Our Weekend

Let me just catch up here a little bit.

Friday night Marcos took Dylan on our stake's father/son campout. He also invited Tony, my nephew, to go with them. We all went to McDonald's for dinner Friday night and then they headed up to Mountain Green (Dylan later asked Marcos where they went and Marcos told him Mountain Green. He replied, "I thought it was Mountain Blue.") Anyway, you should've seen the "Mom" in me the night before. I packed up a tote with treats. Next thing you know, I'm getting chlorox wipes, hand sanitizer gel, paper towels, wipies... It was like part of me wondered how they could survive without a mother's touch or something. I'm sure all the guys thought he was such a geek with all his mommy gear, but I rested better that night knowing I'd sent them off prepared.

They had a great time. Tony said something the next day about thinking he would have fun, but that he didn't think he'd have that much fun. It was his cute little 7-year-old way of saying "Thanks, I had a good time." Dylan kept talking about camping and apparently did really well. I'm so glad Marcos went and that they could experience some true male bonding.

While they were gone, Angie came down and we worked on a video for her school. Kind of like a slideshow of the year. We worked on it until 1 a.m. and then she finally went to my mom's house to sleep. Of course I couldn't make myself stop so I was up until 3. The next morning she came back and we worked on the movie until about noon. By then, my entire house was a disaster. Marcos and Justin were in the backyard with the kids. They all ended up in the sprinkler fully clothed. Our stupid phone broke and the guy came to figure out what was going on with the line. We don't have a ladder still and our neighbors weren't home so Marcos ended up borrowing the Qwest guy's ladder. He's so funny! It doesn't bother him to ask people for stuff like that. It would kill me to ask the Qwest guy to borrow his ladder, but whatever. That's his domain. So Marcos, Justin and the Qwest guy set up the swamp cooler while Angie and I finished up the movie. Thank goodness we have air now and just in time. It's getting pretty toasty around here. After they all left, I went to work. I cleaned like a mad woman. It took awhile because I had gotten pretty behind with my busy month, but man does it feel good to be closer to caught up. I was so exhausted last night. After being up working on a movie and then cleaning most of the next day, I was so ready for bed.

Today was a great day. It was Marcos' cousin's mission farewell. He's been called to serve in Argentina, where his mom is from, ironically enough. Anyway, it was a very nice meeting and the little gathering afterwards was fun. The kids played and we were able to catch up with family and friends.

We came home and everyone had a nap, including Dylan. The bad part...he fell asleep as the rest of us were waking up around 5. It took awhile to get him out of grumpy post-nap mode, but we did it. We had some grilled cheese sandwiches and then went to the park to feed the ducks! It was fun and relaxing and just a good time. On our way home, we noticed a lady driving by with a flat tire. She didn't stop so we followed her to try to let her know her tire was flat. Nothing caught her attention so we ended up following her all the way home. Okay, here's the part I've been debating. I want to share this awesome experience with all you blog readers, but some things you wonder if you should just keep to yourselves. I've gone back and forth with this, but I've decided I'm going to share it. I have a pretty tender heart and tend to want to help people and make them feel good, but Marcos has a heart of gold. That's just how he came to this world - I've been told by many people that he's always been that way. So back to the story. Marcos thought she might be nervous that we had followed her after flashing our lights, honking, etc. to try to get her attention. He told me to hop out and see if she needed help so she wouldn't be frightened with some guy getting out of the car. I asked her if she wanted my husband to help her put on the spare so she could go get a new tire tomorrow. She didn't know what to do and said she would appreciate any help. You could tell she was so happy to have some stranger willing to help her. A couple of times she asked him how much she owed him. Of course he told her nothing, but I know how she feels. It's hard to accept help. The kids and I played with some dogs next door. Preston was so cute. The dog LOVED him and was licking his face and bald little head. Preston would just giggle and push him away. It was so sweet! The dogs kept us occupied while my sweet husband helped this little old lady. Honestly, I LOVE moments like these. That is why I fell in love with Marcos. He has nothing but the best of intentions and would do anything he could for ANYONE. The lady hugged us, took our name and number and talked for awhile. It was getting close to bedtime so I loaded the kids in the car while Marcos finished talking to her. Dylan asked me why the lady didn't change her own tire and I told him that she couldn't do it and that we wanted to help her. I explained that we always want to help others and be like Jesus. He smiled and said, "Helping hands." I don't know where he got that from, but I have to admit that it got me all choked up (not that that's hard to do). It just hit me how good it was for our kids to experience service firsthand so they can learn from example. So at the risk of sounding boastful, I thought I should share our special weekend, which ended with such a memorable experience.

Hamster Update

Here is a picture of little "Hamstey".  We gave him to my nephew, Tony, who's going to try out having a hamster before they decide whether or not they can keep him.  We'll see how it goes. Dylan seems to like the fact that we can visit the hamster and tend him when they go out of town.  He was a bit sad today, but I think we're going to survive.  I thought I'd share one last hamster moment before we move on.  Dylan found out the hamster likes goldfish crackers so this was his treat before he left to go home with Tony yesterday afternoon. 

NO MORE PETS!

I don't think we're ready for pets in our house. I have always been a pretty big animal lover and swore when I got older I would have lots of pets around. Maybe that's where Dylan's love for animals came from. I was a bit like that as a kid. But something happened between my childhood and the grownup version of me that has changed my perspective on everything. It's something to do with adding extra responsibility to a pretty big load of responsibility I already feel comes with home ownership, motherhood and other grownup duties. I've decided that we are not ready for a bunch of pets around our house. This past month we have watched the five fish in the tank die off one by one. I'm sure the levels of something are out of whack, but I can't figure out what is killing them all. If we lose the last one, we'll probably get a couple cheap goldfish and try it again and then just put the acquarium away for awhile. It's just too much to constantly have to talk to Dylan about his fish dying.

And then there's the hamster. Okay, so we've decided we're probably not keeping it. Dylan is just too crazy about animals to leave the thing alone. I feel bad, but it did kind of get thrown at us...we never got to make the decision to have a hamster. Marcos and I both feel it's probably better to find another home for him. We'll see how that goes.

At least until Dylan's a little older and can help take care of the animals without loving them to death, we're going to hold off on purchasing any more pets (or taking in pets from other people). I think we're going to be pet sitters. Dylan loves when we tend Alicia's dog, Belle, so maybe that can be our role until we reach that next commitment level. Yes, the Uboldi pet sitters. We'll visit your animals or let them stay over for a night or two and then they can go back home.

Our Crazy Day!

Today was just one of those crazy days.  Anthony came over and brought his new hamster "Little Guy".  My little animal-lover, Dylan, was so excited.  He just about drove me crazy all day long getting poor Little Guy out of his cage, playing with him, putting him in his little exercise ball, making him ride in the Diego jeep and on the elephant's back...  You get the picture.  He's just so crazy about animals that trying to set limits with the hamster was just about impossible.  

It was also one of those messy days.  Some days I seem to be able to keep up on the kid messes and other days I give up and figure I'll catch up after the kids are in bed.  Today was the latter.  We had so many things out, it was rediculous.  At one point, I put Preston in a box we had out.  It became the favorite item of the moment.  It was a helicopter, train, airplane and who knows what else.  All the kids took turns playing in the box.  Minor sharing problems and I realized I could create two  more boxes with my laundry baskets.  So we played with boxes and baskets all day.  Dylan and Anthony played "animal shelter" and were animals in their cages underneath the baskets.  Can you tell where Marcos took the boys last Friday?  Yep, the animal shelter and don't ask about it.  It's a pretty touchy subject around here.   

Later, Alicia called.  Kamyn was having a rough day and I figured he would have fun with Dylan and Anthony so they decided to come down.  They all had a ton of fun, but chaos multiplied.  It was chilly enough that playing outside didn't last that long, which is always tough.  Dylan, who usually helps keep the younger kids wanting to play outside or in the toyroom was too distracted by the stupid hamster (which he has renamed "Hamstey") to be much help.  Preston was in a whiney, screamy kind of mood.  One of those days you wish kids came with a mute button.  And Kamyn is dealing with the new baby in a 2 1/2 year old acting out sort of way.  So it was definitely a lot of work.  It was way fun to have them visit though and I got a couple of cute pictures of little Kenya.  

To top things off, Anthony's mom came an hour and a half late.  We hadn't eaten and were all worn out from our day.  Because of some details I won't explain here, his mom offered to let us keep the hamster...in front of Dylan.  You should've seen Dylan's face.  He was shocked!  He froze and just kind of put his hand on my shoulder, held his breath and waited to see what I would say.  I told Dylan we'd have to see what happens the next few days because he wasn't very good about minding me and putting the hamster back when I told him to.  Marcos and I are still not sure what to do.  I guess we'll keep "Hamstey" for a few days and see if the excitement dies down to a manageable level.  Man, I'm exhausted.  What a day!  

The Stair Master

Up the stairs, down the stairs, flip around.  This is Preston's new favorite thing.  He's been climbing up stairs since he started to crawl a few months ago, but it's taken some time to get him to master the art of climbing down the stairs.  He usually just reached his arms out as far as he could and started crawling.  Now, I'm a mom that understands that the sooner you teach your kids to crawl backwards down the stairs, the easier your life becomes.  So we've been working on this for quite awhile.  He would crawl towards the stairs, I'd tell him to stop and turn around, he'd pause for a minute, think about what I was telling him, smile, then quickly turn back around and crawl as fast as he could towards the stairs.  It was some sort of game and became a little challenge for him.  Little turkey!  He even tried to climb off the couch head first.  Needless to say, he's done some pretty good flips the last few months.  There's just something about this little one.  He really wants to see where he's going.  Dylan was not like this at all.  Dylan would turn around and crawl backwards over a crack in the sidewalk or flip around to crawl backwards down a small grassy hill.  I taught him to crawl down backwards and he took it very literally.  Not Preston!  The kid just catapults himself towards the stairs and hopes for the best.  But after close to three months of solid reminders and constant pulling of the legs down the stairs first, I think he's finally got it.  I've watched him for several days now turn around all by himself.  Although he doesn't turn around and then back up like you would expect.  He crawls right to the edge and then gradually lets his foot down so his feet go down first, but he can see what's going on behind him.  I must admit, I'm  pretty excited to not have to worry so much about the stairs.  Dylan and Anthony are so used to my "turn around" prompts that they both still remind him, whether he needs it or not.  Unfortunately, Preston starts going down the stairs, gets distracted, and ends up sitting on the stairs for awhile.  That's what happened today.  He saw the sippy cup he'd left on the stairs earlier, decided to take it with him, and lost his balance.  Poor little baby had his first (well technically second) real fall down the stairs, witnessed by both mom and dad.  It caught us all off guard, but luckily he was fine.  Crazy little stair climber!

My Guys

Here is a recent picture of my three favorite guys!  I'm so lucky to have them in my life.  Marcos is such a great dad to Dylan and Preston.  I don't know what I would do without him!

 

A Day With Dylan

There are so many daily ups, downs and diagonals with Dylan.  Here's what a typical day looks like.  After breakfast, he dresses himself.  He is so excited for Anthony to be here that he doesn't ask for help.  Mr. Independent sets out to accomplish his goal and is successful at achieving it.  He plays in the sandbox with Anthony forever.  Those kids love that sandbox.  I am so happy with how well they play together most of the time.  I turn around and content sandbox playing has turned into climbing the fence to see the fish in the pond next door.  That or the garden hose, which can mean a number of things, most of which are not good for moms. Crisis control and we're back to playing, smiling, laughing, joking.  Go change Preston's diaper and come back downstairs to see the fridge door wide open.  Try to figure out what he got out of the fridge and why.  Oh, he's lugged every piece of fruit I own outside for a picnic and is cutting the fruit into small slices with his plastic knife.  Lunch.  He eats his lunch well without much of a fight and cleans up his plate without being asked.  What an angel.  More kid play.  Bathroom break.  Wait a minute...where's Dylan?  Yep, naked in the bathroom with all of his plastic animals lined up along the bathtub.  Why is it that he cannot stay dressed when he goes to the bathroom?  I will never understand the need to shed his clothes in order to do his business.  Preston and Anthony go down for a nap.  Before I can get Dylan to come hang out with me for some books and maybe a movie, he has decided to take a nap with Anthony.  Yeah right!  The kid hasn't taken a nap for two years.  I watch him haul blankets and stuffed animals as well as his binoculars to the living room for the two of them.  Then he tucks Anthony in and says a prayer so he can go to sleep.  Man, the kid can be so dang cute sometimes.  I almost start to cry at my son's little prayer.  Of course instead of using the animals to sleep, Dylan wants to use them for a safari, thus the binoculars.  I pry him away from Anthony and convince him that he should stay downstairs with me.  Another bathroom break.  I realize the silence and again go to check it out.  Yep, naked once again with the sink plugged, filled with water, toothpaste and soap.  He is stirring the entire concoction with his toothbrush.  He smiles at me and proceeds to tell me about the delicious soup he's making.  Not one thought of being in trouble.  Apparently it's his imagination and creativity and not the desire to be naughty...at least that's what I decide this time.  A little indoor playing.  I remind him 95 times not to wrestle Preston as Preston screams at the top of his lungs.  Somehow Dylan can tune out both of us.  Not long after, we get out the trucks.  The kids have been playing with their "scoopers" in the sandbox all day.  I turn around and Dylan has brought in a cool whip container filled with sand to play with inside.  It takes me a few minutes, but I successfully get him to take the sand back outside and play with the trucks in beans instead.  It's a brilliant way to play with animals, trucks or just about anything.  We get out the dry beans and the kids scoop and play with their trucks and some dinosaurs they find.  Another lapse in mommy attention and Dylan has Altoids out launching them through a piece of PVC pipe.  Dylan disappears to the basement (a place he rarely goes alone).  The kid wants Popsicles.  I decide it's a great idea and bring up a few otter pops so the kids will a variety of colors to select from.  I get Preston situated in the highchair with one and cut off the ends of two Popsicles for Dylan and Anthony.  I start cleaning up some of the mess from earlier.  Before I get anything done, I realize every Popsicle has been cut open and they've eaten them all.  Honestly!  Grocery trip.  Nothing too extreme, but about 15 people chuckle for one reason or another.  He tries on some sunglasses and asks me if he looks blue.  He's such great entertainment.  Later, we have FHE and talk about the liahona.  He is so excited about the idea of a compass and asks lots of questions and wanders around the house talking about camping.  Close enough.  At least we got a real lesson in.  He keeps us on our toes all day long, but we have fun and laugh so much too.  Anything to do with water, dirt, wrestling, jumping, running, climbing, rolling, scooping, shooting, fighting...  it's all Dylan territory.  We have such beautiful, tender moments and such crazy, destructive boy moments every single day.  And that's just the 4-year-old.  What a wonderful life!

Millicent Lee (Milli)

This is sweet little Milli.  I was able to slip away this afternoon and meet her for the first time. I held her for awhile while I talked to Laura about the birth.  It's amazing how tiny brand new babies are.  I love the baby smell, their soft skin and their little noises.  They are just so precious!  Milli has quite a bit of very light hair, which surprised everyone.  She is eating well and doesn't fuss much.  She is a healthy, happy and very loved little baby.  Laura (Marcos' sister) is doing well.  She and Dave are so happy and excited to have their little baby here.  What a miracle!  Congratulations to the entire family!  P.S.  I'm loving all the pink and purple bows and headbands.  Something so foreign to a Mommy of boys!  

Kenya Marie

I put these pictures and a few more at web.mac.com/mariauboldi They load quicker there and can be viewed in a slideshow.  

Baby Girls

Today was such an eventful day. Alicia, my youngest sister, and Laura, Marcos' sister, both had their babies. They were both due on May 8th and ended up being induced, although they were in different hospitals. It was such an exciting day. I was watching Kamyn, Alicia's 2 1/2 year old son and could not wait to hear another update from one family or the other. Around 4:00 p.m. Preston woke up from his nap and was still grumpy so I decided I would load the kids up and take a little drive. While I was putting shoes and jackets on the kids and packing up the diaper bag, my mom called and said it would probably be soon. Alicia was dilated to an 8. I decided our little drive should be to the hospital. I called from the waiting room and could hear the brand new baby in the background. She was probably born when we were in the parking lot - about 5 minutes before my phone call. It was perfect. We waited for them to finish up the medical stuff and then Kamyn was able to go in and see his brand new baby sister. She was born at 4:53 pm, was 7 lbs 2 oz and 20 inches long. They named her Kenya Marie.

I hadn't heard any news from Marcos' family so I figured Laura had a ways to go and thought I might be able to make it to the hospital soon after her baby was born. Marcos came to meet us for dinner and I asked if he had heard from his family. He told me Milicent Lee "Milli" was born at 5:07 pm, was 7 lbs 13 oz and 21 inches long. I could not believe it! Two nieces in one day and they were born only 14 minutes apart. What a fun day for an aunt...and they were both girls. Two girls to even even things out a bit.

Congratulations to Laura and Dave and Alicia and Nate. Moms and babies are doing well. I was able to see Alicia's baby, but have not seen Laura's yet. I'm hoping to sneak away tomorrow for a few minutes. I'll keep you posted! Yeah to today!

Our Trip To St. George

St. George was so much fun. We got to spend a lot of time with my Grandma and Grandpa and also got to see my best friend, Lisa, and her husband Greg. The first morning we got up and went on a hike up to the red rocks. We walked in with two other ladies and their five kids and Dylan just assumed we were hiking with them. We couldn't get him to leave their side so thanks to our social bug, Dylan, we made some new friends. Preston's schedule was a little off the first day so he was a bit grumpy, but it was still quite fun. We went and saw Greg and Lisa's place and went to have some frozen yogurt after. The next day we went to play tennis and then I met Lisa for lunch. We went to this new place called 25 Main. It was really fun. We ended up talking for about two hours and then she had to get back to work. We met that evening after Greg got off of work and played some friendly tennis games, while our famous photographer, Dylan, snapped a million shots. Grandma kept Preston and said he played really well and went right to sleep. Thank goodness he was back to normal by then. Again we went to get ice cream. It was more for Dylan than for us. Saturday Greg had to work so we went with Lisa on another hike. It was closed so we didn't walk too far, but it was still really fun. We followed that with a picnic in the park, Horton Hears A Who with Dylan, Mommy and Lisa and a scrumptuous dinner with the grandparents. The whole trip was really fun. Sunday morning I started packing while everyone else played outside for a minute. To Dylan's surprise, there was a racoon in the trap. Dylan was pretty nervous, but thought it was really cool. All in all, it was a great trip. We got to spend lots of time with people we love and got to do a bunch of fun things too. We played tennis, swam in the hot tub, played on the swings, went on two awesome hikes, had ice cream every day and were pampered with Grandma's delicious homecooked meals. What a lucky bunch of Uboldi's we are! I'm so glad we were able to slip away for a few days. It was a great trip!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Preston and the Cookie Crumb

Preston was a curious little baby who could crawl, climb and get into mischief.  He was a typical one-year-old baby boy.  He laughed and giggled and tried to be like his big brother, Dylan.  One day, following a typically healthy lunch, he was exploring the house and made an exciting discovery.  Preston learned that many leftover food crumbs fell right under his brother's stool and often remained until the dreaded vacuum machine could be retrieved.  He smiled as his eyes fixed on one large, mouth-watering oreo crumb.  It was one stool down and just over an arm's reach from there.  He quickly set out to accomplish his new mission.  He focused on his ever-developing motor skills, took a deep breath and began.  Pull up, dive down, climb through and...ugh...waaa.....  What is going on here?  Yep, baby Preston was stuck right in the barstool, just out of reach of his precious cookie crumb.  Poor little Preston.  Luckily he found plenty of other food crumbs within reach and was able to entertain himself while his mom snapped some pictures and rescued him from the evil barstool.  

Painting With Dylan

I tried to get one last coat of paint on the new shelf in the office while Preston was asleep.  That left me with one little helper to manage during the project.  Here are a couple pictures of Dylan the painter.  Trust me, painting with a 4-year-old is no easy task, but I figured it was worth the experience to let him be my sidekick.  It was tough, but fun for both of us.  He LOVES painting!  

Reflections of Christ

http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/2008/03/reflections-sli.html  

This is a truly breath-taking video of the Savior's life.  For me, the pictures captured a million scriptures read and moments pondered.  It helped me really see the Savior as a human being born on the earth.  One who lived like us, but never sinned - a perfect man.  It's hard to completely envision sometimes, but was very real for me in these pictures.  I felt like I was there, like the Savior was my neighbor and friend.  I am thankful for the moment of reflection this video brought to me.  I keep wanting to say something more, but I can't seem to find the words.  It is absolutely moving...  He loves us, He died for us, and He lives again!  

Dylan & Papi

Dylan and his Papi have become quite good friends lately.  Dylan loves being like Marcos.  He loves playing and watching soccer just like Papi.  He loves music and playing the guitar.  I love looking in my rearview mirror and seeing his scrunched up face as he gets into a song.  Dylan loves just about anything Marcos does - he just likes hanging out with him.  The other night, we grilled some chicken and the kid was in heaven following Marcos in and out of the back door a million times, asking for a plate or whatever other errand Marcos had sent him to accomplish.  It's been really cute to watch!  Marcos has always been a good dad and enjoys the kids more than many fathers do, but the last few months, I have watched him grow and become an excellent dad.  Why?  I don't know.  But the man misses his kids so much when he's gone and can't wait to come home and be with his family again.  The other day, Dylan said to Marcos, "When I'm a Papi, I'm going to name myself Marcos."  When Marcos told me about that, we both got a little teary-eyed.  It was Dylan's own way of expressing his desire to be like his Papi when he grows up.  It was so sweet!  

How I Met My Love

I found this on a couple of blogs I frequent and thought it was a good idea.  Sorry for my lengthy answers, but I thought some of the questions required a little more of a story than a simple answer.  Anyone reading this...consider yourself tagged.

How did you meet you LOVE?

(Answer all the questions HONESTLY)

1.  Where did you meet?

Weber State University.  I was walking up the stairs in the Union Building to my orchestra class and heard my name.  I looked around and couldn't see anyone I knew.  I'm sure I looked helpless trying to figure out who had called out my name while simultaneously trying to keep my cool so my friend, Sherice, finally rescued me and said, "It's just my friend, Marcos."  Okay.  I gave a polite wave and kept walking.  A few days later, he was talking to Sherice again over by the Greek offices, where a whole bunch of my friends were "studying."  He just comes on out and says, "Hey baby, do you want to go out some time?"  I could feel my face turn a hundred shades of red and probably land on something closer to purple.  All my friends were around and getting hit on by some wanna-be player was not exactly my style.  I said, "No, I don't even know you."  He comes back with , "Well, what if we double with Sherice and her boyfriend?  You know her."  "Um, no."  Then one of my sorority sisters blurts out, "I'll go out with you."  And that was that.  Marcos and Heidiann doubled with Danny and Sherice and I thought nothing more of it.  Apparently they didn't hit it off because they only went out once.  

Marcos and I spent the next year getting to be very close friends.  I felt so bad about the way I'd turned him down and never quite knew how to bring it up.  He helped me with my Spanish homework when I didn't get it finished in time and we became pretty close.  Almost a year later, I was trying to find a date for our spring formal.  I emailed my friend, Lisa, and told her I might just ask Marcos because we were good friends and it wouldn't be such a big deal.  Marcos happened to walk by her computer screen when she was reading it and saw the email.  He emails me out of nowhere and tells me he saw the email accidentally, but that he would be honored to be my date.  Crap!  By that point, I had a date so I didn't know what to do.  I just ignored the email.  As a side note, I didn't know who the email was from at first.  muboldi  I only knew him by Marcos.  What the heck kind of a last name is Uboldi anyway.  I would hate to have that for a last name.  Yep, it was a total curse!  Never think that you hate someone's name.  It might just become your own.  Now I'm quite fond of it...it is unique and is the name of a man I love very dearly.  

During the summer, I had an inter-communications class and had to interview someone from a different country three separate times.  My mom suggested Marcos.  I called him up and went to Centerville to interview him.  He turns the dang thing into a date by suggesting we go to Robintino's while we talk.  We had an awesome conversation and it hit me - I was completely into him.  The more questions he answered, the more I liked him.  It was actually a really great way to get to know someone that I would end up dating.  Just lay all the questions out on the table first and then see if you still like each other.  We finished the conversation watching a baseball game at the park.  At the end of the night, he looked at me and said, "Now can I ask you a question?"  I replied, "Sure."  "Would you ever consider going out with me if it wasn't for a grade?"  Ouch, that hurt.  "I guess," I said.  We met a few more times for my class that summer and then started "dating" officially in the fall.  

2.  What was the first thought that went through your head when you met?  

Who is this guy and why is he yelling out my name?  

3.  Do you remember what she/he was wearing?

Nope, but probably jeans and a t-shirt.  That's what he wore most days around campus.

4.  Where was the first time you kissed this person?  

Under the bell tower at Homecoming.  We became true wildcats that night!  When I realized he was following everyone outside, I was freaking out.  I'm thinking to myself, "Okay, I guess we're going to kiss tonight."  It was major anticipation leading up to a first kiss.  Then we get out there and I've made up my mind that I'm cool with it and he is just as nervous as can be.  He and a friend of ours (who we saw out there with another friend of ours) were taking the free mints and throwing them and talking and moving around all nervously.  It was like Jr High or something.  When the stupid bell started to chime and everyone started kissing, he wasn't even next to me.  What the heck!  He finally came over by me and it was like he didn't know where to start.  After waiting for my "prince" to initiate things, I finally decided to rescue him and just get things started myself.  Luckily after the awkwardness passed, it was actually a pretty good kiss and a great memory.

5.  How did he/she ask you out?

During the interview I mentioned earlier, he asked me if I would date him if it wasn't just for school.  For our official Homecoming date, he called me up and asked if I wanted to go.  Talk about butterflies...for both of us.

6.  Where did you go for your first date? 

Okay, it depends on what you consider a date.  That's why I rambled on so long earlier...these are not simple questions here.  Either Robintino's and then the park or Homecoming.  Marcos considers Robintino's our first date because even though it was for a school project of mine, he had the idea to go to Robintino's to talk and then paid for the date.

7.  How long did you know this person before you became a couple?

A year, almost to the date.

8.  Has this person ever proposed to you?

Yes.  He proposed on February 20, 1999 in Memory Grove.  We went on what I thought was a late Valentine's date to the Inn at Temple Square and then he took me on a carriage ride.  I was a little suspicious, but didn't think he would have a ring yet.  He knew I'd always wanted to go on a carriage ride so I figured he was just giving in to my constant requests.  We got down and walked around and he proposed on the bridge.  It was so sweet!  Hmm...he got down on one knee and said something like, "Babe, you are the love of my life.  You make me so happy.  Will you marry me?"  I may have left something out, but I know those lines were in there.  Cheesy, but sweet and totally true.  I said yes and then honestly, we were both so dang giddy...like school girls.  We didn't know what to do with ourselves.  We were prancing through Memory Grove and laughing and yelling.  I know, it sounds a little crazy.  It was, but it wasn't.  It was actually just true bliss.  We got back on the carriage and Marcos talked to everyone that passed us on another carriage (or a car or on foot).  He would yell out, "Hey, we just got engaged" and hold up my hand to show them my ring.  Just like Marcos!  

We were married 4 months later, on June 25, 1999 in the Bountiful temple.  It was another Marcos and Maria moment.  We were totally content to do our own thing.  We broke the mold a little and had the reception in my mom and step dad's backyard.  And of course I had no backup plan for inclement weather.  Luckily el nino calmed down that morning and we had a beautiful reception with no rain.  It was perfect weather!  I honestly never thought too much about my wedding except that I didn't really want to have it in a church gymnasium (sorry people) and I didn't want it to be boring.  That's all we really talked about.  Marcos had the same thoughts.  So I didn't worry about too many of the details like the cake, knife and serving thing, garter, napkins, etc.  I made the decisions and kept everything clean and simple, but it didn't matter that much to me.  Everything did end up beautiful thanks to my mom (and others that helped with different parts of the reception).  We were so much more focused on what we needed to do to have a great marriage, not just a great wedding.  We took those temple prep classes in both of our wards - overkill maybe, but I take eternity very seriously.  It was an awesome wedding though.  There was lots of food and dancing and no formal Mormon wedding line.  It was just mingling, eating and dancing.  We wanted it to be fun for everyone and I'm pretty sure it was - most people didn't leave the reception until 11:15 p.m.  We were having way too much fun to leave early.  It was another giddy schoolgirl moment, full of awkwardness and joy, all wrapped into one big bundle.  We were just so happy and in love.  It was a truly memorable day!  

9. Do you and this person have kids together?

Clearly everyone on this blog knows the answer to this already.  We have two little boys.  Dylan was born March 2, 2004 and Preston joined our family on March 15, 2007.

10. Have you ever broken the law with this person?

I don't think so.  We're not really the law-breaking type.  Maybe if you count speeding while we were both riding together in the same car.  Marcos can have a lead foot sometimes, but that's probably as close to law-breaking as we get.

11. When was the first time you realized you liked this person?  

When he emailed me about going to spring formal, I kind of got a little butterfly feeling.  And maybe even a little before that.  I couldn't believe he was so nice to me still and would help me with my homework, even though he always said he was part of our sorority's "black book."  Not true, but he always said that.  I for sure knew I liked him a lot that first date we went on when I had to ask him a million questions about himself.  He tells this entire story from a way different point of view.  He says I started liking him when he was playing soccer with a combined sorority/fraternity team (he wasn't in a fraternity, but they asked him to play with them).  He says as soon as I saw his mad soccer skills, I was hooked.  

12. Do you get along with any of the ex's of your partner?

I haven't met any of them and I don't want to.  I don't like to consider myself the jealous type, but I probably would be if I met one of Marcos' ex-girlfriends.  He ran into one of my ex's though and that was awkward.  The dude lived in San Diego so showing up to our ward in Bountiful was just weird.  I guess he'd gotten married and his wife's dad was in this bell choir that came to play for our ward.  Marcos just shook his hand and introduced himself.  I was the one who didn't know what to do.  I guess he's probably better than I am in situations like that.  But he tells that story a little differently too.  Crazy kid!

13. Do you trust this person?

Yes I do.

14. Do you see your partner in your future?

Um, yeah.  Eternal marriage and all I'd like to think so.

15. What's the most expensive thing he's given you?

I don't know.  He's such a bad gift-giver.  I love the man to pieces, but he is the type to show up to the party and be the center of attention, not plan anything.  He usually forgets to buy me a present.  Of the many many strong points the man has, giving gifts is not one of them.  To his credit, he would let me buy anything I wanted.  He is very generous, he just doesn't put much thought into stuff like that.  And I didn't ever think so, but maybe I'm a little pickier than I thought I was.  I'm just way too practical and a little bit of a tightwad.  If he buys me flowers, I am grateful, but cringe at the idea of money spent for something that is just going to die.  So I try to give hints and he does his best.  Okay, sorry.  More than I should have revealed about the crazy me.  But I guess my wedding ring.  I'm sure it's probably the most expensive thing I own besides our cars and our home, which we bought together.  If you want to know what the most expensive present I have given him is, it's a 1957 Fender Vintage Reissue Guitar (his dream guitar!!!!).  Yep, I used to be pretty good at presents.  Now I've laid off spoiling him so much and we just do what we can with a much tighter, post-home-owner budget.

16. What is one thing he/she does that gets on your nerves?

I remember being first married and realizing all his endearing quirks that bugged me, but didn't.  He can be so laid back and yet so OCD at the same time.  He used to play indoor soccer like 4 nights a week and watching his routine to get ready was hilarious.  He would tuck his shirt in, then untuck it a little, then tuck it in a little more.  Then he'd put his shin guards on and pull his socks over them and pull them up, and fold the sock down...   I love things like that though.  They don't really bug me, they're just a part of him that few people know about (well until now).  

As for a real thing.  I guess probably his tendency towards procrastination.  I guess everyone has that once in a while, but Marcos puts most of the important things in life off until he has to get around to it.  It makes the organized part of me a little crazy at times.  But we're pretty good at compromising and working with each other's quirks.  

17. What is one thing you do that gets on his/her nerves?

He HATES when I have a new project I'm determined to do that requires his help.  Remodeling or rearranging furniture just drives him crazy.  Not that he cares whether or not I actually move things around, but when he comes home, he wants to relax for a bit and not get roped into some new project.  I tend to be restless and need to change things often and he could go his whole life in the same clothes, furniture, car, home etc.  He's a pretty simple man by nature.  

18. Where do you see yourselves in 15 years?

Raising teenagers I guess.  Yikes!  That's frightening.  Hopefully in a little bit bigger home or the boys might kill each other.  But don't mention a new home to Marcos.  Mr. Content thinks we're going to live here forever.  :)  Also, I hope we are a little less strapped financially, but saving wisely for our future.

19. Will this person repost this?

Nope.  Not unless he wants to tell his side of "our" story.  Then he might make me help him.  Just kidding.

I hope none of you think my answers to these questions minimize the love I have for Marcos.  We have a fun and honest relationship and are pretty much open books.  There just isn't much we won't tell you if you ask us wanting an honest answer.  But he is the love of my life.  We were definitely meant to be together.  I know it sounds cheesy and I won't go into details, but we just were.  We both know it!  Even though we have our moments, we get through them together.  There isn't anyone else I would rather ride through this roller coaster of a life with than Marcos.  He is an awesome father and a very loving and caring person.  I couldn't have picked a better man for me! 

Birthday Dinner

Grandpa Mike (my dad) and Grandma Suzanne came up last night.  We went to Olive Garden for dinner to celebrate the boys' March birthdays.  Dinner was delicious and the kids behaved as well as could be expected.  There was a spilled lemonade episode, Dylan scooting his chair in and out from the table, and a fussy baby by the end, but it was tolerable.  That's life with young kids at a restaurant close to bedtime.  What a tasty meal though!  On the way back to the car, Dylan said something about having another Grandma and Grandpa.  I didn't think twice about it.  I said, "I know.  You have lots of Grandmas and Grandpas, and abuela and abuelo.  Aren't you lucky?"  He smiled and said, "I sure am!"  A few minutes later, Marcos held up his hand as if to give me a high five (I know, so high school) and said, "Good job."  I had no idea what he was talking about.  He told me that was a great response to the grandma and grandpa comment and that he wouldn't have thought of it or known what to say. With such little kids who have only known extra sets of grandparents because of a divorce that happened long ago, it's such a non-issue.  They ARE lucky to have more people to love them. So if nothing else, my husband thought I was super mom for a minute.  After dinner, we came back to the house and the kids opened a present from Grandma and Grandpa.  Preston was just thrilled to be in the living room and not locked in the family room with the gate up.  We couldn't get him to even look at the present for like five minutes.  He kept wandering over the piano.  Ah, 1-year-olds...they're so easy to entertain.  Once he realized he had new cars to play with, he was interested.  They are so cool!  They are soft on top and you pull them back and they take off.  Even on the carpet, they were getting some pretty good distance.  Dylan loves having a little brother.  To him, it just means double the presents.  Preston is still so good at sharing.  One of these days, that is going to change.  Dylan opened his present and it was a rescue pet.  A chocolate lab that is now appropriately named Chocolate (pronounced in Spanish or English for our bilingual home).  He was so cute.  Preston gave him a Fur Real baby lion for Christmas that he hasn't played with for awhile and he went right upstairs and got him out.  Now both of them are considered his rescue pets and they make noises together.  Dylan slept with both of them in his bed last night.  He wanted to feed them this morning and wanted to give them a bath with him.  When I told him they couldn't go in the water because they have batteries, he asked if they could just watch while he took his bath.  Funny boy!  It was a fun evening, despite the chaos that inevitably comes with two busy little boys.

Our New Family Room

For those of you who follow my blog, I finally found a solution for the family room that kept nagging at me.  I organized most of the house and am working on the office, but no amount of rearranging that room seemed to tame my restlessness.  We have the same couches we have had since we got married almost nine years ago and the fabric was totally wearing.  We didn't really budget in new couches this year so I finally decided to just redo things the cheap way.  I found some slip covers, a couple of throw pillows and a new rug and now things look a little less "lived" in.  Here are a couple of pictures of the new room.  They're not great, but you get the idea.  I don't really have a "before" picture so I'm attaching a couple of pictures that show the old couch and rug so you can kind of see the difference.  

Easter 2008

I know we're past Easter and pretty much over it, but I wanted to put my Easter post up anyway.  Easter was fun this year.  Saturday we met up with the Uboldi cousins and abuela at the park.  Abuela made dresses for the girls and bought cute matching shirts for the boys to wear on Easter.  Esteban and Marcos played tennis and the girls all played at the park with the kids.  It was a little chilly, but so much fun.  Preston pretty much just crawled around and ate wood chips. The other kids had a ton of fun on the playground that reminds me of my high school physics experiments.  I ended up pushing all the kids around on one of the toys.  It made me a little dizzy and was definitely a good workout.  Around and around as fast as you can with 6 kids hanging onto this contraption made it obvious that I need to get to the gym a little more often :) But we really had a lot of fun!

 

We left from the park to go up to my mom's house and die Easter eggs.  Dylan had so much fun coloring eggs this year.  It actually kept his attention for way longer than I thought it would.  After the little kids tired of dying eggs, the "kids" from my generation decorated some eggs of our own.  While we were finishing up, grandma hid some eggs in the backyard for a little Easter egg hunt.  Tony was pretty fast, but Dylan and Kamyn still managed to get a few eggs for their baskets.  The funny part is Dylan would rather find the eggs and then give them away.  He enjoys the hunt much more than the candy!

 

Easter morning was a rush.  Luckily Dylan didn't remember it was Easter when we woke up so we got everyone showered and dressed before we went down to find Easter eggs and see what the bunny had brought.  Dylan LOVED finding eggs and was cute about putting an egg in Preston's basket every once in awhile without even being asked.  I think he chose his least favorite colors, but at least he was willing to share.  Preston did find a couple of eggs himself while he was crawling around the family room and was content to just sit and inspect an egg or two.  After church, we went up to my mom's for Easter dinner.  It was a great weekend!

I've been trying to figure out a better way to post pictures so we'll see how this goes.  For now, you can see Easter pictures at the following address. 

 http://web.mac.com/mariauboldi/

Preston's Hard Week

Poor little Preston has had a pretty hard week.  He's been a little fussy and I assumed it was the ear infection he was diagnosed with last week.  This morning I noticed his bottom two teeth (on the sides) had poked through his gums.  That explains it!  I knew one was coming soon, but had no idea on the other.  This brings the total chomper count up to 8, and I'm pretty sure a couple more are on their way.  His molars seem to be right on the surface.  Right now he wants to bite on everything, especially my finger.  I can't believe he might have 10 teeth soon.  What an early teether!  He's been so tough throughout all the growing pains babies have to endure.  It's not easy being a baby!  And to top off his difficult week, we had to take him for his monthly shot today, which is incredibly painful.  I cannot describe the range of emotion I feel on these days. To watch your baby suffer as you help hold him down while the doctor gives him an injection is truly indescribable.  It's rough on all of us!  Hopefully next week is better for my little man!