County Fair

~ COUNTY FAIR - 2006 ~

The County Fair is always fun! We go as a youth group activity so there's a big group of us wandering all over the grounds.

We had Pronto Pups, of course, to eat and a wonderful strawberry lemonade to go with it. Antonio had fun on the rides and we finally had to leave with my parents as he just wanted to go "agian and again and again!!!"

Roy got home very late since he stayed and chased kids and got them to their parents. I think everyone had a wonderful time, I know I did!!

Raising Kids - an Update

Update on my kids:

Troy & Reggie are working hard roofing. They have long days and then come home in time to leave again to lift weights for football. Good thing is they are so tired they don't act up much! They have just left for a backpacking trip to Loon Lake with their young men's bible study group. 9 teen boys, stinking in the woods.... have fun without me!! 4-5 mile hike each way carrying your own stuff - character building is what that's called! Love it!

Melynda is being a normal tween girl - complete with sighs, eye rolls and sass. I'm told this is a phase and am praying the people saying that are right! She's keeping busy cleaning, mowing and watering flowers. Thanks to her, I am able to post right now as she plays with Paco! Can't believe she'll be in 7th grade in a month from today!!!

Taylor Sky is recouping from her tonsilectomy. So far so good but we must keep on her to drink-drink-drink! She's been a trooper and we're so proud of her during this painful experience.

Antonio Don is really doing well potty training. Wed was our first 100% accident free day! Thu (yesterday) we only had one accident and that was our fault by being too busy to ask him if he needed to go. He's in the transition from our bed to his own bed. Wed was a good night but last night he reverted to coming in to us each 1 1/2 - 2 hrs to "Moma's Bed - No Paco's Bed!!!"

They're all growing up too fast and Troy will be off to college before we know it. Actually, Paco will be! Summer has flown by and school starts in a month. Football before that and all the crazy schedules that go with that.

Have one more photo shoot to get - the big boys - and hope to do that next week.

Granddad & Nana

My Parents

Don & Alfreda

~AKA: Granddad & Nana~

Married 46 years ago, my parents are a wonderful example of what a Godly marriage is and how to be a true couple. Four kids later and now 8 grandchildren, their lives center around God and their family.

Not only am I blessed to have them as parents, but my children and nephews and niece are blessed to have them as Grands.

They end each day by praying for each one of their children, spouses and grandkids - by name.

Always being quick to love and accept and slow to anger and reject, they are a great example of Christians - truly Christ-like.

Taylor Sky

Taylor Sky Lujan

9 years old

Going to be a big 3rd Grader

Taylor's middle name SKY was choosen by her Daddy. He had a nanny-figure when he was young and she was an old Indian woman. She would rock him and sing songs to him in her native language. Her name was Sky and he named Taylor in honor of her. I really think that her middle name completes her and makes it a girls name to be proud of. Great job, Daddy!

Here's our little girl on July 14th, the day her cousin Erik got married to Mandy. We had a wonderful time at her photo shoot and as you can see from the photos, she had fun.

This one is her favorite and she picked out the background.
It's a fun, little girl shot and it turned out so cute.

Tay is growing so fast and loves school. She is having her tonsils taken out tomorrow so please remember her in prayer. We're hoping that after her surgery, she'll have an appetite and gain some much needed weight. She's just so thin that we worry about her. She's a gorgeous child and has a wonderful heart.

I actually see a lot of her Aunt Tina in her, her Daddy's sister. They have very similar facial features and both are petites. Very similar smiles, too.

Tay is a girly girl but mentioned she wanted to be a "tom-boy" like I was. I smiled and explained that those things just happen and it's not really what we set about to be. I told her it was just fine that she liked Barbies, make-up and dolls!! I do hope she finds a sport to play as she gets older to find something she can do for fitness AND fun!

Taylor, We l0ve you, darling!

My Grandma Gladys

Gladys Fern B departed this life on July 13, 2006. She was born Dec. 16, 1914 to Roy A. and Jeanne S. (Ben__) B. near Keyes, Okla. Gladys attended school near Goodwell, OK and married Roy H. Tw___ in April. Jimmy Lee was born to this young couple. Roy died in 1934. Gladys married Marshall B. Cra___ in Feb. 1936 and helped her husband in the farming/ranching life. Four children were born into this marriage. They lived in S. E. Colorado from the spring of 1946 until the summer of 1961 at which time they moved to Denver. Marshall passed away in 1963. In the time after Marshall’s death, Gladys went to Denver Community College, obtained an adult education certificate and taught English as a Send Language. Her favorite students were the Vietnamese brides of returning servicemen. Gladys married Alva B. in June 1974 and moved to join him at his home in Oregon. After Alva’s death in 1982, Gladys remained in Oregon, enjoying 15 more years there before returning to Colorado in 1997 to be nearer her family. Gladys worshipped in the Southern Baptist faith for her entire life. She also enjoyed the fellowship of the Royal Neighbors of America where she served as a Chapter Officer for many years. Gladys enjoyed an active correspondence with several friends dating back to her grade school years in Oklahoma. Many friends and relatives will miss her cards, letters and newspaper clipping. She also enjoyed gardening and taking care of her many houseplants. Gladys loved all animals and especially had a soft spot for wolves.

My addition -
She was a fantastic Grandma and truly a "great" Grandma! She never forgot a birthday and remembered each one of my children by name (no easy feat). While she was a step-mother to my mom, she was my Grandma and the only one on my Mom's side that I knew.

I'll miss you, Grandma Gladys - enjoy eternity with Jesus!

Land Saga Continues

This will be short as I have three funeral runs today...

We made an offer on 5 acres in Greenleaf this morning. There are several contigencies that allow us to back out if need be or if we can't get the financing we need.

So, pray for financing and that all the inspections turn out how God would have them!! Am praying for the doors to be open or closed so it's crystal clear on what we should do.

Stressed to the hilt with the wedding, vacation, life and now this... loan paperwork! Keep lifting me up in prayer!

Summer is Flying By!

Man, where is time going??? Troy is off to kids camp after completing and passing driver's ed. The girls are still in Spanish Camp two days a week, Reggie is working with Roy and Paco and I are staying crazy busy with the kids, funeral escorts and house/yard work.

We had my soon-to-be niece's wedding shower last night. She decided a few weeks ago she wanted to do a Pampered Chef Shower so that took most of the work out for us. YEAH! Mandy Joy is her name and she's a sweet little doll from Texas, complete with accent. We got to meet her mother and sister and with the 3 of them together, it's a hoot to listen to them talk! Anyway, she had a nice shower. Got some great Pampered Chef items and earned a total of $60 dollars and 2 half-price items off of 10 people! She is starting a home with some wonderful quality products that will hopefully make her life easier. I know it has mine.

Speaking of, I got my order yesterday - all SEVEN boxes!!! It was like Christmas! I hurried and went through everyone else's order so Mandy could open some things up last night that were bought for her. I have some cleaning out cupboards and pantry to do to make room for my new things. I'm so excited!!!

Erik's wedding to Mandy is Friday evening so we have a few parties before the actual event to attend - a Fajita dinner tonight. I'll make my Mother-in-law's rice. Rehersal Thursday evening and the dinner to follow. Paco is the "ring bear" so pray for us! Then Fri is the wedding. We are supposed to have low 90's this week but it sure has felt hotter than that. Since it's outside, I'm praying for cooler than 100 degrees!!

Update on potty training:

Going great! Haven't used pull-ups in 3 weeks now. We just deal with the occasional accident and go on. Thankfully, others are helping me out when they're around and are taking him potty and asking him if he's dry or wet. He'll even go in public restrooms now and I stood him on my feet Sunday and he went standing up so that's great, too! Anyway, for those who care (Heather) here's our update on that big milestone!

I've Been Tagged

7 Things I'd Like To Do Before I Die:
1. See all of my kids grown up to be strong Christians and raise their families the same.
2. Own our own home with land
3. Travel Overseas with Hubby
4. Live in Mexico for short periods of time and become fluent in Spanish
5. Get Down to my pre-pregnancy weight (vain, I know)
6. Become a lactation consultant & advocate
7. Be a "cool nana" when I have grandbabies

7 Things That I Can't Do:
1. Math
2. Get by on too little sleep
3. Understand stupid people
4. Be patient enough
5. Say "no" to hungry kids
6. Not tithe my money to God
7. Not be involved in church

7 Things That Attract Me To My Husband:
1. His good-natured personality
2. His generous spirit
3. His drive to make it so I can be SAHM for as long as we desire
4. His sobriety
5. His devotion to our children
6. His romantic side
7. When he speaks Spanish - especially when he sings to me in Spanish!

7 Books (or series of books) That I Love:
1. The BIBLE
2. John Grisham novels
3. Love Comes Softly Series (Jannette Oke)
4. Max Lucado books
5. Charlotte's Web
6. Divine Secrets of Ya Ya Sisterhood
7. Anne of Green Gables

7 Movies I'd Watch Over & Over:
1. Grease (see previous post)
2. Sweet Home Alabama
3. Lonesome Dove
4. The Incredibles
5. Mary Poppins
6. Sound of Music
7. The Christmas Story

7 People I'd Like To Tag (and if you don't do it, I totally understand):
1. Heather
2. --
3. --
4. --
5. --
6. --
7. --

Camping

We went camping Monday night and got back yesterday in time to unload and load back up to head to Homedale for their Demolition Derby; which is an awesome event!!

Our camping trip was relaxing and fun - everything it's supposed to be! The kids all had fun and Paco did great! We ate dinner on Monday at the best pizza restaraunt in the valley! Worth the $$ and drive to Emmett just to eat there.

We made it to our campground - a lot has changed since Roy & I were little. All of the Black Canyon parks USED to be overnight parks. No longer - we would have bit out of luck had some friends told us about Montour's campground. It's about 5 miles past Black Canyon, near Triangle. Perfect peaceful setting and just us and another family there so we pretty much had the run of it.

We roasted marshmellows and made Smores. Paco and Bubba played in the fire:

Come Saturday morning, we played cards, ran around camp, had breakfast, packed up and headed to the water to swim and play. The park was packed full and we had to park outside the grounds and walk in and out with our stuff. We packed lightly to say the least!

It was great to see so many families there with their kids and having fun. We all swam and the boys played catch with the football while the girls and Paco played in the sand.

Daddy & Paco

Everyone had fun and we stopped at RoeAnn's in Emmett to grab a bite to eat on the way home. Paco was asleep in the car before we even got there. We played him tired, for sure!

From Emmett, we drove home, unpacked and then loaded back up to head to Homedale for their annual Demolition Derby and fireworks show. AWESOME! Grandda and Nana saved Paco when they came to get him after he was done with the crashes, noise and crowd. He just doesn't like the BOOM right now.

We had a great 4th of July Holiday! Check out the website for many more pictures.

Ummm Cake!

June Birthday Party

Grandma Ann and Paco - yes, he's licking the frosting off the cake!

We celebrate family birthday's monthly and this was our June Party for Grandma Ann and Aunt Laura. Party was at Granda & Nana's and it was a fabulous time with family!





As you can see, Antonio doesn't venture far from the cake. He's not on to presents yet but he knows what cake and ice-cream are and doesn't want to take any chance on missing out on them! He loves ice-cream and will eat his, mine and yours if you're not careful!

Here he is with the cake and Aunt Laura (celebrating 45 years!!!). He's pretty serious because he's helping hold the cake up for the picture and that was a pretty big job with everyone telling him to "be careful!"

There are more fun pix on our website so be sure to check them out - Uncle Larry had fun at Aunt Laura's expense on her 45th. She's 6 months older than her husband's "oldest brother" and he never lets her forget it!

She is Antonio's Godmother so we have lots of fun with finding things to honor her. This year, we found a larger Italian charm that says "Godmother" in red. She liked it so that's even better!

Here's a great shot of Paco on the pot -

Nana dumped him in the water and he said, "COLD NANA!"

McCall, ID

Nothing like Daddy's Moxie Java!

On Friday evening we loaded up the pick-up and headed to the mountains! My parents, Roy, Paco and I needed to take some material up for a job we're doing and since there were meetings on Saturday, we just had to spend the night! We stayed at the Hunt Lodge - Holiday Express and enjoyed a nice swim/soak before bed.

We had a fabulous prime rib dinner at The Mill and since each couple split our meal, we treated ourselves to one dessert of Mud Pie between the five of us. Yum Yum!

Saturday came sunny and we walked across the street to the Pancake House for another shared meal. The guys joined us after their prosperous meeting at Tamarack. After breakfast, the guys dropped Mom and I off downtown for some shopping and they went back to work - this was a business trip after all...

I hit the jackpot at the Thrift Store getting sandals for Mel, Tay and Paco and a dress for Mel, as well! Tay's sandals are Tevas! WHOO HOO!! From there, we walked around, not buying much of anything before meeting up with Roy & babe at the lake. Granddad was napping in the pick-up.

Here's Daddy and Paco getting their feet wet in the Payette Lake. It was a gorgeous day and very hot by McCall standards. Each store we went in had the A/C cranked up and Mom was just freezing!!

Paco loved the water and would have gone way out had Daddy not been there to hold him back. Yes, the water was freezing but the little man didn't seem to mind at all! He cried when it was time to go eat lunch at Toll House Pizza. Delish, I could add. We ate outside and the weather was perfect!

Our time ended all too soon and we came back to the Valley to enjoy the rest of our weekend. What a much needed get-away! Thanks, honey!!!