Flashback Friday - In Memory Of...

Toby S. Luna - AKA "Papa"

April 16, 1932 - February 22, 2007

This week's Flashback Friday is dedicated to Heather's paternal grandfather who passed away one year ago today. Heather was the first grandchild for Papa & Grandma. Heather and her Papa shared a special bond as did each of the grandchildren that followed. Heather's most fond memories of Papa are of going fishing, having sleepovers, receiving special phone calls, and of having Papa be there to support various school and sporting events. Papa was born and raised in Texas until he moved to San Diego and married Grandma. There they raised 5 children, loved 13 grandchildren, and welcomed 4 great-grandchildren before he passed away. Papa was an avid fisherman and golfer. He shared his love of fishing and golfing with ALL of the grandchildren providing them with special memories and an appreciation for the outdoors. As Heather grew older she looked forward to her regular phone calls with Papa & Grandma. No matter how old Heather was, Papa would tell Grandma to turn up the TV and adjust the picture so that he could see how beautiful his grand-daughter was. He did this to all the grandkids but it made you feel special none the less. Heather had the opportunity to spend a week visiting with Papa & Grandma only weeks before he passed away. Even though Papa was very sick, he enjoyed spending time with Kaya and Logan. Heather was grateful for that priceless opportunity. We know that Papa is teaching his future great-grandchildren (3 on the way) where to find the best fish and how to hit the golf ball like a pro. More importantly he is teaching them to be honest, trustworthy, hard-working, dependable, responsible, and loving. He was a great man and we are blessed to have been loved by him.

Kid Friendly Recipes

My kids aren't picky eaters. However, sometimes they're not always interested in what I cook. (Even though they typically like what I make). With Aaron working nights - it's tempting to just make them chicken nuggets and mac n cheese. Since I also need to eat and I cook enough for Aaron to eat for dinner at work the next day, that's not the best option, nor is it the healthiest. So I'm burned out on my recipes and I'd like to find some more healthy kid friendly favorites. What family dinners do your kids love? I'm ready to try some new things!!

Heather's Haircut

Heather decided she couldn't take it anymore and got her hair cut yesterday. She had been growing it out for some time now so that she could get it long enough to donate for "Locks of Love". It had to be at least 10 inches long, however Heather wanted her hair long enough to have the 10 inches taken off without leaving her hair too short. You can get more information on Locks of Love at http://www.locksoflove.org/ - Here are a couple pictures of Heather's new do:

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Kaya has been looking forward to Valentine's Day for at least 2 weeks now. Every night she would ask if the next day would be Valentine's Day. She came in our room to say good morning and when we replied, "Happy Valentine's Day" you can only imagine her excitement. We all got dressed and went out to breakfast. It was a nice treat. We came home to open our little gifts from the Grandparents and each other. We had a nice morning before Heather had to head off to work for the day. Aaron took today off so that he could watch the kids while Heather spent a full day at work. This is the largest floral holiday next to Mother's Day and Memorial Day. The grocery store's floral department has done very well since Heather took over in September. She has been extra busy this past week getting ready for the big holiday. Luckily she only worked until about 6pm - stopping on the way home to pick up kids' meals from Wendy's and Chili's To Go for Mom & Dad. Below are some pictures of Heather's work at the store for today. Aaron & the kids even stopped by to say "Hello" late in the afternoon. It was a long and busy day...

Princess Kaya & Princess Logan

Logan is a good sport and enjoys playing dress up with Kaya. He actually really likes wearing the princess shoes around the house along with her play necklaces. It freaks Aaron out a little bit (Logan dressing up like a girl) - but I tell him he'll grow up to be just fine. Look at Tom Cruise. He grew up with 3







sisters and turned out okay. My younger brothers endured years of being dressed up and having their hair done by me and they turned out normal!! These will be great pictures for someday when Logan gets married! The picture on the bottom is Logan giving "two thumbs up". He hasn't figured out how to put his thumbs up yet, but that's what he's doing for the camera.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

(Authored by Aaron) Today is Cheryl's (Aaron's Mom) 60th birthday! Mom has been alive for 21,915 days; or 1,893,456,000 seconds; or 31,557,600 minutes; or 525,960 hours; or 3130 weeks. What was happening 60 years ago when Mom was born? Let's zoom back in time and take a look.

The President of the United States was Harry S. Truman; The President of the LDS Church was George Albert Smith; Ghandi was assasinated by a Hindu militant; Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia; Israel became a nation and the Berlin Airlift began.

What has my Mom done since I've been born? She's been a grade school teacher, a homemaker, a housecleaner, worked for the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department Crime Lab; and currently works as an Administrative Assistant for the Ventura County Watershed Protection. More importantly though, she's been my mother, my caregiver, my chauffer, my cheerleader, and my friend.

One of my fondest memories of my Mom as a child was coming home from school on a rainy day to the smell of homemade bread, and enjoying a thick slice with butter and jam, complimented with a cup of hot cocoa. I recall many campouts with Mom and the family, as well as her being there to root for me at Little League games as a kid, and football games when I was in High School.

Mom became a grandmother ("Grammy") in 2004 when our daughter, Kaya, was born, and again in 2006 when our son, Logan, was born. I know she loves spending time with her grandkids, just as she does with her own children.

Today, Mom - Cheryl, "Grammy" - We express our love, gratitude, and appreciation to you as we celebrate your sixtieth birthday with you!

We love you!

Saturday excursion

Since we've been pounded with about 2+ feet of snow over the past several weeks here, today was the day we succumbed to our cabin fever and got outside. It was around 40 degrees today, so not too uncomfortable.

Aaron cleared all of the snow off of our patio, which took close to 2 hours. Heather spent a couple of hours at work, and Aaron made brownies. Once Heather got home, we got the kids ready and all piled into the car and headed north to Salt Lake City. We attended the "Soup's On!" geocaching event at the Utah State Fairgrounds, where about 40 people showed up. After an hour or so, we departed and headed east up to the State Capitol, and then down into the Aveneues towards the Salt Lake City cemetary.

Our main purposes for going to the City cemetary today was to try and find President Hinckley's gravesite, as he was buried there 1 week ago today. As we drove into the cemetary, we saw many large headstones and monuments. We stopped to look at one in particular, and found it was that of Wilford Woodruff, the 4th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Aaron marked the coordinates on his GPS and took a photo of the headstone.

As we continued north through the cemetary, we came across the graves of Heber J. Grant (7th President of the LDS Church); J. Golden Kimball (aka "The Swearing Apostle"); David O. McKay (9th President of the LDS Church); Joseph F. Smith (6th President of the LDS Church) and last, but not least, Gordon B. Hinckley (15th President of the LDS Church). We also saw a large monument dedicated to Hyrum Smith, older brother of Joseph Smith. Aaron made sure to get GPS coordinates for each site, and photos too. It was neat to see the graves and stand next to the markers, enjoying the silence and reverence that a cemetary commands.

Unfortunately, we ran out of daylight and were not able to locate any other graves of past Church presidents, so we hit the road and enjoyed a dinner out at Sonic Drive-In. We'll go back soon and continue our search.

We wanted to share with you photos of our day. Enjoy!