FAMILIA BENNETT

2011-12-28T12:52:00.000-08:00

Sexy Zach

Cars and Toys make this boy happy

cute piggy bank, thanks Tio!

tilt your head

he does this a lot...yell for fun

He approves!

this serious moment lasted for 3.1 seconds

and we're back to normal

call him Monsieur Picasso

tilt the other way.

Blink Blink Bye Bye Old Year

2011-12-28T12:38:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-28T10:46:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-28T09:40:00.000-08:00

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.

halloween

2011-10-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

Holy Halloween Batman! there are pumpkins and fake spiderwebs all around! I have already consumed way too many fun size snickers.

2011-09-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

Monday Aug 22nd---FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

My girl has started 2nd grade in a whole new school. The 1st week was rough. She is a bit of a social butterfly but unfortunately she got to experience getting bullied. She has never had to deal with this sort of nonsense. The very 1st day of school she made a little friend in her class, when recess time came around, she tagged along with the new 'friend' only to find out she was going to play with her 'other' friend. My kid, being logical, said, I will play with you guys too...NO, the 2 girls said they had "their own business" when my girl asked "what is business?" the girlies were stumped and couldnt answer. The outside friend (Bullirina) said: "You can't play with us! You are being RUDE! and don't talk to my friend (the girl in the class). My girl told me she was sad and started crying. Welcome to your new school! What brats! I told her to ignore them and play with other nice kids. The week went by and my kid was just not herself. She mentioned more than 3Xs "I don't want to go to school....the teacher is mean....I want to go back to my old school" I thought nothing of it until Friday when I asked her about her day in school, she replied very quietly "OK" and then she started crying....she told me that Bullirina would tell her everyday to stay away from her friend or else she would beat her up...when my girl tried to stand up her by saying "you can't beat me up, my mom with come and talk to you" she replied,,,"oh yeah, well my dad is going to beat up your mom!" My girl was just a bawling when she was telling me this. I went straight to the phone and called the office. Appearantly, they know about this brat and were going to talk to her.
That phone call was all it took. BullyBrat is no longer tormenting my kid. And according to mykiddo, she even wants to be friendly. I told her she can be friends with whoever she wants but not to let anyone make her feel bad, not to let anyone push her around. We talked about the word "confidence". 2nd week was great, we are currently on week 3...so far so good. I hate bullies!

2011-09-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

We are fast approaching September 11th. I was living in Salt Lake City in 2001 on this date in history. My brother Danny and I had just gotten back from Washington; we went to go be with our older brother, and little brothers, our older brother got married the Saturday Sept. 7th, 2001. September 11th, 2001 was a dark day in the whole world.
It's important to me to remember that day; the way I felt during the days that followed. I was very fortunate to have my brother living with me during that time, he was a great source of strength, also I had many good loving caring and honest friends during that time. Eventhough something horrendous had occurred, there seemed to be a spirit of love and friendship everywhere I went. People seemed more compasionate.
I hope that we all learn to be a better people. A better world.

longtime no post

2011-09-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

I love these beautiful people. Somehow I know they love me too.

Bennett Family Reunion 2011

2011-07-17T23:47:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, July 16th, a few of the Bennetts got together at Grandma Barbara Bennett's house for the annual Bennett Family Reunion. When Zach and I got there, we found Grandma sitting in the corner of her favorite sofa, the long one under the mirror. She looked very pretty. She was glowing, her cheeks were even rosy. She sat there as everyone that came, talked and ate. She was holding her right arm, and then she wrapped it with a dry rag. She said it was hurting and it felt really cold. She had a little bit of lunch and then took a long nap in her bedroom. When I took the pictures she was sleeping and then when I wanted to take her picture, the camera's battery died.
Here is what I want to say about Grandma Barbara Bennett. I met her just before I got married and everytime we visited her, she made me feel very welcome. She has been a sweet great-Grandmother to my 2 little monkeys and she is that way with all the children that visit her. This August she will be turning 97 years old. She is a living treasure. I love this great lady. Because of her, I have my little family.

Colleen and Pam smile for the camera....can you tell Colleen is a proud grandma of a gorgeous baby boy? Well she is!

Burke and Zach goofing around and having fun

Burke is a decent guy, he didn't let Zach get a feel for his bossoms.

Chow time: Chicken thighs and drumsticks and chicken tenders for Chester's along with lovely salads, and that sweet coolwhippy salad with the little marshmellows and jello and cottage cheese...oh yeah, and my salsa fresca with cheeeeeeeps.

Most of Burke's and Julie's babies....except for the 2 cute mexicans :) those are mine, all mine!

Uncle Lynn and his bride, Alice and their family.

say cheese!

Phyllis and Larry and Aunt Caroline...these 2 blouses I thought were so cute, super cute!

Robert pointing at the yummy plate Zachy made..."this here chicken is the best Preston has to offer"

Stay Thirsty My Friends

Discussing the mission and the weather and Zach's videos

Smart idea to set the tables under the shade of those gorgeous big trees. Here's Chris enjoying the shade and the light cool breeze.

Cool Burke and Jaxon

Did Julie want to go outside with the others?

The livingroom was the hangout place for the girls

Burke and Julie's beautiful family just before they left to swim at Downata Springs, FUN!

This was supposed to be the 'silly' shot....not everyone got that memo it seems!

you can add your own caption here.................

This shot was to be the serious one.....good job Zachy!

Granny, here are your granddaughters from Idaho......wish Jackie was here! or is it 'were here'?

We were so happy to see Gramps again. Little Franklin bawled his eyes out when we left. He wanted to take Gramps home

The Traditional "Let's go See the Vacas Shot" They were specially stinky this day. But we thanked them for the milk and then my camera's battery died.

conversations

2011-06-29T09:07:00.000-07:00

As we drove into work this morning, my 7yr. old was telling me about her 1st day of 1st grade. She said there was a little boy, who shall remain nameless here, you know, to protect his identity, this little kid sat by my girl and he looked right at her face and said: "you're pretty" I am sure m'girl smiled; who doesnt like hearing these flattering words as a young lady? then he proceeded to tell her: "you want to come to my house after school?".....whoa! was my reaction...when my girl told him no, because she didnt even know him that good, he said "if you go on a date with me I will give you a dollar". She still said no, but they became good buddies in the 1st grade.
Hey, I never had that good luck in school with boys!

Cherry Blossoms

2011-05-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

My mother in law is one of the prettiest ladies I have ever met, that's her among all the flowers of that cherry tree. She and my father in law are currently living in Washington D.C. while they serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They sent us a few pictures of the area, the cherry blossoms are so neat, I can only imagine the aroma....mmmmm.

brick houses

2011-05-03T13:22:00.001-07:00

I like brick houses. They remind me of old Mexico.

TLC's Extreme Couponers

2011-04-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

Last night I finally caught a couple of episodes of TLC's Extreme Couponing. It was very interesting to see how people in the show were able to obtain so much stuff from the grocery store and pay pennies on the dollar, one lady actually paid 2% of her entire purchase...which was over $1000. This is extreme! I use coupons on a regular basis. I am always looking for deals on the things my family uses. Sometimes, when the item is free, and all I have to pay is 6% tax, I buy as much as I can, which is always, 6 not a 100 or 200!

Because of the show, I am hearing a lot of local ladies say that they get dirty looks at the supermarket when they use the manufacturer coupons, I am guessing because these people, the starers are assuming that us couponers have warehouses chuck full of food and other merchandise that we got for free.
I speak for myself, and some of the folks I know who use couponing as a way to help with tight budgets, we see coupons as a tool that help us save money. Manufacturers send out these coupons so that their product will be sold. We are in a bad economy now, grocery prices are going up because of fuel costs, to me it just makes 'cents' to use manufacturers coupons to save. Manufacturers reimburse groceries stores the amount on the coupon plus an added compensation for basically advertising their product. I never never never feel bad for using coupons. When I know my checking out is going to take more than normal, I always tell the people that line up behind me that my order will take a while, so far, I just get a thank you and a smile and they go to another register.
So, in conclusion I say, keep on saving.
***if you are going to buy a whole bunch of stuff, which will clear out the shelves, do as my lovely former neighbor did (she got me couponing) she would go to the manager and make a special order, so that other people would not have to suffer. How considerate is that!?

this is not mine...just a pic I found in the internet...Im not this organized unfortunately...some day, I hope!

OK. That's my shpill on couponing. If you have any couponing stories please share...any tips, any worries or concerns, just comment below.

Slow Down

2011-03-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night, my body said "slow down there lady!" I felt like an explosion had occurred inside my tracchea, down to my stomach. So much so that I could not lay down, sit up, stand up...I wondered what it could be? I concluded that maybe just maybe 'chile' abuse may have a lot to do with this phenoma.
Everyday, since I can remember, I have peppers with every meal. (except for cereal and pancakes, I am not that psycho!) If we go to a fast food place, out comes the ziplock baggy with 2 or 3 serrano peppers.

I am proud to say that I went all day yesterday without touching or eating for that matter, anything spicy. And today, also. I found that I eat extra when my mouth is on fire. I am trying this chile free life style for a week, and after that I hope to bring it down to about 25% of what I normally ate. Wish me luck! I miss my peppers, but I love my health more!

saying goodbye is hard to do, for this week at least!

time travel

2011-03-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

I have decided I love looking back into the past. I started indexing. This means digitizing old records such as a censuses, draft cards, etc.. so that they can be easily accessible.
Because someone did this before me, I was able to find out about grandparents and greatgrandparents on both sides of my family. For example, I learned that on the Castro side, my dad's dad was a big wig landowner, el jefe if you will, and everyone around him worked for him.
I spoke to my sister who lives in Mexico, and has had conversations with a certain older lady who is a cousin of ours. Mari, my sister learned about our grandfather thru this lady, Teresa. She said he was a mean boss as well as a hardworker. That he treated the people as peons, slave-like almost. Dang it! I didnt like hearing this, but there was a reason why he was on top.
As for Magdaleno, his son, my 'father', she said he was lazy, but ever so good at doing business. She said he could trade a piece of metal, junk essentially for a strong horse. I would like to know more about them, I am sure there is a noble, honest, decent person in there somewhere. I would like to know how they came about to be so 'well-to-do". So for that, I will just keep on digging for answers!

2011-03-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

IT's NOT SUGAR, IT'S A DONUT!

Some of my Favorite Things

2011-03-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

I saw this lovely post on my friend Gail's blog. She lists a few of her favorite things. So here I go.

************MY FAVORITES****************

To get us started off in this list are the expressions on my kids faces. Everyday they make me laugh. They amaze me in how smart they can be and also how much they are a part of me. What a blessing they are to me. I love the whole rest of my family. I am so happy to know that I belong to a very big group of wonderful people.

FOOD is perhaps my favorite thing in the world. I love to eat good food. I like trying new things, but in the end my biggest love, when it comes to food would have to be my "frijoles de la olla", tortillas de maiz, and chiles to spice up the life.

FLOWER GARDENS, there's something so fulfilling about seeing beauty come out of the ground to color your surroundings. Love it!

Basketball, I like you because when I play you, I have fun and dont even realize I am running back and forth as fast as I can. And after about an hour I look like ran a marathon.

I love a clean house. Is my house clean? No! But I still love a clean house. Nothing better than a clean fresh house to rest your tired body in....ahhh!

A clean house that smells good is also a great thing. So I like to have good smells in my house.

A full tank of gas. I really like that. The thought of being stranded without gasoline in the middle of nowehere is a bit terrifying for me.

I am mad about SUDOKU! I like to do a puzzle almost every night. I am working out my brain muscles, now if only I could be crazy about working out my gut's muscles.

I love to see kind people in action because it inspires me to try a little harder to make someone else's life more meaningful. Kindness is contagious, I really believe that!

For the last 2 or 3 years I have come to know the power of coupons! I love to stock up on stuff we need at about a third or less the cost of the product. I love my coupons!!!

And to end this post I will list a few t.v. shows that I love...

There's something heartwarming in discovering big talent...the auditions are also hilarious!

I'd like to solve the puzzle Pat! "I kick butt at Wheel of Fortune!"

Now, this is more like it, a real family...not like all the super fancy rich, problem free stereotypical sit-com families of the past.

This show is sooooo funny! Who's with me on this one?

And Finally one of the funniest movies of all time, Three Amigos! I love quoting lines from this movie. And others but this one is on the top 5.

2011-03-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy my long chats with my younger brother Nacho. It's good to know that eventhough time and distance stood between us for years, we still have a good friendship. I like that my brother is very smart and techy. I like that he's a true friend. I love my brother!

So Cool, even streets are named after him.

Fun day at the Park

2011-02-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

We had a great day at the park on Saturday, temperature was about 55 degrees Farenheit, the following Tuesday we were blessed with a snow/ice storm. I am glad we went to the park when the weather was kind.

The Saturday before Valentine's Day (2-12-11) Boise was blessed with a beautiful sunny day. I took advantage of this gorgeous weather to take the little monkeys to the park to feed the duckies. We had a blast playing all over the park. The park has an over abundance of geese in the pond, there are a few ducks there, so we mostly feed giant geese. Bella spent most of the time running away from geese, I told her to shoo them away, and all they did was move their long necks back for about 3 seconds, then they were back to begging for bread pieces. When we were done with the bread we walked over the the awesome playground where the kids climbed on all the games there. Then we went over the bridge to the wooden house and finally over to the lake to throw rocks in the Boise River. What a fun day.

Goofy kids by the river

Me and my Boy

The girl pretending to fish

This guy loves to throw rocks in the river

Haircut

2011-02-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

It's official, my girl loves to have haircuts. On Feb. 11th Bella got herself a cool haircut. Check it out!

What I learned today

2011-02-18T22:12:00.000-08:00

I got to see "Who do You Think YOu ARe" on NBC tonight. The featured celebrity was Rosie O'Donell. I learned that her mom passed away when Rosie was only 10 yrs. old. All I knew about this lady was that she is a comedian, she's done a couple of movies, she had a talk show, and that she has been pretty controversial. The controversial part of her maybe has to do with the fact that she was left without a mommy at a very tender age. We see famous people on tv get put thru the toilet by the media, the gossip shows, and those ridiculous tacky magazines by the checkout stand in the grocery stores.
This is what I learned from Ms. O'Donnell: No matter who you are, there's always an unknown history behind the person. We can't judge people from just looking at their 'shell'.
I did not know that Ireland had a famine in the 1800's. And that the poorest of the poor were placed in warehouse-like shelters, where the families were separated. This was the case with O'Donnell's ancestors and for some reason, some benefactors allowed them to be sent to Canada. Basically they were rescued from death because, people who lived in these shelters died from disease and hunger.
I thought about how there are so many nations currently who suffer from oppression, or poverty, war or whatever. Every country has had their struggles, just like every person in the planet has their own battles, but somehow, if there is a willing spirit, or a willing people, there will always be a triumphant story to tell. Well, I am so sleepy and I am sure this is not making much sense, so I will revise tomorrow and make the necessary changes. g'nite mates!

sleeping horse

2011-02-18T21:35:00.000-08:00

Friday, February 18th 2011

The children and I went to the library today after Beli got out of school. We walked there, so as to 'exercise' my biggo body. We normally go all the way to State Street, but today, I decided to take different path, so we could see the lambs. Across the street from the lambs, are 2 horse. We also say hi to them. Today, however, the old white horse was laying down, perfectly still. I kept staring at its tummy to see if it was going up and down, but I didnt see that. It was pretty far from the fence, so I thought, maybe it's asleep. I told Bels that we would come home the same way and check on the little white horse. Well, an hour later, the horse was in the same spot, sleeping still, oh, I forgot to mention, the eyes were open. And the younger brown horse was standing next to the laying down horse. I looked around to see if any of the human neighbors were around, the house across from the horse field had 3 people coming out of it. I looked at them with a concerned face and before I even asked anything, one of the ladies said "SHE IS". She is what? Well, dead, is what she meant. Awww! Darn it! I asked who the owner was and the other lady said she was. She said that no one would be able to take her away until Monday. Today is Friday. She said the mare was 30 years old and that normally they live up to 25 years. So the little white horse went 5 years above the expectations. I was a bit worried that Bel, at her tender 6 years old would have been crushed that a little animal lost it's life, but she seemed fine. Maybe she didnt quite understand the "SHE IS" comment.

So today I saw a dead horse. And it made me sad. I dont think I will ever own a horse but if I did, and it died, I'd be pretty devastated.

Our neighbor: free in horse heaven

2011-02-04T10:09:00.000-08:00

I am willing to bet this is the way many a bloggers start their blogs: "It's been such a long time since I last wrote..." So I wont do that, but it's kind of true. Lots of good things have been happening here. I like to write things that the children do that make me smile. I have to say I have some funny kids, not to mention cuter than I dont know what.

The older kid is a girl, and she likes to show that she is older by offering her words of wisdom. This here line made me fall to the ground laughing:

"Franklin, everyone makes mistakes, ok? even me" Well, who knew that my 'perfect' little monkey princess made mistakes? that was news to me! I was thinking she would say "Everyone makes mistakes, even the Bishop" someone that in her little mind seemed perfect in behavior and lifestyle....so I guess it's good that she feels that way about herself.

A few days before that, my honest son, stared at my face as if he were studying it. He was sitting on my lap. And after a few seconds, he looks me straight in the eyes and with a serious tone, he say "Mama, you have a big nose!"

These guys are funny. I do have a big nose and it works perfectly. I told him "Thanks Franklin!" he responded: "you velcom momma!"

The ninos at a furniture store acting "perfect", yeah right!

What a Big Boy

2011-01-06T08:57:00.000-08:00

This next post is being written so as to not forget what a cool boy I have. Lately, the ninos, all want to sleep in my bed. It's fine with me because as soon as they fall asleep, I scoop them up and give them a free ride to their own bed. Three nights ago, however, little Franklin settled in my bed, ready for his bedtime story. He loves his "blankie" which happens to be a queen or king size fuzzy blanket. The ones that are called "San Marcos". It's purple with big pink flowers, not to mention 3 or 5 holes, compliments, of a stupid dog that chewed it long before the kids were born. That blanket was my Christmas present from Gustavo and Judy.

Franklin sleeping sometime ago....zzzzz...zzzz...zzzzz....zzzzz..zzzz.....zzzzzz not pictured: Blankie.

So, the boy, sleepy, demands his blankie, I said "Blankie is sleeping in your bed, she doesnt want to come over here, why dont you go lay down in your bed." He sits up, and says, "OK mama" as he walks out the bedroom door I say: "Dont turn on the tv, go straight to bed". He said "OK Mama". Bella and I looked at eachother and raised our eyebrows in disbelief. So 2 minutes later, I followed him. And there he was, on his bed with his beloved "popo blankie" fast asleep. It was a sweet moment in the life of Mr. Awesome boy.

Feeling Nostalgia

2010-12-23T22:50:00.000-08:00

It's nearly midnight, tomorrow will be Christmas Eve. These last few days have been very enlightening to me. I have come in contact with a family member that has opened a small window to the many many other family members I have not met. Maybe as a kid I saw them. But, really I don't know them. They are the family of my lovely mother. I believe every person is an entire world of history. I am sure these individuals are not perfect, nevertheless, I am intrigued with the idea of me being a part of them; in other words, we come from the same people, mainly our Grandparents, Julio Paramo and Soledad Gutierrez.

Julio Paramo

Soledad Gutierrez

I saw a few pictures of some of my mom's siblings. I can see a lot of resemblance to my mom. It would be very interesting to get to know their stories. To know of their triumphs, and of the lessons they've learned in life. I believe the story of our family, of Irene's family is that of epic novel, but who knows, perhaps each one of her siblings has an equally intriguing story. The point here is that I feel like I've found a little lost treasure in finding these people. I feel like I am part of something bigger. Like I belong to a bigger group, other than just my beloved brothers and sisters and my amazing mother. Thank you Carolina Gonzales Paramo for sharing with me the family I never knew I had.

Pablo Paramo

Irene Paramo, mi madre hermosa.

Elena Paramo, a very pretty lady

Isabel Paramo: Very Kind, and Positive

Luz Paramo: que bonito nombre

Luis Paramo, el cuate de mi hermano Gustavo

Teresa Paramo, la bebe de la casa

It's important to note that there are 2 more relatives whose pictures I don't have now: Guadalupe and Carlos. The picture of my mom was taken a long time ago. I love this picture of her because she is surrounded by her flower garden, and she's wearing a flowery blouse. She's got herself a greenthumb. She loves flowers and plants. And finally I just took a shot of me, right after posting this piece. I wanted to see how I look while I'm nostalgic, and here I am....time for bed.

imagine a cloud above my head, as I think of what I just wrote, like in the comic strips..think think think think.

Aqui esta la Tia Guadalupe, que bonita sonrisa.

This is our grandmother, Soledad in her later years. I saw her when she was 72 years old. She was very sweet and gentle with us. My mom loved to pamper her. In this picture, she did her hair and put on a little bit of make-up. She even did her nails. Good memories.

2010-12-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

Chabelita on Oct. 30th, 2010

Franklin on Oct. 30th 2010

The year is quickly coming to and end. Christmas is alive and well. The newspapers, and television are exploding with commercials of toys, jewelry and other enticing gifts..."Biggest Sale of the Season! This weekend only!!!!" It's overwhelming to see. Yes I wish I could buy presents for all the people in my life, my sister in Mexico and her little boy, my other little nieces and nephews, and their babies, my siblings, my mom and of course my own 2 little stinkers. I am going to stop and think about the things I do have, and not what I want, which, in the end I don't really need.
I am grateful that my kiddos are healthy and happy. What more can I ask for. I love the St. Jude commercials, "Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life." I also have an excess of good people in my life. I have my mom, who's taught me many important lessons. I have 9 siblings that are amazing. They are strong, beautiful in the inside, and ok, on the outside too. I have clothes to wear and a home to live in, that has heat to keep me warm in these cold days. I am one of the few people in the planet to own an automobile, so that if I need to go somewhere, I dont need to wait in the cold for a bus. The other thing I discovered I possess, is a good strong body and a functioning brain, and my 'chicken' heart. And finally I have a knowledge that there is a God who loves us. I've known that since I can remember, I also know that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour. I feel God's love in the kindness of people around me. I have more than I deserve. I am grateful for it. I hope all who read this will have a happy Christmas, full of hope and joy. With Love, me, Sol.

2010-11-29T19:02:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-29T18:55:00.000-08:00

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!

Changes

2010-11-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

Isabella reading Isabel Allende, not really!

I was skimming through this blog, which was created about 2.5 years ago and realized it is serving as a journal. I am glad I have written some interesting events that now serve as memories. In this last month, my girl was found to have a problem with her sight. So now she has cute glasses. She chose them herself. Lately she doesn't wear them that much. Appearently they give her a little bit of a headache. Zach thinks that one of the lenses' prescription is a bit strong. We'll see how it goes. I think that she is just not used to wearing them.

Chabelita is supermodeling her new spectacles.

Bella, the Drama Queen!

As for Mr. Gorgeous, Franklincito, he's is growing like crazy and talking up a storm. He's very sweet and considerate. If he hears anyone coughing, he quickly asks: "Are you ok?" as he gently rubs our arm. Tan preciocioso mi chiquito! He also doesn't like to see people sad or angry. He commands us to "BE HAPPY!" It works every time.

One of Franklin's best cartoons characters. Diego is quickly pushing George out of the way!

A giant George came to our library. Franklin didnt want to leave him. It was so cute!

Dreams

2010-11-22T22:37:00.000-08:00

I have been having such realistic dreams that I get woken up for a good hour. I dont like that at all. But the other day, I had a fun dream that I havent told anyone. But I will write it down so I dont forget it.
We started watching The Conan O'Brien show. We are CoCo fans! So the other day his guest was Rosario Dawson and in the show there was a lot of cute flirting going on so I guess this is why I dreamed what I dreamnt.
(Cloudy. Hazy....going into the dream......)ZZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz

I was in a backyard full of trees. All of a sudden a rope, hanging from the sky came floating by. So I grabbed it and attached in the air, to this super long rope was, the Conan Show Blimp! So what's the most logical thing to do? I pulled it down will all my muscles and....down came the yellow blimp with Conan and Rosario in it. Plop! on my backyard floor. In my dream, they were a couple. And they were pretty grateful that I brought down the blimp because they couldn't stand one another. I was so happy to have two cool celebs in my backyard, I offered them food, so as to win their friendship forever but all the wanted to do was FIGHT! I pulled Conan aside and said: "If all you do is fight, why dont you just break up?" He said: "I cant break up with her! Are you blind? She is so beautiful!" I told him: "But are you happy?" I felt real important giving advice to famous people. That was the dream.

I am no matchmaker, but looking at these pictures, I'd say they dont make a cute couple. Just saying, plus, it was a stupid dream.

Autumn is Among us, or is it?

2010-10-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

Summer started late. Then we had a couple of weeks of cool weather, then BAM winter weather. Well, maybe not that drastic. It's quite nice brisk weather; the kind that makes you want to be home baking something sweet.

Bella looking cool in the cold

Walking to Biblioteca, she means business!

This stick is to annoy all who come near!

This moment lasted for a whole 3 seconds

Halloween is around the corner

2010-10-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

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!

Chicken Heart

2010-10-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

I was once acused of having a chicken heart. A chicken heart, not meaning I am a scaredy cat, but rather that any little sad or moving situation, makes me cry.

Last night I went to see a friend, I was gone for a total of 12minutes. When I got home I found my six year old crying like crazy. When I asked her what was going on, she said: "1st, I couldnt find you, and then my brother pushed me!" She was upset that she couldnt find me, her dad was in the garage and she didnt know that either. Anyhow, I just started crying right along with her. It was about 8:30 at night. Poor kid. I remember as a kid I always used to get lost in the big open markets in Mexico. At the realization of being all alone then, I felt as if the whole world was on my tiny shoulders. That's why when I found my kid so sad, I joined her in her grief! It only lasted for a good 3 minutes. Sometimes a girl just needs to release her 10 drops of tears once in a while. So there. I have a chicken heart, tender like that!

Wonderful Message to us ladies

2010-09-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday I went to a church meeting where the messages were addressed mainly to the women of the church. I am so happy that I went. I would have been easy for me to have stayed home and pretend to clean up...because I just start up little 'quehaceres' and never finish anything. I went with beautiful Jenalee and was spiritually nourished. If you have a few minutes, check out the video of the message it will make you feel closer to your fellow-everyone. Just click on the link below.

Motherhood

2010-09-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

Since I have a sense of remembering, I have always loved little kids. When I worked in a daycare, a few years before I was married, I would daydream of what my little ones would look like (my own). There were a few ocassions at the daycare where I honestly felt like I loved the kids more than their own parents (you know, they were dropped off as soon as the place opened about 6 or 6:30 am and were pick up after hours, 6 pm +) And I had my suspicions they were not at work, but rather having fun. So fast forward to present time and I have been so blessed with not 1, but 2 beautiful little human beings who are so completely full of joy and personality. Saying it like this makes it sound like motherhood is, how we say in spanish "all pink-colored", meaning perfect. Well, it's not. In fact is HARD! Did you know that kids, as they grow, they dont listen!? And if things dont go their way, they tell you: "I dont love you!" What! The good thing is that in an hour or so they forget. They are also the best mess makers you'll ever meet. They have "accidents" which means they pee'd or pooped in their pants. They run and hide when it's time for bath or bedtime...oh and I could go on and on. Here's the reality of momhood or dadhood or madhood: it's not for the weak. It's dang hard but it has to be the best title you could ever have. My life would be so boring without them.
Franklin to me: "You're not a girl! You're a momma"
Franklin @ bedtime "I not tirud, I hungreeee"
Bella "mom, let me be your maid" after holding the towel that she was supposed to fold for 7 minutes "OK, I am done being a maid, it's too hard. But tomorrow I am going to make you breakfast, ok?"

Stinker's 3

2010-08-23T22:10:00.000-07:00

Three years ago Franklin was born. He is the cutest boy in the whole house, ok ok, in the whole world! He has made us all so happy. He is talented and funny. He loves sports and loves to torment his sisters, Chachis and Bella. We are so blessed to have him in the family. Franklin is COOL.

"Hey how's it going everybody, I am new around here" Franklin on Aug22nd 2007

halfway thru, on the go.

Somebody likes OREO's

Almost 3...

Then....the big 3. Happy birthday precious child! We love you so much. SO MUCH!

Chabelita

2010-08-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

Bella's rock business is going well thanks to the manufacturing efforts of Papo. She is a good salesperson. I am a wimp when it comes to sales. She is trying to earn money to buy a spy kit for kids. Here is Bella reading up on how to become a spy. And the other one is of her in her natural habitat, a tree, because she is part monkey!

Jardin

2010-08-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

This summer I am taking part in a community garden. I went to it last week to get pull some weeds and pick some veggies. The corn is not quite ready. We got a good rainfall the same day I went to the garden so I ruined my tennis shoes. Mud plastered the entire shoes! I put them in the washer and that ruined them. I got some nice produce that day.
Cebollas, Tomates, Ejotes (green beans), pepinos, zuchinni,squash, basil and thai pepers.

A.D.D.

2010-08-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

A.D.D. is alive and well. I went outside to get the newspaper before going to work. Right outside the door was the hose, all over the place; so I gathered it up and noticed the flowers and peppers were thirsty. Naturally I watered them, I rolled up the hose and even pulled some weeds. After 15 minutes, I went back inside and guess what, NO NEWSPAPER! The good thing about that experience was that I saw the fruits of my labor. The peppers were growing rampant. It felt good to see those big-o anaheim peppers. I felt super grateful the rest of the day. And yes, I went back and got the paper.

silly pic

2010-07-31T17:22:00.000-07:00

My little Viking!

I have no idea what this hat is. A prickly sailor?

Looking into the future, Franklin the Graduate!

we have all sorts of hats.

Saturday

2010-07-31T17:02:00.000-07:00

Today we paid a visit to an elderly lady who is under a lot of distress. She lives in an assisted living facility where she is being looked out for but very much against her wishes. I thought about how fast time is passing by now that I am in my mid 30's. My 6 year old said to me "Mom, you know, I will be having children soon" I almost fell down at the sound of this statement, I told her "You will do no such thing until you are at least 26!" I told her 20 years is not "soon". She said that 20 years could happen very soon. She is probably right. When I was a teenager and hear people say "When I was in high school 15 yrs ago...." I thought they were ancient! Anyway. Life goes and stops for now one so I better enjoy it.

Los Abuelos

2010-07-31T15:51:00.000-07:00

Senor Julio Paramo and his lovely wife Soledad Gutierrez de Nayarit, Mexico.

When I was a kid and living in Mexico, my mom would gather us children and tell us: " We're going to visit your grandparents". She would pack a plastic bag with a loaf of sliced bread, some ham, mayo, onions, tomatoes and pickled jalapenos. That was quite the treat for us, this would be our meal for the 5 or so hour trip. We then would head out to Zapopan in the bus, to board a bigger bus, like the Greyhound buses, except older and not as comfortable. I cant remember the trips to Mecatan very much, the only thing I recall is that when we were approaching the small town, we would drive through some thick thick vegetation, a canyon filled with an ocean of green. Where colorful parrots flew freely. It was quite pretty. That's the only thing that was pretty. My Grandparents lived in a pretty big property, loads of land with lots of trees. One time, I saw my Grandpa with an old handcart filled with some pretty plants. Lots of bright red-berry looking plants. It turned out it was coffee beans. They were so beautiful. He grew bananas, papayas and mangos among many other produce. My memory of him was that he was super serious. He also smoked a lot of cigarretes. He was thin and quiet. I dont believe he ever talked to me. As for Grandmother, she seemed so pretty to me all the time, but like her husband, not much of a talker to us Irene's kids. She had cool green eyes and was fair-skin which seemed to make people feel more important in Mexico during those times.
They are both deceased, and have left behing a very big family. I am willing to bet that my mom's family is the biggest! It would be cool to meet the cousins and aunts I have never met.

a leer

2010-07-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

The name Paramo is a very unique last name, at least for me. I have never heard of "Paramo's" like you hear of "Martinez", "Garcias", "Smiths", "Jones", among many common surnames. That is why when I heard there was a book out there in the literary world titled "PedroParamo", I became instantly interested. You see I am a Paramo, because of my mom's family. A hard working, very religious, traditional family from Nayarit Mexico. I read the book in english and finished it, it confused me with the back and forth of time changing to the past, the present, the future.

I am succumbing to the advise of my younger brother Elias, (Nacho) to give Pedro Paramo another shot. I started re reading it in spanish last night and I must say it is pretty dang intriguing. It's as if I am hearing my grandparents talk. The story so far reminds me of the infamous don Magdaleno, aka, who should have been my father. The old days of Mexico. There is a line in there from the mother of the main character (who is the son of Pedro Paramo) just before she died, she made her son promise her that he would go search for his father and..."Demand from him that which is ours, that which he was supposed to give to me and never did, make him pay big for abandoning us" (that's my translation, when I find my english copy I will write the proper translation). That kind of demand would be possible in today's times in the U.S. not so much in Mexico, no such thing as "child support" back then in Mexico, and I would even go on a limb and say that even now. I am going to read this skinny book in less than a week. It's smooth reading in spanish.

Don Juan Rulfo quien escribio "Pedro Paramo"

Work and Learn

2010-07-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we took a trip to beautiful Utah. We went there for work. The whole family, even Danny. He went to help us with the kids. Danny is so kind to the kids, but I think he had enough kid time to last him the rest of the year. My kids are unstoppable. So if you're reading this Danny, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

We learned a whole lot and ate even more. The biggest lesson I learned was to KNOW your goals, and work toward them, otherwise we're just wishing...Wishing is not a very good business plan. We also got to hear Jamie Clarke, a super hyper- awesome guy from Canada who climbed Mt. Everest. Talk about not giving up, he is also funny. And also we got to meet Patrick Duffy, the actor from the old TV series "Dallas". I was a kid when that show was popular, all I remember was guys in cowboy hats and all the ladies in the show had way too much make-up and super poofy hair. Patrick was a very down to earth person. Very kind and somewhat funny. There were music bands in the evenings. Of course, the kids were among the biggest dancers on the resort. Great fun. But now it's time to work.

parenthood

2010-07-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I just stare at my kids. I cant believe how time flies. I came upon old babies pictures of both the princess monkey and the angel-monkey boy. They are huge now. Franklin is almost (cross my fingers) fully potty trained. Bella will be starting 1st grade in a few weeks. I feel so super fortunate to be a mom. This realization makes me appreciate my mother more.

mi guapeton

Bella on a mountain road

comtemplating lifeH.S. MusicalQue cara, valgame los cielos!

Washington

2010-07-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

June has been a busy month. On the first weekend of June, we took a road trip to Washington to go visit Uncle Nacho and go to my niece's high school graduation. My oldest nephew, Alfredo took an even longer trip up there (driving) with his whole family to have his little baby baptized. I saw this trip as a mini family reunion since all my sister's children were going to be together for a little while. The trip was nice. On the way up Mr. Franklin 'tossed his cookies' which delayed the trip a bit longer.

It was so nice to see family and old acquaintances. There was lots of eating and lots of catching up.

Something somewhat miraculous happened to me just before I got into the car to head south to Idaho. On Saturday, I was chatting with Leno, I was admiring his cool ring and I even tried it on. That's all I remember. Later in the day I realized I wasnt wearing my own wedding band. My wedding band is so plain, white gold no rocks nothing fancy but to me it's special. I looked in my pocket, nothing I looked in all my bags, I looked and looked in the lawn where I knew I last had it. Nothing. So the whole evening I was a bit sad that I lost my ring (*note I have lost that darn ring a good 5 times and everytime it turns up) This time however I gave it up for lost forever. So as I had the kids strapped in the car, I went to start the car and DEAD, the battery was old and it died every other week. I walked to some of friends that were parked behind my car to ask them if they could help me by giving my car a jumpstart. They happily agreed. As I walked back to my car, looking to the ground, still bummed about losing my ring; I saw a perfect circle about 3 centimeters from a big pile of sand/dirt. I reached down to see what it was and VOILA my ring. I screamed and jumped. People around thought I was drunk or crazy. I dont care. I was so happy to have found my special ring. I am going to take care of it a whole lot better. How's that for a miracle. Yeah!

The Graduate,

2010-06-02T22:51:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken by my friend Kelli. She has a son in Bella's class. Bella is the tallest girl in the class. Tyler, Kelli's kid is super tall.

Today, June 2nd was a mini stepping stone in my daughter's life. She and her little kindergarten class had their "Kindergarten Celebration" which is kind of a graduation from K. I sat there as they practiced their program, and I was so emotional. They sang "What a Wonderful World"...bwahh booo hoo. It was so sweet! I am so proud of her. She's a sharp monkey.

2010-05-31T00:02:00.000-07:00

The children who bring a whole lot of joy to a whole lot of people:

Adorable!

Bella and her personality, always camera ready!

Happy child, Franklin turn around!

"I love what you have done with your garden, Chabela!"

Going to Grandma's house thru the woods, :o) Jesse and Danny

Beautiful Boise

2010-05-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

Eventhough we've been having major cloudy skies and light rains, I decided to go to Boise and show Danny and Jesse how pretty Boise is, well its parks. Check it out, we had fun.

Franklin showing us the rainbow trout. He gives them a 'thumbs-up'

Silly owls. I love the little chicks.

Bella's 6!

2010-05-30T23:44:00.000-07:00

Bella scored some fun gifts: Gramps and Granny sent her a super cool card with beaucoup money, as much as I am years old., Papo got her walkie-talkies and a video game, tio gave her a super cool movie and her favorite singer/barbie doll. Franklin gave her a hard time and a little winnie the pooh watch. He also helped her blow out the bday candle even before the singing was over.

Holy Sticks! Bella's finally 6. She's been bugging and bugging us about her birthday and finally it's come and gone. She is the cutest 6 year old in the planet. She had uncle Danny visit her and our friend Jesse. We had a very sudden bday party, thanks to my procastination skills. It was fun.

2010-05-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

this looks pretty mild compared to how it really appeared! His scrape is scabbing up. I hope it doesnt leave a scar. I need to wrap this little guy in bubble wrap!

Little Franklin fell right on his gorgeous face! Ouch! He also scraped the back of his hand. (He was holding his Curious George doll and didnt let him go)

playing in the yard

2010-05-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

I believe Spring has cold feet about fully jumping into it's own identity. It's COLD! We had a couple of days with lovely weather. I played with the kids outside. It was simple fun.
We laid a blanket on the grass, read a couple of books, I tied Bella up and had her get herself untied. She did it!

To All You Mothers Out There:

2010-05-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-06T14:21:00.000-07:00

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!

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2010-05-06T11:42:00.001-07:00

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mayday mayday

2010-05-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

May came this year on a rainy Saturday. I took the children out for a picnic under the rain. Lucky for us the rain came down while we were on the road. No rain for our outing.

1st stop, the store for some goodies. This egg crate bench is in the shopping center. If these were real, I am sure these 2eggs would make an omelet big enough to feed a football team.

After the feast of chicken nuggets, gold fish crackers, strawberry sunny delight and vanilla wafers, we hit the

playground...wheeee!

Are you a big boy?

2010-04-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

Cute words from Franklin.

Mama: "Franklin, are you a big boy or a baby?"

Franklin: " I'm a Fanken"

2010-04-19T22:39:00.000-07:00

Last night I decided to watch tv after I put the kids in bed. I was flipping thru the guide and saw a show titled: "Hoarders-Buried Alive" I started watching and I was so intrigued I watched 2 episodes back to back. One good thing about the show is that it instantly motivated me to pick up after my little piggies. I can see how people would be addicted to 'stuff ' as to fill a void in their lives. Very very intriguing. It was also interesting to see how someone could be so super attached to something as simple as an old piece of newspaper from 3 years ago. I have also known of people who are so super duper organized they freak out if the closet is not perfectly color coordinated. I guess if given a choice between these two disorders I would choose the latter. Anyway. Just thought that show was interesting and educational.
**note*** I was going to post a picture of a hoarder's place (from the internet) but felt wrong about it. Just watch the show. It's pretty jaw-dropping to see. However, they are just people with holes in their souls. Who am I to judge? Nobody. That's who I am.

2010-04-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

I am well aware that I love peppers. I eat them with everything, practically everything. I bought a good 2 pounds last time at the market. This particular batch was fire-engine, run-to-the-fountains-HOT! For lunch yesterday I grabbed a couple to bring to work for lunch. When I went home last night one of the 2 probably jumped out of my bag, as if that would spare it's little hot life. This morning, I found a lonesome serrano pepper at the foot of my front-office door. I think it is a sign that I need to bring it down a notch or 2 when it comes to my consumption of peppers. But boy, do I love them!

2010-04-05T13:38:00.001-07:00

Franklin has a gift. He is musical. Just like his Grandparents and Greatgrandparents. He loves to sing and dance.

Thank Heavens for Libraries

2010-04-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-04-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday evening we had a 'fireside' for the youth in the which we discussed education. Education eventually turned into knowledge. We saw a super old video from YouTube titled: The Power of Ten. It took a look at our surroundings by going away from us 10times out each time. It's hard to describe, I will try to put the video in here if possible. It went away as far as we know it...it all looked like darkness. a total complete emptiness. Then, back to earth it went into the the human body to the smallest particle that makes up what we are. I have been thinking a lot about that this whole week and with that little bit of knowledge I am very much at peace with myself. In the mornings when I drag myself out of bed to go walking (6am), stars still in the sky, I think to myself "Self, can you see you are part of something great?" the response of course is yes! Anyway, this is more for me and my crazy thoughts. For sure it is a re-affirment of my beliefs. A couple of weeks back, when I had to speak in front of all those ladies about me being courageous, another lady spoke about obtaining education. She said something that stands true to me now: "the more I learn the more I know less". There is so much out there to get discovered.
The End.

2010-03-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

Spring finally arrived on Saturday. To celebrate I planted 12 new little flower plants in front of my house. My nice neighbor tore out 3 big bushes to re-do her landscape. she gave us the unwanted bushes and we transplanted them in our lawn. It's so nice the change a new plant can make in a house. I think I inherited a little bit of my mom when it comes to loving gardening. As soon as I can....I will plant my beloved jalapeno and cilantro and basil. I think I was not meant to plant tomatoes. every year I try and the plants dwindle. If anything comes, it's a mini (1) smaller than a jalapeno. Maybe I'll try the tupsy-durby (?) It's the tomato plant that hangs and the tomato plant shoots downward. It's $9.99. Should I, should I not?

Good to Remember

2010-03-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got to talk in front of a bunch of great ladies about courage. I really thought: 'courage? I'm not the woman for this topic'. I was in a way forced to look in the archives of my life's experiences and pluck one so as to share. I have been having a cold for the last 2 weeks, I have a hoarse voice, somewhat of an accent, and now with the cold, add a muffled sounding voice. I guess you could say it took courage for me to complete the task, which I am happy to announce, I did. I shared an experience that occurred when I was 12 years old. It was December 16th at exactly 12:15am when the old red van drove off with my mother and my 3 sweet little brothers. They were going back to Mexico, as requested by Mom, I later learned. I stayed in the U.S. with one of my older brothers and his young family. Seeing that van drive off was one of the hardest things I ever had to experience. Danny, the oldest of the 3 boys was my very best friend. Nachito, the middle kid was this serious little kid, he had a maturity even at that tender age that amazed me, and Martin, the 'baby' was hands down the most gorgeous little baby I had ever seen in my whole 12 years of life. I figured out that the 4 of us had been together our whole lives until that dark event. Consequently, I became a pretty depressed kid. Spent many sleepless nights worrying about those boys. Months went by and Gustavo, who is another one of the older brothers of mine, came to visit me. We lived about 1 hour away from eachother. He worked for a horse rancher in a little town named "Knightsen" I remember that little town because I thought the name sounded fancy...like a land chuck full of Knights in Shining Armor. In reality it was a farming town, lots of orchards and of course, the horse ranch that belonged to cool cowboy man named "Tom Long" cool name also. Gustavo lived in the ranch, he took care of the horses. He lived in a tiny little trailer, that ones you hook onto a big pick up truck. Gustavo went to visit me, he decided right away that I needed to get out of that situation. He saw my sad demeanor and probably a very neglected kid. By now it was almost summer. He said: "you're going to go live with Chali". I didn't know Chali, she was my sister, but really I didn't know her. She is 15 years older than me and I don't remember her living at home when I was a little. I didn't want to go live in a new place, but ultimately I was put in a dinky airplane. Here comes the courage part: I knew there was a minimal chance that that plane would crash and I would die that summer. As I walked up the little hall to the entrance of the plane I had the strongest impression that seemed to tell me: "You could die today, you know, do you really want to die a miserable person? Quit being sad! Quit feeling sad, you are not alone, now cut it out!" I made a decision on the spot that I would change my attitude. I didn't die that day, but I have to say I got a new start at my life. I made the best I could with myself with whatever situation I was put in. I found the joy I had stuffed deep down in soul a few months ago. I arrived at my destination and was welcomed by a very loving older sister who nurtured me as family only can. I have this memory of my 1st week being at her house: "Sol, do you brush your hair?" -"sure I do!" ---"come have a seat here" she proceded to brush my hair out, I had knots bigger than plums. She took about 30 minutes brushing out my hair. That's pretty pathetic, that I didnt even know how to do something as simple as brushing my hair. I must have been quite a sight before that. I write this here mainly because I want to record a little tiny bit of my history so that my 2 little monkeys can see where their momma came from.

2010-03-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's. I really dont understand this holiday...what are we celebrating?

Bella

2010-03-02T13:44:00.000-08:00

Time for Xrays....oooooh, pictures of your bones!

Wonder Woman shielding herself

On Sunday evening Bella fell off a chair. She landed on her left arm. I played nurse and tried to figure out if there was a broken bone. After squeezing and tilting, I came to the conclusion that there was not broken bone. If there was she'd be howling with pain.

The next morning: "My arm hurts" she said. It hurt the whole day. If she put pressure on it, or simply writing would cause her to frown with pain. She told the teacher her arm hurt and the teacher was unsympathetic with her "it'll have to hurt" she said. Bella said that hurt her feelings, :(. At night, she kept complaining about the pain. So I took her to a clinic. She was excited to go to the doctor. They took X-rays and they found no breakage. They told me to give her tylenol or advil for the pain. So, there. This is the tail of an unbalanced 5 yr. old. I hope the pain goes away soon. I believe she may have sprained her wrist. We'll see what happens.

Sol+Snow=Problems

2010-03-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

One of the first times I came in contact with snow, was in December of 1985, somewhere in north central Washington. I was 10 and completely unaware of the pain cold weather can inflict upon a little kid's body. I was ill prepared as far as attire is concerned. I was wearing a t-shirt and a sweater, jeans, socks, and and tennis shoes. My sister and her family decided to go sledding over at some hill. They had with them sleds and skis, I had never seen skis in my life, much less used them. The sight was beautiful but the feeling was painful. My sister thought it'd be fun for me to go skiing, she strapped me unto these 2 long sticks, and down I rolled! for what seemed an eternity. I was cold, I was embarrased and I pretty banged up. Fortunately I didnt break any bones. So, of course, I was crying. My sister told me to shake it off, that I'd be ok. To comfort me she said my eyes looked green. "Wow, green eyes? Ok, I am ok now!" Not! I am writing this because the Winter Olympics just came to an end. I dont really enjoy the cold or playing in the cold. However, I have to say that I did watch a lot of the Olympic competitions. I was super inspired with them. 1 of the most memorable was seeing Joanie, the figure skater from Canada who lost her mom to heart disease a couple of days before her competition. She skated beautifully under so much sadness and pressure. As soon as her event was done, she broke down and started crying, the crowd on their feet! She ended up getting a Bronze. S. Korea and Japan took Gold and Silver, they were pretty much perfect, but Joanie, she was a warrior!

My neighbor has invited me to go walking in the mornings at 6. I was dreading the early day, but after seeing a few of the olympic moments (see the post below this one) I thought, I can go walking. I mean, there's gotta be some kind of a little fight left inside me. I am not an olympian for sure but I do need to get moving so my heart will get stronger.

Anyways, manana it's a new day, and I will meet it walking with good neighbors. I will write an update.

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics

2010-02-18T08:23:00.001-08:00

Exclusive Winter Olympics news & widgets at NBC Olympics.com!

2010-02-17T13:08:00.000-08:00

Chuyito, Mikey, Karina
My sister Chali and her 2 princesses
*************************************************************

On Monday night, I called my sister Chali (Rosa Hilda). She's the second oldest of the bunch of us children of dona Irene. I was worried about her because she overworks and is always overstressed. The last 3 or so attempts of me trying to call her were unsuccessful because she was busy. I was able to finally chat with her (for 1.5hours) in our conversation we discussed many issues that resulted in me being very inspired and grateful to have a good, wise sister. We dont talk much, but when we do, we do!
She told me happy birthday, according to her I was born on Feb 16th 1975, according to mom it was Feb 18th, according to the birth certificate April 16th. I have to go with the 'paper' birthday because it's what's recorded. Chali swears on her life that I was born on the 16th of February. She remembers the day exactly. My mom told me it was around that time. So I'll take Chali's as the actual day I appeared on this planet.
I am happy to have the exact records of my children's birthdays: Bella was born on Friday, May 28th, 2004 at 7:05pm; in Salt Lake City, UT. She was born frowning and was super cute. Frankolin was born on Wednesday morning (8-22-2007) at 10:05am in Nampa ID. He was born extra hairy and precious! Most times I just stare at them, they are both so amazing in many ways: beautiful, smart, loving, funny...and on and on!
I am pretty sure I looked like Franklin when I was born, maybe a bit chunkier! (according to my mom I was a giant of a baby 11kilos...not humanly possible, I know, but maybe to my mom I was that big or maybe the scale was broken that particular day; hey what can I say, I was a great baby!)
Chali and I talked about life and family. I can imagine that every good parent out there wants the best for his/her children. She told me about her kids when they were little and how they never had money to buy necessary things such as shoes and clothes. Her oldest remembers hiding his feet under his desk because his shoes would be torn and he'd be so embarrased; he never asked for anything from his mom because he knew there were no funds. When she did finally buy them shoes, they would go to Payless shoesource, the 'cheapy' store. Kids that wore shoes from there would get made fun of. I know for a fact that kids are idiots and would tease the 'poor' kids for not wearing name brand clothes or shoes. Wearing name brand 'whatevers' was never a concern for me, I was happy wearing decent, clean clothes, most of them were hand-me-downs, or from a second hand store (which I still love by the way). She shared a cool story that happened to Mike, her 2nd oldest. He told her: "Mom, dont worry about buying me shoes from Payless" in reality he meant "I dont want cheap shoes" Chali recalls a specific brand "FILA" which I guess was popular back then (90's). Mike wanted to get shoes from the mall, but those darn shoes were like $125!!! Whoa! One day an employee from a sports store approached Mike and asked him if he wanted to enter a drawing for shoes from that store. He did, and lo and behold, he won the cool shoes. He was so excited and so was his mom. She always wanted to give them the best, and now as she is nearing 50 years of age, she believes that she gave them the best. She gave them her time and love and attention. She will soon be an empty nester, and she sees how loving and attentive her kids are with her. Moral of the story is that giving the best means giving of yourself, not necessarily the fancy crap that gets dangled in front of them by t.v. or other influences.
I didnt get much sleep last night and I realize what I just wrote is not gramatically beautiful, maybe later I can correct my run-on sentences. Also, Mike or Chuy if you read this and you'd like to contribute more to the story or expand on the details, please call me and I will correct or add. It's really important that we keep a record of the procedings of our family. You know very well that your parents have struggled, it'd be a good thing to let our children know who they come from. The struggles that were overcome by our ancestors serve as a strength for generations to come. Si o No?

2010-02-16T17:43:00.000-08:00

Our Family Home Evening was about controlling your temper.
This is Tom Turkey he loses his temper a lot. And turns colors every time he gets really upset. First he turned Red,then he lost his temper and got the Blues because all his turkey neighbors made fun of him.

This is Franklin and Bella acting like Tom Turkey. They are angry. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

If you control your emotions, like Tom did at the end of the story, you can be beautiful and happy and also colorful.

You can do this too, it was fun!

bella's wit

2010-02-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

I get to bring my kids to work with me when we dont have patients in the office. Today is President's Day and Bella had no school. So I have both little angels here. Franklin is taking his nap in his portable crib. I put him in there at 12, right after I fed him and Bella lunch. He didn't want to go to sleep, so he cried for about 1.5 minutes, then he started singing "I like to move it, move it, I like to move it, move it!). That lasted about 2 minutes and now he's asleep. Bella is doing addition problems. I gave her a bunch of paper clips to help her add the big numbers, she's pretty good at math too. I have about 5 worksheets for her to do. Before she got to work, she did a little role-playing.

Bella: Hi, I am here for the free hearing aid for my daughter.

Me: I dont have free hearing aids, I have free hearing tests.

Bella: Oh, well then how much is a hearing aid?

Me: A lot

Bella: How much?

Me: How about 2 thousand dollars?

Bella: OK, here (she handed me 2 pennies)

Me: Aren't you going to argue with me about the price?

Bella: Nope, my daughter needs a hearing aid.

Pretty easy customer. Too bad her thousand=cent.

Poof goes the Hairdo!

2010-02-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

Curly hair for basketball.
Whose kid is this? Like father like daughter

Oops I missed a bunch of hair (lower right side didnt get curled)

And Pose!

And now, we'll brush our teeth!

2010-01-29T21:15:00.000-08:00

Here's my shopping buddy. He loves sunglasses. Lovely!

2010-01-29T21:07:00.000-08:00

So, as far the diaper adventure in Walgreens, DENIED!!! I went to Walgreens and all the diapers were out. I still havent given up. I will call my hubby's cousin's wife who is the coupon queen, literally, she has a blog about couponing called discountqueens, check it out over on my margin.

But, Here is what I did get:

8 Bags of Tostitos Chips

8 jars of Tostitos Salsa

6 boxes of Jell-O

2 Airwick oil refill

2 Airwick Warmers

All for exactly $20.56 and I got $10 back in Walgreens money...so $10.56

our wooly neighbors

2010-01-29T20:56:00.000-08:00

I love Fridays. After dropping Bella off at school, Franklin, Chachis and I went on an adventure around our neighborhood. We walked to the farm and chatted with the goats, then the sheep family came over, even a great big ram said hello to us. Goats eyes are so funky, their pupils are a vertical black slits. That was amaaaaazing. Chachis barked at them probably thinking they were deformed dogs or something.

After that we went to the mini creek and threw rocks into the water. Franklin loves to do this. Then we ran all the way home. Franklin beat me, like always.

2010-01-29T00:28:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I am going to attempt a major couponing feat: Walgreens and Diapers....if it all works out I will brag about it here, and if I fail, I will admit here also. Saving money on things you need can be pretty dang exciting. (Whoa Sol, you wild thing you!)

2010-01-29T00:02:00.000-08:00

Mi quirrunguis sunguis, hijo de su mama que tanto lo quiere su mama y su papa y su 'Beya'.

I am no "Adam"

2010-01-28T23:58:00.000-08:00

My brother Adam is the greatest artist I have ever known, and not just because he's my cool brother, but he really is gifted and talented. Dont let me get started on how much I admire each one of my 9 siblings, I'll be here for hours counting the ways.

So the other day, I was feeling artsy fartsy and decided to draw a picture of my face sideways. Here I am self portrait of my profile. Check out that aztec nose.

2010-01-28T23:49:00.000-08:00

I LOVE MY BELLA. SHE IS SMART AND BEAUTIFUL, SASSY AND SPORTY AND SUPER FUNNY. THE OTHER DAY I FOUND THIS ADORABLE WRITING IN A NOTEBOOK, ENJOY!

SHE HAS BEEN KNOWN TO COMPOSE HER OWN COMMERCIALS: HERE'S A CLASSIC**

Are you old? and are you tired? Well, then take Diabetes, I did and I feel great! (she thought diabetes was a medicine for old tired people)

Ya era hora

2010-01-28T23:31:00.000-08:00

Destiny in her wisdom led me to finally clean my fridge. The strawberry syrup was mysteriously spilled by someone within the walls of this home, and I, in my lazyness, decided to simply wipe it off. Appearantly the syrup, being an adventurous food decided to travel to farther locations within the fridge, all the way down to the veggies' bin causing the bin to become welded shut. I let it go for about 1 week, I think the only veggies in there was 2 old carrots and 1 onion. On Tuesday, I worked from home and thought: "maybe if my fridge is clean and organized I will be inspired to eat better?" it took me the whole blessed day, I washed the entire interior. By the time I was done, it looked pretty empty and oh so beautiful.

One thing I love about my mother is that she is the cleanest, most organized lady in all of Mexico. Unfortunately, I am not like that. I wish I were. So, I guess I am writing this in gratitude to spilled strawberry syrup, because it lovingly persuaded me to clean the house of my food. As for eating better, I'll keep you posted.

*************************************************************************************

As you can see the syrups have been summoned to the door where they can no longer cause mischief.

Also in the center of the picture is a bag of shredded cheese, if you look closely it reads 'Mexican', and always, never to be without is the biggest pack of corn tortillas.

I am proud of that clean thing I will work hard to keep it looking fresh, like the limes in the bottom-openable bin.

Lovely Boise Weather

2010-01-28T23:24:00.001-08:00

Stay still nino! Mr. Wiggles, full of energy and joy. That's my boy

After we dropped off Papo at the airport, we decided, and when I say we, I mean "I" that we were going to have a fun time at the park. I dont know about you but I think the kids loved it. We went to the Boise river and skipped stones. We chased Franklin on the bridge, played on the awesome playground....middle of January and the weather was in the 40's, with lovely sunshine.

fuchila chachis!

2010-01-26T08:35:00.000-08:00

Tuesday morning, and it's raining outside, my favorite. Rain is so fresh. I love the smell of the air after it rains.

In other, not so fresh events, just before I went to sleep I was hit with the stinkiest, foulest smell I have ever smelled before. I got to me my feet. The whole house was saturated....the culprit: Chachis. She must have eaten something that made her puke the aromas of vomit mixed with sewage. I went in search and found 2 spots and immediately cleaned them up with strong chemicals. This morning I covered the spots with baking soda. I hear that stuff absorbs bad odors. Anyway. A rough early morning for me. I ended up going to sleep at 1:58 am. I was surprisingly sympathetic toward the dog. It's not her fault, she's just a dog after all. She is getting old, and her poor eyes are going. I am pretty sure she cant see out of 1 because she has a giant catarat. Anyway. Chachis has been with us since we were married. She is a cool dog, unique looking and very super duper loyal. I hope she stays with us for a long long time.

2010-01-19T13:28:00.000-08:00

Sadness and despair overcome this child's face. May be wondering where his family is, and if they still are alive.

2010-01-19T12:57:00.000-08:00

It's a good feeling when you lay down to sleep and as soon as you do, you fall asleep. I guess it's called being tired. I have been, and in a way still am worried about some problems. I have come to the decision that, if I cannot control the situation, I must leave in the hands of God. So I have and I had a great night sleep.
Last week Haiti was hit with a pretty strong earthquake that pretty much crumpled Port-au-Prince. The whole city is in ruins. Last I heard today, Tues January 19, 2010, death toll may be closing in to 200,000 and 1.5 Millions souls are without home. I cant help but cry my silent cry everytime I see the evening news. I am saddened by the immense suffering of all the people there; specially the children and the elderly. I know that the whole world is sending help, but appearantly the help is not getting to them as prompt as it should. Doctors (from other lands) are doing the best they can with what little they have. Many Many amputations due to infections are being performed with rusty saws...it's horrible. One doctor took a television reporter to see the mountains of bodies being scooped up with bulldozers, he called it a modern day holocaust.
With all this going on, it is good to see that 'the love of man' is alive. I've seen in the news, groups from Brazil, United States, Israel, and many more there to lend a hand.
After devastation is cleaned up and the bodies are buried, will come the task of re-edification. May there be peace and strength in Haiti is my deepest desire.

2010-01-12T12:30:00.001-08:00

2010-01-12T11:52:00.001-08:00

2010-01-11T12:48:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to bed super late again. The house was a mess, like always. I didnt want to go to sleep and wake up to a mess of a house. So I got to work and finally settled down to sleep at 1 something a.m.
My dilemma is that during the day I have no motivation to clean the house, and somehow, at night (and this is not every night, just about 3 or 4 times a week) is when the inspiration comes to have a clean house. If I lay down without cleaning when the cleaning bug gets in me, I just lay there thinking and thinking and dont sleep until 2 or 3 a.m. I need to learn to delegate with my children, they are 5 and 2. and oh can they mess up a home in no time! They pull out stuff from the tv stand. They cover the entire floor with toys, clothes, shoes, papers, crayons, you name it, they bring it. So, I will keep on organizing and hopefully along the way my kids will learn to be tidy without me yelling at them.
I do believe that a neat home/environment invites clear thinking, creative thinking.
I have a friend who is a master at this. Her name is Gail M. She is an inspiration to me. Maybe she can send us some tips on how to tame wild children so the house will stay tidy.

2010-01-11T12:37:00.000-08:00

I just read about a girl who when at home, she hears noises (paranormal type activities). She is pregnant at the moment and has a little girl about 18 months old. She wrote she was folding clothes and felt the presence of a little kid right by her. When she looked around she saw no one but kept feeling the same presence. Then she said, from the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a little kid standing in the doorway, but when she looked again, no one was there. Her little girl had been napping in another part of the house. Then, at night, her and her husband found a toy in the middle of the floor singing.....no one was around the toy. This is quite freaky. I dont want any of that happening at my place, specially this week. Thankfully, the haunted friends have a very good attitude towards this incident. They have name the child ghost "Rockwell" I can picture the child looking like the painting of Norman Rockwell, very sweet and innocent.....I hope the ghost is all that.....boooooooooohooooooooooooooo.

2010-01-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

Las flacas mas lindas del mundo, Karina y Mari.

2010-01-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

Mari my sister, and our nieces Karina and baby Emily (Emily will be graduating high school this June).

2010-01-07T09:40:00.000-08:00

I am so dissappointed that I missed my sister's phone call last night. She called me from Jalisco. Dang it! I set the phone on silent because I was at the youth activity and I think it's rude to have the cell phone go off when doing activities with the church youth. I love my sis Mari. She is a great example to me. Here she is with our brother Miguel. This picture was taken in 1994.

2010-01-07T09:25:00.000-08:00

I was looking through some files in the office computer and found this gem of a memory.

2009-12-27T21:10:00.000-08:00

Danny fell in love with this coat. It's nice and fuzzy.
La Chica Eskimo

2009-12-27T21:02:00.000-08:00

aerial view of pixos

hey batter, batter batter!!!

swing batter!

out of the park!

this went on the whole day. Good job Papo!

2009-12-27T20:54:00.000-08:00

g-a-p
I'm a good boy!

pixo's

brrrrrrrr!

2009-12-27T20:49:00.000-08:00

open open open
this one is for Franklin

what a mess!

Danny with his Yankee candle

We love Danny!

2009-12-27T20:42:00.000-08:00

Franklin was confused.

Bella was excited! yey presents!

This is the Bop-it! Can you tell she's happy?

next!

Franklin is happy about the toys.

2009-12-27T20:37:00.001-08:00

Ham is what's for dinner. Green salad, Mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, stuffing and as you can see on my plate a serrano pepper.

This is the Christmas feast that we enjoyed. Maybe next year I will attempt tamales if I am feeling ambitious.

2009-12-27T19:17:00.000-08:00

We have had a very nice Christmas. We spent it at home relaxing and eating for the most part. Danny, my younger brother drove up from Salt Lake to spend the holiday with us. The best part of Christmas was Bella's excitement and anticipation for the presents. Since she was little she understood that "Santa" was just an imaginary guy who is famous for giving presents. This year she told us that Santa was actually mom and dad. Most years we only get the kids one present for Christmas, usually a nice big one. But this year we bought them a bunch of little toys, their babysitter got them each 3 little present, Tio Danny of course brought them a couple of gifts. It was so fun to see their joy (Bella couldnt stop smiling) and little Franklin had no clue what was going on. He had fun tearing the old wrapping paper and covering the livingroom floor with it.

So as far as presents here is the list for each kid:

BELLA: A Bop-It, Taylor Swift CD, a Dora manicure set, Littlest Pet Shop (2 little animals), Pixo's set, a Barbie, the Princess Swan video, pink pajamas, 2 pants, 2 shirts, socks, undies,a toothbrush, a toothpaste both Dora, a mini slinky and hairband and clips and gloves and a scarf, a book, Mr. potato Head pets and a cool set of beads with letters on them. (Bella made me a necklace with my name on it). She wants me to write down candy canes as well.

FRANKLIN:
a sit-n-spin with music

a t-ball game that's super loud

giant legos with a truck

scarf and gloves and a hat

a nice little outfit,a mini-slinky

a pez dispenser

A Doctor kit. (he'll be the handsomest doctor in the world!)

Mr. Potato head

Papo Zach:

Another dress shirt

a tie and

a sweater

and pajama pants

Me:

A digital picture frame and sweet pajama pants, a handmade (by Bella) bead necklace, 2 gorgeous ornaments ( a yellow star with her picture on it) and little reindeer made out of popsicle sticks with golden stars on top.

Tio Danny got a candle from Yankee candles.

The night before Christmas we opened our pajamas. Bella slept on the sofa, because she wanted to be near the presents. She woke us up and we had to wake up Franklin. We had a good time. I spent most of the day cleaning up the living room. It was fun!

Another thing that I really enjoyed about this Christmas was talking with my mom and my sister in Mexico. I called many of my siblings just before midnight to wish them a Merry Christmas. Chali and Adam with their children got together and enjoyed eachothers company, they played games and ate. Leti went to Arizona to spend time with her sons (in Phoenix). Gustavo stayed home with his family. Miguel did that as well. Nacho was with his best friends; the Resendiz family. and Martin was with his friends from Church. Maria and my mom were together. They enjoyed pozole and ponche. I hope they all were happy.

I really enjoyed being with my little family and my cool little brother Danny.

Joy to Everyone

2009-12-25T23:36:00.000-08:00

Joy to Everyone
Feliz Navidad a todo mundo.