Winterfest - December 2009

Little lost puppy. Call the dog catcher.

Happy Christmas and Gibson Greetings - 2009

Dear One and All,



Another Joyful year has seen us through and is nearing its end... so we look back and think about the fun times we had, the memories we've made, the new friends, the old friends, and especially our families. We have travelled, learned, created, explored, and had a whole lot of fun... and here's a brief look at 2009, Gibson Style!!! Click and link through to read further,...

Suzy walks 1/2 Marathon - Over the past few years, I have begun a walking regimin... living so close to the beach it is quite enjoyable to walk and enjoy the outdoors. On January 1st, to kick off the 2009 year... I walked over 13.2 miles. More long walks were taken throughout the year, with some more ambitious distances to be planned for 2010. You can follow the walking journal here... http://july19-2012.blogspot.com/

John Freezes in Canada - continuing to work for Thermal Equipment... John has travelled frequently throughtout the year. To kick it all off though, he was up in Winnepeg, Canada... Freezing off any exposed skin... John's e-mail: gibsonfamilyecv@socal.rr.com

Alex turns 5 - and to celebrate we had a Wall-E Themed birthday party... complete with the movie playing on the big screen tv... Granny's living room was converted to Wall-E's garage complete with dangling lights and lots of space themed decorations.

Fiona turns 3 and being a true girly girl.... a dress up party was in order. Princesses of all sizes with shoes and tiara's ran around our knees.

Granny's House has truly become a second home for us. With both Grand-dad and John traveling so much, mom and I have teamed up to keep each other from going insane. This is where the kids and I stop in between school activities and soccer, or science club... it is where we have lunch most days during the week...

Granny and Grand-dad are such a lovely part of our lives... the kids get extra reading time, some tutoring, and overall spoiled sweet. Should it be any different? I think not.

John Builds a Garage Has anyone NOT heard that last year we completely tore down the garage, to then stud by stud (and I mean that in both sense of the word), John has erected a new one... Bigger, Better and with Studio space for me??? Play Space for the kids!!!! If you have not heard about this project, then you need to check out the slideshow that John has been putting together... and get the "stud by stud" story from him... My favorite thing is having a spiral staircase up to the studio, space to work, and let oil paintings dry... enough room for my supplies, the Christmas boxes, and still have ample space for the kids, their trainsets, and a safe place for them to hang out... the Man Cave (the lower level) is a wood workers dream... room for tools, room to work, and still plenty of room for bikes, the motorcycle, and so much more... but remember folks... it's just a Garage!!! John's Garage Journal

Watch this space for more photos of the kids: David and Alex are both Budding Scientists

Alexander is a Soccer Star, and Fiona is certainly a Girly Girl with a dash of Tomboy thrown in...

CoachArt - This year I began working with a Non-Profit organization that brings artists and coaches to children and siblings, who are patients at the Los Angeles Children's Hospital. I have participated in a few in hospital workshops providing one-on-one arts and crafts in the kids playroom... and just letting a child have something to look forward to in between getting treatments is so rewarding. It's a place where the kids can just be kids...

I have also been matched up with a beautiful little girl who lives not to far from my home, and a few times a month I visit her and teach her an art lesson. She has done some wonderful pieces, which were featured in the CoachArt newsletter and their May Artshow. I will continue to work with her and this organization as time allows. http://www.coachart.org/

In the spring, I also was lucky enough to go on an ARTREK weekend in Santa Barbara. For 3 days I enjoyed intense workshops and took a course in watercolor technique. I became very aware of how to direct the rest of my art, as a teacher and as an artist.

BOTCON: The boys had been very good (as only a 5 and 7 year old can be) and John and I treated them to a Transformer infused event. We went to the BOTCON convention in Pasadena where they got to see all the new movie products, toys, and the history of Transformers over the years... it was quite an experience. I personally enjoyed getting a drawing lesson from one of the animators for the film. This was the weekend prior to David's 7th birthday... which of course included a trip to the movie theaters with 7 little boys to see TRANSFORMER'S - THE RISE OF THE FALLEN...

Suzanne's Summer Studio - With the garage under construction and beautiful weather all July, it was only fitting that my new venture: Summer Art Classes - aka "Suzanne's Summer Studio" be enjoyed under the canopy in the back yard. For 4 weeks, I hosted a number of children, ages 3 to 15, conducting a variety of art and crafts... http://artlessonsbysuzanne.blogspot.com/

I will continue to take students throughtout the year.

Caden Matthew McCabe was born to my best friend, Racheal & her husband, Lee, in July. He is a very happy baby, and seeing him last week (December 2009) he is a wonderful baby, with great personality and lovely demeanor. Not once did I see him cry or fuss. We wish them much love and prosperity.

Gibson Family Vacation - Camping, Water, New Mini-van, Tents, Dirt, and so much more. We started off in Wrightwood, CA, went to Lake Isabella, through Sequioia, Yosemite, and then across to Virginia City, NV... before heading west through Placerville to San Francisco... it was a lot of milage, and a lot of fun.... Click here for the pictures and other details.

John's Jeep

Washington DC - to end the year... we (John and Suzanne) escaped to Washington. We flew first class (thanks to John cashing in some frequent flyer miles) and enjoyed 5 star accomodation at the home of Racheal and Lee and their 5 month old baby, Caden. Our visit was short but very enjoyable... We saw most of the larger tourist attractions: the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall, the Kennedy Center, the White House (yes, we got inside... no party crashing)... and got to see the decorations and the gingerbread house. We saw the National Archives, the Library of Congress and had a tour of the Capitol Building. We explored parts of the Smithsonian... the Museum on Natural History, the National Art Gallery and the Air and Space Museum... Let's just say I successully broke in my new walking shoes and we put many additional miles under our feet.

I know there is more to add... and that John will put in his two cents worth.. plus there are more photos to add too... just with over 4000 pictures we need to pick and choose....

We'd love to hear from you... so look for us on FaceBook....!!!

Merry Christmas to you All!!!

So... in a brief list, these are the highlights of our year... and know that we enjoy life more with you in it... it's so much fun to share with you all. (or should I acknlowedge the Texan side of the family.... with y'all)

Radical improvement in Reading for David!

Alex, Falling asleep at the Barbershop.

Jedi training at Alex's classmate, Jason's birthday party.

A Star Wars Themed Birthday party that Alex attended.

More Jedi Training

More Snapshots from our Vacation

Please note that there are a lot of photos to be added, along with notes and captions. Stop back often to see what photos have been added!
We have been having a great summer, and a lovely road trip vacation to end it. Hope you all have had a lovely summer as well....


Day One: Wrightwood / Table Mountain Campsite

August 21

We started our journey on Friday, the 21^st, traveling a short distance to Wrightwood. We camped at Table Mountain where we were met with Susan and Susie for the night. Suzy, Susan and Susie all worked at Camp Teresita Pines (about 17 years ago), where they were counselors.

On Saturday, the girls (Ladies) met up with several other counselors from Teresita Pines (now owned by the Lion’s Club) and hiked to the big “t” and restored it to it’s whitewashed Glory (okay, it was spray painted and worth every step.)

Saturday, August 22nd - Day Two: Teresita Pines / Wrightwood / Hiking to the big "T" / and onto Lake Isabella with the family in the afternoon.

The big Teresita “T” is once again visible from the opposite side of the canyon.

After leaving Wrightwood, the Gibson Family moved north to Lake Isabella.

Breakfast at Lake Isabella / August 23rd

From Lake Isabella we moved further north to the Sequoia's

Sunday, August 23rd: Lake Isabella to Lodgepole - Sequoia National Park

Photos to be posted

Monday, August 24th: Sequoia National Park - General Sherman and the Giant Sequoia Trees

Photos to be posted

Tuesday, August 25th: Scenic Drive through Yosemite (see photos below)

Virginia City, Nevada

Wednesday, August 26th: South Lake Tahoe to Placerville, Casa Bellino

Thursday, August 27th: Napa, San Francisco (see photos below)

Friday, August 28th: San Francisco, Pacific Coast Drive to Morro Bay (for Dinner)

Snapshots from our family vacation... 2009

an extensive road trip from the Angeles National Forest, through Sequoia, Yosemite, and down the Pacific Coast from San Francisco to San Simeon.... what a journey... and how many miles!

San Francisco - August 2009

The Gibson Kids from "Twin Peaks"... with the San Francisco Bay and cityscape behind them.

Golden Gate Greetings!

The kids in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, with the City of San Francisco behind them. It was late in the day and the sun was presenting the "golden glow" which makes the bridge so spectacular.

Breakfast with Daddy.

While mommy was hiking and reuniting with camp friends at Teresita, daddy takes the kids for a well deserved pancake breakfast in Wrightwood.

David reads a book at Granny's House

Caden Matthew McCabe

Beautiful Baby Caden Matthew McCabe...

Born early this morning to proud parents: Racheal and Lee McCabe...

Congratulations to you both, Love Aunty Suzy & Uncle John!

What's Better than a Visit from the Tooth Fairy?

Alex Gibson lost his first tooth on July 19, 2009... (mom's birthday)



David lost his 4th tooth on Tuesday, July 14th.


Both boys have caused the Tooth Fairy add our address to her frequent flier list. And be forewarned... David has 2 more loose teeth, and Alex has more loose teeth as well..

Great Tomatoes!

One HUGE heirloom Tomato: Shown to you by David!

The Kids helped try out some art lessons today. Helps to work out the kinks regarding supplies and set-up....

Fiona and David playing with finger paints.

Gibson Boys at Mulligan Fun Center

Little Miss Fiona plays in the afternoon. Both Boys are taking turns playing on the LegoLand website... a pretty gloomy day today, but these smiling faces make it all good...

Springtime in California - March