One Young Family

From Remodelling to Decorating

2012-01-04T12:11:00.000-08:00

My husband's done an amazing job executing the projects we've envisioned for our home. And now it's my turn. As he finishes a project rooms in our home are becoming available for us to furnish and decorate so we can use them. I look forward to those days. But sometimes struggle envisioning what the finished room should look like. I wonder if that happens to professional decorators? I think I'm at the point where I need to call one!

One of my favorite things to do is to find amazing deals on beautiful furniture like this sectional. Someday I'll sit on this couch and think of our remodelling days.

Anniversary Activities

2012-01-02T21:50:00.000-08:00

A few years ago we begun to celebrate our anniversary with an activity or new experience. One year we rode around Coronado Island in a bike that looks kind of like a golf cart. I felt silly but loved it. We got to explore and take a look around Coronado Island.

This year we did something we've been wanting to do for a long time. Since we got to spend the holidays with my family in San Diego we thought it was perfect for us to go Ocean Kayaking in La Jolla. So we did just that!

Here's shawn checking us in. He was so excited and I was more nervous and scared than excited. :)

All ready and geared up.

We had to buy a water camera and haven't developed those photos. But the experience was amazing! We loved every bit. Rode with a tour guide in a small group. We got to see La Jolla from a whole different angle. The day was perfect for kayaking and the beach was beautiful. Some seals popped out of the water and came super close to our kayak. The grand finale and cherry on top for me was that we got to see dolphins. A couple were far out in the water where we had kayaked too, and 3 other ones very close to the shore. I couldn't believe it, next time we're bringing our babies to hang out at the beach!

Where we had lunch. Must go back!

Had dinner at Tacos El Gordo...and that ice cream bar couldn't have been a more perfect dessert!

And we came back to Coronado Island that evening. Appently we can't get enough of this place! We stayed at the beautiful Loews Coronado Bay Resort this was the view from our balcony. I could get used to that. Happy 7th Anniversary Amore!

Seven Years of Love

2011-12-27T20:29:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow marks our Seventh Anniversary. I'm SOOO grateful to be married to Shawn. I love him to the stars and back. I'm grateful to spend my life with him and look forward to growing old with him. I'm grateful for the couples in my life, who have been married to their spouse for many years, and when I say many I really mean MANY! One of my favorite couples was the Brantly's. They treated each other with so much love. I could always tell how much they treasured and adored one another.
My parents have been married for 28 years. I'm grateful for their example of love and devotion through the easy breezy times and even challenging ones. Shawn's parents have been married for about 46 years. Isn't that amazing! My grandparents Irma and Rafael have been married for 57 years. And this year Shawn's grandparents (who are still living at age 99) celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary! What an opportunity it's been to have met them.
Seven years seems like nothing compared to these, but it's still meaningful and brings us one step closer to sharing a lifetime together. Each year has been one of love and learning. I'm grateful to be sharing this life with Shawn by my side and look forward to an eternity with him and our beautiful family. Happy Anniversary Honey! Photos were taken by Camilla

2011-12-22T22:46:00.000-08:00

A new tradition for us. Gingerbread Houses. Yum. These were basic graham cracker ones. Mom and Dad's was beautiful! Rubi and Debbie's was Pretty and Pink. Ours was a "chilaquil" or Random! It was fun to make these, messy and we probably ate more candy than we should have. Merry Christmas!

Surprise Birthday Party for Mom

2011-12-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

Feliz Cumpleaños Mama! Over the last few weeks we planned a surprise birthday party for Mom. It was something our Dad really wanted to do for her 50th birthday. And it turned out perfect. We had a taco stand, tamales and mariachi. We expected about 50 guests but are pretty sure we got double the amount! Somehow we had enough food. :)

Mom was so happy. She had no idea what was up our sleeve. We took her to my friend's wedding earlier that day, then did a little shopping in La Jolla. While we were gone Rubi, Dad and other family members transformed our home. I was so excited for her. The moment we walked through the door a Mariachi greeted serenaded her with "Las Mañanitas" she was so happy and suprised by all the people who had come to celebrate her special day. Felicidades Mami!

I love seeing them so happy!

San Diego Temple - December 17th

2011-12-22T21:44:00.000-08:00

What do all these pictures have in common?
We went to my friend Sarah's wedding. She got married in the San Diego Temple on December 17th. She looked amazing, just like a Princess. Shawn and I also got married in this temple almost 7 years ago. I love the photo of us with the boys, seven years later. Then there's the photo of Mom, we celebrated her 50th birthday that day!

Early December

2011-12-22T21:05:00.000-08:00

In December, I made bow ties for the boys. They turned out super cute. Little man started saying "blankee," repeating vowels and other sounds, and saying "Ho Ho Ho."
E-man's been jammin' to Rudolph, Frosty, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. I love hearing him sing. We also discovered that he looks very similar to the little guy on "A Christmas Story." Image is from here.

We refinished the basement. I feel like I always forget to take a picture...sometimes it's the before shot, this time it was the after. I'll post it later.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-04T20:59:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend in St. George. We spent it with our in-laws. Got to see most of Shawn's siblings and their families. And the kids had a blast with their cousins. It was great to have the family together for those few days.

We had a traditional style dinner. Each family contributed a dish for the menu. We were fortunate to have leftovers to last through the weekend. Everything flowed perfectly. I also tried Tofurkey for the first time (we have a vegetarian in the family)...it was different.

We went on a hike to Emerald Pools in Zions National Park. The scenery was amazing and I hear it's even more beautiful and green during the summer.

I can't believe it's already December 4th. This year has flown by. But as I reflect on our Thanksgiving weekend I am grateful for this year. Another year to share with my beautiful little family.

P is for Prophet

2011-11-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

Our Family Home Evening was about the Prophet. It was simple and I think it went well.

Opening song: Follow the Prophet
Scripture: Amos 3:7
Activities: -Picture of Prophet -Short video with him in it (so they could see him and hear his voice) -drew and colored some Ps for Prophet
Dessert: Popsicles

Piano

2011-11-06T21:48:00.000-08:00

Last year I begun piano lessons (almost a decade since my last formal lesson). I'm so happy to be able to work on and develop this talent...and boy does it need developing! But I love it!

Little Photographer

2011-10-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

Lego Tower
can you tell what this is?

I uploaded our latest pictures today. Emerson's learned how to turn on the camera and I came across some of his own photos. Among those were these.

Spooky Spooky Skeleton

General Conference

2011-10-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

We did some general conference at home this year and a little in the church. The boys paid much better attention in church but once in a while they would sit and watch. As you can see Emerson liked watching President Monson.

Fontana Visit

2011-10-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

During my trip to California I got to visit Tia Mary. It'd been a long time since I'd been to her home. I'm so glad we got to make it and I got to snap this group shot of us...the girls + my boys.
(Left- mom, tia mary, melissa, ines, nina betty, row 2- ethan, me emerson)

This cutie below is cousin Moni. She's such a doll. Shared her toys with the boys, rode around with Emerson and even let him pet her doggies. They had so much fun together.

Tortilla Memory

2011-10-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

Delicious, straight from the Tortilleria

I grew up going to Tijuana to visit my grandmothers regularly. I have so many memories from those trips. One in particular was watching Abuelita Monica spread the tortillas just like my dad is doing in this picture. The tortillas back then were warm and fresh, just like these were that day.

Bisabuelitos

2011-10-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

Finally, a post from our last San Diego trip.
These are Mom's parents, Bis-Abuelitos Irma y Rafael.

I often find a relative or two at grandma's house. Their doors are always open. And it seems like grandma somehow manages to get you to sit on her table and have some of what she's had cookin'. Some of the tastiest meals have actually come from this kitchen. I love my grandparents, it's a huge blessing to still have them around. Do you see a resemblance?

twinkle in my eye

2011-10-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

The boys have been entertaining lately. It makes me happy. I'm torn about their growth. Ethan's tiny little self is adorable but they sure get funner as they grow. Every now and then I glance over at Emerson while we read in his rocking chair and I notice he's taking up more space in the chair. It's a tight fit right now but somehow we make it work.

Emerson started preschool. One day I picked him up early, as I waited by the door the children were going to a new station in a different room, as they walked by I could hear one of them singing and wondered who it was until he got close enough then I realized it was Emerson. He sounded so happy, I think he likes preschool and definitely music!

Which is great because we're in a children's music class. If Ethan were older he'd do it too...but that doesn't stop him either. No, No, Emerson makes sure Ethan and I listen to "his songs" at home. And around 16 months ethan surprised us with his own little tune singing, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." The little man would sing the entire song on his own! This shot is of Ethan earlier in the summer playing Abuelito's new beautiful piano. A find from the local veterans store!

Home Love

2011-09-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

I found a super cute chair on KSL. The wood detail and nailheads are identical to a blue loveseat I once found at DI. After a little rearranging the room looks like a completely new space. I love it! There's still some work to do, like the DI lamp doesn't have a lampshade... but I'm loving this cozy room and the orange chair fits right in!

New Bedroom Preview

2011-08-07T17:56:00.000-07:00

We finally have new carpet and paint in our bedrooms, I love them! Here's a sneak peak, what do you think?

My husband the rockstar!

2011-07-22T11:22:00.001-07:00

Ever since I met Shawn he ROCKED my world!
We went to a work picnic and he got to perform with a few of his co-workers. The songs were rewritten to fit a popular theme around BYU right now, Jimmer Fredette. Good times!

Activity Days (LDS)

2011-07-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

For 3 years I've been working with a group of 8-11 yr olds in my church, we met twice a month and my companions and I would plan fun activities for them. Last week I was given a new assignment and will no longer work with the girls. Even though I'm a little sad I'm very excited for them because they have a new set of amazing leaders!
Okay so as I wrap up this chapter of my short life I wanted to share some of the things we've done.
Visited:
Provo LDS Temple
BYU Botany Pond
BYU Museum of Art (MOA) to see the "I SPY" and "Carl Bloch" exhibits (separate occasions)
Learned to:
lead and play chimes
make Tie-Dye shirts
Tissue Pom Poms
Cupcakes
Cards and invitations for a show and tell party with their parents
Embellished Journals with Scrapbooking paper and flowers, I got the idea from this great website
Painted "Prayer Rocks"
"Warm Fuzzies" Service Jars (This blogger inspired the service themed jars, we embellished them and incorporated the "warm fuzzies" theme)

Basic Pottery
Paint cards and to make Scratch Art
gardening: planted a tomato plant in a bucket

Sewed their own scripture bags
Had a beauty/spa day

Raked leaves for 3 different women in our neighborhood

Heart attacked a few households with sweet heart shaped notes.

I'm sure I've forgotten a thing or two but here's a peak at it. Maybe someone else can use an idea or two. If one of my partners (and I've had many) sees this post, thank you for all your help...that goes to the mamas of these girls too!

Aguilar Joy

2011-07-10T21:02:00.000-07:00

Here we are with our little munchkins. This photo makes me so happy. I can't wait to get together again.
Besos!!!

J-Dawg Love.

Dad got well acquainted with our Bob.
Abuelita siempre nos hace sonreir.

Rubi and Abuelitos Visit

2011-07-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

We've been delighted with family the past few weeks! Oh how we've loved it.
First, the much anticipated visit from my Paris bound sister Rubi.
We enjoyed a Feisty Pandora station while we played outside.

Nancy, (rubi's MIL) made a special trip and joined the party. She also brought a special bag with magical toys to entertain the kids.
They "devoured" the grapes.

We also made a special trip to Park City. How fun is this park? At the special request of a new park friend, Emerson serenaded her with ABC and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
We've had A LOT of popsicles.
Even Abuelitos.
Special Einstein Bagel trip to satisfy Rubi's sweet tooth for their Chocolate Chip Bagels.

4th of July Children's Parade

2011-06-25T13:19:00.001-07:00

The Children's Parade was this morning. I was so excited to do this with the boys. This would be Emerson's first year riding his own bike, and he did wonderfully. It was so much fun.

Balloons, tissue paper pom poms, streamers, a few Christmas decorations. I had way too much fun doing this! =)

Loves his bike.

Ethan was so good. I couldn't be more grateful, with Shawn working a Seminar, I was worried about doing this alone. We really missed him, hence all the pictures.

Long ride.

Fun times celebrating our Independence.

Woodland Theme Baby Shower for Michelle

2011-06-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

This Prego Mommy and friend of mine was glowing today. I loved seeing her so happy. Here are a few photos from her baby shower. Michelle, is expecting her 6th boy! When I found out she would be having her sixth boy I was so excited for her and wanted to celebrate with a baby shower. With the help of 2 of my amazing friends (Megan and Aubrey) we were able to celebrate with this beautiful event.

Best Deal Ever!

2011-05-28T21:46:00.000-07:00

Craigslist/KSL these sites are some of my favorite to visit. And yesterday I came across the best deal ever. Free Quaking Aspens!

With a home that still needs a lot of work our landscaping budget is limited. One of our goals with the landscaping was to add trees along our fence for privacy. Since trees aren't cheap we thought this project could wait a couple years. You can just imagine how awesome it was for me to find this ad. So last night, we dug about 20 trees and today Shawn planted in our backyard. Thank you thank you Shawn and family with the quaking aspens!

14 Months Old

2011-05-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Ethan is 14 months old, he's adorable! Is handsome like Daddy.

Funny.Usually likes brother :)

Toes!!!

Learned to walk...

Reading.

Has Mama's dimples. Being a Cowboy - this adorable rocking horse was made by Great Grandpa Roberts.

Piano Recital

2011-05-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

I started taking piano lessons a couple months ago. I just had my first recital. Here's we are before my performance...you gotta love Emerson's face. And I can't believe how calm I look, I wasn't feeling like that inside. May 7, 2011

A week later I played the piece during Relief Society (women's church meeting on Sunday). My piece was a Come Thou Fount arrangement by Marshall McDonald with string parts composed by my piano instructor Deena Winters. I can't tell you how much I LOVED playing with the cellist and violinist, they were amazing.

All About Our Little Eman

2011-05-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

Happiest when he's outside, building and fixing things.
Toy: Legos
Stuffed Animal: Baby White Bear
Book: Mi Gato es el Mas Bestia by Gilles Bachelet
Song: ABC en ingles y español
Love seeing these boys ready for church!

Still collects sticks, they're larger now.He's very helpful in the kitchen, helped me make some bread and it was delicious!

I love that smile :)and this one...Emerson likes Ethan very much, as long as he's not taking down his lego towers.Tools=Love

Day 1

2011-05-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

Lately things have been a little wild around here. I've a little "wild thing" of my own. And it's made being Mommy hard. I'm trying something new, I created a schedule and am crossing my fingers that a routine will help us around here.

Today, it went well. My 3 yr old still threw a couple tantrums but we were able to move past them much better than before.

I've set time aside for a craft/activity. Today the boys hammered away at ice blocks with frozen toys and treasures inside. It was so much fun.

Feliz Dia de las Madres

2011-05-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Mama,
Como te adoro. Gracias por ser una Mama tan linda y buena. Eres una mujer increible y somos afortunadas de tenerte como nuestra mama.

Twin Bedding Set

2011-05-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted a photo of Emerson's new bedding. I found this adorable set at Burlington Coat Factory while I was in San Diego. I got it for an awesome deal and look at how cute it is. I'm planning on hanging the yarn balls in this room.
Any suggestions for what color to make the furniture? White or Dark Wood?

Decor

2011-05-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

I finally snapped a photo of my yarn balls. I made a ton of these for Ethan's birthday and they turned out so cute. Now we just need to paint the boys room to hang these in there.

New Tradition

2011-05-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

Today we had an awesome party. What made it so good you might ask? Maybe it was the food, or the live band, or the venue ;), the company or all of the above.
Some of my favorite moments were of my family. Ethan and Emerson's matching outfits. Emerson playing in the dirt, seeing him watch the band as he ate his little ice cream cone, and seeing him eat his yummy food next to daddy. Ethan kept me smiling too, he stayed on his feet as much as possible walking around the yard and shared a plate of yummy food with me.

The empanadas were amazing.

Shawn finally got to wear his ostrich boots.
Watching Lydia perform with her sister and band. Then seeing how she was her hubby's no.1 fan. I couldn't snap a shot of that because it got dark but it was adorable.

Seeing my friend Amy and daughter wear their beautiful Mexican dresses.

We had such a good time, Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Helping Hands

2011-05-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends shared her delicious flautas recipe with me. It's heavenly! A couple months ago I made a couple hundred flautas for Ethan's birthday party in San Diego. They were a big hit.

Today, my friends and I got together and made a little over a hundred flautas. Between the 3 of us, the shredding, rolling and frying was done within 2 1/2 hours. Hooray! They look delicious and I'm so excited to eat them--in a couple days :/

Can't wait for 5 de Mayo!

Twenty-Nine

2011-04-26T21:56:00.000-07:00

Today Shawn's 29. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

We had a favorite Chicken Fettuccini dish, Strawberry Pie, played a little softball and even attempted some kite flying.

I love seeing how the boys light up when Daddy walks into the room. I'm so happy to have you in my life. You are an amazing father and husband. We love you!

The Brothers

2011-04-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

Big Brother and Little Brother. They are so much fun, and I get to spend everyday with them!

Mindy Gledhill at Velour

2011-04-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

My friend Nassari and I went to Velour last week and watched Mindy Gledhill perform. We had such a good time. Her music is beautiful. We were so excited when we got to meet her after the show. She was so sweet and beautiful. The other 2 performers were Julie Feeney and Parlor Hawk. I wasn't familiar with either one but I really enjoyed listening to them. Feeney was so entertaining, definitely a performer and apparently a composer too. Check out Impossibly Beautiful to get a glimpse of her.

Cruisin'

2011-04-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

"Emerson's been riding" That's what I told someone today. Seems like everytime I take a moment to think about what he's been doing I add another thing to his list of milestones. Last week he learned how to pedal. He spent close to 2 hours riding his tricycle! I was a bit concerned that he might be sore the next day, but he didn't complain. Which makes me wonder if children get sore? Today he picked up where he left off last week and it seems like he never missed a beat. He was cruising the park like a pro.

Another milestone

2011-04-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

In the last week Emerson has:

moved to a toddler bed

and been potty trained!

Converse for Kids and Estuary

2011-03-27T19:31:00.000-07:00

I may post about San Diego for the next month or two. I hope you don't mind. If anything you can get ideas for your own San Diego trip. Not too far from where I grew up we have an Estuary, an estuary is a place where fresh water meets the ocean, in Shawn's words "it's an ecosystem, with certain plants and animals."

It's a neat place. Next time I'll take a bird book and binoculars. E-man really wanted to push the strollers. He looked so tired by the time we were done. The little guy in this stroller is Armani. He is adorable. He also had like 3 pairs of Converse shoes! Not that Converse shoes make you cool but he did look like a cool little guy with those shoes. I may get the boys their first Converse this year.

Today...

2011-03-23T23:02:00.000-07:00

I started a fun little project. It's messy and involves balloons, glue, and yarn.

Big boy room

2011-03-22T15:36:00.001-07:00

It's so good to be home. The entire time I was gone Shawn worked on updating our electrical system. I am so grateful for him, he really takes care of us. We are also grateful for his brother and my in-laws who helped a ton. I'm not quite sure how to thank them, they always do so much. Any ideas?

I found bedding for the boys twin beds, it's fun and has my favorite colors. The best part was that Burlington had 2 sets Ethan can have one too.

Here's what I'm thinking of... Wall color? Probably blue. New color for bed. Do I stain them or paint them. Wall art... I have a few ideas i'll post about later.

Photo of the inspiring bedding coming soon, maybe someone can give me some pointers.

"CELEBRATE"

2011-03-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

Everytime I look at this Celebrate sign the song pops in my head. The banner was a gift from my sister in-law, thank you so much Michele! This month we're celebrate Ethan's first birthday. We had a little party in San Diego. Celebrating in my home town with my parents and our relatives was such a neat experience because it's not something we get to do very often.

The boys loved the pinata. I found a Dulceria in National City that sells beautiful pinatas and will even take custom orders.

We had yummy food!

And I made these cute party hats. There are several tutorials online that inspired this idea.

Thank you Mom, Dad & Ana for all your help!

First ...

2011-03-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

On Sunday March 13, Ethan took his first steps! It happened after church while he was playing with Abuelito! This is a photo of him, motivated by Clifford the big red dog, I loved him growing up. Glad to know he does too.He turns One in a couple weeks. Both boys started walking around their first birthday. When did your kids start walking? I have a friend who's little boy was cruising at 9 months!

2011-03-06T23:34:00.000-08:00

I miss him.

Imperial Beach and La Jolla

2011-03-03T09:31:00.000-08:00

We went to Imperial Beach. We took a walk on the pier. It was a bit chilly, very windy, sunny and clear blue skies.
This little man liked it very much!
We also went to La Jolla. This place is gorgeous, beautiful scenery. There's a seal beach we took the boys to see. The seals are loud and stinky, but fun to watch.

And here they are looking at the seals. Dad's been remodeling a beach front condo here. We had a chance to walk through, it makes me wish I lived there too.

Bis-Abuelita Catalina

2011-03-02T23:34:00.000-08:00

4 Generation Photo: Mother, Great-Grandmother, Abuelita, and Me
Bisabuelita Catalina is great-grandmother, her name is Catalina. I'm so grateful to have had her in my life.

One of my favorite memories of her was seeing her wearing hats. I remember seeing her once in a lovely hat. It fit around her head so perfectly, she looked beautiful. I wondered if I could ever look as good as she did in hats. We had a lovely moment last Sunday with her, we pulled out the hats and snapped this treasure. She was so happy and so were we.

I'm grateful to have known her. I have wonderful memories of visiting her home in Tijuana. It was on the edge of a steep hill, between other homes. We were always so excited to visit and basically skip down the steep and rocky path to her home.

I recall Mother telling me that Abuelita Catalina was still riding the trolley, bus/taxi to Tijuana, she was in her 80s at the time! Who does that? She did. She also had 11 childre. She was an amazing seamstress, made beautiful wedding and quinceanera gowns. She was a brave, confident and artistic woman, a wonderful example.

She was thrilled to see the boys. I loved it! Emerson read to her and played piano with her.

-Just so I'll always remember, she always blessed us before we left her presence. She had a mole on the center of her forehead. She always set up an extravagant Nativity scene for Christmas, I asked her where she got the idea and she said it was hers. She said it was a work of art. And it truly was. Te amo bis-abuelita Catalina.

Baby Shower

2011-02-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

I've always wanted to do a bird themed baby shower. And I finally did for one of my friends from San Diego! Fortunately, this isn't the last of a bird themed party around here, more on that later. For now, here are a few photos from the shower.

Emerson's Three

2011-02-04T21:24:00.000-08:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Emerson!
I am so happy and grateful to be your Mama. Here are some things I LOVE about you:
1. your laugh
2. huge smile and dimples
3. your singing or humming
4. that you still sit on our lap when we read books
5. your appetite
6. your blonde thick hair
7. when you paint and your paintings
8. how you play with baby brother
9. your Espanol
10. Everything!!!
Things you've been saying:

you call everything small "mouse"
ette for leche
I vod you for I love you

Important things in your life:

Brown Blankie
Baby white bear (an H&M find from NY)
Mama Bear - a big, fluffy bear that belonged to Shawn
Baby Ethan
Legos
Cars
Tools
and of course Mommy & Daddy
Cold leche & orange cereal

Carl Bloch

2011-01-26T14:26:00.000-08:00

I went to see the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU Museum. It was amazing. This was my favorite, Gethsemane. When I saw it, my love and gratitude towards the Savior was renewed. I truly love Him, I am grateful for the knowledge I have of His life and His plan for us. I'm so grateful that we have the lovely opportunity to view Carl Bloch's masterpieces, if you haven't had a chance of going it'll be here through May 7th.

Running

2011-01-18T08:44:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to make a few changes in my life. And I finally made some today. First, I've been needing and wanting to work out again, seriously it's been almost 2 years! It just so happens that there's a couple ladies in my neighborhood who wanted to start running in the mornings. So we went this today. Woke up at 5:27, fed the baby and ran out the door. It's early, I know! But I've been needing to do this.

Sometimes Shawn wonders why I don't make changes like these more gradually, though he has a point, gradual change doesn't always work out for me. But if it works for you than hooray for gradual change. Good luck with any goal you have set for the week!

Shawn's Christmas Gift

2011-01-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas for Shawn started off normal-ish. As he watched the boys open gifts, little did he know what was waiting for him. When it was his turn he found a message sending him off on a scavenger hunt. He found all the clues and was off to his final destination. I wish everyone could have seen the look on his face when he saw his Canoe. Emerson in one arm, a HUGE grin on his face, and a couple leaps of joy! (yes he jumped) The moment was priceless.

Photobooth strip by: Photoboother.com

Temple Square Lights

2011-01-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

Visiting Temple Square for the holidays is one of my favorite traditions. It's like walking in Wonderland, the entire place is lit up. They have an enormous Nativity scene, with a narration to accompany it. We got to visit this place twice this Christmas. Once for a Christmas Program and the second time with our family.

Snow Much Fun!

2011-01-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

I love seeing little Emerson happy. This was one of those occasions, he and his cousin rode a sled while Shawn pulled them on his bike, Dad even got to give them a push. They had snow much fun!

NYC Day 10

2010-12-04T20:52:00.000-08:00

Our last day in NYC was spent indoors packing and cleaning the place. I kept the boys busy with mixing bowls and spatulas. Oh and check out that Photobooth picture poster size, awesome! Take a peek out the window while your browsing. I couldn't get enough of the buildings and neighborhoods here. We had a wonderful time visiting New York City. Thanks guys! Photobooth at Bubby's
And in case you want to make your own photobooth strips check out my sister and her hubby's website Photoboother.com.

NYC Day 9

2010-12-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

We rode a ferry to Liberty Island and got to walk around Lady Liberty. She looks amazing and the view is beautiful.
We attempted this trip a couple days earlier but we got there kind of late and they stopped giving tickets. It was a good thing because it was so windy and cold that day. But on this day, we arrived early and to our surprise the day was beautiful and not windy. We had a great time. And Eman loved the ferry ride.

Welcoming Christmas

2010-12-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

Today we met Santa. And even though he'd been sitting in his chair for a little over 3 hours he was still so sweet to my boys. Thank you!

Poor Santa, he looks a little tired. Where's his shot of hot cocoa!?

Max Brenner

2010-11-27T19:11:00.000-08:00

One of the best things about New York is the food. There are a ton of awesome restaurants here and The Jones have done a great job taking us to them. Today we visited Max Brenner, they have an all chocolate menu, so for chocolate lovers (like me) this place was heaven. I ordered a dark chocolate cake filled with chocolate ganache, served with a side of ice cream and mini hot cocoa. (My order was Da Best and Delicious!). Shawn and Rubi shared a S'more Pizza and they each got hot cocoa. S chose the Italian Hot Cocoa, I loved it. Stanton picked a Melting Chocolate S'mores Sunday, it looked like pure goodness. We loved you Max Brenner.

NYC - Brooklyn

2010-11-26T20:37:00.001-08:00

Photobooth strip taken at Bubby'sToday was so much fun! We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. We snapped a ton of lovely pictures. The bridge and the view is amazing. Once we got to Brooklyn we grabbed a yummy hot cocoa at Jacques Torres. Then we went to grab dinner at Bubby's. This is one of my sister's favorite restaurants and it is kid friendly too! We grabbed a bite then took some pictures in their photobooth. My favorite shot is the third one above with the boys hugging.
On our way to Brooklyn we strolled by Central Park.

The boys loved their auntie & uncle, especially Eman!

Grateful

2010-11-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

There's no better way to celebrate the holiday than with the spirit of gratitude.

I am grateful for:

My sweet little boys
A supportive and loving husband
My Sisters and Parents
Family
Faith
And a strong and healthy body

Happy Thanksgiving all the way from New York City!

The Cates
Emerson watching the parade
Thanksgiving Post cont...
I just had to mention that we got to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. We ran through central park looking for the perfect spot and after a while we found it. I am so happy we got to watch it, the whole family enjoyed it. Eman seemed to be in a trance and couldn't take his eyes off the balloons. I think his favorite ones were the Panda, Elephant, Buzz, and of course Santa.

NYC Day 3

2010-11-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

We spent the morning walking down 5th Avenue. I loved the display windows at Bergdorf Goodman, my pictures won't do justice for them.

We watched the Christmas Spectacular with the NYC Rockettes, we loved it!

After our Rockettes show The Jones and us had dinner at Bobby Flay's restaurant Bar Americain. It was delicious! I kept my eye out hoping to see Bobby, but he must have been filming his next Throwdown. Anyways, thank you Bobby Flay for the yummy menu. At Tiffany's

I found a super cute skirt at H & M, and Rubi tells me there's one with children's line...I can't wait to drop in on them. The boys visited the lego store and did not come back empty handed. They love their legos! Eman had a blast at FAO Schwarz where he played on The Big Piano. He was so cute.
The boys have been doing so well. Each get's to ride in their tiny umbrella strollers (Courtesy of KSL). We carry them stroller and all up and down stairs to get on the subway.

NYC Day 2

2010-11-21T20:21:00.001-08:00

Sunday. We spent the morning at church. It was nice to be there with my sister. And after church they had a linger longer and ate at the church. It reminded me of the good old days when we had similar activities with our Spanish ward and in our Stake back in California.

We actually spent the rest of the day at home. Another reason why I'm glad we are spending quite some time here, we really needed to catch up on sleep and get ready for the upcoming activities involving a lot of walking.

Ciao from NYC.

NYC Day 1

2010-11-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

Ready to go!
We took a red eye flight to NYC last night and arrived early enough to catch a glimpse of the moon and sunrise over the city. It was beautiful. Our kids did fairly well considering the time of our flight. Kudos to them. Emerson was the most excited, he kept looking out the window to look at the stars.

Whittermore House
We love the Jones' place. They live in a super cute apartment in Manhattan. They are so close to Central Park. I can't wait to head over there tomorrow. Today we visited China Town, ate dumplings at Vanessa's, they were yummy. Then we had the yummy donuts from a place near the restaurant. They were delicious and so soft. We walked a lot. We headed towards rubi's work where I finally got to see the Whittermore House. The people who work there are so nice, and I have an appt next Wednesday, I am so excited. Then we went to eat at Lombardi's, the birthplace of NY style pizza. It was delicious. It's been fun, we are so excited to continue seeing this exciting city!

Waiting to eat at Lombardi's

Waterfall

2010-11-16T21:08:00.000-08:00

This little guy makes me so happy. We spent a lot of the at the "waterfall" this year. And every time we'd drive past the canyon entrace he'd say waterfall. He really loved it. He talks so much these days. He speaks English and Spanish, is more comfortable with the first though. I often find myself repeating the same words in both languages so that he learns both words. We are trying to figure out the best way to teach our children Spanish, all I can say it's not easy. I do feel like there are enough resources and ideas for us to follow, now if we can just pick one and stick with it.This is E-man and his cousin. We got to visit my sister this summer and these 2 had so much fun with each other.

The Luckiest

2010-11-15T20:36:00.000-08:00

I am feeling so grateful. My sons and husband make me so happy. This year went by way too fast. And look at this blog, I barely post! But we've had a wonderful year. Enjoyed each other, family and friends.

Shawn's travelled quite a bit this year just to name a few he went to Canada, Columbia, and fell in love with la Republica Dominicana. He loves his job and that makes me so happy. Somehow I hold down the fort while he's gone and with some help here and there from my in-laws and friends I get through just fine.

Our home is lovely, I'm just waiting for our mantle to be up so I can show the world what an amazing job Shawn's done! It looks completely different. Shawn's pretty amazing I am so grateful for all the work and time he's put into making our home look beautiful. The chocolate wood floors are by far my favorite thing. Oh, and please don't be offended if I ask you to remove your shoes :)

Besos.

Six Months

2010-10-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

My boys make me happy. Ethan is 6 mths old. He weighs 19 lbs! He's sitting up all on his own and get's a kick out of Emerson. I love them!

Our Baby's Here!

2010-05-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

This is Ethan. He was born March 26, 2010 at 11:41 pm. Weighed 8 lb. 15 oz. and was 21 in long.

He's so cute and we love him so much!

Hand-E-Man

2010-02-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

Who needs a handyman when you've got this little one around?

Emerson is such an awesome little guy. The last couple weeks we've been trying to put our home back together. It's been a ton of fun. And as you can see Emerson's been learning a skill or two...

Two weeks ago we got our piano. It belonged to my Mother In-Law who gave it to my sister-in-law Michele. We lucked out and got to have it when Michele bought a Baby Grand! Thank you Michele! I am so grateful to have it in our home.

"Cars" Emerson's favorite (and I'm not speaking about the movie). He adores them! We found him a cozy coupe on KSL (for $20!) and gave it to him for his Birthday. Well here's the sweetest shot of the week, Daddy just had to take it for a ride!

ps. I have to admit, earlier that day I wondered if I could fit. Maybe I'll try after the baby's born. I can already picture the headlines "Prego lady stuck in cozy coupe!"

Emerson turns 2

2010-02-11T20:43:00.000-08:00

Last week we celebrated Emerson's second birthday! Our little man has grown so much in just 2 years...I don't think I'll ever stop saying that. We made him pancakes for breakfast and dressed them with 2 candles on top. He hasn't had a chance to practice blowing out candles so I wasn't sure how that would go, but he did awesome! I loved watching him, he took a deep breath and did it! We spent his birthDAY at Cabela's, I thought he might enjoy the aquarium, which he did.

Saturday we celebrated with a few friends and family. We had a lot of fun and most importantly Emerson enjoyed his day. We are so grateful for our little son. He's a joy to have around. He's been saying so many new words lately, it makes me very excited to see what he'll be doing by the end of the year. He continues to be obsessed and in love with cars! Happy Birthday Emerson!

Celebrating our 5th Anniversary

2010-02-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

During the Christmas break we got to celebrate our 5th Anniversary. When we were trying to figure out how we were going to celebrate I remembered someone telling me about tourist bike rides in Coronado. Everyone needs to go to Coronado Island when they visit San Diego, it's beautiful. So I suggested the bike ride to Shawn, who kind of laughed because he didn't think I seriously wanted to ride a bike 6 mths pregnant. But I did. So we did a little research and found a comfortable looking cart called "The Surry" and pedalled our way around Coronado. We had a blast! We had a blast looking at the beach and the lovely homes with beach front views. I like to dream that someday we might get to stay in one of those. We had a lovely time that day, I can't believe how quick the time's flown. It's been a lovely 5 years and I look forward to all the other ahead of us!

Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child

2010-01-27T19:42:00.001-08:00

This is the book we used to guide us in teaching our little guy to sleep. At around 4 months we worked on helping him get on a napping schedule and fall asleep on his own in his crib. Two of the main ingredients were consistency and having to let him cry it out for a little while (we only let him cry it out if we knew he had a clean diaper, was well fed, and had been burped). Anyway, it worked and it's been so nice...up until last week.

A few days ago our poor little guy started having trouble going to bed. Usually after reading books, singing, and praying we'd set him down and were done. Last week when we laid him down he jumped to his feet, hold out his arms and want out. He started crying when we didn't pick him up. We were torn, naturally we wanted to pick him up and calm him down. But instead we let him cry it out for a little while like we'd done almost 2 years ago. Who knows what sparked this sudden distress but in just a few days his bedtime and naptimes are back to normal. I think that if we had given in to his crying the past few nights we may have sent the message to Emerson that if he cried we would come get him.

I'm not perfect at getting kids to sleep or sticking to Emerson's sleep schedule but I sure am a firm believer in sleep routines and schedules. I am the first to recognize that there may be other books out there. As I studied child development in college I came to realize that some very popular baby books sometimes had unhealthy parenting tips. My suggestion is to examine all the literature before you commit to something (especially because we're talking about raising our kids). I'm sure you're already doing that. Buenas Noches.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas ... all the way from San Diego! We had a blast watching Emerson this Christmas. We are so grateful for the blessings we received this year. We wish all our family and friends a wonderful New Year!

Here are the girls on Christmas Eve, we really missed you Vivian, get well soon.

Emerson and His Snowman Soup

2009-12-27T16:28:00.001-08:00

Thank you Alex and Olivia for the snowman soup. I love it! -Emerson

Snow!

2009-12-27T15:09:00.000-08:00

I was so happy that we got a feel for the snow before heading to San Diego.

December Home Makeover

2009-12-27T10:59:00.000-08:00

Here's what Shawn was able to accomplish in December. It looks amazing, I can't wait to see it. Thank you Shawn!

When we get back he's going to install these lovely wood floors!

November 11, 2009

2009-12-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

A little late, this is me the day of our ultrasound. I don't know why but I was so nervous. A little later we found out we're having another boy!

Christmas Activities

2009-12-27T09:33:00.000-08:00

Picking the Christmas Tree

This Christmas Emerson got to decorate sugar cookies with his Grandma and cousins.

...and make Gingerbread Sleighs.

Extreme Home Makeover!

2009-12-14T23:37:00.001-08:00

Emerson and I are back in San Diego, while Shawn is ripping apart our home. In a nutshell, here's his list for the next 2 1/2 weeks: install crown molding, prep the kitchen/dining area and hallways for painting, remove baseboards, paint, and remove carpet. If that doesn't sound like a lot of work...take my word for it because it is. Shawn's really scoring off the charts! I am so grateful for you, thanks babe. Check out the pictures of our dining area. I'm pretty sure that by the end of next month our place is going to look amazing!

Happy Birthday Rubi

2009-11-10T20:37:00.001-08:00

I am so grateful to have you as my sister. You are a great example to me. Ambitious and sooo talented, I love it! Have a fabulous 22nd birthday. We love you!

Our Treasure

2009-11-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

We are so thankful to be this little guy's parents. We love him so much.

San Diego

2009-10-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

In September Shawn started working on a project in San Diego! I've been so excited about this because it's right near my family's home. So 2 weeks into the project E-man and I hopped on a plane and met him in San Diego. During that trip my sister had her second baby Tiana. She is so adorable weighed 6'7 and has a ton of black hair. After coming home Vivian went back to the ER and was readmitted to the hospital for dehydration. She spent several days there recovering from what we think was a GI infection. Fortunately, she's better and home, just focusing on regaining her strength and recovering from her C-section.

We returned home in October. Got a glimpse of the lovely blazing red maple we planted this spring. It's leaves were fiery red! We spent 5 days home, enough time to whip up some yummy home cooked meals, catch up with my in-laws, unpack and repack for San Diego. So now we are back. It's been a huge blessing to be out here as much as we've been this fall. I'll work on posting more pictures this time.

We're Painting

2009-09-15T20:08:00.000-07:00

We're painting our home and we need some help. Honestly, when I say "we" it really means Shawn. He's been working a ton on our home, we've been blessed with help from Brian, Jerry, and a couple ward friends. I'd like to invite anyone else who's up for it to come and help us with the paint, early October. If you'd like to help, let us know and we'll send the details as it get's closer. Thanks!

Baby 2 On The Way!

2009-09-11T19:39:00.001-07:00

We're having another baby! Today we got to hear it's heartbeat. I loved it, sounds like it's racing. We are so excited not to mention happy. I am about 12 weeks along and finally feeling pretty good. I am so grateful for whoever discovered Unisom and Vitamin B6!

Longboarding

2009-09-09T19:30:00.000-07:00

There's a lovely orchard near our home. I loved running there this summer it was always quiet and peaceful. Last time we went we rode our longboards there, Emerson loved it. Then we quietly walked in and got a glimpse of the deer.

Growing Up

2009-07-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

Emerson is such a cutie pie! He's 17 1/2 months old now. Last Sunday I took him to nursery for a half hour. It went really well. He discovered his bedroom closet and likes going inside to hide. The picture above is of me catching him in the act...can you tell he likes it?

I also have a sweet picture of the little guy helping Daddy make pancakes for breakfast. I never realized how much he'd enjoy it!

A few weeks ago we were at Sundance and took this picture. I hadn't used the moby wrap since Emerson was a newborn ... Surprisingly he did great in it. We had a good time. I love Sundance, did you know they have Full Moon lift rides? They sound amazing...I've been telling Shawn he needs to take me next month. Anyone want to join us?

Help with Baby Shower Invitation

2009-07-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

Crafty ladies...I need your suggestions

I am working on my sister's baby shower invitation. We're using this beautiful print from Pebbles Inc.

This is what I came up with, and if I use the flowers I'd like to add some orange and red ones. I have two concerns 1. should the center strip be that bold? If not what do you suggest? 2. Are the flowers too much? If they are what would you recommend I use to give this cute invite some texture?

Floored

2009-06-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

I am so excited because Shawn arrives at 11:20 from the Chile-Argentina trip. We've missed him terribly. It's been quite a rollercoaster since he left. I was perfectly fine the first few days. Catched up with friends from San Diego. Spent a whole day with my super cute friend Lupita. She and I finally visited Rod Works (and loved it!) then we treated ourselves to some time at Tai Pan Trading. We had so much fun. Thanks Lupita for keeping me company.

On Saturday I went to two birthday parties! I saw more friends from our previous ward. I really miss them, definitely hope we hang out again...maybe at 7 peaks!

Even though I had so much fun until then Shawn's absence was definitely sinking in. Kudos to those of you who have to be away from your spouse more often and single moms too. I decided to spend the rest of my time with my in-laws, and boy was that a good choice. Monday morning I woke up with Food Poisoning and could barely move. I prayed every second I could for it to go away, I felt so bad for Emerson because he had to keep himself entertained all day. Fortunately, by the end of the day I felt better, kept food down, and regained energy. I am so grateful for the support from family and friends.

Now, I'm just waiting on the edge of my seat for it to be tomorrow!

I should also mention that at 16 1/2 months weighs 23 lbs and measures 33 inches. If you hadn't noticed he's pretty healthy. Adios.

Chile

2009-06-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Shawn goes to the MTC's in Chile and Argentina. I am going to miss him terribly! He'll get to visit Chile which is where he served his mission....only this time he won't be "Elder."

Adios mi amor, we'll miss you!

Adios Wallpaper!

2009-06-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

The wallpaper has been ripped off the kitchen/dining room ceiling and hallway.

Pan

2009-06-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

As many of you know we took the Dave Ramsey Finance Course a few months ago. It was awesome! After completing the course we put all our efforts towards establishing a 3 to 6 month emergency fund. Sometime after that I realized that perhaps we should also focus on our food storage, after all it's also a type of emergency fund (in a different way). Before we would set aside an amount that would go towards the E fund, now we've started doing the same for food storage. We're stocking up on all sorts of things and I will probably start going to the cannery and getting things there.

I am so grateful to all our resources. I've heard awesome speakers at church and I've been fortunate to come across awesome homemakers who are helping me develop new skills!

Today I made another attempt at making homemade bread, my dear friend Nancy shared her family recipe (and if she let's me I'll post it later). Fortunately, she knew exactly how to make it by hand (since yours truly doesn't own a kitchen aid or bosch yet). So I went for it the good old fashioned way and made two yummy loaves.

Housewarming Party and Paint

2009-05-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

We haven't had a housewarming party yet. I'm very sorry about that. Especially since you haven't gotten to see the 60/70s home in person. The 2 layers of wallpaper in bedroom 2, or the wallpaper on the ceiling in the kitchen. Oh and the carpet in the kitchen and restroom! (That one's going real soon). You've already missed the paneling around the fireplace but don't worry we still have some left in the kitchen. I better stop or you might just feel like you've gotten your tour. Bottom line is we're throwing a party! Stay tuned for the date.

In the meanwhile, Shawn and his brother will update our electrical system in the next few weeks. We textured the ceiling in the front room (I did a huge chunk of it too)! We picked out beautiful travertine floors for the bathrooms. And since we've decided to do it all on our own I think we'll be installing brand new hard wood floors! I can't wait. I've been trying to pick paint colors and have a ton of resources. I definitely want a neutral tone in some areas but I'd love some color (greens/blues/orange) Any suggestions for someone who wants to be bold and put some color on her walls but is still hesitant?

Bob Adventures

2009-05-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

The Bob has been our latest obsession. Emerson and I have gotten a chance to explore town with the Bob. If you are wondering who or what is the Bob, it happens to be our jogging stroller, and it's pretty awesome! I don't know who has it better Emerson or me. I suppose Emerson might since he gets to enjoy the scenery, nap and eat.

This week's highlight was our run to the MTC, it was uphill all the way there and close to 4 miles. I was leaping with joy when I got back! It's been one of the hardest runs yet, but we made it...I'm still so happy about it. I hope I can keep this up. If I do I may look like a true mexican with great legs this summer!

After Nap Time

2009-05-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

Emerson still takes two naps a day! And I love it! I especially love going to pick him up afterwards because he looks like this, adorably happy.

Gardening

2009-05-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Today we were out gardening. We planted lovely flowers in our front yard. It makes our house look beautiful. I can't wait to feel like that about the inside. Anyways, we had so much fun, especially watching Emerson play in the dirt and hose! We really got a kick out of watching. Here are some awesome shots I got of him.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

Nadia explained to me why she deserved a new couch for Mother's Day. Here's the logic:

First of all you have pregnancy: 9 months of either pain, vomitting, nausea, lack of sleep, or a constant need to pee and all that fun stuff.

Then you've got the whole birth thing. Not having been through it I won't even attempt to describe this part but just this merits a day dedicated to moms--and in the minds of many a new couch.

After all this you still got the years of poopy diapers, baby cuddles, fussy eating, tantrums, little smiles & laughs, waking up at night, getting them through school, and I'm gonna stop naming stuff here or else she might think she deserves a new ktichen along with the couch.

All joking aside moms do deserve a lot. THANK YOU GRANDMAS, MOMS, and NADIA for all you do, we love you, even if you don't get a new couch :)

2009-05-10T13:32:00.000-07:00

Since it's Mother's Day I am taking over all, okay not all--that's pretty much impossible--but most, of Nadia's duties, which apparently includes the blog. So here goes some random stuff that has been going on.

Yesterday we had a lot going on. Emerson gave mommy a little white flower for Mother's Day, which was about as cute as it gets. Nadia went rollerblading and I went along on the long board with Emerson on my shoulders. Too bad we didn't get pictures of that; he was laughing his little head off. Yesterday we also tore it up in the yard. Nadia ripped off the shoes and socks and jumped into the dirt to plant the peppers for our garden. We still need to find a place for our 15 tomato plants. Nadia learned the power of The Claw. If you don't know what The Claw is then you need to watch a few more infomercials. We inherited it when we bought the house along with an ancient lawn mower that I got working yesterday and mowed the lawn for the first time since we have lived there. Along with the mower we worked on the sprinkler system. We probably have 6 or more sprinkler heads that aren't working very well and one that is completely broken off. I started working on it but didn't come even close to finishing, maybe tomorrow.

We are also ramping up to do some house projects. We need to start to texture the walls and within the next 6 weeks I hope to have a new bathroom floor and vanity. J-Vedder will be helping out with that thanks to his Stone Source experience so it should be great...And anything is better than old carpet in a bathroom (especially since I know toilets are bound to overflow once in a while).

And last but not least, Nadia has been a running machine, she probably ran 4 miles yesterday. Last week we registered to try to get into the St. George Marathon and we find out the results tomorrow--cross your fingers. So I know this post is not half as good as one of Nadia's but there it is.

Fussy or Fuzzy

2009-04-27T16:27:00.000-07:00

Like most newborns Emerson had his share of fussy periods. Several times I'd just say "he's just fuzzy..." and Shawn probably thought did she just say fuzzy? so he'd say "it's fussy." Then I'd try again "fuzzy, oh wait I mean fusssssy" and then I'd keep repeating it until I thought I had it. After a couple times of trial and error I noticed that whenever I was about to say the word I'd pause, really think about it before it came out, and say FUSSY. So there you go, if you ever hear that word come out of my mouth just think about how much effort I've had to put into saying it correctly.

Let it begin.

2009-04-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

Why do I love having Mom and Dad in town? First...I love them and I love watching Emerson with them too. I think they should just move to Utah. Second, because mom makes delicious Mexican food! Third, because Dad helped and showed Shawn how to Drywall our front room. And while they were at it they went ahead an ripped off the wood paneling around our fireplace and drywalled that too!

Hermanitas

2009-04-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

Last week, my parents also came into town because Vivian (sister) and James graduated from BYU-I! Yes, that's right...they did it and with a 1 1/2 year old too! The graduation was awesome and while we were in Idaho we also got to see Shawn's 96 yr old grandparents.

The Jones also came to Utah last week. Right away we put Rubi to work ... mostly because my poor son was in desperate need of a haircut ... estaba bien trasquilado, pobresito. But now all is well because Rrrrrrubi came to the rescue!!!

We all went to Idaho and watched Viv and James receive their diplomas, then we had another carne asada back at the Frei's apt. I love it when my family get's together. We had a good time, definitely hope to have another reunion soon.

I had to check and make sure I could post what's next...the highlight of that trip was when Viv walked out of her bedroom with an ultrasound picture framed! She's going to have another baby! I am so excited and happy for them. ...I'm definitely hoping it's a girl but i'll love the baby just as much if it's another boy. :D

2009-04-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

Conference weekend was awesome! I loved it, my favorite talk was Elder Holland's, I need to go back and reread all of them though because I'm sure I missed a few neat things in some of the others. Saturday evening Mitzi's sister (my cousin) came over and we had a carne asada! This was probably the first official indoor carne asada at my house. (notice the indoor...it was super cold that day). It was delicious!

Speaking of food, I've had a dificult time eating my favorite chewy meals. I've had braces for about two months now! And I don't think I've put up any pictures! That is... until now.