Today is Pat's and my 30th wedding anniversary. Here some things we have done together over those years: Bought three new cars and a half dozen used ones. Bought two houses, rented two and rented an apartment and the upstairs of a house. Received four college degrees. Traveled through twelve states and two countries (Mexico and Italy). Served in many church callings. Bought a used dryer, a new washer and dryer and a new water heater. Put on an entire new roof on our house. Hiked to Havasupai Falls in the Grand Canyon. Spent many summer weekends camping during family reunions. Seen James Taylor (3 times) Neil Diamond, Allison Krauss and Union Station, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Huey Lewis and the News, and The Jetts in concert. Laughed a lot, cried a little, fought even less. Buried three of our parents. Been to Disneyland a couple dozen times, Kartchner Caverns twice and Sea World, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Knott's Berry Farm, Old Tucson Studios, The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum (where we lost Wendy and found her again), the Grand Canyon and Colossal Cave once each. Owned two dogs. Made and served hundreds (maybe thousands) of snow cones. Hosted about 50 kids' birthday parties. Bought about 25 live Christmas trees. Been to about ten Arizona Diamondback games. Put in and maintained a large vegetable garden. Attended many school plays, musicals and singers' shows. Walked out of a show in Las Vegas. Been teachers for about 20 combined years. Attended the temple weddings of two of our daughters. And most importantly, welcomed into our family five beautiful, talented and precious children... and (so far) four sweet-beyond-description grandchildren.
In the future we plan to... Serve a full-time mission for the Church. Go on a cruise to the western Caribbean (February of 2009). Visit Hawaii and return to Europe some day. Attend the temple weddings of our other three children. Hopefully welcome yet more grandchildren into our family. Wear out our lives in the service of others!
It has been a fun run so far and we look forward to many more years ahead.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Very Pun-ny
Dad and I were attending the mandatory camp meeting after church last Sunday. The leaders were introducing the new theme for camp as B.L.I.S.S. (being linked in the strength of sisterhood). They were explaining the stake had first chosen BLING and had even written a rap to go with it but President Alston KO'd it as too worldly. He wanted them to chose something that had a scripture reference, so they chose 'bliss' instead. I saw President Nielsen after the meeting and said there was a scripture reference for 'bling'! It is "Bling your tithes and offerings to the storehouse..." He told me I had been hanging around Dad too long!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
To the Bat Cave..!
Last Friday night we had some overnight guests at the old Bertoglio hacienda. Pat's twin Pam and her husband Jeff came in from Pennsylvania. Also billeted with us were Pat's sister Sharon, brother Bob and his wife Karen and sister-in-law Jane who was accompanied by her 8 year old grandson, Dylan. Dylan's grandma had taken him to the toy store where he bought (with his own money) an Lego Star Wars spaceship which he and I began to work on right away. I'm not as good at these new-fangled Legos as with the old-school ones!
Pat whipped up some of her famous and delicious tortilla soup and we all ate. That night we got out the Wii video game and made our arms sore playing sports; bowling, tennis, and baseball. We also introduced Jeff to "Guitar Hero". We sat around and watched old 16mm home movies of Pat's folks' trip to Hawaii and second generation "hot rod" races.
In the morning after a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes and waffles we all piled into cars and after the arrival of yet another sister, Diana and her husband Lou, and caravaned 45 miles and minutes east to tour the famous Kartchner Caverns. You may not know that Pat's family is related to the Kartchners, the original owners of the land where the caves are located. Lois Martineau Kartchner was Pat's dad's oldest sister. There are two caves to visit but one closes down for a few weeks every year as it turns into a "bat nursery" which cannot be disturbed. So we went through the other tour (the second time for Pat and me) and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. The ranger did require that all the contents of Dylan's jean pockets be carried by an adult (which turned out to be me). They keep a strict control of what could possibly be left in the cave. So I carried Lego R2D2 and Luke (and his light saber) along with a marble egg and stand and two sea shells. Pat says that the ranger (a lady) had to have been a former schoolteacher to know that if and 8-year-old boy had something in his hands, he had stuff in his pockets that could be potentially permanently installed among the wonders of the cave.
After the tour we watched the visitors center movie and got back into our cars. Jane and Sharon and Dylan drove on to Tombstone to tourist around and the rest of us headed back to Tucson. There, Bob and Karen and Diana and Lou headed back to Phoenix and points north leaving Pam and Jeff with us. We persuaded them to stay the night and took them to Midtown Molina's for some good Mexican food (what you have to do in Tucson with out-of-town guests.
When we got home we played Mexican train (a domino game... not really a must with out-of-town guests) with Scott when he came home from work, ate ice cream and generally stayed up too late and laughed a lot. It was very fun visiting with all the relatives. And Pam and Jeff talked us into going on a cruise with them next year! They have been a couple of times and have raved (like every other cruiser anybody has ever talked to) about the experience. We are going to the western Carribean. We are very excited and told Pam to pay the deposit when they got home before we changed our minds! Please come back for more visits, you family folks! It was such fun and too short!
Pat whipped up some of her famous and delicious tortilla soup and we all ate. That night we got out the Wii video game and made our arms sore playing sports; bowling, tennis, and baseball. We also introduced Jeff to "Guitar Hero". We sat around and watched old 16mm home movies of Pat's folks' trip to Hawaii and second generation "hot rod" races.
In the morning after a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes and waffles we all piled into cars and after the arrival of yet another sister, Diana and her husband Lou, and caravaned 45 miles and minutes east to tour the famous Kartchner Caverns. You may not know that Pat's family is related to the Kartchners, the original owners of the land where the caves are located. Lois Martineau Kartchner was Pat's dad's oldest sister. There are two caves to visit but one closes down for a few weeks every year as it turns into a "bat nursery" which cannot be disturbed. So we went through the other tour (the second time for Pat and me) and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. The ranger did require that all the contents of Dylan's jean pockets be carried by an adult (which turned out to be me). They keep a strict control of what could possibly be left in the cave. So I carried Lego R2D2 and Luke (and his light saber) along with a marble egg and stand and two sea shells. Pat says that the ranger (a lady) had to have been a former schoolteacher to know that if and 8-year-old boy had something in his hands, he had stuff in his pockets that could be potentially permanently installed among the wonders of the cave.
After the tour we watched the visitors center movie and got back into our cars. Jane and Sharon and Dylan drove on to Tombstone to tourist around and the rest of us headed back to Tucson. There, Bob and Karen and Diana and Lou headed back to Phoenix and points north leaving Pam and Jeff with us. We persuaded them to stay the night and took them to Midtown Molina's for some good Mexican food (what you have to do in Tucson with out-of-town guests.
When we got home we played Mexican train (a domino game... not really a must with out-of-town guests) with Scott when he came home from work, ate ice cream and generally stayed up too late and laughed a lot. It was very fun visiting with all the relatives. And Pam and Jeff talked us into going on a cruise with them next year! They have been a couple of times and have raved (like every other cruiser anybody has ever talked to) about the experience. We are going to the western Carribean. We are very excited and told Pam to pay the deposit when they got home before we changed our minds! Please come back for more visits, you family folks! It was such fun and too short!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
to my darlings
i just saw this on my news feed for the "funny quote of the day":
"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."
Love you all! :)
w
"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."
Love you all! :)
w
Friday, April 4, 2008
we love papa
yesterday trevor and i were working on our taxes in the office, and took turns distracting ellena from wanting to 'help'. i gave her dad's newest cd, '10 winters and 10 springs' to look at. she kept pointing to her papa and smiling, laughing and kissing the picture.
loves her papa so good!
loves her papa so good!
Friday, March 28, 2008
The End of the Grovecenter Era
A couple of days ago escrow closed on the home my siblings and I grew up in on Grovecenter St. in West Covina, California. My parents bought it is May of 1955, the only house they ever bought. They paid $14,700 and struggled with that high initial monthly mortgage payment of $85. It sold for $430,000.
Pat, Rachel and I drove over to California along with my brothers and their wives to help clear out the house for the sale. My sister Tricia had been down a couple of times prior and had gone through a lot of Mom and Dad's things. In fact, she told me as we planned our trip there that she was surprised that they had not accumulated more stuff over their 53 years there. But as it turned out, we filled at least 8 large plastic leaf bags with all manner of stuff not to mention many items for Goodwill or Salvation Army to pick up. Pat sat with Dad at his desk for a pretty long time and helped consolidate his enormous collection of paperwork (spread over his desk in the den, his desk in the back bedroom and the kitchen table). We shredded LOTS of documents and he got organized!
Dad had told us that a neighbor (who works for U-Haul) had promised to have a truck at his house for us to use to move Dad and his furniture to his new place, a retirement center in San Dimas called Atria. But Friday night came and went, no truck. So first thing Saturday morning I rented a 17 foot truck and we started loading. By now my brother Doug had arrived with his large son Nicholas and another large friend and they started in. We made two trips, the first with furniture and the second with boxes. Everybody pitched in and things went amazingly smooth. We had cleaned out the cupboards of dishes, small appliances, silverware, etc. Most of that was taken by my brother Robert and he was very happy to have it! There were other knickknacks we all sort of gleaned. Mom had some antique teacups and saucers and other such stuff and we picked them up for the granddaughters.
When we got to Dad's new place, "job one" was to set up his new apartment. We arranged furniture and lamps a couple of times, got his beds set up and made and stocked his closets and bathrooms. We wanted to make it seem "like home" as soon as possible.
Dad put us up in the Radisson (formerly Embassy) Suites and it was very comfortable. Robert brought two acoustic guitars and we stayed up late a couple of nights singing Beatles, Buddy Holly and Merle Haggard songs. It was SO fun. We also all went out to BJ's Brewery for a big family dinner which was also fun. My brother John stayed on a few days to arrange the cancellation of the utilities in Dad's name, transfer his phone number, and arrange for a dumpster to be delivered to the house. I think this weekend, Doug and Nicholas are going over to fill it with all the leftover junk and trash.
In all the hubbub, We all noticed that Dad seemed a little detached. Well, who can blame him? So many years in the same place and then to be shuffled, perhaps a little hastily to a two-room apartment. We didn't mean for it to be hasty. I just think we wanted to take advantage of everyone there and available to help. When we finally left him on the fifth floor Sunday, Pat started to get teary and said, "I hate to leave him alone!" But after all he is only 10 minutes from his old house, all his friends including Betty are close by and we know he will be checked on and will have three decent meals a day. Betty has since been there to visit him at least once.
So, the Grovecenter days are over but life is change, isn't it?. I know that Pat and I and our kids have great memories of visiting Grandma and Grandpa Bertoglio in that house (they have all told me that recently). We do and will continue to worry about Dad. My sister-in-law Janice, who is a nurse and has worked with older folks, thinks that he may be suffering with TEA or TIA (I didn't catch the acronym) which apparently are small strokes which may explain his rather passive demeanor through all this. Maybe or maybe not. But I believe we can help keep his spirits high by being in touch. I know he loves to send and receive letters and get phone calls. Please email or call me or Pat for his new address. His phone number is the same. Thanks, props and muchas smooches to all my sibs and their wives and sig others for their tireless work, love and concern for Dad. Y'all did a yeoman's job. And thank goodness for Doug and Pat both being such organized types ("type A"?). They really helped keep us and the move in line. Rachel also pitched in during this project even though she had hoped to meet a friend there in SoCal and head off to Magic Mountain. It didn't work out though. Still I think it was fun for her to see her uncles, aunts and cousins.
If this experience has done anything for me, it is to reinforce my belief that family is of the utmost importance in this life.
Pat, Rachel and I drove over to California along with my brothers and their wives to help clear out the house for the sale. My sister Tricia had been down a couple of times prior and had gone through a lot of Mom and Dad's things. In fact, she told me as we planned our trip there that she was surprised that they had not accumulated more stuff over their 53 years there. But as it turned out, we filled at least 8 large plastic leaf bags with all manner of stuff not to mention many items for Goodwill or Salvation Army to pick up. Pat sat with Dad at his desk for a pretty long time and helped consolidate his enormous collection of paperwork (spread over his desk in the den, his desk in the back bedroom and the kitchen table). We shredded LOTS of documents and he got organized!
Dad had told us that a neighbor (who works for U-Haul) had promised to have a truck at his house for us to use to move Dad and his furniture to his new place, a retirement center in San Dimas called Atria. But Friday night came and went, no truck. So first thing Saturday morning I rented a 17 foot truck and we started loading. By now my brother Doug had arrived with his large son Nicholas and another large friend and they started in. We made two trips, the first with furniture and the second with boxes. Everybody pitched in and things went amazingly smooth. We had cleaned out the cupboards of dishes, small appliances, silverware, etc. Most of that was taken by my brother Robert and he was very happy to have it! There were other knickknacks we all sort of gleaned. Mom had some antique teacups and saucers and other such stuff and we picked them up for the granddaughters.
When we got to Dad's new place, "job one" was to set up his new apartment. We arranged furniture and lamps a couple of times, got his beds set up and made and stocked his closets and bathrooms. We wanted to make it seem "like home" as soon as possible.
Dad put us up in the Radisson (formerly Embassy) Suites and it was very comfortable. Robert brought two acoustic guitars and we stayed up late a couple of nights singing Beatles, Buddy Holly and Merle Haggard songs. It was SO fun. We also all went out to BJ's Brewery for a big family dinner which was also fun. My brother John stayed on a few days to arrange the cancellation of the utilities in Dad's name, transfer his phone number, and arrange for a dumpster to be delivered to the house. I think this weekend, Doug and Nicholas are going over to fill it with all the leftover junk and trash.
In all the hubbub, We all noticed that Dad seemed a little detached. Well, who can blame him? So many years in the same place and then to be shuffled, perhaps a little hastily to a two-room apartment. We didn't mean for it to be hasty. I just think we wanted to take advantage of everyone there and available to help. When we finally left him on the fifth floor Sunday, Pat started to get teary and said, "I hate to leave him alone!" But after all he is only 10 minutes from his old house, all his friends including Betty are close by and we know he will be checked on and will have three decent meals a day. Betty has since been there to visit him at least once.
So, the Grovecenter days are over but life is change, isn't it?. I know that Pat and I and our kids have great memories of visiting Grandma and Grandpa Bertoglio in that house (they have all told me that recently). We do and will continue to worry about Dad. My sister-in-law Janice, who is a nurse and has worked with older folks, thinks that he may be suffering with TEA or TIA (I didn't catch the acronym) which apparently are small strokes which may explain his rather passive demeanor through all this. Maybe or maybe not. But I believe we can help keep his spirits high by being in touch. I know he loves to send and receive letters and get phone calls. Please email or call me or Pat for his new address. His phone number is the same. Thanks, props and muchas smooches to all my sibs and their wives and sig others for their tireless work, love and concern for Dad. Y'all did a yeoman's job. And thank goodness for Doug and Pat both being such organized types ("type A"?). They really helped keep us and the move in line. Rachel also pitched in during this project even though she had hoped to meet a friend there in SoCal and head off to Magic Mountain. It didn't work out though. Still I think it was fun for her to see her uncles, aunts and cousins.
If this experience has done anything for me, it is to reinforce my belief that family is of the utmost importance in this life.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Books, books, and more books!
Mark you calendars... Mom is blogging!
I read 3 books on the road trip to California this weekend and no they weren't picture books! I finished The Gift by Richard Paul Evans just before Casa Grande. I had started it while still at home. I was bawling like a baby at the end! It also had a great quote that made me laugh out loud and I had to read it to Dave. Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result! I'm sure he was thinking about the laws of physics and such and how they don't change. But in the book, it was about the relationship with the character's mother and no matter how much he tried, he was never going to change her! Reminded me of a certain person I work with!
I then started A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks and finished it in bed that night! It was good and I didn't figure it out until the very end. I should have seen it coming though... Always great love stories!
On the way home I read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I had read A Thousand Splendid Suns by the same author last summer. They were both very riveting and dark yet informative. Neither one of them had a 'happily ever after' ending. I suppose since they are both set in Afghanistan, that whole country still does not have a happily ever after ending yet. There is resolution but maybe it is just resignation to the circumstances that exist as the story ends. The writer is very clever with his humorous side stories.
The week before that I read 3 more books! It is my escape from the stress of work! Now I have 3 more books to return and check out some new ones! Any good suggestions??? I will pretty much read anything! Scott just gave me Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut. Isn't that a song by Harry Chapin???
I read 3 books on the road trip to California this weekend and no they weren't picture books! I finished The Gift by Richard Paul Evans just before Casa Grande. I had started it while still at home. I was bawling like a baby at the end! It also had a great quote that made me laugh out loud and I had to read it to Dave. Einstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result! I'm sure he was thinking about the laws of physics and such and how they don't change. But in the book, it was about the relationship with the character's mother and no matter how much he tried, he was never going to change her! Reminded me of a certain person I work with!
I then started A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks and finished it in bed that night! It was good and I didn't figure it out until the very end. I should have seen it coming though... Always great love stories!
On the way home I read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I had read A Thousand Splendid Suns by the same author last summer. They were both very riveting and dark yet informative. Neither one of them had a 'happily ever after' ending. I suppose since they are both set in Afghanistan, that whole country still does not have a happily ever after ending yet. There is resolution but maybe it is just resignation to the circumstances that exist as the story ends. The writer is very clever with his humorous side stories.
The week before that I read 3 more books! It is my escape from the stress of work! Now I have 3 more books to return and check out some new ones! Any good suggestions??? I will pretty much read anything! Scott just gave me Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut. Isn't that a song by Harry Chapin???
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