Back on track ... hopefully!

It's been months since we've posted.  What can we say?  
Life's demands take over and .. well, posting doesn't happen!  
We're hoping to get back on track and stay on track.  Hoping.

So what's a blog without photos?  Wordy.  
For your enjoyment, hot off Dad's digital camera -- 
Easter Portraits 2013.

The Aranas Clan

Big Brother -- at 20yo -- still hates taking pictures for us.  Still hoping to be a nurse and is extremely bothered that Statistics is a required college course.  If You Tube was a wave he'd be surfing it during all his free time.  Oh wait, he IS surfing it during all his free time!  Suffers from chronic losing things syndrome. 

Edna -- soon to be 18, can't decide which college to attend, and can practically sing the entire Les Mis soundtrack on her own. 

Meemz -- will celebrate her sweet 16 this summer -- and desperately wants a job so she can buy new clothes, shoes & Skittles. Her favorite pet is her hair. 

Twitter is 11 and can't be still or quiet, except when sleeping. He sings in the church choir now and was enthused about playing the role of Julius Caesar at his co-op, until reality set in that he'd have to memorize his lines and perform in front of real people. His favorite pet is his Kendama.   

Angel is 9 and a people watcher.  And thinker. She likes knowing how things work and loves telling you why things (including her 11 yo brother) don't work. She is really enjoying the Nancy Drew series.       

Little Man is now 7 and has shown great responsibility in taking care of his leopard gecko, Samson. He likes to play rough but still loves baby talk and sleeping in Mom's bed. 

At 5, and still the baby of the family, Coco loves food and life.  She brightens up the family without even trying.  She's trying to convince Mom to let her hair grow out but Mom isn't ready for that and neither is Coco.

And just for fun ... here's the Aranas Clan circa 2009.  Same pose as top photo.  My, how we've grown.  And grayed. But we've got our health, stable employment (fingers crossed), the same home over our head, and our wonderful Catholic Faith to enrich our lives.  God is good.  

 

A Walk on the Wild Side...

A long promised excursion to the Bay Area finally took place and our animals got to hook up with real animals at the Oakland Zoo.  It's a great place to visit and spend the day -- much more to see than the Sacramento Zoo and definitely worth the car drive.

The sun bears were our first encounter.  That's Ting Ting sitting in her tree house.  She was rescued from China after her mom was killed by poachers.  

A docent shared with us that this gibbon had only recently started swinging again.  Its lifelong mate had passed away and for some time it would only sit in the tree and sulk.

Love this chimpanzee's balancing act!  The rest of the troop was on edge -- the dominant one was exhibiting territorial behavior (screaming, hollering, throwing things around) because of a pair of recent arrivals.

Dynamic Duo!

Both Coco & Little Man wanted to be a tortoise.

Little Man loved the ssssssssnakes!

Mom loved the fruit bats!!! These two kept sparring!

Happy to be in the sunshine and among God's creatures.

Ready --- Set ---

CRASH!

The petting zoo was wonderful for the kids .. our kids and the animal kids!

Face off!

You can tell by the grin who won!

Too bad CoCo doesn't smile like this when she gets HER hair combed!

Another Dynamic Duo!

Crossing the lily pads in the Children's Area.

This little hare helps kids hear what they hear -- much more with their big floppers.

The kids really enjoyed watching these creatures.

There were a lot of giraffes there -- too bad Meemz couldn't come along -- she's going through a giraffe phase.

Mom wanted to nap too!

We discovered a secret shire!

Do you think they had a good day? 

All things bright and beautiful, 

All creatures great and small, 

All things wise and wonderful: 

The Lord God made them all.

Shadow Games

We took a trip to Grandma's a while back.  Rather than stay cooped up watching TV, Dad took us on a drive to see some of his old haunts on Mare Island.  At one point, we stopped at a place where you could walk out a mile or so and take in the delta.  While soaking up the last of the sun's rays, the kids decided to create different words and images with their shadows. 

L-O-V-E

C-O-C-O

J-O-E

Cat!

                                           Pretty cool stuff.  Pretty cool day.

Happy Feast of All Saints! 

Today the church commemorates the lives of all the people who died in friendship with God.  They are the saints, known and unknown, living now and forever in the presence of God.  It is our hope to imitate the saints here on earth so we can be with them one day in Heaven.  

   As part of our annual All Saints Eve (Halloween) celebration at church, the children dressed up as a particular saint.  

Coco as St. Joan of Arc

Angel as St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Twitter as boy saint Dominic Savio

JoBoy as St. Longinus, who converted after piercing the side of Christ.

 All Saints, Pray for us!