and they're not and because they're not I'm now getting mad and now I know “I’m blocked” with that said I’m cutting and pasting something I wrote on Dec 2, 2006 about “My Girls” which I might add still stands true today!

What would I do without my girls????
I would be in a "Nut House" that's what..... These beautiful women are what I call "The Best of the Best". They know so much about me, I would even say they know me better than I know myself. Jennifer and I have so much dirt on each other we could plant a garden. As for all the fun we had together... I wouldn't change one minute of it! Kim and I were roommates. We have seen each other looking our very best and worst. (hangovers, bad hair days, bad men days, ect.) Bec is the one I call on a daily basis. If I'm having a bad day I call Bec. No matter what she can always make me laugh and see things different. Thanks girls for making me a better person I love you.

1992 Imagine This!

Let me give you the story behind this picture… When Noah was three he had a very, very big imagination so big that one day he came out of his room with his bike helmet on backwards, jacket and sun glasses, climbed on the exercise bike and announced with a very serious look “I’m going to grammas”……My response to that was…”I’m getting the camera”

2007 Giving Thanks for Grandparents

These five are the reason these grandparents had a swing in this yard and still do, a sandbox with toys, lots of Lego’s, dolls & doll clothes, playdough in different colors, toy cars, games, puzzles, story books, children’s movies, color books & crayons, cookies baking, cake with sprinkles, fishing trips and trips to Lego Land, Hearts Castle, and playgrounds. Reasons change as children grow but there is one thing that will never change and that’s the unconditional love these grandparents have for these five.

2005 On Her Big Day

This is my niece Meghan on her wedding day. This girl can light up a room with her positive energy and love of life not to mention her inner and outer beauty!
The beautiful wedding dress you see before you was designed and made by Meghan herself. She also designed and made all her bridesmaid and flower girl dresses.
When she was a little girl she would make paper dolls and design their clothing....can you guess what she grew-up to be?
Meghan has a degree in fashion design and her own business called Gourmet Gowns (see her website on the right of this blog) She also works part-time at a custom bridal shop in Carmel and has a vintage clothing shop on Esty called Sifted Vintage (see her website on the right of this blog)

It is this aunt’s humble opinion that she is THE BEST OF THE BEST.....I’m just sayin!

2006 The Big Game

The Hangovers vs. The Hungovers is kinda a family tradition and it’s usually played after a big family party, hence the name Hangovers and Hangovers. Although sometimes it just happens because its summertime, we're all together and its a lot of fun. We divide this motley crew in half and usually play until someone (Brent, Kevin or Glenn) hit’s one so far we can’t find it and games over. All I can say is its pretty darn fun!!!

"This Bar"

First let me give you a little history on "This Bar". It was built in 1977 by Noah and John Keith. Why was "This Bar" built you ask.... well to answer that question you would have to probe the master mind and owner of "This Bar" John Keith and I just don't have the time nor the patience for that so let's keep this on track!....Okay now that you have a little history let me give you my side of "This Bar". Growing up in this family we didn't have a lot of money although one might think we did, I mean come on we had "This Bar". My family is known for "This Bar" because "This Bar" has seen; first to ninetieth birthdays, new year's parties, Christmas parties, costume parties, going away parties, coming home parties, graduation parties, before parties, after parties, bachelor parties, bridal showers, baby showers, intervention and BBQ's just to name a few. "This Bar" does not discriminate, ask for ID or turn away anyone willing to have a good time. In closing I would just like to say I love "This Bar" because of the master mind that built it and because "This Bar" is our FAMILY TRADITION!

HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY AARON

Today my youngest son turns 16.....SIXTEEN!!! When did that happen? It was only yesterday he was learning to walk & talk and now well now he's SIXTEEN!!!! WHAT THE HECK!

Let me tell you a little about this sixteen year old; He's an A,B student (he get's A's & B's) he would ride his skateboard 24hrs a day if he could, he's an artist, he can text faster than anyone in our family, he can eat whatever he wants and not gain a pound (lucky!) he loves to hear his Grandma Donna laugh, he's a kid of few words, he taught himself to play drums, he doesn't like to clean ANYTHING except himself, he knows how to make me crazy, he's a lefty, he plays baseball for Anzar High School and he's good, he has a girlfriend named Shannon who is also his best friend, his smile is contagious and his laugh is unmistakable, he loves his brother very much even though he would never admit that, he's caring, kind and very, very loved.....

Happy Birthday Aaron....I love you more than you'll ever know!

A Little Lesson on My Family

For those of you who read this blog and don’t know my family very well I’m going to give you a little lesson. I have three siblings Terry, Gary & Mark, I'm the youngest of the four of us.

Terry is married to Tom and has two daughters from her first marriage Meghan and Erin.
Meghan is married to Dave and they have one daughter named Charlotte.
Erin is married to Brent and they have two children Sarah and Ephraim.

Gary is married to Dana and they have three children Heather (Gary's daughter), Sheri and Keivn.
Heather is married and has three boys; Sheri is working and going to school and Kevin is in the Army.

Marks divorced and has three children Jake, Dominic (step son) and Arika (step daughter) Jake is in the Navy, Dominic works and Arika works and has a son named Adrian.

2006 Girls Weekend

This picture was taken at ON THE BORDER Mexican Grill in Colorado.
My mom, sister Terry, niece Meghan and I were all there visiting my niece Erin and her family who lived in Colorado Springs at the time of this picture. We were really there to meet the newest member of our family my great niece Sarah and as you can see by this picture my mom was being her usually "Baby Hog". It's always so much fun when we all get together but I think my mom enjoys it most of all.

G Men 2009

After I got home and uploaded this picture to my computer I realized how much the boys have grown. Don't get me wrong I'm not blind I guess I just didn’t realize how much taller they are than their grandpa.

Tom and his Queen 2009

Queen: a woman who rules over a country, usually by right of birth.

"My Queen” is what my brother-in-law Tom calls my sister and it’s a name she lives up to. Ops! I mean it’s a name she deservers! But I must say he really does treat her like a Queen and she treats him like a King. When they found each other I can honestly say they won the lottery of love! I know, I know that totally sounds corny but it’s the truth! They are very, very lucky to have each other and I'm especially lucky to have them in my life.
Oh and one other note I must add, if I’m ever in ear shot of Terry talking to Tom on the phone she always ends with “I love you darlin”. My reaction to that is usually an eye roll, head shake or laugh, I mean come on darlin really??? Is that even a real word? Well to answer my own question…yes it is but the word is “darling” not “darlin”!!! ;-)

2006 Summer Fun with Family!

This picture was taken with my new (new in 2006) Rebel digital camera. The reason I remember that is because I kept trying to figure out how to set the timer also because I dropped it twice…no worries it's still working great as you can see!
We were all over at Donna & Ralph’s (Glenn’s mom and step dads) having a BBQ. It’s not too often that all of Glenn’s siblings are together. The reason being is David teacher school in Alaska so we really only get to see him in the summer. It’s always a blast when they all get together and talk about old times but I have to admit the part I enjoy the most is listening to Donna laugh it’s just contagious!
This is one fun group and I'm very lucky to be apart of this family. I must add the only people missing from this picture are my father-in-law Ralph and my brother-in-law Mike. I would have photoshoped them in but I'm really not that good....Yet!

2007 Jake

My nephew Jake graduated from Naval Boot Camp in Chicago August of 2007. My mom, sister and I attended his graduation along with Jakes maternal grandmother Joanne and his aunt Linda. We were one proud group of women! You know that old saying? “It takes a village to raise a child” well my mom and Joanne were that village. Jake wasn’t dealt the best hand when it came to parents but the unconditional love from his grandparents, aunts and uncles made up for it. Although I must admit this aunt has wanted to slap the crap out of him a few times! Jake was never the type of kid that thought the world owed him something and he’s never been afraid to work hard for what he wants, his graduations from boot camp is proof of that. Jake has lead the way for this families generation into the military with my nephew Kevin following suit. The big question now is….who will be next?

In Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I Have a Dream"

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

In the spring of 2009 we went to Tennessee to visit my sister Terry and brother-in-law Tom. On the second day of our trip they took us to Memphis to the Civil Rights Museum. I can honestly say it was the most humbling experience of my life and something I will never forget. Words can not describe what I felt seeing and reading what our fellow American went through and still sometimes do because of the color of their skin. If you’re ever in Memphis it is a must see. I was only allowed to take the picture you see here because cameras were not allowed inside. This was the actual motel where Dr. King was killed. The small bathroom window on the top of the brick building was where James Earl Ray stood, took aim and fired the gun that killed Dr. King.

1969 David & Glenn...Beam Me Up Scotty!

This is known in our family as the Dr. McCoy & Capitan Kirk picture! If you don’t know who that is ask any Star Trek fan or middle aged man!

What can I Honestly Say about these Boys?

Well…..These boys are kindhearted and VERY loved. One is organized the other is not, one is athletic other the is not, one is a musician the other might be, one is a good student the other is not, one knows how to make me crazy the other not so much, one is quiet the other is very quiet, one has curly hair one tries not to, one is a lot like his dad the other a lot like me. They both hate to clean their bathroom, empty the trash, when I say I'm counting to three, when their dad gets mad, when they have to do their own laundry (which is always) when I yell “boo” as they’re walking out of the bathroom and the thing they might just hate most of all is……. when I vacuum at 6:30am.
As the mother of these two boys I can say honestly say I AM BLESSED.

2006 Charlotte's First Halloween

This is my great niece Charlotte or as I call her Doodle Bug sporting her first Halloween costume. I call her Doodle Bug because it fits her cute little personality. Oh and just incase you can't tell she's a duckling!

Terry & Gary 1956

My dad used to carry this picture around in his wallet. It was much loved as you can see but thanks to Photoshop I tried to fix some of that lovin. It’s kinda of hard to see but they’re fighting over a hammer. When I asked my dad about it he just laughed and said "that picture was taken when we lived in San Jose. I think Terry grabbed it first and Gary just had to have it. I took it away from them because I was afraid they would hit each other with it." To this day my brother Gary can still swing a mean hammer!

1993 to 2010 That's a Whole Lot of BEAUTFUL

Becky and Kayla Gabuat 1993 and 2010.

Becky and I have been friends for...well lets just say a long time I don't want to give away our age. Her daughter Kayla was in my daycare many years ago and is like one of my children. These two women are beautiful inside and out and I'm blessed to call them friends but really they’re more like family.

2006 Glenn’s Fishing Trip to Oregon

2010 One Week and Counting

My nephew Kevin Keith left for boot camp last Monday and we're all very proud of him. It hasn't been an easy time for my brother Gary and his family but they're hanging in there. Seeing first hand what they're going through makes me realize what so many American families go through everyday.

Hang in there Kevin we love you and are very proud of you.

1993 This Ones for You Jennifer!

Jennifer & Tyler at Noah's 4th birthday party!

In Loving Memory of Kaye Moore

Kaye lost her battle with Alzheimer's on December 6,2009.
She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt and friend to all who knew her. Kaye’s loving sprit and kindness will be missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing her. She will never ever be forgotten.

Rest in Peace Kaye.

To learn more about Alzheimer's or make a donation please go to:http://www.alz.org/index.asp

June 1989 A New Kinda Love

Noah & Glenn Grimes

Watsonville High School 1978

NOCTURNAL

Walter Middleton, Doug Pohorski, Glenn Grimes, Bill Vance & John Rosewall

Terry & Mark 1975?

photo a day January 6, 2010