Hiking

In preparation for this crazy race I'm doing in a few weeks, I've been trying to get as much hiking in as possible.  I ran 7 miles on the street once this week and it about killed me.  Hiking is at least a little easier on my joints so I'm going to stick to that type of training as much as possible.  With that in mind, we centered family night around a hike to get a short training session in for me.  We had a fun lesson about the Word of Wisdom and our bodies being like temples.  We talked about staying healthy and then went on a hike.  It was pretty brave taking two little kids on this particular hike, but we did it.  I took Preston in the baby carrier because I knew Dylan would need a lot of coaching, motivation and possibly carrying.  I was right.  He did great though and it was so much fun.  I have no idea what's going to happen with this race.  I can say this much though - I know I am at least a slightly faster hiker than a 4-year-old.  At least it's something!  Luckily a small group of teenagers was there when we got to the end because crossing the creek to get to the side where you could see the waterfall would've been very difficult with the baby on my back.  It was definitely a blessing to have a hand while crossing those slippery rocks.  Other than that, we did really well.  Dylan complained a little by the end, but it's a pretty long, hard hike.  Since then, all he's talked about is going hiking in the mountains.  We may just have to venture out again sometime soon.  It was definitely a fun family activity.  

Milli's Blessing

Dave and Laura blessed their baby, Millicent Lee, on Sunday.  We went to our ward and then went straight to their church.  Preston was so tired so we only stayed for the blessing.  It was a beautiful blessing though.  We went back to Laura's to give Preston a nap and help set up for the lunch.  Here are a few pictures I was able to take.  

Gabi, Preston, Leah, Milli, Diego, Dylan, Mylo, Abuela, Kylie, Mason

A little more chaotic by the time Tomi got in the picture with the kids

Laura, Esteban, Tomi, Marcos

Sealing

My Grandpa Bill (my dad's dad) passed away three days after Dylan was born.  Since then, Grandma has been pretty eager to have his temple work done.  Saturday afternoon we were able to witness the completion of this work.  Grandma was sealed to Grandpa Saturday afternoon.  She was also sealed to Claudia Jean, her baby who passed away when she was 13 month olds.  It was such a beautiful day.  The feeling in the temple was incredible and I know having this done is a huge weight off of Grandma's shoulders.  The Spirit in that sealing room was so strong - it was amazing!  I'm truly grateful for the choice I made to be sealed to my husband for eternity and I'm happy that my Grandma now has the same blessing with her own family.  After we finished at the temple, we met up with more family members at a restaurant nearby and had a delicious dinner.  What a great day!

Aunt Carol, Maria, Grandma Betty, and Alicia

Nate, Uncle Gus, Grandma Betty and Marcos

Exhaustion

After two late nights in a row, the boys were completely worn out.  Dylan fell asleep before we hit the freeway.  Preston took a nap that afternoon so he was awake for a little bit longer.  Marcos looked back to check on the kids and noticed Preston was still awake holding Dylan's hand.  He fell asleep like that.  It was so precious!  Here are a couple pictures I just couldn't resist.  

4th of July

We hung out at home on the 4th, mowed the lawn and then went up to my mom's.  My mom was out of town, but we met at her house with the siblings and our kids to have some fun.  We had pizza and made homemade rootbeer in a big green tub (the guys went to get the ingredients and that's what they came back with).  It was sure fun though and the kids LOVED the dry ice effect.  Then we went over to a park nearby where they serve dinner, have music and fireworks.  It wasn't nearly as crowded as we expected, which was nice.  The dinner was cheap and good and the kids loved running around the park.  Tony, Dylan and Kamyn were playing soccer with some older boys.  Dylan and Kamyn were cute to watch.  It was like they were on the "little kid" team and were bound and determined to win.  They stuck by each other.  The fireworks were fun and then we went home.  Two really late nights in a row for the boys was too much - they were exhausted.  I only got a few pictures because we were just having too much fun...plus, there's a lot of kid wrasslin' to do with all our little ones.  

Homemade rootbeer

Playing around at the park

Dylan's imitation of the Esteban victory dance

Tanner's festive 4th of July hair

Let The Festivities Begin

Last Thursday my friend, Liv, called me and told me about a fun little festival and fireworks by my Grandma Betty's house.  We visited with GG for a half hour or so and then walked over to check it out.  Dylan LOVED it!  There were so many fun things for young kids to do.  Liv and Steve knew quite a few people there so Dylan ended up making a new friend while Steve chatted with his dad.  They had a great time.  Dylan is definitely a social kid!  Preston was content to wander around and bang on the outside of the blow-up toys.  He's still a cheap date, but I'm sure that won't last much longer.  We got a bite to eat and watched the amazing fireworks.  Both of the kids enjoyed that part.  Preston wandered around by our blanket and everyone was giving him glow sticks and other little toys.  Apparently all you need to get free stuff is a cute baby (just kidding).  It was a really fun night and great to see friends and family.

Happy 4th of July

I'm sure I will have plenty of kid pictures from bbqs, fireworks, and other fun 4th of July events to post later, but I wanted to post some thoughts now.  I think it's easy to get so caught up in the fun traditions of holidays, that we forget what the holidays are all about.  So today I just want to say how grateful I am for what this holiday represents - our nation's independence.  I am grateful to have been born in a country that is free.  I have had the opportunity to learn more about our nation by seeing the process through the eyes of someone who wasn't born here.  Marcos was born in Argentina, but is now a US citizen.  He LOVES Argentina and it will always be his birth country, but he has such an appreciation for what he has been given as a citizen of the United States.  He appreciates and thanks the soldiers more than I have ever seen anyone do in my life.  It has only made my already patriotic heart swell more with thankfulness and appreciation.  I cannot imagine living without the ability to speak my mind or worship the way I choose.  It's an amazing gift that we tend to take for granted!  I am amazed by the inspiration and guidance given to our early leaders who fought such an uphill battle to obtain this freedom, and can barely choke back tears at the thought of those past and present who gave their lives to preserve that freedom.  

Because we live close to an airforce base, we have had numerous friends who have recently made sacrifices to serve our country.  That is so real to me.  Sometimes it's hard to envision those sacrifices, but I have friends who have been pregnant and had babies without their husbands by their side and others who have had to live alone for months at a time while this sacrifice was made.  How thankful I am to these individuals for their military service.  

We can be such a pessimistic society sometimes.  I turn on talk radio or the news and am bombarded with such messages of all the things gone wrong.  The media loves a good story.  Do we have problems?  Yes.  Should we try to work on them?  Yes.  Should we pay attention and participate in the political process to help elect good men and women who can represent us well?  Yes.  But let us not forget all we have to be thankful for.  Our constitution was so beautifully crafted that it never ceases to amaze me.  Let us not forget tonight what our flag represents when we hold our hand over our heart in respect for those lives sacrificed.  As we watch the colorful fireworks with our families, let us not forget "the bombs bursting in air".We are so truly blessed.  Happy 4th of July!

Lazy Mornings

As many of you well know, I am a recovering night owl.  It is not by choice that I have had to make this drastic change in my life, but rather my life situation.  My kids (Dylan in particular) seem to have taken after their dad and his unpredictable and often annoying sleep cycles.  They go to sleep early (on most nights) and get up at the crack of dawn.  Trust me, I have tried everything...changing their bedtime routines, energy efficient curtains to shut out the light, wearing them out during the day, even Benadryl (I know, I'm a horrible mom).  As someone who used to truly look forward to all-nighters and sleeping in on Saturday morning, you can see how difficult this little shift in lifestyle is for me.  My late-night posts prove my tendency to slip into old habits of staying up way too late.  Yet most mornings I am up before 7:00 a.m.  I'm trying to do better, but a change this extreme requires baby steps.  One day I will be able to say that everything was done for the day and I was in bed with my eyes closed at 10:00 p.m.  I will be able to say I was up by 5:00 a.m. and made it to the first class at the gym and was back before my kids even started stirring in their tiny little beds.  Until that seemingly impossible dream becomes a reality, I am gradually learning to cope with my children's not-so-pleasant sleep habits.  The kids have lazy mornings while mom slowly adjusts to real life again.  Even though I'd rather be snoozing uninterrupted, I've come to love my early mornings with Dylan and Preston.  Cartoons, jammies, sippy cups and snuggles help make mornings a little more bearable.  

Musikgarten

Art projects (sea turtles, nut sail boats, paper sail boats)

Dylan's seashell art project

Tomi, Amy, Maria & Baby Kylie

I was not exactly looking great...it was a LONG day!

Grandma & Preston

Dylan's class

Tomi and the kids

My monkey

Dylan & Diego- Buddies

Dylan went to summer camp last week.  It was from 9-11:30 every day.  It's a program called Musikgarten and he had a great time.  The theme this year was seashore camp so everything was about the sea.  They got to play in sand and dig for creatures, play with bubbles, play with ocean animals and even play with bugs.  They did a couple art projects every day too and of course sang songs.  It was so much fun for him.  On Thursday night, they have family music night for all the family to come and see what they've been doing all week.  It was great to watch.  Mason and Diego, Dylan's cousins, also participated in the camp.  It was fun to watch Dylan play with them and then go off on his own too.  La tia, Tomi came to watch and so did Grandma and Tony.  It was a lot of fun!  Here are a couple of pictures!

Asado (Argentine BBQ)

Can you tell we've been busy?  Summer's just crazy!  I got behind on my posts and am trying to catch up a little.

Monday Marcos' friend, Oscar, came over and helped us cook a real Argentine BBQ.  We had Marcos' mom, all of his siblings and their kids over.  It was great food and lots of fun.  The kids played awesome too!  They loved the playground, the tramp, the water table and just about everything.  Dylan was a cute host and ready to let everyone choose a toy to take home with them.  Hey, at least he's good at sharing.  One lesson learned, a million to go.  

BBQ With Venezuela Friends

Sunday we had a bbq at Dave and Laura's house with friends they knew when they lived in Venezuela.  We had to rush to get back from Idaho in time and about everything that could've gone wrong, did, but we made it and it was worth it.  It was really fun to get together and meet some of the people that Marcos knew growing up.  The kids played pretty well too, which always makes events better.  Here are a couple pictures I took.  

Kid huddle

Yep, mine's the one sticking him bum out.

Ah...parenthood!

Try to match the kids to the parents.

Don't worry, I can't do it either.

Brothers: Marcos & Esteban, Dean & Dane

Marcos' Trip To Idaho

Marcos was the biggest kid of all.  It was such a manly trip out in the country catching pheasants and playing on big boy toys.  Between the four wheeler, motorcycles and pheasant-catching, I rarely saw him.  It was his first trip to Angie's house and he loved it.  He thinks we need to move there and raise animals.  I'm not so sure.  Crazy kid.  You take him on one trip and he's planning a new life.  Here are a couple pictures I snapped of him.  Somehow we didn't end up with one picture of me.  You can tell who had the camera.  Marcos was having way too much fun to think of taking pictures.  

Preston's Trip To Idaho

Preston loved Idaho too.  He and Tanner were so cute together.  Preston is 15 months old and Tanner just turned 1.  Just three months apart and they're pretty much the same size.  Some of the highlights of Preston's trip were:

• Swings
• Chasing dogs
• Playing with Tanner
• Playing with Tanner's toys
• Popcycles
• Baths