Our new Dog!

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

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

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!!

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 !!!

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!!!

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

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!!