August Summer nights

It has been a very hot summer.... with activities such as visiting one son and his new wife down south. It was fun to see where they live, and all the things we did. I especially liked playing with their dogs, and just hanging out spending time with them all. Best dinner was at their house, cookin' in the kitchen together!

Other activities were, my husband and other son were in a warf to warf race from Santa Cruz to Capitola. He trained for 3 months, and finished the race. It was fun, and had a great time with my son and his new wife and family. Her cousin also ran the race, along with one of my nieces. It was fun standing on the side lines, cheering them on and watching them finish the race!

There are two expected babies to be entering into our family this summer, NO not my boys.... LOL. A cousin, and a nephew, and a wedding  coming soon for another cousin.. So bridal shower, and baby showers... Fun times.

At the same time it has been a sad summer, my sisters' husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and has gone down hill so quickly. My heart goes out to her. Trying to be there for her and her family. We are a family that always pulls all together in times of need. Brother n' laws, nephews, nieces all helping her when needed. Cancer is NOT a pretty thing... but God gives us things to test us within our lives. So just being there, and helping to do anything can make such a difference. The key gift you can give anyone, is your TIME, because they may not be there someday. Say a prayer, and reach out to someone tomorrow, give a smile, hug, or just 1/2 hour of your time to listen to them.
God bless you all, and stay cool, drink your water, and thank God everyday for the blessings you have received from HIM.

This summer we also celebrated the "Madonna Del Carmen" Celebration, this is a celebration that we use to participate in, in honor of our grandparents marching with our own Chenga, and saint. The large Madonna was carried by us later on when we were in High School. This is a picture of our children carrying the family one when they were little. It was fun to see the Los Banos families taking part, the mass was beautiful in honor of her, the food was the traditional stew which was delicious, and the auction was a great success with the 4th generation helping auction the items, the oldest was probably 9. A great day carrying on the tradition in honor of our Pops and Nonna.