Double edged sword

Yesterday was Nana's funeral. She had everything arranged ahead of time down to the last detail. She requested that the oldest grandchild from each family serve as her pal bearer. The eldest grandchild from each family is a male (except me!) So I was honored to be the only girl pal bearer as well. It was a sad day with lots of tears, but at the same time it was wonderful to see all of my Sanchez Family, especially my cousins. We think it is the first time we have all been together. We got a picture to mark the day, because who knows what will happen now that Nana is gone. Death is such a sad part of life, but at the same time a wonderful time to celebrate what one tiny little woman made.

Maria Concepcion Sanchez

Nana passes

Tonight Nana passed away at 6:01 PM. We were able to be there for her final minutes. Matt took off early from work (thank you!) and we picked up some extra clothes for mom and headed down to Los Lunas. We arrived around 5:30, and said our farewells. At 5:59, Nana got a tear in her eye, opened her eyes and took her last breath. It was very peaceful and very sad. Nana was only 12 days away from her 100th birthday! I will miss Nana Concha, for she was without a doubt the most spiritual person I ever met.

A pathetic attempt at a "professional" photo shoot.

So we realized that by Sophie's 1st Birthday, she'd had over four solo professional photo shoots. We realize that Olivia has had ZERO! So, to remedy that I gave an effort with my sad little digital camera to get a pseudo professional looking shot. We all were in on the idea. Sophie was on damage control. Matt was in charge of getting her to look at the camera, and I was the picture taker. Anyway, this is all we got. I've got to give it another try! Any and all suggestions (especially on how to get a busy 14 month hold to sit still) would be appreciated.

Sophie's Solo

Wow, where did she get her moves from? When she finally saw the video I think she was embarassed which makes me really sad 'cause I love that she really gets into the music. Its like the song (Help me out with the name here) "dance like nobody is watching."

Anyway, keep dancing Sophie

P.S. the music is techno.

Soul Train at the Schmidt House...

My favorite part is when Sophie really gets jammin' at the end.

Horsin' around

Matt's beer making/ softball/ workout buddy David and his family (Kirsten & Anika) invited Sophie over to meet and play with their horse Blade. Due to my allergies, Olivia and I stayed home. Here are some pictures of their adventure. Sophie's favorite parts were trotting, brushing him, and feeding him. "His mouth was soft and slobbery!"

Everyone knows that both Matt and Sophie would love, love, love to have a ranch with horses. I keep reminding them that if they'd kill me in the process. (Maybe I should raise my life insurance policy for them!...Kidding) After they got home they had to shower immediately 'cause I started sneezing....ARGH stupid immune system.