The Solis saga

Halloween 20011

2011-11-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

The little Solis Super Hero's Save the day! What were you doing this Halloween???

We were busy saving the world....that's all!

One smile at a time!

Little Cruzie certainly got the hang of Trick or Treating this year. Now I get three times the candy, which is great for me! I discovered a new favorite candy bar....I'm over the moon for Milky Way!!

Utah is where it's at, YO!

2011-09-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

Last June we had the most amazing family vacation. We spent a very memorable 2 wks in Utah where we got to explore new places, eat at yummy restaurants, and SHOP (my favorite part!) Oh, and we also spent time on the farm & went to the Penovich family reunion! It was the most fantastic adventure. Riding on the train....toot! toot!

We went to Thanksgiving point & learned about Dinosaurs. And one of the highlights of the trip was watching the kids ride horses. They were trained on how to lead the horse and care and feed the horses. Alina fell in love with the ponies and didn't want to leave.

Cruz had no fear. He's so little and darling on this Pony.

And Desi was a natural! The horses really gravitated to him because he showed no fear and had a very laid back attitude. He is our most care free kid and it's really a gift because people and creatures are very drawn to him because of it.

This is our most precious, Aunt "Majjy." She is one special lady! There's nothing she wouldn't do for the kids.

Roasting Hotdogs at Provo Canyon for FHE. It doesn't get any better than that! Down below Cruz was going to eat his raw......no thanks!

Just outside of Brigham City is the beloved farm that Grandma was raised on in Bear River City! We rode a huge tractor, which was a big hit for the kids. We saw all the animals and learned a bit about farm life. We were all smitten with the place after we met all the cousins and saw the 20 cats that live at Aunt Melany's house. A little fresh air and mud never hurt anyone! Even I was contemplating trading my heels for a cute pair of cowboy boots!

Church History Museum Temple Square is so much fun!

Jesus is the Christ! Come unto Him!

Salt Lake Temple

Now that we've had such a wonderful experience staying in Utah, we've decided to make it a once a year tradition. Until next time.....

Summer Fun Photo Gallery!

2011-09-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

Summer began with a Bang! We had lots to do! Well, I had lots of planning to do...the kids don't like to stay home so it was my responsibility to keep them busy. What did we do? Lots of park days, swimming at GG's and the club house, and loads of ice cream to keep us cool. We were fortunate enough to take the kids to Six Flags a couple of times too! Play dates, gymnastics, swimming lessons & kids club at the gym helped us to stay busy. Even though I became a bit frazzled with all the driving I had to do, busyness= happy Solis kids! And when the kids are happy...yes, I am happy too!

Spending time with great friends made our summer ROCK!!

My Crazy Cruzie man turned 2 this summer! Sure can't get enough of him. He's my water baby & loves swimming, sun & summer just like his Mama!

Thank goodness for water parks, Sun Splash & Beal's point, where the kids can enjoy running around in the hot sun. Of course, we all got the best tans that summer can bring.

Even Desi jose got the hang of swimming more independently. Wouldn't ya know, by the end of summer he took off his arm floaties! Way to go, Dez! Overall, we had a fantastic couple of months. More to come from our SUMMER 2011! PEACE!!

Alina's Kindergarten Graduation!

2011-09-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

MAY 20th 2011 : Our whole family was thrilled for Alina on her special Kindergarten Graduation day. We tried to be first in line so that we could get front row seats. While we waited to be seated the boys played with their cars. Don't they look so cute? These two have become really close pals; and they have the love of cars in common. As we were waiting, we spotted Alina lined up with her class preparing excitedly to enter the MP room. I had a huge lump in my throat thinking about how quickly the year went by and how much growth took place. As my eyes overflowed with tears, I looked around to make sure no one noticed that I was already emotional and the whole event hadn't even started yet. Pathetic, I know. We really enjoyed the kids' performance. Both classes sang songs & Principal, Ms. Hunt-Brown had some nice words prepared. As the kids were called to get their "diplomas," the teachers shared with the parents what each student wants to be when they grow up. Alina had said that she wanted to be a Dentist. So sweet! My favorite part of her whole graduation was seeing her beautiful smile, so confident and glowing.

Here's Alina with her very best friend, Isa! Isa so sweetly gave her a candy lei for her Graduation! These two can't get enough of eachother.

Lita, Aunt Maj & Grandma Carol were all their to support Alina. She had such a fantastic year. We are all so proud of her! The beautiful flower lei was given to her too....she's a popular girl!

Thanks, Leeanna, for taking the time to take our family pictures. Here's Alina with her best friends, Isa & Nana.
Mrs. Arriaga is a wonderful teacher. I was so impressed with her and through my tears I expressed my appreciation for her efforts. Because of her, I felt confident that Alina was in a completely safe learning environment. Mrs. Arriaga is very special to Alina too!

Kinder friends from church!

Alina & her close friend Ali! These two held hands walking to their classroom everyday.

More Kinder friends from church! JJ has his arm around Alina. Those two have been friends since they were 3 yrs. old. Also, little Bryson has been a sweet friend to Alina over the years & she adores him.

Alina had a wonderful day at her graduation. Yay for summer! Swimming is what Alina looks forward to the most. Now on to summer adventures with good friends & 1st grade is right around the corner!

Preschool Grad!

2011-09-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

Summer 2011 is quickly approaching which means we have 2 Graduations back to back! We'll start with Desi Jose! Here he is, happy as can be with his teachers, Mr. Tom and Ms. Peggy. Desi was quite social and he met a bunch of nice friends in preschool. He stuck with his best buddies from church, Brayden and Zach.

Desi looked so handsome for graduation. And he was so tickled to get all the attention. Here he is with his close friends, Zach, Antonio, and Montana. I love that he's sometimes affectionate
with his friends.

Here we are....the 5 of us! Celebrating Desi's big day!

Desi had a wonderful preschool experience where he learned to work well with others and to treat his friends with kindness. Next year, he is attending a transitional kindergarten where he will be introduced to more academics so that he can be more prepared for Kindergarten. We are so thrilled for the adventures ahead of us!

May 2011

2011-09-03T22:50:00.000-07:00

My Desi is finishing up pre school and he's in a big old hurry to grow up. His favorite days are Monday/Wednesday/Friday when he attends preschool with his best buddies, Zach and Antonio! In May the kids had a field trip to the Roller Rink. This was Desi's first roller skating experience. And though he did not actually get the hang of it, I felt really relieved that we walked out of there without any broken bones. I know my Desi and wheels under his shoes just is not a good idea for my clumsy boy. I have to smile when I look at the second picture of the boys holding up their skates......originally we asked that they all stand for the photo. That idea was quickly nixed when we realized that they couldn't even stand on their skates without one of them falling. But at least they had a fantastic time! Desi is such a fun little dude who makes friends so easily. I'm amazed by him because he's so gentle and sweet and I can tell that his peers are drawn to him because of his great attitude. I just wish he would stop growing up so fast. I fell in love with Desi when he was a chubby little infant. And now he is growing into a handsome boy. I love him because he always needs his Mama. Each day that goes by I love him more and more!

And my Cruzie is approaching age 2. And he loves exploring this interesting new world that he's learning about. Among his favorites right now are Disney's Cars 2 and as you can see from the picture he's learning all about himself (including the protruding things he found on himself & crevices as well : ))

Easter

2011-04-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny came over the weekend. Lucky for the kids! Truthfully, the Easter Bunny almost forgot to do all that extra stuff......But lo and behold.....the baskets were prepared! Phew! Easter Sunday was spent with family. And we reflected on our Loving Savior & His Resurrection.

The kids found their Easter baskets, so we had candy coming out of our ears ALL day long.

We also colored Easter eggs with the kids. Desi created many unique colored eggs due to dipping them into every color available....kinda like a suicide of egg dye.

Our Cuzie is so much fun to watch. He's at such an entertaining age. I tried to get him to stand next to the kids for a pic, so I nudged him gently to go toward Alina. Well, he didn't appreciate getting pushed by Mommy so he had to pout in the corner. Candy makes him happy, so luckily he got over it.

He's very spoiled; you may have noticed.

But, he chews gum like a pro.

He says: no, don't, stop that, yeah! hey! wow! shoot! shoes, go, Desi, Dez, Mommy, Papi, cars, ball......that's all I can think of beside the basics, like night-night & bye-bye.

He loves to sing, "Happy Birthday to you!"

I think Cruz thinks he's older than he actually is. He can keep up with Alina & Desi.
He plays so well with them. He's even not afraid to stand his ground, when necessary, and throws a punch!

I managed to get a picture of me and my babies. They make me so happy. They ARE my whole entire world. I feel like without them, I would have nothing. Nothing to look forward too. Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with these beautiful children. Sounds cheesy, but its true. They teach me so much about myself. I learn something new everyday from them. And, man, being a Mom is hard work. They keep ya on your toes. But I'm rising up to the plate, head on. I'm so grateful that I experience growth with every challenge that I'm given. And I'm pretty sure, I have a long way to go...

On a lighter note:

This is weird for me to say, but I'm actually sick of chocolate. This never happens. Not even at Halloween. I did it to myself, really. I only bought jelly beans for the Easter egg hunt, which I'm not really a huge fan of....jelly beans.......and now any little piece of chocolate I see, I'm determined to wolf it down. Aaahhh, gotta love Easter. And of course, it's right before Summer. The time of year when you actually have to get in a swimsuit. There's a reason why I only wear suits that come with a skirt and unfortunately it's not about modestly....it's called, cottage cheese (lots of it)...YUM! Saddlebags are another term I like to refer to, when describing my fantastic rear end...

Great!

Summer, here we come!

my running partner.....

2011-03-17T21:19:00.001-07:00

pooped out on me today! I set out to take a steady jog around the neighborhood with my long legged, pretty in pink, partner in crime and how many times does she stop to take a break?? Not once, but three times! NOT the kind of training I was hoping for. But at least she's trying. And, hey, at least she looks cute!

We won't even discuss taking off those training wheels. Miss cautious won't have it!

As we were running/biking in unison she turns to me and says, "Isn't this fun? Exercising together!"

Alina said this to me recently and I was quite impressed: "My teacher said that whenever we see an American flag, we should say The Pledge of Allegiance quietly in our minds. So whenever I'm in the car and I see the flag, I say it quietly so no one can hear me."

Oh, I love how children are so teachable. She does everything exactly how she is told by her teacher and I think it's just great! I learn so much from her!

Next, I promised Desi he could have a go at being my running buddy. I have a feeling I'm going to be chasing him all over the neighborhood & praying for his safety.....the boy has no concept of looking & listening for cars.

I can't believe I have a 6 yr. old!

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

Alina could not WAIT to be six. According to her all the cool stuff happens at 6. She gets to grow taller, lose teeth, and go to first grade. I gave her a choice as to what theme she wanted for her Birthday party and she chose a princess party. Big shocker, I know! She handed out her invitations to all her friends and told them how excited she was to have them at her party. No boys allowed, of course! She checked her calendar every day to tell me how many days it was until her Birthday. It couldn't come soon enough. When the big day finally arrived, she must have changed princess dresses at least 3 times before her party. I had to laugh, because I did that often growing up.......well, and it happens to me even now a time or two. It's a girl thing, for sure. All her friends came in their beautiful dresses. Before I get into all the details of the party, I have to mention that we have such wonderful friends in our life and we are so grateful for them. Sweet & compassionate friends came to help with the party, and they weren't even asked to do so. Jason and I really recognize and appreciate the good people in our life! So thank you, thank you!!

Upon arrival, each girl decorated their own princess crown. Then, I put Jason to work! He escorted the girls one by one to each of their place settings at the tea party table. Alina got a kick out of seeing her Papi take her friends by the arm to join her at the table for lunch. I think the girls really felt special too! It seemed to set the tone for the tea party. Then "Cinderella" came in to join the girls for tea (juice). Cinderella was played by my brothers fiance, Aunty Elisa. Boy do we just adore her to pieces and she played the part so wonderfully. She took the time to greet each girl and she stayed in character the whole time, which I imagine is quite difficult to do. After lunch Cinderella read a story about tea parties aloud to the girls. Then Cinderella lead the girls in a game of "find the hidden princess tiara." All the while, I had some fun, willing helpers at the face painting station. Next was the pinata, which was this huge doll and the kids had loads of fun at bat trying to break it open. Last but not least, the delectable cupcakes were made by none other than Christine from the http://www.thesweetlifecupcakes.blogspot.com/ She's a perfectionist! Her cupcakes are not just beautiful to look at, but delicious to devour.

Jay and I had such a great time with the girls. The princess party was definitely a success. And, now if I can just get time to slow down a bit! We were getting emotional thinking that this will be her 1st and only 6th Birthday. She'll only be 6 once......so best wishes for a fantastic year, Alina. We love you!

My Family

2011-01-24T22:02:00.000-08:00

These are just a few of my fav's!

Oddly enough, lately I've taken an interest in Photography. My best friend is REALLY passionate about it & I'm afraid it's rubbed off on me! Luck for us, she came home for Christmas and wanted to take her new camera out for a spin. She acted like we were doing her a favor, to give her a bit of experience under her belt. HA! I'm so sure! She totally ROCKED! The pics turned out fabulous.

Now that I'm turning into a photography snob, I'm saving up for one of those really nice camera's ( I'm not sure which one yet....gotta lot of researching to do!) But, I want one desperately. Oh, yes, and through this experience I learned that I need photo shop too, because it's oh so magical. I can wipe away a slobbery face, snotty nose, erase a funky hair that's out of place, and most importantly....get rid of my wrinkles! I'm sold! I'm probably preaching to the choir, but, I'm amazed at all the things you can do to tweak photos. For example, Felisha had to learn how to do a head swap, so that we could get a decent family pic. Miracles! It was not the best day for a photo shoot. Cruz wouldn't cooperate, and we realized later it was because he was sick with a double ear infection. Poor guy. Not to mention, it was less than 40 degrees outside, by the river. Well, probably about 40, but felt way colder. I'm indeed so grateful and so blessed because my family is beautiful!

Thanks so much, Felisha! xoxoxo

Favorite Pics from 2010

2011-01-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

Desi & his best buddy, Zach! These 2 go to preschool together.

Cruzie & Desi hanging out in their PJ's all day! I love how they're snuggling in the chair together.

Ward Christmas dinner. These girls love to be silly!

And they all have such beautiful smiles too!

Jason & I at a really fun Christmas party!

Alina loves to help Grandma Carol cook/bake. Cruzie's getting in on the action too! He'll do just about anything the older 2 do!

November

2010-12-28T21:50:00.000-08:00

Boy oh boy, have I got a LOT of catching up to do! Unfortunately, blogging seems to be slipping further & further down the priority list. In November, Alina's class had a Harvest themed class party where the kids participated in Scarecrow centers. And, ME, being the lucky Mommy that I am....got to help out for Scarecrow Day! I really enjoy being present in Alina's class. It's a wonderful way to stay involved & current with the things that she is learning. I love observing the way she interacts with others. She is a leader to her peers and a fantastic example of following directions. When she is asked who her friends are in her class she tries to name everybody, all 25 of them! Pics above are of my cute girly girl dressed like a scarecrow. Her close friend in her class is named, Mayori! Those two are so darling together.

The other two pics were taken before church one Sunday in November. Desi is in one of the 4 Sunbeam classes in our giant Primary. His teacher is Sister Warden, whom he adores. He has several friends in his class and he always comes home to report what he learned from church. We had to work with (threaten) him a TON about trying to be more reverent in class/sharing time. His teacher deserves a gold metal for putting up with him for so long, but she's got him listening pretty well now. We truly appreciate her patience! Dez is a wiggly, spacey kinda kid. We should know.......our FHE's are pretty interesting since he can't manage to remain seated for more than a minute. Despite our frustrations, we realized that he really was listening when he managed to say for memory the 1st two Articles of Faith. Miraculous, for sure! He cracks me up because he loves singing the Primary sings, but did we see him singing loudly in the front row of the Ward Primary Program?? Well......hmm.....NO! He just stood there! His lips didn't move once! Hahhaaaa! That's our Desi! He likes to fool people with his silly tricks.

Cruzie is 16 mos. So he gets to hang around with us during church. I absolutely love it! He's a joy to have around. My little buddy that I love spending time with. He doesn't rome around to far away from us.....he's always careful to stay in close proximity (yes, I had to rub that in!). I'm already getting nervous for when he needs to go to nursery. I will really miss that little guy because 2 hrs. is a long time to be away! I'm sure I'll adjust quickly though!

Alina is in the CTR-5 class in our Primary. Her teachers name is Sister Lindsey. Her teacher knows her so well! Alina gets so much love and attention from her. It makes me so grateful for these sweet Primary teachers who take the time to get to know and love all of the children. Alina has grown so much this year and loves reading her Sacrament book aloud to us. I can see her testimony growing and her love for the gospel is exciting!

Jason is currently the Elders Quorum President. I don't recall the exact month that he received this overwhelming calling, but if I had to guess, I would say he began his duties last June? I can't say enough of what an amazing person he is. He serves the Brethren happily, hence the continuous smile on his face!

Halloween 2010.......

2010-11-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

brought a SKELETON,

a BLACK CAT,

and IRONMAN!!

We were stuffed with candy after the ward Trunk or Treat. And were totally spooked at the Scoville's Haunted House! It's so much fun being there and since that was our 2nd yr. going, we are officially making it a Halloween tradition. LOVE IT!!!

Sunday, the kids walked around our street to do a little Trick or Treating. They didn't last long because they were itching to get into their candy (yuck!). We all ate enough to be sick! This year the kids enjoyed passing out candy, more so than actually Trick or Treating. All the costumes were fun & Alina was a great helper passing out candy. And my darling Cruzie stood at the door way waving goodbye to children, as they left. He even told them, "Tank tu!" (thank you)

PS. Just pretend our ugly blue door (pictured above) is black......because, well, it IS BLACK now! Hahaaahaaaa! Took a paint brush to that horrible door & made it pretty! Thanks Felisha for helping me execute this big project......because you know....executing projects is not my strong suit. Boy, am I proud of myself! :)

Miss Responsibility!

2010-11-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Alina for receiving her first Award at school for demonstrating RESPONSIBILITY! She was so happy and proud to be recognized. And Mommy & Papi were even prouder. We are so pleased with how well she is doing in Kinder this year. We treated her to a special lunch with just her & she soaked up every last bit of all that attention. Fantastic Job, Alina!

Preschool Trip to the Pumpkin Farm

2010-10-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hi from the Pumpkin Farm! Don't these precious boys look like brothers? This is Cruz with his buddy, Dillon. This pic was deleted.....grrrr! So I had to reattach it!

I took my boys to the Pumpkin Farm, where we met up with Desi's Pre-school class. Yay for pre-K!! Desi asks me everyday if he has preschool. He just loves his teachers and playing with all of his friends. It has been my saving grace since Alina is preoccupied every morning with Kindergarten. Dez misses her like crazy when she's gone and jumps for joy when she arrives home. In fact, before Alina leaves for school in the morning he has to give her a goodbye hug. And today he says to me proudly, "I'm her best friend!" That made me smile. I feel like such a lucky Mamma.Desi got a kick out of this giant pumpkin and I was just trying to escape the heat! Would you believe it was in the 90's in the middle of October? Definitely not Fall weather yet.

And Cruzie is my sweet little pumpkin who sat quietly in his stroller for most of the field trip.

Cute picture amongst the little pumpkins. He had fun holding his own pumpkin.

Desi with his girlfriends: Mia, Kami, and Montana. The hot sun was making us sticky and sweaty, so Desi wasn't as cooperative in front of the camera. I love how the kids are so proud of their pumpkins. This was Desi's favorite part and he must have picked 3 pumpkins before he made his final choice. Oh, and Desi's really into being scared so the scarecrow's were a big hit too! And here's Cruzie chillin' with his buddies, Dillon and Carson!!

Much fun was had by all this year at the pumpkin farm......until next year!!

The Big 3-0!

2010-10-18T13:08:00.000-07:00

Look who just turned 30! He finally joined the 30 club. Slowly catching up with me......and he's not pleased about it one bit! I invited some friends and family to join us for dinner at Joe's Crab Shack, where they made him wear a bib that said, "It's my birthday and I have crabs!" What's worse, is they made him stand up in the middle of the restaurant looking like a chicken trying to fly! He was a really good sport!

Look at him go! Everyone sang Happy Birthday to him & the crab is delicious! Scrumptious Smore cupcakes were for dessert made by my great friend, Christine.

Posing with my beautiful sister in law, Lucia, who's pregnant with her first! People in order: Dan (Jay's bro), Lucia, Marty(Jay's best friend #1), me, and Eric (his best friend #2)

The lovely Leeanna! I don't get enough pictures with this pretty lady......so I demanded that we get together for a shot! And below is a nice picture of me and my HOT DATE/Bday boy.

Jason had a fabulous party! We had a wonderful time hanging out with the ones we love. Jay, say goodbye to the 20's because they are long gone!

Congrats to our lil' man!

2010-10-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

Nothings cuter than seeing this little guy.... Walking!!Yes, that's right! Cruz started walking this month. He's 14 months now,so he's right on time and we couldn't be prouder. He's still pretty unstable, but he's gaining more and more confidence everyday. Now that he's exerting more energy during the day, he's FINALLY sleeping through the night too. PHEW!!I love how he follows the kids throughout the house. But most of all, I love how he sneaks up on me in the kitchen at just the right moment (when I'm eating a tasty, sugary treat) and demands that I share. He's such a nosy, but sweet pal of mine.

Our Beautiful Kindergartener

2010-10-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

Her first day was filled with all sorts of emotion and distress. Of course, it didn't help that we were all nervous and anxious for her. I tried to keep my own emotions under wraps. As we were walking in, we ran into GG who was already sobbing at the sight of her carrying her backpack. Oh mother!! Tears fell off my cheeks walking her into her classroom. I was fighting it! I wasn't ready to lose her just yet. Parents stood all around the classroom watching their children excitedly awaiting the first day of school to start.....but our Alina was begging us NOT to leave her there. We gave her one last hug and forced ourselves to walk out of her room so that she can compose herself and settle herself on her own. Alina is not shy about expressing her emotions & her feelings. So we struggled with her crying at the door of her classroom for almost 4 wks. I was exasperated & embarrassed! We tried everything under the sun to help soothe her anxieties....We had discussions with her about why she cries. We all prayed for her & challenged her to say her own prayer when she felt scared. We bribed her with candy & toys if she could walk in without crying. I confronted her teacher and asked that she be more welcoming when Alina walked into the class. The list goes on and on. Then one day it just stopped. And Kindergarten was a piece of cake after all that drama. She was settled & LOVING IT!!

Happy 4th Birthday Desi!

2010-10-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

Desi is finally 4 yrs. old. He's been really anxious & excited about being a "big boy". Well now it's official. His next big hump to overcome is wetting the bed at night. He's very close and now that he's 4, he's very determined to wake up at night if necessary. This is his HUGE grin from his Bday party @ Monster Mini Golf. We actually celebrated with Grandpa Raul and BBQed at our house. Kids hit the pinata, played games, and ate ghost cupcakes......lots of fun had by all! He has a few good friends and luckily these cute kids were ecstatic about going to Monster Golf. I was a bit worried that it would be too scary.....but certainly not for these tough guys.

Silly Bryson & goofy JJ made Desi's Birthday really fun, so it was a special night for the Birthday boy! I love his grin from ear to ear.

Everything was glow-in-the dark which is a big hit with the kiddies. Some of the displays were a bit spooky. Desi wasn't a big fan of "the piano man" and refused to golf in that area. Jay and I were cracking up!

My beautiful daughter, Alina, is getting so tall and grown up. I'm so impressed with how well she is turning out to be.

By the end of the night, the kids posed perfectly. So darling! I love how sweet Bryson is with Alina. It was a late night, but these kids were total party animals!
Saturday we all headed to the Bay area for a Giants game!

This is my favorite picture/memory. My sweet baby Cruz sitting quietly at the baseball game. Totally content with devouring red licorice. He was a sticky mess...but a cute, sticky mess! Having the kids at the game, made it more fun.

AT&T Stadium was freaking awesome. The view was spectacular. There was even a slide & play area for the kids.

The Giants played the San Diego Padres and lost which was lame. I actually got into the game! I guess the enthusiasm from all the Giants fans was contagious. Dez had a tough time sitting for such a long period of time....oh, and the only embarrassing incident was when Desi flipped his finger full of mustard in the air and, of course, a glop of mustard splatted on the lady next to him. Not bad for a whole day at the ball game!

Lake Tahoe

2010-09-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

There are so many reasons why I love Lake Tahoe. The fresh smell of pine makes me feel so relaxed and refreshed. Long walks where we can explore and discover. Tahoe City = shopping + ice cream. You can't go wrong there! Here are just a few of my favorite pictures taken from our beautiful family vacation. As you can see, Alina & Desi are feeling quite at home amongst the tall trees. I appreciate the sweet memories that we make every summer here. And the kids never want to leave!

This was our first attempt at River rafting with the kids. The Truckee River is gorgeous and had the perfect amount of small rapids that the kids could enjoy. Alina wasn't feeling safe until she knew that there were no waterfalls. She's our cautious worrier.

Mommy & Papi especially love Lake Tahoe! We are such big fans of sun & sand. Of course, Hawaii is #1 on our list, but Tahoe is right up there too...

Cruz feels really comfortable in water. A little too comfortable! He would crawl his way towards the water & smile HUGE when the waves crashed on his face. Honestly, most days he got more wet than even I......that water is chilly!

Sure, he ate his fair share of sand. But that muddy, wet sand texture was too good to pass up. He and the kids played in the sand for hours. Desi surprised us the most. Once we arrived at the beach, Dez would sit at the shore and play and build all day long. We never heard from him unless we called him up for lunch.......it was extremely relaxing to not be bothered.... : ) bless his heart!

See that forced smile that Desi has on his face? He adopted that weird smile after the first day of vacay. I guess we take too many pictures. I love the pine cone too. It kinda just represents where we were. We stayed at a beautiful cabin/condo right on the Lake with my parents. They'll do anything for their grand babies!

Familia de Solis!

until next year

7

2010-08-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

7 wonderful years of marriage with my "guy smiley." Sheesh! This guy smiles ALL the time! Isn't it just the coolest thing? Well, I think so, anyway.........it's one of the MANY reasons why I married him! Not to mention the fact that he's drop-dead gorgeous. Tall! Tan! Athletic! Spiritual to the core!! I love that he loves people. He's a people person. He truly, genuinely cares for others. He puts family first, his needs are always second to mine & the kids : ) I could go on & on.......He's one AMAZING guy.

Happy Anniversary, babe. You make me so happy. I'm so glad you're stuck with me FOREVER because I know i couldn't live without you! Our actual Anniversary was Monday, but we celebrated in Lake Tahoe when we vacationed there a week ago.......stay tuned for that post!

A Celebration for Cruzie!

2010-08-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

Cruzie finally got his party! And, boy, he is a party animal! He loved all the attention and love he was getting. Somehow he knew it was ALL for him. He was surrounded by close family and friends. Jason got to show off his BBQ skills with his new BBQ. He made yummy carne asada. I slaved in the kitchen and baked a round cake that concaved and eventually broke in two. I'm no Martha Stuart! With tears, I smarted up and called in a favor to a friend who is more than talented in the baking department! It all worked out tho....because Cruzie got to go to town on the disastrous cake while I served the nice cake to my guests. As you can see, Cruz thoroughly enjoyed his Bday cake and was covered from head to toe in chocolate. The kids all played so well together w/ barbies, slip n' slide, video games and the pinata. We couldn't have asked for a better party for our sweet baby boy.

*and good news for Cruz! He was evaluated yesterday by a physical therapist who laughed in our face and told us that there is no way he will qualify for physical therapy. He's doing so much now! Not only crawling, but Cruz is cruising the furniture and she said that she predicts that he will start walking in 6-8 wks. We giggled when she said that his evaluation was the easiest she's ever had. So he got an A+! We're so happy, relieved and proud of him!

My Cruzie

2010-07-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday Cruzie-boozie!

Your Mommy & Papi love you very much.

We are so happy that you are crawling all over place

(2 wks. ago you finally had had enough laziness and took matters into your own hands!)

We adore your light eyes and wispy, blonde hair.

We are just now starting to sense a little moodiness from you.

Mommy forgot temper-tantrums come as young as 11 mos.

But your laugh is our favorite thing about you, it's intoxicating!

Smiling and laughing come so easy to you.

It's been a wonderful year! Now if you could just do us a favor and stop growing!! Mommy doesn't want to give up the baby stage quite yet.

xoxo

(and, no, i didn't let him munch on that battery)

Go Cruzie!

2010-07-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

I had a great dream last night. I dreamt that Cruz started crawling. Oh, how I am patiently awaiting the day my sweet Cruzie decides to crawl. Cruzie! Mommy has been praying for you soooo hard. I think it's time! Sometimes you rock on your hands and knees and it looks like you are gunna just take off. Then nothing happens. You're such a tease! You are even starting to pull yourself up onto certain chairs. This is HUGE for you! Mommy is so proud of this new confidence and strength you've gained. Just do it, Cruzie! Take the plunge. I assure you that Mommy is ready. I will chase you through the house and break my back if it means that you'll get into a little mischief.

He has the most calm demeanor and I know that I should be grateful that he's not into everything like most 1 yr olds! He will be a yr. old @ the end of July. He really has given me a break (thanks, Cruzie). I don't have to close bathroom doors or baby proof the house. He sits quietly and plays with his toys without complaint. I'm such a lucky Mommy!

But I'm so ready to chase a crawling Cruzie. We have noticed the kids praying for Cruzie too. We'll keep everyone posted. Hopefully good news soon.

This boy's sweet as sugar!

2010-05-27T16:42:00.000-07:00

Dez really knows how to make his Mommy feel extra special. I'll never get sick of freshly picked flowers from the backyard, even if they are considered weeds. I sure do love the cool art projects he comes home with from Primary and playgroup with which he insists are "for Mommy!" Supposedly, no one else is allowed to touch his art projects that he's made for ME......so cute. And to top it off, something that I certainly will never forget is the large, beautiful flower bouquet I found in my kitchen! Hmm, I began to wonder if Jason had thought to buy me an early Mother's Day gift.....yeah, the chances of that are pretty slim. Well, sure enough it was my sweet, darling son! As he stood in line at the store, shopping with Aunt Maj, he says to her, "I want to get flowers for my Mommy!" What provoked this act of kindness? I'm not sure? I thought for a moment, "he must have been missing me." Whatever the reason, yes, this kid just melts my heart with his incredible sweetness. I sure don't know where he gets it.......Sorry Jay, but it's definitely not from you. I'm not trying to be mean. Honestly J tries really hard. Haha! Okay, I'll shut up now!

Pre-School Grad.

2010-05-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

Boy, it was a BIG day for our sweet Alina girl. She had her Pre-school Graduation today. I found myself with mixed emotions. It was all I could do to not burst into tears when they played the music, as all the children walked to their spots on the stage. Alina had a huge grin. I'm pretty sure my smile was from ear to ear too. Wow, this is really it. She's officially a Kindergartner now. I'm filled with loads of excitement for her. Gee, and it's FREE.......it will be nice to not have to pay $$ each month! Then there are times when I feel like this is all going way too fast. Boohoo! But she's so ready. You go girly! I'm so proud of you. And I'm so gunna miss you next year while you're busy learning new things in Kindergarten. Just a bit of Mommy advice, just be yourself and you'll do great.

She's my little fashionista, that Alina! I walked out of my room after getting dressed this morning and she declared with much enthusiasm that she LOVED my shoes. "Those are my favorite! Where did you get them?" Then we get to school and she sees one of her teachers in the parking lot and she tells me, "Oh, Miss Sarah looks so cute today! I love her outfit!" I had to laugh because I remember when I was a little girl, I looked forward to seeing my teachers every morning. I loved inspecting their outfits from afar and picking my favorites. Alina had her "graduation outfit" planned for a week. It was Barbie.......YUCK! Thank goodness she ended up choosing the fun floral dress instead.

Well, now we're moving on to the next big adventure. Summer? Really? I really have to try to entertain all three kids ALL SUMMER? Hmmm, maybe I'm not so sad about Kindergarten after all!

Springs Here!

2010-05-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

And we welcomed this Spring in style. Alina and I got to be apart of a beautiful spring wedding! Congratulations to our great friends, Bryan & Nancy Williams (a tad bit late cuz it was in April). I was a bridesmaid, for the hundredth time :) But, Alina got to be a flower girl for the 1st time.

I was so impressed with Alina! She walked down the isle slowly and with a smile, just like she was instructed. She was so excited to get all dressed up. Like most girls, she's a sucker for the poofy white dresses.

This pic is my favorite one! We were just having a little fun with the camera and the "model" in her came out. Very fierce!

My beautiful blessings!

2010-04-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

It saddens me to see how big Alina is getting. She turned 5 in March! She had 3 birthday parties, which is kind of a trend we have started a couple of years ago. We celebrate with my side of the fam, and we also travel to the Bay area to celebrate with Papi's side of the family. She's so very loved. She was delighted to get a beautiful princess dress from GG.

Of course she HAD to share her birthday fun with a few friends from church. Chuck E. Cheese is where it's at for the kids her age!

This photo melts my heart! Little Cruzie loves to be engaged with close play with his older sibs. I can tell that Cruz really enjoys water because he has so much fun splashing around. Alina & Desi are great helpers during bath time, too.

We have been having so much fun lately it's actually getting pretty exhausting. I had to laugh when Dez fell asleep just after a few short minutes of starting the car! This kid's zonked, mouth WIDE open and all.

My sweet Cruzie has been a real JOY. He's 9 mos. He has his bottom two teeth in and is currently in the process of cutting his top teeth. The teething process, I can certainly do without. But, it comes with the territory! I think Cruz is looking more & more like J. Thank goodness he has MY hair color & texture. We joke that he's a white version of Jason.

He 's so playful and fun. Not to mention, the biggest flirt EVER! He's always smiling for the ladies. Wow, and we're amazed that he STILL has his blue eyes.

I'm having so much fun raising these beautiful babes!

Total A-D-D.....

2010-04-07T16:14:00.000-07:00

with my hair. Just look at the hair people! Perhaps a better term would be bipolar? I've just been getting really bored with my hair so I'm going from one extreme to the next.... We've got lots of blonde or, orange, rather. Mind you, this picture was taken on New Year's Day.

In February, we went for the dark Kim Kardashian look. Minus the really great tan. This was really different for me and pretty tough to get used too. It seemed to have washed me out, so maybe it would be better to try this in the summer when I have more of a tan.

Here we are in April with some beautiful warm brown shades weaved in. I'm liking this for now. For my hairs sake, I really should just LEAVE IT ALONE before it all falls out. Just thought I would share the very wide range of colors I've been experimenting with lately!

Life.

2010-04-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

Life is completely overwhelming right now. We have a million things going on all at once. When I get a moment to be by myself and reflect, I think about all of my many blessings. The Lord truly does love each and everyone of us. I have noticed his hand in my life, even though it may seem like I'm going a million miles an hour. I see it. I know He's taking care of me and my family. Life is good. He wants us to be happy. And because of the sacrifices of our Lord and Savior, I do have happiness! And I'm eternally grateful for Him. I have so much gratitude in my heart for my wonderful husband. Wow, he's such a good man. And he works hard to be a better man, better husband, and better father. Like that's even possible! I think I was pretty smart to have snatched him up and marry him, way back when. Life has thrown us a couple curve balls that we didn't see coming. That's okay! In our obstacles, we are able to rely upon eachother, draw strength from one another, and endure together. I'm pretty confident that our marriage has been strengthened through these trials and I'm so glad that I have a faithful companion to weather the storm with. Jay and I are getting closer to 7 yrs. of marriage!

Since I haven't been a faithful blogger, I'm going to do a quick recap of what the kiddos are up to!

Alina is 5 now. My little girl is not so little anymore. It makes me sad to think about how fast it all goes. I remember when she was just a baby, learning to walk in Hawaii. She was the prettiest baby girl! Even then she had that confident independent spirit about her that I admire. For her 5th B-day, we had a little Birthday Party for her at Chuck E. Cheese. Boy, she smiled from ear to ear throughout the whole entire night. She felt like a star on that stage dancing with the Chuck E. Cheese mouse. I've seen so much growth in her this year with preschool and her CTR 5 class @ church. She's such a great friend-very loving, affectionate, and social. Some of her best friends are boys and she can definitely out run some of her boyfriends. She runs like a gazelle with those long legs! She's getting more of a sassy attitude lately. Very persistent, stands her ground and WON'T back down. But, I think that's a good thing. I love that she's strong and won't let people walk all over her.

Desi is 3 1/2 and potty trained......phew! That was not any easy feat! Alina has been a big help with Desi. The two of them are the best of friends. They entertain eachother. She and Dez love to wrestle, tease, fight, color pics together and chase eachother around the house. Dez just adores her and wants to do whatever she is doing; sometimes that includes playing Barbies w/ her. Dez is a lover of movies, dinosaurs, his friend Bryson, guns & swords. Dez also adores his Grandpa! They fix things together w/ their tools, or work outside together doing yard work. He's still a Momma's boy, which I love! He just loves to cuddle & snuggle with me and I've noticed that he loves being close to baby Cruz. He still sucks his thumb and keeps his blanket close. But, he's excited about life. He has that desire to be a "big boy". His speech is fantastic. He's currently doing well in his Sunbeam class and he also participates in a "playgroup" twice a week with kids his ageand really enjoys that.

Cruzie has been such an angel his whole entire 8 mos. of life. He's just along for the ride- so chill! He gets so excited when the kids play with him. Cruz is very aware......when someone else holds him he'll watch me.....He knows his Mommy. When Jay gets home from work Cruz kicks his little legs and cries until Jay comes to pick him up. He just loves his Papi and smiles so big when he gets attention from Jay. Because of Cruz' laid back disposition he gets passed around @ church & family gatherings and he's just okay with it. Other people love that he never cries, so he gets lots of love. He brings people happiness. I've really noticed that! He makes people happy; sometimes I have to argue just to get him back.....and I worry someone will wanna take him home! Cruz is officially the easiest baby. He eats really well. He sits and plays with toys without a fuss. Though he's not very mobile......most of his baby "friends" are already rolling and crawling and poor Cruz seems stuck in one spot! He just hasn't figured it out that he can get around and cause trouble. I think a big part of it is his personality. He's so content and happy. He's not in any hurry- so I'm just gunna enjoy not having to chase after him (and pray, in the meantime, that he doesn't need therapy).

Our 2nd annual Disneyland trip!!

2009-10-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

Here we go again......playing ketchup. My apologies to my dear friends and fellow followers! haha, I'm sure you shed tears over this. My blog was under reconstruction. Isn't it just beautiful now? My brainy BFF gave my blog a lil' love, time & affection. I'm so pleased with the way it turned out. Thanks Felisha! So, like I said......I'm back on the bloggin' train. HOOT, HOOT! Last November 2009 we had a fantastic trip to LA and of course, the lovely Disneyland. Alina & Lita standing in front of the castle where the princess' live. It's amazing to see how much Alina looks like her Grandmother.

The Dumbo ride is always a must! Here is a family picture, minus our 3 yr. old son, Dez, who was going through a no photo phase. We even bribed him with candy.......very stubborn! Our little Cruzie was a complete angel and rode most of the rides with us. Even managed to sleep through a couple rides.

The kids met Tigger. I love the smiles on their faces. Complete bliss!

The country bear ROCKS! This is another cute one of the kiddos. Desi wore his pirate shirt, but then ended up throwing a fit at Pirates of the Caribbean. It was more like a panic attack because he was so scared. We had to get him out of the line STAT. Funny though, after the fun day of all the rides, when I asked Desi what his favorite ride was he said, "pirates!" I was seriously confused since he never actually went on that ride. Here we are, all 5 of us! Desi 's being a total booger, though. Cruzie was 3 mos. for his first DL experience. I'm thrilled that we still managed to enjoy our trip with a new baby in tow.

Cruzie's a PARTY ANIMAL! Never a murmur or complaint from this kid. No joke.

Mommy gets some cuddles too.

The kids got to dress up for the Mickey Mouse trick or treating party at California Adventure. I soooooo would love to do this again next year. The kids had a blast. Lots of people, candy, and characters walking around all over the place. We have tons of pics of the kids w/ the different characters. There were DJ's w/ really cool music that you can get down to. Next year Jay & I want to dress up. As you can see, we had a fabulous time. As always, we adored seeing all our family & friends. Look forward to seeing everybody next time! Until next time.....

CRUZ'S BABY BLESSING

2009-09-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

LOOK AT MY LITTLE MEN ALL DRESSED IN WHITE, READY FOR THEIR SPECIAL DAY AT CHURCH. THIS CUTIE BELOW IS DESI ON THE DAY OF HIS BABY BLESSING. HE WAS 2 MOS. OLD. WASN'T HE A FATTY?HE SLEPT THROUGH HIS BLESSING. BUT A VERY SPECIAL BLESSING WAS GIVEN TO HIM.

DO YOU THINK THAT THESE BOYS LOOK LIKE BROTHERS YET?ABOVE IS OUR LITTLE CRUZIE (2 MOS.). HE HAD LOTS OF FAMILY COME TO CHURCH TO WITNESS HIS BABY BLESSING.

HE WAS WIDE AWAKE AND SO QUIET AND MELLOW FOR HIS BLESSING. THAT SEEMS TO BE HIS DISPOSITION SO FAR. AREN'T I LUCKY! HE TRIED TO PULL A FAST ONE AND HE SOILED HIS DIAPER JUST MINUTES BEFORE. SO I WAS IN A SCRAMBLE TO GET HIM ALL CLEANED UP. NICE SMIRK!

Tahoe Trip!

2009-09-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

Before the summer ended, we escaped to beautiful Lake Tahoe. We stayed in a fabulous condo right on the lake. It was completely relaxing and so wonderful to spend time together as a family. We had tons of fantastic pictures, but here are a couple of my fav's! Here we are, the 5 of us. It didn't hit me till' I saw this pic. that we are now 5!

Alina is an amazing big sister. She told me today that her favorite thing to do is to hold and play with baby Cruz.

The kiddos were so excited about their new warm PJ's and boy did they come in handy......the evening's were freezing!

I couldn't get these guys away from the sand, they had a blast making sand castles.

Jason played golf for the first time and did really well!

Dez throwing rocks into the lake.

We just LOVE Lake Tahoe. We wish we could go back.

welcome home

2009-08-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly, the kids took well to having a new baby in the house. They both have to greet him every morning with a good morning kiss (at 7am!) I'd say the hardest adjustment that they have had to deal with is STAYING HOME, with a very exhausted Mommy, I might add. Before Cruz, Alina made sure we didn't linger around the home front for too long. So, Alina and Desi have been a bit stir crazy. They've settled into a routine of wrestling (until someone gets hurt!) Whining has been at the top of the list! Oh, and we must not forget all that wonderful teasing! This is Cruzie at 2 weeks. Not looking at all like his siblings!

Mommy's Awesome Helper!

Nothing like a headlock and a kiss.

Here's our little monkey at almost 4 wks. He's getting chunkier by the minute.

Too cute for words.

i'm in love....

2009-08-22T18:11:00.000-07:00

with these sweet cheeks and puckered lips! I literally smooch him ALL day!

We're having so much fun.

introducing....

2009-08-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

Cruz Jason Solis
July 21st @ 3:08 pm Weighing 8Lbs. and 2oz.
with a height of 19 1/2 in.

here's me, pretty pooped, but so happy to have my sweet baby in my arms, at last!

proud Father of 3!

here's GG, looking great after finishing chemo and wearing her hat with style!

waiting!!

2009-08-01T17:17:00.000-07:00

This is me and the kiddos! I was 40 weeks and feeling pretty worn out and uncomfortable.

I know it sounds selfish, but I hate prego pics of myself so I steered clear of anyone with a camera. The waiting game was sooooo hard. I was doing everything they say you should do to start your labor, including maternity acupressure! I even ate a prego pizza piled high with gobs of garlic and NOTHING!

Here we are at the hospital! FINALLY! I pretty much walked and walked and walked to get this baby out and it finally paid off. Needless to say, I was exhausted when I finally was admitted into the hospital. I had contractions ALL night long 10 minutes apart, the previous night. Towards the early morning hours they were getting fierce. My Dr. checked me when we got there (around 10 am) and I was dilated to 5 1/2. I toughed out the contractions with the help of my darling husband and best friend, Felisha, who is due with her first child in 2 weeks. I didn't mean to traumatize her......but, I probably did. This time around, I was determined not to have an epidural. With my previous kids I had horrible experiences with my epidurals and I didn't think that they actually worked on me. In between a couple bites of a yummy Quizno's sandwich, my bag of water popped on it's own. I was shocked and surprised b/c it has never popped on it's own and boy, the warm water gushing out everywhere felt really great. Basically after that, I was ready to push (this is my least favorite part). Jason said that I pushed maybe twice. I really wouldn't know because I was too busy screaming, "GIVE ME DRUGS!" And I'm not over exaggerating when I say, kicking and screaming. I completely lost control.

When they plopped my precious baby boy on my chest, I was really relieved that it was over. It was a bit of a shock because Cruz had pink tones in his skin and light brown hair, even dark blue eyes (for now). We joke that he's our little white baby. Finally, I got one that looks like me........so far! I'm sure he'll change, as he's growing so quickly already! We're so happy to finally have Cruz here. We all adore him. He 's got such a sweet disposition. And what a lucky boy he is, to have an older sister and brother who love him to pieces.

one final note: Through this dramatic experience I figured out that my epidurals do indeed work!

look how big we are getting!

2009-06-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

2009-04-09T14:57:00.000-07:00

Lost the blogging bug slightly. I'm sure it shall return with baby #3 coming in 3 mos. Luckily, I have been carrying my camera everywhere I go as not to miss any cute photo moments. Below are a compilation of a few of my favorites!
Enjoying a Mother-Daughter day of SHOPPING! Here's Alina posing with the Easter Bunny... (that's the closest we're gunna get to Easter pictures this year). She couldn't resist these cute shades. She wanted them, of course, but I told her instead of buying them for her I would take a picture of her in them. That seemed to work! She's such a fun shopping partner. Shopping, yet again. This time the girls (Alina w/ friend, Aubrey) found these adorable sun hats! SPRING HAS SPRUNG!( sniff, sniff) This cute shot makes my nose itch. My allergies have been killing me lately. I just loved watching the kids explore in this beautiful meadow by our house. My kids love posing for the camera (w/ neighbor, Ali).

Alina's 4th Birthday

2009-03-16T16:41:00.000-07:00

here's my party girl. earnestly blowing out her birthday candles, without missing a single flame. so precise, this girl is! she wanted grandma to make her pinkalicious cupcakes. she specifically asked for pink cake with pink frosting.........pink, pink, pink. can you tell her favorite book is Pinkalicious?sure enough, grandma's cupcakes were a big hit. alina is always so happy to be at grandma's. after all, her and grandma are partners in the kitchen! alina rolls the bread dough and helps grandma press the cookie cutters into the dough. these two, no doubt, have a special relationship. i'm just in awe as i watch my daughter, who was a feisty toddler, bloom into a beautiful and smart little girl.

alina's a party animal! as you can see from the ear-to-ear smile, she is tickled pink about her perfectly pink party!

we surprised alina with a lunch out at her favorite restaurant, Chilli's! even papi spent his lunch hour out with us, which is a big treat.

i'm so proud of alina. she is so sweet and affectionate. even at her young age, she stands up for what she knows is right. she has put us all in check a time or two, when we think she's not looking. if i had the power, i would just freeze time to stand still at this moment because i really can't bear the thought of her getting any older.

Happy Birthday, to my favorite daughter.

It's a.......

2009-02-27T21:02:00.001-08:00

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Oh shoot! I never really mentioned that I'm pregnant, but, yeah...... We got ourselves a little bun in the oven. About 5 mos. along and already feeling pretty uncomfortable. That's the lame part of the whole deal. Anyways, our Son is due to join our family in July and we are all really ecstatic!

Winter months getting you down?

2009-02-18T14:09:00.000-08:00

Am I the only one feeling stir-crazy because of the freezing weather? I know that we so desperately need the rain right now, but enough is enough! After being trapped in my house with crazy kids that resemble wild animals cooped up in a cage, I decided that I'm ready to go back to paradise.......... So I did a little day dreaming, looked at these amazing pics from our wonderful stay in Hawaii, and ate some chocolate to make myself feel better.

Here's our Hawaiian baby when she was about 18 mos. She truly is an island girl, as she hates to wear restricting shoes and prefers sandals, even in this disgustingly wet weather. Oh, and I have to mention her natural ability to 'Hula'. I can only wish to have the coordination that comes so easily for her!

AHHH.....this glorious picture makes me take a relaxing deep breath and just sigh.

Now I can completely forget that I left Desi alone for 2 short minutes and he took a coloring marker and scribbled all over our couch and made a master-piece all over the wall, too! He's been pretty experimental these days. My favorite was when he left to go wash his hands in the bathroom and about a minute later I found the sink over flowing with soapy water. That was a fun mess to clean up.

Now, I must excuse myself so that I can pretend I'm sitting on a peaceful beach, with the hot sand in between my toes and the dangerous sun-rays attacking my ghostly white skin.

Warm wishes to you!

That's my boy!

2009-02-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how BIG my baby is getting. He has to remind me, "I a big boy, Mommmya!" As I swoop him up off the ground and carry him from room to room; as if he can't use his own two walking feet. Yes, i admit, I'm in total denial. I miss the sweet chubby cheeks he used to have his first year. He was so mushy and squeezable back then. It used to be so easy to plant a trillion juicy kisses all over his face and now he's simply too busy.

His hobbies include: "fixing" things with his tools- playing with little gadgets- sticking little objects into bigger objects (we recently found loose change, paperclips, and buttons inside our printer and it was impossible to retrieve all of it!)- making swords out of hangers or anything he can get his hands on that resembles a long sword- same goes for guns! He loves eating- watching Kungfu Panda- teasing Alina, and of course, he tries out his kungfu moves on his sister.

He is talking up a storm now-a-days. These are the things I hear on a daily basis: "She hit me! Oww, dat hurt meeee! Come chase me, Nina! Ewwww, stinky! Noooo, I do by myself!"

His latest and greatest comment recently has been when eating at the dinner table. When he burps, he says, "ooops, i farted!"

I swear, when I'm at work and Jay is playing with the kids.......I don't know what he is teaching them. But, I'm pretty sure it involves burping and farting because the kids get a kick out of talking about both topics.

My Mother

2009-01-24T14:40:00.000-08:00

This is my cousin's new tattoo! Quite large, if you ask me. But, no one is asking. So I'll keep my mouth shut. What she does to her body is totally her business. Wondering why the rather revealing photo? Well, do you notice the pink breast cancer awareness ribbon around the center star? This very permanent procedure was done in honor of my Mom.

Thanksgiving week 2008, doctors determined that the tumors found in her left breast were indeed cancerous. We were all devastated and sick with worry. It all happened so fast. In a matter of 3 weeks my Mom had 2 major surgeries: a procedure to remove the tumors, and finally, it was necessary for her to have a mastectomy. I know how difficult this was for my Mom, to look at herself in the mirror and feel completely abnormal and lopsided. Well, I guess I wouldn't know personally, but she has expressed her concerns to me and I remember not knowing what exactly to say to make her feel better. However, our family is so tremendously blessed. My Mom has so many wonderful people in her life who have reached out to her to help and support her.

After Christmas, we found out that she will definitely need Chemo Therapy treatments. So far, she has been sick, off and on. Everyday brings something new. No news is good news, in these parts. Recently, she has experienced a great deal of hair loss. My brother bravely shaved her head the other day, while we all watched! My Bro was sooooo scared, but he wouldn't admit it. He was afraid of her reaction and maybe even more worried of his own reaction? Seeing my Mom bald is a reminder of what she has been through. It's been difficult for me to see her so ill and weak. I've thought to myself on occasion, "If it could have been me, rather than her!" It's not that I think I'm stronger than her; It's that I would rather suffer, than see her struggle. It reminds me of our Saviors love for us. He truly sacrificed his life and died for us so that we can be happy and live again. He did it for love!

I love my Mom and i know that she will persevere, as always. Alina says to me, "Mommy, did GG get a hair-cut yesterday?

Me: Yeah, GG got a hair-cut because she's sick.

Alina: Mommy, GG's hair-cut is scary!

I had to laugh, because Alina gets scared of everything. I'm sure she'll get used to it.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-04T19:40:00.000-08:00

We definitely started off the New Year with lots of loudness & laughter & craziness! We had our 2nd annual New Year's eve celebration (without children....yeah:0). We began by having a relaxing dinner at Chili's with our great friends.......they're not only dear friends, but awfully brave, as well! Courage came into play when we hit up a Karaoke place called, Ru Ru La La! Boy, did we bring in the New Year with a BANG. This is all of us in our own private room. The privacy was awesome. We could goof off and be as loud and as off-key as we could.

Wow! Watch out Boys II Men! This is my Hubby showing off his sweet vocals. He also entertained us with his sexy Usher moves. To the right of Jay is Timmy-Tim-Tim, who got down on the mic. He rapped the Eminem song perfectly. No, that is not Jack Black to the left of Jay, that guy is our neighbor, Eric. We love his obnoxious and out-going personality. He really made the party ROCK! Not shown is Bruce, who loves to slow it down with a little Neil Diamond.

My best friend, Felisha, and I looking for more songs to belt out at the top of our lungs. Mariah Carey is our specialty.

The terrible trio. We are like Destiny's Child in the making! Check out Tanja's blog for a funny video clip of the 3 of us.

Disneyland

2008-11-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

Memories from our Family's first Disneyland experience (just a couple of thoughts I want to keep in my memory bank):

Walking into the park, the kids were so excited. Alina got pretty upset when we stopped for tickets. "Go this way, Mommy! Walk faster!"

We spent an arm and a leg to get our day passes. $$$$$

Kids would not take naps for fear of missing something.

Seeing the kids' face when they met Mickey Mouse.....priceless!
Mickey bends down for a pic with the kids and the first thing D does is grabs Mickey's big nose. Then, if that weren't funny enough, D gracefully plants a kiss on Mickey's nose.

Gazing over the beautiful castle where the princess' live (this is the conclusion that Alina has come to believe.)

Pirates of the Caribbean - Awesome ride! So what, if we made our kids go on it. It worked out okay. Alina felt uncomfortable with how loud it was and Dez disliked the downhill dips. No harm done!

Standing in line for an hour in the hot sun for the Nemo ride, but it was worth the wait when we finally saw Nemo & Dori.

Alina covering her ears.
Mommy & Papi getting lost! (Yes, we had a map in front of us and YES, I WANTED TO ASK FOR DIRECTIONS)
The anticipation that we all felt waiting for the Princess Parade. We wanted good seats, so we sat along Main Street for almost 2 hrs.
During the parade the Princesses waved to Alina. However, she was deeply offended that Belle didn't wave to her. I had to laugh, but I told her that it was part of the parade that Belle and the Beast had to dance together the whole time.
J and the kids bought big ol' ice cream cones, while Mommy devours her apple-pie caramel apple. Food brings me so much pleasure!
Alina covering her ears.....again! This was a trend for her for the entire day.
Watching Jason push our monstrous double-stroller, turning and maneuvering around slow people, hitting only a couple peoples ankles. We were in such a huge hurry to get to EVERYTHING that we didn't mind running over a few innocent people in the process. Meanwhile, our kids are lean'in back like they're low rid'in in a Cadillac.
"Small World" still wasn't up & running, so I almost cried.
The breathtaking fireworks show was amazing.
Feeling happy and excited the whole day, and later feeling bummed b/c we had to leave Disneyland! Boo,hoo

Candy Junkies

2008-11-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

Hugh! SO FRUSTRATING! I posted this in a BIG ol' hurry and have now realized that the pictures are in the wrong order. I told the kids that they could stay up and eat a couple of pieces of candy. We sat and talked about the funny things that happened during our spooky Halloween evening.

I definitely think that the kids enjoyed the candy eating part the best. Alina and Desi both picked a Tootsie Roll Pop to eat first. This is the part that Mommy started doing her damage. Let the candy binging begin! The cute picture below is Alina & her partner in crime, Mia. They were protected by a knight in shining armor, JJ, who is not pictured.

Papi is a Guitar Hero Rock Star! Princess Alina (again!) & Spiderman just itching to get out on the streets.

I'm so proud of my kids. I'm having so much fun being their Mother. This Halloween was the BEST yet! I am wolfing down delicious candy, now, as I write this post. In fact, I easily scarfed down over half of my kids' candy in a 24 hour period of time. I'm sure that I'm going to pay for this! I'm such a thief. Soon, I'll have an extra few dimples in my booty and a mouth full of cavities. But, boy am I a happy Mommy!I'm so thrilled about the way this Halloween adventure turned out for us. There was no crying from Alina, just a lot of giggling and screams of excitement. When she felt uneasy about our neighbor's haunted house, she verbalized her concerns and she decided that she preferred to not go in. Dez was such a trooper. He was getting exhausted towards the end of the night, so Aunt Maj carried him from house to house. She would drop him off at the doorstep and like a professional he would knock on the door and grab handfuls of candy. That's my boy! This year was so much fun because I felt like it was the first year the kids finally understood the concept of trick or treating and I am totally reaping the sweet benefits!!

fun quiz!

2008-11-02T19:25:00.001-08:00

The results are in and not too exciting for me, I might add!......No offense to hardcore Esme fans. I just really love Alice because she was more of a "hero." I've got so much anticipation for this movie, I could just pee my pants. For those of you who REALLY know me, know that I REALLY mean it (weak bladder!)

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Pumpkin Farm

2008-10-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

This month has been crazy busy. With all the Halloween celebrations, we definitely had to squeeze in a trip to the pumpkin farm. The kids loved to pick baby pumpkins, feed the sheep (rather, throw the animal feed onto the ground), and the train rides weren't scary this year (according to Alina). So that was a huge relief! Of course, the slides and the jumper were an even bigger hit with the kiddies. As always, it was a great time spent with wonderful friends. Alina & Aubrey adore each other and it's so much fun to watch Alina try to take care of Aubrey.

Kids enjoying a ride on the wagon!

Aren't these pictures of Alina & JJ beautiful?

These two are the sweetest best friends.

Merry Maid in training

2008-10-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

Alina is all about routine. If she does something one way once, it has to be done that way every single time. So she has started this habit of cleaning her room before she goes to bed. Nothing can be left on her floor, nor can her dresser be cluttered with extra do-dads besides her picture frames and lamp. Sound rather obsessive-compulsive? Perhaps.......I think it has more to do with the fact that she wants to have control over something (even if it's just one thing!)
Today my precious daughter blindsided me with this comment:
A: "Mommy, your room is yucky."
Me: "What? My room is yucky?
A: "Yeah, it's a mess. You need to clean your room, Mommy!"
That's all I need, someone besides my Mom nagging me about cleaning the house. Hmm, an idea has just come to mind......I'll have Alina clean my room. He,he,he

Got Food?

2008-10-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

Aunt Maj got Desi a t-shirt that says, "Got Food?" It's so appropriate for Dez because this kid will eat ANYTHING! Even Cat food, as you can see. I had my back turned and all I could hear was CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH!

He is just hilarious as he munches away. He really did enjoy eating cat food. I took it away from him right after I took these quick shots and he said, "Mommy, more cat food!" I tried to teach him that it was "yucky" but it was hard because I was laughing too much.

Try, try again!

2008-10-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

I've posted before about our morning devotionals.......yeah, well a while ago we missed a day. Then one day turned into 2 and 2 days turned into a week without our scripture time. I felt guilt ridden, but laziness took over and 1 week turned into 2 crazy weeks! I found myself feeling really down. When examining the situation, I felt like I was losing control of everything. My house was a mess, my kids were at each others throats, my laundry was backed up, I didn't feel organized at work, my kids were on the verge of killing each other and I really didn't feel enthused to cook dinner for the fam.....etc. The list goes on and on as far as the things that I felt needed to improve in the home. I know I was probably over exaggerating and it was just a mood swing that would soon pass; however, I took some time to assess what was missing and what I could improve upon. I often times get down on myself and feel inadequate as a mother. I have been told hat I'm way too hard on myself, which I know is true. After some thought it occurred to me that I have been running out of the house in a huge hurry in the morning and I have not been consistent in our mini scripture study. So I decided to try it (again!) to test it out a bit. I wanted to see if it really made a difference in my children's behavior. I was longing for that feeling of organization and control in my life again.

Well, guess what people? We got it back again.......that feeling, that peace! I have no doubt felt a more soothing spirit in our home. I'm completely floored and extremely pleased! My kids are more mindful of their behavior and pay more attention to how they treat each other. Desi is being reverent during prayer and he is even offering prayers now (with help). He is so tickled when I ask him who it is in the picture and he can tell me the name of the BOM prophet; "Alma" is his favorite. It feels so good to start off our day talking and singing about the Lord, Jesus Christ. We are definitely starting our day off on the right foot!

No, I'm not a genius and I certainly didn't think of this wonderful idea on my own. I started this morning scripture time after reading the Ensign Article titled, Changing Behavior One Verse at a Time.http://http//www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=182182066bda7110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1

read it and be inspired and implement it in your home. it is one of the best thing I have done with my children!

5 is the lucky number

2008-10-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Here are 5 photos that were recently taken at my friend, Brian's Wedding! It was a fantastic event. I am so happy for this lovely couple. It's wonderful to see love in action. I'm such a sap( I cried throughout the whole thing).

God's beautiful creations!

happy together!

Daughter's of God

My handsome boys!
sunset & moon - what more can you ask for?

Got Tagged?
My dear friend Courtney tagged me.

10 Years ago:

1. I was in college (shut-up Kevin)

2. single

3. dating many worthy suitors, but none as good as Jay

4. living in an apartment with fun roommates

5. sleeping IN!!!

5 things on my "To Do List"

1. Buy Jason a B-day present (his B-day is tomorrow!)

2. Go to the dentist

3. Read "Water For Elephants"

4. Go to the temple this month!

5. Clean, clean, clean

5 favorite snacks:

1. kettle corn

2. Jamba Juice

3. trail mix w/ chocolate chips

4. Fuji apple

5. last but definitely not least, GUACAMOLE!

5 places I've lived:

1. Rancho Cordova, CA

2. Fair Oaks, CA

3. Laie, HI

4. Hau'ula, HI

5. Concord, CA

5 Jobs:

1. Baskin Robbins

2. Substitute teacher

3. Summer School teacher
4. Skills Trainer

5. Mommy

Getting in the spirit of Halloween!

2008-09-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2006
In order to prevent this madness
the Solis family does some Halloween
prep!

In preparation for Halloween, the scariest time of year for Alina, I have been reading Halloween books to the kids and shopping for fun costumes in hopes of making this Halloween a non-frightening experience for Alina. WHY? You may ask, should I go through so much trouble? Simply because I WANT CANDY this year!!! Is that so much to ask? Every year I long for all the yummy miniature chocolate bars and Alina is just not coming through for her Mom. In past years, I'm practically pushing Alina to our neighbors doorstep to get the hook up with free candy. So with a little pressure .......whoop-DE-do, we got 2 measly chocolate pieces last year and I ended up having to give Jason one piece because parents have to share too. ( he was lucky he was with us- I contemplated hiding the chocolate to enjoy it all to myself!) Can you tell I'm a CHOCOHOLIC. I guess Halloween gives me a sweet tooth (I'm totally lying...it's an ALL year round battle for me).
So here's our conversation with the kids. By the way, it has nothing to do with chocolate. I've been feeling more and more that I need to remember the cute things my kids say because I will forget next week.

Mommy- "What are ya gunna be for Halloween?"
Alina- "A beautiful princess. And Desi wants to be Spiderman!"
Mommy- "Desi, what do you want to dress as for Halloween?"
Desi- "Spid-min!" (he has gotten awfully fond of Spiderman and has requested a Spiderman Birthday party. Not looking forward to having the trouble of a Spiderman cake. I was really pushing for a simple Sponge Bob square cake.)
Alina- "Mommy, what are you gunna be?"
Mommy- "I don't know, what should I dress as?"
Alina-"You should be a princess in your white dress." (my wedding gown)
Mommy- "What should Papi be for Halloween?
Alina- "Papi should be a prince! Mommy, can we go back to the smiley store (Walmart) to look for costumes again?"

I really hope that my kids love Halloween as much as I did when I was a kid. I will have to post an update after our scary Halloween night. I'm sure it will be completely dramatic!

unusual behavior

2008-09-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Am I seeing things? Have I gone completely nuts?? Could it really be my two children sitting with eachother contently? My chin must have hit the floor.......I was almost afraid to look away! Astonished and oh, so excited, I HAD to run and grab the camara to capture this very rare occasion. Des is sitting on Alina's lap in their recliner!

You see, these two crazy kids entertain each other by picking fights with one another. So, the usual scene at our house (isn't pretty) is Alina deviously laughing while running away with Desi's toy, meanwhile Desi is whaling and shouting through his tears, "that's MY toooy, Ni-na!" Oh, and the fun doesn't end there.......after someone either gets hurt or gets a timeout, they do it ALL again! So, I thoroughly enjoyed this small and peaceful moment because who knows when I will be see something like this again?!

POOL PARTY!

2008-09-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

Get a load of this CRACK up! Yes, this happens to be my Son modeling his latest swim attire. Doesn't he have the sweetest cheeks? The real story is that Mommy put him in his swim floaty backwards, so I'm sure it was a bit uncomfortable for him; however, he didn't seem to mind a bit........he loved all the attention he was getting. He was the butt of every joke!

Alina loved playing in the pool with Stephen (our German friend, who's here on vacation). He should be blessed immensely for his great patience. She was on him like glue and she never knows when to quit!

Lake Tahoe

2008-09-08T11:53:00.001-07:00

Niki and I have known eachother since we were kids! We only get to see eachother about once a year, so this was a treat to spend time with them again.

We went on our vacation with my brother and his adorable girlfriend, Elisa, and my best friend from Germany, Niki, (shown above) and her boyfriend, Stephen. We stayed in a comfortable condo close to Tahoe City. We ate out a ton, did a little shopping, beaching, and tennis. It must have been the first time this summer that I actually got a great tan.

I'd say that we did a little bit of everything. We played games, went tubing, even hit up South Shore so everyone could lose money gambling! I'm happy to report that we didn't lose a dime; mainly because we don't gamble! Jay and I rented Jet Ski's and I made sure to take the corners really fast and sharp in order to throw him off. That's the only way, it's FUN! Either that or following a boat and jumping off the huge wakes.......did that too!

Jay and I were so thrilled to take off for a few lazy days in beautiful Lake Tahoe. We put the kids to bed at my Mom's house and left from there. What I wasn't expecting was to get emotional because I was picturing them waking up in the morning and looking for me and asking for me. Needless to say, I got over it! I missed the kids like crazy, but it was tremendously refreshing to have a couple of days alone. And I'm probably a better Mom for it!

I've been tagged!

2008-08-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

Six Random Things About Me

I have been tagged by Olivia! Thanks, Liv, pretty sure you noticed that I was at a stand still. I have many unfinished drafts just waiting to be published......coming soon!

Here are the rules ...
1. Link to the person who “tagged” you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4. Tag six people at the end of your post.

5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Here goes......

1. Vacuuming my house helps me relax, so I tend to vacuum when I'm stressed.

2. When I buy new clothes I never wear them immediately. I feel like I need to wait for the perfect moment, like a special occasion or something.

3. I can eat GOBBS and GOBBS of chocolate chip cookie dough without ever getting sick.

4. I've been held-up at gun point by a bunch of angry cops. Yeah, that's a crazy story I'll have to share sometime.

5. Pedicures are painful for me. My feet are too sensitive to have people poking and prodding them.......not fun.

6. And lastly......sh,sh,sh, don't tell.....I pee with the door wide open. Unless in a public restroom, of course.

So, now that I've totally embarrassed myself. Here's who's up next! Have fun, ladies!

Tanja
Alisa
Suzanne
Nicole (you've probably done this a trillion times, but oh well. Thanks for informing me about "tagged."

Happy Anniversary

2008-08-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

My sweetie and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on Sat. August 16th! 5 years of marriage has gone by tremendously fast. We spent a relaxing day together without the kids. It was extremely refreshing. It brought us back to the summer 6 years ago when we first met. I laughed because Jason remembers every minute detail about out first date, including every item of clothing that I was wearing! No, he's not psycho, just really observant. It's so much fun to reminisce about the past. So, in attempt to preserve some great memories for my family I'm going to bore you all with the details of how we met.
My best friend and I went to a church young adult dance, as we often did to dance, dance, dance! Oh yeah, meeting cute boys was definitely a primary reason for going. However, sometimes it was easier not to think about the big question (Am I ever going to meet THE ONE?) For me, I just focused on learning some great moves on the dance floor so that I wouldn't get my hopes up if I didn't meet anyone special.

So it happened when I wasn't even looking at all. Jason was at the dance with one of his buddies from his mission, who happened to be from Sacramento. We were introduced through friends. We even danced in the same circle a couple of times to some fast songs ( I think they were following us!) In fact, I was so oblivious! As I look back, I remember acting so crazy that I grabbed my crotch and did a quick spin in effort to mimic Micheal Jackson. I was pretty desperate for moves apparently. When Jay asked me to slow dance I thought to myself, "Yes! He's actually taller than me, extremely good looking and a great dancer." Cha-Ching! After some great conversation and LOTS of flirting, I was a happy camper because he asked me for my number. And to my surprise, he actually used it. His friend told him to not call me for 3 days so that he wouldn't look too overly anxious (3 day rule?). I didn't know that guys played the rules too! We began dating seriously after that. I was so pleased because our relationship was so easy and comfortable. From the moment we met, our relationship just took off and it was smooth sailing from there. OOoh, I'm so grateful for Jason! If I had never joined the church at 18, I would have never met him and if he didn't serve the Lord on a 2 yr. mission he wouldn't have been at that dance with an old mission comp. Life is good! So thankful for the wonderful years we've had together and look forward to many, many more.

Morning Devotional

2008-08-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

Here I am again, trying to be consistent with morning scripture study. I'm noticing that this is a calming experience for Alina. She really loves listening to the children's Book Of Mormon Stories (filled with pictures) and learning every one's name. Because of much repetition she has the 1st Article of Faith memorized! M-F, if I'm lucky, I sit with the kids on the couch before all our daily activities. It only takes a few short minutes (majorly short attention spans). Most of the time Desi gets up to grab a toy and I haven't been too firm with him yet about sitting down the whole time......he's a busy little boy!

Here's what we do:

1. we sing a primary song- I try to introduce new ones so they can learn the less common songs and it takes weeks for them to finally get it.

2. read an Article of Faith, and again, lots of constant review

3. explain only 2 pics from the children's B.O.M stories

4. end with a morning prayer

We are discussing the story of Abinadi and King Noah. Sometimes I'm not too sure of exactly how much she is absorbing. However, the pictures do well illustrating that King Noah was wicked and that Abinadi was a prophet of God sent to warn King Noah's people to repent. There were times in our discussion when I would see a light bulb go on and it made me think that she's starting to understand. When Alina saw the pictures of Abinadi being chained and tied up, she was pretty intrigued. I explained to her WHY Abinadi was being held prisoner. Then she saw the picture of Abinadi tied to a steak with fire at his feet. I then tried to explain that Abinadi was more willing to die than to deny all the things he had testified of to King Noah's people and because he wouldn't take anything back, king Noah ordered him to be killed. She stared at the picture with a really sad face, so I asked her what was wrong.
Alina's response, "I miss Abinadi". She literally looked like she was about to cry. Wow, she has such a sensitive little spirit. But, I'm so proud of her for already loving the scriptures. It's such a joy and privilege to be able to teach my children the gospel!

Biker Dudes!

2008-08-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

Here's "WEZ" trying to ride his hot wheels!

These guys LOVE their helmets.

Alina rode her bike for the first time last week!

Here she is livin' on the edge.

We are so proud of our extreemly cautious little girl because she finally decided to live dangerously! Her poor bike was gathering dust in our garage and she wouldn't take a second look at the thing! I always thought that it was so strange for a kid to NOT want to ride a bike. Amazingly, she felt ready for this new experience and we were so very pleased.

Funny story: Alina still didn't feel too comfortable riding off the sidewalk; however, a huge garbage can in her way left her no choice but to hobble off the sidewalk toward the middle of the street. When I saw a car coming, I ran to Alina to help stear her in the right direction. After helping Alina, I looked back at Desi on the sidewalk to check on him. I found him lying on his stomach slirping up water from the gutter. I guess he got pretty thirsty and the running gutter water with little dirty, black particle thingys in it looked rather appealing. What a strange child!

Happy B-day to me!

2008-07-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

The Big 3-0! Yup, I can't believe that I'm already 30 yrs. old. Not that I was depressed or anything. I feel great! Still a little on the immature side, perhaps. Jay always laughs at me when I say that I mentally still feel in my 20's. He tells me that I'm not immature, I just like to have fun and be goofy. So here's to being thirty, flirty, and thriving.

I had a FABULOUS 30th Birthday this month! Jay planned the whole event and that's a big deal because event planning is really not his forte. I was surrounded by great family and wonderful friends. We went to Fat's for dinner........YUM! Then we were supposed to go shake our booty's at a dance club, but ended up bringing the party back to our crib for some crazy Karaoke. I had such a blast singing at the top of my lungs to MADONNA (the 80's Rock!)

DESI!

2008-07-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

This is my sweet "WEZI-NATOR"! He is 21 months now. I have to publish one of his "firsts". We had scripture study this morning, which is quite often hit and miss and I asked Alina to offer the morning prayer. I watched Desi as he stopped playing the piano and even turned the music off before the prayer. He reverently folded his arms and before Alina could begin he said, "Dear Heavenly Father", and then something to the effect of "so grateful for this day." He said many things that I could not understand. But I thought it was so wonderful to see him try. I'm so proud of him! Great Job, Wez!

I got my hair did!

2008-07-09T15:31:00.000-07:00

I just did something that's sooooo unlike me?.........OMGosh, I chopped my hair! So, what do ya think? I never take pics of myself, but I'd like some opinions here. Well, at least my Mom can't say I have NO style, because NOW I have to style my hair! I just thought for the BIG 3-0 I should take the plunge. I like it and I am praying that it will be cooperative for me ( I'm new at this styling thing!) What do ya think?

Our Hula Girl!

2008-07-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

As an introduction to this family blog, I want to introduce our first born child, Alina. She was born in Hawaii, while her Papi was finishing school at BYUH. Yeah, the Seasiders Rock! We lived in a tiny one bedroom apartment in Laie (TVA). Born into extreemly humble circumstances ( for a year and a half she slept in a pack n' play!) Though means were little, it was the best time of our lives. Who wouldn't love living in paradise?......I would have been happy living in a hut on the beach.

She 's our little hula girl. The only one of our seed born in HA. She 's full of spirit and personality and often time gives us a run for our money. My favorite thing about her is how sweet and affectionate she is; totally not afraid to give a loved one a hug or kiss. She always says, "I love you," (ugh, too many princess movies!) Alina loves to sing, swim, watch movies, dance, and wrestle with her Papi and go shopping with Mommy. At 3, she is determined to wear a dress everyday and picks out her shoes with every outfit and......is potty trained......PHEW!

Soon, Alina will be attending Joy School twice a week. Stay tuned to hear more about our fantastic hula girl because she's one heck of a DRAMA Queen!