Twain Harte Car Show

Wow. I can't believe that I haven't written anything since the beginning of December... Has it really been almost a year? Oh where to begin.... So much has happened over the last year. Most of you know that we lost Mason's Grandmother to a stroke last September. (She is still missed with every ounce of my soul). His Grandfather has been sick since December (very, very, very sick). He was in the hospital for a very long time and until just a few months ago, we were all extremely scared of the "unknown". He is doing well and is staying in Folsom at his daughter's house who is taking very good care of him. He is back to enjoying his brandy and seven every night and heads off to the casino every once in awhile to try his luck. He still says that playing craps will never be the same because Grandma was his lucky charm!

We were able to make it to Twain Harte recently (July) for the annual craft fair/car show. Grandpa enters his 1940 Ford Opera Coupe in it every year.


This year he won the "Car Owner Choice Award" meaning that all the car owners voted and chose his car to be the best in show! Very cool.



We apent a lot of time catching up with family. This year Uncle Rick and Debbie came and Paul drove up Saturday and met us there as well. I think Grandpa was very happy to see everyone together again. He has spent so much of the last year in a hospital bed, unaware of what is happening, it's so good to see him back to his old self! Of course, Aunt Judy and Uncle Jim were there as well as Aunt Jean and Uncle Ron. We also saw Brandon for a few minutes before he had to head back home.


On Saturday night, there was music in the park so Debbie and I walked over there with Emily. She played in the park and danced to the music (she had a blast!)



It was a great weekend filled with lots of fun, relaxing and good times. I so totally enjoy those times and will cherish the memories always.

Thanksgiving Celebrations (yes, plural!)

So my family was all over the place on the "actual" Thanksgiving Day so we did things a little different this year. First, on Thursday we had a small celebration at our house in Brentwood. We had a great time. It was Mason and I, the kids, my brother Devin, my Mom Linda and Cousin Michael. We did not eat turkey but we had some barbecued chicken (Grandma's marinade recipe) that was to die for!

We played Uno all night and laughed the whole time.




Then on Saturday we went to my Aunt Nancy's house in Fremont and had another Thanksgiving celebration. This one was a little bit bigger. It included friends and family from all over. We put on the full meal this time. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, everything! It was awesome. There is just something about turkey, gravy and good friends and family on Thanksgiving that makes it even better!!

The kids had fun playing pool, and spying on the adults.

Emily and Aiden stole everyone's hearts, including the two men that are wrapped around their tiny little fingers.



Who also happened to be very happy about the fact that they conquered the dishes all by themselves...



All in all, both celebrations were great!

A Weekend In The Mountains

This weekend we went up to Aunt Judy & Uncle Jim's house in Sonora. For those of you who do not know, Aunt Judy is Mason's Grandmother's Sister. We had a blast. We helped them set up some Christmas lights and we put up their tree. The kids, Mason and I helped decorate and had so much fun.
Even Grandpa got in on some of the action! It was very nice to be around family and friends in such a beautiful place. Ron and Jean came over for some time and we BBQ'd a very tasty dinner.

Tyler spent most of his time up in the tree out in the yard. He was seriously up there for hours. We had to force him to come down to eat. Every time we go to their house, he sits in the tree. I think he is part monkey.

On Sunday it was over to visit Ron and Jean at their house. They were just starting to do some decorating for Christmas. Once they are done we will be going back and I will post more pictures of the completed project. All in all it was a good weekend. Hard to come home from that and go back to work on Monday, but we do!!!