Our friend Felicia and her daughter, Koiana threw Dred, (Felicia’s husband) a 50th Birthday Bash. There’s 70’s music and guests dress their 70’s best! Dred’s family and friends came to San Antonio for the big event and “roasted” Dred. It was fun for all!
So my brother, Joseph Doria calls and invites us out for some bar-b-que on a windy Sunday afternoon. If you’ve ever had his bar-b-que, you know, it’s awesome. So we grab a bottle of wine, some beans & fideo I had already cooked and we head out to the country, as that’s where they live.
Our nephews, Daniel and Joseph Jr., are excited as we arrive. Miguel and the boys find an empty barrel and start rolling down the hill. It was hilarious! They literally played with the barrel for hours.
I guess the wind got the best of Joseph’s fire cuz I have to tell you, the ribs were a little crispy! This just doesn’t happen to Joseph, that’s why I have to make note of it! Good thing Helen, his wife made an awesome custard pie, she saved the day! We enjoyed our Sunday afternoon visit.
Miguel has a very small 5th grade class at Sunshine Cottage, 11 kids in all. So on Friday, January 23, Miguel’s actual Birthday, we took pizza from Alamo Pizza (yum!) and home-made brownies to his class for lunch. They sing Happy Birthday and get to eat lunch together in the classroom. (Thanks Mrs. Ybarra & Mr. Pfeifer)
After school, the boys in the class to come to the house for a birthday sleepover. Christian, Miguel’s cousin joins us too! It’s an afternoon of shooting hoops, eating snacks, burgers, and hotdogs and of course, playing RockBand! Bubba and Layla are in town for the special occasion. All the adults play RockBand too! What a party! Finally, late in the evening, they are sound asleep. It’s a sight to see, because I remember when they were so little all sprawled out in the den, now they barely fit all in one room! Little boys in big bodies – all sound asleep.
The next morning you can hear them talking and laughing really early. The next thing you know, they are outside in pj’s shooting hoops and playing chase. They come in for breakfast, homemade waffles and fresh fruit, Miguel’s favorite! After breakfast, everyone gets ready to go to Malibu Castle as the girls from class are going to join us for a Malibu Birthday Party. Arcade games, miniature golf, race cars & paddle boats. Whew, what a day!
OMG, Xavier is only three!
Wayne’s sister, RoseAnn was only 27 years old when she passed away. The year was 1994, it was New Year’s Eve. RoseAnn was truly a special woman, very courageous, outgoing and full of personality. RoseAnn had an on-going battle with Lupus which she fought so courageously but lost the battle that year, 1994.
We celebrate RoseAnn’s life in many ways including a Mass in her honor on December 31st. Some of our younger children never had the honor of knowing RoseAnn personally, but they know her in spirit. They have heard all the wonderful stories of growing up with RoseAnn.
So this year we gathered for Mass at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, then met at Jacala Restaurant for dinner (any excuse to eat Mexican food!). So here’s to you RoseAnn as we hold you in our hearts!
So right after Christmas, Wayne & I decide to take advantage of his four day weekend and drive to Ruidoso, New Mexico to ski. I love these last minute trips! Well, my sis, Chris & her husband Joe join us as they have never been to Ruidoso either. We find great hotel accommodations, we fuel up and head out on New Years morning, about 8am. I had stopped by our favorite bakery, El Sol, the day before, so with empanada and coffee in hand we head out. Oh, did I mention, our little guy, Miguel is with us, as they say, he will keep us young! The weather is absolutely gorgeous, I mean picture perfect, sunny, cool and brisk. So we made a few stops, although there is really nothing between San Antonio and New Mexico, we arrive in Ruidoso about 4pm. We check in to our hotel and head out to the Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino. Wow, it’s just like a Las Vegas casino, we’re impressed! We are starving, there are two options for dinner at the casino, the buffet for $20plus per person and a looong line or fine dining at Wendell’s Restaurant downstairs overlooking the lake. We choose Wendell’s, good food and drinks but horrible service. Oh well. Chris, Joe and I head to the casino. Miguel and Wayne hang out in the big lobby with fireplace, arcade and lots of people watching. Okay so no one really got rich, so we head back to the hotel.
Friday morning we drive to Ski Apache. Another gorgeous day! Wow, there is snow on the ground, it’s cold but not too cold and the sun is bright. Perfect for skiing. Wayne and Miguel head to the slopes, Joe takes a tour around the lodge and Chris and I play scrabble outside on the patio. It was truly a beautiful, relaxing day. Late afternoon we head back to town and have dinner at Casa Blanca Restaurant, featuring Southwestern-style Mexican food. Yum! Back to the Casino cuz we didn’t learn our lesson last night. Saturday is another ski day for Wayne and Miguel, Chris and Joe tour the shops downtown. Afterwards we head to Tularosa Vineyards for some wine tasting, then to McGinn Family Pistachio Tree Ranch for some very different flavored pistachios, spices, chocolates and wine.
Sunday, we are heading back to San Antonio, Texas but we’ve decided to take a little detour, we visit Carlsbad Caverns. Wow, it’s been about 42 years since Chris and I visited Carlsbad as children. Its’ been about 37 years for Wayne. This is Miguel’s first visit to Carlsbad. We had a great time, so much to see! We have lunch/dinner at the restaurant there and then continue our trip back home. It’s about 11:30pm before we make it home. Truly a four day weekend! On our road trip, we played Scrabble and Phase Ten. Did I mention I beat Chris 3 times and she won once in Scrabble, I think that’s a record.
So if you’re thinking about a quick ski trip, check the snow report, make sure there’s snow on the mountain and head to Ruidoso. Elevation is 11,000+ ft. There are several condos and cabins available in the area as well as other snow sports, like tubing, etc. Fun for all ages.
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| Ruidoso, NM Ski Trip 2009 |
This year was a little different. Angela and Jason spent Christmas in Corpus Christi, Texas with Jason’s parents, so we decided to have our family Christmas celebration on Sunday, December 28th. It was really nice because Anthony & Layla were in town, Angela and Jason were home and Sarah wasn’t working. We started our day having breakfast together then attending Mass at St. Mary’s Church downtown. After Church, we came home and gathered in the living room around the tree and opened presents. Angela and Jason had more gifts than anyone, since they were out of town for Christmas eve and Christmas Day. Anthony asked that Miguel open his gift from his siblings – wow, it’s Rock Band for the Wii!! Miguel is ecstatic, but so is Layla, Sarah and Anthony! Then we gathered together for a wonderful Christmas dinner served on our formal china, which the kids say I never use! We served ginger ale marinated pork loin with caramelized sweet potatoes, homemade macaroni & cheese, salad, & bread. Everyone enjoyed dinner, talking, laughing and reminiscing old times. Now it’s time for Rock Band and Scrabble. We enjoyed our day together and played well into the night. Grandma Anita stopped by and had her Rock Band debut, see Angela’s blog for the video. Merry Christmas everyone!
Well the first one to wake up is always Miguel. He runs into our bed and asks if he can wake up Bubba and Sarah. He is so excited! We grab our robes & coffee and head to the living room. Look, Santa ate the cookies and drank the milk! We settle in our places and Miguel opens his first gift, then Sarah opens her gift from Santa. We chat about Christmas and memories from years past. This year Angela and Jason spent Christmas in Corpus with Jason’s family. Of course we give them a call to wish them a Merry Christmas — I think we woke them up! 
We head to Christmas Mass at St. Mary’s Church downtown. After Mass, we go to Ruby and Mark Montalvo’s home for the Ramirez Christmas celebration. All of Wayne’s siblings and families are there. Ruby and Mark have a slide show playing on the big screen T.V. for all to enjoy. The kids decided to throw the football outside. Then we eat. Ruby and Mark have prepared a wonderful spread of ham, yams, tamales, and sweets. Everyone brings a dish, but I think our favorite is Yvonne’s pretzel salad. Yum! The new toy this year is Rock Band, all the kids (no age limit) get to play. Now it’s time to open gifts. All the children get many gifts, the adults exchange names. This year we used Elfster, an on-line drawing system. It worked very well because you could enter a wish list or you could ask your secret santa an anonymous questions, etc. Opening gifts was fun.
Then we went on to play Taboo out on the deck. The weather was great and we had a great time playing the couple game of Taboo – and oh, did I mention, Wayne & I were the big winners! Christmas was a beautiful day and everyone had a great time!
Traditionally we celebrate Christmas Eve at my sister, DeeDee’s home. The menu is always wonderful Mexican food, tamales, calabacita, fideo, beans, chili con carne, bunuelos, etc, etc… DeeDee goes all out in decorating her home for the occassion.
We eat, visit, eat and chat more. It’s great to see all the family. Typically, the kids get their gifts first and we all sit around and watch the little ones open their gifts. It was fun to watch little Charlie (he is 2) open his presents. One very special gift this year was to Joseph Doria, Jr. His parents had wrapped this huge gift in a big black trash bag and placed it at his feet. His eyes were wide and he was filled with excitement. Everyone watched as Joseph opened his gift…. it was the huge pig he had shot last year, his parents got it mounted for him. I guess you have to be a hunter to appreciate this! Anyway, the expression on Joseph’s face was great! He was so happy and proud. His brother Daniel was proud of his big brother too!
Later, we begin the adult gift exchange. Everyone draws a number. Each gift gets drawn and can be traded twice. It’s fun to see what everyone gets. We usually eat and drink a bit more then folks head out to Christmas Mass.
Joseph Jr. & Joseph w/big hog!
Recently, our friends, Julie & Gil Lozano purchased some property in La Vernia. They have two sons, Andrew & Lee, they go to Sunshine Cottage School with Miguel. Andrew & Miguel are best friends. So Andrew invited Miguel to spend a few days out at the new property in La Vernia during the Christmas break. Well Wayne and I went to pick up Miguel early one Saturday morning. The drive was beautiful. This is out in the country. Julie & Gil have a pond with fish, they have goats and baby goats, they took their dogs, Clyde, Rocky & Sunshine, out there and they have cows. Miguel had a great time with Andrew & Lee, they played football, they chased deer, they fed the baby goats and best of all, they didn’t have any computer games! Miguel really enjoyed his time out in the country!
I can’t believe I haven’t posted in 8 months! Sorry! Angela & Jason were married in April, summer came and went and we’ve just been really busy. But the biggest news lately is that Wayne Anthony Jr. and Layla are engaged! He proposed at our annual trip to the coast on Labor Day weekend. It was the sweetest proposal, read all about it at www.LaylaandWayne.com. I’m so proud of my son and so happy to have Layla officially as our new daughter-in-law!
Some of you may know that Wayne (dad) worked at FedEx for twenty years. As we were raising our family, he worked at FedEx. He started washing trucks, then courier and eventually operations manager. Before he parted FedEx he was a Dispatch Operations Manager for the Alamo District. Boy how the years go by fast. I can remember back in the 1980’s, FedEx was going to have their first “Worldwide Meeting”. The employees and spouses were invited to the Holiday Inn Conference Room to view the meeting via Satellite — it was a big deal. We tuned in to the office in Japan, China, Europe, etc. , it was the first satellite meeting for FedEx and every country held their meeting simultaneously despite the time of day or night. It was very exciting. So much has changed obviously over the years but it’s funny to look back at the old days. The days of pagers, no cell phones. I can remember when the first DADS unit was installed in the FedEx truck — what a computer in the delivery truck?! Amazing! To think, even baby Charlie can use an Iphone these days!
Well, Wayne left FedEx in April 2003 after 20 years of a wonderful career to start his new ventures. Unbeknown to us, Wayne Anthony Jr. got a job with FedEx as a courier in April of 2003! We were all surprised and happy for Anthony. He says he still meets couriers that his dad hired and they can’t believe he’s grown up, etc… He used to go the stations with his dad when he was a boy. Well on October 1, 2008, Anthony was promoted to Operations Manager in Temple, Texas. CONGRATULATIONS Anthony – we are all proud of you! So the FedEx story continues…
So we receive a SAVE the DATE in the mail for Julia Garza & Joe Procter’s engagement party for October 4, 2008. Then we receive the beautiful invitation. The party is to be held at the Lone Star Palace which is a super chic venue/penthouse overlooking the Alamo. We arrive at the engagement party and food and drink is more than ample, presentation is beautiful and everyone is having a great time. The weather was picturesque with a nice breeze blowing on the deck which overlooks the Alamo, how historic! The event is small in nature, a few close friends and family. A friend of Julia’s & Joe’s gets everyone attention out on the deck, says kind words regarding the couple, then he announces that SURPRISE — they were married recently at Hemisphere Park and what we thought was an engagement party is really a wedding reception. WOW! Julia and Joe are very happy, married and living in their brand new house in San Antonio with their three boxers. Wayne and I took a picture on the deck with the Alamo in the background! Cheers to Julia & Joe!
Many of you might know that this is Miguel’s last year at Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children. He is in Fifth Grade! Small world, his teacher is Mrs. Sandy Ibarra, she used to teach Sarah, Miguel’s big sister at St. Paul’s Catholic School. Well since the weather has been so nice and warm, Miguel decided to have a “back-to-school swim party!” The party was held at Mama Kiki (his aunt) and Uncle Joe’s house, a perfect place for a party. Their backyard is quite large with swimming pool, grass volleyball court, basketball court and big shade trees. I picked up the kids after school, Friday, September 26, 2008 as they had early dismissal. How many 5th graders can you pack in your SUV? We headed to Mama Kiki’s and started right in on lunch. We grilled burgers and hot dogs, the kids played volleyball, chase and other games. Now they are nice and sweaty! Time to change to swim suits. It’s almost 3:00pm — let’s swim. Well, even though the weather had been hot, the pool was, let’s say, a little chilly! The kids screamed with excitement. They swam, and swam and swam. Miguel decided to challenge Mariana to a race across the pool. Well, the part he didn’t realize is that Mariana is a champ competitive swimmer! Oh well, there’s always next time Miguel. So you’re not Michael Phelps, we’ll have to work on that! After swimming, the kids enjoyed sunbathing and eating snacks that some of the parents sent (thanks!). Back to the backyard games, we played Red Light Green Light, Red Rover, Volleyball, Basketball and chase. What a nice day! The girls departed around 6pm and the boys were ready for their sleepover. Wii competition here we come… They watched the movie Space Balls and laughed until they couldn’t laugh anymore. Andrew, Logan, Tristen and Miguel have been together since pre-kinder and have become best buddies. What a way to start a new school year!
Well it all started when Dad & Miguel said they were going to Academy Sports to shop for tennis shoes. I believed them, silly me!! They came home and the next thing you know is that Miguel has registered for a Flag Football Team with Texas Team Sports for 11 years & under. Miguel has practice every Tuesday & Thursday and has made many new friends. The dads are the coaches and I believe are having just as much fun as the boys! Well, the first game was held on Saturday, October 18th and we actually had 2 games back to back. Miguel played very well and even made a touch down! We were so excited — Mom was screaming on the side line! Teammates and opponents have taken notice of Miguel’s speed and has made watching the game so much fun. Even though our team, the Hurricanes haven’t won yet, we are still learning and having a great time. The weather has been beautiful for football and we are enjoying our first year of flag football.
Our little grand nephew, Charlie turned two years old on October 24th. His mom & dad, Claudette & Eddie, held a super birthday party for Charlie at Papo & Kiki’s house (his grandparents, my sister & brother-in-law). Well Charlie loves Thomas the Train, so of course, they had a choo choo train that took all the children for train rides all afternoon. Charlie was dressed as the conductor and had a great time! He also had a bouncy, jumping thing in the back yard for all the kids to enjoy, along with some 40 pizzas, red velvet cake and ice cream. He’s the first grandchild, can you tell? His Aunt Marina and Aunt Carina flew in from Chicago especially for his birthday party! He’s a real celebrity!! Well, his Aunt Andie (me) and Aunt DeeDee bought him a new Big Wheel that has lights, horns, music, and blinkers — he loved it. Happy Birthday Charlie *** We love you!
Wow, it’s hard to believe that Joaquin, our nephew is 14! He is in eighth grade this year which means High School next year! His parents Kathleen (Andrea’s sister) and Ruben have a get together for family with birthday cake and trimmings at their home each year. I can remember when Joaquin wasn’t so tall. This year was special because Joaquin is working on a Science Project for school and we all got to participate. It had something to do with a high pitched tone on his cell phone, most of us could hear it, but supposedly, the older you are you can’t hear it. He ended up winning 2nd place and now he will be competing in the Regional Science Fair. Congratulations Joaquin!
My mom, Winnie Doria and her twin sister, Minnie Garcia both live independently at the age of 84. We are so blessed that they have their health and mobility. Well recently, they invited a dear friend of our family – Mary Esther Bernal to play the piano for their community. They invited a few friends and several of the residents came down to the lobby to listen to Mary Esther play piano. My son, Miguel and I were able to attend. It was so special, she is an incredible pianist. Her music selections were perfect, some people sang, some danced, but all were truly moved by her talent. I was moved by seeing all of these senior citizens have a great time together — their comradry, kindness and happiness was so beautiful to see. At the close of the performance, Mary Esther played some patriotic songs that were a big hit. How thoughtful of her to share her talent. Thanks Mary Esther for making such a beautiful memory for my mom and my aunt.
For the past several Halloween’s, Wayne and Andrea like to host cousins, neighbors and friends to a hot dog and chili party. All the kids (of all ages) show up in costume, they grab a quick hot dog and chili, maybe some creamy macaroni & cheese, then off Trick or Treating they go. With flashlights in hand, they hit all the neighbors. We live in a historic neighborhood where the streets are long and wide, great for trick or treating. This year we had a visit from The Joker and his twin, The Joker, a cute Clown, a PowerRanger, a cheerleader, a Gypsy, Amy Winehouse, a hippie, a Geisha and Thomas the Train. What a diverse crowd this year!
This year my sister Chris Alderete was on the committee at San Fernando Cathedral to organize the Mass and festivities for Dia de los Muertos (celebration honoring the dead). She had a table display for her family, she was honoring her daughter, Clarissa Victoria Alderete and our dad, Charles Doria and Joe (her husband’s) parents Buela Vickie and Papa Joe, and our uncle, Matt Garcia and our grandmother, Nonnie. Well the Mass was beautiful, the Most Reverand Archbishop Jose Gomez officiated and there was a Mariachi choir and the Cathedral was picturesque. After the Mass, we proceeded outside to view all of the altars. Well, my young son, Miguel was with us, and when we passed by the altar my sister had made, his eyes just stared and he had a look of amazement on his face. I asked him what was the matter. He said, “Mom, the picture of that baby looks just like little Charlie!!” Well, the picture of the baby is my sister’s daughter Clarissa, who passed away before the age of two and Miguel never got to know her. And Charlie’s is my sister’s first grandson, who Miguel is very close to. So you can understand his amazement. And yes, the resemblance was amazing – but I never really noticed until he pointed it out! So I went on to explain to Miguel about his cousin, Clarissa who had passed away several years ago.
We also visited other altars, they were decorated with pictures and food and memories of beautiful lives. It was all very interesting. We moved upstairs for the reception. There were several special people being honored, one was a friend of our family, Viola Barrios. Viola and family are the owners of the popular Mexican restaurant Los Barrios. Viola was most known for her huge heart, she was a very giving woman.
My mom and aunt, Winnie & Minnie, who are identical twins, also attended the Mass and celebration for Dia de los Muertos. We all had a great time reminiscing.
Well Joseph & Daniel, our nephews are brothers, both celebrating birthdays in November. Daniel turned 7 this year and Joseph turned 9. So their Mom & Dad, Helen & Joseph (Andrea’s brother) held an outdoor, old fashioned country birthday party for them. Joseph, their Dad bar-b-qued fajitas and sausage, Helen had all the trimmings ready, beans, rice, potatoe salad, corn bread and chips. Now Joseph is no ordinary cook – his bar-b-que is to die for. So we sat out on the lawn, (they live in the country) watched the kids ride the four-wheeler, play football, try out their new basketball hoop and play chase. What a beautiful afternoon. The food and company was terrific. We all joined together inside to sing Happy Birthday. Congratulations boys and thanks for having us over!!
So the weekend officially started on Friday, November 14, 2008. Miguel was invited to his cousin, Christian’s for a birthday party sleepover. Christian is celebrating his 10th birthday on Saturday, November 15. Christian is known for having some of the best sleep overs ever. They watch old funny movies, eat pizza and stay up really late!!
Unfortunately, Miguel gets picked up early on Saturday morning to attend First Tee, his golf lesson. After First Tee we head out to Fort Sam Houston AFB Baseball Fields. FedEx is having their regional baseball tournament and Wayne Anthony and the Temple Station have entered into the tournament. You might remember, Wayne Anthony was just promoted to Operations Manager at FedEx in Temple so this is their first time in this tournament. Well, they come in as the underdogs. The San Antonio stations and Austin stations have had teams for years, no really, some of the guys are now retired and they STILL play in this softball tournament. So Temple plays their first game and loses. Now in they’re in the losers bracket. Well, we stay to watch the next two games and they were very close and Temple ends up winning. Sure enough they make it to the Championship game (5 games in one day!) and they get 2nd place overall. These were really great games to watch! Congratulations to the FedEx Temple Station! Of course, we think our son had something to do with all this!
Well we leave the baseball tournament early because Miguel has a flag Football Game – the Hurricanes versus the Aggies. We get outscored by the Aggies but it was a great game.
Traditionally, when Wayne Anthony and Layla are in town, we go out to dinner, this weekend was no different. So Saturday night, a cold front has blown in and we all go out to eat some spicy, hot Mexican food – yum! Christian, the birthday boy and his family get to join us! We discuss our preparations for Sunday morning — the San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathon.
Well, this Marathon is special for many reasons. First of all, it’s the inaugural Rock n Roll Marathon for San Antonio. With 33,o00 registered participants you know this is big! Secondly, our daughter, Angela is running the full marathon, her 2nd. She has been very disciplined in her training (just like Dad) and we are very proud of her! Other family members are participating as well, Yvonne Ramirez, our sister-in-law, mother of four beautiful kids is running her first ever Marathon, Carina Alderete, our niece, (currently living in Chicago) is running her 2nd marathon, Ruby (Wayne’s sister) is running the half marathon as is Karina Cardona and Joe Alderete III, (our nephew & his fiance). We are so very proud of them all!
Sunday morning arrives, it’s 6:00 am, Sarah, Miguel, Wayne and I get our bikes ready, pile on the layers of warm clothing and Wayne Anthony drives us to the corner of McCullough & Mulberry. It’s like 30 degrees! From there it’s all bike ride. We head to the starting line at Broadway & Mulberry, gosh, I’m glad we have our bikes, it makes it so much easier to maneuver all the road closures! Good idea Sarah & Wayne! We find Jason, our son-in-law, he’s got his bike too. We head to gate 5, there’s Angela and her running buddies, Eddie & Daniel. We see our friends Dave Sanchez and Marissa Ayala there too! Small world! Remember there’s 33,000 runners. It was great to see the Marathon get started and now Angela’s on her way…. We head down to gate 20 something and there’s Yvonne looking all full of energy and ready to go! We all cheer for her and off she goes!
We hit the road, we bike to mile marker 5, Wayne Anthony and Layla join us. Perfect timing, here comes Angela, she looks great, she starts peeling off her gloves and sweatshirts etc. She hands them off to us and waves goodbye! Okay, now we jump in the truck with the bikes, drive over to South of town, park the truck and start riding again. We get to mile marker 11, there’s a band playing and here comes Angela – right on target! She still looks good and just keeps running. Then all of a sudden, we were just standing on the side line cheering random runners on and here comes Carina (from Chicago) out of the crowd, she stops and gives us all a hug, then keeps running. It was great to see Carina!
So now, we are back on our bikes and we ride to the Missions, we are right near the golf course, we cross the bridge, ride through trails and head to mile 22. This part is hilly. Wayne gets his watch out, calculates Angela’s pace and low ’n behold, here she comes! Up the hill, huffing and puffing, we start cheering LOUD, Miguel is so excited to see his sister, I yell out, Baby, we love you!! She is needing a little encouragement, all the runners are, this is a long haul and it looks like they are far from downtown, but they really aren’t. Angela waves and is gone. Wow — how emotional this has become. We get on our bikes andhead to the finish line. Yes, very emotional. We meet up with Angela, Carina and Joe and Karina — congratulations, they completed the race. We didn’t get to see Ruby or Yvonne but they knew we had them in our thoughts and prayers! As the day progressed the weather warmed up to a beautiful crisp day – perfect for a Marathon. By this time, everyone is starving. We head to Panchitos on McCullough, the Bartels (Jason’s family) joined us and we have our after-marathon dinner. What fun! I went home and took a long nap!
Have you ever prayed for sunny weather? Well, even though we are in the worst drought ever in San Antonio, on Thanksgiving eve, our family prayed for sunshine! Yes, sunshine! We needed a sunny day for our Thanksgiving celebration. You see there are approximately 60 of us that get together every year at our home to celebrate Thanksgiving. We have a sit down dinner with linen table clothes, informal china, freshly hand made table decorations and lots of food on our back patio!
We get together on Wednesday evening to bake the cornbread, toast the bread, chop the celery and onions, cook the giblets, make the stuffing (dressing) and stuff the birds. Special recipes handed down from my mom, Mema. We bake pies, prepare hors’dourves for Thanksgiving Dinner. This year, Sarah had the stressful job of making the banana pudding. Not just any banana pudding, Mema’s banana pudding! Now that Mema is 84, she trusted Sarah for the job. You go girl!
We set out all the tables and counted chairs. DeeDee, (my sister) is in charge of table centerpieces. This year we used fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, herbs from the garden, candles and wicker baskets. Absolutely beautiful! Did I mention the wine and pizza we have on Wednesday evening? After the stuffing is spiced just right, we all get to bed. The turkey goes in the oven at 6:00 am on Thursday morning. Everyone arrives at noon and dinner is served at 1pm. We gather in prayer and astonishment, cuz there’s a seat for everyone! Whew! After dinner, some watch football, some play scrabble, some play Gestures and Taboo. We get to snacking again! It’s a fun day for all. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful family to share this holiday with.
We are very sad to tell you that our family pet of 9 years, Coco has passed away.
Miguel was almost 2 when Coco came into our lives. It was just before Christmas and Wayne Anthony wanted to get his Dad a new dog. So he and I went to the Humane Society, the old building across from the SA Museum of Art. That’s where we found Coco, a blue-haired full bread Doberman. She was very young and active. I remember, she was hoarse from barking so much. She loves to bark at other dogs. She also had kennel cough and an allergy infection. We brought her home and gave Wayne his early Christmas present. And oh, he LOVED her! Coco became very comfortable with our family right away. Wayne started training her to obey, to sit, to lay down, to fetch a tennis ball (her favorite!!), she was so smart it didn’t take long to train her. It was a site to see because Wayne would load Miguel up in the red wagon, then take Coco on the leash and they would trek up the street to the field at Jefferson Methodist Church. This is where all the training, fetching and running began. Miguel was just a baby, but he too had to throw the tennis ball for Coco.
Coco had a thing for small animals, small dogs, cats, squirrels, etc. She loved to chase them and catch them in her mouth. Needless to say, we had a few apologies to the neighbors as she chased (and a few times caught!) their little dogs. Coco had a beautiful stance when she was on alert or she was on the hunt. Her ears would perk up, her eyes would glare and she was a site to see. Hunting was her nature, barking too! I remember one time a police officer knocked on the front door, I opened the door to be served with a citation for a barking dog after 10pm. (new neighbors!) Oh well, that’s when Coco started spending the evenings inside the house. As long as she was in the house, she wouldn’t bark. At first we crated her in doors, she loved her crate. But later she just had a pillow and blanket in her spot in the kitchen. Coco loved it when I cooked, she would nosy around the stove and would get so excited with all the aromas.
Sometimes we would take Coco on long walks or runs with us. She loved this! Every time she would see Wayne stretching or getting ready for a run, she would get all excited and pace until he would get the leash and take her too!
Coco loved to play to with Miguel. They would play together daily. She would chase the tennis ball and run and jump with Miguel. He taught her many tricks. One of the funniest tricks was when he would place a piece of her dog food on her nose and she would hold it there until he gave the command to pop it into her mouth. He would also pitch pieces of dog food up in the air and she would love to jump and catch them. Miguel and Coco were best of buds. Miguel loved to dress Coco up in his pajamas or a reindeer hat! She was always a willing participant.
Coco was sadly diagnosed with cancer and died on Tuesday, December 9, 2008. I can’t begin to explain how much we all miss her! Our hearts are heavy with sadness. We loved her very much!
Chris, my sister, also known as Kiki, hosted a Christmas Ornament Exchange at her home on Saturday, November 29, 2008. She had her home decorated with beautiful Christmas trimmings, her table set with Christmas china and wonderful homemade food! The event was held in the morning so brunch was served along with mimosas (yum!) Each guest was to bring a wrapped ornament. Chris has hosted this event before, so most of knew how it works. This year there were a few new ladies so this was exciting! Chiquita was even there! (Marina & Carina’s dog flew in from Chicago) First we gather in the den and have brunch. Then we move to the living room, chatter some more and draw numbers. Then Mary Esther Bernal plays the piano and we all sing Christmas carols. Now it’s time for the exchange! Person number one goes first, unwraps an ornament, then person number two can take number one’s ornament or unwraps a new one. Once an ornament has been exchanged twice, then it’s no longer eligible for exchange. There were so many beautiful ornaments this year! But the most fun is the comradery and sharing the Christmas spirit. I loved my Crystal Rudolph ornament!
Yikes! That’s hard to believe that little Alex is 9. Well, she had a birthday party at the Incredible Pizza Place, thanks to Mark & Donna, her parents (Wayne’s brother). This a HUGE place with private party rooms, themed dining rooms, giant buffet areas and a back forty of games for all ages. All her cousins were there to help her celebrate. Alex, our niece had a great time and was a wonderful hostess! Happy Birthday Alex!
The Esperanza Center located at 922 San Pedro Avenue hosts an annual Peace Market the Friday & Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year was the 19th annual. Embarrassing to say, I think this was my first visit to the Annual Peace Market, but it will now be a holiday tradition. It was beautiful weather both Friday & Saturday, as I went both days. The artists were terrific, very unique, wonderful talent. We enjoyed the shopping, the art, the people, the music, the diversity, need I say more. The Esperanza Center hosts wonderful events but I have to say, this is one of the best. Also featured at the Esperanza is a wonderful musician, Azul. She is something to see. Her voice reminds me of Linda Rondstant, but her depth and story telling is one of a kind. She usually performs the first Wednesday of the month. Anyway, the Esperanza Center is all about hope, people just getting along, www.esperanzacenter.org. Sarah, my daughter, invited me to join her at Esperanza Center, along with Angela, my other daughter, my comadre from Corpus Christi, Alicia and Daniela, a friend, we had a great time — thanks Sarah!
Angela & Sarah enjoying shopping @ the Peace Market
A Charlie Brown Christmas was a play presented by the children at Sunshine Cottage, school for deaf children. Miguel, our son, attends Sunshine Cottage, since he was 4 years old. This is his last year at Sunshine as it only goes to 5th grade. (rats!)
Every year they put on a holiday play, but this year, I have to say was one of the best! Sarah McLinden one of the teachers at Sunshine, adapts or writes the play — WOW what a wonderful job she has done!
The play is held at Trinity University’s Laurie Auditorium each year. Amazingly, every year this puts us in the true holiday spirit. Although there were different scenes and performances, the main thread throughout was the Charlie Brown Christmas Theme, Tristen Piqueno, one of Miguel’s best friend was Charlie Brown. OMG, he did an amazing job! Miguel was Linus, the thumb sucking, light blue blankie toting, Linus — good job Miguel! Andrew, another best friend was Snoopy. It is so refreshing to see the whole hearted effort put forth by the children, the staff and parents as well. A truly amazing event. The play was featured on San Antonio Living Show. Link into safun.com to see the clip.
We took a few pictures during the play then we hosted an after play tamalera at our home as we have done in years past. We truly have enjoyed this tradition.
This is a funny story because you should of seen our team, the Hurricanes, at the beginning of the season. Our coach, Ernest, was the most patient coach I’ve ever seen. He very methodically taught the boys the plays, worked on their endurance and always had a positive attitude. Coach Ernest would take the defense and Coach Mark would take the offense. They were a great team. But we still lost several games in the beginning of the season. It was hard to watch our boys play so hard, try so hard and still get beat at each game.
What made things worse was when we played this one team, the Longhorns, who were in first place, they would taunt our boys and show really bad sportsmanship. They would laugh at our team. Even though our boys were very frustrated, we encouraged them to keep their head up.
Well, finally at one of the last games of the season, we UPSET the Longhorns!! This was really great! Then we went on to win other games and we went into the playoffs. Guess what? We had to play the Longhorns again for the Championship. Well, it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and our boys stayed focused and we won the Championship, 40 – 0, it was GREAT!! We were so proud of our team and how they handled themselves, no taunting, just good old fashioned sportsmanship.
Below is an exerpt from an email from Coach Ernest:
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11U Senior Division |
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11U Senior Division |
||||||||
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Longhorns Flag 11U |
8 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
0.875 |
143 |
54 |
|
|
Aggies Flag 11U |
7 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0.286 |
62 |
95 |
|
|
Hurricanes Flag 11U |
7 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0.286 |
61 |
117 |
|
|
|
Miguel did make many great friends and for this we are very greatful!
Miguel takes piano lessons from Sister Bernadette, of the Sisters of St. Brigid, who are from Ireland. He has taken lessons since he was six years old. Wayne Anthony Jr. and Sarah also took lessons from Sr. Bernadette, who is an excellent piano teacher. Every year Sister holds various events for the students. At Christmas time their recital is usually held at Morningside Manor Nursing Home Auditorium. This year Miguel played Feliz Navidad. He did a great job!
