New Year's Resolutions

I usually don't make them, but I was wondering if anybody in the family had a New Year's Resolution. I just finished reading the book "In the Heart of the Sea", a book I borrowed from my dad about the true story of Essex. It's the story that inspired "Moby Dick". Anyway, I liked the book so much that I'm making a resolution to read at least one book a month.
So let us know if any of you have resolutions of your own.
Mark

Engaged!!!

In our ideal world, all of you would have shared Christmas Eve and our exciting news. Hopefully, we'll see you at the wedding, April 2009!!

~ Love, Elias and Susan

Christmas Carol Music

I just wanted to put up a link to the website that has free Christmas Carol Sheet music. For each song there is sheet music in all keys, and I believe there are guitar tabs for most of these. It's just a start, but I think this can give us some ideas for a list of music to work from. I just want to thank Nate for the idea. It's really going to be a fun challenge.

Also I would like to thank Aunt Elvia and Uncle Jim for hosting a great Christmas Eve party. The kids had a blast seeing Santa Claus. The food was great, and the games were fun.

Mark

old pics of Nate, Doug, and Mike fishing

Just found some pics of Mike, Doug and Nate fishing into the nite at Camp Wishon! LETS GO AGAIN! How about a Fishing Trip guys??

The New Lord of The Ring

Congratulations to MEEEEEE!!!! I finally broke through and got a win in the Lord of the Rings Risk game on christmas eve night 07. The players were Mike, Greg (who di very well for his first LR risk game), Red Beard, and Me(nate). Mike had a really strong game and would have won if he would have been able to roll high enough to move the ring to the ending position, but he wasnt able to so i was able to sweep through his depleted armies and end my turn and roll high enough to move the ring to end the game. Due to the fact that i NEVER win I had to make a posting and let everyone know i finally got my first and probably last win in Lord of the Rings Risk. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!!!!

The Gift and Love of Music within the Meneses Family......Just an Idea!

Just throwing this out there to see what type of response i get and what you guys think............Ok here's a pretty crazy idea that has been kinda running through my mind lately that i think would be great to do ( though I am not sure if its very feasible at all). I believe that music has been a huge part of many lives within the Meneses family and I am convinced that it has brought many of us closer to each other as we grew up in Woodville. I think we can all remember all of the things we did together which include but aren't limited to the many different trips, concerts, marchings, competitions, playing in church, and other things that we did together because of music. We have all been part of great programs which have given us great experiences together. Do you guys remember the feeling of winning Selma or Visalia as a Marauder? I'm sure if we sat and talked about different things that we have experienced in music we could talk for hours. For example, I can still remember an instance where we were marching around Woodville, as we did often in practice for a marching competition, and getting to the Sams house only to see Landons two box turtles in the middle of the street after they had escaped from his backyard. I think there was a time where all of the Grimsleys and Smiths were in band (either Monache or Woodville elementary) at the same time. I remember playing in Larry Sams church band with all you guys too and that was always great, and i actually miss that sometimes. So my thought has been that it would be really cool if we could all get together, dust off the old instruments, practice a few hymns, maybe Christmas songs, and when were comfortable with our awesome skills, record! I think if we put our minds and efforts together we could do something super cool with this, have a lot of fun and create a family musical CD for our parents, kids and ourselves. I'm sure people would be willing to let us use enough equipment to do this, like Scott and his four track recorder, Larry Sams with instruments and a place to play, anyone with a computer to make the CD, anyone who would want to make a video recorder of our day of music. I think it could turn out great. So the players I'm interested in getting in on this project would be........Carolyn-clarinet, Mike-percussion, Allison(Butch)- Trombone, Mark-Sexyphone, Scott-Trumpet, Nate-Sexyphone, Dave-percussion, Doug-Trumpet, Larry Sams- saxaphone, trumpet, whatever he wants :), Purvy Sams-organ, piano, Chris Craven-guitar, John Meneses-Guitar, Jae Meneses- Piano, and anyone else who would want to be a part of this project would be more then welcome. We could create a song list, practice until were comfortable, then record. Anyway, this is just an idea that i know would probably be pretty tuff to pull off especially with all the varied schedules, family situations, and living distances. So if anyone else out there thinks this would be cool, fun and actually possible then start blogging :) If i mispelled any of your names to bad, I suck at spelling!

funny stuff from the net!

Hey guys its nate! just wanted to put up a few funny things to check out from the net! maria, harrison, you guys have seen a couple of these so im adding a couple more for you two! check out ping pong football its pretty funny! my favorite is still the man fights bear commercial and matrix ping pong. so if you guys havent seen any of these check them out! they are pretty funny! anyway if anyone else has anything cool or funny from online let me know. oh i also recommend watching anthing from the strongbad collection. just go to homestarrunner.com and theck out the sbemails. sb stands for strong bad. i recommend watching the fishing episode first! anyway happy viewing all!

from
the nate


Man Fights Bear

Matrix Ping-Pong

Matrix Karate

Matrix Futbol

here's one more that Darrel set up

Still Need Pictures

Hello everybody (in my mind I hear Dr. Nick from The Simpsons saying that, so I get to laugh, but I don't know if you guys got that joke so I'll try not to laugh out loud)!
Well I am still in need of pictures from a lot of folks out there. Counting the newest kids, our family has grown into a number in the 60's, so I am hoping to get lots of pictures. I've got lots of old pictures that I go through and my dad has lots of pictures that I can get to, but I'm really wanting people to submit their own choices, I think that would be more fun.
I was going to post a list of people who I still needed a picture from, but the list was way too long. So I've got a few more days that I can wait, but if you've got pictures please email me so that I can get everyone included. Thank you,
Mark

Mother Daughter Luncheon.

We wanted to thank all the ladies that made it to the Mother Daughter this year. We had a lot of fun and had a good time in general. Here are some pictures. Sofia and Lillian enjoyed their very first one and we hope they enjoy so many more in the years to come. Brea had a good time too, and she looked like a little princess in her dress. We were so glad to have all the new girls with us.

Meneses Family
Christmas Events!!!

December 16th @ 3:00p.m
Tamale Making
Favereaux’s House

December 22nd @ 6:00p.m
Harrison’s Birthday
Favereaux’s House
Shafter

December 24th @ 4:00 p.m
Cookies and Hot Chocolate
Grandpa and Carlos’ House
Woodville

December 24th @ 6:00p.m
Dinner and Gift Exchanged
Grimsley’s House
Woodville
*Finger Foods Potluck
**Bring a wrapped DVD, CD, or game for

Entertainment Musical Chairs**

January 1st @ 11:00 a.m.
Volleyball
Lost Hills School Gym

Merry Freakin Christmas!

OFFICER SCRAPS

Above: Walking the line to get into scraps gang

A MESSAGE FROM OFFICER SCRAPS : "Hey Meneses bloggers, YOU GUYS WILL NEVER CATCH ME!, Oh and um The Merry Freakin Christmas to you guyses. Also I am pretty sursesy that you guyses would like to know what im being up to lately, I mean especially since you guyses are like trying to catch me and send me to the kitty pound for the bad kitties! Actually i cant really tell you guyses what i have been up to becuase im like on the run and stuffs and doing some things. However, in my defenses, I don't believe that doing things such as you know, snorting the kitty nip, or make other meneses aminals chasing their tails and stuffs, or knocking over 32 bank of americas in three years should be illegal!! Anyways, I was hoping that for christmas maybe i could stuff some of your guyses pets into my stockings for christmas :)? Anyways, i like you guyses and hope you guyses have like good holiday cheering and you try not to get to cold. I mean im lucky because i was born with this furry suit. easy to wash you know, few licks here, few licks there and brand new! Except there was this one year you know i was freezing my freaking paws off. You know i wishes that this could just be a happy message but to be the truthful, this is also kind of a business proposal. I need some more people or pets to join my gang, I mean my company so we can do some things together! There is just one test to get into my gang, and that is to walk the line you know. Look at the picture above to see what i meanings. Anyway if you guyses want to join, or donate your pets to me go ahead and call ron meneseseses ok! So have a happy holidayses and dont forget to spay and neuter your aminals Or ill do it with a steak knife for you!!

Ok

Merry Christmases to you guyses

SCRAPS OUT!

Christmas Project

Hello everyone. I need to get everyone's help on something. I'm trying to put something together in time for the Christmas Eve party. Can I get everybody to email a picture of themselves to me? I promise they won't be used by any cats. My new email address is mark80smith@gmail.com. Thanks for the help, the sooner I get the pictures the better.

So I mentioned in the comments that I'm looking for individual pictures, but family pictures are also good. Doug asked me if they can be any picture, and sure they can be funny, formal, it doesn't matter as long as I get a photo of everybody. I've received about 11 photos so far. I also have some old photos on disks somewhere, but I'd like these to be photos that you submit instead of me just picking them. Again, thanks for the help on this.

Mark

Christmas Eve at the Grimsley's

Hello To Everyone,

Just a note to let you know that Jim and I will be hosting Christmas Eve at my house and all are welcomed.

I spoke to Connie first and made sure it would be ok. Susan reminded me that cookies and a cup of chocolet will start the evening at Grandpa Meneses' house first, around 4:00 p.m.

At this time I will plan to start things going around 6:00 p.m. As for the menu I am not sure yet what I want to do, I'll take a couple of days to plan it out and if one of my boys are here to help me post the information, I'll let you know by Wednesday.

I got a note from the North Pole, there may be a good chance that Mr. & Mrs Clause could drop by that evening and surprise the children. I'll give you more information on that too. (Just between you & me let's keep it from the children. If we play just right this could be a nice surprise for them.) If all of you parnets could give an idea as to what time would be good to have the jolly Mr. & Mrs Clause come it would be a great help.

I just want to let you know that Mr. Clasuse does have to leave early to make his trip around the world. He is a touch older than many of us, so he likes to get things done before it gets to late. The truth is he just gets tried sooner than most of us. :)

Today I just want to let all of you know for sure the place and time.

Love Elvia

Mother Daughter Luncheon

Hi Everyone! This is just a reminder that the mother/daughter luncheon is next Sunday at Connie's house. Also, for any men and boys feeling left out - you are invited to hang out with Jim, Everett and Sawyer at their place at 3 or afterwards. Sandwiches and beverages will be served.

It's Our Anniversary!!

No, not a wedding anniversary. Three years ago today this blog was created. It was started as a way for us to keep in touch by sharing news, pictures, etc. And to see that it's still around today says something good about our family. It's always good to see posts from different parts of the country and to see pictures of new babies and weddings (even of certain people's crazy pets), it's these kind of things that make our distant family feel a bit closer.
In the past 3 years since this blog was started we've had two weddings, and would you say a plethora of kids born into the family. Some of the changes in our family aren't all easy and aren't that great, but it's nice to know that we can come together and share things. It's my hope that this place in some way serves as that place. I hope that anytime there is news in the family be it big or small people can share it here.
Thank you all for the many contributions over the past few years. With Christmas coming soon, it will be nice to have plenty of family photos to post again. Keep the posts coming!! Happy Anniversary.

Mark

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Holidays!

The Holidays are coming up and so be looking here to find out what the plans are for this year. If anyone has any suggestions on what we should do for Christmas Eve please let us know. Post a comment and share your ideas, or to let us know how you would like to help out.
Thanks!

Here's what Maria's up to!!!

Doesn't look like they get a lot of work done, does it?

Here's what Jack's been up to. . .

From what I hear Jack tried to fly.

Happy Halloween

This is a new edition of the Pumpkin Carving Contest!

Pictures of Woodville

So my dad had an idea for a new post. He took a bunch of pictures of Woodville to show how it's changed. There were too many pictures to fit on one page so I decided to do 3 posts, archive them and post a link on the sidebar that will remain there. It was easier to do that than to put them all on the front page of the blog. Check them out, they're pretty cool.

Mark

I'm tired!!!

Here is the official picture when I passed the finish line. It was a great experince, but I couldn't do it without all your thoughts and prayers.

Mother Daughter Luncheon

Hi Everybody! We just wanted to post about the M/D Luncheon so that you could save the date and plan on being there. This year we are having the lunch on a Sunday, since we know the Holidays are so busy for everyone. So mark you calendars for Sunday December 9th. We haven't set an exact time yet, but probably around the same time it always is. Invitations will be sent out soon. Does anybody remember what year we first started doing this? I've tried looking back and I think this might be our 11th year but I'm not sure. Anyway, it has really turned out to be a great tradition and we can't wait to see you there.

Where is everybody?

It's been a while since we've had any new posts here, or any info on what's going on with people in the family so I just thought I'd ask a question and see what kind of answers I get. I know our cousin Nick is in Korea, he'll be there for a while and then he's off to Germany for another year or two. And I know that I (Mark) am in Selma and that Cathi is due in late January.

So. . . where are you?

Birthday Pictures

Looks like Sawyer had a good time at his birthday party. I'll try to add a few more pictures later.

This is Ladies Night...

Ladies, Ladies, Ladies you are invited to a ladies night at Caroline's house in Bakersfield. We are going to have a rummy table (that's cards, not booze) and some other games of the dice throwing variety. Good food, drink and company. The date is September 30th, Sunday night at 6:30 pm. Give Caroline a call or post on the blog is you can make it.
See you there!

Happy Birthday Scott and Alli

I wish I had a picture of you guys to post up here. Instead all I could find was a picture from one of Officer Scraps' recruiting camps and a not so brave Maine Black Bear.

The Little Guys

These are a few pictures I took over at Everett's Birthday party in Bakersfield last week. Oddly enough I don't have a picture of the birthday boy. Maybe it's because I could only get the little guys to stop and pose for the camera.

I see that Dad beat me to the pictures...Kevin and I had so much fun, and we wish that all of you could have been there, but you were all missed. Hopefully withing the next year, year and a half Kevin and I will try to plan a trip to the West Coast so you can all meet Kevin!!!

Congratulations to Danielle and Kevin!

Uncle Art sent some pictures from Danielle and Kevin's wedding. It looks like it was a really nice day out there. Uncle Art said that everyone had a good time. Thanks for sharing the great photos. We wish you guys the best of luck.

One More Picture

I had one more photo I couldn't fit on the last post.

Baby Lillian

Here's a very cute picture of the smiling baby Lillian Elvia Grimsley. Congratulations to Scott and Veronica. Mateo and Abram are going to have to look out for this one.

There may not be the same excitement about the football season as last year, but the game against Boise State should still be a fun game. It's October 26th, at 6:00 at Fresno State. Tickets are $35 dollars, and the game will be on ESPN. If this sounds like a game people would be interested in going to then let me know. It's still a while away, but we would probably need to get the tickets by the middle of September to still get okay seats.

Lillian Elvia Grimsley

Congrats to the Scott and Veronica Grimsley family! They have welcomed a new little girl into their lives. Lillian was born yesterday, August 6th at 4 in the morning. She arrived a few weeks early. She weighed 4lbs 7 oz. and has a lot of hair. Mom is doing well and will probably go home today, and Lillian should get to come home later this week. Hopefully we will have a picture soon. Congrats Scott and Veronica! We will keep Lillian in our prayers.

Officer Scraps subdues suspicious character

Mark Your Calendar

Don't forget to bring your favorite side dishes. See you Saturday!

Keep your calendar open, we'll be having the August Fiest party on the 4th in Woodville at the Smith's house. Keep your eye out for the invitation and start thinking about what to bring!!!

Veronica's Baby Shower

Here's a couple pictures from Veronica's baby shower yesterday. All I know is that the cake was good.

Officer Scraps Apprehended

After only two weeks, Flea’s job is done! Officer Scraps was found in another one of his underground fight clubs in Mexico. Thanks to Flea, Officer Scraps was not only found, he was also apprehended by Mexico’s authorities. After an extremely long chase Scraps finally gave in and was taken in peacefully. No one knows what is in store for Scarps after this.

Officer Scraps and Mike Vick have something in common?

Federal Agents have confirmed that they raided a dugout area underneath Ron's House, where it is believed Officer Scraps set up an illegal catfighting ring. This video was leaked and posted on YouTube. How long has this been going on? And how much knowledge did Ron have about what was going on under his house?

FLEA UNDERCOVER

Just when we thought there were no more heros, Flea has had enough and is taking matters into his own paws. Leaving immediately, with his barage of disguises, he plans on smuggling into Mexico. He vows to get his cat, DEAD or ALIVE.

Good Luck Flea. WE LOVE YOU!!!!

PS if any one can help with traveling expense please send money orders, or checks made out to CASH to P.O. Box 12345 Shafter, CA.

Thanks so much for your contribution.

Officer Scraps still on the loose

"Gato Del Infierno"


Officials from Guatemala have confirmed that the body of a cat found dead from in an underground casino was not that of fugitive Officer Scraps. The dead cat was actually none other than Gato del Infierno, a former guerrilla fighter and local folk hero. No one is certain if Officer Scraps played a role in this killing, but authorities would not rule him out as a suspect.

Hey Family!!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that invitations for the wedding went out and I hope that everyone gets them, I went by the address list that Susan sent out a couple of years ago, but you are all invited and I wish that you could all be there, but you will be there in our hearts on August 18th...love you all!!!!

Officer Scraps Is Out Of Control!!

Clearly Officer Scraps is out of control! Mexicali officials say that 3 cats were found killed outside of the Gato Malo Saloon Friday morning in Baja, Mexico. Above is a picture of one of the victims ( in white ). He was beaten to death with the very beer bottles that Scraps consumed minutes before the violent act occurred. In a mad rage over dropping his cigarettes at the scene of the crime, Scraps took out his frustration on an innocent bystander house cat by shaving his body bald and making him chase his own tale. He then took another victim hostage. Scraps has been torturing this new victim and sending in pictures of these events to local authorities to antagonize and frustrate them. In this most recent picture you can see that Scraps has shaved his victim and has forced him to play musical instruments for him. Officer Scraps must be found!

Nazarene Night at Dodger Stadium 2007

OK, So not all of you are Nazarene's, but you don't have to be one to go. Last year a group of us went and we had a good time, so I wanted to let all of you know that it's coming up again. Here's the info..... When: Friday August 3rd at 7:00 Who: Dodgers vs. Diamonbacks Cost: Ticket are 8 dollars and are in the Upper Deck (those who went last year should be relieved that they will not have to sit in the bleachers again) If you want to go let me know as soon as possible... call me on my cell or send me an email. It was a lot of fun last year, and I hope some of you will come!
Alli

Updated Book List

So here's a new rundown with every book ever recommended here at the Meneses Spot.
Scroll down to see the most recent. Alli had an idea to do a book swap at AugustFest. Bring a book or 2 and take a book or 2. How's that, then let us know what you thought right here.

"Bless Me Ultima" - Rudolfo Anaya
"Che Guevara, A Revolutionary Life" - Jon Lee Anderson
"In Cold Blood" - Truman Capote
"A tale of Two Cities" - Charles Dickens
"The Truth" - Al Franken
"Memoirs of a Geisha" - Arthur Golden
"Travel's with my Aunt" - Graham Greene
"The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time" - Mark Haddon
"A Prayer For Owen Meany" -John Irving
"A Widow For a Year" - John Irving
"The Known World" - Edmund Jones
"The Poisonwood Bible" - Barbara Kingsolver
"I Know This Much is True" - Wally Lamb
"Wicked" - Gregory Maguire
"100 Years of Solitude" (and many others) - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
"1984" - George Orwell
"I wish I'd Made You Angry Earlier" - Max F. Perutz
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" - Mark Twain
"The Secret Lives of Bees" - Sue Monk Kidd
"Call of the Wild" - Jack London
The "Lemony Snicket" Series
"___, Drugs, and COcoa Puffs" - Chuck Klosterman
"chick books" by Cecilia Ahern
"Amongst Women" - John McGahern
"Hope Dies Last" - Studs Terkel
"My Sister's Keeper" - Jodi Picoult
"This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" by Frank Peretti
"Until I Find You" - John Irving
"Irresistable Revolution" - Shane Coltrane


As Always Keep 'em coming. . .

Blackstone has a Run - In with Officer Scraps

The sad tale of Officer Scraps took another turn last night. Scraps hopped into the Koontz' yard while looking for a place to hide out. Blackstone tried to apprehend him, hoping that a reward of a new doggie bone would be presented to him for bringing down Bakersfield's most notorious cat. After a brief struggle, Scraps managed to elude Blackstone by kicking a soccer ball high in the air. In the violent exchange Blackstone suffered a severe lacerationto above one of his rear paws, but is said to be in stable condition.

The whereabouts of scraps continue to be unknown.

Rons cat hits hard times

It had been 3 months since we saw Ron's second oldest cat, Officer Scraps. It was his huge blow up argument with Ron, over spilled kitty litter that led to his running away. Scraps had always been a troubled cat who often times turned to criminal activity as an outlet to his inner cat-rage. He had also had a troubled and angry past, violent in nature. It wasn't rare for him to play mean tricks on the other cats like, hide their socks, or dress up like a big mouse and hide behind the couch ready to pounce, or put their paws in a bowl of warm water when they slept to make them wet their kitty beds. It was a whirlwind cycle, a downward spiral, which he never recovered from. The whereabouts of Scraps had been unknown since his runaway.........until today when i opened up the Bakersfield paper and saw a wanted picture for this cat ; OFFICER SCRAPS, Ron's runaway cat. If anyone sees Scraps approach him with caution, he should be considered armed and dangerous. He is wanted for the murder of 4 unsuspecting men that he brutally attacked in the parking lot of a seedy strip joint. Do not try to apprehend Scraps to bring back to Ron, or you might become his next victim!

UPDATE: I was looking through some old photos and found a baby picture of scraps. . .

Laura and Nates Dog

Hey everyone Laura and I wanted to add a picture of the most vicious dog in woodville! We couldn't give this crazy dog away so we decided to keep him and turn him into the crazy killing machine he is today! SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FLEA. He can also go undercover as you can clearly see by his super awsome disguise!

Jae's Graduation!

Congratulations Jae. Hope you have a nice summer before you to start school all over again.

Hey family, it's danielle

Sorry it's been so long since i last wrote!!! There has been a lot going on in the meneses-teiner household, First i would love to send congrats to kevin he recently graduated from st. joe's on may 12th, i'm very proud of him. We also just moved into a new apartment, but i guess the biggest news is the wedding!!! We decided in december to move the date up and scale back from our orginal idea, because our goal is to buy a house soon and we didn't want to spend 20,000 on our wedding, so we moved location, changed the theme and we couldn't be happier!!! Instead of getting married at a country club we are now getting married on a mountain, it is so beautiful up there, it's perfect!!! I know this is short notice and understand you guys probably cannot make it, but you will be missed and i wish that all of you could come, put there will be plenty pictures (we know how my dad loves to take pictures) Kevin and I created a website for out wedding, so please feel free to check it out the address is: www.theknot.com/ourwedding/daniellemeneses&kevinteiner.com I hope to hear from you soon and now that i'm settled in my new place there will be a lot more posts! I also have a new email address if anyone wants it, it is khtdmm@yahoo.com
I miss and love you all so much!
Danielle

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day

* This picture may not accurately portray how some members of this family feel towards their mom. It is solely intended for entertainment purposes. I would like to apologize in advance to anyone who may have been offended or hurt by this comic. Please do not send mean e-mails.