Attempting a Gingerbread House!!

A few days before we went to California, the kids and I thought it would be fun if we all did a gingerbread house. I didn't think it would be too complicated or hard. I bought the kit from Walmart on clearance for $5.oo!! So I was pretty excited and so were the kids until we started TRYING to put it together with the frosting!! I don't know about everyone else, but I got frusterating the first 15 minutes and threw the towel by 30 minutes!! I don't think I would do very well in construction! :)
Isabela and Owen started feeling frusterated as soon as they figured out that I wasn't going to be able to build them the "house." I have to say though we did have lots of fun "eating" the whole thing. Well at least the kids did. I think the candy they sell are gross!!

Here is Owen and Jacob trying to open up all the pieces.

This is sort of a random picture, but this is how Isabela's hair is when she wakes up every morning!! :)

Here is the three of them eating all the "yummy" gingerbread house before it was even constructed.

'Hhhmmmm.. what to eat? "

I think one of the jely beans got stuck in Bela's teeth!! :)

The other night, I made dinner and served the kids first, as usually that is the daily routine, nothing new.....Kids eat first, then mom and Dad get to eat our "cold dinner." I hate it when my food gets cold or when the food is uncovered when it should be covered to stay warm. I usually end up putting it back in the oven or in the microwave to make sure it is extra hot and ready to eat!! Anyway as I was eating dinner, the kids were finishing up and they know the drill.... when you're finished, put your plate in the sink, wash your hands, dry your hands, and you can go play! Well this is what I found when I turned over to see who was washing dishes.......

*Note: Idid NOT teach her or tell her she needed to wash dishes this early in her life!! I am sure she will have plenty of dishes to wasj in the future :)

This is when I finally, got her attention and asked what she was doing. She replied, " I'm helping wash the dishes mommy!"... I couldn't resist, I replied back, " oh mija, that's great.... you have about 20 of them left!" haha.. jk

I love my little Isabela! She is seriously such a great helper. She loves to clean. I'm not sure why because I am not the type that is cleaning all day, but I am so glad that she enjoys helping me with these sort of things. One can definitely not mistaken her for being a little boy. She is so loving and nurturing with our family. She always makes sure that her brothers are okay and that Dadddy is well taken care of too. I hope that she keeps those gestures with her always. She is the BEST little girl!

PRESCHOOL STARTS AND MOMMY IS SO EXCITED!!!

Here is Owen and Isabela before we headed off to school!!!
.... And Jacob thought it would be nice to pose with Owen and Isabela

Okay, so I know that I should be super sad to have my kids go to school and all, but honestly, I am super exxcited!! Is that bad?! Haha!! I'm just kidding! I am a little sad but excited at the same time. Owen and Isabela started preschool this past Tuesday and they went for a couple hours. Owen was super excited and so was Isabela. It's a joy school that I am a part of in our church ward, and it seems like the kids are going to have fun. All the moms take turns teaching and so it is a great oppurtunity to meet new members from our ward and have my kids make friends from our ward as well.... and of course they are learning social skills as well as academics!! :) Owen has been to preschool before, but this is the first time for Isabela!1

She was so excited to go. We left just a couple minutes before 9:30 because the house was just around the corner from us. At first when we got there, she asked me to stay with her.... she seemed a little unsure, but within 5 minutes she turned to me and said, " Mommy, you can go now.. I'll be ok!"It was so cute! Owen was there with her and she was all smiles :)

SO SORRYFOR THE LATE POST........

Okay, so I haven't been too "on it" with the journaling and posting! There are not too many people who look at this anyway, but it makes it more overwhelming when you want to remember all these memories with your children.. (yes including the bad too.) But hopefully, I can remember some of the events that have happened these last few months. I will do my best to write in detail some of our past adventures! :)

ANGEL GAME..... FREE TICKETS!!

I know, I know it'a been a While since I've written on our family blog! There are no really good excuses other than I'm just being lazy and procrastinating! Not much has happened anyway. We have been hanging out at home. Owen has started preschool EVERYDAY right smack in the middle of the day which leaves all of us stuck in the house all day, and three crancky kids at 2:00pm because that's nap time for ALL of us... yes, I'm included in that bunch! I need my naps to function.
Owen started back in January and ends in the middle of June. He is already complaining to me that he doesn't like school!!! I'm like... "WHAT???!!! You still have at least 12 years ahead of you, so you better start liking it!" Crazy boy! Owen is a very active little boy and has energy enough for all of our family and more. He is constantly on the go and is always asking questions, so school has taught him to be a little more structured and feels a little "bored." But it has helped him tremendously. Everytime we drop him off , Isabela wants to stay at go to school with him. At least one of them is excited for school!! She is so cute!!
Recently, we had friends from our ward who were cool enough to give us FREE tickets the Angels game vs. Oakland Athletics?! The game was so much fun and we were able to go with Nat and her little family!! They ended up winning the game and the kids thought the best part was the fireworks at the end which lasted like 30 seconds!!!

Jacob and Isabela posing

Cousin LOVE!!

M.I.A. Owen and Ryan were not able to make it because they were in Vegas. Owen let Ryan know how upset he was that we went to an Angel game without him and that we should have waited until he got home :)

HAWAII 2010

This January I had the opportunity to go to Hawaii with my family. Well it not all of us made it. We were missing Teri Lisa and my Dad :( . But we had a great time. We all sort of just invited ourselves but it ended up being a super fun trip!!! The weather was great compared to California that week. We were lucky enough to miss the whole week that it was pouring in January. My mom and Steph made it out there a couple of days before the rest of us got in. We left early Wednesday morning and Stephanie's companion's dad was nice enough to get our family really good prices on the flights. We fle into Honolulu and went around the whole island. We got to visit Byu- Hawaii, the temple, the Dole Plantation, and lots of other little areas around there. Our first day, it was raining so we just drove by the island and stopped by the Laie Temple. It was so beautiful!! We forgot to take a picture of it!! :(.. Overall, the trip was awesome and I had a lot of fun with my family. I definitely would love to go back there with Ryan one of these days... Hopefully soon!!!

This is somewhere in the North Shore. We stopped and took a picture because of the vies, minus the construction fence in the background :)

We went to visit the Dole Plantation and got to ride on a little train that explained how they grow the pineapples and the history behind it.

Okay, this is Kiki trying to be "cool" riding his moped:)

And of course this is my little brother also trying to be "cool"

GIRLS: Day at the Beach!!! So beautiful

CRAZY DECEMBER

Well the holidays sure do go by super duper FAST!!! Especially when one is having fun! Thanksgiving seemed like only a few days ago and Christmas is next week.... AAAHHHH!! We have been keeping busy with our everday life routine and Christmas. We've been doing a lot of "park days" since the weather here in California is "perfect." We are having a lot of fun and are so much happier now that we get to see Ryan more. I haven't been in "camera mode" just because I haven't even remebered to have it with me at ALL times. But I will have to post pictures when I get a chance.
A little update on how everyone is doing:

Owen: He is such a little smart boy! I know as mothers we all think so, but he REALLY IS!!! He is always on the go and has so much energy to do just about anything. He loves helping us out and is always asking so many questions. He is such a "big brother" although recently he has been telling me he has a big sister. I ask him who she is and he replies, " I don't know her yet." I'm wondering if he is receiving revelation...... I know I'm not pregnant ;) He is such a funny boy, that's for sure. He still loves playing all types of sports and is always interested in fixing things right now. He is enjoying Primary even though I still think he is a baby. He just started going to his Primary class all by himself and helps this Primary presidency erase the board at the end of church.

Isabela: SHe is such a sweetheart. She really is the "girl" of the family. She has become so danty and so girly! I am not sure if that's a good thing or not. She is now completely potty trained through the night and during her naps. I am so happy, even though she sometimes has accidents. She is so sweet to everyone and she loves spenind time with mommy. She loves strolling her red teddy bear everywhere.

Jacob: He is such a little man! He has recently started to talk more and copying a lot of words lately. He reminds me of that commercial that the little boy is constantly saying, Mama, mama, mamma...." When I finally repsond to, "WHAT?!!!, " he has a smirk and mumbles. He is still a good sleeper and has recently become a daddy's little boy.

OWEN TURNS 4!!!

Happy Birthday Owen!!

Oh my goodness, my oldest baby turned four this year!! I cannot even believe it! I remember the day I was in the hospital in labor and how I thought I was going to die after pushing for a couple of hours. I remember asking the doctor to cut me open because there was no way I had the strength to push anything out of my body at that moment and somehow, he finally came out! I remember hearing just ONE cry, " WHAAAAHH!!" And that's it! He was staring at me and at the room the rest of the time. I was thinking to myself, "Is there something wrong with this baby?" But let me tell you, this boy is as active as a boy can really get. If I had to describe Owen in a few words, it would be a ball of energy!

He has such a strong, confident spirit and is not afraid to be outgoing and learn new things. This year he has mellowed out a little and has been such a great big brother to Isabela and Jacob. He even loves all of his cousins as well and is always excited to see each one of them. This was his first year in Primary and he is a Sunbeam. He has loved it up until he had to say his part in the Primary Program this past OctoberL. My poor baby was so nervous when the day came and he started to cry before going up, but somehow he pulled himself together and said his part perfectly. And to make things worse, when moving into our new ward, the Primary had not yet had the program yet, and "lucky" Owen got to stand up again in front of the congregation and say his part yet AGAIN!! He was a lot more prepared this time and enjoyed a little more the second time around.

This past year, he has grown so much as of course speaks clearly and has some of the funniest comments. Here are some things I can remember him saying this year:

"Mommy, don't hit me…… Just talk to me Mommy, just talk to me, ok?"

On another occasion, I was so frustrated with him one day and told him, "Owen, why are you being such a…… such a bad child?" And his response was, "I'm not a bad child mommy, I'm a Child of God." I tried to keep a straight face, but it made me smile just hearing him. He really is such a sweet little bot. He is willing to help me with most things and wants to be a "handy man."

Here is Owen eating ONE of his many cupcakes on his birthday. I put an apron so he wouldn't get dirty!

 

One of his presents this year was cars, of course! You can never go wrong with getting a boy CARS!! Even if they are 28!!!

random pics

Here are some more random pictures from Fabio and Stephanie's wedding

FAMILY WEDDING

On Saturday, November 7th, my cousin Fabio and Stephanie celebrated their marriage. We had a great time. You get food, dancing and family together, you're guaranteed a good time. Teri and her family came down for the special occasion and it's always nice to get all the cousins together as well. They had so much fun dancing and hanging out.

Here are the 3 girls: Sydney, Isabela, and Olivia holding hands, showing their dancing moves. They all loved the music and you know how little girls like to dance together!

Here is another attempt at getting a descent family picture, but failed miserably. And that's that we were all wearing Christmas colors :( We tried taking them at home before the party.... no use!

"mommy and me" picture

Sibling Love: These two are usually together. Whether it's fighting and taking toys away from each or playing together and looking after each other.

I am proud to day that these are my little babies! They are growing up so fast. I found myself shopping in the bigger boys section for Owen today :(

Overall, we had a great night. Stephanie and Fabio looked very happy and it is always nice to get together as a family.