Soccer Logan (and Carter)

Logie man started soccer this week. He is so excited to have his own thang. (Trevor opted out of soccer this year in favor of cross country.) He gets to be on the same team as his best buddy Carter. There is also another kid from our ward on the team, Mason, but we didn't get a picture with him last night. These 2 boys have a lot in common. They both love soccer/kicking things, they both have the "no fear" gene which makes them risk takers, and they both LOVE chips!


Logan is an adventure seeker. So when he plays soccer - it is not just soccer - it is full body soccer. He dives, he rolls and he slides whenever possible. It is quite entertaining to watch. He is on the ground more than he is running. Why does he do this? Don't know. He hustles though, and the coaches notice that. He has always been a pleaser and will not disappoint them. We're looking forward to a fun soccer season! Goooo Team! (What was their team name again? I can't remember anything!)

Never Forget

We visited Ground Zero earlier this year. This is what it looked like in March. Click here to view the post from our trip.

Here is a picture of a plaque that hung in the temporary memorial.


Our lives changed forever on September 11, 2001. Never Forget...

"Is it time for my ballerina class, Mommy?"

Lizzie has been longing for her own activity since the boys started school 2 weeks ago. We talked about a dance class for a few days and she decided it was something she'd like to do. We signed her up and went to her first lesson today.
Lizzie was excited to pick out her own dance clothes and was even more thrilled that Target sold Hannah Montana leotards! The leotard was black so the tights and shoes had to match too. She was soooo excited about her new get-up. When she walked into the class she noticed something...
Everyone else was ALL PINK! She was not discouraged. She marched right in there and got to work.
Lizzie had a great time at her first lesson and can't wait to go back.

Baby Lucy Central Coast Trip

Sunday was baby Lucy's baby blessing. Kelly and Julio live in San Luis so we decided to do a Central Coast tour while we were down there.

We headed down on Friday after Trevor's Cross Country meet. And most of the kids fell asleep in the car - awesome!
We stayed 2 nights in the lovely Motel 6 and made lots of fun memories during our stay.

Here are our top 5 moments of the trip...

5. Splash Cafe - TWICE!
We only ate there once, but met Kristen, Doug, Ryan, Tyler, Karen and Doug there and watched them eat their hot clam chowder breakfast because they were soooo cold from sleeping on the beach the night before.


4. Hanging on the Pismo pier
After breakfast we walked down to the end of the pier. The priceless moment came when Doug W. tried to take a picture with the pelican. That pelican did NOT want to be photographed and just about bit Doug's arm with a protesting "SNAP" of his beak! Doug jumped and squealed a bit as he scooted out of harm's way. Has anyone ever seen their father-in-law jump like that? I sure haven't.



3. Avila Beach
Avila Beach is so good to us. There are many things we love about this place. The Fruit Stand/Barn is a favorite stop. The kids always get to feed the animals, get a treat and maybe a scoop of homemade ice cream. (Notice Benny flashing the "Big Fuchi" sign... the Ward family has wholeheartedly accepted the Duran Family big fuchi obsession and that really is the sign.)

The waves are perfect for our little ones. The big kids usually enjoy some body surfing too.


There were dead jellyfish all over the place. The kids were picking it up and snuggling with it almost - ew gross! Most of the parents wouldn't even touch it. Bleagh.


The kids thought this was great! Ammon was the only one that got a little claustrophobic, but the others stayed happily buried until they got sand in their eyes. Doug R. was the master sculpter as he transformed the sand into various sand creatures around the buried kids.




2. Watching the "boys" play 3 flies up
For dinner on Saturday night Kelly planned and organized a bonfire party. All the Wards/Christophersons/Reids/Burtons were there, the Minnicks, some Hernandez's and some San Luis friends. We were quite the crowd. The bonfire was raging, the food delicious and the entertainment was entertaining. Someone brought a football and started the game. Every guy out there was a magnet to this little competition. It was like they were all in high school again. They didn't even come in when dinner was served - they were so into it! I don't know who won, but they all had a great time competing, jabbing and teasing each other.

1. Baby Lucy's blessing
This blessing was the whole reason for the trip. The Hernandez and Ward families took up about HALF that chapel - it was a great gathering. There were 13 guys in the circle (yes, I counted). She was so beautiful in her white gown and white bow. And that sweet little girl did not disappoint! She knew this moment was special and she wanted to be the absolute center of attention on her special day. She cried through the whole thing and the microphone picked up her wailing and made it even louder. Julio was a trooper as he prounouced a simple yet powerful blessing on his first child. He did great and so did she. The bishopric member even commented that Lucy would someday be a great singer with lungs like that. It was a moment we will never forget.

The after party was also great. Tostadas, homemade salsa and posole at the park - you just can't pass up Grandma Rosa's cooking! Everything was so tasty. It was nice to be outside too so the kids could run and burn off a little steam before we hopped in the car to go home.

He was Runn-ing

Trevor competed in his first every cross country race on Friday. He was peer pressured into joining the team, but is enjoying himself none the less. Trevor was pretty nervous about this event. At breakfast that morning he was telling me his plan, "I'm going to pace myself and then sprint at the end so I can pass a lot of people. I just don't want to be last." I thought the plan was genius.
We got there just in time to hear the gun fire and the race began! Trevor saw us on the sidelines and sped up each time he ran past us. He ran .6 of a mile and finished about mid-pack. It was about 101 degrees as they raced. That was some dedicated running! Trevor was proud of himself and glad that his plan had actually worked.

Here he is with his 2 running buddies Jacob E. and Jacob C.

Here's Robb after chewing me out for standing in the runners' way - which, by the way, ROBB was just as much in the lane as I was - thank you very much!

Some spectators


It was a proud moment for me when Trevor finished. He came over to get a bottle of cold water and was absolutely beaming. My heart was overflowing when I saw his own self satisfaction on his face. He was so confident in that moment I almost cried!
Way to go Trevor!

The field is RIPE and ready to harvest...

Jeremy thought this post should have been entitled "Black Boogers in the Shower", but I decided that was just too disgusting to share with the world, so napers on that one sweetie.

Our church owns a large grape vineyard here in Fresno. Each year, as members of the church, we go out to the vineyard to give our time to harvest these grapes so they can dry in the sun and turn into raisins. The church then takes half these raisins and uses them in humanitarian efforts. Jeremy, myself, Trevor and Logan got to go out to the vineyard tonight to harvest the largest harvest we've ever seen here in Fresno. It was unbelievable! There were about 20 of us working on our row and it took 2 hours to get 3/4 of that one row finished.

Trevor and Logan were hard workers out there, each with their own knife in hand, cutting away just like the rest of us. They worked their little buns off and enjoyed doing it!

Jeremy had a little fun of his own, throwing grapes at his brother and pouring water down his dad's pants. Hello?! Who are the adults around here?!

Oh yeah, about the black boogers.... this place is so dusty, you can actually feel the dirt being sucked in your nose as you breathe. Thus, resulting in a few not-so-pleasant nose blows after you get home.

Special thanks to Grandma Elizabeth who jumped at the chance to watch our 2 babies so I could go to the vineyard too. You are the best!

Soooo... who else is picking grapes this year?

Mom's Wicked Birthday

Mom's birthday was last week. She loves birthdays. Presents. Cake (All American Chocolate Cake from Costco to be precise). All of it! And she's not afraid to show her excitement. That's one more thing I love about my mama. (Notice the slice of cake that's missing. It had been eaten before she blew out the candles....I guess they just couldn't wait!)

In my family we are not ashamed to ask for things we want for our birthday gifts. We shamelessly make out a "birthday list" every year and email it out for all to see. It's just like registering for wedding gifts right? This "list" system has always been good to us. We get to give and recieve gifts that will really be appreciated. Gift giving around the Duran house is never a chore. We love it!

So at the top of Mom's list was "Wicked tickets" - to the musical that's been playing in Los Angeles for the past few years. We all pitched in and got them for her. She was soooo excited! WE were all excited for her! We all know she'll just love it. (The moment was perfect too... it was the last gift to open. Amy had it wrapped up so cute in this small gift box. I really think she had no clue. She opened it up and gasped. It was perfect!)

Here are some great shots from the partay...

Silly silly kids

Lizzie and Benny had a great time with the camera. Check out their fantastic photography - all amateur of course.

The Many Faces of Lizzie
by Benny


The Many Faces of Benny
by Benny