Roger and Danny decided they were going to try their hand at cooking dinner. They watched several episodes of Chef Jaque Pepin and decided on a menu. They started with potato pancakes, made homemade chili, and finished with a lovely pear dessert. To make the potato pancakes, Danny had to use a food processor. I didn't have one, so Roger bought one at Costco! Dinner was fantastic!!!!
Danny was plinking in the backyard with his airsoft gun. He hit one of the soda cans - it's flying off the box!! Nice way to spend a hot July afternoon.
One of the best things we did at Kentucky Lake was to go boating on Uncle Larry's pontoon and then swim in the lake. That was so much fun and so very relaxing!!
After spending a few days in Gatlinburg, TN, we drove about six hours west to Paris Landing, on Kentucky Lake. We visited my Tita Pat and Uncle Larry. These were the best two days of our trip. Uncle Larry fried up lots of catfish that he caught - yummy!! Then he cooked up some BBQ ribs - best ribs anywhere!!! Mom and Tita Pat spent every moment catching up with each other. We also lit lot of firecrackers. The kids enjoyed doing this - but not as much as the adults did!! 
I'm off to run errands this afternoon. Right next to me in the car: my shopping list, the store ad, my reusable grocery bags (more in the back), and my purse... If Danny were with me, then he would be in the seat instead. :)
I read on Ali Edward's blog about taking a picture of RIGHT NOW.
Happy Father's Day to Roger, the wonderful father to our son Danny. To Roger, Sr. the wonderful father to Roger, Jr. and me. To my father, Rafael, who though is not with us anymore, made me the person that I am today. I LOVE ALL OF YOU!!
Danny likes simple dinners. So tonight we are having beans and ground turkey, seasoned with lots of garlic, oregano, salt and pepper served over rice. Very simple and scrumptious.
Woof! Hi everyone! My name is Clifford. One of my people, the pretty lady, usually writes on the computer. She said, this week I could write. This week, you are going to see things from my point of view. I hope you enjoy!
Danny learned to play the ukelele this year in his music class. (Thanks, Mr. Turner!!!) There is a constant stream of ukelele music in our house now. Yes, he has learned the obligatory tune of "Pearly Shells". 
Today, Danny had to do his campaign speech. It turned out that he was running unopposed. Even so, he still had to write and present his speech. All the students running for office had to speak in front of grades 3 through 8. (On a side note, I must say that one great aspect of our school is the many public speaking opportunities the student have.) I think that all the students did a fantastic job. They are so brave to run for office and speak in front of the school!!!
Danny is happy that he will spend his 8th grade year as the Commissioner of Technology. I think that he is equally excited that his best friend, Austin, was also elected into Student Council. This kid had run each year he could, and has lost each year, except for this one! I jumped and screamed when his name was called ver the intercom! These two boys will have such a fun 8th grade year!!!
Last fall I took a class that I thought was a photography class, but turned out to be a photoshop CS3 class. (I wanted to learn to take good photos - but ended up learning how to take any photo and make it look good...) After taking the class, I really, really, really wanted CS3. But alas, the cost was prohibative. :( What we could afford and what would be acceptable was Photoshop Elements 7. This is what the boys got for me for Mother's Day and it arrived today. :) 
Student Council campaigning started today. But let me back up about a week... One night at dinner, Roger, Danny and I were discussing which position Danny should run for in Student Council. He wanted to run, again, for Commissioner of Technology. Rog and I tried to convince him to run for another office and to let someone else take care of technology - someone needed to learn how to do the job since he wouldn't be at the school after next year. But Danny LOVES being the Commissioner of Technology and all that it entails. So much so that he said that if he didn't run for this office, he would rather not be in Student Council. So, since he was the one with the responsibilities and the duties, and not us, Rog and I agreed.
My other kid, my husband, took this picture. ; ) I am a VERY LUCKY and BLESSED mom to have these boys in my life!!!! Happy Mother's Day to All!!!
My sweet Danny was one of the recipients. He was surprised!!!
The other award recipients were Melissa and Kristen. All three students do display the qualities of our Blessed Mother. They are a blessing to their class and to our school.
Roger suprised Danny by being at the Mass!! We are so proud of him. He has been, and continues to be a blessing in our life. 
The weather... It rained on us the entire day we were in San Fransisco. That's okay... It gave us the gift of the beautiful flowers.
A view of the bay from one of the marinas.
Flowers enjoying a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Fisherman's Wharf... no really, this was a section of Fisherman's Wharf.
We were able to catch up with a high school friend (Tom G.) and his fiance. We haven't seen Tom since high school!! Here we are at Stanford University, where Tom is an alum. He gave us a tour around this beautiful campus. Thanks Tom!!!
This was a highlight for Dan's trip: our motel was right next door to a Ferrari / Maserati dealership!!! On Sunday morning, a Ferrari / Maserati club assembled, so we were able to take a gander at 20+ cars.
The Golden Gate Bridge. Even in the rain, she is breathtaking. 
The Academic Decathlon team at our school is going to the state competition soon. Our decathletes have been working hard, meeting as a group twice a week (4 hours total), and working with their subject coaches. Each class is sponsoring a decathlete or two, which means we pray for them, make them cards, and thinks like that. We sponsor three students - two class siblings and my Danny. Our class thought that because they work so hard, they need something to relieve the stress. We collected our favorite jokes and made them a joke book. Each student in our class will sign the inside of the book. We will present it to them just prior to the event.
Let others know what matters to you.
Faith Family Friends
