Our Beautiful Family

Pheasant hunting

2011-12-25T21:52:00.000-08:00

Pheasant hunting in Eastern Washington has been a tradition in Jeremy’s family for 4 generations, as of now. The men decided it was time to introduce Andre to the hunt and took him and a friend on a hunting weekend. It was 26° out (only 15° at night!) but the boys hardly noticed. They spent a couple weekends hiking through brush and fields, watching the dogs hunt, and staying prepared for whatever pheasant or quail might take flight.

Andre was less discriminating. 20 songbirds met their fate to Andre and his .410 shotgun. Regardless of the success of the guys, he thought the hunting was great!

Here'a a photo of a couple of the pheasant that the guys were hunting
These were shot by the guy who invited the boys over and Jeremy and Andre brought them home and cleaned them up. Yum!

Kids in Seattle

2011-11-19T08:22:00.000-08:00

Jeremy and our friend Rob took Andre and Ariana on a tour of Seattle at night. They visited the underground terminal, checked out the skyline and took a canoe around the lake, in the dark. It was chilly but beautiful and the kids had a great time.

2011 Halloween

2011-11-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos from this year’s Halloween. We made fun decorations, attended the ward Trunk-or-Treat activity, hit Fright Night at Wild Waves, and took the kids trick-or-treating around a nearby community. As always, they had a great time and brought home loads of candy.

Yellowstone Summer 2011: Part 1

2011-08-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well, time got away from us and we realized we never posted about our summer trip to Yellowstone. Simply put, it was fantastic. We loaded up the car and headed for the two day trip to our lodge. We let the kids watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy to pass the time. We stayed in a little place right outside the park and headed in each day to explore a different section of Yellowstone. The park is amazingly huge and it truly takes several days to enjoy it all. Here are some pictures and highlights of the trip:

Hey! Respect the National Park...What's wrong with you?! Oh, its Omi... never mind.

This was a sad chapter in our trip. Our poor Isy got strep throat. It hurt and she was running a high temperature. We had to take a trip to the Yellowstone medical clinic and pay way-too-much for some antibiotics. But at least she got better.

We found a cool local swimming hole where the hot springs pour into the river. the springs are scalding hot and the river is ice-cold. This little pool is where they mix together so you can choose your temperature based on how close you get to the hot-spring run-off. This was one of the kids favorite activities during this trip.

Yellowstone Summer 2011: Part 2

2011-08-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Now that we got the cheesy family pics out of the way, take a look at how beautiful this park is:

4th of July at the Ocean

2011-07-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

We were invited to the Washington coast for the 4th of July to stay at Jeremy's Uncle's place. Jeremy's Grandparents, Dad and friends came too with some other kids. They had a great time playing on the beach while the adults enjoyed relaxing in the sun and sitting around campfires.

The kids found a jellyfish on the beach. Jeremy knows which ones sting and which ones are safe to handle. This one is a harmless Moon Jelly.

Isy...what more can we say....

All the kids lined up looking at the neighbor's fireworks. The kids were a pretty culturally diverse mix, we laughed at the line up of immigrants at the fence.

Andre throwing a ball for the dog.

The entire beach skyline was filled with fireworks. We lit a fire on the beach and watched the fireworks and fired off some of our own. It was a perfect way to spend the 4th!

We brought our SCUBA gear to the ocean to attempt a dive on the coast. Here is Immer getting ready to descend into an unfamiliar dive site. Unfortunately the visibility didn't cooperate and we couldn't see a thing. I had to hold onto Jeremy the entire time to keep from getting separated. Exciting, but we won't be diving here again!

Leavenworth

2011-07-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

We took a spontaneous weekend trip to see an eccentric little town in the cascades called Leavenworth. The scenery is amazing! We shopped, ate, explored, rode a trolly and the kids inner-tubed down the river with Jer.

We were so busy taking pictures that we didn't noticed the little girls drinking from the dog fountain. Oops!

During the trip, Jeremy found out about a local garden called the Ohme gardens. It was a surprising deviation from our plans and resulted in some wonderful family photos with a breath-taking backround. This is one of the most amazing public gardens that we've ever seen.

Lake Cushman Camping Trip June 2011

2011-06-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

A lot of people have heard me saying that I don't enjoy camping but some friends made me look at camping on a different way... It's actually not too bad, I guess. This happened in the beginning of Summer 2011.

Muchas personas me han escuchado decir que no me gusta acampar pero, unos amigos me hicieron cambiar de opinion y pensar que acampar no es tan mal, supungo. Esto pasó a principios del verano 2011.

The last day of school, the children had an early dismissal and it was the perfect day to go camping. We met Rob, Rachel and Rebecca at Lake Cushman and camp with them.

El último día de la escuela, los niños salieron temparo y era el día perfecto para ir a acampar. Nos juntamos con Rob, Rachel y Rebecca en el Lago Cushman y acampamos con ellos.

The weather was very nice.

El clima era muy bonito.
Jeremy and Andre took care setting up the Tent!

Jeremy y Andre se encargaron de poner la tienda de campaña!

Andre made a fire.

Andre hizo una fogata.

While camping, Andre filled some of his Cub Scout requirements... That's my boy!

Mientras acampamos, Andre llenó algunos de los requicitos de los Cub Scouts.

Isy enjoying some of our meals. Yum! breakfast burrito!Rachel brought ingredients to make brownies... They were delicious!Rob took my family on a canoe ride. It's just a beautiful place!

Rob llevó a mi familia en su canoa. Es un lugar hermoso!

They boys and children found this place full of Salamanders. There were hundreds of them and everyone had so much fun catching these little guys. After our trip, we found out that they are a poison species of Salamanders... oh well, we're fine after all!

Los muchachos y niños encontraron un lugar lleno de Salamandras. Eran 100s de ellos y todos se divirtieron agarrando estas pequeñas creaturas. Después del viaje nos enteramos que las Salamandras eran venenosas... bueno, nosotros estuvimos bien después de todo!They had a race competition.

Naomi's little guy!Okay, let me tell you about this picture. The water of this lake comes from melted snow. We were finding the Salamanders in little ponds that were not too deep so the water was not too cold. Isabelle started completely dressed and then she took piece by piece off until she only had a hat and shoes! What can I say... she likes water or maybe... being naked.

Bueno, dejénme que les diga de ésta foto. El agua de este lago viene de nieve que se ha derretido. Nosotros encontramos las salamndras in pequeñas pocitas donde el agua no es profunda y no muy fría. Isabelle empezó completamente vestida y poco a se quitó pieza por pieza de su ropa hasta que solo tenía una gorra y zapatos. Qué puedo decir... a ella le gusta el agua o tal vez estar desnuda.

Now, Rob is swimming in the very cold water of the lake. He's crazy!

Ahora, Rob esta nadando en el agua que es muy fría del lago. El es loco!

All the fun made the girls tired.

The girls having fun with Rachel.

Is this an expression of excitement of what?

We saw many cool places while hiking.I love this pic!

Rachel asked Ariana for help... I think it was too big for her :o)

Yep! it was the best camping trip ever! Thanks to Rob and Rachel we have a nice family memory with family and friends. I would do it again.

Sí! este fué el mejor viaje de acampamiento! Gracias a Rob and Rachel tenemos buenas memorias como familia y con amigos. Yo lo haría otra vez.

Mother's Day

2011-05-15T15:56:00.000-07:00

On Mother's Day, Jeremy and the children cooked breakfast for me. They made crepes, corned beef hash and a peach shake. It was very good. My kids made flowers, cards and pictures to show their love for me :o)

Ariana wrote a poem... I really like it!

Some moms might receive real flowers, jewerly, clothes, etc. from their husband and children, but not me... I got masking tape! Why? Well, for many years one of the things that disappears in our house is the tape. For some reason, every time that I need tape and look in the drawer, it's gone! When I ask who was the last one using it, of course, no one has touched it. They bought me 10 rolls as a Mother's Day Gift :o)

Girls' School Concert

2011-05-15T15:42:00.000-07:00

Every year the children have a school concert. The girls like to be part of this event because they enjoy singing {even though, they aren't talented with pretty voices :o)} I love going to them and see all the children singing the songs they've learned through the year. All of us are proud parents!

Cada anio la escuela de los chicos tiene un concierto de musica. A las ninas les gusta ser parte de este evento porque ellas disfrutan cantar {aunque cantar no es un talendo que ellas tienen :o) } I mi me gusta ir y ver escuchar a los ninos cantar las canciones que han apredindo durante el anio. Nos hace sentir padres orgullosos!

Easter 2011

2011-05-15T15:21:00.000-07:00

A friend from our ward invited a lot of families to go to her house for an Easter Egg Hunt. There were over 25 children in her back yard looking for eggs. They had a great time and afterwords everybody stayed to visit and eat some Easter treats.

Una amiga del barrio invito un monton de familias para ir a su casa para celebrar la Pascua. Habian mas de 25 chicos en su jardin buscando huevos. Ellos se divirtieron mucho y despues todos nos quedamos para visitar y comer. Ariana found a golden egg with a dollar inside!

After church on Easter day, we went to our grand-parent's house. Grandma cooked a delicious dinner for all of us. After supper we let the kids decorate some Easter eggs.

Despues de la iglesia en el dia de Pascua, fuimos a la casa de los abuelitos. La abuelita Kay cocino una cena deliciosa para todos. Despues de cener dejamos que los chicos decoraran huevos de pascua.

April Birthdays!

2011-05-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

ANDRE'S 10th BIRTHDAY!
Our only son just turned 10! Andre is very special, Jer and I are so blessed for having a boy like him. On his birthday he opened some presents and went to school. A few days later he invited a couple of his friends for a sleep over. We had cup cakes and the boys played until late that night.

Nuestro unico varon acaba de cumplir 10! Andre es muy especial, Jer y yo hemos sido muy bendecidos al tener un nino como el. El dia de su cumpleanos, el abrio unos regalos y fue a la escuela. Unos dias despues invitamos a un par the amiguitos para quedarse la noche. Comimos pastelitos y los chicos jugaron hasta muy tarde esa noche.

One of his presents was a pellet gun... he loves it!

He likes shooting so I made target-cup-cakes for his party :o)

ISABELLE'S 4th BIRTHDAY!

On her birthday she had a doctor's appointment for her 4-year-old check up. She wasn't happy when we found out that she needed 4 shots, two in each little arm. After the doctor she helped me to make cup cakes for her party.

El dia de su cumpleanos ella tuvo una cita con el doctor para su chequeo de 4 anios. Ella no estaba contenta cuando nos dijeron que necesitaba recibir 4 vacunas, dos en cada bracito. Despues del doctor ella me ayudo a hacer pastelitos para su fiesta.

Princess-crown-cup-cakes!

Her sisters gave this monkey to Isy.
She likes Dora the Explorer!
She had a great birthday thanks to all our friends that came to celebrate with us!

Clamming Day at Shine Tidelands

2011-04-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday was a very good day for clamming because the tide was on our side. We went to Shine Tidelands Stake Park with a lot of our friends. Some of them dug clams for the first time, some others already had done it in the past and a few just watched us digging. We had a blast and the children played the whole time. We were 11 adults and 10 children.

First, we need to decide where to start digging....

The children were so anxious to help...
I'm not sure Rob knew what he was doing :o)

We got about 320 steamers and cockles

Here is Des helping the boys to get horse clams, she had a blast!

They got about 50 of them!Digging for steamers is fun but McKay had the best luck finding the good spots so, Shirlee and I decided to join him. Baby Alice was amazing. She was on her mom's back the entire time and never complained. She is the best baby ever! These are a cute pictures of Isabelle.

Andre had a birthday the day before, Alice was having a birthday and Isabelle's was the next day and, Rachel was very sweet and thoughtful that made a cake for them. Thanks Rachel!

Cute girls!

Daughter-Daddy pics.

No one had a swimming suit but... that didn't matter. Even Rebecca was playing in the water with her pajamas on :o)

At home cleaning the clams.
Shirlee, Annette and I were preparing everything to make clam chowder and getting the clams ready to freeze. Team work!

Spring Break

2011-04-07T20:34:00.001-07:00

The children had a week off from school for Spring Break. It has been raining and cold all this week but Jer and I wanted to take the kids out during the days I don't baby sit. One day we drove to Issaquah, bought two dozen doughnuts at Krispy Kreme and then went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to visit and have pizza for dinner. We watch dancing with the stars too... it was fun. The next day we took the kids to the beach, picked up shells and played with little baby crabs. After that we went to the Southcenter Mall and ate at this cool restaurant named "Rainforest Cafe". Los ninos tuvieron vacaciones de primavera por una semana. Ha estado lloviendo y con mucho frio toda esta semana pero Jer y yo queriamos sacar a los ninos en los dias que yo no cuido otros ninos. Un dia fuimos a Issaquah y compramos dos docenas de donas, fuimos a la casa de los abuelos y cenamos pizza. Tambien vimos un programa llamado, bailando con las estrellas..., fue divertido. El siguiente dia los llevamos a la playa, recojieron conchas y jugaron con cangrejitos. Despues fuimos al Mall y comimos en un lugar que se llama "Rainforest Cafe".

This place looks like a jungle and has monkeys all over the place... every few minutes they move and make noises. Isabelle thought they were real. It was fun for all of them and the food was great.

Este lugar es como una jungla y tiene monos en todo el rededor... cada cierto tiempo ellos se mueven y hacen ruido. Isabelle penso que eran de verdad. Fue divertido y la comida deliciosa.

Walking in the Mall we bought some cotton candy and had fun taking silly pictures.

Caminando en el Mall compramos algodon y tomamos algunas fotos.

Isabelle had so much fun ....and sugar!

Boys Projects

2011-04-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

Andre likes Legos, he has a lot of them and he was in need of space to display the ones he has put together. Jer and him decided to make some shelves for his and the girls room. Andre le gusta jugar con Legos, el tiene muchos y necesitaba espacio para mostrar los que ha armado. Jer y el decidieron hacer estantes para su cuarto y el de las ninas.

The next day they made a gun rack to storage Jer's guns in our closet.

Al siguiente dia ellos hicieron un expositor para armas en nuestro armario.

Here are the shelves in Andre's room.

Shelves in the girls room.

Hosting a Baby Shower

2011-04-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

In our church we like to do service for others. Sometimes we seek and find opportunities and some others we are asked to serve. One of our leaders at church called me and asked me to throw a baby shower for a sister that was expecting a baby. Even though it was her fourth child she was in need of everything for her new baby and I was happy to help. First, I started with invitations. I Came up with the idea by looking on the Internet and thinking about what I wanted to do. I made 50 invitations, one by one but, my lovely Jeremy was so kind to help me cutting. Every single one was different from each other. En la iglesia nos gusta ofrecer servicio y ayudar a otros. A veces buscamos las oportunidad y otras alguien nos pide que ayudemos. Una de las lideres de la iglesia me llamo y pidio que organizara un baby shower para una hermana que estaba embarazada. Aunque era su cuarto bebe ella necesitaba todo para su nueva bebita y yo estuve contenta de poder servirla. Primero, empece con las invitaciones. La idea vino de buscar en el internet y pensar lo que queria hacer. Hice 50 invitaciones una por una pero Jer me ayudo cortando. Cada una fue diferente de la otra.

After that, I wanted to make something special for her so, I learned how to make a diaper cake. I searched on YouTube and found a video that showed me how to make it. Went and bought everything I needed and made my own design.

Despues de estas yo quise hace algo especial para ella asi que aprendi como hacer un pastel de panales. Busque en youtube y encontre un video que me enseno como hacerlo. Fui a la tienda y compre todo lo necesario para hacer mi propio diseno.

Baby was born a couple weeks early so we had the opportunity to meet her on the shower. With the extra diapers I made this:

Here she is, Cherilynn and her daughter Francilya.

I'm glad she had a great time and received everything she needed for her new baby. Estoy contenta que ella la paso muy bien y recibio todo lo que necesitaba para su nueva bebe.

Sugar Crystals

2011-04-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Jeremy enjoys doing projects with the children. About 6 weeks ago they mixed water and sugar to make "sugar crystals". The kids were so excited to see and eat the crystals ( I wasn't sure about that... but Jer said it will be okay). A Jeremy le encanta hacer projectos con los ninos. Hace unas 6 semanas ellos mezclaron agua y azucar para hacer "cristales de azucar". Ellos estaban tan contentos de ver y comer los cristales (yo no estaba segura de eso pero Jer dijo que estaba bien)

"What Do My Girls Do and Love?"

2011-04-07T18:24:00.000-07:00

I don't particularly like buying chips and junk food for my family but, Isabelle's favorite chip is "Cheetos" so the other day while at Costco I saw this huge bag of chips and I had to buy it for her. She was so happy that she hugged it and asked: Is it all mine?How could I say no to this angel?

Ariana and Naomi were playing with dolls and pretending to be moms. After awhile they asked me if they could make a treat by them selves so I said "sure, but what ever you make, you eat". They were in the kitchen for a long time and finally I decided to check what they were making. It looks disgusting, doesn't it? I asked them what the ingredients were and this is what they said:

peanut butter

apples

sour cream

blueberry yogurt

apple butter

strawberry syrup

caramel syrup

chocolate syrup

sugar

trail mix

bananas

oranges

drops of juice

ice cubes

plantains

water

I'm sure they will spend a lot of time in the bathroom now :o)

"Another Year of Pinewood Derby Car"

2011-04-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

Jeremy loves helping Andre with all the Cub Scout projects. Some of them are more fun than others but he always is willing to do it with his son. This year they had a lot of fun making this good looking derby car "Death Racer". They put armour on the windows and a gatling gun on the front. I'm always impressed on what one can make with a piece of plain wood and some creativity.

A Jeremy le encanta ayudar a Andre con los projectos the Cub Scout. Algunos de ellos son mas divertidos que otros pero el siempre esta dispuesto a hacerlos con su hijo. Este ano ellos hicieron un carro muy bonito al que nombraron Death Racer". Le pusieron armadura en las ventanas y una arma en el frente. Siempre me impresiono lo que uno puede hacer con un pedazo de madera y creatividad.

Unfortunately, we didn't take pictures of the block of wood that they started in the beginning.

Desafortunadamente no tomamos fotos del pedazo de madera con el que se empezo.They used paper clips to make the gatling gun.

Here are the cars that competed in the race. The boys have the opportunity to have their cars race about 8 times. Andre's won first place a few of them. It was hard to beat the fastest ones :o) Los ninos tienen la oportunidad de competir unas 8 veces. El carro de Andre gano el primer lugar algunas de estas. Fue dificil superar los mas rapidos :o)

"Boys Day Out Shooting"

2011-04-07T17:14:00.000-07:00

Jeremy has a new hobby, "shooting". When I met Jeremy I new that he likes guns but I had no idea how much he "loves" guns and shooting :o) A few weeks ago Jeremy took Andre for a Father-Son-Day and of course they went out shooting. Jeremy tiene un nuevo pasatiempo, "disparar". Cuando lo conoci yo sabia que le gustaban las armas pero no tenia idea lo tanto que le encantan estas y disparar :o) Hace unas semanas, Jeremy llevo a Andre a disparar en su Dia de Hijo y Padre.

According to Jer, Andre is a very good shooter.

Our Friend's Baptism

2011-04-07T17:03:00.001-07:00

About 10 years ago we met the Salmond family. Desiree is the youngest of them and by the time we met she was about 10. Not too long ago, Desiree called Jeremy to ask him to baptized her into our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Jeremy was honored to do so. The sister missionaries, Desiree and Jeremy Des and her mom Annette Ariana was very sick that day so she couldn't go to church but she begged us to take her to see the baptism later that day.

Fun at the Mall

2011-04-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, one of my friends had a birthday and I offered to watch her children while she went out with her hubby. We love those kids and ours love having friends over. After dinner they started watching a movie when I asked them to get ready to go out. They didn't even think about it and were ready quickly. Jer and I took them to the Mall and did some wall climbing. I didn't do it but made Jer do it with the kiddos :o)

Hace un par de meses, una amiga cumplio años y yo ofreci cuidar a sus hijos mientras ella salio con su espocito. Queremos mucho a esos niños y los mios les encantan tener amigos en la casa. Despues de cener ellos empezaron a ver una pelicula cuando les pedi que se arreglaran para salir. No lo pensaron dos veces y se alistaron rapidisimo. Jer y yo los llevamos al mall para escalar la pared. Yo soy gallina para eso pero hice que Jeremy lo hiciera con los chicos :o) The girls spent a lot of time looking at pretty dresses{... hmmm.. girls}We also let them ride some toys. And this is the part that they enjoyed the most... CANDY!

We all had a great evening at the Mall. Todos la pasamos muy bien en le Mall.

Straight Teeth!

2011-03-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

Growing up I never liked my teeth because they were crooked. Jeremy didn't noticed and he thought I was pretty so that was enough for me :o) Two years ago I had the opportunity to get orthodontia. I started the treatment in March 2009. Here are some "before" pictures. Creciendo nunca me gustaron mis dientes porque estaban torcidos. Jeremy no lo noto y penso que era tan bonita que fue suficiente para mi :o) Hace dos ago tuve la oportunidad de arreglarlos con ortodoncia. Empece el tratamiento en marzo del 2009. Aqui hay unas fotos de "antes". At this point I already had the bands on my molars. It took about two months to make space between those teeth and I still remember the pain... lost 5 pounds the first week. Aqui ya tenia las bandas en la muelas. Llevo mas o menos dos meses para hacer espacio entre esos dientes y todavia recuerdo el dolor... perdi 5 libras la primer semana.

I went to my appointments about every six weeks. I liked changes the rubber bands colors, I tried ed almost all of them and my favorites were black and white. Fui a mis citas cada seis semanas. Me gusto cambiar el color de los hules, prove casi todos y mis favoritos fueron negro y blanco.

My last smile with braces! Mi ultima sonrisa con frenos!

Isabelle enjoyed watching her while she took the braces off. Isabelle le gusto ver como ella quito los frenos.

Mi first look! My teeth felt slimy

They made me hold this in my mouth to take pictures of my teeth. Jeremy thought it was funny enough to get pictures of me holding them. Me pidieron que pusiera eso en la boca para tomar fotos de los dientes. Jeremy penso que era lo suficiente chistoso para tomarme fotos.

I got a goody bag with popcorn, rice crispy, gum and twizzlers. Recibi una bolsita con poporopos, rice crispy, chicle y twizzlers.

Those two pieces of metal made my teeth straight... awesome!

Special Baptism

2011-02-14T21:55:00.001-08:00

Ariana's baptism was held at the Federal Way Stake Building on February 5th, 2011. It was a very special day for my little daughter. Ariana is a very good girl and Jeremy and I were so happy to support her on that day.
El bautismo de Ariana fue realizado en la capilla de la estaca en Federal Way, WA el 5 de febrero del 2011. Fue un dia muy especial para mi pequena hija. Ariana es una nina muy buena y Jeremy y yo estuvimos muy contentos de apoyarla ese dia.

Before the baptism we took some picture in front of the baptismal font.

Antes del bautismo tomamos algunas fotos en frente de la pila bautismal. After her baptism we met again for her Confirmation.

Despues de su bautismo nos reunimos otra vez para su Confirmacion.

Jeremy confirmed Ariana as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In the circle were: Bro. Sandberg, Lee and Waddoups (bishopric), McKay C., Dusty L., Rob L. and Chris C.

I had the opportunity to give some remarks as a Primary President. I never thought that I could be in that position and made me so happy to talk to my daughter as a mother and one of her leaders in church.

Tuve la oportunidad de dar unas palabras como Presidenta de la Primaria. Nunca pense que yo podria estar en esa posicion y me hizo tan feliz hablarle a mi hija como madre y como una de sus lideres de la iglesia.

This beautiful dress was a gift from her grand-parents (Stephanie & Paul). She looked like princess.

Over 60 people, between family and friends attended her baptism and at the end I realized that we didn't take any group pictures. The Loers and Salmons were the last ones to go :o)

My little Ariana is Eight!

2011-02-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

On January 10th, 2011 Ariana turned 8 years old! She was so happy and excited for her birthday. On that day, we took her to Red Robin for dinner.
El 10 de enero del 2011 Ariana cumplio 8 años. Ella estaba muy contenta y emocionada por su cumpleaños. Ese dia la llevamos a cenar a Red Robin.

In the morning before she went to school.

En la mañana antes de ir a la escuela.

At Red Robin

A few days later she invited some friends over for the birthday party. We played games and had a dance competition with the Wii. They had so much fun dancing! By the way, the boys were awesome :o)

Unos dias despues ella invito unos amigos para su fiesta de cumpleaños. Jugamos juegos y tuvimos una competencia de baile. Ellos se divirtieron mucho bailando! Por cierto, los niños lo hicieron muy bien.

The End of 2010

2011-01-02T19:34:00.001-08:00

It seems like the last 3 months of last year went too quickly. I wanted to mention some of events and activities we did at the end of 2010.

Pareciera que los ultimos 3 meses del 2010 se fueron rapidamente. Yo queria mencionar algunos eventos y actividades que hicieron al final del 2010.

I HAD A BIRTHDAY! Yes, I came back from Guatemala on my birthday. Jeremy and the kids took me out to eat and then my friend Linda brought me a welcome/birthday cake :o)

MI CUMPLEANOS! Si, yo regrese de Guatemala el dia de mi cumpleanos. Jeremy y los ninos me llevaron a cenar y luego mi amiga Linda me trajo un pastel de bienvenida/cumpleanos para celebrar :o) HALLOWEEN. We had fun at the trunk or treat at church.

DIA DE BRUJAS. Nos divertimos en la actividad que prepara la iglesia para las familias. On Halloween day we went to our friends' house in Sammamish. Naomi got sick on our way there and she couldn't trick or treat. This is way she is not smiling in this pictures. The other kids had fun.

El dia de Halloween fuimos a la casa de unos amigos que viven en Sammamish. Naomi se enfermo en el camino, por eso es que no esta sonriendo en la foto. Ella no pudo ir a pedir dulces. Los otros chicos se divirtieron mucho.

CHRISTMAS PICTURES! We took our family pictures for our Christmas Cards. We only had to take about 100 to get one good one :o)

FOTOS DE NAVIDAD! Tomamos nuestras fotos familiares para las Tarjetas de Navidad. Solo tuvimos que tomar como 100 para obtener una buena :o)

"Joy to the World" was an event held at our church. One of the children activities was to take nativity pictures.

For our church Christmas Party we were asked to participate in a play. Jeremy wasn't happy about it, but he did it anyways :o) It was a good experience for the children.

Para la fiesta de navidad de la iglesia nos pidieron que participaramos en una dramatizacion. Jeremy no estaba contento, de todas formas lo hizo :o) Fue una buena experiencia para los chicos.

CHRISTMAS EVE! We went to Grandma and Grandpa to have dinner with the family.

One of the Christmas presents was a Wii!!! The kids love it :o)

For Christmas we stayed at home, talked to the kids about the birth of Christ and spent time as a family. In the evening we went to see "Despicable Me". We all liked it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!

I love being Home!

2010-12-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

Every time I go back to Guatemala we get together to go places, to eat and just spend time as family. We went to out to a restaurant but I guess we didn't chose the best place to take this picture, it was dark and couldn't see what was behind us. Food was good though :o)

Evelyn, Vivi, Mom, Hugo, Me and Pamela

Joaquin, me and Pamela (niece and nephew)

That night Isy was kissing everyone!

She loves uncle Hugo!

Cousins Evelyn, Vivi and I

My dad took us out to lunch.

Vivi, me, Dad, Evelyn and Hector (my brother) One of my cousins graduated from college and we had the opportunity to be all together. All 4 are sisters. From left to right:

Vivi, Marcela, Veronica, Immer, Claudia & Sonia

My sisters are chickens :o) they didn't want to go on the slide!
We went bowling too!

We also went to El Mercado Central (Central Market). I bought instruments, purses, necklaces, etc. from him, so I thought... he deserves a pictures :o)

This is the part that Isy enjoyed to most this day: watching doves.

"Getting a Hair Cut"

2010-12-06T00:05:00.000-08:00

We were in Guatemala for a little bit over 3 weeks. Isabelle and I relaxed, visited family & friends, went to museums, we went out to eat, shopping and also got a hair cut. Here's Isy getting her hair done:She was getting upset about something...but, she was fine... almost done!

"Trip to El Salvador"

2010-12-03T16:43:00.000-08:00

During our second weekend in Guatemala, my mom, sister, Isy and I went to El Salvador. From Guatemala City to the border is only 2 hours and after that another 2 hours to the resort.

Bus Ride The name of this Resort is Royal Decameron Salinitas. It is a huge and beutiful place! It was all included... we ate, played, relaxed, enjoyed the shows and had a wonderful time!

This is what I call VACATION!

Isabelle had a great time playing in the sand... and then...

...she loved getting her self and Vivi cleaned up We played in the pool for hours and hours.Isabelle likes to pretend she is a model, well actually she is my little model :o)
All of us slept pretty good.

Me and my Mommy
Nice view from the room

Our last night in El Salvador

Soccer Season 2010 is Over!

2010-11-21T14:41:00.001-08:00

The girls played soccer through the Boys and Girls Club in Federal Way. They practiced twice a week and had games every Saturday. The season started at the end of September and ended yesterday. Jeremy volunteered to be an Assistant Coach and he actually enjoyed it. He did a wonderful job training the kids. The Coach and Jeremy were strict with the children but as a result they became a great team. "The Bluejays" was UNDEFEATED and won FIRST place!!! They scored 38 goals during this season :o) FIRST Place Trophy!
We had a pizza party afterwards and each child received a Medal and a Trophy.

Ariana was 22 and Naomi 4
Jeremy received a recognition for assisting and Andre a medal for helping during practices.

Naomi Loosing Her First Tooth

2010-11-12T16:46:00.001-08:00

This afternoon after Naomi came from school she showed me her lose tooth and I saw that the new one is already there. I said "Naomi, we need to pull it off", she agreed and here we go:

Some Museums in Guatemala

2010-11-11T13:20:00.000-08:00

NATIONAL PALACE OF CULTURE
It was the most important building in Guatemala and was the headquarters of the President of Guatemala. The building is the origin of all the roads in the Republic, and has a spot known as Kilometro Cero (Zero Kilometer). It is actually a museum and also is use for important acts of the government.

This is the outside picture of the Palace

Guatemala City has a Central Park or Plaza and the Cathedral is located on the left side of the Palace.

The day we went to the Palace they had an exhibition of antiques and art work.

Typewriter

Radio

Stained Glass

Paintings

Detail inside the National Palace

GUATEMALA RAILWAY MUSEUM

This has an exhibit of steam engines and carriages

Of course... don't forget the souvenirs!

Antigua Guatemala

2010-11-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

La Antigua Guatemala means the "Old Guatemala" and was the third capital of Guatemala. This is my favorite town to visit and it is located about 45 minutes from the city.This place is famous for its well-preserved Spanish influence and Baroque architecture as well as a number of spectacular ruins of colonial churches. We stayed in a hotel called "Las Farolas" for a few days. It has a beautiful garden with spectacular flowers and plants.

The temperature at night was so perfect to sit, relax and read a book.

This place was surrounded by plants and antiques.

I couldn't resist taking pictures of these beautiful exotic plants.

Look at this... it's so pretty!

This flower is called "Yellow Shrimp"

Huge leaves!While taking these pictures, someone was watering the plants by hand, with a hose :o) BTW this garden is pretty big!

This is a really cool vine. Are you able to see the lines coming from the top? Look at the bottom of the window and you will see the flowers at the end. Here is a closer look of the flower. Gorgeous, don't you think?
We took a horse carriage to the Central Park (only 3 blocks from the hotel).

Isy and my sister Vivi, my Mom and I

This is the entrance to one of the Souvenir Markets

While at the market I saw this indigenous hand weaving a textile. She explained to me that they have a story on each of them and it takes her 3 months to make one. They're sold for very little money compare to the amount of time it takes to make it.

This is one of many Catholic Churches in Antigua Guatemala. This one is use now for events. That night they had a wedding celebration and it looked like a night club.

The Central Plaza is surrounded by important buildings dating back from colonial times, this central plaza is the main hangout for locals. It’s always packed on weekends and festivals, when it is the scene for concerts and parades.

Fountain and Cathedral.

Closer look of the fountain. Don't you like it?

Cathedral

A couple of jewelry vendors at the Central Park.Hanging out at the Central Park.I guess she didn't want her picture taken!

This group of indigenous were playing "Marimba" and some other instruments while the little boy was dancing.

Streets of Antigua Guatemala

Isy being attacked by an angel!If you would like to hear how "Marimba" sounds like, click on the video bellow.

Airplane Ride to Guatemala

2010-11-09T20:48:00.000-08:00

Last month, on October 1st, Isabelle and I went to Guatemala. We were so excited for our trip!
This is Isy going to the airport.

She is a small creature and only weights 27 pounds so they allowed her to go with the carry-on baggage.

This girl was so sweet and tried to make Isabelle smile, but it didn't happen... Nice try pretty girl!

She was such a good traveler.While at the Airport you have to "have" the experience of buying something in there. She picked tic-tacs. I asked her to eat one at a time to avoid ear ache. She was pretty good about it and did as I asked. No ear aches :o)
She wanted to talk to Daddy :o( ... come on Isy, we just saw him 1 hour ago!Behind Isabelle is the airplane to go to Atlanta.

We departed at 10:55 PM. Good bye Seattle!

Almost midnight! of course she is tired. Do you think I was able to sleep?
NO! How can you sleep in an airplane?
Four and a half hours later we arrived to Atlanta. What? Morning already! We had a layover for 3 hours and 20 minutes. Isabelle took another nap.

Okay, this is her 3rd nap... Flight from Atlanta to Guatemala. Lucky her!

Time to do some coloring before landing!
Aerial view of Guatemala
(sorry, the window was dirty and didn't notice until the pictures were taken)

Sunset at Redondo

2010-09-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

We took the kids for a walk at Redondo Beach. It was a beautiful summer day in the afternoon.

I love my two little girls!

The love of my life (sigh)

Water is pretty cold but, kids don't really care :o)

Filming MultiCare Commercial

2010-09-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

Jer's employer, MultiCare, is a health care organization that owns 4 hospitals and multiple clinics, including the Mary Bridge Hospital in Tacoma. They were looking for models for an upcoming commercial and Andre fit the bill (gotta love the boy's "diversity"). He was invited to the video shoot where he had his own wardrobe, make-up and Hair person, and about 20 crew and directors who were producing the commercial.

Andre was placed at a table in front of a massive green screen (like you see in movie production), and surrounded by lights and diffusers. There were cameras set up to catch his every move. Only the art directors sat out front with him. Everyone else was hidden behind the screens watching the shoot on the monitors. Andre just had to play games the whole time. For an hour and a half they made jokes to him while he played with remote control cars, blew bubbles, etc.

When they finally got the perfect shot they used it at the end of their new commercial. It is airing all over the Seattle/Tacoma region. Here's the final product:

Just in Case We Forget...

2010-08-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a copy of the Assembly Instructions for our Tent :o)

Long Beach Weekend

2010-08-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

Last month Aunt Jill invited to Long Beach for a couple of days. The weather was perfect! We had so much fun and they kids enjoyed playing at the beach, window shopping and they also rode a horse. We had the opportunity to see the cousins and their kids. It was a wonderful weekend.
El mes pasado la tia Jill nos invito a ir a Long Beach. Estuvimos alla solamente por dos dias y una noche. El resort era muy bonito y comodo. El clima estuvo perfecto! Nos divertimos mucho y los chicos disfrutaron jugando en la playa, iendo a las tiendas y tambien montaron un caballo. Tuvimos la oportunidad de ver a los primos y sus hijitos. Fue un fin de semana fabuloso.

Amazing sand sculptures

Isabelle was so excited for the horses but when her turn came she got scared and didn't want to ride the little horse anymore.

Isabelle estaba tan emocionada for los caballos pero cuando fue su turno ella se asusto y no quiso montar el caballo.

Okay, I have to explain something about this picture... I asked Isy (a few times) to turn so I could take a picture of her; she said... "wait" every time until she turned and said... "okay, I'm ready" and this is what she did:

Bueno, tengo que explicar algo sobre de esta foto... Le pedi a Isy (varias veces) que volteara para tomarle una foto; ella dijo... "espera" cada vez hasta que volteo y dijo... "esta bien, estoy lista" y esto es lo que ella hizo:

Isy and her tiny body :o)

John and Jeremy visiting

Anthony flying a kite

Isy believes she can swim under water.

Isy cree que puede nadar debajo de agua.After playing at the beach Jill had plan a pinata and a mexican dinner.

Despues de jugar en la playa Jill tenia planeado una pinata y una cena mexicana.Trying to break this huge pitana!

My kids thanked Aunt Jill for the fun pinata.

We enjoyed this moon on our way home.

Disfrutamos esta luna en camino a casa.

Ariana's Turn to Try Scuba Gear

2010-08-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

About a month ago Jeremy took Ariana to the pool to try on the scuba gear. She experienced breathing under water with a Regulator! She did pretty good but the water was too cold to stay longer. She said that she had a good time :o)

Hace un mes Jeremy llevo Ariana a la piscina para probar el equipo de buceo. Ella tubo la experiencia de respirar debajo del agua con el Regulador! Ella lo hizo muy bien pero el agua estaba muy fria para quedarse mucho tiempo. Ella dijo que la paso muy bien :o)

Wild Waves Summer 2010

2010-08-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

As a Christmas present, Bill (Jer's dad) gave us season passes for Wild Waves. We went for the first time at the end of May. It was great! no lines, we went on the rides as many times as we wanted. The water park opened in June but still to cold to play in the water though. The kids love going to this park and it's only 3 miles from our home. We have gone on every single ride including the water park. Their favorite is the wave pool! We love summer.

Como regalo de Navidad, Bill (el papa de Jeremy) nos dio pases de temporada para Wild Waves. Fuimos por primera vez a finales de mayo. Fue genial porque no teniamos que esperar en cola y podiamos subir en los juegos todas las veces que quisieramos. El parque de agua abrio en junio pero aun muy frio para jugar. A los chicos les encanta ir a ese parque y lo bonito es que solo queda a 3 millas de nuestra casa. Hemos subido en cada juego incluyendo todos los toboganes en el parque aquatico. Su favorito es la piscina de olas! Nos encanta el verano.

Dad & Son Fun Days

2010-08-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

Andre is to the age where he and Jeremy can do a lot of "boy" activities together. Here's some of their summer fun days. Andre ya esta en la edad que puede participar en diferentes actividades con su papa. Aqui estan algunas de las que han hecho este verano.

Shooting .22s - Jeremy says Andre is a really good shot. Disparando .22s - Jeremy dice que Andre es muy bueno disparando.

Biking around Seattle and to the locks to see the fish ladders. They went with our friend Rob.
Ellos anduvieron en bicicleta en Seattle. Esta vez fueron con su amigo Rob.

No father/son day out is complete without a stop to McDonalds. Ningun dia de papa/hijo esta completo sin parar en McDonalds.

Swimming in Lake Washington. Nadando en Lago de Washington.

Day out on the canoe, hunting for turtles. This is the first turtle Andre ever caught. It is a painted turtle, a rare find where we live. Este dia fueron en canoa y encontraron tortugas. Esta fue la primera que Andre ha agarrado. Es una tortuga pintada, muy rara de encontrar donde vivimos. Andre took some pictures of a blue heron. He loves playing with his camera. Andre tomo algunas fotos de una garza ceniza. Le encanta tomar fotos con su camara.

Cub Scouts Program

2010-08-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

A few months after Andre turned 8 he joined the cub scouts. He loves it and he has learned many things in the last year. He finished the wolf book and now he's working on the bear book. He has participated in two cub scout camps, he is also working on the academics and sports book to earn belt loops and, the Faith in God booklet to earn the religious knot. Jeremy and I are working hard with Andre to help him to complete all the requirements. Here are some pictures that show his badges, belt loops, activities and some of the many stuff he has done and learned.

Unos meses despues que Andre cumplio 8 el empezo a asistir a los scouts. Le entanta y ha aprendido muchas cosas durante este ultimo ano. El termino el libro de lobos y ahora esta trabajando en el libro de los osos. Ha participado en dos campamentos, tambien esta trabajando con el libro de academicos y deportes para ganar trabillas (van colocadas en su cincho) y, el libreto de Fe en Dios para ganar el nudo religioso. Jeremy y yo trabajamos duro con Andre para ayudarle a completar todos los requerimientos. Aqui estan unas fotos que muestran sus parches, trabillas, actividades y algunas de las muchas cosas que ha hecho y aprendido.

JUNE AWARDS

DAY CAMP 2010

MARCH AWARDS

BUILT MODEL SHIP

SOUTH KING COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE

Some times the activities are for the whole family.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

Our friend Chris is a Lieutenant in our local fire department in Federal Way. He gave us a tour at his station

CLEANING THE FISH TANK

He had to learn to take care of his pets.

BUILDING BIRD HOUSES

Jer help Andre to build 3 houses

FAMILY OUTDOOR ACTIVITY

Andre planned a walk around Weyerhaeuser for our family

DERBY CAR RACE

Family Pictures

2010-07-29T14:45:00.001-07:00

Last week one of my dear friends took some pictures of our family. She is awesome and she did a great job with her camera. Isabelle fell asleep on our way to the park and of course she was not in mood for pictures. It's always a challenge taking pictures together! These are some of my favorite pictures. Andre doesn't like to be kissed! but I did it anyway.
Isabelle is such a daddy's girl.

I love these pictures of my boys.

Will I be taller when I turn 6?

2010-07-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

Naomi was so excited to turn 6! She asked if she would be taller on her birthday. We told her that she'll grow some day :o) Her "birthday wish" was to go to Wild Waves with a friend. We took all the girls and their friend Aitana on Wednesday to the park to have fun on the rides and in the water. They loved it!

Naomi estaba muy contenta de cumplir 6! Ella pregunto si seria mas alta el dia de su cumpleanos. Le dijimos que algun dia creceria :o) Su "deseo de cumpleanos" fue ir a Wild Waves con una amiga. El miercoles llevamos a todas las ninas y su amiga Aitana al parque para divertirse en los juegos y el agua. Ellas la pasaron muy bien!

They were so happy!

Ellas estaban tan contentas!

The rides are so limited for short kids but they rode on every single one they could.

Los juegos en que ninos pequenos pueden subir son limitados asi que ellas se subieron en cada uno que pudieron.

On Friday, the day of her birthday, she opened some presents and then we went to our friend's house to use the swimming pool and let the kids cool off a little bit, it was a hot day!
El viernes, el dia de su cumpleanos, ella abrio regalos y despues fuimos a la casa de nuestros amigos para usar la piscina y enfriarnos un poco, fue un dia muy caluroso!

She was so funny when she saw that she got some money... she could not believe they were real $5 and $20 bills. Look at the pictures below:

Ella fue tan divertida cuando vio que recibio dinero... no podia creer que eran billetes reales de $5 y $20. Vean las fotos de abajo:

Friday, at our friend's house!

Viernes en la casa de nuestros amigos!
Isabelle was in the pool for 3 seconds and got cold... she just played with Trevor the rest of the time.

Isabelle estuvo en la poscina por 3 segundos y le dio frio... ella solo jugo con Trevor el resto del tiempo.

Happy birthday my little Omi!

Feliz cumpleanos mi pequena Omi!

Cute Pics

2010-06-06T22:20:00.001-07:00

School had a movie & activity night. I took the kids and they got their faces painted.

La escuela tuvo una noche de pelicula y actividad. Lleve a los ninos y les pintaron sus caras. For a while Isy liked dressing as a princess evey day.

Por un tiempo Isy se vestia de princesa cada dia.

Izy modeling her bra.

Isy modelando su brasier.

Izy and Levi holding hands.

Isy y Levi tomados de las manos.

A couple of Elementary Schools had a Cultural Night and asked the kids to wear a traditional dress/costume. They picked their Guatemalan costumes.Un par de escuelas de primaria tuvieron una noche cultural y pidieron a los ninos vestirse con trajes de los paises que representan. Ellos quisieron usar sus trajes guatemaltecos.

Most of you know that Isabelle likes to sleep with company. When she is asleep she will look for your face and chest and put her hand on it. She has done it since she was a baby... it's cute.

Muchos de ustedes saben que Isabelle le gusta dormir acompanada. Cuando esta dormida ella busca la cara y el pecho y pone su manita encima para sentirte. Lo ha hecho desde que era bebe... es linda.

Easter 2010

2010-06-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

My laptop crashed right before Easter and I couldn't update my blog for over two months. So here I'm posting about our last Easter.
Mi laptop se arrunio cabal antes de la Pascua y no pude actualizar mi blog por mas de dos meses. Entonces aqui estoy escribiendo acerca de nuestra ultima Pascua.

A couple days before Easter my mother-in-law watched our kids while we went to the movies and she kept the kids busy decorating eggs. Andre is the one that took the pictures.
Un par de dias antes de Pascua mi suegra cuido a los chicos mientras que Jer y yo fuimos al cine, ella los mantuvo ocupados decorando huevos. Andre tomo las fotos. On Easter Sunday we had General Conference. We listened to conference on our computer on Saturday but Sunday we went to the Cahan's home. During the break we hid eggs around their yard. Kasey said I didn't buy the good stuff for the kiddos (hard candy instead of chocolate), so she got her own the share with the kids :o) My children are not picky, they take anything sweet!

El domingo de pascua tuvimos Conferencia General de la Iglesia. Escuchamos la primera parte del sabado en la computadora y el domingo nos fuimos a la casa de los Cahan. Durante el descanso escondimos los huevos de pascua en el jardin. Kasey dijo que yo no habia comprado buenos dulces (no chocolates) asi que ella saco los suyos y compartio con los ninos :o) Mis chiquitos no son delicados, ellos comen cualquier cosa que sea dulce!

Little Photographer

2010-06-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

When Andre was about 6 year-old he started showing some interest in taking pictures. He liked asking for my camera to take pictures and I wasn't sure to let him play with it. Finally he received a digital camera as a present when he turned 7. It is a small digital camera for kids. Pictures are not good and the screen is to small. It takes video but without sound. Last Christmas we decided to invest in a better one for him. We bought a Sony Cybershot and he loves it. He takes it every where he goes and takes pictures of things he sees around. He has a very good eye... just like his daddy. Jeremy is a good help for him. I wanted to post some of the many, many pictures he has taken.

Cuando Andre tenia como 6 anos empezo a mostrar interes en tomar fotos. El pedia usar nuestra camara para tomar fotos y no estabamos convencidos en que era buena idea dejarlo jugar con esta. Finalmente recibio una camara digital como regalo de cumpleanos. Es una camara sencilla para ninos. Las fotos no son de buena calidad y la pantalla es muy pequena. Toma video pero sin sonido. La Navidad pasada decidimos en invertir en una buena camara. Le compramos una Sony Cybershot and le encanto. La lleva a todas partes donde va para tomar fotos de lo que esta a su alrededor. El tiene un buen ojo... tal como su papi. Jeremy lo esta guiando por el buen camino de la fotografia. Yo solo queria mostrar unas de las muchas, muchas fotos que el ha tomado.

Seattle Science Center

Seattle Temple

Salamander in our garden

Twin Falls

Leaves at the Disk Golf Place in Auburn

Beer Bottle Caps at a Disk Golf Place in Aubun

Kindergarten Concert 2010

2010-06-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

Naomi had her Kindergarten Concert last week! She was very excited about it. The program was about 45 minutes long and they sang many songs. The children did a fantastic job and of course, it's thanks to the teachers that put a lot of effort and time into teaching these little ones.

Naomi tuvo su Concierto de Kinder la semana pasada! Ella estaba muy emocionada. El programa tardo unos 45 minutos y cantaron muchas canciones. Los chicos hicieron un buen trabajo y por supuesto es gracias a los maestros que ponen tanto esfuerzo y tiempo en ensenar a los chiquitos.

Naomi's Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Young

I love their cute voices!

Once upon a time...

2010-04-22T12:36:00.001-07:00

In a little house in Auburn there was a little girl named Isabelle. She dreamed about Princesses and one day her dream came true. She turned 3 year-old on April 20th and had the best day ever!
Había una vez en una pequeña casa en Auburn una niñita llamada Isabelle. Ella soñaba acerca de princesas y un día su sueño se hizo realidad. Ella cumplió 3 años el 20 de abril y tuvo el mejor día de su vida.

Our sweet little girl is 3 now. The day of her birthday her siblings wanted to see her presents before they went to school. One of the presents was a beautiful pink dress that she put right away after she opened it. She also got some nail polish and high heel shoes that she loved. After she took a shower I made her hair pretty and she picked all the accessories she wanted to wear with her princess dress and of course everything was "pink". After lunch we took her for a walk around the Mall and let her get on some rides. The other kids asked to try the climbing wall. Every one except "me" and Isabelle did it (I'm to scared to do that). Naomi climbed about 4 feet when she was too scared to go higher and didn't want to do it anymore. Ariana, Andre and Jeremy got to the top to push the button.
Nuestra pequeña niña tiene 3 años ahora. El día de su cumpleaños sus hermanitos querían ver los regalos antes de ir a la escuela. Uno de los regalos fue un vestido rosado muy lindo que se lo puso al no más abrirlo. También le regalaron pintura de uñas y unos zapatos de tacón que le encantaron. Después de bañarse le arreglé su pelo y ella escogió los accesorios que quería usar con su vestido de princesa y por supuesto todo fue "rosado". Después de almuerzo la llevamos a caminar al Mall y la dejamos que subiera en unos juegos. Los otros niños quisieron subir una pared. Todos a excepción de Isabelle y yo lo hicieron. Naomi subió unos 4 pies y luego le dió miedo de seguir más alto. Ariana, Andre y Jeremy llegaron a lo más alto y tocaron el botón.

After the Mall we came home and play with a bubble machine. Eva and Molly came for a couple of hours and play with the girls. Our friend Linda came to see Isabelle too and brought balloons for her. We all sang the happy birthday song and ate cake.
Después del Mall llegamos a la casa y ellos jugaron con una máaquina de burbujas. Eva y Molly vinieron a jugar con las niñas. Nuestra amiga Linda vino a ver a Isabelle y le trajo unas globos. Todos le cantamos felíz cumpleaños y comimos pastel.

We love you little Belle and hope that you stay cute and little as much as possible.
Te queremos mucho Belle y esperamos que te quedes chula y chiquita lo mas que sea posible.

Isabelle disappeared for a while and this is what she was doing quietly in the bathroom:

Going to the Mall with Daddy

I love that smile of happiness!

Our boy turned 9 today!

2010-04-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

Andre had his 9th birthday today. I can't believe how fast the years have past... my little boy is not little any more. Last week his grandpa Bill took him fishing to Beaver Lake in Sammamish. He received a fishing pool and a tackle box as an advance present for his birthday. He caught 5 trout which we had for dinner the next day. He also received a 21-speed mountain bike with dual suspension that he loves. He has been riding it every day after school for the last week. He is learning about the different gears that he can use.

Today we took them to Lincoln Park in South Seattle. They liked going on the zip-line, looking for little crabs, throwing rocks, taking a walk, etc. Andre asked me to make steak for dinner and he made fruity pebbles treats instead of a cake (imagine rice-crispy treats but with fruity pebbles instead - Yumm!). He had a fun day and we are so happy that he is part of our family. We love you Andre!

Fishing with Grandpa Bill

Look at all the fish he caught!

He actually received more presents than this :o)

LINCOLN PARK

Andre making his fruity pebbles crispy treats.