Grandpa Roberts

Talking to my dad a few days ago I discovered why my Grandpa Roberts joined the military. He came from a family of coal miners and they didn't have money. My grandpa only had one pair of pants and one shirt. Everyday when he got home from school he had to wash his clothes so he could wear them the next day. He wanted a better life than that and dropped out of high school to join the military.

Of course I asked my dad why I never knew this story. His response was a shrug of the shoulders. I told him that while he is sitting at home I want him to get on his laptop and write down all the stories he could remember about his family. He laughed and then I told him how important I felt it was to be able to share stories with future generations. I guess we'll have to see if he follows through.

Family History

Talking to family you've never met can be awkward, but rewarding. I've discovered that you can learn a lot from people that you don't know. A thorough family history has been provided to me regarding my grandmother's father's family. It is amazing to see names of people that you descend from. I love when side stories are thrown in to give you a better perspective of your descendants. Looking forward to learning more and providing my own information.

Family Photo

I was gathering pictures to add to a Facebook group for the Descendants of Moniteau County, Missouri. I came across this picture of the family, minus Christopher Burgan. He decided to spend Thanksgiving with his grandma while the rest of us went to Goofy's Kitchen.

Sissa's B-day at Disneyland

Chris, Jenn, and Sissa spent the morning of her Birthday at Disneyland. We enjoyed several adult rides and a little shopping. It was a fairly relaxed morning. We should try and give it a shot more often. It is always a pleasure to see Disneyland decorated for the holidays. Although we didn't stay to see the snow or Christmas lights on it was still a lot of fun.

Christmas Cookie Party 2009

Well this year the turn out was small for our annual cookie party, but fun none the less. We made Gingersnap Cookies and Brown Sugar Cookie Cut-outs. Hunter even got to join in the excitement and cut out a few cookies. Have you ever seen a cookie that has been cut-out by a 1 year old. Adorable!

Anakin Blocking

Anakin joined karate and learned how to block. He is very excited about this new endeavor!

Quick Catch-Up

Here is the scoop on the family:

• Chris Burgan is playing like mad and teaching too.
• Jenn Burgan is working as a long-term sub until the middle of October. She'll have an English Clear Credential by November. Yeah!!!!
• Jess Roberts - nothing has changed!
• Yvonne Roberts retired in June and is planning to enjoy life a little more!
• Tad McKinney graduated from law school in May, took the bar in July, and is waiting for results to arrive in November.
• Melissa McKinney is working hard and exhausting herself being a mommy!
• Hunter McKinney is WALKING!!!
• Kris Roberts is looking to get his electrician's certification and then find a job!
• Michelle Roberts is busy working and raising a family.
• Anakin Roberts is POTTY TRAINED!!! Wooohooo!
• Leia Roberts is talking!
• Troy Lucardie started 7th grade!
• Ethan Lucardie started 6th grade! Middle school, YIKES!

Well that pretty much gets you up to speed on the family. I will make new posts with photos soon!

Summer Days

I can't believe it's already summer. Where did the year go? Last school year I was blessed to be able to work at a middle school teaching English. It was incredible! I loved every minute of it and wish that I could stay for next year, but with budget cuts and our terrible economic status that just isn't possible. This is the worst possible time for being a teacher. Who would have thought that having a M.Ed. and now 2 teaching credentials that I wouldn't be able to get a freakin' job? It's crazy, just plain crazy! We are now into summer. Chris didn't get summer school because of budget crunches and we are both home for the summer with no money. Not the best place to be, but at least we will be able to get our home a little more organized. I'm looking forward to finding serenity at home once more. We are currently pursuing projects that are time consuming, but don't take a lot of money. We'll keep you posted as to how that goes. Until then, Happy Summer!

Bad Blogger

I have been a terrible blogger. It has been weeks. This is what happens to teachers at grades time... They go insane and get crazy busy!!!! I promise to get back into it.


-- Post From My iPhone

New Year's Eve 2008

Chris and Jenn were lucky enough to be invited to 2 New Year's Eve Parties this season. One party started at 4pm and the second dinner was at 9pm in Hollywood. It was a great evening, but between parties they came home to two very upset greyhounds who decided they wanted to bake this holiday season and tore open two bags of flour from the front door to the back door. Of course the sensible thing to do was to lock the dogs in the bedroom and head off to the second party. After getting home late the best course of action was to wait until the next day to clean it, so the mess was cleaned up today and it took 2 hours. Here are a few pictures that can't express the depth of the disaster.

Let's Celebrate!

Jenn recently took photos of the family and we had a great time! Between laughs and frustration we captured some great shots. We hope you all are doing well this holiday season. At a time when money is tight, it's nice to have family to share good times with. Just remember to always smile and laugh, you are creating memories.

Hunter Ray's All The Rage!

Hunter Ray is all the talk! The family is so excited he's finally here that everyone wants their turn holding and loving him. Since both sets of grandparents were there it took all night, but cousin Debbie finally got her turn. He is so small that his little hats are too big. Cousin Debbie decided to go home and crochet a small beanie for Hunter. It was adorable!

A Visit to Oak Glen

The Roberts and Burgan clans made it to Oak Glen on Sunday, October 13th. We walked through the village. Anakin rode a pony, jumped in the bouncer, slid down the inflatable slide, and rode the train. I think a good time was had by most. (There were the complainers in the bunch, but we mostly ignored them.) We had a "linner" (lunch/dinner) at Apple Annie's where Jenn waited for about an hour and half to be seated. Chris proceeded to get sick. We bought apples at Snow Line and took a few pictures. It has become a yearly trek to apple country for a fun filled day, so until next time...

City Folk at the Fair

Chris and Jenn made the trek to the LA County Fair with Jerry and Debbie. As always we visited the flower exhibit, the textile exhibit, and the photography exhibit. As we walked the shopping buildings we made a stop at the VitaMix booth for "free food." It is not to be missed and always gets you excited about going home and using your own VitaMix. Jenn and Debbie never miss the animal exhibits. How can you not love these little buggers?

Where has the year gone?

Wow! What the heck happened to the year? Before you know it the McKinney's will be delivering a baby boy and we will all be oooohhhhing and aaaahhhhing. For those that don't know, Jenn Burgan has been working at Santa Fe Middle School teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th grade English. Whew! What a load! The teachers of the family are back to work. Miss Jessica Burgan has finally moved to Long Beach and is working at Starbucks as a Barista. I'm told she loves it! As our year flies by we hope to hear from y'all. Drop us a line or even add a comment to our blogs. Hope your year is going well! Happy October!

Chris and Jenn's New Car

So we have been talking about a new car since forever. Until recently when Jenn's dad bought our Jeep, we thought it was a long way off. We soon discovered we will need 2 cars come winter. We decided to get online and see what we liked and what was cheap cheap. Most cars were way out of our price range, but we loved them. Months ago Chris had mentioned the Toyota Yaris and Jenn baulked at it. It seemed too small. Last night we stopped by a dealership to check it out. It was late and we couldn't take it for a test drive, so since we knew that we weren't going to buy until October, we'd come back. Today we took it for a test drive and hours and hours later we brought it home. We got a smoking deal and it turns out that although it appears quite small, the inside space is quite large. It also gets incredible gas mileage and that made it the perfect car. Did I mention Jenn thinks it is "cute"? So it became our new baby today. Check it out!

We Five in Laguna

We Five played to an older crowd at Laguna Woods last night. It was quite the experience. I think the folks really had a good time. There was even crowd participation. Come check out their next show at FBC (First Baptist Church) on August 9th.

Hunter Ray

With each passing day Hunter Ray gets bigger and bigger. You could say that his mommy and daddy aren't anywhere near ready for him. There is so much to be done and no time to do it. If they aren't careful, Hunter will be sharing mommy and daddy's room. Check back for his latest photo.

D-Land

Yesterday a few Burgan's and Graf's partied at the D-Land (Disneyland, for those not in the know). We checked out the new Toy Story ride. It was awesome!!! We spent most of the day in California Adventure and Chris enjoyed a slippery and wet ride down the slide! The Roberts Clan will be going next Tuesday, July 1st, to the big D-Land, so if you are interested let me know. I'll be joining the crew for another visit to the "Happiest Place on Earth!"

Family Potluck Recipes

I will be posting the family potluck recipes from our 3rd Family Potluck on my website. The website address is http://web.mac.com/bookafterbook. Please download them to your computer as soon as possible. I will only have them up until the next potluck in July. Watch your mailbox for your invitation.