Our Lives in a Blink of an Eye

Our new Dog!

2012-01-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

So we went to the Humane Society of Utah about 2 1/2 weeks ago looking for a dog named Jackson. They brought us the dog, he was super shy and nervous yet very cute and quiet. We decided to give it a shot and brought him home that same day on a weeks trial period. Jorge and I said "well if he doesn't come around we will return him before the week is up". We really liked him and wanted him to respond better to our family dinamics and to show us that he loves us in return. By Tuesday of the following week he was starting to show signs of responding more to us specially me, he followed me everywhere and would sit down by my feet while I worked. As the days went by he started to come out of his shell and really show us his true personality. We decided to keep him and adopted him a week after. Jackson is an 8 yrs old English Springer Spaniel mix, he is kind, quiet, lovable, loyal, good to us, doesn't bark unless someone is at the door, he sleeps all night in his own room downstairs, he is good with the kids (yet he is still scared of them once in awhile), he is all trained and just such a GOOD DOG. We hit the jack pot with jackson. This is the type of dog we were looking for. A polite and playful companion.

This is when Jackson was still in his shy and nervous stage.

He is alittle scared of cameras so I need to get a more up to date picture.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-02T17:40:00.000-08:00

This year Christmas Day was on a Sunday. We got together Christmas Eve with my family for dinner, games and dancing. We had a great time together. Christmas Day we opened our presents early sunday morning and then went to church. After church all of our family came over and we had a brunch. We had ham, rolls, salad, fruit salad and cinnamon rolls. The food was very good and we had a great time opening more presents. For New Years we went all to eat at a restaurant and then we came home and fixed some Tequenos to snack on. Tequenos are cheese sticks with a dough wrapped around the cheese and then we fry it. It is delicouse. We were prepared to wait for the new year but we all fell asleep watching Kung Fu panda 2.

Jr Jazz

2011-12-11T19:41:00.001-08:00

Braden started practicing with his Jr Jazz team 2 weeks ago. I was able to go this last thursday and see him practice. He did a great job. He loves to play basketball and says that his cousing Carlos and Daniela have taught him alot about how to play. He gets excited each week to go practice. In January the games will start.

Getaway!!

2011-12-11T19:16:00.001-08:00

This weekend we had a mini getaway to "The Little America Hotel" in Downtown Salt Lake city. We arrived at the hotel and went swimming with the kids. Then we showered and got ready to eat dinner at Z Tejas in the Gateway. After we ate dinner we went to see the lights at Temple Square. This has been a tradition of ours every year. It was packed, I can't believe how many people where there last night. It was freezing cold but well worth it. We went to the new Deseret Book across from Temple Square and saw their new display window with a Gingerbread cookie factory. They were giving out gingerbread men cookies and selling hot chocolate from the lion house. It was great tasting hot chocolate. We had a great weekend with the kids.

THE Basement !!!

2011-12-05T20:33:00.001-08:00

Yes we are finally DONE!! Well at least it is livable and we still have a few details to finish plus the bathroom. But it is done. I am so happy we have finished this project!!! We are very happy with the final results like I said we still have to get two more doors and finish some molding and get closet doors and finish the bathroom. Those things can wait alittle bit. We are excited to get this extra space now.

Christmas Is Here!!!

2011-12-02T21:01:00.000-08:00

Finally today I was able to start decorating the house. The last couple of days have been busy with the preparations for the Relief Society Christmas Dinner. I can say that it all turned out great. The food was yummy, decorations where beautiful and the entertainment was fabulous. I think my board and I did an excellent job.

Now I can breathe, start christmas shopping and get into the spirit of christmas. This year christmas came to quick. Hopefully we can slow down alittle now that our basement will be completed tomorrow with the installation of the carpet. Jorge will finish this semester of school and we can all be together and relax for this month.

Like I said we decorated our tree today, I think it turned out beautiful. I also decorated with garland and I put them on my window valances.

Crazy, Busy in the Guillen HOusehold

2011-11-13T20:26:00.000-08:00

Lately we have been so busy its not even funny. I think in the end we will need a mini vacation from all this crazyness. Let me name a couple of the things we have been up to. First of all, work has been busier than ever (which is nice because my checks are bigger)but it would be nice to have a break of 1-2 minutes between my calls to at least catch my breath or to just have a drink of water. Second, Jorge has taken 4 classes in school and is busy with homework, hopefully he will be graduating at this time next year with his bachelors degree in business. Third, OUR BASEMENT!!! Am I aloud to scream!!! J/k it has been alot of work, it has taken all our free time, our precious weekends go by so fast because we are working in it all day. Yesterday we finally finished painting. Next week buy doors, molding, and more paint for those things. Hopefully saturday we will continue installing electrical outlets and switches so that we can hook up the lights. We need to finish some tile and put up the doors and moldings. We have an installation date of December 3rd for the carpet. So a few more weeks of crazyness and we should be done. The bathroom won't be finish just yet but it will be done in the next few months. Fourth, Braden and Kaylee are doing very good in school. Kaylee has reached her reading goal she is reading with an AR 7.0. She has done very good with school this last term. Braden is getting almost perfect scores in his tests. It amazes me because he started the year kind of slow and not knowing how to do things and now he works fast and knows what he is doing. He loves to do homework. My afternoons are busy with homework, dinner, reading and spending time with my family. It has really been some crazy months but I think we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.Kaylee started attending Activity Days and she absolutely loves it. Just this Friday they had Recognition Night and they did a Hotwheels race. She got to go with her dad and decorate a hotwheels car and race it. She got a certificate for Most Delightful. She was so excited for this activity. And last but not least, my calling!! I am the Relief Society Activities coordinator and have been for the last 4 months. It has been fun planning activities. The biggest activity that I have been planning has been the Christmas Dinner. In about 2 1/2 weeks we are having this dinner. I dream about it, I think of it all day, its constantly on my mind. I just hope and pray that everything turns out as planned and that we have a good number of sisters come. Once its over I can focus more in having christmas for my family. This year I am going to be one of those last minute shoppers. Can I say that I haven't even started christmas shopping? So wish me luck its going to be frustrating but at least I know what my kids want so I don't think it will be that bad.
This has been a little catch up with what we have been up to. Hope you enjoyed it!!

Syracuse Pumpkin Walk

2011-10-30T10:36:00.001-07:00

We went on Friday evening to the Annual Syracuse PUmpkin Walk. This event is organized by our great city of Syracuse. There were tons of carved pumpkins displayed so everyone could see the masterpieces. This year there were booths and food and firepits surrounded by hay bails so people could sit and get warm. It was a great family activity. I love our city, it is so family oriented. I hope it stays like this for awhile. Its a great place to live.

Enchanted Woods

2011-10-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took the kids to the Treehouse Museum where every year they do "The Enchanted Woods". They recreat stories and the kids take a tour of the museum and meet different characters from children stories and legends. This year it was The Wizard of Oz. While they went through each station they would get candy and little things to put inside their treat bag. Kaylee and Braden really enjoyed it.

Our Basement

2011-10-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

This is the shower in the bathroom.

This is the Family Room with the French Doors we added. I love how the room looks. It has more light.

For the last year and a half we have been working on our basement. We can finally say we are in the final stages. Last week contractors came to hang the drywall and today two guys came to start the mud and tape. Hopefully by next week it will be ready to seal and paint. We are getting excited for this big project to finalize.

Pumpkin Patch and Hay Ride 2011

2011-10-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

On Friday we took the kids to J&J Nursery and Gardens for the Annual Hay Ride and Pumpkin Patch. They offer free ride and pumpkin with the donation of canned food for the Food Bank. It was a hot day and very sunny with blue skies. I thought it was perfect to take the kids after school on friday since they get out early. I think everyone had the same idea cause there was a big line when we got there and by the time we left they had about 4 tractors and trailers taking people to and from the patch. We each got a good size pumpkin. For Braden it was a big decision on which one to pick. We loved choosing our own pumpkin.

Kaylee's 8th Birthday

2011-09-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

So kaylee had her birthday on the 2nd of September. We took the Frontrunner and went down to Downtown SLC to meet with Jorge. Then we took her to eat at The Garden on top of the Joseph Smith Building. No one was there so we had the place to ourselves and we enjoyed an early dinner with her. After we ate, our waitress gave kaylee a balloon and little paper to write down a wish and then they opened the roof so that kaylee could let go her balloon with her wish attached to it. Later we left and gave kaylee her birthday present. We went to the Gateway and got the kids some chocolate treats at the cute chocolate store and they have there. We also got some cookied from the cookie store at the gateway, they have the best cookies in town.

Kaylee's Baptism

2011-09-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

Kaylee got baptised!! It happened on Saturday September 3,2011. She looked beautiful in her white dress. She was nervous and so was I. Everything turned out wonderful. The Program at the stake center was great and our wards primary president did such a good job with the little program our ward had after the baptisms. I was caught by surprise because they asked me to bear my testimony. It was a great opportunity to bear my testimony with all my family there and to tell kaylee specifically how much I love her and how proud I am for her baptism and to share my testimony directly to her. I felt the Holy Ghost so strongly that I was a mess crying everywhere. It was a special day for my family.

Kaylee's good friend Taylor also was baptised on that same day. They were able to sit together during the opening program. Then each ward had their own baptism and confirmation program.

After the baptism everyone came over our house to have a light luncheon. Everything turned out very good and we all had a great time together.

Kaylee

2011-08-31T10:15:00.000-07:00

Can you all believe that Kaylee will be turning 8 yrs old in 2 days? cause I can't! It has been the greatest 8 yrs of my life to have such a cute and caring daughter. I am grateful that we have such a fun daughter, she is the world to us and has such good intentions towards everyone. She has done so good in school and is very dedicated to her homework and piano. She loves to play with her younger brother and with her cousin Daniela. This coming saturday she will be baptized and she can't be more excited about it. She loves the Gospel and loves to attend primary. I am so excited for her. She will start to go to Activity Days, something that she has waited for. Happy Birthday to my sweet Kaylee, I love you very much you are the world to me.

First Day of School!!

2011-08-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of school for both Kaylee and Braden. Kaylee is going into 2nd grade and Braden into 1st grade. My kids are growing up so fast. I always joke around with them and tell them to stop growing and stay the same so that they don't get older. I makes me sad that I don't have babies anymore. I am so excited for this new year they both love their teachers and they are eager to learn.

Kaylee will be 8 next friday and she is so excited to officially become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She had an interview with the bishop a few weeks ago and he said she is ready to be baptised. We are so happy for her and for this big step she will be taking. We love her dearly, she is a great daughter to us.

I feel so happy and grateful with the family that I have. Great husband, great kids, I have the gospel in my life, we have health, we have jobs, we have received alot of blessings in our lives.

Josh Groban Concert

2011-08-17T18:11:00.000-07:00

So I am a big fan of Josh Groban. He has a new cd that came out this year and now he is on tour in hid "Illuminations Tour". Jorge gave me the tickets as a birthday present this year. Just this last saturday we went to the concert. I loved it!! It was great. He puts on a good show with his music and his jokes. Really enjoyed the evening with Jorge.

LAGOON!!!

2011-08-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

Yes we finally went to Lagoon on August 6th and had an awesome time. Once we got there we went right to the Log ride and Rattlesnakes Rapid and got extremely soaked from head to toe. It was very refreshing but uncomfortable in my tennis shoes. My feet looked like prunes all day. The kids rode on rides that I had never thought they would ride on. They loved the new "Bombora" rollercoaster and "The Bat" and other fun rides. We had a little mishap, we forgot our sandwiches at home and ended up spending way too much money in a subway footlong and some chicken nuggets and fries for the kids. I swear we wanted to save money by taking our own lunch but we forgot the yummy sandwiches I made with homemade bread. Stuff happens!! We left at around 8pm after a long and fun day and ate dinner at Chili's. We were all so hungry that everyone cleaned their plates.

P90X!!!! Bring It

2011-08-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

Jorge and I decided that we needed to start something to get in shape. On May 23, 2011 we started P90X. For you guys that do not know what this is. Its a grueling, hard, strenouse workout system that gives you results in a matter of 90 days (3 months). We started on May 23 and we are almost done with the 3 months. We have 2 more weeks or so to go. We also have been following the diet that the whole system brings. I have drastically changed my way of eating, and I feel amazing. I am kind of embarrased to say that I was 183lbs when I started and now I am 165lbs and going down. I am almost 20lbs lighter that when I started. I still have 20-30 more pounds to loose. This program works and it helps you to loose the pounds and gain muscle at the same time. I highly recommend it to anyone that wants a challenge.

Ensign Peak "Salt Lake City"

2011-07-25T10:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went on a hike to Ensign Peak. This hike is located behind the State Capitol Building. It was an easy hike, it lasted for about 1 hour going up and down. The kids really enjoyed it. There were awesome views of the valley. We then went to the Farmer's Market and bought some fruit, kettlecorn and ate lunch at the park. We later went to the Roy Aquatic Center for some swimming fun and ate dinner at Costa Vida. It was a day full of activity and fun. The kids really enjoyed themselves.

Summer!!

2011-07-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

Not too much to say about summer so far. We have been working and just hanging out. Haven't done that much just relax at home, play, go to the movies, eat, exercise, shop and hopefully we will be going to Lagoon in the beginning of August. We are going to hike Ensign Peak on saturday and then go to the Farmer's Market at Pioneer Park in Downtown. I will make sure I bring my camera because we need to take some new pictures. Haven't done that lately. We have been to the Roy Aquatic center twice and have played with friends. I guess we have had a fun relaxing summer. We have been working on our basement for the past couple of months, hopefully by the end of the year we will be done with it and then we can take a nice vacation.

Kindergarten Graduation!

2011-06-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

So Braden graduated from Kindergarten. His teacher was Miss Williams, she had been a great kindergarten teacher for both Kaylee and now Braden. This school year that just ended Braden has learned alot of things. He finished all 50 skill sets and he learned all 11 giraffe word lists. He is such a smart kid. I love him so much. He will miss his friends for school. Already looking forward to 1st grade.

Father's and Sons Campout

2011-06-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

This year Jorge and Braden went to the Annual Father's and Sons campout in Camp Woodland, Morgan. The weather has not been cooperating this year but Friday turned out to be a pretty good day to go camping. The only down side to it was that it was very cold at night. The camp was only a overnighter but they had fun playing, and enjoying each others company. Great memories for both of them. I love my two boys.

Race Car

2011-05-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

This year in First Grade kaylee had to make a race car out of a cardboard box. She needed to be able to ride in it through a race track that the 1st grade teachers where going to have for the kids. Jorge helped preparing her car and she loved it.

My Boy is 6!

2011-05-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday May 19, Braden turned 6 yrs old. How time has gone by so quickly. He is such an amazing kid. I love him so much. He is our little miracle baby because he was 11 weeks premature. But here he is healthy as ever and growing like a weed. We love his sweet spirit, he is smart, handsome, caring, and really loves his mama. next year he will be in 1st grade already. He loves to read and torment his OLDER sister. I know deep down they love each other but somedays I can say that it doesn't seem that way. I remember when I used to fight and argue with my siblings, so I know its a normal thing that all kids go through. We celebrated his birthday with 7 of his good friends yesterday. It was fun to have all these loud, energetic boys over for a party.

We also took Braden to "TGIF" FRIDAYS for dinner on the day of his birthday. He ate all his dinner and the waiters brought him some ice cream and sang to him.

Mother's day!

2011-05-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

This year our weekends have been so busy with the basement and other projects around the house. For Mother's Day I was very surprised. Since the beginning of the week the kids have been giving me little gifts that they have done in school. Braden made some flowers out of scrapbook paper and he put them inside a pot with beans, I loved it. Kaylee made a couple of bookmarks for me and a magnet that says LOVE. I appreciate the teachers that put so much effort and ideas on Mother Day gifts. Then on Friday afternoon Jorge and the kids surprised me with more gifts. I got a beutiful blouse, lotions and body sprays and a dozen red roses, then they took me to Tony Burgers in Centerville to eat dinner. I am so fortunate to have 2 wonderful kids and that are so loving and caring. But sometimes can be disobedient and fight all the time with each other (who said being a mother was easy). It all comes with the package. I love my husband dearly and thanks to him we have an eternal family.

On sunday the 10th we went over my mom's house to have dinner with the whole family, we gave each other little gifts that were inexpensive but were needed. I love my mom and her example that she has given me through out the years. I love my sister and sister in laws that show me how to be a great mom. I also love my mother in law, I can honestly say that I have a great relationship with her and I consider her a second mother.

New Laminate Floors

2011-05-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Friday and Saturday we put in laminate floors in our kitchen and dining area. The job was hard to do, specially when we didn't know what to do and had to basically teach ourselves how to do it. My brother in law (Jorge) helped us on Saturday and since he knew what to do it went more quickly. We ended up finishing up at around 10pm on saturday. We still have to install the molding. I think our hard work was worth it, the floors look very nice and clean. I really like it.

Construction of Basement

2011-04-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

This year we have set a goal to finish our basement. We are done with Framing. We just need to finish some last details of it. On saturday we installed the French Door that will go out to our backyard. They look very nice, it will look nicer when the whole thing is done. We are getting very excited that we will have this extra space done before September hopefully.

Sunday Morning Fun

2011-04-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

This is what my kids wanted to do this morning. We go to 1pm church and so they have the whole morning to play and have fun.

Cooking time!

2011-04-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

The other day I was just tired and did not want to fix dinner. I was contemplating just buying take out or something. My sweet daughter Kaylee tells me, "Mom, if you are tired I can cook and you just tell me what to do". I just about melted when she told me that. She also said, "Mom I want to eat a healthy meal, so lets cook and I will do it." So those words gave me energy to fix a healthy homemade meal. I don't thing I am the only one that feels tired and not have the energy to fix dinner sometimes. So my cute kids decided to help me fix a yummy dinner.

Spring Soccer

2011-04-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Braden started playing soccer again with the same team he had in the Fall. He plays with AYSO League. He really enjoys playing even if he is still learning what to do. He loves to run up and down the field. He is playing soccer with his good friend Ty.

New House!!!

2011-03-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

My parents built a new house in West Haven and we moved them in on Friday and Saturday. They are so happy with their new house. It is gorgeous. I absolutely love it. I hope someday I can own a house like this one. Here are some pictures of the house. Nielson Homes did a great job in building their house. They love their neighborhood and their new ward.

Josh Grban!!

2011-03-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

So Josh Groban is coming to Salt lake city in August 13,2011. I started liking him a few years ago when he released his Awake cd. I had the priviledge of going to his concert in 2009 for the Awake Tour. Now he released a new cd "Illumunations" and he is going in tour again. Ofcourse I wanted to go again. So we got the tickets a few days ago and I am so excited. We were thinking of getting the lower bowl tickets but they were kind of pricey. So I settled in getting the best seats available in the upper bowl. I think they are pretty good seats just not very close but we will be able to see the stage pretty good. I know that it doesn't matter where we sit we will enjoy the music and the effect of the concert.

In the remodeling Mood!

2011-03-12T20:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we have a couple of projects in the works for our house. We are finishing our basement (finally it was about time). It has been a slow process but we are getting there. We have also purchased laminate floors for our kitchen and dining, tile for our 2 main entrance to the house. We have so many plans for improving our home that we are so excited to begin. I will be posting pictures as we finish our projects. I think we are starting on the floor next weekend. Hopefully by the end of the year we are planning in getting new appliances for our kitchen and new counter tops.

Getaway!!!!!

2011-03-01T10:37:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we went to Logan for a little getaway. We stayed at the Crystal Inn in Logan. We had dinner the first night at Hamilton Steak House. Jorge went there a few months ago with his work. He loved the place and has wanted to take me since then. We finally made it and went and really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. Its a very nice place with really good steak. The kids ate all their food, they loved it as well. After dinner it was snowing alot!!! We arrived at the hotel and went swimming with the kids for about 2 hours. We were able to go with our friends The Gonzales's. They meet us there and stayed at the same hotel as us, our rooms were right next to each other. The next day we went to the Hardware Ranch to see the Elk. We have never been there and the Gonzalez's had been there before and they told us about it. We were amazed at how big the Elk are and how many there were. The day was beautiful, the skies were blue and the contrast with the white snow it just looked stunning. Eventhough a snow storm went through the night before the weather was excellent Saturday. After Hardware Ranch we went to eat lunch at The Blue Bird Grill in Downtown Logan. The food was very good and their rolls are to die for. Then we headed home for my mom's 60th birthday surprise party. It was just alittle party with all the kids. She was very surprised and happy. We had a good time eating cake and ice cream. All in all we had a very relaxing weekend and we enjoyed ourselves. We loved the hotel, it was clean, the rooms were comfortable and the breakfast was good.

Too Busy

2011-01-29T17:42:00.000-08:00

I started working on the 10th of January as a part time interpreter. I now have a fixed schedule of 9am-1pm Monday through Friday. I am really liking this schedule. It lets me send the kids to school with no problem and at the same time be home when they get home from school. I know that summer will be alittle tricky to keep the kids entertained during those hours but it will be okay, and the extra money is great. We have so many projects that we want to accomplish and now we will be able to. We first want to finish our basement (this is priority) and then maybe replace the flooring of the kitchen, dining room. Hopefully we will be able to put laminate floors and also paint kaylee's room and redecorate her whole room. She will be 8 yrs old this year and will get baptized. I can't believe this year she will become an official Member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She is so excited. We are planning to take her to her first Conference session this October. We are excited for this new year that has started with all the positive changes we have had as a family. Looking forward to accomplish all the projects that we want to do.

Braden lost his first tooth about 2 weeks ago. The new tooth was already growing behind the old one and finally it was loose enough to pull it out. I had the priviledge of pulling the tooth out and now the new tooth is moving forward to its place.

Jorge got a new job with the church. He is a Specialist International Print Planning and will be working in the Church Office Building. We are excited because he will be incharge of the International Printing and will have the opportunity to travel to other countries to supervise the printing of church products.

Monster Trucks Show!

2011-01-08T21:48:00.000-08:00

We've been wanting to take the kids to a Monster Truck show for awhile now because Braden loves the trucks and he has several toy trucks that he plays with. So today we went to the show in the afternoon. The kids didn't know where we were going so it was a surprise for them. When we told them about the show this is how braden reacted.

Kaylee and Braden

The show was very good entertainment for the whole family. We are glad that we took the kids to it. Even our niece from Venezuela (Jessica) came with us because she has never seen such thing. She enjoyed it alot as well.

Christmas Day

2010-12-29T17:15:00.001-08:00

Christmas Morning kaylee woke up and we all had to wake braden up to see what Santa had left for the kids. The kids were very excited to see all the presents. Kaylee got an Easel, with all the paints, she also got a Liv Doll with some accesories, she got the Just Dance 2 wii game. Braden got a racetrack, lego truck, star wars spaceship and some board games. I got a watch that I have been wanting to ge and a new coat. Jorge got a sweater and The Pacific which is a HBO series of the war. We also had our family over for our traditional christmas day breakfast. For reasons not under my control we didn't take any pictures. I guess we were busy eating, talking, opening presents and cleaning up that neither Jorge or I had a chance to take pictures.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-29T17:05:00.000-08:00

This year on Christmas Eve we had dinner at my sister in laws house. My inlaws prepared a very good dinner with Pork, Hayacas, Pan de Jamon and potatoe salad. The food we ate is typical from venezuela. This year we've had the pleasure of having family come from Venezuela. Jorge's niece came to spend christmas and new years with us. It has been fun to talk to her and be with her.

This is our niece Jessica with her cousins

The Guillen and Furse Family

Me and my hubby

Temple Square Ligths!

2010-12-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

This year as every year we go to see the Temple Square Lights. Every year its so exciting to go as a family. We have made this a little tradition and the kids are always waiting patiently for the time in which we go. The lights this year were beautiful, one new thing they did was to put nativity scenes from different parts of the world around the big water fountain infront of the COB (Church office Building). They were very cute and nice. We also went inside the Joseph Smith memorial bldg. to see their big christmas tree. I love Downtown in christmas time with all the lights and all the hustle and bustle of this time of year.

We also got to see the Christus Statue which is one of our favorites to see. The visitor center was very packed and there was a line to go up to see the statue. Jorge and I had a very special moment when we were going up to see Jesus. We said to each other " this is how its going to be when Jesus comes again, there will be a long line so that we can all see him". I got very emotional because I was able to feel the spirit. And I know for a fact that Jesus will come again and that we will be able to see him, touch him and feel of his presence. What a great time of year to talk about our Saviour, Reedemer, Comforter and the only Begotten son of our Heavenly Father. Let us always think of him not only in this time of year but through out the whole entire year so that our lives can be blessed.

Thanksgiving and Family Photoshoot

2010-12-01T10:53:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we went over to my brother's house for dinner. We had the traditional turkey, potatoes, green bean casserole and collard greens casserole and for dessert we had pumpkin trifle and chocolate chip cookies. We had a great evening with our family. I am so thankful this year for a warm house, a family that I love each day more and more, for jobs, for our Saviour Jesus Christ, our gospel and for all the blessings that we have received this year.

On November 27th we had a family photoshoot by Matt Peterson Photography. Our location was Antelope Island. It was freezing but the day was beautiful. After the shoot we all went to eat lunch to Texas Roadhouse, the food was very good and we all had our tummys full.

Crafting!

2010-11-17T19:12:00.000-08:00

I have been searching websites that will show me how to do things. I came across a website by the name of Lil'Luna. The lady is very crafty and has alot of ideas of things to do around the house. She has tutorials on how to do certain crafts/decorations for the home and for the holidays. I have made one thing and it turned out very cute. She has this idea of a wreath with the first letter of your lastname overlapping it. I printed the list of items I needed and off I went to collect everything I needed to make this cute wreath. I ended up spending only $7.00 on everything because I already owned a wreath (which can be the most expensive item on the list) and the only things I bought was the wooden letter, scrapbook paper, ribbon, Modge Podge, and some fake flowers. I then proceeded to make my wreath. It was so easy that I finished it in about an hour. It turned out very nice, even my mom wants one for her house,and several people that have come to my house has commented on it.

Part Time Job

2010-10-19T16:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I received a call from my job offering me a more permanent position either full time or part time. It seems that the logged in position that I have currently will no longer be available next year so they are converting all logged in interpreters into full time or part time interpreters with a fixed schedule. Since I still have braden in Kindergarten I will be working part time, it will not be that big of a change from the times that I work currently. My new schedule will be M-F from 9am-1pm. The only difference is that it will be fixed, therefore I will not be able to log off whenever I want to. I will need to work 4 hrs everyday at exactly those times. I actually have been praying alot for my job to give me some new opportunities to earn more money, and I feel that this has been the answer to my prayers. I will be earning more cause I will be working more plus just about 1 week ago braden's school started to offer kindergartens to take the bus after school. So that is another bonus cause I won't need to pick him up from school. Everything has fallen into place and hopefully this change will take effect beginning next year.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

This year we went to J and J nursery for their hayride and pumpking patch. They were offering all for free. There was no wait at all, we spend maybe 30 min there and came out with our 2 big pumpkins. It was a beautiful Saturday morning. We cannot ask for better weather this fall season. It will all come to an end soon. But we need to take advantage of it. Hopefully Halloween will be this nice so the kids can actually show their costumes without having to wear a coat. I will post some pictures soon. Once I figure out how to download them from my phone.

No Camera

2010-10-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

I have no camera therefore no posts. Our camera stopped working after kaylee's birthday party. We need to get a new one. That is the reason why I haven't posted anything new because we don't have a decent camera. I couldn't either take any decent picture of the Pyppy that we had for one week. I took some of him with my celphone but its not the same. Yes people we got a puppy his name was Danner and he was a Labrador/Golden Retriever mix. He was very cute and cuddly but it was too much work. He only lasted for one week in our home. We really loved him and we all cried when I gave him to some lady but I felt good with the decision. Jorge was very heartbroken but he will be okay. I felt very overwhelmed and stressed. Hopefully we will get a camera soon so that I can start taking pictures and posting.

Kaylee's Birthday party

2010-09-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

On saturday we celebrated Kaylee's birthday with the family. I made the cake, which took me 2 days to make. And for any of you that would ever want to try making a fondant cake? Its harder that it looks. Making the fondant is easy the hard part is flatting it out on the counter and then grabbing it and putting it over the cake. So many things can happen while transfering it from counter to cake. But it turned out as good as it can be for a beginner. It is my first cake with fondant. We had a great time with family, we always do. Lately we have had so many family activities that its just doesn't feel right if we are not together. We laugh and joke alot and it makes up for a great time.

Black Bears!

2010-09-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

This year kaylee is playing soccer with the Syracuse city league, we wanted her with AYSO like Braden but when we registered Braden she was not interested. She then became interested in playing knowing that her cousin, brother and some of her friends where playing soccer as well. So we eventually registered her into the city league. Hopefully next year we can do AYSO in the spring. Yesterday she had her 2nd game and they won 3-0. They all did wonderful. Kaylee even almost scored a goal, I am so proud of her. She had come a long way in soccer. Yesterday she proved that she is learning the game and what to do with the ball. She was goalie as well and caught all the goals that the other team where attempting in getting in. I am looking forward to watch her future games.

Kaylee's 7th Birthday

2010-09-02T12:42:00.001-07:00

The kids in Kaylee's class asked her questions.

This is a poster kaylee did she was the Class Clown for one week.

Kaylee's seat with a birthday crown and a bag of treats from her class mates.

This morning when she was opening her presents.

On a day like today Kaylee was born. I remember how my water broke at 34 weeks. I was so nervous that something would be wrong with her. She was only 6 weeks early and I had her via C-section. She ended up staying at the hospital for 1 week just to make sure she was fine. Then I brought that little bundle of joy into our home and I fell in love all over again. She is the best daughter anyone can have. She is a great sister, she is my helper in the kitchen, she is always happy and very caring and loving towards others. She loves to shop and to wear skirts and dresses. She is my girlie girl. I love her so much. She is 7 today but is so excited for next year when she will be turning 8 and getting baptized. She loves the Savior and loves to go to Primary to learn about the Gospel. This morning we gave her some gifts and then we took some cupcakes into her class at school. It has been a fun day for her today.

California Rolls

2010-08-31T18:42:00.001-07:00

Okay, so this is my second attempt in making sushi. I have learned to love sushi. During the summer my nephew Jorge found a recipe for the California Rolls. We went to the store bought all the ingredients and made them together, they were delicous. Last week I had a craving so I made some on my own and they turned out pretty good. Here is the final product.

Red Dragons

2010-08-31T18:34:00.000-07:00

Braden and Ty

Braden trying to get the ball

The Red Dragons is Braden's team name this year in soccer. Last year he played with the City league but we decided to try AYSO this year. He had his first game last saturday and he was very excited to be playing with his friend Ty. Ty's mom and myself requested for them to be in the same team and it was a fun first game.

!st grade here I come!

2010-08-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

Kaylee's 1st day of school was today. She couldn't wait for school to start. Finally it did today and she woke up super early and got ready all on her own (I only did her hair). Braden also got to go to school for a teacher/parent orentation, he played in the park while the teacher talked to the parents. His actual 1st day of school will be next monday the 30th.

Davis County Fair

2010-08-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

This year we took the kids to the opening day of "Davis County Fair". They were very excited cause they knew there were going to be rides, popcorn, all the good carnival food. We even saw a tigers show, heard some kids sing in a Talent show. Petted the animals, rode on horses and other fun things.

A want or A need? I call it a SPLURGE!!

2010-07-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to get a good watch. I have been looking around the internet and came across the Fossil brand. I saw the Stella Multifunction watches of every color and fell in love with all of them. They come in bright colors and the face of the watch is full of Bling!! Down below is a picture of one of them. They all look the same except the watch belt can be any color you want. Regular price for one of these watches is about $95.00 but in Amazon.com I have seen them as low as $59.00. Plus I went to Macy's the other day to check them out in person and they had some clearance ones for about $59.00. I know that this is a Splurge for me. But I love the watch, I tried one on and it felt and looked very nice. Let me know what you all think about it? I don't wear a watch normally that's the reason why I want to get a nice one so that I can get used to wearing one, it would help me tons.

Lazy summer days.....

2010-07-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we didn't have anything to do. Actually I did have stuff to do around the house but I dismissed that thought and planned to do something with the kids. I decided that we could take the Frontrunner and Trax over to the Gateway mall and have a treat and do some window shopping. So that is what we did. The kids enjoyed the ride on the train and it was relaxing to ride in it and not be driving in the freeway. It wasn't an elaborate outing we just wanted to get out of the house for cheap. I don't have batteries in my camera so I couldn't take any pictures. I guess I was too lazy to cause my phone has a pretty good camera that I could've used.

Camping at Lava Hot Springs, Idaho

2010-07-01T22:29:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went camping with our whole family. Lava Hot Springs was our destination for 2 nights 3 days. We arrived friday evening to the KOA campsites, set up our tents and had dinner. The following day we went fishing, swimming at their big pools and had some dutch oven dinner and hung out with the family.

Our Summer Vacation

2010-07-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

This year we stayed close by and had a "staycation". For a whole week we participated in different activities. On monday of June 7th we went to the movies and watched "Tale of Desperaux" and went bowling at FatCats.

Our next adventure was to Bear Lake. The weather for that week was not to promising so we headed there on Tuesday which was suppose to be one of the sunnier days of that week. It was still cool and the water was cold. We made the best of it and had lots of fun. Jorge's parents came with us and they really enjoyed it. The kids ofcourse had a blast in the water (they really did not care that it was cold). We had fun looking for seashells and building sand castles and even a sand bridge. After the lake we couldn't head home without getting some Aggie Ice Cream and some Gossner cheese at the cheese factory in Logan.

The next day we went to LAGOON. It had been 5 yrs since we didn't go to Lagoon and it was actually braden's first time there. We had a ton of fun riding the rides and getting wet. We got there around noon and left at around 7pm after a big thunderstorm hit and we all got soaked. We then had some dinner at Chili's.

Friday we headed up to Park City. The day was cold and rainy but we went anyways. We headed up to Midway to "The Homestead Resort" and had some lunch at "Fanny's Grill" we really like that place. Their food is great and we spend our Honeymoon there 11 yrs ago. We love to go back and show our kids. Hopefully one day we can stay there again. We had a great time during this week of vacationing. Eventhough we didn't travel anywhere we were able to relax and have fun with the kids.

New Exhition at Temple Square

2010-06-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

About 2 weeks ago we went to the new Salt Lake temple exhibition at Temple Square. The South Visitors Center has a small version of the salt lake temple with all the details on how it looks in the inside. Its an exact version of the original building. It is interesting to see how the temple looks in the inside with the different ordinance rooms and other rooms that they have that we don't know about.

This is the Mini Version of the Temple.

The guillen's relaxing and talking to some sister missionaries.

My Mother and Father in law. They were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary we took them to the Lion House Pantry to eat.

Memorial Day

2010-06-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

On Memorial Day this year we went to visit Brianna's grave and took her some flowers. For the past 2 yrs we have been going to different types of ceremonies that celebrate the Heroes of our Wars. This year we went to the Hill Air Force base Aerospace museum's chapel where they were had a ceremony to remember all the fallen soldiers. Senator Bennett was in attendance, after the small program we went outside and we saluted the flag and 4 f16's flew over us in commemoration of the Memorial Day. It was an emotional ceremony and very interesting. We want our kids to appreciate our fallen soldiers and the Heroes that have fought for our liberty.

here is Senator Bennett and his wife.

11th year Anniversary

2010-06-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

Our Anniversary is not till the 18th of June but we decided to have alittle getaway last friday on June 4th. We left around 1pm and headed to the Salt Lake Temple for a session. We got sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake temple so it has been our little tradition to attend a session in celebration of our anniversary every year. It always is a great experience to attend one of their session. They are live sessions and its awesome to be able to attend different temples in our area. We are greatly bless to have so many temples so close to us. We had reservations to stay at "The little America Hotel". We had a great time dinning, going to the movies at the Gateway and swimming in their pool. We did some shopping the next day and ate breakfast at my favorite Bakery "Gourmandine" and then ate some lunch at a Serbian place that jorge goes all the time for lunch when he is at work. We are so lucky to have grandparents that enjoy babysitting the grandkids so that we can enjoy some time together.

At the Gateway Mall

Our room at Little America

Kindergarten Graduation

2010-06-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

On Friday June 4th, 2010 kaylee graduated from Kindergarten. They had a small but cute ceremony outside at their playground. Each class sang a favorite song and then the teachers called up each child to hand them a bag full of goodies, diploma, CD of their fieldtrips. Kaylee had a great year at Buffalo Point Elementary and she learned alot this year. We are proud of her for learning new things, making new friends and for loving her teacher so much. I have no complaints this year. She had a remarkable teacher and a great 1st time experience in school. Next year she will be in 1st grade and Braden in Kindergarten. Time has gone by so quickly now both of the kids will be in school.

Kaylee with her teacher Miss Williams

Kaylee with ther friend Preslie

Kaylee's class

Kaylee at home showing off her new dress

Birthday Weekend

2010-05-24T20:21:00.001-07:00

We had a great birthday weekend. On saturday was my birthday and I can't believe I am 32 yrs old, I guess I am proud to reveal my age because I feel good. But braden had his birthday on Wednesday the 19th so we celebrated our birthdays together with a family party. We had sandwiches, chips, cake and ice cream. It was a great day to celebrate with family. We really enjoyed ourselves.

Turning 5!!!

2010-05-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

Braden turns 5 yrs old today May 19th. He is so excited to be 5 and go to kindergarten in the fall. He says that he feels different like a bigger boy. We are doing different fun activities today for his birthday. We love him so much, he is our little miracle baby. I am so happy to have him in our family and the love that he gives each one of us. He loves to play the Wii, legos, cars, sports, swimming and the list goes on and on. He is such an active little boy. He can't stop running or jumping even if we are inside the house. He loves chocolate specially brownies, he can eat 2 brownies in a row and still ask for more. We love you Braden you are such a sweet spirit to have in our family and you always brigten our days.

Nothing much lately!! well maybe yes.

2010-05-12T10:16:00.000-07:00

Lately we have not done much. We have been busy with school, work and everyday life. I know that last week towards the middle of week my mom became very sick, I took her to the ER at Ogden Regional Medical Center where they were very slow to help her but did a good job at the end. She was in alot of pain coming from her appendix, we weren't sure it was that because they did a Catscan and they were able to pin point that the appendix was indeed inflamated. After that the ER Dr notified the surgeon and the surgeon decided to do surgery on her that afternoon on Wednesday of last week. She was discharged on Thursday afternoon and has done very well. On Mother's Day we went over to my mom's house and had our monthly "Family Home Evening" and ate a very good dinner. We all brought a sidedish and my dad cooked a Pork Loin. We had a very nice time with our family. We got to see my baby niece, she is getting so stinking cute. I get to babysit her on Saturday afternoon because my brother and my sister in law will celebrate their 3rd year anniversary. Soon the kids will be out of school and I will need to start planning more fun things to do with the kids so they don't get bored. We have some fun things planned for the summer !!!

Saturday as a Family

2010-05-02T19:33:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we went to Salt Lake and played at "Liberty Park". The weather cooperated and the kids where able to play in the playground. They have a huge playground and we all had alot of fun.

Alexi's Blessing!

2010-05-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

Today was my nieces blessing. It was great to see my brother bless his first little baby. She looked so adorable with her white dress, white hat, and even white little sandals that my grandma send from Puerto Rico. She is a very cute baby and is starting to chunck up. Her cheeks are getting big.

Train Museum Fieldtrip

2010-04-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

On thursday Braden's little preschool went on a fieldtrip to the train museum in Ogden. For the last 2 months they have been learning about Transportation and what a great way to continue learning about it than to go to the Train Museum. The kids all had a great time playing with the trains, and watching the little trains go by through their different displays. It was a great experience for all of them. And ofcourse Braden had to wear his overalls and baseball cap to look more like a conductor. He picked his outfit all on his own.

Spring Break 2010

2010-04-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

This year's Spring Break we stayed mostly home. The kids played with Daniela alot. My 2nd niece was born and I am very excited to have a baby in the family again. Here are some pictures of our days!!

Alexis Marie Quintana

2010-04-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

My brother and his wife had their baby girl yesterday April 6, 2010 at 9:06am she weight 7lbs 4oz and 18 inches long. She is an adorable baby she is so dang cute. I am so happy for both of them in bringing such an angel into this world. I have to say that yesenia was a champ she did everything naturally without any drugs. I am so impressed by her in trying it out on her first baby. She is a strong woman. I am so happy to be an aunt once again. She is going to be very spoiled for sure.

FOREVER LIVING PRODUCTS

2010-03-31T13:38:00.001-07:00

I was introduced to the Forever Living products and became a distributor. These are different types of products that are made from the Aloe Vera Plant. They are great for your health. We have programs to loose weight, vitamins, shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste, chapstick, cosmetics, facial creams, detergent, soap, ect..... There is a great variety of things from basic day to day products, to a more specific types.

"Imaging Slicing open an Aloe Leaf and consuming the Gel directly from the plant. Forever's signature product. Aloe Vera Gel, is as close to the real thing as you can get. The first of its kind to receive certification by the International Aloe Science Council, this rich blend of pulp and liquid gives us a product as near to nature as possible. the proof is in the Aloe-after reading my top 10 reasons why I think you should drink Aloe Vera Gel, you will definitely see why Aloe Vera has earned the nickname 'the Medicine Plant and the Miracle Healer'."

I am going to organize a meeting where I will invite some neighbors to show the Forever Living products in the next few weeks. If you have any questions and would like more information let me know (801)774-6064 or write a comment in the comment box.

Discovery Gateway Museum

2010-03-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

Today was a FREE day at the Discovery Gateway Museum so we decided to take advantage of this day since this museum can be alittle costly. The kids had alot of fun, Maria my SIL came with us and Jack too. He had alot of fun. We then ate a snack and walked around. The day was beatiful and so cool. It was crowded so I told the kids that we should come back again when the crowds are less so that they can play more on the different exhibits.

I love to Redecorate!!

2010-03-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

WE have been redecorating our family room this past week. Just did some rearranging of furniture and also got a new couch and recliner chair. Our previous furniture was almost 11 yrs old and it was horrible to sit in. Springs where coming out from the top and bottom and we thought it was about time to replace them. We also put up some new pictures on our wall: our family pictures that we took on October 09 and a Temple picture that I made. We also got an area rug and will be getting a couple of more things. I like the open space now that I don't have a loveseat. I love my new couch it is so comfy.

Baby Shower

2010-02-21T15:49:00.000-08:00

Yesenia with my brother

Me, yesenia and maria

Yesterday I went to Yesenias baby shower (my sister in law) . We had a great time eating great food, playing fun games, and opening the cutest present ever. I know for a fact this little girl is going to be so spoiled. Our family has not had a baby for about 5 yrs now. We are so ready to have a baby to spoil and to see grow. Yesenia's mom did such a good job decorating, and cooking very yummy food.

Picture Perfect

2010-02-12T19:55:00.000-08:00

I made this Temple Picture last saturday. My friend Brigit Pack invited me to make this picture with her ward. I have always wanted a picture like this with the Salt Lake Temple. I loved the way it turned out.

Kindergarten Valentines Day Party

2010-02-12T19:38:00.000-08:00

Today I helped in Kaylee's classroom during their Valentines Day party. The kids were so excited and had alot of fun doing the different things that we had for them. They decorated their own brownies, made a valentines hat and played a memory game using the sight words they are learning.

Things that have been going on!

2010-02-08T14:48:00.000-08:00

This year is already flying by to quickly. I can't believe the weather is getting warmer. Today has been a magnificent day of close to spring weather. About two weeks ago Buffalo Point Elementary had their Kindergarten Roundup and guess who I registered? Yes, Mr. Braden. Can't believe he will be 5 in a couple of months and will be starting kindergarten this next school year. I will have 2 kids in school, one that will be going all day and the other will be going half a day. That will give me more time to spend working or simply more time for myself. The kids are getting so big and they are getting along well. There are some instances that well, its hard for them not to argue or fight about something, but generally they are good kids. Last Friday Kaylee had SEP conference, which is a Parent teacher meeting to know how she is doing in school. We learned that she is doing quite well with almost all 3's in all the subjects (that's the highest number in the grading scale). She will be starting to bring home books to read everyday so that she can practice more with her reading.

Not too many things going on in our home. Everytime we do something fun or go somewhere I forget to take the camera so there are no pictures of recent activities that we have done. I will make sure to take the camera with me to future activities that we might do.

Winner!!

2010-01-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

I follow a blog by the name of "Or so She says"(oneshetwoshe.blogspot). This blog was created by two friends. The information that they post is very useful for us women. Usually about every month they have a big Giveaway for their followers. I mean huge where between 4-8 people can win at the same time different types of prizes. Last friday I entered the giveaway thinking that I wasn't going to win (since it has happened before)but to my surprise when I log into the blog sunday night I saw that I was in the list of winners!!! I was so excited. I happen to win a haircut, style and color to Salon Synergy in South Ogden. Its a $130 value and I won it for free!!! I have my own stylist that I go to at MIld to Wild and I hope she doesn't mind that I will be going to this other place because of the prize that I won. I guess we can get lucky once in awhile. Never give up!

Update

2010-01-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

Lately our weeks are very busy and when Saturday comes we just want to get out of the house and do fun things with the kids. This last saturday we took them to the Capitol Building, Cabela's and we ate lunch at Rodizio Grill in Trolley Square. We had a fun day learning about Utah history. We also saw some great animals in Cabela's. Lunch was very good. Jorge and I used to go to Rodizio Grill frequently when we lived in Salt Lake city but now it has been years since our last time we ate there. It was very good and the kids loved the food.

Sledding

2009-12-30T20:01:00.000-08:00

We took the kids sledding today because the snow that was falling was perfect for sledding. The kids had alot of fun aswell as Jorge and I. Here are pictures to prove it. And then we took Jorge's mom and dad to Texas Roadhouse to have some dinner. The food was very good.

Christmas Village

2009-12-18T14:13:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Braden had a Field trip with his preschool to Ogden's Christmas Village. Mrs. Clause was our tour guide and at the end of the tour the kids took pictures with her and she gave each one a bag of candy. Santa was resting because he works at night.

Lazyness

2009-12-14T21:18:00.000-08:00

Recently I have been feeling lazy to write in this blog. We haven't done much fun things. But life has been good. Jorge finished this semester a week ago and he got decent grades in his 2 classes, I am very proud of him it was a hard semester because he started working the swing shifts and it was kind of hard for him to make time for his homework plus making time to be with us. We hope in the coming year he can go back to a day shift. I have been busy working, helping with kaylee's kindergarten class and teaching joy school in addition to housework, cooking, laundry, ect....

My Father in law arrived from Venezuela on Dec.3rd and we are all very happy that he was able to come a reunite with his wife. We have been very blessed because we had to do alot to be able to have him here with us and the Lord provided the way for everything to fall into place so that he could have the necessary documents to travel into the US legally.
All of us at the airport when Jorge Sr. arrived.

Father and Son. You can't see Jorge's face very well.

We have big plans for next year. We want to start remodeling our floors. We have been 9 yrs in this house and the carpets are starting to look dirty and ready to replace. We want to put tile through the kitchen, didnig room, family room, laundry room and entry ways. It is a big project that we would like to start around spring or earlier depends. This is the tile that we have chosen up to know. Who knows maybe we will see something better when we continue comparing prices and stuff. But we like this one so far.

Thanksgiving Family Dinner!

2009-11-30T08:09:00.001-08:00

Our Family Thanksgiving dinner was very good. We all gathered at my parents house and had dinner and where able to chat, play some boardgames and watch a movie. The food was very yummy just like every year. This year I am very thankful for everything that I have. For a warm nice home, clothes, cars, work, my kids and husband and my immediate family. This year it has been tough for alot of people and families around our community. I hope and pray that we as a family can continue to be doing okay. And to always trust in the Lord, that without his help we don't have nowhere to turn to.

Sorry, but I always forget my camera at these family gatherings so there are no pictures.

The New Moon Movie

2009-11-21T11:10:00.000-08:00

Last night Jorge and I went to see New Moon.The movie was very good with great computer effects. I really liked this one better than the first one for the reason that the story was very well told and because it did not jump from one part to the other. The first director of the "Twilight" jumped alot during the movie and missed a couple of key things from the movie. For example she never mentioned Bellas Job at the sporting goods store. Anyway the wolfs were amazing and huge, I think they did a great job to portray the strengh, and the power that the wolfs have. I am really excited for the next movie to come out which will be next year around summer. There is so much to tell but little time. I hope you can all have the chance to see it.

Halloween Parade

2009-10-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

Today Kaylee had a Halloween parade at school and Braden had a Halloween party at his preschool. They both wore their costumes today almost for the whole day. That means that I need to wash braden's costume so that he can have clean pants and shirt for Trick or treating. They had alot of fun today at their different activities.

Jack-o-Lanterns

2009-10-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we carved our pumpkins for Halloween. We had smaller pumpkins this year and only one big one. So I carved the big one and the kids each carved a small one. I ended up doing braden's but Kaylee carved her pumpkin all by herself and she did a really good job.

Black Island Farms Fieldtrip

2009-10-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

Today Braden had a fieldtrip with his preschool to "Black Island Farms". Its a farm that is about 2 blocks away from where we live. They do hayrides, and have a park with big hay slides, cow train, and corn mazes for little kids as well as big kids. We had alot of fun today.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-10-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

About 3 weeks ago, a friend gave me a recipe for these delicous cookies. I made them with the kids and we had fun. They turned out very good. It is worthy of repeating again before winter comes.

Family Photo Shoot

2009-10-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday October 10th we had a Photo shoot with Matt Peterson. He is a member of our ward and has a new photography business. He is an excellent photographer and from the pictures that he let us see at the photo shoot, he did an amazing job. The location was in Historical 25th street in Ogden, Ut. The building was an old space that was being remodeled and it had wood floors and a huge brick wall that was used as our background. The lighting was natural from the sun and it came through the big windows infront of the building. The props where old wooden crates and a chair. We wore brown colors. I can't wait till we get the pictures back and we can start printing them and make our christmas cards for this year. For once we will have some proffesional photos for the cards.

179th General Conference

2009-10-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

This conference was a very good one. This weekend started with me going to the temple with my parents to do some family names. The session was in spanish and it was the first time for me at a spanish session. I felt the spirit very strong while in the temple and felt very at peace. We then went to eat something. I am grateful for Jorge because he stayed home with the kids so that I could go with my mom and dad to the temple and help them out with our family names.
Saturdays conference session was great with the news of the building of more temples, specially another one here in Brigham city, Utah. My prediction is that every year they are going to be announcing more temples here in utah. So in a couple of years we will have another open house and temple dedication we can go to. What wonderful news. The talks were very special to me, I felt the spirit testify to me of the truthfulness of our gospel over and over again. I think I had tears in my eyes through out the whole time. That is how powerful the speakers were.
Sunday's session was wonderful as well very interesting topics which I loved. Sister Ann Dibbs talk about holding to the iron rod was one of my favorites, and Elder Hollands talk about the Book Of Mormom, his testimony was very impressive the way he talked and testified of our dear Book of Mormom and Joseph Smith's sacrifice for this book. All in all the talks were very edifying to the my spirit. I really enjoyed this weekend with my family at home.

ZING ZANG ZOOM!!!

2009-10-05T15:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, we went to the circus about 2 Saturdays ago and if something that wasn't planned at all and we ended up not having our camera with us. So therefore no pictures people!! But we had driven down to Downtown SLC to find something to do with the kids. And decided to go to the circus, so we bought tickets which were very high in the nose bleed section. The kids had fun at their preshow and then during the show they were excited to see the animals, acrobats, clowns ect.. Jorge and I had tons of fun also seeing the show. We were glad we took the kids to see it.

Fall!!!

2009-09-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

My house is ready for the welcoming of FALL. Alot of people I know love this season and I do to. I love to get pumpkins and all my decorations out. This is were I start to decorate for the holidays because once winter comes you just change your decorations over to christmas and it keeps going. I love the smell of autumn scents in my house. Today I put a new scentsy block in the warmer and Braden says "Mom, it smells like pumpkin cookies" I said yes it does, but it's not because I am baking any its a new scent. He was a little disappointed. I know that this year I need to try to bake Pumpkin Chocolate chip cookies, we love those and I have never tried to make them before.

Life has kept us busy, now that Kaylee and Braden are both in school instead of feeling more relaxed I feel more busy. Which I like because I want to do alot for them and JOrge. That's how I feel accomplished as a mom and wife. I still work interpreting, full time mom, Primary teacher.Jorge is still working for the church and is in transition from one position to a new supervisor position, going to school and doing good, and working in his calling which keeps him busy all sunday. The kids are learning alot and growing up, they make me laugh everyday with the things they say. I love them dearly.

Greek Festival

2009-09-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

On Saturday afternoon we headed down to Salt Lake city with my parents to enjoy a day at the Annual Greek Festival. It was a fun day spend eating great greek food and enjoying beatiful ethnic dances from Greece. These people really know how to throw a festival with food, entertainment and fun for the kids. We had a great afternoon with my parents and my brother and sister-in-law. Lets do it again next year!!Its funny cause my parents have been going to this festival since 4 yrs ago. They love to eat the Lamb and therefore go every year to enjoy this plate.

SALSA

2009-09-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

This last saturday I took the determination to make salsa and can it for our food storage. I want to say that it was hard work but it was worth it. It turned out very good, the only thing though is that I didn't want it too hot so It ended up very mild. Next time I will need to add more hot chiles it seems that when its is cooking the hotness dies down. But it still tastes very delicious. I am so proud of myself for taking this hobbie of canning, I though it would be harder but it just takes time and practice. So far I have made Apricot Jam, Spagetti Sauce, and Salsa next I want to do peaches before the end of the season.

Kaylee's Birthday Party

2009-09-06T22:12:00.000-07:00

Kaylee is 6 yrs old now, her birthday was on September 2, 2009. She is getting big with each passing year, as I contemplate old pictures of her, she has truly changed from year to year. I can't believe how quickly kids grow and change. On Wednesday which was her birthday we gave her presents through out the day and took her to dinner to a chinese restaurant ( that is what she wanted to eat). Then just yesterday on saturday we had her little party with her closest friends who are all in school, church together and live in our same neighborhood. They all did some crafts, played in the backyars and had cake,opened presents. It was a simple but yet fun little party. After all the girls left, the grandparents came with some aunts and uncles. We prepared Arepas and had a great time talking and eating. It was a fun afternoon with the family.

Spagetti Sauce

2009-09-01T14:52:00.001-07:00

About 1 week ago my tomatoe plants already where loaded with red tomatoes. I picked the red ones and decided to can them. I made some spagetti sauce with them and it turned out pretty good. The kids helped me with the messiest part of the job, to remove the skin, seeds and cut them into chunks. I was so glad they wanted to help because for one person it could've been a big job. But in about 3hrs I did it all. Next time I want to do salsa, which I think will be this friday because again I have tons of tomatoes.

Future Cardinelle

2009-08-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

Kaylee will probably not be a "Future Cardinelle" but we signed her up with a neigbor of ours who is a Cardinelle at Northridge High school. It consisted of some dance clinics for the girls to perform at fridays football game against West Jordan. This week was very hectic but it was worth it because kaylee got a taste of what dancing is infront of an audience. And she loved it. I think she is a performer. She tells me she wants to be famouse and sing, act and do other different things. Hey, maybe we will hit the Jack Pot with her talents!

Abuela Denis's Birthday

2009-08-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

Wednesday the 19th was Denis's birthday. We went over Maria's house to sing Happy birthday to her and to give her a present. She is a great mother. mother in law and grandma. We are so happy to have her close to us and hopefully her husband will be joining us soon. She is a great example to me and my family.

Guinavah Camp ground (Logan Canyon)

2009-08-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

This last week we went on our vacation to Logan Canyon and Bear Lake. It was a camping trip that we took with the kids. We chose the Guinavah campground because last year the Young Women from our ward went there and I really liked the place. We chose a site near the river. We arrived and set up our tent and then we had some lunch and hiked. We hiked a nature trail right on the campground, it was beautiful and the kids loved it. Later we had dinner and played with the kids. We build a fire and made some s'mores. The weather was actually changing for us, it suddenly got windy and rainy.

The following day we fixed an egg, bacon, potatoes breakfast and headed out to Bear Lake. Bear Lake was gorgeous, very blue and warm. We had a great time just the 4 of us.

Treehouse Children Museum, Farrs, Cars

2009-08-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was free admission day at the Treehouse children museum and we got to take the kids. The kids have been asking us for quite awhile to go there and what better day to go than when its free. They had new exhibitions and so the kids had alot of fun trying those out. The place was packed so we had to keep an eye on the kids very closely. After we went and had some Farrs Ice cream. We were heading home when we drove by historical 23rd st in Ogden and they had blocked the street and had lines of classic cars and motorcycles, so of course we had to stop and see what the heck was going on. Since Braden loves motorcycles and cars and monster trucks we had to stop and take a look.

Kaylee milking the cow

Braden Playing with the trains

Apricot Jam

2009-08-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

This last saturday I made some Apricot Jam. A friend of mine had some apricots left over from when she made jam and told me I could have them. So I went to get them from her house and decided,to make some and try it out for the first time. My mom years ago canned alot so she had all the supplies necessary to can. Therefore I didn't need to spend money on any of that. I got all the supplies from her and just bought a casa of jars and lids and off I went into my canning world. I did everything the recipe indicated and it all turned out great. Today I opened one of the jars and ate toast with fresh apricot jam on it. It was delicious. I am so excited to continue canning salsa, tomatoes and anything else that comes my way.

Stuck in the Muck

2009-07-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

The other day the kids ask me if they could play with water in the backyard and make a river so that they could float some boats that they have. I agreed and they went off to play with water. Little did I know what they had planned. They both wore their snow boots and started getting in the mud and jumping in and splashing everywhere. When I came out to check on them I discovered what they were doing and got alittle upset at first. Then I just said, okay play all you want and then you will need to get in the tub to clean you off. So I decide that I needed to take some pictures of this.

Minor Accident

2009-07-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I went out with the kids in the evening to visit my parents but they were not home so I decided to go the store. The reason being was that we had been all day at home because Braden has been sick, so I needed a break from the house and the kids too. Jorge had gone to a friends house to practice some guitar so I was alone with the kids. We arrived at the store and after looking at some stuff we headed out, got inside our car and I started to move forward and turned to the left when I hit a pole that I did not see at all. I know that I checked to see if cars where coming, no cars where coming so I started moving and hit the yellow pole with a handicap sign on it. Now the driver side door is dented and has yellow paint on it. I took the car to the Insurance to do an estimate and to the body shop, the total cost is 2,280 but I will only pay the deductible. It will take 1 week to complete the repairs because they will need to replace the whole door and repaint that side of the car. I know these things happen but it is still frustrating. Now I can say that our Insurance company is very nice and fast with their claims process. Here are some pictures that I took of the damage.