Saturday, May 23, 2009

Prom 2009 . . .

The kids had a ball, I guess the pictures speak louder than words.


Gus and his sisters and their friends.

Mark and the girls; he never expected to have daughters taller than him!


My pretty Hannah Sue . . .


and my beautiful Emmy Lou!

Terri's truck . . .

Mark is such a good dad, he's not a rich man (not a poor one either), but when he gives gifts he gives them from his heart . . . and since cars are in his heart, it really has meant a lot to him and the kids as over the years he has given each of them a classic car project.
He's given them each a car, the engine and the tires and then left it to them to work on it with him . . . and being kids they've worked on them sporadically. I'll put pictures and updates of each of them later but this thread is about Terri.

Oh about 15 or so years ago Mark gave Terri a 1964 Chevy Pickup. Terri worked on it a lot over the years but never really got it going; some of the old timers around here still laugh and tell stories about pulling in the driveway and seeing Terri's little girl legs sticking out from under that truck while she was working on it. Then Terri got busy growing up, and getting married, and starting a family . . . and the old truck got put on the back burner.

Well, times got a little rough around here when Mark's first wife left. Mark was spread pretty thin; running the house, doing the laundry and the cooking, raising the kids, running a business and being the main worker for that business. But, Terri stepped in, and taking time out of her busy new life and was there for her dad. She helped in so many ways, taking Gus to lessons & helping with tutoring him, and she took over the paper work end of the business. She never asked for a thing in return and was always there when Mark needed her, she really proved what a good girl she is.

Sooo . . . after I came along and realized all she had been doing, Mark and I talked and we decided that as a big thank you, Mark would finish her truck for her. All the kids worked on it all summer and winter, and we almost pulled it off as a surprise. And now she has a really cool classic Truck to haul her three little boys camping and fishing in. There were tears in every one's eyes the day we gave it to her.


Mark and Terri the day the truck was done, look at that grin on her face!


I finally have a use for all of my college photography classes!



From Terri's first fishing trip with her boys in the truck . . .

Family get-together . . .

Betty Bull, who is Mark's mother's first cousin was so gracious and invited us to her annual reunion. There is so much family resemblance in Mark and Betty, so it was really fun meeting her sisters, their kids and their grandchildren. I quickly lost track of who everyone was, but we had a very nice time and the kids felt at home amidst this lovely family. I really wish I had got a picture of Betty's daughter Carla, she's so nice and really went out of her way to make me and my kids feel welcome. These are some pics from that day:


New sisters; Lou, Terri & Hannah


Mark and Betty


Betty and her grandson Levi


Emma (Lou's best friend), and Ryan



Levi and Ben


Almost the whole gang; Terri & Weston, Emma, Gus and Brenden, Hannah, Ben, Lou & Ryan

The Three Musketeers; Hannah, Gus and Lou

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The Party . . .

Sooo . . . Mark turned 50!

LOL he did not know me well enough to know that I could never let that one slip by. . .

It was a PARTY! Invitations went out, we put a pig in the ground, lit the bonfire, had a live band playing all Marks favorites; at least a hundred people showed up. People were dancing, the kids were running wild and roasting marshmallows . . .

Mark is good man and well loved by everyone, and they definitely came to let him know it. Gosh we had fun that night!


LOL, shy Mark being forced to give a speech . . . it was good.


Friends around the bonfire.
Mark and Betty dancing (she always looks so pretty).
Some foolish person way back when told Mark he didn't dance well, so he never danced when he went out all those years, well, it took a lot of encouraging to get him out on the floor . . . but once we did he never came off! He danced with every single person there . . . at least twice! I think he was trying to get all the dancing he had saved up for the last 20 years out of his system in one night . . . he even did "step dancing" . . . You just gotta love this man!
Little Katana, doing the honors and singing Happy Birthday . . . at least 7 times through . . . lol
My husband and the smile that I love so much.

Family values . . .

Such a big subject for a little thing like this, but when you are leading a family down the road of life you have to make sure you address them, . . . surprisingly, sometimes even defend them.

The world is such a big beautiful place, with a lot of scary things in it. I think family values are the most important things Mark and I have to give our kids. Living up to them is easy when you know you have five sets of eyes watching how you handle life!

So what have we taught them to be . . . well let's see;

Love everyone, the less lovable they are, love them more; Mark is such a good example of this.

Have a kind heart and be a true friend, treat everyone you meet with respect; Gus and Ryan are such quality young men and it shows in the way they respect everyone around them.

Treat other people's property as though it was worth far more than your own; If you borrow a car; return it clean and with a full tank of gas (especially if it is your parents lol). We still have to reinforce this one from time to time . . .

Never lie, steal or cheat, never, not at games, not at school and especially not on someone you have made a commitment to; your word is the true measure of your character. Mark and I are so proud of Ben, that boy never tells a lie . . . lol . . . no matter how much trouble he is about to be in.

Give a part of yourself away everyday; Lou has gone above and beyond so many times while helping me with my work with refugees, she has really proven to me that in raising her I did something right.

Don't tolerate ignorance, bigots or hypocrites & stand up for those who can't or are afraid to stand up for themselves . . . I tell my kids it's good to be scared in the face of a bully, that means your smart and brave. My Hannah Sue, gosh that kid is so good and brave at heart. Mark and I were really proud of her the other day; some of the school teachers & staff (yes adults) were harassing a couple of kids who are gay on Gay Pride Day. They bullied them and told them they were going to have them arrested if they didn't change out of their Pride shirts right then and there, so these poor kids changed. But when Hannah heard about it she marched into the restroom took off her shirt and wrote GAY PRIDE on it, huge with a permanent marker. She wore that shirt in defense of her friends all day . . . luckily not one bigoted adult had the nerve to tell her to take it off . . . because you know she would have . . . right then and there! She said, "mom, I was hoping they would arrest me . . ." I told her that she taught her friends a good lesson about how hollow the empty threats of a bully are. At a school dance she again proved her depth by asking a boy with Downs Syndrome, who was alone in the corner, to come join and dance with her and her group of friends, making his first dance something special to remember.

I guess what I've tried to teach my kids is summed up by Albert Einstein when he said "...the world is not a dangerous place because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing..." and they have made us so proud by listening.


Lou helping refugees learn pottery.

My "Rainbow" kids hangin' on the North End:
Hannah, Cassy(friend), Kelsy( Gus's girlfriend), and Gus.


Our muscle man, looks more like his dad everyday.


Monday, May 18, 2009

A piece of metal to hang around my neck . . .

OK, grand kid soccer is a lot of fun . . . something grandparents sort of have to drag themselves to . . . but not to be missed! This past year was our Grandson Brenden and Granddaughter Trinity's first year playing on "big-kid" teams. It tore my heart out to have Trinity so far away (California), where we couldn't see her play, but she is so precious in the pictures. She's such an intense little girl, you can just feel the concentration in her posture.

Well, the funniest thing was little Brenden inviting us to see his award ceremony, he said " and yeah, and they are even going to give me a piece of metal to wear around my neck!" Of course he meant a Medal, we are all still laughing about that one!


Brenden . . .


Brenden and his "piece of metal".


Trinity . . .



Trinity and friends . . .


Hayden . . .


Grandpa, Gus and Brenden at Hayden's game.

Lou gets a car . . .

Mark took a lot of pleasure over the years in being able to give each of his kids an old project car to work on. Wanting to help my kids feel like part of the family and give himself a way to bond with them he gave each of them an old car as well. He put a lot of thinking into the type of car, the amount of work, and their own individual personalities. He's a great dad and my kids are so lucky to have him as a part of their lives . . . and boy do they know it!



This is a picture of Lou and her step-dad Mark the day he gave her her 1962 Cadillac De Ville.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Grandma buys new boots . . .


Brenden wearing his "new boots" with shorts . . .

When I was little girl I my grandma always took us out for a new pair of cowboy boots early in the fall. Maybe I don't really remember one specific time, more like a picture book image of the cool boots; sitting on the floor at the feed store, the smell of new leather, the time my little sister wanted a certain pair so bad that she insisted they fit even though the paper was still in the toe . . .

I bought Trinity her boots over the years, my gosh it was sooo much fun, she always had to have pink.

So when fall started approaching I did the grandma thing with Terri's boys for the first time, they settled on Ropers like their grandpa and their daddy. Those little ropers were the cutest boots I had ever seen. The boys had so much fun, it was a really good time with them. I hope they always remember "new-boot-days" the way I do.


Trinity and my niece Emma with the matching pink boots I bought them one fall.


Hayden and his daddy Steven decked out in cowboy gear.






September 2008 . . .

Well of course we got married that month; and it seems that we are happier with that decision every day, the bumps in the road seem like pebbles compared to life without each other.

Hannah turned 16, I got her a guitar and Mark gave her a truck . . .


My little Rock n Roller . . .


John Iverson, Hannah Sue and her Step-dad Mark with her '49 Ford.



Trip to Lagoon 2008 . . .

So, I have this good friend Dave, gotta love the guy . . . but if Crazy Dave can get something wrong . . . well, he will. So one fine fall day Dave called up and said hey, let's take the kids to Lagoon . . . I've got hotel discounts with rooms for 20.00, and tickets to Lagoon for 10.00 each.

Wow! we thought, we could take the kids on one last summer fling and keep it affordable. . .

LOL, NOT!

Dave forgot to mention that he got fired from the hotel chain the week before, and that you had to buy the Lagoon discount tickets online prior to arriving, so no, nothing affordable about this last minute trip :)
BUT, we had a blast and really, the car ride with the kids was the best part. They were laughing and telling jokes the whole way, the 5 hour drive seemed like it went by in minutes. I played The Cube with them (a future/ fortune telling game), they thought it was brilliant (the game not me of course), and are still making jokes about it. Mark and I dropped the kids at the park the next day and he and I spent the day sight seeing Salt Lake, we had a wonderful dinner at Bucca de Beppo. Consequently though, the only pictures are from the car ride!


Gus and Lou, yes Gus wore that white hat for half the car ride . . .


Hannah Sue . . .


The happy Dad . . .


The Mom . . .


Mark and Katy take a trip . . .

Now my idea of a vacation is Mexico, Monterrey, Florida . . . when Mark suggested we take a little trip down to San Diego, just the two of us, I thought oh how romantic . . . lol . . . I pictured us sitting on the beach maybe strolling through Sea World . . .



Well, I soon found out that a vacation to Mark means picking up an antique car, or in this case A PLANE! It wasn't what I imagined, but we had such a good time.



This is my most favorite picture of mark, he's not a big guy, but he's solid muscle.




Mark and his friend Steve right before we headed back.

We stayed a night in Riverside and then another in Jackpot; had a lot of fun in Jackpot, looking forward to going back there again.






August 2008; Dallas & Jill's Wedding, and we got a new Family member!

My good friends and neighbors Dallas and Jill got married. The wedding was amazing, overlooking the city and foothills and right before sunset.

The kids fell in love with being in love that day.



Ryan and Jill after ceremony.



My beautiful kids at reception; Lou, Kenny, Hannah and Ryan in front.

And then, Mark's daughter Terri had little Weston, and our wonderful family grew by one more!


Terri and Steven with Hayden, Brenden and little Weston.


Grandpa and the littlest one . . .

July 2008 . . . river rafting & ice cream cakes . . .


Lou, Hannah, Gus & me (Katy)


The kids were still getting to know each other, and man was it hot! River rafting was the perfect answer, they went in the water stinky and sweaty on one end and came out friends on the other; I wish I had pictures from those days . . . mom failure there.
Gus and Ben both had Birthdays in July and my kids quickly adapted to the Lester family tradition of ice cream cakes.

Here's some more family river/picnic pictures:



My happy husband



Lou and Kenny . . .



Terri and Ben . . .


Steven and Brenden . . .


Ryan and Sophia (his best friend)

Gus and Terri - I love this photo with the watermelon and the green grass and the river in the background . . .