Happy 90th Gram!!

Julie's Gram turns 90 on December 22nd, so everyone gathered at her house on November 24th to celebrate!! Julie's cousin, Esteban, was in charge of the planning and decorating and everything was picture perfect. (I keep telling him that he should get into the party planning business in LA!) Gram didn't think anyone would come to the party but I think we counted over 100 family members & friends who dropped by. The food was prepared and served by members from her church. Two of her three living children, Charles & Wanda, were there (of course, the one missing was my father...his problem, not ours). Her sister, Bernice and niece, Dana came from Arkansas. Niece, Shari and long time family friend, Willie, came from Arizona as well. All of the grandchildren, great grandchildren and even great-great grandchild, Cruz, were also present. The last time we all got together was at my grandfather's funeral so it was fun to have a reason to celebrate.

The spread - arranged by Esteban

L - R: Charles, Bernice, Willie & Wanda
(Wanda has the unique gift of always having her
eyes closed when I snap a photo.)

Owen & Julie

Gram blowing out her candle...

...and opening her gifts.

Gram was so thrilled to have a birthday party! Since her birthday is so close to Christmas it usually gets overlooked. She was like a little kid with her birthday cake and opening gifts. I watched her when everyone was singing "Happy Birthday" to her and she had such a look of joy in her eyes as she took it all in.

HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY GRAM!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, we went to Albuquerque to spend Thanksgiving with Julie's mom. Emily & Shelby came from Amarillo and, instead of fixing a big dinner, we went to the Santa Ana Star casino in Bernallilo. When Emily was still in Red River and working for the Chamber of Commerce, she had scored several FREE buffet tickets for Santa Ana Star and there were enough left over for all of us (and Kelley & Tubby) to enjoy a wonderful feast without any cooking or cleaning. Since we had eight in our party, we were actually escorted from the *usual* buffet line to a banquet room off to the side. We had a seperate buffet line and nice tables with tableclothes...perfect for enjoying a special dinner with family and friends. We had the usual Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and dressing. We also had chicken enchiladas and green chili stew.
Only in New Mexico!!

I always take a photo of our Thanksgiving meal before we devour it. This year, we had quite a spread!

L - R: Jamie, Emily, Shelby & Betty

L - R: Bill, Jamie, Emily & Shelby

Clockwise L - R: Jamie, Emily, Shelby, Betty, Julie, Kelley & Tubby

We had to go back to the casino on Thanksgiving night to watch the Broncos game. It was only broadcast on the NFL network and mom doesn't have cable. We tried every sports bar in Albuquerque but NONE of them were open on Thanksgiving Day so, we had no choice but to hang out in a smoke filled casino to watch our team lose to the Chiefs.

Jamie's first school portrait

So...I guess the trick to getting your child to act natural, look at the camera without a goofy face and actually smile is to have someone else take the photo...
Isn't he handsome?

Bill's hobby

Here's Bill working in his wood shop. He's getting ready for craft shows that he will participate in during the next couple of months. Fortunately it has not been too cold for him to work out there.
Below, Bill shows off a couple of newly completed projects.

2006 Family Christmas Photo

The One Hour Photo Place in Alamosa did Christmas photos with Santa & his reindeer, so we decided to have our 2006 family Christmas photo taken professionally.



We had to wake Jamie up from his nap to drive into town for the photo, so he was grumpy. We tried bribery (McDonald's) but even that wasn't enough to make him smile. He refused to cooperate and, well, we didn't go to McDonalds afterwards.

The Train Lighting (Christmas in Alamosa)

Alamosa kicks off the Holiday Season with the "Train Lighting" event. The event was moved up a week this year and so this was the first time we have ever been in town to join in the festivities. I know that most will find this hard to believe, but I FORGOT to bring my camera along to record the memories. (AAAAaarrrrgggGGHHHH!!!) Anyway, everyone met at the County Courthouse where the County Commissioners "flipped the switch" and the Courthouse was all lit up with Christmas lights. Then we walked down the street (the police actually had the streets blocked off for this!) to City Hall where the mayor turned the City Hall lights on. Next, we walked across the street to Cole Park and Engine #169 where we counted down for the train lights to come on. From the train, we were all to walk down State Street to Centennial Park to see Santa.

It would've been a perfect evening if that was how it all played out.

Jamie and his friend, Parker, were so excited about the Christmas lights and, especially the train, that they took off running from City Hall to the park. I kept up with them while Lynn and several others from playgroup herded their children to the train. I was "watching" Jamie & Parker and had them go right up to the fence next to the train so they would have the best view. I turned around for, maybe, 20 seconds to find Lynn and tell her where Parker was. When I turned around...BOTH boys were GONE! The train hadn't even been lit yet. Lynn took off one way and I went the other and eventually Jamie found his way back but Parker was nowhere to be found. It was amazing how fast everyone spread out and started searching for Parker and how others stayed put and watched the rest of the kids during the frantic search. It seemed like an eternity that Parker was missing and, of course, we were thinking of every BAD thing that could've happened to him. Robert found Parker about 15 minutes later walking with the crowd on State Street and Main Street, totally oblivious to the desperateness of the situation. Parker, apparently, was just caught up in the crowd that walked from the train to Centennial Park, although I still don't understand why he took off before the train lights came on. It totally freaked me out though, because, like I said, I was "watching" him so I felt responsible. I was in a different zone for the rest of the night. We eventually made it downtown to see Santa but I don't think my heart stopped racing for an hour or so. I had nightmares that night and I don't think I will EVER get the faces of Lynn & Tony, as they were searching for their son, out of my head. Thank God that Parker was found safe and sound!



So, we did eventually make it to see Santa and Jamie was very determined to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas. (We're still trying to figure out what he actually told Santa...something about Larry Boy.) Since I had forgotten my camera, I was able to take a photo with my camera phone. My camera phone doesn't have flash so the photo is grainy but I really like it...kind of has an old "nostalgic" look to it. Now, all we have to do is figure out what Jamie wants from Santa this year...sure would hate to disappoint a 4 year old and ruin the magic of Christmas.

Bowling

Our playgroup met last Friday at the bowling alley. There was no school that day so the older kids, Justin & Amanda, were able to join us. We had the bowling alley to ourselves and they set up gutter rails for the kids. The kids were also able to use a stand to roll the ball. The kids were so excited to knock down ANY pins, the score never mattered. Coleen, Michelle, Bill & I were also able to bowl a couple of games. We ordered pizza to finish off the morning.


Ryan, Amanda, Jamie, Spencer & Parker

Fun Family Weekend

Bill had a meeting in Denver on Saturday, so we decided at the last minute to join him and make a fun weekend trip out of it. We drove up on our own because Bill had to put in his time as a sponsor with the middle school students. Our fun weekend started on Friday at Chuck E. Cheese. Jamie loves "playing" the games, whether he's really playing them or not. He really likes the racing games with motorcycles or ATV's or race cars.

This monster truck really rocked and scared Jamie a little. He wanted out before the ride was over. So, although he's into the speed machines...when the going gets tough, he still wants his mama.

On Saturday, while Bill was attending his meetings with middle schoolers, we met friends, Justin and Ryan (from Alamosa who also happened to be in Denver for the weekend) at the Children's Museum. They had fun dressing up as firefighters,

playing with trains,

dressing up as ants and digging around in tunnels,

painting,

and playing in the playground.

We went back to the hotel and took naps. When Bill's meetings were over, he joined us and he & Jamie went swimming for an hour or so while I checked out the Colorado Mills Shopping Mall. Later, we went back to the mall and ate dinner. We ended the night at Cold Stone Creamery.

On Sunday, we went to the Denver Zoo. It was a FREE day and lots of people were there to enjoy the nice weather and spend quality time outdoors. We had to park about a mile away and walk but, the zoo is big enough that even with the large crowd, it wasn't uncomfortable. Bill & I studied the zoo map as we entered the park and found where the train was. We knew that once Jamie got to the train, our day at the zoo would be over. So, we were able to maneuver our path such that we saw most of the attractions before we got to the train.

Superhero Halloween

Jamie's Preschool celebrated Halloween with a parade and trick-or-treating to many of the Adams State College faculty offices. We met in his classroom for a quick breakfast snack and a few games before lining up and heading across campus. Jamie was chosen to be the "line-leader" for the parade and he was so excited. He dressed up as Batman and his friend, Parker, dressed up as Superman. Zachary was dressed as Dash (Incredibles) so we had all of the superheroes covered.

First, we walked past the student housing to the Computer Services building. Then we crossed First Street and went to Richardson Hall. We trick-or-treated on all three floors!

Next, we paraded to the Education and Social Studies Building and two more floors of trick-or-treating. By this point, we had been out walking with these preschoolers for over an hour. I was tired and the kids were dragging. We took a little rest stop before going back to the classroom.

Back in the classroom, it was party time. We had popcorn balls and juice...just enough sugar to jump start the preschoolers. They played a raucous game of musical chairs and re-enacted "The Three Little Pigs". When the sugar high was at it's peak, the kids were sent home with their parents. (Those teachers are not stupid!)

Jamie & Parker giving us their best "superhero" pose!!


Hey, what can I say???? This IS my costume!

Bill was challenged by his middle school students to shave his head into a mohawk. He cut the sleeves out of an old T-shirt, put on some temporary tatoos and wore a clip-on earring to complete the "bad-ass dude" look.

Parker came to our house after school to play and then afterwards, we went to the Tetwiler's house to go trick-or-treating with Megan, April & Heather.

Jamie with April & Heather
(I still can't tell them apart so I don't know which one is which.)

Fall Soccer League

Due to the transition of youth soccer from AYSO to Parks & Recreation, a special fall league was held during the month of October. Jamie was on a different team with a different coach, although two of his teammates from the summer season were also on this team. Jamie was excited to play soccer again even though October is NOT a good time to play outdoor soccer in Alamosa. Mostly, Jamie was excited because he got a new jersey to add to his rapidly growing collection!


Team Photo: Back row (L-R) , Katie, Alana, Hunter
Middle Row (L-R) Diego, Alonzo, Devon
Front Row (L-R) Jamie, Paul, Danielle
not pictured: Elijah
Coach: Rhonda DeLaCerda

Katie and Jamie

(Katie ALWAYS has this sweet smile! And, she's a tough soccer player too.. you go girl!)

Spencer and Jamie

(Spencer was on a different team but they had fun when their teams played each other.)

Jamie playing soccer...it's ALL good!

The Colors of Fall

Autumn is absolutely the best time of year in the San Luis Valley.

We took advantage of "Church Days" (and half price fares) to ride the SLV & RG train through the mountains over La Veta Pass. The aspen colors were at their peak and it was truly spectacular! I took over 140 photos because each turn was even more beautiful than the last. I have lived in this area for most of my life and have seen my share of "Fall Colors" but nothing in my memory compares to the beauty we experienced on this day in the San Luis Valley.

Jamie was excited to ride the train. His friends, Brycen & Ethan, were also on board.


It is difficult to explain just how awesome these colors were! The photos are nice but are not truly representative of the bright, bold color!!



WOW!!!