End of an era

I took these pictures this week as I helped Chan and his family shut their stores down. I found these signs in the back room of one of their stores and I wanted to share them. These say a lot about who they are and the type of business they run.
I love the mission statement one! SO true! My family always told me how great our customer service was when they were visiting. It's hard to believe it's come to an end.
I took this picture after cleaning the office for the last time. It was empty..... such a strange sight. All the offices were cleaned out and it was not only physically empty but it FELT empty. This past week we went from having 16 stores to 2 in four days. The 2 will run until August 31st and then we are officially done. It's been a physically demanding week on the entire family having to move all the products, fixtures, etc out and over to the warehouse where it all has to be sorted and stored. It's a HUGE job and it started over a month ago, but as of Thursday the majority is done. Thursday was the toughest day though because it was the last day for most our employees. This day was emotionally the toughest. There was a lot of tearful goodbyes. It was also the hardest because it was the day when most of our stores went dark. Chan and I went out to the airport at 5:30 in the morning and didn't get home until 9pm that night. I will admit I held it together until we left the airport for the warehouse and on our way there I cried. But my favorite part of the day was when we all met back up at the warehouse before we left for home. Chan's family broke out a bottle of champagne and poured it in Styrofoam cups (Chan and I had water in ours) and Tom gave a beautiful toast to our wonderful company, our family and the great things to come! It was a wonderful moment and one I won't soon forget. I am so grateful to have been a small part of their company, but even more proud of my husband and his family in seeing what an amazing thing they created. I can't wait to see what comes next! I love you ATG!

Father's Day 2011

I am falling behind a bit on my blogging! But this past Father's Day was awesome! Carter and I were asked to speak in church that day and I think we both did really well. Carter has NO fear about speaking in church- in fact he looks forward to the opportunity! It's awesome! And I did some major preparation on mine so for the first time EVER I wasn't nervous! So it was a good experience! We got Chan some Father's Day cards from us and he bought himself a gift he really wanted- a stove top griddle! Yeah I know it seems funny, but he has wanted one for quite some time! And I have to admit it's pretty cool! Then that evening the family got together and we had some dinner at Brooke and Mark's house. This picture has (from Right) Mark (Brooke's husband), Chan, Grandpa Gilbert (Chan's Mom's Dad), Gerardo (Annie's husband) and Tom (Chan's Dad). I love getting pictures with all the family together! It's kind of rare to have that many generations all under one roof! Pretty cool! And I just have to say how thankful I am to have a great Dad and an AMAZING husband! I am one lucky girl!

Summer haircuts

As soon as spring comes to a close it's time to change the hair cut to reflect the coming of the hot summer days! And for the boys (especially Carter) it's time to do something "new" for football. Apparently the hair is a statement at Alta! Here's a picture from the top. Longer in the center than on the sides.
It's tough to tell in this picture but the top is longer than the sides- similar to a Mohawk- but wider.
Then in the back it goes from the top down the back and narrows into a point where you also see the "steps"! Pretty crazy huh? He was going for a tough look for football and I think he achieved it! This was ALL his idea!
Will also went short and also did "steps" but his are on the sides. Both he and Carter did these last football season as well, but Carter moved his to the back this time.
I have to admit I love it when their hair is short! It's less hot for them and much neater looking for me!
Brianne cut hers short again! She was trying to grow it out and got it to her shoulders and decided it was too much work to keep up with it. Her hair is VERY thick so it requires some TLC to stay looking nice!
I think that the A-Line cut looks DARLING on her! I love it! I think it's cool that my kids are somewhat adventurous on their hair! It just shows how much personality they have! LOVE IT! Bring on the heat!

6th Grade Celebration

The last day of school was the 6th Grade Celebration! It's an opportunity for the kids to be recognized for their efforts throughout the school year. In this photo Will was receiving a certificate for having been on the Safety Patrol all year.
They were asked to dress up a bit and Will chose to wear this shirt and a button which read, "Heck is for people who don't believe in Gosh". Yeah...... real dressy! What can I say- he's a goof ball!
They handed out their MANY different certificates to all the 6th graders and it took quite a while! There's about 150 of them!
They had set up tables for them to sit and after the awards they were served a small brunch and got to watch a slide show of all of their events this past year. The Mom who put it together did a great job! All the other Mom's were crying! (Yes, including myself!)
This is Will's 6th grade class!
Me and my official 7th grader now! Yikes!
I got a shot of Will and his buddies- aren't they funny! He had a few of them over for a celebration sleepover that night! I've never seen so much Mt. Dew! They tried to pull an all-nighter but didn't quite make it!
This is Will and his teacher Mrs. Nocifora. She was an awesome teacher! Very funny and always had fun with the kids. This was her 1st and last year here though- she moved to Florida!
I am so proud of Will and how well he did this year! Sixth grade is a tough year and he made it through with flying colors! Way to go buddy- we love you!!

Last day of third grade

It's hard to believe this school year is over! And just like her brother Will she had Mrs. Annen- such a sweet an amazing teacher! She had to put up with a lot from us this year- knee surgeries and all- and handled it so well! Brianne had a great year (as usual) and can't wait for 4th grade! (and in case your wondering the button Brianne is wearing is a "Gleek" button. She is slightly obsessed with the show Glee!) And she didn't plan the report card shirt but it just happened to be the perfect shirt for the last day of school!

Carter talent show 2011

The last week of school for Carter he was a part of the school talent show. He and his friend Dylan tried out again this year and nailed it. The two of them are fearless in front of a crowd! Last year they were the Blues Brothers and this year they found a funny song called "the cutest girl in the room"!
After finding the cutest girl in the room (a friend of theirs Josie) they proceeded to serenade the song to her! The lyrics were hilarious and they had the crowd laughing!
Can't you tell how incredibly comfortable they are! Isn't it awesome! I could watch the two of them perform every day!
They were also asked to help out with this group. They had to put in the background lyric (which was actually more like a noise) to a current song- they did a great job and once again had the crowd going!
The funny thing about Carter and his friend is that A TON of teachers think they are brothers! But I have to admit there is a similarity there! And they are exactly alike when it comes to humor and personality! They always make ME laugh!
I was so proud of Carter! Not only is he a force on the football field but he can schmooze with the best of them and sing and perform on stage too! Way to go dude! Can't wait to see what comes up next!

Season one of softball!

The end of Brianne's first softball season has come. It was really an adventure! Mainly because of our funky weather this spring. Usually the spring here has a few rain showers and stays a bit chilly, but this year we had snow into early June here and there and it rained like no other!! Her first three games were rained out which was a HUGE bummer and with all of the weather issues there weren't many practices. There were also a few games where we had on layers to get through it, but all in all she had an absolute BLAST!
I was glad that she made fast friends with her teammates! This is not a problem for her at all! And being it was her first attempt at a team sport I thought she did very well. She improved soooo much over the short season.
One area she never had a hard time with has hitting! Even with this awkward stance she had she always managed to make contact with the ball! I can only remember 3 times when she struck out! Now remember though that at this age they get 6 chances- not the usual 3! But I was still sooooo proud of her!
Running is not her strongest ability given her knee issues but she really pushed herself! I want her to feel strong and confident when it comes to her knees and I think this was an excellent way for her to gain more of that.
I told her that over the summer we would continue to practice throwing the ball around so she will get better and maybe even hit a batting cage once. She loved it so much that we are signing her up for the fall season as well! Yay!
Such great running form don't ya think! Look at those slicing hands!
Overall I couldn't be more pleased with how her season went! I loved going to watch them play and cheering them on. I will say however that I won't miss the ONE cheer they did every game! I got so sick of hearing it over and over! I may have to find a few extra ones to share with them so all of the spectators won't go crazy! But aside from that I can't wait till next season! Hee hee! Way to go Brianne!!