Edgar's Bachelor Weekend

Here is a video from David's weekend out with the boys... David edited this video and added the song... I think we need to move back to California and have him go work in Hollywood!! =)

Cute Books

While we were in Prescott, a little day trip out of Jerome, we found this cute little shop called Trinkets.  They had the cutest stuff in their store and it had me in there looking around for quite a while.  The kids were sitting quietly at a cute little table just big enough for their little tooshies.    We continued to walk around the little shops that were in this area called Bashford Courts Mall,  a small 3 story shopping area inside a building.  You wouldn't have even known it was there if you continued walking down the street.   We went through all the stores finding something cute in each one of them.  After we were done looking around we decided to sit and grab a snack at the Prescott Brewing Company before dinner at The Asylum back in Jerome.  While I was sitting there enjoying our pretzels, I decided...  what the heck!   I am going back to that store to get that book I saw for the kids.   So when we were done we headed back there and I picked up this book, The Tickle Monster.  It is such a cute book and the kids really enjoy the tickling they receive while we read it together.   Then my mom picked up the other two books for the kids; Illustrated Stories for Girls and Boys.  The book has like 20 little stories in it perfect for little boys who love Pirates and Robots and the other has Princesses and Fairies.   And of course who could pass up the little stickers that you can put in the inside of the book with their name on it...   Love that store!  I gotta go back and pick up the gloves that I totally missed!     Watch the video on this site when it first comes up to see what I mean...   http://www.josiebissett.com/

The Connor Hotel

We went up to Jerome for a few days this past week.   I've posted about the Jerome Grand Hotel before and it's haunted history.   This time we didn't stay there, we stayed in the Connor Hotel, right in the middle of everything.  The room was great!   I would recommend this hotel to anyone who wants to go and stay at a decent place.  It's within walking distance to everything you would want to see and the room we stayed in (room 2) was VERY spacious.   The ONLY downside is...  Room 2 is over their 'Spirit Room', the ever famous biker bar below the guest rooms.  If you want to stay up and party all night with the guests in the bar, this is a perfect room for you.  But if you are traveling with kids and usually go to sleep by 10 or 11...  don't plan on getting a good nights sleep in this room.   Here are a couple pictures of the room we stayed in...

Jim Cramer on The Daily Show

Not sure if anyone watches The Daily Show or even knew about the duel between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer, but here are the Unedited Videos from the show that aired Thursday night.  Very interesting to say the least...   =)

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Unedited Interview Pt. 1

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Unedited Interview Pt. 2

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Unedited Interview Pt. 3

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

A fun day at the lake

Here are some pictures of our day at the lake... it started out kind of rough though. When we launched the boat there were white caps on the water. For all you land lovers that means the winds were high enough to make the tips of the water crest. But the winds died down and it turned out to be a pretty fun day on the water.

Stopped in my tracks....

Typical evening of Internet browsing...  go online to YouTube to find the Fun in the Snow video you see below.  I found the link to embed on our MySpace profile, put it on my page and saved it.  I went to my home page in MySpace and saw that my sister had uploaded some new pictures.  I went on to view her pictures and saw some thing I hadn't seen in almost 5 years....

my dad

He passed away almost 5 years ago and I still haven't dealt with his death.  I lived away from him and since I didn't see him every day it was easy to block it out of my mind.  But seeing this picture brought back all of those feelings I have suppressed for the last 4 1/2 years.   I miss him so very much and it pains me to think that Isabella won't know him.  I don't have any pictures around my house, I took this picture from my sister's MySpace, so I asked my sister to send me what ever she may have so Isabella can get to know her grandpa. 

Jerome - The Haunted Hotel

Another very creative Video by David Ugarte... He's got quite a talent!!

Fun in the Snow

This wonderful video was created by David as a Valentine's Day gift to me.  =)   Very sweet!

To Craft or not to Craft.... that is the question

I have this friend at work, she is an amazing mom to say the least.   She has two kids right about the same age as Isabella & David.   She is always creating the cutest crafts for her kids and she sent me a link to a site where they have these cute butterflies you can print out for Valentine's Day.   I had already purchased generic Valentines from the store but I figured why not...   I'll give this a shot, what do I have to loose.   =)   I'm being creative and Isabella will have unique Valentines to give to her class on Friday.   

Here is the link to the butterflies:  http://www.skiptomylou.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/butterflyvalentine.pdf

I decided to check out the Skip to my Lou site.   They have so many cute ideas for crafts that I thought to myself, I can do these!!    But do I start this??   I will need to keep things organized somewhere, and my husband ususally knows how that works out.   ;o)    

http://www.skiptomylou.org/

So maybe you'll see me post more about being crafty...   Maybe... just Maybe!!!  

There really are bigger things than politics, stimulus plan, economic crisis and materialistic items...

I just learned this morning of a baby who's life was cut short because of Neuroblastoma.  She was only 11 months old and was just diagnosed a short 2 weeks ago.    The pain her parents and family must be dealing with at this moment, I can't even comprehend!

http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/

Please take a moment to visit their site.

I feel absolutely horrible for this family's loss and I can't imagine the pain they are going through.  Its been almost 4 years since Isabella had her last surgery to remove her tumor.  The surgery where we didn't know it at the time, but we almost lost her.   When I hear of things like this it reminds me of how lucky we are to still have her in our lives.  We are grateful for every moment we have and I know all of the parents that go through a life threatening experience with their child learn to NEVER take them (or any of their other children) for granted.

All of the issues that are going on around us, be it our difference in political views, the economic downfall or what Gucci purse we got means nothing compared to the life of this baby and any other child dealing with this horrible disease.

Toy Story

Toy Story... a very cute movie that came out over 10 years ago now. For most of you, you probably already know what the movie is about. For those few who haven't seen it, here is a little synopsis. Toy Story is about the 'Secret life of toys' when people are not around. A little boy named Andy loves playing with his toys, especially his cowboy doll named "Woody". When Andy is not around his toys come to life, playing into the thought we always had as a kid... "Why aren't my toys where I left them?" And of course as a kid, we always think our toys are real and have feelings.

I remember dragging my mom and my husband (who was just my boyfriend at the time) to the theatre to watch Toy Story. I didn't have kids at the time, but I have always enjoyed animated movies. And if I remember correctly, this was Pixar's first movie. Then when Toy Story 2 came out, we had to watch that one as well. One of the rare instances where the sequel lives up to the first movie. When the DVDs came out we added them to our collection of movies at home.

Then Isabella entered our lives... we introduced her to disney movies at a young age. I look back and wish we wouldn't have but it was hard as heck to get that girl to sleep!! =) So as she gets older, she really starts to enjoy the Toy Story movies and loves the characters. Christmas 2005 we decide to get her most if not all of the main characters from the movies. It took us a while to find them, but she was so excited to open her presents and find, Woddy, Jessie, Buzz Lightyear and Slinky the dog. David told me we have Bullseye, but I don't remember seeing him in the basket of toys in Isabella's room. She loves these toys and usually plays with them on a daily basis and being the way that I am, I can't help but think these toys are exactly like the movie.

This past Christmas Eve... David has the day off while I had to work, I got off at noon, but still! ;o) The clock strikes 12 and we all dash out the door and I head to Superstition Springs mall to pick up some last minute stocking stuffers. Now you are probably asking yourself why I would brave the mall on Christmas eve... Well there are 2 main reasons, this was the Christmas of 2008 where the US and many other countries were in a bad recession (and as I type this, we still are) so I had a feeling the mall wouldn't be too packed. And the 2nd reason... I usually know the side of the mall to park on where no one usually goes to park. It's always by a department store that people don't shop in too much or an entrance to the mall that isn't near the most 'popular' stores. I get what I need and start to head home, as I'm driving out of the parking lot I call David to see how he is doing with the kids. Maybe they took over the house and he's buried in the back yard!! hehehe Nah! I know that would NEVER happen! I call him and ask if he would mind if I picked something up to eat. Now wait a minute!! Don't get the wrong idea here, I'm not asking for Permission... I just didn't want to go and grub only to find out they were waiting for me to go eat. So David mentions he's hungry too and wants to meet me somewhere to eat. I was like... Sure!! That sounds great!! He mentions a place not too far from our house called Baci's Italian Bistro. They just moved into their new building and we've only been there a couple of times. I usually put up a fight because every time we go there we end up walking out of the door $60 or more poorer than we went in. Their food is awesome and they serve you gigantic portions but the plate I really enjoy is $20 and so is David's... so with just our two plates we are already at $40 and we haven't fed the kids yet!!! LOL

Any whoo... So I meet them there for lunch and to my surprise their lunch menu is quite affordable. The kids are excited to see me and Isabella has her Jessie doll with her from Toy Story. We enjoy our lunch laughing and talking about the holidays and the happenings from the year. We finish our food and ask for the mandatory box to put our left overs in. I think Baci's owns stock in the company that supplies their boxes for left overs because you will never leave that place without one. As we walk out of the restaurant, Isabella wanted to hold one of the To Go boxes and I had the other one while David was holding on to little David. We proceed to get into separate cars, put the food in the back seat and head out to a couple of shops to do some last minute shopping.

Later on that night as we were enjoying our Christmas Eve I realized that I hadn't seen Isabella playing with Jessie. So I turn to her and ask, "Isabella, have you seen Jessie?" She ponders this question for a couple of seconds and then proceeds to tell me No. As she answers my question, I go through my memory bank and remember the last time I saw her... Baci's!!! I then ask her... "Did you leave her at the restaurant?" And this time she takes a little longer to think about it and tells me... I don't know. I do a quick look around the house to be sure she's not stuffed under a couch cushion or hiding under a pile of toys in her room. My search leaves me empty handed so I grab my keys to check the car. Maybe Isabella accidentally left her there...   and again my search leaves me empty handed.     

Now this is where the missing toy is affecting me more than it does Isabella.   I can't stop thinking about the movie Toy Story and how sad Jessie was when she was left behind by her 'owner'.   Here it is, Christmas Eve and she is now a 'Lost Toy'...  (if you've seen the movies, you'll understand).     So I decide to call the restaurant, hoping they were still open...   They answer.     "Hi, my name is Michelle and I have a weird question for you.   You see, we were there earlier today for lunch and my daughter left her toy there.  Has anyone turned in a toy doll?"   He puts me on hold to check.   Meanwhile I'm thinking to myself...   She's got to be there, that is the only place we went today where I saw Isabella holding her.   He gets back on the phone...   "Sorry, no one has turned in any doll."   I said okay even though I was thinking to myself...  they just didn't look hard enough.   At this point David is telling me to forget it and hopefully it will teach Isabella a lesson and she won't bring toys with her anymore.   But I just couldn't let it be...   Jessie was lost and of all days...  Christmas Eve!

So I hop in the car with Isabella and we take a little road trip to the restaurant.   We get there and I ask if I could look on the side of the table where we were sitting.    He says to me...   "You were the one who called earlier right?"   When he said this, I knew at that moment he thought I was crazy.   They let me look on the side of table....   nothing.  So I give them my name and number to call if anything shows up, knowing full well they just threw that paper away the moment I walked out the door.   So I somberly walk back to the car and tell Isabella...  "Jessie is gone".  We drive back home and when we get there David asks me if we had any luck but he could already tell by the looks on our face.   

I was sad that night and wondered to myself...  "Why am I so distraught over this toy"...  "It's JUST a toy!"    But it's because of that darn movie Toy Story...     I couldn't help but feel sad that Jessie was now 'lost'.   

......

A couple of days pass by and David goes outside to get something out of the car.  He walks in and tells me... "Look what I found"   I look at what was in his hand and its Jessie.    I asked him where he found it and he said she was in the Trunk.    The weird thing is, I know for a fact that I didn't open the trunk when we left the restaurant and I remember distinctively that Isabella didn't carry her out of the restaurant because she wanted to help me carry the boxes of left overs.   I didn't put the left overs in the trunk because I didn't want them to slide around so I put them behind the drivers seat on the floor.   So how did she get in the trunk....   maybe it's like the ending of the first movie when Buzz and Woody show up in Andy's car after chasing it down the road for miles....   hmmm...    One can only wonder!!!   ;o)

Happy New Year!!

Christmas is over... =( Here comes 2009!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.   The kids had a pretty good one.  Here are some pictures of them opening their presents...

All Smiles

I wonder what it is???

Such determination!

A Hannah Montana Guitar!!   Yeah!!

My Christmas list...

The kids always get to create a list of all the things they want for Christmas and so as adults why aren't we allowed to do the same thing? Well here is my list and it's not the list it should be...

1) I would LOVE a Canon EOS camera where I can interchange the lenses. Here is an example of what one looks like

Now granted, this particular camera costs about $2600! And probably doesn't come with the lens you see here, but there are others that are about $1500 that I would love to try out. ;0) Hint Hint to the Santa Clause out there...

2) I have had the urge lately to teach the kids how to play piano. Now granted, they are only 2 & 5, but I feel they would enjoy it and I would have to teach myself again as well. I remember hating that I had to practice every single day when I was yonger, now I look back and wish I would have taken it more seriously.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been a while since I have actually had the time to sit down and write a post on this blog. It doesn't help that my computer is still down for the count so I make due with the small amount of time I can still hubby's work computer or actually get some writting done at work... that doesn't happen too often. =) I don't think that many people actually come by anymore since I don't write

Well next week is Thanksgiving... wow how this year has flown by. So many things have happened this year, too many to list in one post. Maybe I'll get to those when the time is right. =) For Thanksgiving my father-in-law and his wife are coming over and we will enjoy Turkey and all the fixings. Then on Black Friday we are going to the lake instead of shopping.... well maybe that will change and the guys will go to the lake..... ;o) There are going to be some KILLER deals especially with the economy the way it is!! I'm not sure I want to miss this one!! Then on Saturday we are driving up to Sedona and Jerome. I know most of you have heard of Sedona, AZ but for those who haven't heard of Jerome, it's a little town about 30 minutes from Sedona and it's an old mining town from the early 1900's. We are staying in the Jerome Grand Hotel which acording to their site is one of the most activly hauted locations in the US.

They even have Ghost hunting package that you can purcahse as a guest of the hotel. Unfortunately we won't be doing this, not because I'm scared, but because it's only Monday thru Thursday and we are staying on a Saturday night. I don't think I'll get an ounce of sleep that night. Every sound I hear will make me open my eyes to search around the room for a ghostly apparation.

I will let you all know how the weekend went... if we make it back!! hehehe

Hope Kids Event

On Saturday we were lucky enough to be able to go to Scottsdale and enjoy a Hope Kids event. Since Isabella had her two best friends stay the night Friday night, she was allowed to bring them as well. So the girls and little David had a blast jumping in the bouncers, going down the slides, eating hot dogs and pizza, climbing the rock wall, eating snow cones and cotton cady and then finally riding the ponys and the train. Wow!! Needless to say, they really enjoyed themselves.

'Come my young Padawan'

Isabella's First school picture

I just had to share Isabella's first school picture. I jokingly asked how long it took the camera guy to get this shot, because our child does not know how to sit still for pictures... trust me! ;o)

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month!!

Here is an email I received from Rob with Hope Kids... you might have even received this email from me if you are on my list. =)


Dear Families,

Help raise funds for Pediatric Cancer Research without opening your wallet.

September has been designated as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. HopeKids is proud to announce they are commemorating this month by partnering with Children’s Cancer Research Fund in an interactive web campaign titled CompleteTheCure. The goal of the campaign is to bring awareness to the childhood cancer experience — the progress and the challenges.

CompleteTheCure.com will feature six short video clips about childhood cancer. For each video clip viewed, a corporate sponsor will make a donation in support of pediatric cancer research. The more times the videos are viewed, the more funds that will be raised to help advance promising childhood cancer research. You can visit CompletetheCure.com, watch the videos and watch the money add up that will go to research.

A couple of ideas to help spread the word:

Post the website and information at bottom of every September journal entry so everyone visiting your caringbridge site sees it and visits the CompleteTheCure.com.

Set CompleteTheCure.com as your homepage for September and visit it over and over again and keep clicking on the videos.

Forward this email to everyone in your address book and tell them to do the same.

The people that watch the videos the more awareness we can create about the importance of childhood cancer research and the more money we raise.

For Hope,
Rob

Labor Day weekend

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. Every Labor day weekend for the past couple of years we have gone to Ensenada. But this year we decided to stay here and enjoy the new boat on the lakes. David's sister arrived Thursday night from Houston and his brother, Eric arrived Wednesday night. So on Friday they all went out to the lake. I didn't end up going to the lake on Friday because Isabella had school and I had to drive into work. So I don't have any pictures from Friday, but I have some pictures from our trip to Payson and the Natural Bridge. Very beautiful up there and a fun little hike.

Here are a few of them and some cool pictures of some flowers...

I took this picture... ;o)

Here is all of us... from the left: Me, David, Isabella, Eric, Carla, little David and Bilal (Carla's fiance)

Carla and Charrito

A Historic day in American History!!

It doesn't matter which side you are on... yesterday will go down in history and our children will be reading about it in their history books.