2009 Road Trip

We started out from Waco on our annual road trip. This time it was just my wife, my brother, my sister and me. Dora bought a new SUV and a 2500 mile round trip was just what was needed to break it in. We took off a midnight after waiting all day to get our home air conditioning unit worked on. I drove for the first eight hours. Roje took over the driving after that. We still needed another eight hours to get to Williams, Az.


We stopped in a small town to eat, due to wanting to get to Williams soon, we opted to eat a Subway. Next door was a hill so Dora and I ran up to climb it. It felt good to run up the hill after being in the SUV for about 14 hours.


We finally made ti to the Arizona state line. Had to stop for a traditional state line photo.


Dora took this photo of me. That is one huge rock in the background.


We could see clouds way ahead in the distance. It look like a rain storm was coming up. As we got closer it became clear that it was a dust storm. We got hit by some strong winds and lots of dust.


This was our last stop before getting to Williams. The dust storm was behind us, the skies were blue and the rest area had some rocks we could climb.


This has to be the best rest area we've stopped ever been at. The day was perfect for picture taking.


Roje took this photo for us.


We made it to Williams and we went to eat dinner. I was so hungry I left my camera in the room. The next morning we got up late and had a big breakfast. We made it to the Grand Canyon at about 10:00 AM. At the Grand Canyon we would walk for a few yards and then take pictures. There was so much to see. That place is so huge.

This photo is from the spot we first saw the Grand Canyon. It was a hazy day. They had a rain storm the night before and the water was still raising through evaporation and it was visible across the hundreds of yards of air between the rims of the canyon.


We had our walking sticks, hats, Camelbacks, and cameras. We were ready. The landscape was so awesome that there is no way my camera lens could capture its greatness.


This people, is the Grand Canyon seen from the south rim. The trip there was another excellent time spent laughing and reminiscing about our childhood.

The month of May

Elfida and the girls working on her garden. She has now harvested zucchini, cucumber, and peppers.

Got my mower working, then spent another two weeks trying to fix a flat tire. A new tire cost as much as a car tire.

Lily happy to ride around the yard helping me charge the battery up on the mower.

Maiko and I went to Isabelle's field day at school. She was very happy to have us out there.

Blue Bonnets

It was a great day for photographs. Two beautiful little girls in a field of Blue Bonnets.

Two sisters holding hands smiling in the sunshine.

Sweet sweet smiles.

Sometimes a smile just can stay a smile, so a giggle forms and a little laughter follows.

Skipping in the sun.

Almost floating on fresh air.

Going around in circles, dancing with joy.

Little sister running as fast as the wind.

Big sister dancing again.

A moment of rest.

An upside down smile from little sister.

It just couldn't stay upside down.

To hard to hold in happiness.

A serious moment.

Happiness is an afternoon with Meme.

Such a young grandma.

Kisses and hugs for grandma.

Happiness is an afternoon with the grand daughters.

The Sister's Visit

Well, the sisters came back to spend an afternoon with the grandparents. While we worked on the yard, they rearranged their toys. Lily wore angel wings while playing outside. With a little team work many things can be accomplished.

Got to show grandpa her fighting face. She was very proud of her rub-on tattoo on her right arm. Is that a mean look or what?

So big sister was showing us how she can climb poles. Well, little sister had to try it too. Couldn't do it yet but she will soon. I love watching from a distance because they will just be themselves then. Once I get near with the camera they start hamming it up. But even those photos are great.

Elfida's sister gave Isabelle the trampoline a few years back when her kids out grew it. That is their favorite toy when playing outside. They like their picture being taken when they are jumping on it. I get lots of, "Watch me grampa!" and "Take a picture of what I can do."

Big sister can get some pretty good air now. She's still working on her somersaults.

This is one of my favorites. I love it when the sun cooperates. Forcing the flash on the camera helps to light up the foreground.

Look at little sister watching big sister. Taking everything in, she will be doing the same in a few minutes.

Nice horns! I wish I had a stronger flash, but oh well, its still a nice photo.

And then comes a moment of solitude. Big sister took some time to sit by herself. I love this moments. What thoughts come to a little girl's mind when they sit out by herself and contemplate the evening sky and the cows grazing?

Then it was back to getting grandpa's attention. She is getting very agile on the swing set. It gets hard when both are asking for attention. Its easier when I can focus only on one at a time.

By now big sister was really into posing for the photos. "Take a picture of me doing this!" So grandpa did.

She really liked this one.

Well, since they were in a photographic mood, I decided to try some motion blur photographs. I slowed down the speed on the camera to 20 and followed their movements which blurs the background. Very nice.

Little sister was the first one willing to run across the yard while I took her picture. It takes four or five runs to get a good match between their running and my following with the camera.

Now her is a fast runner! I love this one. It is such a joy to have them over, even with all their arguing. They are carbon copies of Miako and Carlos. We had a great time with them. We went inside when the sun went down and had dinner. Then grandpa told some ghost stories and showed them what hand sign to make to keep the Cucuy away. We went upstairs and watched Bratz. I googled it first because I figured it was a movie for older kids. The reviews said it was a good movie for all kids. Well, it was kind of corny but the girls were really into it.