Knotts Berry Farm

As a tribute to Mom, Becky, Pancho, Julie and I visited Knott's Berry Farm with all our combined kids. It turned out to be one of the most fun days! While the older cousins - Michael, Megan and Max went off to ride the 'real' rides, Sam, Lucy and Sofia hit all the younger rides. We went for a stagecoach ride, road the train, did the log ride, and hit Camp Snoopy! Sofia was big buddies with cousin Sam, who really was amazing at holding her hand and strapping her into all the rides. Sam, Sofia and Lucy had such a fun day together and it was wonderful to see the cousins get to know each other. We promised that we'd try to make the trip to Knott's an annual occurrence.

The entrance - just as I remember it!


The gang of cousins


Sam, Max, Sofia, Michael, Megan and Lucy


The four parents - me, Becky, Pancho and Julie


Sofia, our little jail bird


Pancho heading out with the kids


Snoopy!


Lucy and Sofia sitting on laps - I have similar pictures from when I was Sofia's age


The gals


Sofia watches the stagecoach - we just got off of it. So much fun!


Waiting in line for the log ride


The "grand finale" of the log ride. It was a very hot day, so it felt great to be a little wet


Lucy and Sofia hang out with Snoopy. We actually found Snoopy off to the side of a ride (I think he had just come out of his 'house') and no one else was there. The girls got to play with Snoopy for a long time. Sofia gave him a hug and kiss as we left.


Cousins! I love this picture (thanks, Julie!)


Flying with Sam


Trying to put her arms around Sam and Lucy


Sofia eats her first corn dog (or hot dog product for that matter) - not the best 'milestone'.....


Watching the show at Lucywood


Sofia volunteered for and got picked to be up on stage (she's in the middle). It was cute, however, all she really wanted was to "say HI" an "give them hugs"


Teacups! You can't go to Knott's and not ride the teacups.


Sofia's very favorite ride - I think the cousins went on this at least five times.





Such joy!


Heading off to another ride


Sofia's very first roller coaster (with Sam, of course). As soon as it was over, she said "Can we do that again?" She's fearless.


Weeee!


A very tired girl. We left the park around 730pm and she fell right to sleep. We ate dinner with everyone before heading home and going to sleep for the night. She could have really used a bath, but it didn't happen at 11pm when we finally got home!


The entire gang.

Mom's Memorial

Mom lost her battle with cancer on July 7th. It was so difficult to watch and be a part of at times, but I wouldn't be anywhere else. I'm so lucky that I was able to be there when she really needed me and I know every morning and evening when Sofia would give her a kiss, or when she'd hold Mimi's hand, Mom was a bit happier. We lost an amazing Mom, Mimi and woman and I am thankful that Sofia had a few years to get to know Mimi and I intend to ensure that she doesn't forget all the wonderful things they did together and how special she is to us. Not only was Mom a gifted artist with crafts (we have many many beautiful Mimi-made dresses), but she was the most giving and supportive person who lived by a few mottos. The most important was to "eat the center of the sandwich first." Life is short and she knew it was important to enjoy every minute of it, which she really did. I'm so thankful for all the lessons she taught me, for all the memories I have together, and I miss her so much.

We celebrated her life on the 14th and started the day at Memory Gardens for a family and very close friends inturnment service. Mom was buried with Dad, which is very special to me. I was thankful for the chance to talk a little about Mom and tell of all that she meant to me and how many things will always remind me of her. One thing I didn't mention is that I see a lot of my Mom's "go get 'em" attitude in Sofia. Mom had a take charge attitude and knew her mind and our little girl certainly fits that! After the inturnment, we went to lunch with my Mom's closest friends at La Vie en Rose, one of Mom's favorite restaurants. We then headed for the service at St. John's Lutheran Church. Pastor Tim did a very nice eulogy and was followed by my Uncle Steve who shared the most poignant and beautiful summary of Mom's life. My Aunt Cathy finished with a slide show of Mom from birth. The reception at the church was followed by a reception at Mom and Joseph's house - both were very nice, but the very best part was seeing and visiting with so many people from various stages of Mom's life. We were able to share stories and remember such a wonderful Mom/Mimi/Woman.



I'm so thankful they are buried together


Sofia finds a dried worm after the inturnment service


Playing with cousins


The six of us kids - a rare time that we are all together


(Almost) all of Mimi's grandkids


At La Vie en Rose


After the service, Sofia and her cousins swam in the fish pond at the reception. I know Mom was smiling down on them - she would have loved to watch them!


Toasting to Mom! Another motto being: Drink champagne for no reason at all.....


Sofia with Mommy


With Aunt Shirl


Another family line-up.


With Beth, one of Mom's four best friends....

4th of July

With CK in town for work, we decided to find a good place to watch fireworks. We sort of decided late in the day, and ruled out the beach (too crowded) and outside of Disneyland (always crazy, but probably worse on the 4th). We decided to drive up to Fullerton and go to the fireworks show put on at Fullerton High School, which is ironically the same football stadium that all of my high school football games were played in and where my graduation took place. I hadn't been back since. Inside the stadium a band played and there were several delicious looking food stands (with lines of people to go with them), as well as jugglers and lots of people camped out to watch the fireworks. After exploring, we decided to sit outside the stadium for the actual fireworks so we'd have a little bit better chance of getting back to the car.

When the fireworks started, Sofia was terrified and clung to CK while burying her head into his neck. We'd planned on going to In-N-Out after the fireworks, so at one point she was hiding and then said "Can we go to In-N-Out NOW?" Finally, after a minute or two we started telling her about how beautiful each one was and she finally started stealing glances, which soon turned into all out excitement for what she saw. By the time it was over she was telling everyone sitting around us (who obviously saw the same thing), how big and colorful and fun the fireworks were! The rest of the night she talked about them and for days kept asking if we could watch them again that night. Disneyland is only a few miles from Mom's and they actually have fireworks every night, but we figured that didn't necessarily need to be shared with Sofia, or else she'd want to go EVERY night. She loved it!

Heading to the stadium from our car


Watching the band and all the people


A juggler with VERY long legs


Hanging out....


With Mommy


Sofia at the beginning and first few minutes of the fireworks


Discovering how beautiful and fun the are!

Knott's Berry Farm with Mimi

My family has a strong tie to Knott's Berry Farm. When they were dating, my Mom's parents went out to the Chicken Dinner Restaurant for meals together. For their 50th wedding anniversary we all ate there the night before their big celebration party. When I was young, I probably knew Knott's Berry Farm as well as our own house - we spent a lot of time there. Some of my best childhood memories are of visiting the petting zoo (which is sadly no longer there), taking the train around the park, going for a stagecoach ride, and of course, the log ride!

So, before Sofia and I even arrived in California, Mom was adamant that we make a final trip to Knott's Berry Farm together and show Sofia such a wonderful place. Despite her health, Mom was determined and so we set out on Thursday morning. We ended up taking the 'scenic' route and it took a little longer to get there than it should have, but we were having fun talking. We made it to Knott's, and I wheeled Mom in her wheelchair and her oxygen bottle around the park, with Sofia sitting on Mimi's lap. We didn't really hit many rides - just a couple in Camp Snoopy for Sofia, but it was a fun adventure to be out with Mom and hear stories of when Mom used to take me when I was little and later my cousins to Knott's all those years ago. Sofia loved hanging out with Mimi and getting a ride on her lap instead of walking.

All set to explore the park!


On the train


Sofia was exhausted pretty quickly and she loved snuggling in with Mimi while we walked. Mimi is teasing her about her thumb sucking....





Heading out of the park


In front of the Chicken Dinner Restaurant - we wished we were hungry so we could have eaten there.


Mimi cuddles - the best!

Father's Day Weekend 2010

Sofia and I arrived in California the Monday before Father's Day weekend and enjoyed every minute we spent with Mom/Mimi. We talked about Mom's various on-going craft projects, her 'to do' list for us to work on, reminisced about past fun times, and just enjoyed our time together.

CK flew out for a visit over Father's Day weekend as did Aunt Cathy, Uncle Eric, Uncle Steve and Aunt Shirl. It was a bittersweet weekend filled with stories of Mom's growing up and life changes that were fun and tinged with sadness at the same time. Sofia enjoyed spending time with all of her Aunts and Uncles again. As usual, she loved her Mimi time and enjoyed sharing milkshakes with Mimi, being pushed in the swing, playing together with Green Beup Beup, dressing up her new doll, and playing tea party. Several times throughout the weekend, Sofia and Mimi set up her little tea set and played tea party (with real water from the fish pond). Sofia and Mimi also picked blackberries off the bushes in the backyard, checked how the heirloom tomatoes were growing, and played with Mimi's fabric scraps in her hobby room. When Mimi needed to lay down and rest, Sofia loved cuddling up with her or they would read "Sew Beautiful" magazines together.

Sofia's Mimi....


Mimi, Grandpa Joe and Marrieta


Mimi playing with Sofia in the swing


I love this picture of them horsing around...


Sofia and I swam in the fish pond - she was more eager to do so than I was....other than the slight fishy taste and smell to the water, it was fun.


Picking blackberries! We picked two big bowls then made blackberry cobbler - it was delicious! Sofia actually took this picture of Mimi.