Mare and Larry

Hi Family, Sorry that we didn’t get an article in last time. Everything was crazy. We have had an exciting last few months. Joe and Dawn moving back to California and all of us being together at Thanksgiving was truly a blessing. The kids stayed with us for a few days while they got logistics figured out. I had the pleasure of driving Joey back and forth to Orange Lutheran High School where he was working out for football. It was a great time to get reacquainted with him. I would take him to Orange County, drop him off and then run errands and go to Matt and Kristen’s and lie in the sun and read until it was time to pick him up, get an In-N-Out and head home at 6:45. I played with Ben, Matt & Kristen’s dog since they were in Whidbey Island at their summer place. Joey ended up having shoulder surgery so he didn’t get to play football but he did meet a lot of the kids.

Amy came and started her first year at Pt. Loma and seems to love it. She is majoring in Psychology with a minor in writing. She made cheerleader and has a new boyfriend who took her to Coronado Island for Valentine”s Day. She plans on working this summer and taking a science course.

It was fun getting to see our Riley put on a football uniform and play football. He did real well. We didn’t realize how tall he was until we saw him on the field. He played on the line. I am afraid my voice got a little loud at times cheering for him. I just get so excited. It was fun hearing about his Homecoming date also. Our Kate plated soccer and did really well and could score with either foot. She has developed such great skills. She comes off the field with a grin from ear to ear and I could just love her to death. We saw her perform before Christmas in the Nutcracker and she was great. Yes, she dances too. Our grandkids and of course children are the love of our lives!!!!!

Joe’s family joined us for Christmas and we had a lovely day with Roast Beast. It was relaxing and fun to have them here. New Year’s Day we all congregated at Matt’s and Kristen put on a lovely feast with home made soup for lunch and a great ham for sandwiches. As if that wasn’t enough Joe Bar B’d ribs and we ate on those and then Matt made Kabobs. We had a great time watching the games and throwing away our New Year’s resolutions.

Two weeks ago, Larry and I drove the green, 34 Tudor to Palm Springs to the Dr. George Car Show. There were 867 cars there and we won one of the 30 sponsor trophies. The weather cooperated and was 83 degrees while we sat in the sun and looked at beautiful cars. We stayed two nights and some members of our car club had us all over for appetizers at their condos. Good to get away.

We have had a heck of a year in 2010! The barn flooded during the fourth straight day of rain and we had to remove a culvert in front of the barn with the back hoe and redirect the water and the workers literally had to hose out the barn. We lost some hay. We had to tear out the rock lined ditch in front of the barn and have since rebuilt it and put a bridge from the barn into the front pasture. Our roads eroded in the back and we spent a week cleaning up afterwards. The wind blew hard and we had quite a few wind falls from the avocado trees. At least the salt may leach out of the ground a bit. It rained 5 days straight!! I loved it but not when the roof started to leak, the tongue and groove at the front hall closet. Then Larry went up to the observation deck outside in the rain to investigate and he and two workers got locked out and had to use one of their cell phones to call me in the house to have me come up as I didn’t hear them, Becky was here too and she didn’t hear. I went up and couldn’t get the door open as the latch wouldn’t retract. With the help of a long screwdriver I finally played it back. They looked like drowned rats when they came in. It was really funny that night, but not at the moment. We had the lock replaced and the locksmith replaced the lock mechanism on the door by Larry’s den and the next night we locked the door and when we went to check it when you turned the handle the lock released on the inside as well as the outside. He is coming today to put in a new one. Friday the element in my oven quit, the pump at the well quit last week and the week before the pump at the lake quit. I think that 2010 is not our year. Now I know why Dad wanted to sell the ranch!!!!! The locksmith just arrived! Yeah.

Our oranges and lemons and tangerines have been great and we have a crop of Fuertes ready to pick in a week or two. I don’t think we will have much this year but we will sure enjoy what we have. We are both fine. Joe is having a stress test today, Joey is going to his ortho doc to get a release on his shoulder so he can spring train. Amy starts spring break Friday and is going with a girlfriend to Cabo. Her parents have a house in a gated community with two full time servants living there so they should be ok as the parents and younger sister will be there also. Our horses are great and Larry still rides two or three times a week. We are supposed to go to trial with our lawsuit in April but knowing the judicial system in Riverside it will probably be postponed. We don’t know if we can make the reunion in June. Amy will be in summer school, Joey in football practice, Riley is now playing La Crosse and is great at it and made the club traveling team so he will probably be gone. Who knows what will be happening but we will stay in touch. Sue and I are going to Phoenix for Irene’s burial. Rick and Sandy have planned the ceremonies.

Hope all of you are well and we love each and everyone of you. You know, you can always come and see us. Take care, Love, Mare and Larry