Ken and Gloria's SURPRISE 40th Anniversary Dinner

On Saturday night, July 25th lots of family and friends gathered for a memorable celebration of Ken & Gloria's 40 years together. It was a surprise party and Ken and Gloria were actually blown away! We actually surprised them and they loved it! Here are some pics of the table settings at Specchio Ristorante - the best Italian spot in the city

Many months of planning payed off! Everything went down without a hitch

Thanks Auntie Sharon and Heather Thayne! The orchid floral arrangements were absolutely stunning! Each family took one home as a party souvenir. What a treat!

The big welcome table arrangement went to the honorees of the night. Given that orchids are Gloria's favorite flower, we took her breath away.

Baby Dedication Program - July 25th, 2009

Natalie Trujillo, Bri and Makayla Gorton had a blast playing together throughout the weekend

This was a very special dedication for us. Everyone in the family participated: Amee read a few awesome EGW quotes on raising kids, Ampee dedicated Kiara and the whole family, Brianna and Daddy were in charge of special music and Mommy made the dedication souvenirs. And this all happened on our actual 10th year anniversary!!!!

Daddy and Brianna sang both in English and Spanish

All the GOP Moms prepared a delicious summer lunch that we all enjoyed a lot!

Kiara's Second Baby Dedication - San Francisco

The weekend of July 25th found us in the Peninsula (we just can't keep still, can we?). This time we were there for several reasons, as you will see. It turned out to be the "Pierson Weekend." We kicked it off (on our end) on Sabbath with Kiara's Second Baby Dedication for all the family and friends who couldn't attend the Visalia one.

The Pierson Girls

GOP and beyon! (GOP stands for Gutschuss, Ordelheide and Pierson). The GOP has been together since Africa days and their friendship spans through two generations now.

Great Grandma Lucille and baby Kiara

Jazzed Up about GOOGLE

Santana Row's Farmers Market. An amazing array of fresh fruit, vegetables, breas, dips, baked goods and everything in between. We were blown away by the quality of it all!

You can see Daddy & Brianna dancing jazz in the background. Live jazz is all the rage!

We also found time to hit the GOOGLE complex and take some pics.

We drove around quite a bit and all we saw were GOOGLE buildings. It's a huge company that is going green as well. This company rewards employees who bike rather than drive to work. Go GOOGLE!

Saturday night LIVE with Brianna

Our little performer trying on hats for show .... and dancing to boot!

Sunday found us at Santana Row in San Jose. We hit the Farmer's Market and Jazz Concert in the Park first. We had an absolute blast!!!!

"Summer" in Carmel-by-the-Sea

We had an amazing Sabbath afternoon in Carmel. It was freezing cold but we managed and enjoyed the cold breeze, beautiful coast and gorgeous landscape. Bibi's parents loved the town as well.

A stroll by the beach

Daddy's girl

Soquel on Sabbath - July 18th

Brianna and Nina, happy girls posing for pics. Nina is Adrian and Silvia Gregorutti's little girl. Adrian took our engagement and wedding pictures back in 1999. It was great to meet again and catch up. Nina and Bri are only a year apart.

Daniel met a friend from his Peru years, Pr. Ruben Sanchez and his wife. We all had a GREAT time getting more acquainted. Pr. Sanchez' daughter, Vivian, and her family attend the Visalia SDA Church. Vivian and Bibi are becoming fast friends these days!

An unforgettable meal at Dharma's. This vegetarian Cafe had impressive food at incredible prices. We all ate a lot and still took a bunch of food home. Wish it was closer to home!

Knocked out arriving at Carmel By-The-Sea in the afternoon!

Soquel Campmeeting 2009

Sabbath, July 18th found us at Soquel Campmeeting 2009. During our trip there, Abu Nino read just about every book we had to Brianna. They both loved it!

We had a great Friday Night Supper with the Norton's

Haystacks galore!!!

Cascade and Brianna loved playing together and really enjoyed the food (though Cascade wasn't too happy about having her picture taken!)

IL DIVO

On July 23rd we took Daniel and Ivon to see IL DIVO in Fresno. Bibi's Dad loves music but was never able to attend a concert in his whole life. This experience was priceless, actually, for all of us. We are all fans of IL DIVO music and were blown away by the quality of the show.

Loving every second of the whole two hours! This is Jer & Bibi's third IL DIVO Concert and Kiara's First. She was such a doll! She didn't want to miss a thing and listened to the music, watched the lights and even took a nap!

A day to remember ...

Peaches & Clown

We had a family peach tree picking afternoon. Amee had lots of yummy peaches in her tree so we had to help! What a treat!

Ivon's Mom (Bibi's Grandma) owned and operated an orchard company in Mendoza, Argentina. She had peaches, nectarines, apricots, pears, and olives, just to name a few. Ivon and Bibi both grew up with the family tradition of picking fresh fruit off the trees. And we're keeping that tradition alive in Visalia for our girls!

We also made time to go see Boswick The Clown at the Visalia Public Library. It was GREAT fun and Brianna loved him and his tricks!

A nice pic after an exciting show! If you want to learn more about this awesome professional clown, please go to www.boswick.net