Friday, December 19, 2008

METALLICA

I can honestly say that I have waited at least 16 years to see this band....and let's just say.... IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT.
We had a fantastic time and Metallica freakin' ROCKS!!!! Our constant companions (the Borgeses) joined us for yet another great adventure. We paid a grip of money for the tickets...but ONE alone was worth every penny.
David's first rock concert is going to be very hard to beat I am sure. It is by far top of my list of favorites. I don't know when I have enjoyed a concert more. Maybe it was the music, probably it was David's presence, it could have been watching him lovin' it, or the company we kept. Who knows....but it was AWESOME.

Rice-A-Roni.......(Sing the song)

Yep, thats right. A trip to San Francisco. We had a great time in San Francisco the weekend of December 5th with the Borgeses once again (I think we'll take them on our honeymoon...lol).
David has never been to San Francisco. It was an awesome time getting to show him the "big city." He was awed by all the movement and people and noise. But then again, so was I.
We took the train from Hanford to San Francisco. It was really foggy when we left and cleared as we made our way north. The train was a fun little adventure. We would recommend it as a low stress way to travel.
It was a beautiful day in the city...despite being pretty chilly (hence the Eskimo get-up).

Of course no trip would have been complete without a tour of Alcatraz. So, we did the sunset tour. It was very interesting, but moreso...really beautiful when we walked out the door to a view of the city at night....all lit up and crisp. Very beautiful. Very romantic.

But of course, this is the Borges clan afterall.....POOR DAVID!!! Stupid bully statue.

Deck the Halls

Tis the season...... to buy a tree (Big 85 lives up to his reputation) and decorate for Christmas. We are having such a wonderful, fun holiday season. Busy as usual with both Sarah and Anthony in Basketball along with birthdays, events, and work, work, work.....but you know we love it.
So, we bought a GIANT tree....and the we all helped to trim it. Christmas music and home made hot chocolate were the order of the day. Sarah proved she truly doesn't understand the English language at all ("now make sure you put all of the ornaments as close together as you can...especially if they are the same"...yeah....that's what we said...lol) and Anthony is a budding little photographer. But that is what our chaos is all about. :) You gotta love it.

Everyone remain C.A.L.M.


Finally, a family get together with Mother Theresa!. Mom treated the 4 of us to a fabulous, holiday-spirit filled time in my hometown of Bakersfield. We travelled down for an evening full of lights, family, and fun.
The California Animal Living Museum (CALM) is a sanctuary just outside of Bakerfield that rehabilitates and houses wild animals that have been injured or cannot live in the wild anymore.
During Chrismas, the place is absolutely COVERED in Christmas lights and a beautiful place to go to get the holiday spirit going. It is unbelievable.
There was a Merry-Go-Round (we took 2 rides) and vendors along with a train ride and the walk through the park. We had a wonderful time and the kids totally loved mom. Clearly, she had a great time too.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Thanksgiving

David and I did Thanksgiving at our house this year. We both agreed that it was the best Thanksgiving ever for both of us. We almost had the entire clan present, but we sure missed Colby…he definitely adds his own brand of excitement. David and I served a complete feast of “traditional” Thanksgiving food (Turkey, Ham, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Rolls, and Mashed Potatoes and Gravy), but there was the added blessing of Portuguese beans, Mom’s apple pie, Brownies, and Papesh…mmmmm….now that is a meal. Everyone had a really great time. More Borges family GOOD TIMES!

Runners-Up

This is the story of the little team that could. A David and Goliath story (as Koop called it) if ever there was one. Sierra High School, with its poplation of 650 students, had cut Water Polo as a school sport this year. In light of this economy, it is just too expensive to run, generates no income, and the only competition comes from schools 3 times our size.

Despite thse obsticles, the athletes, parents, and community raised money so that this sport could exist. The athletes worked hard, played hard, and dedicated a lot of time to making it all worthwhile.

On November 15th, after an extraordinary winning season, the Varsity Girls' Water Polo team competed in the Division 2 Valley Finals. To get there and to secure a high seed and a home match, they had to beat our rivals Yosemite on their turf first. In a stunning comeback defeat, through cold and fog, these girls pulled it off. The first round of playoffs found us at home against the superpower, Garces (a private school out of Bakersfield)
A satisfying win put us at home again against Tulare Western. In a hard-fought, last-ten-seconds, one-point win...the girls earned their way to the Valley Finals.

Ultimately, the girls brought home a 2nd place trophy and this little team that should not have even existed this year showed everyone what you can do when you BELIEVE!

It's a Penny Newman Christmas....in November

This year the Penny Newman Christmas party was the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino. We had an absolute BLAST. Michelle and Manuel kept us entertained (personally I think they are perfect for one another) both at the table and on the dance floor and the Borgeses joined us to add to our bliss!

We danced and danced....and thanks to Manuel, ew finally have some pics of that! David had to do a little DJ-ing to pick out the right music, but even the Borgeses spent quite a bit of time on the dancefloor.

After the party was over, we headed into the casino, to spend our gift money and burn the midnight oil. With the Borgeses, we had a fantastic time. We sure didn't win anything, but we made some great memories!

Family Fun

One of the pure joys of being part of the Borges clan is the FAMILY!!! The Portuguese communtiy has such a strong sense of family and culture. There are always things to do, places to go, people to see. On November 1st, we all attending the wedding of Carina and Alex Fagundes. Our little family, along with parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins had a wonderful time. There was a wonderful church ceremony (in Portuguese....I love it) and then on to the hall for food, fun, and lots of dancing.
Anthony and Sarah looked wonderful in their new digs. They are really just the greatest kids. They have these wonderful little personalities. They are outgoing and social and just have fun wherever they are. It is such a joy to be with them.
Some of my personal favorite memories included dancing with David (of course), getting crazy with Sarah, and watching Anthony come alive on the dance floor (FINALLY!!!).

Friday, November 28, 2008

All Saints Day

Halloween was an exciting day. Work was fun as always, with my fellow staffers Dylan and Tony (Dylan wanted a piggy-back ride...lol). There was a lunch-time costume contest (Tony was an awesome Neo), then I had to quickly hop on the bus to head for the Boys' waterpolo tournament at San Joaquin Memorial (yes....I did coach in the costume...but at the there was also a pirate there to offset my awkwardness...tee hee).
David grabbed the kiddos and headed to Fresno, and all met me for the last game at SJM. It is always so wonderful when they make the games. They are so supportive of me, and the players love having them around.
We took the kids to the Borgeses for trick or treating, as I also had supervision duty for a home football game back at the high school. The kids got to hang with beautiful cousin Callie and they got sacs full of candy to boot!!! Woo hoo!!! SUGAR HIGH!!!
David and I headed for the football game, and let me tell you, by this time I was pretty done with the costume. But I manned-up and got through the whole day (About 15 hours by the time we got home) dressed as my ALL TIME FAVORITE.....Sir Charlie Chaplin.


P.S. Dave wouldn't kiss me though....the mustache was too much!!! LOL


P.P.S. He loved the eyebrows though....I said I modeled them after his :)

6 Months.....Oct. 26th, 2008

Anniversary Time. We have a little trouble pinning down an actual start date to our relationship. we are either at 3 years or around 6-8 months depending on when you begin counting from. We have decided that we are calling April 26th our anniversary date. Given that, October 26th, we got spiffied up and went for some ribs in Visalia. It was a great anniversary! I love my life!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Mr. President

O-Ba-Ma!!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Pumpkin Carving!!!

Pumpkin carving was a ton of fun!!! With daddy's help, we carved up a few pumpkins for the Halloween holiday. Anthony and Sarah are not squeemish at all. Both of them dug right in to "gut" the pumpkins. The kiddos designed their own faces and did most of the cutting them selves.
Daddy did help though.
I had fun fixin' a few "boo boo's" and just enjoying the family time.
In the end, we had two cool pumpkins, some great shots, and good memories.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Go Dogs!!!

Fresno State Football

Saturday, October 11, 2008 David and I went to David's first Fresno State football game! We loved watching the dogs play. It is everything college football should be. Super loud, tons of color, and people, people, people.

It was once again a fun adventure with the Borgeses (anyone beginning to sense a theme here) and Art's buddy Gilbert joined us too (sorry Gil....no pic this time....I promise on the next one). We, of course love the Borgeses. I think we all literally have withdrawls if we go too long without seeing eachother.

We had an awesome time. We visited the beer garden (and the port-a-potties...ugh), ate some yummy tri-tip sandwiches, devoured some awesome funnel cake, Art provided some beverages for all, and we watched a great game. I am amazed everyday at how much we truly enjoy even the simplest things.

On a side note....we ran into a few former Sierra High graduates that really made me smile: Amanda, Traci, and Leah (some of my girlies) came with Christine Barcus to see Annie cheer, Colby (former swimmer) was playing in the band, Annie Bananie was of course cheering, and Ms. Kelly Bean was there somewhere but I only got to see her texts :(..... (until my phone died...boo hoo). But it really is great to be out and about and get to see people you genuinely care about doing well in the world. I love my job!!!!


Moving on, I am particularly fond of the upper left hand picture of this next series. We're a pretty cute little couple huh? I am a lucky, lucky girl (well....he's pretty fortunate too...lol).

Of course, no trip would be complete if Chris and I did not draw attention to ourselves and take our obligatory self portrait. So, here we are....our two gorgeous school psych mugs..... he he he.

And, lastly.....wouldn't you know it..................... :)

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Olly olly oxen free Charlie Brown



Oct 4th we took a family outing to the Cobb Ranch's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch. We had some serious team work and made our way through the maze like pros. Of course we had to have a little corn tassel fun along the way.


We decided to pick our own pumpkins this year. Anthony was our handy wheelbarrow driver...ready to cart our find back to the car for us. Sarah chose the first pumpkin of the day. But, I think it was David who got the best find. There is also a petting zoo on the grounds, so we took a little time to talk to the animals.


Family Pictire Time!
And of course, who can resist the silly stick-your-head-in-the-hole pictures? Everyone had to take a turn.
We head a great time doing...well....not much of anything really. Good times. Good memories.