Our Tru Family

Updates Coming!

2009-11-30T21:07:00.001-08:00

I will be back to posting...someday soon hopefully. We've been busy with activities with the kids, projects, school, crafts, life. I am hoping to catch up on posting about some of the things we've been doing. Until then, you can look at our new family pictures on the sidebar. Be back soon.

Our New Neighbors!

2009-09-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

One of the bonuses of moving further southeast is having these wonderful new neighbors. We are all so excited when we find our little friends on our back wall in the mornings and evenings. There is a field right behind our house, so our wall is the perfect vantage point to look for bugs and lizards! YUMMY! For me, a former animal trainer and lover of all things raptor, this is perfect. I can't wait for the fall migration to see what new friends might fly by.

Burrowing Owls with their typical "whatchu looking at?" faces on.

Burrowing Owls enjoying the cool morning.

One burrowing owl minding his own business, when who comes up behind him?

Our other neighbor, Roadrunner. I wish I could have gotten a picture of burrowing owl's reaction. Wings puffed out, head drooped, swaying back and forth. "Hey, buddy, this is my wall." It was awesome. The roadrunner politely obliged, hopped down, went by on the ground, and when he was about five feet down the wall past the owl, he hopped back up and continued on his way.

Roadrunner making sure he's far enough away from owl.

Earlier in the summer, this beautiful male kestrel came to visit. He let me get about 3 feet away from him and kindly posed for multitudes of pics. Thank you Mr. Kestrel. Hope to see you again soon.

Enjoying the Rain!

2009-09-05T15:28:00.000-07:00

Since we hardly ever get rain, it'sa huge adventure for the kids to go play in it. They just love to stomp in the puddles and try and drink the rain. So, this morning they spent about 45 minutes outside - probably the longest they've been able to be outside at one time since April! Thank you, Lord, for a day below 110 degrees!

I (Heart) the Arizona Sky

2009-09-05T15:23:00.000-07:00

I remember when I lived in California after college how I missed the beautiful Arizona sunsets. Here are just a few beautiful pics from the summer sunsets as well as a couple of amazing monsoon sky pics. (Ignore the annoying power lines) Enjoy!

We Miss You, Henri!

2009-09-03T14:31:00.001-07:00

Henri Naccache
5/13/70 - 8/29/09
Husband, Father, Son, Brother, Best Friend

Seeing Spots?

2009-08-24T21:58:00.001-07:00

Okay, now that you're all probably never going to come to my house ever again...it's not contagious! Can you believe those spots? I couldn't when I saw them. We got home from Prescott on Thursday night and on Friday morning, I woke up to these welt like spots all over D's body. They weren't quite as bad as these pics on Friday morning (although they were worse than the pics on Saturday). I assumed that he had an allergic reaction to some plants or trees up there, since he spent a good amount of time stomping through the bushes locating his toy plane that he was flying off of the balcony of the cabin. So, I just gave him B*nadryl thinking that would help. After an hour or so, they weren't any better, so I called the doc. Made an appointment and took him in. Turns out it's a weird skin disease called pityriasis rosea. (We did do some blood tests, just to make sure it's not lyme disease or something - should get results tomorrow morning, but I really don't think that's it. It was his first blood draw and he was a super trooper. Seriously, one little "Aaahh" when the needle went in and then that was it. No crying. Didn't jerk his arm or anything. Just sat there and watched his blood squirt into the tubes.) It's just coincidental that it happened after running through the forest for three days. In the past, there was no cause for it, but now they think that it's related to a viral infection. It's something that he probably had a month or two ago, maybe didn't even have any symptoms, just carried it. But, then the rash shows up. Sort of like fifth's disease or roseola, just a longer time between virus and rash. And, a way, way worse rash. It usually starts with what's called the "herald spot" - one spot on the belly or back, then a couple days later the rest of the rash shows up. Well, on Wednesday, I did see a spot on D's chest, but it looked like a little welt. With all of his romping through the bushes, I just assumed that he got poked by a branch. Guess not. The worst part about this is that the rash can last 2-3 months...yes, months! Thankfully, it doesn't itch really. It seems to get worse when he gets hot. So, he can't wear his favorite batman or buzz lightyear pajamas to bed right now, because they are pants and they keep him too warm. And, we are also thankful that it is completely non-contagious. How bad would that be, having to keep him quarantined for 2-3 months? So, have any of you ever heard of this or had experience with pityriasis rosea?

Return to Blogland

2009-08-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe it's been six months since I last posted. Right after that, we moved. Things got busy and the longer I waited to post, the more overwhelmed I felt at the thought of catching up on all that we had done. Well, I've decided to just stop procrastinating!! I'm just going to start fresh now and periodically I'll go back and post some pics of things from the last six months.

Here's a quick overview of what has gone on. Moved, Easter, both kids birthdays in May - threw a Peter Pan party for them and it was a blast!, swim lessons, Juan went on a two day motorcycle adventure in Georgia with his brother, swimming in our pool a ton, fixing up the house, becoming a DIY blog stalker (will try my hand at some fun DIY's and post about them eventually), family in town, family out of town so dog-sit a sweet but crazy 6 month old lab, attended our first homeschool convention, Catia's head and Dominic's metal toy plane collide and blood follows, said goodbye to our favorite gym Rolly Pollies, visited our precious Henri who is not well (see this post), went to Prescott for a few days, and now have a son who is covered in a red awful non-contagious rash (Juan is out of town with the camera, so I'll take pics and post in a couple days). I'm sure I missed a ton, but that's all the info this brain can hold.

I am going to attempt to get back into a routine of blogging. Hope you will enjoy a little glimpse into our crazy life. Be back soon!

We're Buying a House!

2009-02-28T14:34:00.001-08:00

The short version is that we are buying a house on Val Vista and Queen Creek, 4 houses down from my sister. We close on March 27. It's about 600 sf bigger and has a pool.

If you're really interested, here's the long, long version. Last summer, when the market started getting really low, we and Susanne and Greg started looking at lots. We have been talking about wanting to live next to each other for awhile. Our dream would be to build custom homes next to eachother. So, we found a neighborhood that we really liked. However, after really looking at finances, etc, we realized that even with the price of lots coming down, we probably wouldn't be able to build for awhile. We decided to put that idea on hold and start looking for a house in S&G's current neighborhood. At least we'd still be close until we could realistically buy lots and build. Right around September, S&G's next door neighbor moved out unexpectedly. We had our realtor look into the property, and it turned out that they were going to be going into foreclosure. We were excited because it was the floorplan we wanted (the same as S&G's, plus it's a corner lot with a gigantic back yard). The process was that it would go to a trustee sale (an auction at the trustee's office), and if it wasn't purchased, then the bank would foreclose. We approached the owners to see if they would be able to do a short sale and avoid the foreclosure. It turns out that they just couldn't do that because they were also going into bankruptcy. So, we were going to try to go to the trustee sale and buy the house. It was set for early October. Well, due to the bankruptcy, the trustee sale kept getting postponed and postponed, every 2 weeks. There was an automated recording that would keep up informed of the status of the trustee sale. Every 2 weeks I would call, and it would say that it had been postponed due to bankruptcy. So, we waited and just figured, when it happened it would happen. We weren't in a huge rush. Well, in the meantime we've been keeping our eye on other properties in the neighborhood, just in case. We even went to look at a few. There had been a house just 4 houses away from S&G's that had been in short sale for about 6 months. We hadn't really thought too much about it, because it looked from pictures that the pool took up the whole back yard without any room for grass for the kids. Well, about a month ago, Greg ran into the next door neighbor and he told Greg that they were trying to work things out with their lender to redo their loan so they could get back into the house. So, at that point, we weren't sure what was going to happen. But, we really thought with their financial situation, the likelihood of the bank working things out for them was small. Okay, so here's what finally happened. A week ago, the house that was 4 houses down finally went into foreclosure and was listed at $50K less than it had previously been listed when in short sale ($100K less than the original listing 6 months ago). We thought that we should at least go see it at that price. After seeing it, we really like it, and decided that we could probably put some grass in the back for the kids. Well, apparently lots of people had that same idea, because within 24 hours of being on the market in foreclosure, they had 5 offers and had accepted one. That was on Friday a week ago. But, we thought, that's okay because we still think we have a really good shot at the next door house. So, we were getting ready to leave on Monday for Disneyland, and on Sunday I called the automated recording to double check on the next date for the trustee sale on that house, and to my shock, it said the sale was cancelled - not postponed, cancelled. So, we called our realtor to look into it. On Monday, while we were driving to California, he called us back to tell us that the next door house was indeed out of the picture. The owners were able to get their loan reinstated and were no longer heading to foreclosure. We, of course, were happy for them, but a little bummed. Plus, we knew the other house was already pending. But, we trust the Lord's plans for us. So, we just asked our realtor to keep an eye on the pending house in case anything fell through with that deal. Well, while we were at Disneyland on Tuesday in Toon Town, we got a call. The people whose offer had been accepted ended up getting a job transfer and were unable to proceed with the deal. So, all interested parties were told to submit their highest and best offer by 4pm. We were assuming that some of the other people who had originally put in offers would try again. So, while at Disneyland, walking between Toon Town and Fantasy Land, we gave our realtor our offer to submit. Apparently, Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth, because the next day, as we were driving home, we got another call that our offer was the one accepted! We had to stop at a rest stop and hook up the laptop to Juan's cell phone to get internet and send an email saying that we accepted the terms of the few changes made to the offer. We went into the office and signed papers Thursday. The inspector is going to the house on Monday, and we should close in 30 days. Crazy!!!

It's so amazing how God worked the timing out. The very same weekend that the next door house fell through, this house came up at a way cheaper price! After sitting and waiting for 5 months, this all happened within a few days. And after thinking we didn't have a chance with all the offers already on the table, that fell through, and we were able to get in and get the house. God's timing really is perfect! I also think He knew that this was going to be way less overwhelming of a house for me. It's in great condition with only a few things to be fixed up, painting, pool fence, etc. The next door house would have been a much bigger undertaking!

We are so excited to be living so close to my sis and her family. The cousins will be able to see each other all the time. We can be such better help and support for each other. They have the swingset and we have the pool. We're all set!! We're also across the street from the neighborhood park. We'll be closer to most of our friends. The only drawback is being further from Juan's work and church. But, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. I'm going to take pics when we meet the inspector Monday.

We will probably try to rent out our current house. Let us know if you or anyone you know may be interested!

Valentine's Day Party

2009-02-18T15:46:00.001-08:00

Susanne and I threw a Valentine's Day party for the kids and some of their friends on Saturday. And, what is more fun than kids in costumes? So, we decided to make it a dress up party. It was so much fun. The kids spent a lot of time just playing outside in the yard on the jungle gym, throwing leaves, and playing sword fight. We also had some fun and games. The bigger kids played valentine's bingo with conversation hearts and then made their own valentines. The little kids did a foamie craft and then did a heart hunt (like easter eggs but with paper hearts). And, what would a valentine's party be without treats. So, they enjoyed plenty of homemade cupcakes, homemade lollipops, and some fruit with scrumptious fruit dip. Delicious!! I think everyone had fun and it may become an annual event! Catia was dressed up as a super sweet lovebug (tutu courtesy of my friend Miss K) and Dominic was a pirate (although he says instead of being a bad pirate that steals money and jewels, he is a good pirate that steals hearts and kisses.) All the kids were so cute!

Valentine's Day Party

2009-02-18T15:42:00.001-08:00

Catia's first sentence...

2009-02-12T12:44:00.001-08:00

and, boy, was it ever a sign of what's to come. So, Dominic and Catia are in one room and Juan and I are just across the hall in Dominic's room. Next thing, I hear Catia crying and she's on her bummy on the floor. So, I pick her up and ask her what happened, not really expecting any answer. She talks a lot, but mostly just one word at a time or maybe two words occasionally. Well, here's what she says. "Digga push me"!!! Digga is what she says for Dominic. Juan and I looked at each other in complete disbelief and started cracking up. We can't believe she said a complete sentence, and more than that, her first sentence was telling on her brother for pushing her. haha Well, we got the real story out of Dominic and he really didn't push her. He was holding her hand trying to stop her from climbing somewhere she wasn't supposed to, and in her zeal, she pulled against him, but ended up falling. So, to her, it was Dominic's fault, even though he really was trying to help. Too funny! I guess this is what I have to look forward to as I have a second full blown chatterbox. Thankfully, Dominic does a really good job at telling me the truth, even when he knows it's going to get him into trouble. Hopefully, I can instill that same truth telling into Catia. Now, I've just got to work on the tattling! :)

7th Anniversary

2009-02-07T12:57:00.001-08:00

Monday, Feb. 2nd was our 7th anniversary.
In Dec. of 2000, I was home for Christmas from my job in California. I was hoping for a ring for Christmas, but honestly didn't think it would happen then. Juan was in his last semester of college. We always said that we would wait until we were done with college to get married - we just didn't expect it to take Juan 8 years to get it done! haha After 3 changes in his major, and major life changes personally, he was finally about to be done. I had left for California two years earlier, knowing that the long distance would be hard, but that we could sustain knowing that it was temporary and that we would get married when he finished school. So, the November before that Christmas, Juan was visiting me, and I was asking him what he wanted to do while he was there. He kept teasing me and telling me that he wanted to go out to a nice dinner and propose. He said things like that several times over the course of a few months. By the end of that, I was getting pretty irritated, as you can probably imagine. I didn't want to even talk about it unless it was happening. So, I leave for Arizona for Christmas and one of my friends said that she hoped I came back with something sparkly! Well, her wishes worked. Apparently, Juan had sold his truck to buy my ring and was trying to figure out when to propose. In my family, at Christmas dinner, we stand around and pop English Christmas crackers and then all go around and read the funny jokes out loud to everybody, with our silly paper crowns on and enjoy the little trinket that comes out. It turns out that Juan had been carrying the ring around in his pocket for about 3 days, not sure when he was going to propose, and had shown it to just about everybody (even when I was in the next room). So, everyone thought that he might propose during Christmas crackers, as if the ring was his trinket that came out of the cracker and then instead of reading the joke, he'd propose. But, he decided at the last minute that he didn't want to have all of that pressure of doing it in front of our entire families. That night, I went back to his house and we were just hanging out in the dark watching some silly show about dinosaurs on Discovery, and this is how the conversation goes...
J: "I love you" M: "I love you, too" J: "Enough to marry me?" M: "Maybe" (in a snotty tone of voice - think back to how many times he teased me about proposing - I just wasn't in the mood for that again) J: gets down on his knee, pulls out the ring and says "I've been waiting for the perfect time to do this, but I realize that anytime I'm with you, my perfect girl, is the perfect time. I love you, will you marry me?" M: I, of course, was freaking out. I really couldn't believe it was happening, and was feeling terrible about my snotty "maybe", but then said "Of course, yes!!!!"
So, that's our engagement story. Silly, but perfect for us. Now we always joke about how we got engaged in front of the dinosaurs in the dark! But, hey, that's us!

So, I went back to California, gave my resignation and moved back home in March. We started wedding planning. We had picked the date 02-02-02, because Juan thought that was the coolest date. We were looking at that time frame on the calendar, sometime in January or February of 2002, and when we saw that date on a Saturday, Juan said it had to be that day! I just hoped we could find a place we liked available that day. Of course, we did.

We were married at Camelback Inn in Scottsdale at 1:00 in the afternoon. It was a little chilly that day, but we loved it! We were surrounded by about 275 people that we love, and committed that day to love God and each other and to try to be the kind of husband and wife that would glorify Him. I think it was a beautiful ceremony - very personal to us. The party was fun with great food, and then off to a great 7 day honeymoon in Florence, Italy!

Seven years and two children later, I am so thankful for my wonderful husband and blessed life. Marriage is super hard work and not for the faint of heart. Praise God for sustaining us through this journey and I am looking forward to a long, wonderful road with my sweet Juan.

Sorry these pics are fuzzy. I scanned them in, so the quality isn't great. But, I thought I'd share a few memories from the day. I had to include my sweet niece, Lauren, who at 15 months was the perfect flower girl! Oh yeah, for those of you that have never seen Juan with long hair, enjoy the pics!! He actually has beautiful hair when it's long, seriously!

Date Week

2009-02-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

Stars on Ice night

Lion King night

Beautiful tulips from my sweet husband for our 7th anniversary!

Juan and I actually had three nights out this week with no kids. I think that's a first!! Monday night was our anniversary. We were both really tired, so we just went to dinner and came home early. On Thursday night, we went to see Lion King at Gammage with Juan's sisters, mom, and a family friend. It was the second time we've seen it on stage. The first was in LA about two weeks before we got married. We love it! We think most of the singers were better when we saw it in LA, but it's still amazing. On Friday night, we went to Stars on Ice with my parents, sister, and niece. All in all, a great week!

Here Birdy, Birdy!

2009-02-06T13:02:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I decided to let the kids make pinecone bird feeders. You know, the kind you used to make in girl scouts. We covered them in peanut butter and then rolled them in bird seed and hung them in the trees. Dominic had a great time with the project and was so proud when he was done. Catia just wanted to eat the peanut butter and ended up getting a few pieces of bird seed, too. haha Well, hopefully the birdies will think they're as yummy as Catia did!

Kids First Snow Day!

2009-02-04T12:39:00.001-08:00

Mommy and Catia

Mommy and Dominic (with Catia crawling in)

Dominic with his evil laugh as he is getting ready to hit me with a snowball.

Catia getting ready to eat snow off her glove.

Catia's first snow angel.

Dominic's first snow angel

Daddy and Catia falling off the sled.

Daddy and Dominic sledding.

Catia getting ready to head to the hill.

Dominic getting ready to head to the hill.

On Sunday, we took the kids to Flagstaff for their first trip to the snow. The snow wasn't great, as it was 47 degrees, but they still had a great time. It was a bit too hard and icy for building a snowman, but it didn't stop the sledding, making snow angels, or throwing snowballs (Dominic's favorite part). Catia mostly loved just sitting and trying to eat the snow off of her gloves. Even though we drove nearly 6 hours round trip and had a huge diaper blow out (that's a whole story all on its own - ugh!), it was still a beautiful day that Dominic (maybe not Catia) will remember.

Update on Henri

2009-01-22T06:21:00.001-08:00

Thanks so much to all of you who are praying for our friend, Henri. He will begin his chemo tomorrow. We're thankful that he can be at home to do it. He just has to make a day trip to Seattle once a week for now. I'll update as any pertinent news comes up, but we would appreciate continued prayers for Henri, his wife Jill, and their daughter Mona.

Summer Already?

2009-01-22T06:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday it was 80 degrees outside. The kids were playing outside, still in pants from the morning when it was a little cooler. I was cleaning the patio, and could see their little cheeks getting pink. So, we decided to actually play in the hose - in January!! I changed their clothes and turned on the hose, and they had the best time running around in the water getting soaking wet. Gotta love Arizona winters! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures because I was doing all the spraying.

Please Pray!!!

2009-01-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

This is our precious friend, Henri. He and Juan are best friends, like brothers. He is 38 years old and has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which has already spread to his liver and stomach. It's just so hard to believe that this healthy man, who eats so healthy, exercises all the time, doesn't smoke or drink, can end up with cancer. It's such an evil disease. Henri and his wife Jill used to live here in Arizona just a couple of miles from us, but moved to Bellingham, Washington a few years ago. They have a little girl, Mona, who is just two months younger than Catia, and is such a sweet little doll. This picture is from a few months ago when we went to go visit them. Anyway, they are still just in the midst of getting the diagnosis, so a treatment plan hasn't even been set yet. All we know so far is that surgery probably isn't possible since multiple organs are already involved. They have just been referred to an oncologist in Seattle, so hopefully they will get to see him as soon as possible. I'm sure a long road is ahead of them (well, we hope it's a long road, as this is usually a very fast acting disease). We just love them so much and know that they need all the prayers possible coming their way right now! So, please, please remember them in your prayers.

Our Big Girl!

2008-12-29T12:10:00.000-08:00

This is the proud moment all parents wait for! At 19 months 4 days, Catia went pee pee on the potty for the first time this morning! I covered up the essentials in the picture so she's not completely mortified in several years to think that her mommy posted this picture. But, how can I not share our special moment, right?! She's sat on the potty several times before this in the last few weeks, but nothing has ever "come out" of those tries until now. I started yelling "Yeah, Catia" over and over and clapping and Dominic came in and cheered with me. She was thrilled to get a chocolate chip out of it. This was about the age that Dominic started using the potty, too, so we may have another early potty trainer on our hands. May we only be so blessed!

My Sweet Dominic

2008-12-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

Dominic always likes to tell us that he loves us "up to the sun and back". Well, it started out "up to the moon and back" like the book, but then it switched to the sun. Now he's added "up to the sun and back 100 times". So, as if that wasn't sweet enough, today he was telling me this, and we were going back and forth and I told him I loved him a million times. Then, he said "Mommy, I just can't tell you how much I love you, because it's so much, I just can't stop my love." That absolutely made my day!!!

The dangers of multitasking!

2008-12-20T12:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I guess my mind was all over the place. Right before I put Catia down for a nap, I was changing her diaper and I was also watching as Dominic was going potty across the hall. All seemed fine and I put Catia to bed, and then Dominic to bed. Well, apparently, I must have lost my mind, because here's what happened next...Catia wakes up a couple of hours later and I get her out of bed and take her out to the family room. She's sitting on my lap and reading, but then gets down onto the floor to play with a truck. Well, when she gets back up onto my lap, she's all wet. I said, "Oh no, your diaper leaked". However, when I pulled back the top of her pants, she wasn't wearing a diaper at all!!!! I was so confused. In 3 1/2 years of being a mom, that has never happened to me. Apparently, when I was changing her and also keeping an eye on Dominic and thinking about the 10 million things I needed to do while they were sleeping, I completely forgot to put a clean diaper on her. I just put her pants on and put her to bed. Thank the Lord she didn't pee during her nap otherwise everything would have been soaked. This way it was just her pants, socks, and where she sat on me. You would think I would have noticed that her bummy didn't seem as soft and padded, but nope, I didn't. I think it's just a reminder to slow down, breathe, and live in the moment (right, Karrie?).

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-18T12:55:00.000-08:00

I promise to post soon. It's been so long, and the longer I wait, the more daunting it seems to go through all the pictures we've taken over the last 6 weeks. I will do it, though...well, hopefully! I love keeping this record of my children, but I think actually spending time with them and my husband and family takes precedence over blogging, so when time is short, as it often is, blogging gets neglected! :) However, I did feel like I should at least update my fall background for a winter one and update the pictures on the side with the ones we took for Christmas! Catia wasn't in a particularly smiley mood, so she looks rather pensive in these pics, but that's okay. She's still cute. And, I had to add the picture of Dominic making his grumpy face. He actually wasn't grumpy, he just wanted us to take a picture of him making that face. That's Dominic for you. Always the goof! We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and check back soon for updates on what we've been up to the last month or so!

Bellingham

2008-11-13T13:52:00.002-08:00

I'm having problems posting text with the slideshow below, so I just had to put it in a separate post.

We went to Bellingham, Washington in mid-September for a quick trip to visit our friends. I'm just finally getting around to updating our blog, finally, and also just learning how to do this slideshow thing. I have a ton more to update on our activities from the last month and a half, so I'll just start with this. Bellingham was beautiful, green, and cool - a far cry from the hot 100plus degree weather we were having here at the time. The kids enjoyed just playing outside, walking through the beautiful state park and beach, and going to the local park right on the water. They also got to play with our friends' sweet daughter, Mona, who is just 7 weeks younger than Catia. Juan got to go mountain biking twice while we were there, and it was so different than it is here. He said it was so foggy in the dense forest that it was like riding into a dark mist and there were times that he could hardly see. He had a great time and said that it's much softer landings than the rocky landings he has enjoyed on South Mountain here in Phoenix. :)

Bellingham Visit

2008-11-13T13:52:00.001-08:00

October Happenings

2008-11-13T12:46:00.001-08:00

Here is a collection of random happenings from October. Catia loves to play piano and play dollies. We just got this cradle that used to be my niece's, and Catia loves to get into it with her dollies and rock it back and forth and say "wa, wa, wa" (rock, rock, rock). Dominic took a sports class through parks and rec - it was basically just intro skills for soccer, basketball, football, volleyball, etc. On the very last day of class, they let the parents come in and play dodge ball with the kids (don't worry, the dodge balls are super soft). That's his coach in one of the pictures with him. At the end, they always do a huddle and say "Soccer rocks" or "Dodgeball rocks". It's too cute! We've been loving getting back outside as the weather gets cooler. Our favorite thing to do is go on bike rides down to the little park in our neighborhood. Juan and Dominic ride their bikes, and I push Catia in her stroller. When we get to the park, Dominic doesn't even take all his gear off. He just parks his bike and is off to play, helmet, pads, and all. We also did a fun craft with him where he got to watch this little tree "grow". He really liked that.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-13T12:26:00.001-08:00

We took a trip to the pumpkin patch at the farm near our house in the beginning of October. I guess it's not really a patch, but, you know out here in Arizona, a big dirt or grassy area with a bunch of pumpkins plopped down is about as "pumpkin patchy" as we get. But, the kids had fun riding on the wagon, petting some animals, picking out and decorating some pumpkins, and going through the hay bale maze. Catia didn't like sitting on the hay bales, though, as you can see in her face in one of the pictures.

Catching Up!

2008-10-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

Wow! These last 6 weeks have just flown by. With the lack of sleep, vacation, and projects around the house, etc, spare time is at a premium. I have a ton of pics to catch up on. I'm going to start with just a bunch of random pics of the kids and what they've been up to. Hopefully in the next few days, I'll get to pics of our vacation to Washington and our trip to the pumpkin patch. Okay, here we go...

just the girls!

Dominic and cousins Joshua and Brennan went to a preschool class at the science center that was all about frogs. Of course, they had a great time making frog masks, catching bugs with their frog tongues (party blowers with velcro), touching a real fire-bellied toad, having frog jumping races, etc. They learned a lot and had so much fun!

Every night before bed, Catia loves to just relax on Juan's lap. Notice the big burn marks on Juan's forehead? He is coming home with new injuries from Muay Thai all the time. This is the most recent one - rub burns from his glove tapping his head as he protects his face. Be glad I didn't show a picture of his recent toe injury (he ended up losing his big toenail - GROSS! - but it's growing back) heehee!!

I can actually put Catia's hair in real pigtails now - not just the little ones on top of her head. She looks like a real toddler now, not a baby. So cute!

Don't you love the Arizona sunsets?

Dominic and his sweet cousin, Adriana, caught sharing a snuggle.

So, Juan's friend, Brad, went on a cruise to Mexico, and came home with this Luchador mask for Dominic. It's hilarious! He thinks it's a superhero mask.

I always pick out Dominic's clothes for him, and he's never cared. It's just the routine. But, the other day, he asked if he could pick out his own outfit. This is what he picked - the two most busy, clashing things he has. He thought it was awesome! So did I!

Dominic, the mechanic!

The lil' Devils!

Catia's new obsession - her dollies.

Why do all kids love to shove themselves into boxes?

Mmmm...chocolate!

I'll post soon...hopefully!

2008-09-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been out of touch all month. I'm feeling very sleep deprived and a little loopy lately. Catia has been cutting her molars this month and is not happy about it at all. Dominic went through the same thing when he was cutting these teeth. But, she is not sleeping well at all...hence, I'm not sleeping much either. I'm hoping this will all be over by next week, and we'll be back to our normal schedule. I'll catch up on my posting soon.

Catia's 15 month check up

2008-08-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

Catia just had her 15 month check up this morning. She's doing really great. The best news is that an "insignificant heart murmur" that was found at her 12 month check up and then heard again when she went in when she was sick, is now completely gone. Yeah!! She is 22 pounds 11 ounces and 30 3/4 inches tall. That's at about the 50th percentile for both. She had been at about the 60th for weight and 75th for height last time, so she's down a little, but the doctor thinks she may just even out there. He thought that her physical abilities and her language and other learning skills that she has are more at an 18 month level. So, we're happy that she's doing so well. And, Dominic was a sweet brother and tried to rub her and comfort her during her three vaccinations today. It's so sweet to see him be the protector for her. Oh yeah, he stuck a raisin up his nose the other day, but we were able to get him to "shoot it out" if you can visualize that :)! He did this about a year ago, and I thought he learned his lesson then, but apparently not. This time, I think we were able to scare him enough with the thought of giant tweezers that I hope he won't try that one again! I mean, really, why do kids find it necessary to shove things in their noses?

Grandma Otie's 100th birthday!

2008-08-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

Sunday, August 24th, would have been my Grandma Otie's 100th birthday. She died in February 1997, but we thought we needed to celebrate the day. So, my mom, sister, niece and I went to lunch and just told stories about our Grandma Otie. She was an amazing feisty lady that never let me get away with anything. My other grandma always called my sister and me angels, but my Grandma Otie always disagreed wholeheartedly - she knew better!! She would always say to us "No vale cinco centavos" - you're not worth five cents - "you're worth lots of cents!" and then giggle. She gave the best backrubs and would braid our hair for us. We loved making mudpies in her backyard and climbing her Mesquite tree. We miss her a ton, but it's so fun to get to pass on all of our special memories to our kids now.

Recent Pics

2008-08-28T13:41:00.001-07:00

It's been a couple weeks since I've posted anything, because we're just all finally done being sick. Right after Catia got over Roseola, the rest of us got sick. Juan and I ended up having bronchitis. Anyway, I just thought I'd post some pics of the kids from the last few weeks.

Playing in Daddy's shoes

Peekaboo behind the couch

You can't actually see everything that she insisted putting on, but she had on a backpack, cape, two art aprons, Dominic's visor (missing the N from his name) and Dominic's shoes. The tongue sticking out means that she's very pleased with herself! :)

Auntie sent over a box of Lauren's old clothes. Catia thought she needed to try them on immediately.

Hanging out at Gramma and Papa's.

Relaxing with Daddy before bed.

Both the kids love playing zerberts with eachother.

Who's in there?

Dominic!!

Our sweet nephew, Marco - age 5 months. He looks exactly like his mommy, Juan's sister, Glenda.

Gold Medal Olympic Snacker!

2008-08-12T14:34:00.001-07:00

You Know You're In Arizona When...

2008-08-04T21:06:00.001-07:00

the pool water is 93 degrees!!! It's not even that refreshing, but I guess anything is better than 110. You can't even walk around the pool without shoes on! I just thought I'd share a few pics of the kids swimming. We got a new camera, so Juan was practicing with it at the pool. The kids are doing a great job. Catia does well going under water, blowing bubbles, and climbing out of the pool. She still doesn't love being in the float position, but that is definitely one that takes some time. Dominic can swim by himself from the side of the pool to me several feet away now, and is doing really well at floating. The last pic of Catia all bundled up after getting out of the pool was just too cute. She looks wiped out.

Sweet & Funny Dominic

2008-07-29T11:55:00.001-07:00

So, I was telling Dominic today, as I often do, that he is my precious gift. Today, he asked me if he was in a box when I got my gift! I was laughing so hard. I reminded him that he was in my belly, and then he started laughing and said, "Oh yeah, you opened me out of your belly!" So funny!

Another funny thing that I was thinking about today is how technology has really changed pretending. Dominic was playing phone today, and he doesn't just pretend that he's talking to someone...he has to pretend to put them on speaker phone, or pretend that he's using a bluetooth with half a plastic easter egg stuck on his ear, or pretend that he's taking pictures with his phone. It just cracks me up!

Juan's New Bike

2008-07-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Juan has been riding his bike to work for the last couple of months, and he recently bought a new bike. His work is only a little over a mile away, but he also rides to his Muay Thai class at lunch, then home for a shower, then back to work, and then home again. So, it's probably about 14 or 15 miles per day. I guess that's not too much for him. At his last job, he would ride his bike about 15 miles each way. I don't know how he does it in this heat, but it's great for him, and great on our gas bill. He really enjoys it, too!

Life Lessons

2008-07-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

So, Dominic is so friendly and is always talking to people - anyone about anything. He is constantly asking the check-out ladies at the grocery store what their names are and telling them about whatever new thing he's doing. This kind of thing happens everywhere we go. The other day at the water park, there was one other lady there with her kids and he just went over and sat next to her and started talking to her. I'm glad that he's so confident, but he's at the age where I've really been thinking about the whole stranger danger thing. So, we've been having talks about when it's okay and not okay to do those things, and about never taking something from a stranger and what to do if we ever get separated, etc. I was a little afraid that I was going to scare him - although, I'd rather he be a little scared than any worse alternative - but, he's so matter of fact about it, and is so excited to share his new stranger rules with Juan. I guess it's just the beginning of some of these life lessons. One thing that I've done this week is teach him our address and phone number to the tune of different songs that he knows. Kids will learn anything if you put it to music! He had our address down in just a couple days and almost has my phone number (with area code :) ) down, too. I would post a video, because it's so cute, but I don't really want to post our address and phone number. So, you can just use your imaginations!

Catia's lesson for the week (and weeks to come, I'm sure) is not to climb up on to our kitchen chairs (and then table!! aargh). She is way more of a climber than Dominic was at this age. I'm sure it's just because she sees him doing things (not that he climbs on the table). It's funny, because she has been saying that sweet no-no in a sing-song voice that I do when it's just something little that I want to keep her away from. But, after getting up onto the chairs, she has learned how to do a very forceful "no" and even adds in the pursed lips and furrowed brow. Now, if I could only get her to stop dropping food out of her highchair!

Having fun at the water park!

2008-07-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

We met our friends at the water park yesterday. At first, Dominic didn't even want to get his shoes wet. After about 10 minutes of that, I finally just picked him up and swung him around in the sprinkler so he got wet. Then, he was totally fine! He ran all through them and was completely drenched, and had such a good time. Catia, on the other hand, immediately went right into the sprinklers, and within about two minutes was completely soaked. She thought it was great! It's about the only thing to do outside right now in this scorching Arizona weather. I can't wait for more monsoon rains!

Bon apetit!

2008-07-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

It's so sweet to see Dominic and Catia actually playing "together" now, rather than them both just doing their own things. I caught them playing "restaurant". Dominic was the chef, but according to Dominic, they were taking turns being the waiter and waitress. They used an old birthday card for the menu. Dominic's favorite new phrase is "bon apetit" which he learned from his new veggie tales video (thanks Mr. and Mrs. Hara). Everytime he gave Catia something, he would say that. I think in the last picture, Catia must have gotten something sour! heehee

Open Wide!

2008-07-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Dominic had his second official trip to the dentist this week. He did so great! He loves getting his teeth cleaned and especially loves "Mr. Thirsty" (the little vacuum that sucks the water out of your mouth). The hygienist let him hold Mr. Thirsty and give him drinks, much to Dominic's delight. He can't wait to go back again.

Sweet sleepy girl!

2008-07-20T12:47:00.001-07:00

Catia is learning so many new words these days. Most recently, "hewo" (hello) and "boo" (as in peekaboo). But, she also knows several signs. This is her newest one - I love you - she just hasn't figured out to cross her arms yet! She was so sleepy last night, and was relaxing on the couch before bed, and just looked at me and did her "I love you" sign. Can't beat that!!

Ultimate Fighter in the Making?

2008-07-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

Get your autographs now, folks! We have a future superstar ultimate fighter! haha My Aunt Muriel gave us this blow up punching bag recently. Dominic was so excited, because Juan has a heavy bag that's a little too difficult for a three year old to use. So, this is just right for him. Juan's trying to teach him correct kicking and punching technique already. It's hilarious. I actually think it's going to be a great stress relief for me on those days I just want to to drive to the middle of the desert and scream!! Come on, you know you have those days, too! haha

Painting Day

2008-07-20T12:29:00.001-07:00

We went to As You Wish to paint last week. Dominic picked out a treasure box shaped like a star and painted it to match his room. He had a great time and did a really good job. I was afraid there was going to be a huge mess. But, he was so careful with his brush and the paint. He's usually so full of energy that it's nice to have some of these more relaxed moments with him!
We had Catia do a hand and foot print to hang in her room. We have the same thing for Dominic at this age. I was surprised to see that her hand and foot are the same size as his were. His were just way wider. They really are just like their mommy and daddy.

Here, Penelope!

2008-07-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the zoo today to visit a couple of my friends and the animals that I used to work with. Dominic and Catia had a great time seeing all the animals. Dominic got to be a zookeeper for a few minutes and feed my friend, Penelope the wallaby. Isn't she so cute. I think she's about 12 years old or so now. She is super sweet. I miss all the animals, but I love getting to share it with the kids now.

Build-a-Bear or Elephant!

2008-07-08T12:51:00.000-07:00

Dominic got to go have a playdate with his Aunt Steph on the 4th at Build-a-Bear. But, he wanted an elephant. They had a great time. Dominic loved getting to step on the pedal to blow the stuffing in, put the elephant's heart in, and pick out clothes. He named his elephant "Bob". :) Then, they got to go to McDonald's at the mall and he was so excited to get his "very own fries". Thanks, Aunt Steph!!

Giddy-Up Daddy!

2008-07-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

Juan looks thrilled, doesn't he!! haha Dominic had a great time playing cowboy with Daddy!

I'm Ridicaweeous!!

2008-07-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

I asked Dominic to get himself dressed after a trip to the potty, and this is how he came out. He just started cracking up and saying, "I'm just being ridicaweeous!"

5-Minute Pigtails

2008-07-01T11:35:00.001-07:00

Catia looks so cute in her little pigtails. I think she looks like a little cartoon bug with antenna. But, she loves playing with her hair, so she refuses to keep them in for more than about 5-minutes. I'm just glad I got one picture of them before they were out!

Fun at the beach

2008-06-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

My Nana lived right on the beach in Cambria, CA. It has these beautiful beaches with tidepools and rocky cliffs. The water is painfully cold, though, so only the wildly crazy go in for long. My cousin, Daniel, who is from England, went in for 15 minutes and said it's the coldest water he's ever been in. The kids still got to have a great time running around, digging, and building castles. This was Catia's first time at the beach. She seemed to have a great time digging her toes in and trying to eat the sand - this girl will eat anything!!

On the road!

2008-06-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

My Nana passed away this last week. We praise the Lord that she was a believer and we can have assurance that she is at home now with Him. So, we headed to the coast in central California for her funeral and time to celebrate Nana with our friends and family. It's a long trip, though - 11 hours there (we made it in 10 hours on the way home). I just had to post a couple of pics of the most peaceful moments in the car (actually they were really well behaved when they were awake, too, for being confined for such a long trip). We also stopped for a potty break at the dinosaurs - Dominic loved that!

Boys love trains!!

2008-06-25T21:03:00.000-07:00

The boy cousins, Joshua, Brennan, and Dominic, love trains!! The last time they were over, they spent a couple of hours doing nothing but watching and playing trains. Most people probably don't want to have a train running right behind their house. But, it is the highlight of Dominic's day when the train comes by. You can see all 3 boys having fun watching it go by. I also had just bought some new baskets for my bookshelves, and before I could get them organized, they had made a train out of those, too. They took turns being the engineer and were putting all sorts of toys in the other "cars". It's great to see their imaginations at work!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to Juan!! We just had a small breakfast celebration on Father's Day. Dominic loves making pancakes into words, so Juan got "#1 Dad" pancakes that morning. Dominic, Catia, and I are just so blessed to have Juan. He is an amazing daddy, and he just pours himself into them. They, of course, adore him. Dominic wants to be just like him (as you can see in the pics - he likes to help fertilize and mow and he is also a master at the computer and using the mouse already). Catia just can't get enough kisses with her daddy! It melts my heart.

Our Sunshine is 1!!

2008-06-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

Catia turned 1 on May 25th! I can't believe my little baby is 1!! She is so precious. She is just about at a full run now and has several words. The newest word is "hi" which comes out "iiiii-eeeee", and always with huge eyes as she says it. We celebrated her birthday at our house with grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and a couple friends. The kids had a great time decorating their sunhats and planting flowers. Catia thought the sunshine cake was great, too! It's been a great first year for our precious girl, and we can't wait to see what God has in store for her next. We love you, sunshine girl!!

Dominic's 3rd Birthday!!

2008-06-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

Dominic turned 3 years old a month ago now, but I thought I'd go ahead and post a few of his birthday pics. I can't believe that my little guy is already 3. It seems like it wasn't very long ago that I was just getting his nursery ready in such anticipation, and yet, at other times, I have to remind myself that he's only just 3 - he seems so much older. We just love our Dominic and all the smart, sweet, hilarious, and crazy things he does. So, on his actual birthday, Juan was out of town, so I just made him #3 pancakes for breakfast. We had his party the next week with his cousin Brennan, who just turned 3 last week, at his gym, Rolly Pollies. Everybody had a great time.

Welcome!!

2008-06-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

I finally got on board with my sister and lots of my friends and started this family site. I am terrible at keeping up with scrapbooks, so this will be an easier way for me to record our family memories. I hope you all will enjoy it. I'll try to post at least weekly, or as those special moments happen.