Saturday, May 29, 2010

In Memory of my Father- Henry Frank

September 11, 1919 - May 27 , 2010

My Dad was a gentle and kind man that never complained about anything. He lived a good, happy, honest life and passed away at the age of 90. He died peacefully at his home in Los Gatos.






We knew God was going to call your name.
In life we loved your dearly,
In death we do the same.

It broke our hearts to lose you,
You did not go alone,
For part of us went with you,
the day God called you home.

You left us beautiful memories,
Your love is still our guide
And though we cannot see you,
You are always by our side.

Our family chain is broken
And nothing seems the same
But as God calls us one by one
The chain will link again.



Here is Dad on October 5, 2009. He sure looked great on that day!




April 1989




This is Dad in December 2008








Hank & I took Dad to the Danville Car Museum in 2006





We took Dad to the Los Gatos Byington Winery in July of 2006. He really enjoyed the wine tasting and picnic lunch.




Dad had a lifetime dedicated to farming and collecting antiques, preserving a piece of the Santa Clara Valley's rich heritage. Although Dad was born in Provo, Utah, his family moved to Los Gatos when he was very young. He remained in Los Gatos throughout his life and died peacefully in his home his brother built.

My Uncle Albert built the home to replicate the family's nearby homestead at Winchester Boulevard and Pollard Road that was replaced by Interstate 85. The freeway was built on the three acres of prune and apricot orchards that the Frank family had owned since 1919.

Dad attended Campbell High School. He served as a Vehicle Mechanic in World War II from 1941 - 1945. After the war, he worked at Moffet Field in Mt. View where he met my Mother, Evelyn Rodrigues. They opened "The Rocket Car Wash" in Campbell, CA. After several years with the successful business venture, Dad and Uncle Albert decided to pursue their father's occupation of farming by purchasing property in Patterson, CA. He farmed over 200 acres of apricots with his brother until their retirement in 1979.

After retirement, Dad involved his time with restoring antique cars. He restored a total of 15 cars, one an exact replica of his oldest brother’s first car, a 1929 Model A Ford Phaeton. Because of his extensive collection, we (my sister and I) and numerous nieces asked to use the cars for our wedding party. He proudly led many wedding parties dressed in his 1920 knickers and ivy hat. He participated in the Campbell Old Settlers Parade for many years in addition to the Los Gatos Children’s Christmas Parade and the Conquers de Elegance circuit, taking top awards each year. He also traveled to Europe collecting antique furniture and clocks to fill the house he lived in.


Dad was a member of the California Chrysler Club, The Santa Clara County Model T Club, the Model A Club, and the American Legion Post 419 of Santa Clara.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

LizzyB's 2nd Birthday Party - May 22, 2010

On May 22nd, LizzyB turned 2 years old. Mike & Pami gave her a great party at Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos. Although the weather didn't cooperate with wind and cold temperatures, we still had a great time. There were lots of kids, family and friends to celebrate.











Here's Joey on the merry-go-round. Although he looks okay in this picture, he screamed bloody murder soon after and didn't want to have anything to do with it.




Here is our group; kids and the parents waiting in line for the train ride. They took up almost the entire front line against the fence... the kids were soooooooo excited!!







Here they are departing the station.












This series of pictures is so cute... check it out.



"I want this piece"






"I'm so happy to get MY piece of cake"






"I can't wait to eat it, it looks so yummy"!!






"This is going to be soooooooooooo yummy"






"Yep, it's very yummy"!!






This is the 'after' party at the house. They have this really cool tree in the back yard that Charlie loves to climb on.






Opening presents is always chaotic with 3 little ones running around. Lizzy is sometimes more interested in the tissue paper than what's in the package!



Here's a video of us singing happy birthday to Lizzy.
S



Frog Jump Festival at Angels Camp - May 16, 2010

We've been wanting to go to the Frog Jumping Competition for the past 4 years and we finally made it this year. It was really fun and they have a lot of things to do there for all ages.




They have pigs, cows, rabbits, dogs, turkeys, sheep, horses, frogs and more!!!









They have all kinds of animals that compete for best in show, even turkeys!!





Isn't this guy the cutest with his little jean outfit!!





We're talking SERIOUS competitions with all the animals, but especially the rabbits. There were rows of cages with these beautiful rabbits of all different shapes and sizes. Check out the ribbons this rabbit won.





This rabbit was HUGE!!


They have auctions for cattle and pigs; here's a video clip of a pig auction.












This was a demonstration we attended and it was really good. Cra Z Bob travels around the country performing. He and his crew have been doing this for a long time and some of the show consists of throwing an axe at a bullseye target, log balancing on water and speed log cutting.

Here are some short video's of them in action.









Fun with George & Carol

Our dear friends George & Carol came to visit us May 6 - 9th and we had so much fun just hanging out together.







The Zimmerman's came over one night and we reminisced old times. The guys have known each other since the 70's.





Carol is holding up a pretty card I made for her retirement.





We went golfing before the May rains hit (again).











We also attended the Placer Co. Strawberry Festival, which was a total bust! We couldn't find hardly any strawberries. Only one booth selling strawberry plants and a booth selling small chocolate covered strawberries for $1 each.. I don't think so.






The car show was better than the rest of the show. This is one of those land to water cars.



Visiting Family & Friends, April 2010

I spent the last week in April in the Bay Area visiting my Father, friends and family.




Another girls get together in Santa Clara on April 30th with my good friends Cynthia, Denise, Julene, Sheila and Marcia. We always have such a great time getting caught up.








Of course Parker and Cha-Cha love the get togethers also.





We enjoyed some FINE wine.



Cooks in the kitchen





Great picture of Sheila and Parker


Here is Shasta (my sister's dog) playing with some of Codi's toys I gave to her. She especially loves the football and rope.




This is Shasta all bummed out because her Daddy left for little while.


These are my very dear friends from childhood, Holly and Becky. We grew up together and attended the same school. It had been a few years since we were together so we got together in Los Gatos for a 3 1/2 hour lunch and we still didn't have enough time to talk!! These girls are the best!!!





I always love visiting my Auntie Jean and Uncle Jim