Thank you, Keats, for the update.

Keats...
Thanks so much for taking the time to post. Your pix are fabulous- those handsome little men are getting so big! Best of luck in your new adventure- I'll be watching for updates on FB. Hugs to all. LB

Hello From Blistering Arizona!

I just wanted to give a summer hello to all of the Lopez clan out there! It's quite hot here in Phoenix right now (116 this upcoming weekend, July 11-12) so I hope it more pleasant where you might be reading this from. I also want to say how sad it was to hear of my Uncle Carlos Chavez' passing earlier this year. I hope the Chavez portion of the Lopez clan is doing all right, you are in my thoughts.

I just spent almost a week in Minnessota with my wife (Tammy) and our two boys (Soren & Aidan, who just turned 5 and 8 respectively). They're all still out there in MN so I'm batchin in here in Flamesville.

I'm excited that my twin brother Franz is coming out this weekend with his wife (Yoana) and their toddler (Marianna, who is about 19 months old). My folks Michael and Tina and our sister Sarah are also here in town right now since my father had to have a bladder surgery here at the Mayo clinic in Scottdale. He had some large stones removed in a pouch that had formed off his bladder and was causing him some extreme pain; this getting old stuff just doesn't sound that fun, especially since I have my dad's genetics!

Anyway, my family and I are doing well for the most part (heck, there's always something to complain about but what good does it do). Aidan will be starting 3rd grade (yikes!) and Soren will do another year of pre-school since we just don't feel that he's ready for kindergarten yet. Aidan is an absolute sports nut (imagine that) and just finished a great season of little league baseball. He will start up soccer again here in August which he also absolutely loves also. Academically, Aidan had a wonderful year in 2nd grade and became quite the reader. He acutally read the ENTIRE Harry Potter series as well as the C.S. Lewis books during the school year amongst other books he was reading. I don't think my brother and I could hardly read or spell at that age! Soren is much like me in temperment ( a real comedian and a jokester) but also unfortunately acquired my father's horrible temper with the occasional unreasonable emotional outburst. He keeps us on our toes to say the least. Our older son Aidan is so much differnt than his brother but that's probably how it is for most sibblings.

Professionaly, I, like my twin brother, am still in the fitness and health promotion industry; I also have a massage licence with a specialty in a type of massage called Neuromuscular Therapy, which is quite effective for relieving muscle pain. I recently started a podcast with a colleague called "Reality-Based Fitness" which is a real fun project. We've interviewed 3 various experts so far with two of them being nutrition guys with some real interesting things to say about fat loss, health, peformance and more. If you want to listen you can go to iTunes and subscribe under Reality-Based Fitness or visit the site. if you want to listen on you computer.

To finish this blog post, I want to give the link to a bunch of pictures we took on a recent trip to Santa Fe. There's a lot of pictures but will give everyone and idea of what we all look like at the moment. The trip was quite nice and we saw some beautiful parks and National monuments. Well, that's it for now; I hope everyone else is doing well and I'd love to get some updates on what other members of this amazing clan are up to! Thanks for reading.

Much love, and with thoughts of our dear Nana,

Keats

Chavez 60th

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Carlos and Felicia Chavez married 60 years

Carlos E. and Felicia L. Chavez of Rio Communities will celebrate their
60th wedding anniversary on Feb. 19. They were married on that date in
1949 in Bakersfield, Calif.

Carlos served for three years in the Navy during WWII , three years in the Army during the Cold War, and is retired as an operating engineer. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus in California. He enjoys fishing, hunting and gardening.

Felicia is a homemaker and enjoys crocheting and sewing.

They are members of Our Lady of Belen Catholic Church.
They are the parents and in-laws of Joe and Mariann Chavez of
Bakersfield, Calif.; Anita M. Ulibarri of Belen; the late Carlos E.
Chavez Jr.; Albert and Tina Chavez of Bakersfield; and Susie Chavez of
Albuquerque.

Their grandchildren and in-laws are Patricia and Adam Chestnut of
Talent, Ore.; Tiffany and C.J. Kelton of Medford, Ore.; Anna and Eric
Tolliver of Belen; Kasey Chavez of Bakersfield; Samantha Doyle of
Albuquerque; and Amy Chavez of Bakersfield.
Their great-grandchildren are Tucker Chestnut of Talent, Ore.; Haillie Kelton of Medford, Ore.; and Thomas Carlos-Meliton Tolliver of Belen.

They plan a quiet celebration at home.

Eric Fennell Checks In

Posted by Mark Messimer on behalf of Eric.

Glad to hear about Uncle Hal and Aunt Lucy. All is well down here in Bakersfield. I am still working as the Senior Deputy in the Kern County Sheriff's Office Rural Crime Investigation Unit and have the collateral duty as a Homicide Investigator on the Homicide Call-out Rotation Team.

I will have a total of 28 years on in February and if my health allows, I will stay with it until I decide to work on one of the ranches taking care of the coyote problems, mending fences and doing my best to put Coors Light and Skoal out of business by drinking and dipping my share. I do all the livestock investigations for the county and drive around in an F-250 on the beautiful ranches here in Kern
County.



Katelyn, 18 years old, is attending Bakersfield College and working part-time at one of the local schools. Vicki, Kate's mom, is still working as a
Deputy Coroner Investigator with our department.






Aaron & Kyle, 11 years old, are in the 5th grade and just finished an undefeated tackle football season. I have coached them the last two years and we have had two League Championship seasons. They both played wide receiver and defensive cornerback this season. A big change for them from playing defensive end and linebacker last season.

Aaron is playing the clarinet in the school orchestra. Aaron wants to be a professional football player and he probably will.

Kyle was playing the cello but he recently became a free lance musician as a result of playing "Smoke On The Water" one two many times during practice. Yes, I taught him how to play that song on his cello soI will take a little of the blame. Kyle wants to be a Marine then a Deputy Sheriff. He is one tough kid and most likely will do both. He loves to swim and looks just like Corky did at that age. Aaron and Kyle were born on Aunt Maxine's birthday so I know they were a blessing. Aaron & Kyle's mom, Terry, is doing well and attending Cal State Bakersfield. Aaron and Kyle both love spending time with cousin Jeanie and now that she is retired she can spend more time with them, You Hear That Jeanie!!!!!!!

Mom and Dad are both doing fine. Kevin is keeping busy here in town and still traveling around to the car and boat races. I hope to spend sometime with them during the holidays. Denise is still in the Santa Barbara area. Andrianna
graduated from USC and Dante is doing quite well in school.

Damien is in the Air Force in lands unknown. He is Air Force Special Operations and his assignments are classified. He is a door gunner on a C-130 Gunship and works closely with
Army Rangers, SEALS, and Marine Recon Units. I think he might be in Afghanistan wishing the locals Merry Christmas from up above. I speak with him every now and then and I am proud of him. He showed up at one of the boys football games.

Please keep him in your prayers and pray that he returns safely.


I don't know if you are aware but a few months ago, a couple of bonehead thugs started a fire and burned down most of Nana's house and three others on Kentucky Street. I drove by that night and it made me cry.

I have a lot of good memories at that house. I tried to hunt down the little idiots but someone got them before I did, which is probably good.

I do miss Nana's tortillas, bologna sandwiches and Nilla wafers. She would always take me down to Ted's on Baker Street. I know she is cooking up in Heaven and there are plenty of angels standing on her cloud.

Well got to run up to Tejon Ranch, I wish everyone in the entire family Happy Holidays.

Love ya all,
Eric

Mom and Dad

As some of you already know, our dad has had many medical struggles over the last few years. And although he is now back home under the watchful eyes and caring souls of Mom, and sisters Olivia and LauraBeth, he is faced with many challenges at this stage of his life.

Today there are no medical timelines or absolutes. We endeavor to insure his comfort and assist him with the inevitable transitions laid before him. He seems to be at peace with his position in life, though that doesn’t mean he’s willing to give up the fight to carry-on. Our father has always been a “determined” individual, and has overcome many obstacles in his time. Even now, he remains the same spirited and resolute soul we have always known.

Although Mom is doing well, (although she could use a lot more rest and we continue to remind her of that on a daily basis) her days are quite full as Dad’s primary care giver and devoted spouse. With this in mind, we, the Messimer siblings, would greatly appreciate your communications to our folks be via email and letters / cards for now. Our focus is to keep Mom as strong and positive as possible. Thus we are concerned with her having to keep everyone up-to-date with too many phone calls throughout the days ahead.

Georgia has offered to be a point of contact for the extended family and will keep in touch with Mom’s sisters and brothers as changes take place.

I know Mom and Dad would love to hear from you so please feel free to use the addresses below.

Hoping you all are having a wonderful holiday season and please feel free to post your family update on this site for all to catch-up upon.

Best Wishes,

Olivia, Chuck, LauraBeth, Ron and Mark

Hal and Lu Messimer

10238 Will Court

Cupertino, CA 95014

Email Address: olivialopez@comcast.net

HI Anna

Thanks for posting and the update on the New Mexico clan- Tommy is quite a handsome little one. I can't wait to give him a squeeze when you come for your visit! Love and hugs to all. Laura.

Greetings from New Mexico

Hola Familia,
Just a quick note. My names Anna.
I'm grand daughter to Felicia or Aunt Fini.
and more importantly daughter to Peewee, no thats not her real name lol.
Not many people know her by her real name, Anita. Shes going to kill me if she finds out that I put Peewee :D
Grandma is doing well, My Grandpa is struggling with a lung infection, but that won't keep him down. He's up watering and fixing things.
My son Tommy is doing excellent. He turns 5 months old tomorrow.
Eric is doing well, working on the train.
I thought I'd drop a line and say Hi.
I'm off to clean the kitchen, finish my laundry and wash bottles...

Hey Chuck Salas

Good to hear from you, and glad to hear that the family is doing well.

Can you please pass the URL for this blog to other members of the San Diego clan. You are our only contact there so far.

Many Thanks!

Mark

Chuck Salas checking in...

Greetings to all Lopez-clan Bloggers, and their non-blogging family members. I am not a Blogger, but after receiving the invite, felt compelled to give it a shot.

All is well with the Salas clan here in SD. Everybody is healthy and the family is well.
Recent news?
Maria's daughters just took first place CIF for doubles in tennis. Elena is a Jr and Sophia is a freshman. They are terrific kids and they acquired Maria's competitive gene.
Charlene (my wife) and I have two in college. Greg is in his first yr at Cal Poly - SLO. Brit is in her second yr at UCSB. My two older ones are married (no kids yet) and we still have one in high school.
Our photo of Nana sets above the tv and I reflect often upon our quiet Matriarch.
And yes, it is all too often that we talk, let alone see one and other. I speak to Cousin Chuck about biz and ask after the clan, but it is indeed a weak substitute for a shared smile, memory and adult beverage.
Greetings to all.
CJS in SD

More fond memories of Nana

I remember eating tortillas fresh off the stove- with our without melted butter-mmmmmmm!
.....playing and jumping off the porch in the front yard of Kentucky St. ....the sound of the trains at night..... the hot, hot days...the kitchen bench that was storage for all sorts of stuff....her love of screwdrivers and beer... making sure everyone had something to eat.....her stories and quips.. her nightly prayers..her smile and laugh...

my life

Hey everyone!
well im just gonna start off by saying the picture my father posted of me was bad so heres a better one [=
my life has been going great. From just school to hanging out with friends. just a heads up, my volleyball season is coming up, so if anyone wants to come see me play you can just email me at kmessimer@yahoo.com. i should be starting in a couple months so im excited about that! like my dad said yes i am very social. my friends come over almost every weekend and we have a blast!
this picture is of me and a couple of my friends on topsey turby day at our school. this day is just pretty much a spirit day where girls dress up as guys and guys dress up as girls[=
these r only a couple of my friends. latley i have been just hung up on school and hanging with friends. right now i am doing well in school [= i got on honor roll for the first quarter and i hope to stay on it.
every quarter we have different alectives, my first elective was spanish! i did pretty well but ended up with a C in the class.. the teacher said i talked to much.. OPPS [=
but my latest elective is drama. so far im doing well. our first assinment was a mime, im pretty sure i aced it!
well thats my life so far

My Memories of Nana

Watching the trains from her front porch on Kentucky Street.

The ever-present aroma of fresh tortillas and beans coming from her kitchen.

Looking forward to her making her annual, 2 week summertime pilgrimage to Northern California was like waiting for Santa to come.

LB says hi....

Hi to all, and Happy Thanksgiving!
I think this is a terrific idea, and am really looking forward to reading updates and seeing pix of the Lopez gang.

My life is not quite as exciting as Mark's. My days of sleep overs and chauffeuring are a thing of the past as my girls are grown and living in Washington.

Cassie, now 30 - and yes, that does make me feel old , is the very happy mom to Raelyn, 3, and is expecting another child in May. She received her AA- she was on the 10 year, diverting to the Navy for 6 year plan- in September, and is currently working towards her bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering and Electronic Communications- or something like that. All I know is that when she tries to explain it to me, I think I understand what she is saying, but when I am asked to regurgitate the information, I realize I really didn't understand afterall. She is working her way through school at Applebee's Restaurant, but is interviewing for a job in her career field next month. She, her fiance Casey, and Raelyn live in Bremerton, Wa., which is directly across the Sound from Seattle.

Carmen, 28, was the assistant manager of Safeway, also in Bremerton,for 3 or 4 years, but decided that was really not what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. So, she applied for a 911 dispatch job with Kitsap County. After a really, really long interview process, she was selected for one of the 9 positions available. She is now in her glory. She loves her new job. Loves it! She has completed her training, and is now working as a Emergency Telecommunicator, taking all those wacky 911 calls. She bought her first house - all 580sf of it- last summer, and lives there with her partner, Britt.

As for me, I stay busy helping as a caregiver to Mom and Dad- Mark already gave an overview of how Mom and Dad are doing, so I won't go into that- I will let Olivia give the bigger picture, as she is the main caregiver. I am in the throws of getting a non-profit off the ground, and spend quite a bit of time working on that. - More about that later - I also volunteer at a ranch that provides therapeutic horseback riding lessons to disabled children- great fun!! - and am involved with a women's investment club, along with Mom. Gaston is quite supportive of all of my activities even though it seems as though we hardly see each other.(could it be that is why he is supportive?!) He is doing well and leads a much quieter life than I. He spends lots of time on the phone and computer with his family and friends all over Africa and Europe. He is going to go visit his family in Africa in 2010, and I am hoping to be able to go with him.

I am really looking forward to hearing from everyone. I'd like to start a birthday list of everyone to post as well as one of email and snail mail addresses. As you post your information, I will compile it and keep it current. I think it will be fun to see how big this clan has grown..Let's get this off the ground and reconnect!

Be well, and Happy Holidays to all..
Laura.

Mark Messimer's Family Update

(Mark & Kimba, June '08)


Well...where to start? How about...lately I've been feeling like a over-dosed lab rat in an estrogen research center. Between Kris (perpetually 30 y.o.), Alli (15 y.o.), Kelsey (12 y.o.), all their girlfriends and Kimba, my German Shepard, I am challenged, overwhelmed, and perplexed on a daily basis.

As you can see from the picture, after 10 years of bites, bruises and gooey canine slobber, I'm still training dogs. The one shown with me is our GSD, Kimba, when she was still a pup. She's a little over 1.5 years old now and a loyal and true protector. (Please call ahead if you're planning to stop over. She doesn't take kindly to unannounced guests) Most of my Saturday's are spent training family obedience classes, with a few police K9's to keep up the adrenalin levels. I'm the guy that gets to dress up in the padded jumpsuit and tries to run as fast as possible. Haven't outrun one yet. In fact, lately they seem to be catching me sooner and sooner into my attempted escapes. Gettin' closer to 50 is a real bitch sometimes.

(Mark attempting another failed get-away)

Monday through Friday I play in the corporate world as the Director of Education and Media Services for MLSListings Inc. We're the technology company that manages all the real estate listings for most of Northern California. Even with all the turbulence in the RE market, we're still going strong and I stay plenty busy keeping my trainers / divas in line, and a multi-media studio pumping out training videos, podcasts and webinars.

(Kris and Alli, Nov '08)
Kris spends a lot of time with the girls moving them from one event to another. Between school stuff, volleyball games, running athletic booster programs and weekends full of teenage social events, she's always on the run. She has become the second-mom to many of the girl's classmates and it's not uncommon that she gets calls from single-dads asking her "take their daughters to the drug-store for girl stuff" or rookie-moms asking her advice on dealing with the daughter's boyfriends and young teens dating.

During the week she works as Sales Exec for OneCoast, a representative organization that works in the gift and homewares markets. She has a large, South Bay Area territory but works out of a home-office situation. The market has been a little tough lately, but she has recently picked up some very strong home decor lines and is busy getting them introduced to her clients.

Alli is a Sophmore at San Lorenzo Valley High School. This is her with her boyfriend, Alex (1 year together and going strong). Alli is the part-time jock, full time social-butterfly, and some-times student in the family. She just came off a tough season on the JV Volleyball Team where she played a lot of defense, greatly improved her over-hand serve and learned to shoot the kill-shot like a Marine sniper.


Now that the season is over it's all about The Boyfriend (Varsity Football Placekicker and Team Captain), filling the house with girlfriends every weekend, and waiting until the last minute to complete whatever school report or project is due the next morning. (A chip off the old block)

For years she used to join me on the K9 training field every Saturday morning. Now I have to tip-toe through a carpet of teenage girls covering my living room floor every Saturday morning as I head out to training on my own. If I'm lucky there are a few food scraps left in the pantry when I return. Nothing destroys a food budget like 8 or 10, fifteen year old girls ripping through the kitchen at Mach 5.

Kelsey is flourishing in 7th Grade at San Lorenzo Valley Middle School. Her circle of friends continues to expand almost as fast as her monthly text-messaging volume on her cell phone.

Kelsey is our American Idol candidate in the making. Always sing her way through the day, her chores, her homework and certainly in the shower. New Country, Pop, R&B, and classic rock, you name it, she belts it out.

Another of her budding talents is photography. She has a unique eye for interesting perspective and color content. She's dying for a 35mm digital camera for Christmas. I thinking more along the lines of a massive external harddrive so she can deal with the hundreds, if not multiple-thousands of pictures already stored on the family laptop.

Mom and Dad are doing OK right now. It's been a tough few years for Dad ever since he had that fall that injured his back and neck. That made it hard for him to stay as mobile as he used to be, which in turn didn't help him with keeping strong and limber. Mom is recovering well from her operation that removed a small sub-dural hematoma a few months back. But like all of Bita's girls, she was up and busy way too soon, running the kitchen, keeping the gardens fresh and nursing Dad through many challenges. Those Lopez women are as tough as they come.

I'll let Olivia and Laura Beth catch you up to date on the happenings at Mama Lu's and Papa Hal's place.

I'm looking forward to reading about what's going on in your lives these days. If you are blog-challenged (I feel your pain. I myself just started doing this, this morning with the setup of this site) feel free to email me your post, along with any pictures you may want included, and I'll be happy to cut-n-paste them onto this site.

You can reach me at: markmessimer@comcast.net

Hoping that all is well throughout the Land of Lopez and that Thanksgiving left you full, sleepy and buried in leftovers.

Best Wishes to All,

Mark

Reconnecting The Lopez Tribe

It seems like every time the Messimer's and Grijalva's get together, someone asks the question, "What's going on with the rest of the family?"

Between the size of the extended Lopez Tribe, the expanse of geography we occupy, and the sometimes frantic and always hectic pace of life, we seem to only be able to group-up for occasional reunions, and the inevidable end-of-life celebrations.

But how we have The Web. Maybe we can fill in the gaps between family events to stay in touch and connected.

We all share the blessing of a common family bond, bestowed upon us by Gregorio and Augustina. Their dedication to, and love of family should not be neglected.

So let us know what you're up to these days. Tell us about family happenings and accomplishments. Post a picture or video of the family so we can all see how well we've all aged.

Most of all...let's reconnect.