In His Dreams Jose is Kenyan

Today was the LA Marathon. Jose has done it again. We are so proud of him and all of his hard work. I am always amazed by just how emotional it is for me to watch him complete his goal. The Girls were very excited to wait for Daddy to pass by us.The finish line was right in the middle of Downtown LA it was a little crazy and stressful to try to get there. All in all I was pretty lucky I found a parking garage right next to the finish line. When I got outside I realized that if we wanted to see him before the finish line we were going to have to go over a block and down about five blocks and then cut back over.
Cherish is the one who spotted him. I think I would have missed him if it hadn't been for her. He came running over to us and gave Cherish a kiss.
Jose you are amazing.
Cherish wanted to get her Daddy flowers. She picked out some great ones. They smell really good too.
Cherish took this great picture of us.
Victory!!! Nothing feels better than success.
Jose said that at about mile 16 he was questioning "why on earth am I doing this?" The answer... nothing feels better than when it is all over. It is an emotional high.
Afterwards we went to Mesa Grill (a family favorite). If you are looking for great BBQ this is the place for you. Our fav is the family platter. It includes salad, potato chips, pulled pork, tri-tip, ribs, chicken, hot wings, corn on the cob, corn bread, Rosemary potatoes and baked beans (which we always sub for Mac and Cheese). If you haven't been you should check it out.

The Next Great Hockey Player...She Already has the Smile

Cherish has had a loose tooth for weeks now. She has been pulling and pushing it every chance she gets. She asked to have a whole apple in her lunch everyday because she wanted to loosen it up. At her soccer game last week the coach told her to keep her hand out of her mouth because she was running down the field with her hand in her mouth playing with her tooth.

Today Cherish and Jose were both determined to get the tooth out. Jose pulled and pulled and then pop...out it came and the blood started to flow. Funny enough Cherish didn't mind, she was so excited the tooth had come out she was jumping up and down. I love her little smile.

My Little Clutz

Izzy is my little clutz. Everytime I turn around she is falling AGAIN. This last weekend she fell a ton. In one weekend she chipped both of her front teeth and bloodied her nose and lip. At least they are her baby teeth. She will only have them for the next 4-5 years.

Here is how her teeth used to look. She sucks her thumb all day long. I can't imagine those sharp teeth feel very good.

Jog-A-Thon

This week Cherish's school had a Jog-A-Thon. It was so cute. Each class was assigned a state that they learned about and did a report on. Cherish's class was New York. Cherish had a lot of fun learning about New York and can't wait to go. Before the jogging started they had a parade of states. I love her teacher. Cherish has been very lucky to have such a wonderful teacher this year. Not just anyone would dress up like the Statue of Liberty.Cherish was pretty impressive during the Jog-a-Thon. She ran with such determination. They ran for 20 minutes strait. She only walked a couple of times and each times.
She ran a total of 42 laps and she did it with a smile on her face.

Thank You to a Wonderful Mother

I have been blessed with the most wonderful mother in the world. She has so greatly blessed my life. Like I said today was a fantastic day. I spent a lot of time reflecting on my children and what it means to be a mother but I also spent a ton of time thinking about my Mommy and reflecting on the influence she has had made on my life. My mother is the most selfless and giving person I have ever met. She will do anything and EVERYTHING she can to help those around her. Through example, she has taught me to love unconditionally, to serve with all my heart, to be patient. to listen well. If I were able to be half the mother to my girls that she has been to me I would be happy. She has left some very large shoes for me to fill.

Thank you Mommy for endless laughs and countless acts of service. Thank you for open ears and a shoulder to cry on. Thank you for constant support and great example. I consider myself lucky to have been blessed with you as my Mother.
Mom You Are Amazing!! I Love You!!

Happy Mother's Day

Today has been a fantastic day. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and children. I can't express enough just how blessed I feel. The day started when I was awaken by Cherish rubbing her feet on me this morning (she had climbed into bed some time in the middle of the night and we hadn't noticed) She and Jose got up and made a wonderful breakfast. We had waffles. They weren't just any waffles. We each took a turn making a portrait of me. I loved Cherish's. She wanted to use chocolate chips for my hair. I think she just wanted as much chocolate as possible. She decided that because I have some gray hair she needed to use both white and milk chocolate chips.This is the one I made.
This one is Jose's.

Izzy never had much of a face on hers. She didn't understand the concept and was eating the fruit as quickly as I could put it on her plate.
Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful women in my life. Take the time to relish in each and every moment and don't forget to make time for Good Times.

Camping "Camp-os" Style

This weekend we had plans to go out to visit Jose's Aunt and Uncle in Fresno. We were going to take a day and drive up to Yosemite and then spend two nights camping by a lake and fish. Jose's parent and aunt and uncle were going to join us for the camping. We had plans of carne asada and BBQ fish. It was going to be a great weekend. As the weekend got closer we checked the weather forecast. On Friday there was a 80% chance of rain, Saturday had a 50% chance and Sunday had a 30% chance. We finally decided that it would be best if we didn't go. What would we do if it rained and rained while we were there? As not to disappoint, we decided to camp "Camp-os" style. Thursday night we pitched the tent in the living room.

We watched Survivor (a family favorite) from inside the tent and ate pizza. It was a great night. Cherish was very excited that we allowed her to stay up and watch it. We usually make her wait until Friday afternoon to watch it.

We later moved the tent into the girls room and they camped out.
Friday morning Jose took Cherish to Disneyland. Izzy and I joined them for lunch (after I worked). That afternoon we decided to press our luck camping locally. We went to Irvine Lake. There was only a 30% chance of rain plus we would be so close to home that we could come home if it got too cold or too wet. It was beautiful. We got there just in time to get things set up before it got too dark.

Izzy quickly learned that you have to step over the tent when exiting.






We had smores after dinner. Yum Yum. We were told on the phone that we could have a fire ring but at the camp sight we were assigned it wasn't permitted. So we made the most of it and used the bbq.
The next morning we got up and fished a little. It was beautiful and peaceful until the Rockstar party began. Then it was a little crazy. They had 10 different stages with bands all playing different songs at the same time. It was some of the worst music I have ever heard. But it gave us a good laugh.



Izzy (our little Love Bug, as we call her) found a little friend while we were fishing.

I love this picture. She was looking all over her clothes and couldn't find the lady bug.


With the noise from the party we didn't actually catch anything but we did have fun. I must say when it comes to fishing I'm a bit of a novice. The first time I casted the line wrapped around Cherish's neck and the hook snagged her shirt. It could have been much worse.