Christmas 2008

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was busy and everyone was healthy. We were with the Southern California family and we found time to go to church because isn’t Christ the part of Christmas what we are celebrating. It’s good not to lose sight of our focus. I love traditions and being with family. We played cards (I won big time and I lost big time). No, I’m not competitive
Christmas Eve consisted of our tradition of making Tamales (we bought 10 lbs of masa and 4 lbs of carnitas, so there were lots of tamales). I didn’t take pictures of that because we were so busy making them. Tamales are our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. Many hands make the tamales making much easier.
On Christmas morning the 92 & 93 year old grandma’s came for brunch and then we headed over to my sister Betty’s for dinner. Erica and Andrew headed off to Minnesota after brunch, but we were glad that they were around for Christmas Eve and most of Christmas.
Katie’s mom (Maureen) was here from Pennsylvania. It was nice to see her with her grandchildren.
So, here are some of the pictures I took. Laurel took some of these too. I’m a little worried that she is falling in love with my camera.
Here are Erica and Andrew goofing off for the camera!

Here we are on Christmas Eve before heading off to Church. We like to goof off!

Here we have Katie Maureen and Megan Followed by Katie Kevin and kiddies. What a great family.

This is me and my mother.

Here is grandma with Phi-Yen.







And this is Laurel with overly tall cousin Eric

Carol and precious Megan

Grandma Maureen is reading to Steven.

Megan takes a snooze in the middle of Christmas
What a handsome couple.......

DB and Laurel. Yes!

Here is our family. We miss the Portland Ballanti's.
Three generations. My mother looks good for 93.

Here I am with Colette and Phi-Yen. I'm trying to remember to get pictures with all of the family.

Here I am with Ben and JJ. Your guess is as good as mine as to which one is which!

I really do love Christmas and Family. I have about 150 more pictures from our 5 days down south. Let me know if you want to see them.

We had a great time skyping with Oregon family. We got to skype with both Portland and Oregon Coast Family. My mother really enjoyed the new technology. Thank goodness for Skype.

Happy Birthday to Me

I had a wonderful birthday celebration last night. There were 16 of us celebrating my maturity in the Pope's room. The best thing about it was that all 16 of us could hear one another. We were in this cozy room with a round turn table in the center. Perfect for socializing.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and comments. I appreciate them all.

I couldn't resist including this very cute picture of one of my birthday guests. Miss Megan is adorable.

Oops! I spoke too soon

A quick note about the nightmare. DB now has the bug. The good news is that it will only last for 24 hours. Sigh!

The Nightmare is Over

Just in case you are wondering...... The Nightmare is over!
1. I am no longer attached to the bathroom
2. I just go my suitcase from the airport. I had to drive there to retrieve it.
3. The weather outside is delightful.
OK, now if we can get over the Grapevine on Monday without it it being closed. Merry Christmas to all.

Nightmare Before Christmas

I went up to Portland to visit Chris, Jess, Maryn and Lucy for an early Christmas. It wasn’t a typical visited.
The Nasty Bug
First, Jess had warned me that Maryn had a bug before I came, but she was feeling great when I arrived. The day after I got there, Lucy was barfing. For a visual, just picture getting her out of her crib with barf imbedded in her face, ears and hair. It was then two days later that Chris and Jess spent the day in bed and in the bathroom. As you might guess, today is my first day home and my best friend is the bathroom. But, I have to admit that I don’t feel too bad. I just can’t leave home.
The Bitter Cold Weather
This wasn’t actually a disaster, but it did mean that we stayed home and didn’t go anywhere. One of the days I was there, Chris didn’t have work because the office closed because of the weather. The day I flew home, he came home at 1 PM because the office closed early. The roads were very icy. As DB suggested, we gave Chris & Jess chains for Christmas. What an exciting gift. It took a long time to find a place that had chain for their car. The positive side of this storm is that the snow was so beautiful. Maryn and Lucy made indoor snowmen. We played outside for a short time until it got too cold.
Airlines Nightmare
My flight was suppose to leave at 6:10 PM. I left Chris & Jess’s place and took the light rail at 2:30PM. It took 2 hours to get to the airport. The roads were snowy and icy and I didn’t think it was safe to drive. The airport was slow and it took almost an hour to check my luggage. As a side note, it is a good idea not to pack your heavy coat in your suitcase. Then if you get separated from it, you won’t get cold. My flight kept showing a new departure times (7:05, 7:45, 10:05, 11:05, and finally 11:50). It was at this point (about 9PM) that I decided to stand in a long line and see if there were other options. I had check earlier with a women that I met in another line that worked for the airlines and she said that she wasn’t able to book anything else. When I got to the front of the line, I had two seconds to decide if I want to go to Reno and then Oakland. I was told that they couldn't get my suitcase on the flight and I would have to retrieve it in Oakland when it finally did arrive. I jumped at the chance to get close to home. I was one of the last to board. To make a long story short, when I got to Reno they wouldn’t let me board my plane to Oakland because I wasn’t on “the list”. I finally got on to that totally full flight 2 minutes before it pulled away from the gate. I arrived in Oakland minutes before midnight. Now if I could find my suitcase, the Nightmare Before Christmas” wouldn’t seem so bad. I'll try contacting baggage claim again tomorrow. I left many messages today. Ohhhhhh, except for the fact the bathroom is currently my best friend, this really isn't that much of a Nightmare, but I'm glad to be home.

So here are some pictures that will show you that the trip was well worth it.

They include outdoor snow play with Doug and Kathy, Grandma Carol, and Chris & Jess.

They include indoor play with the play kitchen, jumping, creative indoor snow hats, indoor snowman, Maryn with her "Cars"

Thanksgiving 2008

We spent a week up at our cabin. The week started with work. Don's brother came up and we water sealed the cabin. I then started trimming the forest and had a great time getting rid of some of the dead trees and the low hanging branches. I actually had a great time cleaning up our "new" vacation home. Oh, did I mentioned that Don and Ron fished and kept bringing home more trout than we knew what to do with. It was almost Turkey Trout Weekend. Ron and his boys left and Don and I had a few days on our own.

Steve Deb and Adam came up for Thanksgiving. Laurel also drove up . We have been sharing Thanksgiving at the cabin with Steve and Deb for years. I love traditions and I certainly love this one. So check us out below. The picture on the left is our traditional picture and the one on the right is everyone just having fun.

Jess suggested that we connect with them in Oregon by making gingerbread houses at the cabin and they did the same at their house. So, here are the Chocolate Gingerbread Houses made by Laurel, Adam and Me. Aren't they great? I'm hoping that Jess took some pictures of hers and posts them on her blog.

Here Debbie and I are enjoying our vino before Thanksgiving dinner. A toast to a great family Thanksgiving. I hope yours was great too.

Full Moon in Tilden

Don, Fallon (our rent-a-dog) and I headed up to Tilden Park tonight to watch the 99% full moon rise . I can't believe I forgot my camera because I am such a visual person. So, DB said I would have to just take in the moment. It was really beautiful. First, the weather was perfect, the sun was just setting as we arrived. We strolled a bit and the full moon came up. I love the full moon in Tilden. At this time of year is rises to the left of Mt. Diablo. But, it is really amazing. By the time we finished our walk, Fallon had taken her dump and the moon was really big and high on the horizon. And the setting sun over the Golden Gate Bridge was a beautiful red glow. So, you have to picture this in your mind since I forgot my camera. The moon came up at abou 5:06 tonight. It will be about 45 minutes later tomorrow. If you read this today, you might think about checking it out tomorrow night. Don't you just love fall!

Three Years

Nancy has been gone for 3 years on Nov. 9th. It really is hard to believe she has been gone that long. I still want to reach for the phone and call her. Nancy was a great sister, mentor and friend. She left me with wonderful memories of how much we loved each other. I'm so thankful for her.


Nancy would love being a grandmother. When I look at Steven and Megan, I am sad that she isn't here to love and enjoy them. But, I've got to tell you that when I look at Megan, I really see Nancy. So, check out the photos below. Nancy is on the left and Megan is on the right. They have the same eyes and the same stare. Their nose is the same. Even their double chin is the same except I think Nancy's is a bit chubbier. What do you think? I think I am so thankful to God that we have a little "sweet pea" like Megan to remind us of Nancy.

Laurel is sick!

Remember a week ago when Laurel did her triathlon. I think I mentioned that she was sick. Well, on Monday she actually got really sick and decided to go to the doctors. She has mononucleosis and is feeling very tired and her throat is very sore and white. So, now her claim to fame is that she did her first triathlon with mononucleosis. Please pray for a speedy recovery for her.

San Diego US Women's Sprint Triathlon

On October 19, 2008 five outstanding women did this Sprint Triathlon. These women in black are Laurel (my daughter), Erica (my neice), Jess (my daughter-in-law), Brit (Jess's sister-in-law) and Rachel (my niece). Laurel, Erica and Jess raised over $3000 for Ovarian Cancer Research. My sister Nancy died in 2005 from Ovarian Cancer, so this race had special meaning for all of us. This course included a 1/2 mile swim, 13 mile bike ride and a 3 mile run. I am so proud of all of these young ladies.Here is Jess with little Lucy before the race. It looks dark because it is very early in the morning and the sun has not come up yet.

Here is a picture of group 5 taking off on their swim. They started by age group.

Check out this image of Laurel. I think she is pleased to be finished with the swim part of the race.

Here are Jess and Britney just before the finish line for the final leg of the race. Go Girls!

Here is Laurel finishing her run.







Here is Rachel. She placed 150th out of 516 in her division. She is an amazing athlete.

Erica (on the right) smiles for all of us as we cheer her on.

Here is Jess. She did a great job. She didn't even ride a bicycle to prepare for the tri. She borrowed Erica's husband's bike which she just got the night before the race. What a woman!

Did you wonder what Grandma did during the race? Well, I had a very hard job that I love. I know I didn't swim, bike and run, but my arm got very tired. I know that you are really feeling sorry for me. Lucy slept durning most of the bike race. She is a sweetheart!