Week with the Cousins

On a happier note we had a great time with our family, some of which we have not seen in six years. We took lots of pictures and so everyday I'll post a few pictures to tell you more about the happier moments of our trip. Today there's a lot of pictures because I'm introducing each of my cousins. The only one missing is Jared because we didn't have time to take a picture of him.

Claire...obviously.


Little Ashley.


This is Sabrina, she's the oldest from my dad's sister. She's 14 almost 15. Her younger brother, Jared is 9.



This is Daniel. He's 13, three months younger than me. He's the oldest from my dad's brother.


This is Matthew. He's the youngest from my dad's brother. He's 9.


This is me. :)


Emily...she thinks she's really cool.


Juliana...the middle girl from my dad's brother age 11.


Cade, with his "peace" sign.


So those are my cousins from my dad's family! More pictures to come...

Memorial Service

Many of you know that my Grandma died a couple weeks ago. My family just got back from California where we were at her memorial service. The oldest grandchild from each family read something they wrote for her at her memorial service and so I decided to post what I read.

Ever since I was little I have always called my Grandma, Lola. That’s what my grandparents requested and so that’s what I have always called her. Somehow that makes her seem more personal, more specific. I mean there are thousands of grandmas in the world, but, at least to me, only one Lola. I hope that today she is honored like she deserves.
The last time I saw Lola was in January. She and my Lolo had just come back from a business trip in Maryland and they stopped at our house in Spokane for a week. That was the most fun time I ever had with them. It started off with me getting lost at the airport and ended with them waking us up at 4 in the morning on their departure date for a little “surprise.” While they were there we went to a movie, went shopping, got manicures and hosted a New Year’s Eve party with Lola’s cooking.
One of the things I loved about my Grandma was her cooking. Every time we visited we would load up the car and head to the local Asian market. Hours later the house would be filled with the smell of delicious Filipino food. Some of my favorites are panset, synagong and champarado. She loved to cook and blessed my whole family with her delicious food.
Another activity I did with Lola was loose teeth. Obviously, I’ve lost all my teeth now but when I was younger we found out a secret. Everybody knows how generous Grandmas are, and mine probably more so, but anyway, we found out that the tooth fairy at Lola’s house was just a little bit more generous than the one in Spokane. Well, we would always try to loose teeth around the time of our visits. It usually took a lot of effort on our part, but if we succeeded in yanking one out we were rewarded by Lola with a 20 dollar bill. Eventually my parents started talking about popping out a few so they could earn a little extra cash.
I really admire my Lola for her generosity. She was always giving, giving, giving. Lola loved to buy clothes for us and give us gifts. In fact, whenever we knew we were going to see her we would make a list of “fun things” to do with them that we wouldn’t normally do. These included bowling, going out to eat or for ice cream, going to the mall, etc.
Another thing I loved about Lola was her spontaneity. If you even hinted at something you wanted to do she would either immediately suggest it or ask you if you wanted to do it. And of course who is going to say no to ice cream!
There are so many things I could tell you about Lola. I could tell you how excited I was when I was finally taller than her. Or how I scared her so bad she screamed and jumped straight into the air. But I hope this has shown you how much I loved Lola and what an amazing woman she was. I’m so sad to loose Lola. Nothing is ever going to change that. But I am so thankful for the time I was able to spend with her, and the things I was able to learn from her. I love you, Lola. I can’t wait to see you again.