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| SANCHEZ FAMILY REUNION 2010 |
On September 25th, 2010, a group of 56 showed up at Woodward Park to participate in a fun-filled afternoon of family...reunion style. They broke bread, smiled, laughed, caught up, competed, and embraced each other as a beautiful family with open arms. It was an afternoon to set aside any reservations and just enjoy each other's presence.
The event started promptly at noon, as everybody gathered under the Sunset View Shelter. The Tia-Abuelas (Lupe, Gloria, and Aurora) introduced their families, as did Linda De La Cruz who filled in for Tia Anita Ruiz. After the introduction, everybody lined up at the bullhorn clad request of Jackie Ruiz. She went on to instruct everybody on an ice breaking exercise to get the crowd to mix and know each other. That was a success. The shells were shed and everybody was smiling and more than willing to interact with each other. That was key to the successful event!
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| Tia Lupe meeting the Ruiz clan |
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| Hmmmm....looks like there might be about...1,000 M&Ms |
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| Primos |
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| Cooking Hotdogs for the kids! |
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| Tia's Aurora, Gloria, Lupe, and Primo Ron |
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| The sack race CHAMPION! |
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| Yeen Didleeeen, Didleeeen! |
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| Okay Prima...if we play it cool, we can walk away with both of them! CHOCOLATE!!! |
After the ice breaker, every lined up for some chow, sat together, and then silence took over....it became a hum fest, as the focus was FOOD! With full stomachs and an afternoon left to play, the group proceeded to the open grassy area to partake in some games. First on the list...the egg toss. Selena Maldonado's boyfriend Steven and Peanut Maldonado took the field with a golden egg. Some made accusations of certain teams using cooked eggs in order to gain advantage??? Andrew Delgado's girlfriend Sophia was not one using a cooked egg. As her team was one of the finalist vying for the golden ticket, a nail seemed to get in the way and cracked an egg...all over her face adding yet another vibrant color to her hair. Though she was a tad embarrassed, she was a great sport and it made the game that much more enjoyable.
After the field crew cleared the egg strewn grassy area, the players took the field and lined up for a sack race. 12 competitive hearts jumped in the sacks and focused on the finish line. Two notables on the field...Twin Duo of Don and Ron Ruelas. Boy!, was this one to watch. As Don took off on an early sprint, Ron took notice and caught Don three quarters into the field. At the stretch both athletes pushed themselves to the point of no return and the rapid duo took a leap into faith to catch the finish line ribbon. After a review of the photo, the judges determined that it was a tie. Based on the outcome and look of the duo, post-race, it seems that the only real winner was Shout (to get out the grass stains) and Ben-Gay. Special Shout Out to the previous race winners...Dalicia Ruelas, Nadia Ruelas, and Alicia Maldonado...you girls did a great job!
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Wrong way girls!
After all of the games, the family took in what seemed to be a lifetime of bingo games. The kids had a blast playing bingo. From bingo it was time to break the pinatas...TWO HUGE CANDY FILLED BOMBS! The first one, was made of steel! Literally! Each child took a metal baseball bat to it and it would not break for the life of us. Twenty minutes later, the steel clad shell finally broke and the kids went nuts! CANDY! The second Pinata was a bit easier. The Tia's took to it with a plastic bat and the three of them beat it down like they were robbing somebody or beating a kid! Stack that wood or else!!!! |
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| And they're at the gates |
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| These kids want to race! |
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and the CHAMPS!
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| Ice, Ice, Baby...I Mean Breakers |
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| Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!!! |
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| This is the importance of the event...our future! |
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| Don Ruelas and Daughter Lisa Ruelas |
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| Linda (Ruiz) De La Cruz and Family |
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| Ruelas Family |
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| Maldonado Family |
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| Hernandez Family |
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| Delgado Family |
At the end of the day, it seemed that the family was pretty satisfied. I need to give a shout out to our cousins that never made it...The entire Romero Clan, partial Ruiz Clan (Elaine, Abel, Pepe, and Cecilia), partial Delgado Clan (Noni & Flaca), partial of the Ruelas Clan (Andrea and Travis),and the remainder of the Hernandez Clan (Carolina and Craig). We missed you guys and we hope you guys make it to next years event. We need to get together to complete the event and do our familia right! See you guys next year...Ruelas get to planning.
p.s....overall winners of all the events combined...MENDOTA!
