Day 334

Brandon found this website that shows him how to make a ring out of quarters. The only catch is that they have to date back to 1964 or earlier, because they were still made with silver. Alot easier to pound down and drill. He and Austin looked thru our bottle of change and found 2. They quarters are actually worth $5. Yet he is going to pound the down and make some rings. I think he should at least save one of them.

Day 333

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas, Everywhere you go, and especially here at the Lopez house.
We all started putting up the decorations outside and inside. Vanessa, Megan and Glenda came over and helped put up our downstairs tree. It looks so pretty. Outside is getting there, by the end of this weekend, it should be all done.

Day 332

This yr Im giving a day to Kirstin. She is part of the family after all :)

Hey all! Happy Belated Thanksgiving :)
This year I am so thankful for many things. I will try not to make it too long! :D
First off I am extremely thankful for my amazing Mom. She has faced many obstacles the past few years that she is fighting through. I am so thankful for her amazing spirit, strength, and beauty. Without her strong willed personality, she would not have made it through the hardships she has faced with her health. I could not imagine life without her and I am so thankful that I don't have to. I wish her road to recovery wasn't so difficult; I wish I could take the pain away from her. I still thank God that she is still with us. Mom, I love you!
The other person I am truely thankful for is my boyfriend Christopher. He makes me smile each and every day and makes me feel like the most important person in the world. I am told every day how beautiful I am and how much he appreciates me. It makes me feel amazing. I can't help looking at him without a huge smile on my face.I love him so much! He is also very supportive and an amazing model as you will see below :) Without him I would not know the amazing Lopez family. They treat me like a daughter. I am so thankful for their kindness and love.

Day 331

Christopher's turn:

This year I am thankful for many things; as always I am thankful for my family who has always been there for me. They have been there for me during the best and worst times of my life always lending support and I will always be grateful to them for that.
More and more every day I am increasingly thankful for my incredible girlfriend Kirstin. She makes me smile every day and I couldn't be happier that she has become such a part of our family.
I am also thankful that I will be finishing up my associates degree this semester. It has taken a fair bit longer than it should have to get to this point but I'm finishing strong with over a 3.0 and look forward to continuing on in my education.

Day 330

Its Roberts turn.
I am truly blessed, poor but blessed!
Thankful for Bridget (my princess), our boys (who have all amazed me this year), friends (new and old) and family (who we love, but challange us).
Thankful and grateful to have a job in these tough times.
I know that struggle is Gods way of teaching us and building character.
Honestly, I'm ready for him to teach someone else! Just kidding-sort of.

Day 329 Happy Thanksgiving

It's my turn to tell you what I'm thankful for.

I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends. Those that could be with us and those who could not be.
I know that in life we are all faced with struggles, stress & sadness but I am thankful for this season to focus on the things that we are grateful for and the people we love.

I'm Thankful for Christopher. He's my oldest and is the most like me.(kind of scary lol) I'm so very proud of him and thankful that he has taken his college studies seriously and will be graduating next month with his AA. He can make me smile, laugh, cry and scream at times, but when he tells me how much I mean to him and that he loves me that's enough to make a mom's heart happy, and I love him dearly.

I'm Thankful for Dominic. My boy that has no self esteem issues, boy am I thankful for that. He is extremely talented in many areas, running, writing and music. But I would have to say his leadership skills and his patience and kindness towards others is the most important. He's not afraid to hug and kiss his mom in front of his friends and tell me he loves me. I'm so thankful for that and I love him dearly.

I'm Thankful for Brandon. He is my quiet one, the one I try to figure out whats going on in his mind. I sometimes wonder what the voices in his head are telling him because he blurts out the most random and funny things. He's extremely smart, didn't get that from me ;) and he makes my heart melt when he comes in and says I love you Mommy! yep he still calls me Mommy and I love it and I love him dearly.

I'm Thankful for Austin. He is my baby. He has a heart of Gold. He is always smiling. He has made me so proud this yr. He joined the XC team and has worked his butt off and a lot of weight in the process. I so enjoy his big warm hugs and his long stories and I love him dearly.

I'm Thankful for Robert. If it weren't for him and a little help from me (he he) I wouldn't have my 4 FABULOUS BOYS! During these hard times, he has tried his hardest to do whatever he can for us. He's a great dad and someone who loves me no matter what. Most day's I'm sure I don't deserve it. So I'm thankful for that. And from the picture, you can tell he has a weird sense of humor. I'm not sure how thankful the family is about that, but he is good entertainment. LOL

I'm Thankful to Kim and Greg for raising and sharing their wonderful daughter Kirstin with my son and us. I could not have a picked a better girlfriend for Christopher. I tell her that all the time. She is very sweet, loves my son with all her heart and I love her like a daughter :)

I'm Thankful for Debbie, Stephanie(not pictured), Sarah and baby Nevaeh. Debbie and the girls have been our friends since 1992. Debbie is hilarious and helped delivery 3 of my 4 boys. How could you not be thankful for that. We are now loving the next generation, baby Nevaeh.

I'm Thankful for Marilyn and Brian(not pictured)also friends of our since 92. We lived on the same street and have continued our friendships even after moving out of our old neighborhood. We enjoy having them over at our annual Thanksgiving and 4th of July celebrations.

I am Thankful for new friendships. Glenda, Stan, Vanessa and Megan. I think they are an awesome family. I hope to get to know them more over the yrs as our friendships grow. And I'm thankful that Vanessa makes Dominic very happy :)

And Im personally thankful I didn't die today running/walking the Catch the Gobbler 5k in the freezing cold. Only my second one I've ever done. I ran the first one in 59 mins and this one in 52. So just think what I can do if I was in shape.

Day 328

It's Dominic's turn :)

I've had a lot to be thankful for this year. My life is blessed by goodness and happiness. I became a state champion in track, the sport I love so much and am so passionate about, for that I am thankful. Also I am thankful to Coach Roy who oversaw my success and transformed me into a champion. I surprised myself by being a decent cross country runner, earning another state title, for this too am I grateful. However, my teammates and friends were the true stars of the team, without them running wouldn't be as fun and winning would be meaningless, and so for them I am thankful. I am especially thankful for the girl I asked to homecoming and who became my girlfriend. She is the sweetest person I have ever known and is beautiful as the sun shines, as the wind breathes, as the flowers bloom. Vanessa means so much to me and for her I am so thankful. Lastly, I am thankful that every day of my life, I am surrounded by a family who loves me, who supports me in all that I do. I have a father who provides for me, is my teacher when I am ignorant, my mentor when I am conflicted. No one could ask for a better father. Pops, I am thankful for you. I have a mother who cares for me, shelters me, loves me. She has only ever had my best in mind, even though I can't always see it. I love her more than she can ever possibly know. Mom, you are the best, for you I am thankful. I have three brothers. All of them are silly, goofy, annoying, funny, awesome, irreplacable. I can't imagine my life without them. Christopher, Brandon, Austin: I am thankful for you. And there's Bandit, who reminds me why dogs are mens' best friend. Bandit, I'm thakful for you too buddy. My family is the anchor of my life, they hold me to the bedrock of who I am; there are no words to describe how thankful I am for them. Happy Thanksgiving.

Day 327

Today is Brandon's day to share what he is Thankful for:

I am thankful for my Improvement this yr in XC. Receiving a medal in each meet I ran is mind blowing. I'm also thankful for my family and friends who supported me.

Day 326

This week we all will be taking turns writing what we are thankful for. Today is Austin's day to say what he's thankful for and take a picture.

I am thankful for my family, friends and my Xbox.

Day 325

It's going to be looking a lot like Christmas over the next few days here at the Lopez house. Robert, the boys and Vanessa have been bringing boxes of Christmas stuff from storage tonight. Very sweet of Vanessa to come over and help out. Thank you Vanessa. :) I'm inside where its warm making dinner. We are having chicken noodle soup. After dinner I think Dominic will be going back to her house to finish studying for their Calculus test tomorrow.

Day 324

Our "Blue Lightning Team" couldn't use Centennials uniform because we had to be a club team for this meet.

Jackson and Austin

3 time Olympic Gold Medalist in the 10K Abdi Abdirahman aka:The Black Cactus.

Kyles muddy "pink" shoes. lol

Our top runner Nick Hartle

Today is the big race. We hope it will be a good one. We do have 4 boys that have been sick all week, so I know they won't be 100%. Not good when going up against the top in the Southwest. Our boys are also going up against the #1 team in the Nation. 2 of our Centennial boys: Jonathan and Race drove down to run the open race. We got there early to cheer them on. After that race was ours. There were close to 300 runners in this race. Way more than the boys have raced against in NV. I think they have raced with that many in Oregon. Nick our top runner came in 11th and qualified at 1st alternate for the Nike Nationals in Dec. Congrats to him. Our next closes guy was Kyle who came in around 80th. The rest of the boys came in somewhere in the middle to back pack. :( We didn't qualify as a team, but that is ok. They ended their HS season winning State. So that is what matters. Got in the car and drove home. I would have to say we had the car that was the place to be. Dominic slept, ha ha but the rest of the boys took turns taking pictures out the window of whatever they could find. We played Christmas music the whole time. well most of it. Tried to get them to sing along. Some did others, Bah Humbug. Tried to teach Tyler how to whistle and snap his fingers. Got home around 6:30 our time and just came home and vegged out. We watch the 2nd Harry Potter. Im going to post random pics from today. There are quite a few.

Day 323

We are off on our trip to AZ for the Nike Cross Southwest Championships. I have a full car and there are 2 other cars. one parent last min wanted to drive down with their kid. We got down to Phoenix with barely enough time to make the boys ASU tour. We figured why not we were there. We toured the downtown campus where Dominic and his friend Kyles classes would be if this is where they decide to go. Very nice campus. The dorm rooms are pretty cool. I never got the chance to experience college life, I chose to have Christopher instead. LOL So it was fun for me to see how Dominic will be living next yr. Wherever he ends up. This metal looking thing is a $2 million dollar piece of art in the park across the street from the student center. I could find a lot of other things to use $2 million on, but they say its really pretty at night when it lights up. We had lunch and then got on our way to Mesa so the boys could walk/jog the course Toka Sticks Golf Course. They said the course was going to be a very fast one, but very muddy. :( They traded shirts with some of the other schools. I guess that is something they do at the big meets. Went to the hotel got ready for dinner then came back and crashed.

Day 322

I am driving Dominic and a couple of the boys on the team to AZ tomorrow. There are 2car loads going down. We stopped by walmart to pick up some snacks for the kids on the trip down and back. Brandon, like the goof ball that he is, jumped into the cart and stayed there until we checked out.
I believe in God, I believe in prayer and I believe that He does answer those prayers. We got some good news today. The bank was willing to refinance our car loans and save us about $1,200. I am so thankful for all the prayers. Please let this be a sign that things are going to start getting better.

Day 321

Carol and I went to the movies today. We saw For Colored Girls. Boy that movie was pretty intense. I think it was a good movie, but I didn't care much for the dialog when they started quoting some poem. Im assuming it was from the book. Then I went up to the school to talk to our assistant coach about some issues we have had this season. I hope some thing will get handled for next yr. My POTD is Keith Urbans CD. I promised my friend Debbieb that I would pick one up for her. She lives in Canada and I can't remember why she couldn't get it there, but I was glad I could get it for her. I will put it in the mail tomorrow. :)

Day 320

First off I want to Thank Lorrie for making my blog so cute for Christmas. It was fun talking to her and putting a voice to her pretty face. You can follower her HERE she has a P365 blog and from there you can follow her craft blog. She's very talented.

Now onto what's going on in our world. I spent about 8 hrs today working on a catalog for my friend Beth who makes super cute bows for infants on up. I have a Raider one from her :)Her company is called Bibbity Bobbity Bowz It has been fun to work with her. Anyway, in the mean time I get a call from Dominic saying he is really sick. Not something I want to hear this week. He has the trip to AZ Friday. If he doesn't get well, he won't be going and I know that will let the team down. They are going down there to defend their state title. He's running a fever and sore throat. Robert will be home in a bit and we will start him on antibiotics.

Day 319

So this post isn't going to be one that I'm most proud of, but we needed to take some kind of action so we don't lose our house. This is in no way a pity post, so please don't feel sorry for us. We know there are a lot of people out there far worse off than we are. It's just that after Robert took his 60% pay cut last yr things have gone from on top of the world to us struggling to stay afloat very quickly. Really not a good yr for this to be happening. Do you all realize how expensive it is to have a senior in HS these days? Wow! Well the lawyer said they can help, but we need to get a few things in order first. So hopefully this will be the first step to getting back on dry land. And the reason I am posting this is because this is part of what are life is right now and this blog is about our daily life.

Day 318

Very cool stunt :)




Robert use to jump out of the C130 Hercules when he was in the Army.



Aviation Nation.
The largest free public event in Nevada returns to Nellis Air Force Base Nov. 13-14 when the U.S. Air Force hosts Aviation Nation 2010-- the Nellis Air Force Base Open House and annual Las Vegas air show.

Aviation Nation celebrates the work of America's military and its acheivements on land, at sea and in air, space and cyberspace. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will headline the two-day event and are scheduled to be joined by several military air demonstration teams and some of the nation's top civilian air performers.

We went last yr and it was freezing out there. Today I told the boys they better bring jackets because of that. Well we all could have worn shorts. It was beautiful out there. We got there just in time to see the Thunderbirds perform. I love watching the Arial acrobatics and the precision that they pull them off with. One of our favorites is when you are concentrating on one part of the show and another one of the jets buzzes the crowd. You see everyone jump. I LOVE IT! And we also like how the #5 jet most often flies upside down. Way cool! Next yr i'd like to go for the whole day.

Ok so most of these pictures look fake to me because there are no clouds in the sky so it looks like I plucked a picture and posted it to a blue background. Trust me they were all taken today. LOL

Day 317

Went today to a very informative meeting about admissions into college. I wasn't going to go, but figured what the heck. We finished earlier than Massiel and Glenda, so we went to Hobby Lobby to kill time. I really should stay out of stores like that. It just makes me sad that I can't buy. We all had lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. That was supposed to be my POTD, but I forgot to take out my camera. :( Anyway, came home and made a homemade Pot Pie. Thanks Lorrie for sharing your recipe. I changed it up a little. I used cream of chicken soup instead of broth. It was YUMMY! Now on to my POTD. My entry way was starting to look like Santa was making trips to our house. But really it was stuff that Leonie ordered for her and Gary to have me send over to Germany. I finally got it sent off to them. I bet my mom thought I was spending money on goodies when I shouldn't be. LOL

Day 316

Today's prompt is "OUCH".
Austin had an eye exam appointment today. He tore the last contacts that he had. So in order to get more he had to have his eyes checked again. Well he hates when the blow air into his eyes. So Im going with that as "OUCH". lol Good news is that his eyes haven't changed a whole lot, so that is wonderful. When Christopher was younger, at every appointment we'd hear that his eye sight was getting worse. At one point he said he is almost considered legally blind without glasses. Well he has since had lasik surgery and loves being able to see. That was another ouch. wish I had those pictures, but I took them on my cell phone a couple yrs ago and my phone broke so I lost all of the pictures.

Day 315

Happy Veterans Day!
Here's To The Veterans - Thank you to those who have and are putting their lives on the line for America and our FREEDOM!
I want to salute our Nephew Gary. He is currently serving in Afghanistan. He is newly married and his wife Leonie is such a sweetie. I don't know how she does it daily knowing he's in harms way. So I say a prayer for them and all the others out there fighting for our country. THANK YOU!

Day 314

I am babysitting today. She really is a pretty good baby, especially if you are holding her. ;) I asked Debbie to send over some toys or something for her to play with so I could get some stuff done. She brought over this really cool exersaucer. They sure do have cool things for babies now days.

Day 313

Today's prompt was whats in your fridge. I wasn't sure I was going to go with this one, but I did. We have lots of leftovers and stuff. I think I need to go in there and weed some stuff out tomorrow since its trash night. Its hard for me to get the kids to eat leftovers. Unless its Pizza. Earlier i went to lunch with Carol. it was nice to get out and get caught up. Glenda and the girls came over tonight and picked me and Dominic up and we went to Dairy Queen. Gotta love good company and delicious ice cream.

Day 312

After making Tacy wait over a week for Brandon's answer to GR. We finally got Brandon to agree to go to her house and drop off his answer. We picked up a squirrel balloon because as her mom put it she's a nut. Attached to the balloon we put a Chinese take out box with puzzle pieces with 3 of them that said yes. She should have asked Austin. He is more outgoing and fun to be around. Brandon is very shy. So I hope she has a good time.