Easter Sunday

Here are a few highlights from Easter Sunday. We were excited about going to Fairfield after church to spend time with the family.

I love watching little guys during egg hunts! I can't believe this is my baby now, he is growing up so fast.

Windy Fairfield, can you tell. The kids love being with their cousins, we were missing Ryan and Leah....bummer!

After the egg hunt I came back in the house and look what I found. Landry was sitting on the coffee table eating everyones candy out of the little baskets grandma made for them....oh dear.

Eugene Stanford Borello

Marylou Borello, Gene Borello, Carol (Borello)Parker, and Roy Parker
taken at Whitney Stewards wedding.

Scott Borello, Jennifer (Borello)Steward, Gene Borello, Gina (Borello)Threshie, and Tony Borello
Taken at Tony and Lisa's wedding.

Gene, Gina and Tamara

January 11, 1935 ~ June 7, 2011

In loving memory of Gene, I decided to copy the beautiful eulogy that was written in the program the day of his memorial service:

Eugene Standford Borello, known by most as Gene, was born January 11, 1935 in Oakland, California to Armando and Ernestine Borello. Gene brother's Rich was born 2 years after followed by their sister, Carol 15 years later. Their father was an Italian immigrant so Gene was sometimes affectionately called "The Big Italian" and often bore the brunt of many Italian jokes! He grew up in Oakland, where he attended Oakland Tech High School and later married Doris Solomon. The couple had four children;Gina, Jennifer, Scott, and Tony. The family moved to Walnut Creek and Gene commuted to Oakland where he worked as a mechanic in the family business, Mobile Gas Station. In 1971 Gene, Doris and family moved to the Georgetown Divide. He loved it up here "in the mountains". He continued to commute to the Bay Area for a number of years and eventually went to work for Gordon Shepherd Construction, Cool Limestone Quarry, and was also self-employed.

In 1995 he and Mary Louise Cann were married. Past the age of having children...they both doted on their little chihuahua dog-Senor Wally Taco! Over the years the family has grown to include a Christian heritage of 28 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren! Gene enjoyed being with his family, loved the very much and was proud of each one of them.

Gene loved anything automotive; cars, trucks, tractors, cranes-you name it. He was always available to help family members work on their cars and most recently helped his grandson, Samuel Steward, get his permit and driver's license, then helped him get his 77' Chevy truck engine rebuilt and running. He was also quite the tinkering buddy to his 10 year old grandson, Blake Borello.

Gene made his daily rounds, firing up diesel truck stopping by his son Tony's shop or go out to help his other son Scott with his building project. He might stop by his son-in-laws construction job to see what Jim and Ty were up to, stop in at Mar Val (where he'd pick up the latest hot rod magazine), then make a trip into Auburn to the parts store and then pick up an In-N-Out Burger as he headed home.

Gene loved to eat and he loved to talk. He engaged people in conversation wherever he went and never knew stranger. He had a good sense of humor and had a pleasant personality. Gene will be greatly missed.

Don't want to forget!

Here are a few things I don't want to forget....
Sweet little Maggie at 3months old. So soft and oh so curious about everything! Her favorite thing to do is dig, dig and dig some more! I don't want to forget how hard it was to get this little guy to look at me when I am taking his picture. Don't you just love those cheeks to, those are mine!

Oh this bike, can't forget how much Brody loves this bike. It doesn't have pedals and he can ride fast, fast, and faster....as he puts it. He loves to stop and smash bugs with his tires and that is what he is doing in this picture.

This smile, Cambree looks just like my mom and I love it. She is sensitive and sweet all bundled into one. Look at those eyes....just like her Mema....no lids I love it!

At our home on Shanghai we had this great view of the orchards just out the frontyard. It's not the best, but it was our view. We watched the leaves change each season, the sunsets in the evening, and the fog linger in the winter. I will miss those orchards! The other thing I don't want to forget are these great friends the Martins who lived right around the corner. My kids were in a bike gang with them and miss spending hours riding around the neighborhood.

Brandon 18months

My nephew Brandon is four months younger than Landry. He is so much fun, I love listening to how well he can talk. Probably the most memorable moment was when I heard him walk into Landry's room and discover a pacifier in his crib. I heard his little voice say, "What the heck?" It was so surprising and cute! It's fun to have a nice camera and put this expensive lens to work. It gives me a chance to spend sometime with these little guys that don't live so close.

Swimming in March brrrrrr!

Emery and Kelci are troopers, they swim all year long. I should also mention that there mean parents haven't purchased them a swim parka yet! Well they are proving to us that they deserve one and they are stickin with swimming for awhile. These pictures were taken at a swim meet in Grass Valley. I believe the temp. in the van read 32 degrees outside that morning. Man that is chilly!! Still the girls had a great time and swam there best. We love that we have such great friends that swim on the swim team as-well. They laugh and cheer eachother on and make great memories!

Our kids

I finally took some updated pictures of my kids. Of course these are just a few....and pretty much the only ones with people looking in the right direction. Actually, I love the candid shots too, but didn't want to overwhelm my blog with too many pictures. Thanks to my friends who helped me with the editing. I wanted them to look retro style, and these are perfect!

Beautiful nieces!

These are my beautiful nieces Keianna and Jenae. It was so fun to take a few pictures of them and surprise Stacey with them. They also helped wrangle my kids for a few pictures of them as-well. That is no easy task, trust me.

Landry's 2nd birthday

Landry turned two.....wayyyyyyyy back in March. I would feel like such a bad mom if I didn't try to document some of these things. Infact I realized today that I taught Kelci preschool at home just like all the other kids, but for some reason I can't remember any of it. Well except a field trip to the fish hatchery in Oroville. So that is proof enough that I need to blog, or all memories will cease. This momnesia stuff is real people, I promise it's not age!!! Landry has been into pirates so I spotted this cake on the internet and gave it a go. It wasn't too hard, but it always reminds me why I don't always make the kids birthday cakes, not too good at all for starters. We didn't have a big party, infact on the day of his birthday Craig and Chrystina wanted to come and visit so it was nice to share in the celebration with them. We weren't trying to be poopers or anything, but just wanted to not have a huge party. I think it was perfect really. A couple of days later my mom and nieces surprised us with another cute b-day cake and presents for Landry. He was happy of course, and it was nice to see them. We are blessed to live so close to family.

Lately...

Lately I have been trying to finish a few projects and ideas that keep popping into my head. They distract me from doing all the great jobs around the house that should be getting done. My friend was getting rid of this beauty, so I thought I wonder if I can do something with that chair. We have a whole front room with nothing to fill it, so I took it off her hands and got to work.

There was some fabric on the arms of this chair, but I already took that apart and than decided to take a picture. While Ang was visiting she helped out by sewing some awesome new cushions. I love the way it turned out and can't wait to keep building and adding to this room now.

If you are wondering why there is a monkey sitting on table there, it is actually a scentsy monkey....smells sooooo yummy!! That table was also a recent project. I bought it a yard sale for $3.00, painted it and glazed it. I love the shape of it.