I LOVE YOU GRANDPA JACK!

My Grandpa Jack passed away yesterday. I am at loss for words but at the same time my mind will not shut off; worrying about my family, reflecting on my wonderful memories and wishing I had seen him one more time…I am beyond sad. I know that everybody has to die at some point but you just never expect it. 

I grew up 20 minutes away from my Grandpa Jack and Grandma Nancy. Needless to say we were over there a lot and quite honestly I can’t remember a time I didn’t want to go. I loved visiting my grandparents. Grandma always made us delicious meals and Grandpa always kept us entertained with his happy smile and laugh. 

When I was in college my grandparents moved back to New York (where they are originally from). I’m happy that they got to spend quality time with family and friends on the East Coast but boy were they missed over here. I’ve only seen them once since they moved and that makes me sad. I wish I would have gathered all of my pennies and flown out there to see them…I just kept saying next year :(

At least I can take comfort in the fact that my grandpa knows how much I love him and that he is smiling down on me and our family. Instead of smiling and watching our lives through Facebook, I like to think he is actually here with us now. I will miss his sweet comments on Facebook; I could always picture him saying the things he would write with a big smile on his face. I remember when he got his first computer…oh man! He cracked me up, so determined to figure it out and yet so completely clueless. He definitely had to take itty bitty baby steps but eventually he caught on and he became an email / Facebook pro :) Although I did recently throw him a curve ball by introducing my blog…”Blog? What is that?” You know it’s kind of funny, now that I am saying all of this I’m not entirely sure who wrote me back about my blog. Once my grandpa mastered the computer I think he finally roped my grandma in and they used it equally as much but she always uses my grandpa’s Facebook and email accounts so it was hard to tell if it was him or her since they usually sign it g/g or left it blank. Isn’t that fitting for them?

They are a package…Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Jack OR Grandpa Jack and Grandma Nancy. It breaks my heart to think about my grandma being at home alone without my grandpa. I really hope my grandma takes me up on my offer to call whenever she wants. I can’t even imagine what she is going through. They are such a team. Growing up I never realized it but they were a rock for my mom, John, Beth, Kevin and I; A great example of dedication and love. It is no wonder John is such a wonderful dad to Beth, Kevin and I AND a loyal and loving husband to my mom. We are all so lucky to have had Grandpa Jack in our lives. I will continue to pray for him and my family and cherish my wonderful memories of him.

Man I feel like I can keep writing. I was going to stop there but I can’t stop my head from going. There is a lot I would have loved to have learned about my grandpa; luckily I can learn more through my grandma. There are also a lot of other things that I don’t want to forget. Yesterday I was flooded with different thoughts of him, once I stopped crying I started talking Juan’s ear off. My grandpa loved fishing….like a wake up before work and go fishing every day kind of guy. He always wore suspenders and flannel shirts. He gave great hugs! He had one of those infectious laughs that sounded raspy from all the years of smoking. I loved his garage…full of man stuff, collectibles and I think I will always remember the smell. That grandpa garage smell. He was proud of me :) like the kind of proud you could feel and makes your heart warm when you think about it. He always bragged about us kids. He worked hard and kept their huge property in Estacada nicely manicured (think that is where John got it from). He pushed me to apply for his companies family scholarship program for college and to my excitement (and of course his) I got it. He and grandma came to our house every single Christmas morning, car loaded with goodies and full of smiles to celebrate Christmas morning with us. We both LOVED Grandma Nancy’s banana cream pie. That was our thing :) He was short haha. I could go on and on.

I love my Grandpa Jack and feel so blessed to have had him in my life and want to be an even better person now that he is watching over me. Last night I was really really emotional but I had this feeling that Grandpa Jack was watching and I want him to see me happy and living my life. He never got to meet Juan and Gisele (although he has seen a million pictures and knows all about them), he was so happy for me and my little life I have here with Juan and Gisele. Last night I had little motivation to help Juan make dinner and then all of a sudden I thought…I want grandpa to see how well we work together, cooking, cleaning, laughing, really just living life….so I put a smile on…we listened to old country music (in honor of my grandpa) and I prayed that he is smiling down right there with us.  

Rocking my Grandpa's Fisherman's Belt today :)

Carpinteria

Love. Family. 36 - Grandparents. Aunts. Uncles. Cousins. Brothers. Sisters. Moms. Dads.

A couple months ago the topic of smores came up. Gisele was puzzled. "Smores? What are smores?" Oh my goodness...I was so excited that I got to be the one to teach her about smores. To this day they are one of my favorite treats. Beach camping smores, bonfire smores, at home smores, pit fire smores on my parents property...no matter where you make them...they are delish!! Gisele listened to my smores description, immediately told Papa about them and obviously asked if she can have one. I wanted her first smore experience to be an exciting event so we said she would have to wait until our  big camping trip in Carpinteria. At first she was only excited about the ooey gooey smores but then she started asking about the camping. After talking about camping Gisele was fixated on the fact that the three of us would all be sleeping together in the tent "all night!" So cute!

When the time finally came...Gisele was beyond excited to hit the road (Juan and I were too). I didn't make it up to Carpinteria last summer for our family's annual camping trip. I was definitely excited to see everyone and my family was excited to finally meet Gisele. They all met Juan last summer at my Grandparent's 50th Anniversary trip but they hadn't met the infamous Gisele :) Boy oh boy was Gisele a hit. Raquel and Juan who? 

Grubbin'

When we first got there we made our introductions and then we hit the beach. After playing hard we got back to the campsite just in time to enjoy some Rowland Spaghetti aka Horton Spaghetti (from my Grandma Shirley's family). There were three huge batches of sauce. One from my Aunt Kendra (more Rowland like), one from my Great Aunt Mary (Grandma's Sister) and one from her daughter Renee. I managed to sample all three, all of which were delicious!!

I love bread. So kissable.

After spaghetti, Gisele really had to practice patience waiting for the camp fire smore session to begin. I think she asked my grandma and aunts numerous times if it was smore time yet. So cute! Finally the time came, little G got her smore and she LOVED it. Sharing big bites with Papa and I...we let her have two smores. She was in ooey  gooey mashmallow, melted chocolate and graham cracker heaven.

Smore time!!

Carpinteria Skies.

After loading up with sugar (not the best pre-bedtime snack). We brushed our teeth and snuggled up in our tent. To our surprise / excitement Gisele did a great job. We read a couple stories, kissed her goodnight and to dreamland she went. She slept the entire night! She even managed to take a nap in the tent the following day! The next morning I took Juan and G to my favorite breakfast spot, Reynaldo's Bakery for breakfast burritos and coffee.

Lil G loves her Chocolate Milk. So full just looking at this.

On our way back to the campsite we stopped at a new park and spent the better part of the morning playing three little pigs, the big bad wolf and making new friends.

Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!

Hiding from the Big Bad Wolf!

Only Papa can make her smile like that!

Campfire Lounging.

More Grubbin'. Walking around the Campsite.

Arts & Crafts.

Impromptu Photo Shoot.

Surprise Bday Cake for My Love. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Rowland for yet another awesome weekend in Carpinteria.

Overall we had an awesome weekend. I really enjoyed our little day trip to Ventura (see trip inside our trip) and visiting with Rejina. As always, I loved seeing my family and catching up. I think they enjoyed meeting my little family (judging by their "we love your family" "we love you guys" comments) and I loved surprising Juan with some weekend birthday celebrations. 

We had a hard time saying goodbye...little G even burst into tears saying goodbye to everyone :( but we will come again! Next year.

(trip inside our trip)

 

Our 2nd day in Carpinteria was kind of overcast so we decided to take a little trip to the neighboring town,  Downtown Ventura. Gisele's best buds for the weekend, my cousins Keagen and Klara asked to come along. The three girls had a blast making silly faces on the way there, finding hidden treasures in the countless thrift stores and ordering three of the same pasta dish at Nature's Grill for lunch. Juan and I have talked about how many kids we want to have (down the road) and we were laughing realizing Keagen, Klara & Gisele (KK&G) were giving us a taste of what 3 would be like. Luckily all three girls are very well mannered and a ton of fun so our little trip inside of our trip was a success.

Oh and as if KK&G and I weren't enough girls for Juan...my good friend Rejina who lives close by stopped by for lunch. Girl mania!!

G pretending to sleep. Klara the oldest wide awake. Keagen passed out.

KK&G Thrifting. KK&G Cruisin' Downtown Ventura.

GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS

benny the jet rodriguez

Friday night was Core Consulting Group's Client Appreciation night and we hosted a night at Petco Park in the Western Metal Building Suites. Obviously I'm not going to post a bunch of pictures of clients but I can post a few of Linda, Armond, Juan and I. The four of us had a great time...schmoozing it up with our clients and enjoying a beautiful summer night.

Representing the CORE

For those of you who don't know...being a Rowland means that you are a Dodger fan. Juan knew next to nothing about baseball (prior to this game) and being the loving / supporting boyfriend that he is, he rocked the Dodger Blue with me. Linda, Armond and many others were disappointed with his decision but I think we look pretty good in our Dodger gear. Sadly we are in last place and we definitley lost Friday's game...but there is always next year right?

Such a beautiful night!

Love these two!

Oh boy!

Let's Go Dodgers!

Adopted Sister. Seriously though...she has keys to my dad's house. Love you Linda!

Closing down the Park.

Well that was fun.

Happy Father's Day!

Cole, Christian and I Love Our Poppa Bear!

After our already VERY fun weekend the festivities continued on Sunday. Juan spent the morning with his dad and brother practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and juicing (a couple of his dad's favorite hobbies). When he got home Gisele and I were suited up and ready for a day at the Rowland Ranch, celebrating with my Poppa Bear.


My dad is a HUGE fan of Santa Fe Meats marinated meat. Living up in the country he doesn't make it down to Chula Vista very often, so I picked up a couple pounds for his special day. He grilled, Allison made awesome guacamole and margaritas. And of course we all PLAYED!!

Gisele was a champ in the pool! We really should get her in swimming lessons. She LOVES the water and wants to be a part of everything (including rowdy games of basketball). My  Dad, Juan, Christian and I started a game of 2 on 2 but Gisele's little eyes started watering up...she wanted to be a part of it. So precious. We changed it to 3 on 2 but even then her abilities were limited and she started to cry again...she really wants to play with the BIG kids and be able to hang. My selfish self wants to keep her little for a while longer but it will be fun when she can really jump in (and swim).

Gisele also enjoyed riding around on her and Christian's boat... chasing after Cole and bopping him on the head. It is so fun watching the three of them play together. Cole and Christian are so good with her. Making sure she is safe and ALWAYS keeping her entertained. The other day Juan pointed out that when they are older they are going to look back and be like "remember when?" Three Amigos.

After some pooling Gisele, Cole, Christian and Juan bounced the rest of their energy out on the trampoline. It was so fun watching Gisele try to jump as high as Cole and Christian. "Look at me! Look at how HIGH I am jumping!!"

Bringing me be back to my childhood my dad busted out the ICEE stuff. Cherry ICEES...Mmmm! Actually come to think of it...I didn't even have one! Next time. 

Brain Freeze!!!

Latest Addition to the Rowland Ranch. Meet Dali. I'm not a dog (or pet for that matter) person but I will say she is very well behaved and very sweet. She is trying to win my heart...we shall see.

Practicing with Papa Milton for Father's Day.

Papa's Day Pt. 2

 
Part 2 of Juan's "Papa's Day / Extra Lovin' Day" we decided to go to evening mass at our Church, Corpus Christi.  We usually go on Sunday mornings but it was a nice change. It was fun seeing different faces and ending the day that way.


<<<How sweet are they? 

Mass was so beautiful and Gisele was extra vocal during the songs. Sometimes she hums or tries to sing along to one song, but on Saturday she was singing multiple songs! So sweet! I love watching her shake fellow parishoners hands and say "peace be with you."  Isn't that what it is all about, love and taking care of one another? I just love the "sign of peace" part of the mass and watching Gisele participate in it melts my heart.

At the end of mass they had a beautiful blessing for the dads. It was lovely (minus the fact that Gisele was talking to me when they asked "the dads to please stand up" so of course we stood up, not hearing the announcement...whoops LOL) and very special seeing all of the dads up there. After mass we took Bisabuela in the back to take a few pictures and of course let Gisele play in her "house".

Taking pictures in her house aka gazebo. Bisabuela wanted a picture with St. Francis.

We will miss having Bisabuela here. It was so nice having her visit!

The Ladies.

How cute are these candy bars they had for dads!

Papa's Day Pt. 1

We had quite a few special men to celebrate on Father's Day. So I decided Saturday would be Papa's Day...a special day where Gisele and I give Juan extra lovin'. 

Kisses all day!

We started the day off by letting Juan sleep in, we made breakfast, picked a flower and laid out all of the special crafts Gisele made for him. We had such a lovely morning. Then it was time to enjoy the day...Papa's choice. Considering what a beautiful day it was...he asked for a beach day (great choice Papa!).  I packed a picnic. We put on our swim suits and Rainbows...then we hit the road. Coronado bound!

Nothing but blue skies, warm sand and cool salty water. Gisele had a blast jumping over waves, racing through the water, building sand castles and being silly with Papa.

Seaweed Tails. Towel Time Tickles.

Wave Jumpers. Speedy Runners.

After picnicking (look at our healthy eater) and enjoying Mother Ocean we decided to "go on an adventure."

We walked down to the Hotel Del Coronado, admiring the beautiful houses along the way. Yes, even Gisele enjoys looking at the houses. My favorite was when she said "Look!! That one looks like a castle!!"

Hotel Del Coronado and Moo Time Ice Cream....perfect end to the afternoon. It didn't occur to me until later in the day that it was the first time Juan and I have been back to Moo Time (together) since our first date in 2008 (awwww lol).