Family Road-Trip 2013

We have been visited my Mr. Jack Frost this week. Good thing he came to us when we are home and not on the road. 

For the week of Thanksgiving, I decided to invite myself and my little family to my brother's house in California. Them being the amazing people they are, they said "Sure!" and off we went for a whole week. 

The drive down went by so fast, I believe my excitement made the drive very enjoyable. SW Idaho and SE Oregon are pretty flat and dry and empty.

We drove for what seemed not so long when we came upon a funny named town: Winnemucca. After stretching our limbs and eating a little subway sandwich, we carried on to our southern journey. For many many miles we drove as we listened to music and told the children to quit fighting over whatever they were fighting over, then we saw hints of civilization again. A small city called Sparks came into focus. We thought it was Reno because we could see a few skyscrapers with flashy lights luring people to leave their money on their gambling tables. Sparks is kind of the Jamaica Plains of Boston, the West Valley of Salt Lake or the Meridian of Boise. 

Clowning around

Airborne

He can Fly!

One of the entrances

 










Reno was fun. We stayed in a place called Circus Circus. It was very interesting how people walked around with their little families inside the building with cigarettes in hand. Circus Circus was like a Chuck-E-Cheese with smokers but with lots more lights. My kids had fun for about the 1st 20 minutes. We went up to our room to watch Mrs. Doubtfire and jump on the beds. Shh, don't tell anyone!

Bright Lights in the City

Blink Blink Bye Bye Old Year

Noche Buena: Poinsetta's from work

Today is December 28th, 2011 in a couple 3 more days after today and then 2011 will be laid to rest in the beds of history. I have to say: how did it happen? I am still trying to write 2011 and now I probably will when in I should be starting 2012. 
This year brought a few changes with it. We moved to town. It was sad to move from the small town, it was in that place that my boy pretty much began his journey in this world. It was there where my girl started her school career. And for me it was a place with many good people around me. I miss playing basketball on Wednesday nights with my super cool sporty friends. They are super athletes, the kind that go join triathlons, and excercise 2 times or more a day. They are coaches for little kids...I mean, they are movers and shakers. Me, not  so much! I had to sit for a few seconds after each play, picture me on one of those folding chairs, hunched over, index finger up....'give me a sec here!' I am awesomely not in shape, oh well!
Nothing too exciting did happen this year. No new additions to our family, we still have our dog Chachis, she is like a dog to us. Has been with us since the beginning, she continues to be a good little dog, blind as can be, she is still worth her weight in gold, that's normally a little more during this time of year, she gets lots of leftovers and her slim physique, starts to resemble a black watermelon, a cute cuddly one.
All in all, there is a world of possibilities to improve on for the next year, as you can see, the bar was not set high at all for 2011, ok, well, it was not set at all, it's stored away in the garage somewhere, I think I will dust it off and set it out. 

I almost lost her in this sea of red.

Yeah, she was an absolute *angel.

Christmas Eve Dinner: Roast Beef, party potatoes, Tossed Salad, and burnt Rhodes Rolls, move over Martha!

Tio Danny in action

our Christmas Tree

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving, we traveled to SE Idaho to visit Grandma Bennett and also to spend the weekend with Wally and Carolyn. It was really nice to see them again after their mission to the Washington D.C. Temple. The D.C. Temple has got to be one of the most beautiful buildings in this whole world. I am sure my friend Gail will agree with me since it has special meaning in her life. Thanksgiving was all about eating and spending time with family. We have decided that we love the Crawfords a whole bunch. They are a bunch of cool guys (well mostly girls). I am sad to report that I did not take any pictures at Thanksgiving. Posts are not fun without pictures....just like the books I like to read....."what? no pictures? this stinks!!" I'll stick a picture of a turkey in here somewhere. Enjoy.

Trick or Treat

I happened to be perusing the web and decided to visit my own writings. I last wrote of Halloween, and even then, my attempt consisted of 3 sentences; empty in content, so that post really didnt count.
Halloween was celebrated the Wednesday before the actually Halloween, which fell on a Monday. My church, in its infinite wisdom (this phrase is not sarcastic here, I really mean it), held the ever so popular 'Trunk-or Treat' along with some great games and activities, even a potluck dinner. It was wonderful. The kids had a blast. The 4 yr. old discovered the magic of the the words "trick or treat". He ran from trunk to trunk so he could get his bite-size chocolates. He had been sick with some type of tummy bug, but it did not stop him from getting his candy. The boy dressed up as Buzz LightYear and the young lady dressed up as Silvermist, one of the Fairies from Disney's Tinkerbell. On the actual Halloween we helped a friend from Star move out. That was an adventure, but it was great to help out. There is a family in Star that really stepped up to the plate and helped this lady out; the Hernandez family. I have never seen a trio of men work so hard and so steady. Also a couple of our old neighbors helped out a lot. There was a lot of work to be done, A LOT!!! I am grateful for hard working people that put their backs into it until the job is done.
So that was our Halloween. Because we were not home to hand out candy, we got to eat it all, wonderful! now I know why my pants seem to be shrinking on me. I just could understand why, but now, I see. It was a 3 pounds of Snickers, can really add up to about 10 lbs. of Sol.

Thanksgiving came and went just as fast as this whole year. I can't believe this year is practically over. It has gone by so fast, and if it werent for some pictures we took, I would be in disbelief. So for Thanksgiving this year we went to visit Grandma Bennett, the Great Grandmother of my 2 little monkeys and so many many many others. The food was delicious and the company was great. We visited with the Crawfords: Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Ed, Colleen & Robert (although Robert worked the whole time we were there, very nice Robert, thanks for all your hard work, Kayla, Barb and their gorgeous children. Burke and Julie also joined the party. It was nice to see my beautiful nieces and handsome nephews. They are so tall, those boys! Uncle Gene and his super fashionable wife Phyllis were there as well as Uncle Lynn and his sweet wife Alice. Here is what the phone cam captured. Enjoy Bennetts.

Welcome to Grandmother's House

Good ol' Preston brick houses

Burke & Julie's familia

supermodel Jazzie

Uncle Lynn

Robert in action

Crawford grandkids

sleeping beautifully:  Kennedy

Alice, Lynn, Phyllis and Gene heading out

check out the icicle in the background

Zach was making everyone laugh, shocker!

Rivals? Hmmmmm?

Time to eat, check out the rolls, they didnt last!

Beautiful Julie

Perry's gorgeous daughters Mindy and Kimber

Perry said he wants to be just like Tom Brady

Jazzie going back home : (

Kylie

Grandma, resting a bit



Sparks under Zach's seat, this time it was an electric one!seat cut thru plastic of cable, sounded like firecrackers and looked like it too



Thanksgiving 2010

We decided to go to Zach's grandmother's house for Thanksgiving this year. She lives is the Preston area. Our family car had really bad tires, so I went to go get some new tires so as to not slip off the road on our way there. The weather is unusually cold in our area, and that means that Southeast Idaho is even worse. I started off at stupid Costco, there was a line of about 5 people in the tire department, when it was my turn, I was told by the guy there, (who was not very friendly) that for 2 tires it would be about 130, plus the install fee. And that the wait time was about 5 hours. So, off I went, across the street to Commercial Tire. The guy there was actually super friendly but that the waiting time would be 3-4 hours at the minimum. Then I went next door to Les Schwab...There were more people there than in an emergency room (a busy one :)). So feeling discouraged, I headed toward the office. At the corner of walk and dont walk, I looked to the right and saw a Big-O Tire. So I decided to try there also. There weren't very many people in there store, so I thought this would be the place we'd finally get the tires we so needed. The lady there told me there was a waiting time of about 3-4 hours. I told her, "well, I guess well have to rely on prayer to get us there safely" She told me to go to their store on State St. Thank goodness for that tip, we went there and got new tires in about 1.5 hours. Those tires were much needed because the road was pretty slippery. We saw a semitruck ran out of the freeway, it was carrying about 10 new cars. Zach said "That guy is pretty much fired by now". So following I will post some of the pics I took with my little phone. I really enjoyed Zach's family. Grandma Bennett is a real gem, because of her, there are many many many wonderful people in my life.

the view outside our car. It was blasted cold and oh so windy. brrrrrrrrrrr!

Halloween is around the corner

There is no Halloween in Mexico. I vaguely remember "Dia de los Muertos" which is some time in October. It's a day when people celebrate the dead by making cute pastries in the shape of skeletons/skulls and spending the day at the cemetary visiting the graves of their loved ones who have moved on to the next stage of existence. I am sure my siblings know more of this holiday than I, so let us know the traditions and meanings of "Dia de los Muertos". I am feeling too tired to do the research myself. Halloween is also celebrated in October. The thing that comes to my mind is CANDY and COSTUMES. I really like the candy part but I am not too much into dressing up. I dont think I ever had a formal costumes for Halloween. Some people go all out for the ocassion. I like to sacrifice the lovely pumpkins for their delicious seeds. I dont know what to do witht the actual pumpkin, other than give it a face and put a candle in it.
So, I hope everyone has a great Halloween this year. Remember to brush your teeth after the stealing of the candy of your little ones, well, at least I will!

To All You Mothers Out There:

Happy Mommy's Day. Whether you are expecting or have a great big bunch of grandkids, enjoy this day.

As I worried about the lesson that needs to be given today to my girls at church, I came across this video. Please watch it. I feel very grateful for my 2 little monkeys. I feel grateful for my healthy body. I need to remember this when I feel a little 'whiny'.

Cinco de Mayo

Yesterday was "Cinco de Mayo" which in reality is more of an American holiday than a Mexican one. At least that is what I remember. As a kid I never heard of crazy celebrations on May 5th...overhere it's a big deal. For the youth I decided to do a cultural night. I had the girls bring treats from other countries to share. Only 3 of the 13 complied with my demands, 1 brought crepes with a raspberry spread that looked divine, I say looked because I didnt get to eat any. And the second girl brought a small container with pozole (hominy soup with shredded chicken). The third brought a bag of tortilla chips w/ a jar of salsa and a can of frito lay's bean dip....mmmmm, authentic mexican! The salsa and the bean dip were gone, snap! like that. I had the girls make corn tortillas from Maseca. I had them make their own dough. They got to use a tortilla press and cook the dough into a tortilla. The end result was not pretty but it was delicious. They wrapped their tortillas with tomatillo salsa and monterrey jack cheese. We had fun. I think, though, the best part of the evening was sneaking into the gym to see the other youth's Cinco de Mayo show. They had traditional dances performed. The dresses were so beautiful. My heart was dancing with joy when they did the 'Jarabe Tapatio'. All my girls were very interested. And even the yappers were paying attention at the display of mexican culture. So that was my Cinco de Mayo. Hope you all had a fun one. By the way, Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexico's independence day. It commemorates the day the French were ran out of Puebla by the people there. It is significant because it was the ever so inspiring 'underdog' triumph!

Thank Heavens for Libraries

I haven't had very much luck with posting videos here. I am going to attempt. I went to our local public library, which is tiny and lovely. I love that it is small and that pretty much a third of the whole building is dedicated to the children. Last Monday, I found a little treasure there. I learned that you can rent a 'flip' camera. So this is what I am using to post videos of the angels singing and hunting Easter eggs.

Joy to Everyone

Joy to Everyone
Feliz Navidad a todo mundo.

Today I went with Bella to her Kindergarten class to volunteer. I got to cut ribbons, staple 2 different books for 40 children and cut red tissue paper for some Christmas craft. I took Franklin with me, he did really good coloring right by my side. My favorite part of the day was reading the kid's wish list to Santa. They drew and colored a big Santa, and the teacher typed out "All I want for Christmas is:_______________" My kid asked for a BopIt. There were some for Transformers, Easy Bake Ovens, a new puppy. And there were about 3 'I dont know's and 1 'I forgot'.

I really like helping out but Fridays I usually like to clean up the house, as I write, there's a mountain of dishes and laundry in the dryer, some in the washer some on the floor. I feel pretty good about going with Beli. She is a smarty pants, and today the teacher told me so.

I am now going to go decide if I am going to leave the dishes for tomorrow or pull an all nighter by my kitchen sink.......hmmmmmmmmmmmmm?