The Many Faces of Izzy

Izzy is one funny little girl. She is all sass and spunk. She has so much character. There is never a dull moment when Izzy is around. I took these pictures at the park one afternoon and I was laughing the whole time. She kept posing for me. I love that little girl and her stink eye too.

3

Our little Izzy is growing up. She decided she wanted to have a butterfly party. She explained that there were going to be ants that were trying to get the cake and the butterflies were going to come and save the cake from the ants. We went able to make it happen but it was a great party with lots of pretty butterflies.
Grandma made the most wonderful butterfly cake like always. When I was looking for cake ideas I found some beautiful layered cakes with butterflies on them. I thought they were perfect. When I showed them to Izzy she said "no I wanted a butterfly cake." I guess her idea and my idea of a butterfly cake were not the same. She is a little girl that knows what she wants. Grandma came though, like always, and made the most wonderful cake.
Thank you grandma for all you hard work and the oh so tasty cake.
Mama and Tata worked the grill to make carne asada...Yummy Yummy...
It was a great day. We love you our little Iz. Happy Birthday.

Getting Down and DIRTY

Last Saturday we headed out to Irvine Lake for a Mud Run. We had heard about mud runs but had never been able to get signed up for one. They are very popular and by the time we heard about them they were always sold out. This one was no different but there were spaces for the kids run. We knew the kids would love it so we signed them up.
It was a very HOT day!! We took advantage of the shade and got the girls shaved ice. The line for the Shaved Ice was 45 minutes long but in the words of Cherish, "It was totally worth it."
Jose did get the chance to run and when he got back I couldn't hold back the laughs. I don't think he could have been dirtier. My little Iz who loves all things involving dirt (I mean if she sees dirt she MUST stop and play in it) wanted nothing to do with him.
Then it was the girls turn. It was so much fun. Cherish took the chance to float in it.
Because Izzy is so little I stayed with her to help her though. She loved it once she got over the initial shock.
This has to be one of the best pictures ever. I love the pure joy on our faces.
In the next puddle the mud was much thicker. It got to the point that we were all suck and had a pretty hard time getting out.
Good Times!!
I love this picture of all of us. The lady captured it perfectly. Not one of us could get up.
We will have to repeat next year. We had a great time. I've washed the clothes three times and they still aren't clean. I don't know if they will survive but it was all worth it. Some good ol fashioned family bonding. Love it!!

Chopped!!

Here at our house we love the show Chopped on the Food Network. It is a cooking competition show where they are given a basket of mystery items that they have to use to make a 3-course meal. They are usually given very difficult uncommon ingredients or ones that simply don't fit in the generally accepted ideas for that course, like hot dogs for a dessert course. Cherish has been wanting to play chopped at home. A couple of weeks ago we decided to do it. We each picked one secret ingredient and that is what we had to use to make our dish.

The secret ingredients were Feta Cheese, Balsamic Vinegar and Doritos. Thanks Jose for the Doritos. We gave ourselves 45 minutes to see what we could come up with. Cherish was done with in 10 minutes. She took Rosemary Bread and smashed Feta Cheese into it, crushed Doritos over it and drizzled it with balsamic vinegar. She garnished it with strawberries and grapes. She said she wanted more color for contrast. It really does have some great color contrast.

Jose made thin sliced chicken cooked with balsamic vinegar and shallots. He diced it and put in in a pita with cheddar and feta cheese. He also added the Doritos inside the pita. He paired this with a balsamic strawberry sauce. Which I must say was VERY YUMMY!! I licked the pan afterwords it was so good.

I made a chicken breast stuffed with feta cheese and fresh thyme. I breaded the chicken with panko bread crumbs, finely crushed Doritos and spices. I lightly pan fried the chicken until it was golden and finished it in the oven. I thinly sliced some potatoes and put them in a pan I sprayed with Pam. I didn't want to use too much oil and you know what they turned out great. Even Cherish thought so and she only eats potatoes in the form of french fries and chips. I then finished it off with a balsamic reduction.

We had a great time. It was fun to see Cherish get creative in the kitchen. She was so cute. I love to watch that show with her because she is always saying what she would do with the ingredients.

If You Think it is Too Quiet...

Chances are there is a reason!!!

I love this little girl. She gets into everything every chance she gets. She was so proud of herself. All I could do was laugh.

Easter

We had a fantastic Easter. We spent the morning at home. Izzy was so proud or herself. She loved finding the eggs.

That evening we went to my parents house for dinner and an egg hunt. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins.
We stopped by the park to enjoy a little of the beauty of the world around us. I was surprised by just how busy it was. Who knew the park was the place to be on Easter?
Right before we left I took a step and the ground wasn't where it should have been. Living in CA my whole life I knew what that usually means. The swaying trees confirmed it...Earthquake. For me it was a reminder of the great power of my Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of his love for me. Jesus Christ gave his life for each and everyone of us. I know this and it gives me great peace in my life. I will do my best to love my beautiful girls and teach them well. Happy Easter Everyone!!

Happy St Partick's Day

Those pesky little leprechauns made a visit to our house this morning. They turned our toast and eggs green and covered out table in confetti.
Cherish made sure everyone had green on so they wouldn't get pinched. Thanks Cherish for looking out for us.

The Best FHE Ever!!!

Yesterday Cherish was upset that I wouldn't let her watch TV after she finished her list of chores. She stormed off into her room. She emerged only 2 minutes later and asked if she could plan Family Home Evening. I of coarse said yes. I assumed that she would pick a game and we would play next thing I know she is hiding papers all over the house. I'm not sure what to expect.

When it is finally time she explains that we are going to talk about what we need to do to return to our Heavenly Father. She sends us on a hunt all over the house to find these pieces of paper and as we find them they read as follows; being modest, helping someone who is hurt, being kind and nice, being honest, going to church, following the holy ghost and following his commandments. As we found them she taped them to the wall as steps and explained as we do these things we will return to our Heavenly Father.

I was so impressed. I can't believe my little girl is getting so big. I have a lot to learn from her. It was probably the best FHE we have had all year. Thanks Cherish for a great lesson. This morning she rearranged them into the pyramid shape.

Monkey Business!!

Cherish's Birthday party was planned months ago to happen on Feb 27Th. Who knew that every Saturday in February would be riddled with rain, not us. Oh well. We had originally planned to do the usual. BBQ and bounce house in my parents back yard. With the looming rain we changed the plans last minute.
We moved it over to the church on Placentia and Friday night I stayed up late planning games. It was a very smart move. It didn't rain the whole time but when it did the heavens opened and the rain came pouring down. Albert was nice enough to bring the easy up and BBQ. We couldn't have done it with out him.

We placed gummy bananas on plates and covered them in whipped cream. The first one to chew it up and swallow won. It was fun to see them get so into it. They had a good time. Plus who doesn't love whipped cream on their face.
The kids really enjoyed my last minute games I planned. I have to admit it went off better then I thought it would.
Enjoying their Tootsie Pops!
These men worked hard feeding the rest of us.
My mom made the cake again and what a great job she did. I couldn't believe how amazing it turned out. It was her first time working with fondant but you can't tell. She had a little help. I made the monkeys and my brother put them on the cake.
All in all it was fantastic and I am lucky to have her. Thanks Mom for all your hard work. I know it isn't easy.
Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birthday Dear Cherish...Make a wish!
It was a great party. Thanks to everyone that came!! It sure was fun.

seven

I can't believe Cherish is 7. The time goes too fast. She is a girl of many faces. She always amazes me with her unconditional love and great whit.

She is an amazing big sister. She watches out for Izzy like no one else. If Izzy is sad Cherish is the first one she seeks out because she knows she is loved and Cherish will comfort her.

She keeps us laughing. I can always count on her to share a new joke. She loves to make us laugh. She inherited her fathers sense of humor.

We are so grateful she is part of our family. Cherish we love you.

Disneyland, We Bid You Adieu...

We have enjoyed having passes to Disneyland for the last year. Our passes will be expiring next week on Cherish's birthday so we decided to go and enjoy one last day.
We would typically go for just a couple of hours after school or in the evening but we got there at opening and decided to stay until it was no longer fun, which turned out to be about 8. It was a wonderful day.
I love this picture of Izzy. She is my little bug. The Bug's Life 3D show was fantastic. Cherish loved it and insisted we see it twice. I couldn't believe it, but I actually let out a little scream. They got me.
My Little Cherish is not so little any more. She went on California Screaming for the first time. She would get measured every time we went and was never tall enough. We were so excited that she was finally tall enough. Jose did a fantastic job taking this picture. That is quite an introduction to the world of big roller coasters.
Afterwords I loved the pure excitement that you could see on her face. If you couldn't guess, she LOVED it!!

Goodbye Mickey!!

Goodbye Minnie!!

Until another time!! Thank you for the good times and fantastic memories. It was a wonderful year and we look forward to joining you again in the future.

Up to Her Elbows...

I walked outside to speak with one of our tenants here at the apartment complex and when I came back in I found Izzy up to her elbows in peanut butter. She loves the stuff. She took it off the counter opened it up and helped herself. Instead of getting angry I decided to have a good laugh and take some pictures. She is a mischievous one. I need to always keep and eye on her because she is always getting into things.