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Happy Haunted Birthday Carolyn Reese

Friday, October 31st, 2014

Our favorite Road to California ghoul is celebrating another Halloween birthday!!

Carolyn Reese was born on her grandparents’ homestead in Oklahoma on Halloween. Her family settled in California in 1953. She worked in the yardage department of the May Company store in Lakewood while going to college. In the 1970’s, Carolyn and her mother opened a fabric store, The Fabric Patch, which quickly became a trend-setting quilt store in Southern California. Carolyn purchased the Road to California brand when it was just a few classes, nothing more. Her vision has turned it in to a premier quilt show with classes and vendors. 2015 will mark the 20th Anniversary Show and promises to be a very special event with many surprises throughout the five days.

What makes Road to California so special for Carolyn is that her family gathers each year to help support her with the show.

Carolyn’s favorite Halloween memories revolved around her children trick or treating when they were growing up. These days, her Halloween birthday usually finds her at trade shows. Carolyn is reminded daily of her Halloween birthday every time her cell phone rings with its haunted house melody.

Join us in wishing Carolyn Reese a very Happy Halloween Birthday!!

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Tags: Birthday, Carolyn Reese, Halloween
Posted in Reese Family, Road 2 CA Blog, Road to California | 5 Comments »

Celebrating in Style

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014

Saturday, October 18, 2014 found Road to California at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California supporting the 11^th Annual Celebrating With Style Fashion Show and Luncheon. This event raises vital resources for the Robert and Beverly Lewis Family Cancer Care Center Endowment Fund at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center.

Carolyn Reese sponsored a table and invited nine guests to attend. Those sitting with Carolyn included several members of her quilt guild, Night Owls, and her son Mike whose wife, Shellee, is the Administrative Director for the Cancer Center. Said Carolyn, “I am pleased to support this great cause that helps bring relief and hope to cancer patients and their families.”

Two of Carolyn’s guests were cancer survivors themselves: Lavella Fitzgerald and Maria McKendry.

The morning started with an opportunity for guests to bid on beautiful gift baskets followed by a delicious lunch and then a fashion show. There were seven models participating in the fashion show – men and women – who were all recent cancer survivors. As they modeled clothes from Banana Republic, Chicos, and Carducci Tuxedos, their individual journeys through cancer were shared by two moderators with the audience. Casual wear was the theme for the first segment as the audience heard about the models’ diagnosis stories. During the second segment, the models wore business wear. Each model had their physician accompany them down the ramp as the moderators told of the treatment each model had received. For the third and final segment, special occasion wear, each model expressed thanks to those caregivers that helped them through their cancer experience, especially their families. It was so inspiring to hear each story and see the “other side” of cancer.

In-between the modeling segments, they showed Pomona Valley Medical Center’s award winning video for the Pink Glove Dance. Thanks to all our Road supporters who voted and helped this upbeat video win the grand prize:

Road to California’s table was really lucky as three of Carolyn’s guests won gift baskets.

All in all, it was an amazing day supporting a cancer program that offers excellent treatment in a positive and caring environment.

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Tags: Night Owls Quilt Guild, Pink Glove Dance, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, Robert and Beverly Lewis Family Cancer Center
Posted in Reese Family, Road 2 CA Blog, Road to California | No Comments »

Happy Grandparents Day

Saturday, September 6th, 2014

Carolyn Reese has nine grandchildren and most have been involved one way or another with Road to California.

[caption id="attachment_2187" align="aligncenter" width="609"]

Carolyn with son Mike’s family that includes grandson Matt and granddaughter Sarah[/caption]

Sarah Reese Moore and Matt Reese are the children of Carolyn’s oldest son, Mike. Sarah has had all sorts of involvement with Road from modeling as a kid at the Hoffman Challenge Fashion Show, handling Road quilt entries and helping out with customer service. She has worked in the Road Booth and currently oversees the accounting and tax responsibilities for the show. Matt is Road to California’s current Show manager.

Erika Reese, Carie Reese Ruiz, and Mary Beth Reese are the daughters of Carolyn’s second son, David. When the Reese family started with Road to California, these three granddaughters were freckled faced little girls who asked guests for their tickets at the dinner tent and modeled in some of the fashion show events. Erika is Carolyn’s oldest grandchild. When she was in junior high, Erika worked in the Fabric Patch booth. In 2003, she and Carie took over as co-coordinators doing all the planning and prep with Carolyn and were also co-show managers during the show. In 2005, Erika began working for Road full time as the lead Show Manager. At the time, she was the only other full-time employee (besides Carolyn) that worked year round in planning the show. Erika left full time work with the show after the 2008 Road to California to pursue a career based on her bachelor’s degree in science. She still helps out at night and on weekends as needed.

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Carolyn with David and Susan Reese and granddaughters Erika and Mary Beth

Carolyn with David and Susan Reese and granddaughters Ericka and Mary Beth[/caption]

Carie, is a full-time wife and mother living in Virginia, and is not able to be actively involved with Road at this time.

Mary Beth has worked at the Road souvenir booth and currently is the Night Manager for the show, overseeing all of the evening classes. Her day job is an insurance underwriter at Mercury Insurance.

Carolyn’s youngest son, Darrell, has three children: Rachel, Glenn, and Jillianne. All three have helped their dad with the set-up and taking down of the show and have worked at the Road Booth. In addition, Glenn has worked at the Information Booth and Jillianne has assisted with Vendor Relations.

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Carolyn with son Darrell's family which includes grandson and granddaughter Jillianne

Carolyn with son Darrell’s family which includes grandson Glenn and granddaughter Jillianne[/caption]

Now, the next generation is getting on board!! Carolyn has five great-grandchildren and one on the way, a great-grandson due in October.

Great-granddaughters Adrienne (5) and Paighten (3) are the daughters of Sarah and her husband, Adrian Moore, Jr. When they come to visit Road with their parents, the girls like to ride around with Gg (Carolyn) on her motorized cart, meeting all the guests and getting lots of attention!!!

Kevin Junior (KJ) (4), Laura (20 months) and Robert Glenn (6 weeks) are the children of Carie and Kevin Ruiz. Hopefully, they will be able to visit Road to California soon.

Being a grandparent and great-grandparent, not to mention owner of the Best in the West Quilt Show, is hard work—and a lot of fun!!!

Happy Grandparents Day to Carolyn Reese.

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Tags: Family, Grandchildren, Great Grandchildren
Posted in Reese Family, Road 2 CA Blog, Road to California | No Comments »

Meet The Newest Reese Family Member

Wednesday, July 30th, 2014

Introducing: Robert Glenn Ruiz

Born July 22, 2014

10 pounds!!

22.25 inches

Proud Parents: Carie and Kevin Ruiz

(Carie is David Reese’s Daughter and Carolyn Reese’s Granddaughter)

Carie and Kevin live in Stafford, Virginia. They just moved in to a new house a couple of weeks before Robbie was born. Carie and Kevin have two other children: Kevin Junior (KJ) who is 4 years old and Laura who is 2 years old.

While they had wanted to add to their family sometime in the future, Robbie was too impatient waiting and was an unexpected blessing. Carie was in labor about 6 hours. The baby was named Robert after Kevin’s maternal grandfather and Glenn after Carie’s paternal great-grandfather (Carolyn’s father). He is the fifth great-grandchild for Carolyn. Robbie was born with a full head of hair and the Reese dimpled chin.

Carie likes to sew and knit. She made this newborn sized cloth diaper:

She knitted for Robbie two wool pants/soakers:

and just finished a sweater vest for the Virginia winter:

Great-Grandma Carolyn just happened to be back East for a business trip when Robbie was born. She and Stevii Graves went to visit Robert when he was 6 days old. This is what Robbie looked like after they left:

Congratulations to Carie and Kevin and their families.

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Tags: Family, Great Grandson
Posted in Reese Family, Road 2 CA Blog | 3 Comments »

Meet Mr. And Mrs. Matthew Reese

Monday, June 30th, 2014

Jennifer Matt-Two-0350 Photo courtesy of Robbie Cavanaugh[/caption]

Just in time to share the wedding details of Jennifer Bennett and Matthew Reese

Married May 25, 2014

Alumni House — University of Redlands — Redlands, California

Matt and Jen chose their wedding location because , ” It was a beautiful, surrounded by one hundred year old buildings and oak trees.” It was where Jennifer went to college for her Bachelor’s of Arts and Teaching Credential.

Their wedding party consisted of ten close family and friends. Matt’s best man was also a Matthew, Matthew Gullett. The two have been best friend’s since college and have worked together as Road staff members the past 6 years. Groomsmen included Jennifer’s brother, Bryan Bennett; Matt’s friend from the University of La Verne College of Law, Dave Hamilton; and Adrian Moore, Matt’s Brother-in-Law.

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Photo courtesy of Robbie Cavanaugh[/caption]

The Matron of honor was Lauren Lening, a friend and fellow teacher of Jen’s at Alta Loma Junior High. Bridesmaids included Jen’s college roommate and friend, Carey Best; and another college friend, Jessica Kunert. Jennifer’s cousins, Kaitlyn and Kelsey Keele served as Junior Bridesmaids and Matt’s nieces’s, Adrienne and Paighten Moore were the adorable flower girls.

The wedding ceremony was conducted by Dr. Roy Halberg. He included the following readings as part of the ceremony: 1 Corinthians 13; How Do I Love Thee? By Elizabeth Barrett Browning (This one made Jen tear up during the ceremony. Luckily Matt had a hanky in his pocket!) and What is Marriage by Anonymous.

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Photo courtesy of Robby Cavanaugh[/caption]

The reception immediately followed the ceremony on the west lawn of the Alumni House. In true Road to California fashion, the guest book consisted of quilt squares that guests were ask to sign. The squares were collected and will be made in to a wedding quilt. So clever!!

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View More: http://robbycavanaugh.pass.us/reese

Photo courtesy of Robbie Cavanaugh[/caption]

Look what Grandma Carolyn wrote:

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Photo courtesy of Robbie Cavanaugh[/caption]

During the reception, there was plenty of dancing and wonderful toasts. A highlight was having Matron of Honor, Lauren, “rap” her speech to the tune of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

The traditional first dance was to Adam Sandler’s , “Grow Old With You.”

What was really special and unique that day was that Jennifer had four generations from her side of the family represented at the wedding: her Great Grandmother Dolores Daros, her Grandmother Lee Ann Akers, her mother Debby Bennett, and Jen. See the pearls Jennifer is wearing? They were originally Jen’s great-grandmother’s. All four women wore them on their wedding day. How sweet is that

Photo courtesy of Robbie Cavanaugh

The couple that traveled the farthest — who was also the longest married couple in attendance — was Road’s own Stevii Graves and her husband, Randy. For their marital advice, they suggested “travel.”

The honeymoon began the very next day. Matt and Jen took a road trip to Mammoth, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Sonoma Valley, and Monterey. They visited the Devil’s Postpile, went wine tasting, and toured the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Said Matt, “We had a wonderful and relaxing time just enjoying the beautiful scenery of California.”

What does the future hold for the new Mr. and Mrs. Reese? They want to adopt a puppy (Jen is hoping for a Basset Hound!) and to travel (Taking the advice of Stevii and Randy right away!) Long term plans include starting a family but Matt insists, “Don’t expect a big announcement at Road in 2015. This won’t happen for a few years.”

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Photo courtesy of Robbie Cavanaugh[/caption]

Congratulations Matt and Jen!!! Your Road family couldn’t be happier for you!!!

***Thanks to photographer Robby Cavanaugh, a childhood friend of Matt’s, for capturing the big day. http://www.robbycavanaugh.com

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Tags: Quilt wedding gift, University of Redlands, Wedding
Posted in Reese Family, Road 2 CA Blog, Road to California | 1 Comment »

June Is For Graduations

Wednesday, June 11th, 2014

The Reese family is celebrating TWO college graduations this month.

Carolyn has two granddaughters, Rachel and Mary Beth, receiving college diplomas on June 14^th from California Polytechnic University – Pomona.

Rachel Reese is the daughter of Carolyn’s son Darrell.

Rachel started college right out of high school and will get her degree after four years of hard work and studying. Her degree is in Business Administration- Management and Human Resources with an emphasis on Non-Profit management. Rachel commuted to school from Rancho Cucamonga and said there wasn’t much time for much else other than school and work. She was involved in the Free Mason organization and served as a state officer while in college.

When it was January and time for Road to California, she helped her dad with the set up and clean-up of the show. Rachel already has a job lined up. They are waiting for her to graduate so they can promote her to manager!!! What was one of Rachel’s memorable moments from college? Taking a class with her cousin Mary Beth. They sat next to each other and on their single name tag between them, wrote Reese for their name. Their teacher never knew which one was which and never really got it straight whether they were sisters or cousins.

Mary Beth Reese is the daughter of Carolyn’s son David.

Before starting at Cal Poly, Mary Beth received her AA in business at Mount San Antonio Community College. She will be receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Accounting. Being accepted to Cal Poly was probably her most memorable college experience as Mary Beth had put off continuing in college for a while. When she was finally ready to go back, she was thrilled that she got accepted right away since it is getting harder and harder these days to be accepted.Mary Beth was a nighttime student at Cal Poly because she held a full-time, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job at Mercury Insurance in Rancho Cucamonga for the last 8 years. In the winter, she usually tried to schedule her classes to avoid conflicts with Road as much as possible. During the week of Road, she would work her normal day time job and after work, head over to the show when everyone else was going home. She worked as the nighttime management contact person for the night classes, staying each evening until the classes were concluded, usually around 10:00 p.m..

What does the future hold for Mary Beth? She’s not in a hurry to find a new job since she already has her job with Mercury Insurance. She is looking forward to getting her nights back to herself though. That is, until January, when Road will be having her back working evenings for their 20th Anniversary Show.

Congratulations Rachel and Mary Beth!!!

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Tags: Cal Poly Pomona, Cousins, Free Masons, Graduation, Mercury Insurance
Posted in Reese Family, Road 2 CA Blog | No Comments »