Garden Boxes

Four years ago Dave and my dad put together a raised gardening box. We grew all sorts of things in there that year, then we added the ones on the side. Last night Dave and the kids put together one last box. I love how nice this side looks. I will especially love it when its full of yummy produce. We are growing loads of tomatoes, peppers, onions, zucchini, squash, watermelon, strawberries (they are so yummy) and raspberries. We make lots of salsa with our produce and we also love to grill our veggies during the summer. I hope to make some raspberry jam this season as well. Yay for Dave and the kids and their hard work!!!

Switching jobs...

Dave and I switched jobs last night. It was really fun for a change. He was sort of complaining about having to mow the lawn and OF COURSE I was TOTALLY complaining about having to do laundry. I told him that mowing the lawn is way easier than doing laundry. He disagreed and so we switched jobs.

Dave and the kids worked on the yard while I mowed the lawn for the THIRD time in my life. I had to use the weed whacker and it kept on hitting my chicken legs right on the shins... that hurts! It was fun to mow the lawn, especially when I was all done and I watched Dave still doing laundry :)

Dave has been doing laundry since he was sixteen, so he thought it was easy. I have to say he is good at doing it, maybe we should switch until lawn mowing season is over.

Utah Hogle Zoo

Leah has been out of school for the last half of this week do to Kindergarten Assessment (She did great BTW) and so was Maddie, our little cousin from San Diego who just moved here. They don't live super close and Leah and Maddie have opposite schedules for school. Getting together has proven rather difficult... so when we found out they were going to have time off at the same time we jumped on the opportunity to get together.

Wednesday we went to IKEA. Both Sarah and I enjoy going there and the kids enjoy it as well. It was a fun couple of hours of shopping for random things and having some lunch. Thursday we went to Utah Hogle Zoo and that was fun. The kids were so good. It was a wonderful day! The weather was perfect and the company was great as well. The girls enjoy each others company. There are not too many girls with the cousins and these two get along very well.

I don't know why we always have to pose for a picture on top of these statues?!?
But it is a cute photo

Leah and Mylo might be in the next Kung Fu Panda,
with these hats I think they would play the perfect part :)

We got tickets to the Carousel... always a good time, BUT Mylo insisted on sitting on a bench seat NOT a up-and-down animal, so he tagged along with some random ladies and their kids, it was funny.
We finished off the day with the bird show. The kids got to pose for a quick picture with an owl (I can't remember the name of it now... but it was big)

Of course we had popcorn... can't go to the zoo and not have popcorn.

Bento Box Lunches

I often blog hop and I came across Wendolonia the other day. She is one VERY creative mom. She makes her little boy fun Bento Box Lunches all the time. She just happened to be having a giveaway and I WOOOON!!!! I have never won anything on a blog and this was a great on to win. The package arrived yesterday and we put it to good use today.

Here are the kids lunches. It was the perfect amount of food for the kids. Leah's lunch is the big picture. The kids loved using their fancy tooth pick skewer and having a fun lunch for a change. It was also perfect for Milli's food. I separated Milli's food with cupcake holders.

Don't they look so fun and colorful? I am going to buy some more!

Happy B-day MYLOOOOOO!

Mylo turns 4 today! We were so excited to have a baby boy and we are still thrilled with our little boy. He is such a sweet boy. Always using his best manners, he is always sharing, super easy going with anything, he is funny, he is loving, he is hardheaded, he is smart, he is fair, he is understanding and always giving. We feel so blessed as Mylo part of our family. From the time he was a little baby he has always caught on to jokes and games. He has such a mellow personality that sometimes drives me crazy, because I like people to be excited about things, he got this trait from his daddy. His brown eyes melt my heart everyday. My favorite is when I make him hold my cheeks with his sausage fingers and while looking into my eyes, he'll say "Your beautiful mom, I love you!"... I have brainwashed him into this idea, but its not a bad idea :) We celebrated Saturday with family and friends and it was a GREAT time.

Mylo has been obsessed with Star Wars for a while. We had a Jedi Training B-day Party. I got all of the ideas online, so I cannot take the credit at all. Still we were able to pull it off and the kids (16) had a great time.

Mylo and his new Storm Trooper helmet from the Trevino side... he LOOOVED it! So thanks guys. He looks like a bobble head toy, so cute!

The cake was decorated with a Storm Trooper "Commander Rex", its Mylo's favorite Storm Trooper and the easiest thing I could make on a budget. There were so many cool cakes online and this one was the most doable for me. He really liked it. He wanted to blow the candles all by himself because he said he was big enough to do it with out help, he took four tries in blow them out and I hope he made some good wishes. I made the cinnamon cake with out the cinnamon, it was very moist and yummy.

He got spoiled with great presents. Leah got him a star wars toy, it was the first one he wanted to open, Abuela got him so clothes and along with Uboldi (M&M) they got him a Lego Star Wars game for his DS (he is playing it right now, so I think he likes it), Uboldi (E&A) got him some other Star Wars toy, Trevino's side got him a Star Wars toy, a collectible marble and the Storm Trooper Helmet, Grandpa gave him some cash, Guzman's gave him a table game and some candy (we are all enjoy that), We got him a new big boy bike and we will be practicing all week.

We had some fun games planned. The party was a Jedi Training Party so we put the kids through an obstacle course which included walking on lava (two red table clothes and some stepping stones), tunnels, jumping in and out of some holes (I made this with the hose), throw a ball into a bucket, then walk on a log, zig zag through tomato cages and one last tunnel before getting to the finish line. It was fun and they all passed :)

Every good Jedi must be able to assist Yoda in battle so they had to help Yoda get his light saber. We played Pin the Light Saber on Yoda. I forgot to get a bandanna so I had to hold a dish towel over their eyes :) They were pretty good at it. Yoda could be very successful with one of these Jedi's on any battle. Abuela helped me color in Yoda and also helped me with the goody bags and some good company the night before the party.

Then they had a mission. They had to rescue Padame Amidale and Jar Jar Binx. They all stood in a big circle and we dumped a bunch of balloon that they had to pop. Two of the balloons had the figurines. Who ever found them got to keep it. It was fun. Leah helped me blow up the balloons and that was a great help.

Of course all the kids played on the trampoline and had a fun time with the light sabers. I made the light sabers with pool noodles cut in half and added shiny silver duck tape and black duck tape to the bottom for the handle. They turned out pretty cool and were not very expensive. Plus they got to play with them in the water at Cherry Hill this summer!

Above is a collage of most of the guest. It was mostly family and it really is great that the kids all get a long so well. Its great to have so much family around... our kids cousins are their best friends and we love that.


Grandpa Al and Abuela Mercedes are great to all our kids and we love them for loving Mylo so much. Thanks for all you do for our kiddos!

Dave and I had a great time at the party as well. Mylo is a joy and we love him to pieces. We loved seeing Mylo so happy on his special day and look forward to seeing him grow and develop into a responsible little man (knock on wood).

Happy Birthday Mylo!!!!
We love you more than we can say.

I must add a HUUUUUUGE thanks to Maria for the great pics (this post would be very boring with no pics), to Sarah for the fruit salad, Amy for the potato salad, Abuela for the relish tray and getting the goody bags all put together, Marcos for cooking such yummy burgers (so tasty!!!), Leah, Mylo and Dave for helping me set up and making the house look so beautiful inside and out. You guys are all awesome and I couldn't have pulled this out on my own.

Mother's Day

As Dave is out of town I thought Mother's day would be uneventful and very hard with three kids to get ready for church by myself, three kids to feed dinner to by myself, three kids to put to bed by my self and three kids that have no idea what mother's day really is... well I was slightly wrong about the hard part. The kids were so good.

We had a very busy day. On the Uboldi side, we had breakfast at Esteban and Amy's house. It was SO yummy. We had french toast, fruit salad, eggs, bacon, pastafrola and mate cocido. It was so nice to do something different and have such a nice time together to celebrate being a mom and having a great mother! My mom is always doing things for others before thinking of her needs. She is such a nice abuela to the kids and they love her (though they might not always show it). She is a great example to me as a mother and I wish I could be a bit more like her in her love and willingness to serve others without complaint. She always makes me feel like I am doing a good job as a mom and is always so encouraging with my goals. I know I can call her at any time of the day or night for anything. Once I called her cause my cell phone kept on ringing upstairs at 2 in the morning and I was afraid to get it by myself, Dave was out of town and she came over to rescue me... not too many mom's would put with that, but that's what makes her great, she is willing to do anything for me. She has been through a rough season in her life right now and her testimony and faith has shown me that with the Lord on your side we shoudn't fear. She is rock solid in her beliefs and that is a huge example to me. I don't know how she is able to do all she does. I am glad I can share my life and children with her.

On the Trevino side we got together after church got out for us. We hurried to go visit Karen's grave and bring a little bouquet of flowers before dinner. It was the first time I have been back since her passing. As I drove to the cemetery, I thought of how much I have missed her. Life hasn't been the same (I can't imagine how it must have been for her kids!). Even though she was quiet, I feel like she was the glue of the family. I miss her a lot. She wasn't the typical mother-in-law, she was a real friend to me. I wish I knew what she was doing right now. After last mother's day (2008) Karen wrote Dave and I a letter we will never forget. The feelings she expressed to us were so wonderful to hear. She was an amazing mother! Dave once told me "my mom never made soup from a can", to which I replied "yes, but she did make tuna-peach-potato chip-casserole"... jajaa, seriously, when you have 8 kids, appetizer, dinner and desert all in one dish sounds great :) I love her, I miss her but I look forward to our reunion some day. We had a great burger fry at Sarah and Dave's house, the company and food was wonderful.

When we got to the cemetery, Leah didn't want to get down (she was a little weirded out), someone had brought Karen a Coke and Al was drinking one for her :) Behind Al and Mylo there is a great view of Mt. Olympus which Karen loved to see... it was a nice experience.

I love my kids. I love that I am their mom. They make me happy. Even though, I wasn't pampered with a long morning snooze, breakfast in bed, flowers, a card and a long afternoon nap, it was all worth it when I tucked Leah in bed and she said "happy mother's day mamma, I love you!" I teared a bit. She knew what was sort of going on and it seriously made my day. I live for those kisses, hugs, smiles, fights, arguments and challenges that motherhood brings me. I would NEVER change it for anything. God has blessed me immensely, I can see that when I look at my three little monkeys.

I think Leah is going to be grumpy

I was in the bathroom when in comes Mylo and says...

"How did you get that stuck on your finger?" I asked him, to which he responded very simply, "I just put my pinky in and now it won't come out". Alone and not sure how to get this off his finger, I called super mom to the rescue, Abuela. While she was on the way, I tried using soap, oil and cold water to try get the swelling finger to reduce in size. Every time I tried to gently pull it off it wouldn't budge. I was ready to take him to the instacare, when my mom suggested to use a hammer.

We kept his finger in ice water trying to get the swelling down and I think it helped with the pain. Then it was time to hammer the kaleidoscope off his finger. He was so cute, and so brave. He looked at his finger right before the hit was about to come, then looked away and scrunched his eyes shut and locked his jaw tightly... so cute to see him be so brave. We had some success but the kaleidoscope didn't brake all the way. This is the result of the hammering....

We had to cut it off, so off we went to our trusty neighbors, who have everything you can think of. We were able to cut it of with a gardening cutter pincher thing.... Yeah! It came off!

This WAS Leah's kaleidoscope that she got on Monday... Hence the reason why Mylo said "I think Leah is going to be very grumpyyYYY! (in a sing songy sort of way). He was right, she was grumpy but mostly upset that her kaleidoscope broke... Mylo will be getting her a new one very soon.

Dave in Romania

Dave is in Romania right now and we miss him so much! He is lucky to have the opportunities to travel for work and this time they are doing a video for an Orphanage and I would imagine it will all be very rewarding later. Dave's partner, Quinny, served his mission in Romania so that is how they are able to communicate. So far he is enjoying his trip and has already had the BEST ham and cheese sandwich ever at the Paris airport during a layover.... lucky him!

He is such a huge part of our daily lives we want him back! (I especially miss sleeping in while he takes care of the kids in the morning :)) However, we are feeling very blessed to have the technology that we have now-a-days. We are able to have daily contact with him and he with us. We got to Skype with him this morning and it was very nice to see him. The kids enjoyed talking to dad and Leah tried showing him her lost tooth but the camera on our end is not working :P

I can't wait for the next 9-10 hours to go by so we can see him again. We have been spoiled the last five months or so, since Dave has been working from home. He is always here and a HUGE help for me! The kids love that he works from home. We are very blessed!

When the cats away the mice will play... so for dinner we went to Fire House and we had a good time there. I can see how much the kids are growing and they are pretty well behaved (thanks to the changes I have been able to make in the last week with my Parenting with Love and Logic help). I generally loose my patience with the kids and I have actually REALLY been enjoying these days with the kids. I feel lucky to be their mom... Those smiles melt my heart all the time.

Just losing, not gaining

Last time I saw Leah with a more "full" smile was February 3rd! I miss her teeth and her "full" smile. While I was out on a run Leah called to tell me that she had lost a tooth! I can't believe it... I almost cried. Now she has a huge gaping upside down C for a smile. The tooth fairy sure liked this tooth and Leah was very excited with her earnings.

She can't really take a bite of hardly anything, so she has found some good ways to use her side teeth. She also loves her "windows" for a place to put her straw in her mouth. I love to hear her lisps and I am just happy she likes her teeth to be gone... I guess its a fun time for a kid. But seriously, I can't wait for those teeth to come in JUST like I couldn't wait to get them out! I need to make up my mind.

The above pictures were taken today while the kids sunbathed under the umbrella and later played water gun fight across the street with their buddies. All in all a great day at the Trevino household.

Just chit chatting....

Mylo got a phone call the other day. I didn't think it would last long, since he is not much of a phone guy (or so I thought). Well, when both of the phone boys have moms that can gab for a while some of it must have gotten rubbed off.

He laid on the coach for 20 minutes and talked to Masaru. They are great little buddies and we can't wait for them to get back to UT.

What did they talk about? Good question. I heard them say "I miss you too" and "my birthday is going to be star wars" and "hang on I need a mango" and a lot of repetition and "what did you say" :D Those two boys are too cute!

Utah Museum of Natural History

For our FHE Activity we went to the Utah Museum of Natural History. Dave has recently done and is doing some work for them and after seeing some of the things that they have there we have been wanting to go. They currently have a cool Frog exhibit that we were really interested in seeing. PLUS, we found out that the first Monday of the month is free for families, you can't beat that!

Mylo feeding Al the Dinosaur some very special food, money! Al would talk after you gave him a treat, so of course the kids loved that.

Entering the Toadally Frogs exhibit was this big frog.... Perhaps if Leah kissed it would become her prince charming?!?

The frogs were all very interesting and the kids were very excited to see all the different kinds of frogs and find out their names. Here they are looking at the Dyeing Dart Frog, Blue Dart Frog, and some others I can't remember :)

I have no idea why this thing was in the exhibit, but a great photo op for the kids.

While we were there we got to see them feed the frogs. They only do this 2-3 times a week so it was very good timing. One of the frogs was eating like he missed his last meal, it was cool to see them stick out that big, sticky tongue to eat the grasshoppers.

Here the kids were "inside" one of the tanks. They had just put in some worms for the frogs, who actually have taste buds on their hands. Once they "taste" the worm they eat it very quickly. At first Leah and Mylo didn't want to go "in" the tank but once there I think they enjoyed it.

We also went upstairs were they have a bunch of other cool things like Dinosaurs, Bugs, Wild Life and Minerals. The kids were fascinated by what they were seeing and it was very hands on. We will for sure go back the next first Monday of the month.

Here is a video of the Dart Frogs eating the Flightless Fruit Flies.
(if you look closely you can see the blue frog's tongue)

Lollipops and a Half Shirt

This was our treat from FHE last night. It was Milli's first experience with a lollipop and she didn't like it when we tried to take it away. The girl has an attitude. We have decided to have FHE lesson on Sunday night and our activity on Monday, that way it doesn't take forever to get through it.

We were laughing at Mylo's half shirt. I bought undershirts for him this past winter and they were SO tiny. He still likes to wear them still and when he has his jammas on, he looks so funny in them.

Milli Turns ONE!

Holy cow! I can not believe it has been a year since Mish arrived to our family. Time has flown by and it makes me a little sick to see how much she has grown and how quickly time has gone by. It feels like we just brought her home a few months ago. Milli is a sweet heart. Always smiling and very content little girl. She is still momma's girl and I must admit, I love it. We love to see her progress and discovery so many new things everyday. She still will not say "ma ma" or "da da" consistently, but I am sure that soon I will want her to stop calling my name :)

Dave took this picture of the birthday girl this morning. She is so cute in her tutu, I just love it. She sure looked like a little princess in her outfit and she was the bell of the ball.

We celebrated her birthday with family yesterday. It was so nice to have those that love her be here. I made her the tutu and she waddled and crawled around looking like a peacock from the rear. TOO CUTE! She matched perfectly with her cake and invites. I think she finally realized that all those people were here just for her when we sang Happy B-day to her. She couldn't blow the candle by herself but the cousins were a great help to her. She didn't get very messy (yeah for me!), but she sure enjoyed her cake.

She also had help opening her presents. It was fun to see her push around the stroller Abuela got her and she loves that toy. Hopefully she will learn how to walk soon. Little tiny babies (I guess she is not a baby any more, but you get the idea) are so cute walking around and waddling that little tushy around, I love it.

Above is a picture of most of the adult guests. We all enjoyed a delicious homemade Cafe Rio Salad. Thanks to those that helped with food, I couldn't have done it all alone. It was nice to have such a nice dinner.

Most of the cousins are pictured above. They sure had a great time with each other.

Since Milli could care less about games I opted to not have any and the kids played on the trampoline pretty much the whole time. Marcos (my brother) played with them. Yay for free entertainment and cute kids to be entertained.

Dave and I are in love with all our kids and Milli has been a great addition to our family. We feel blessed with what God has entrusted to us. We have grown closer this last year than ever and I am sure having Milli has helped with that.

I had to include this picture of those cute little feet. Now, I am wondering where those little feet will take her in the future.... I LOVE HER!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MILLICENT LEE WE LOVE YOU!!!

I must thank Maria, Dave and Abuela for the 300+ pictures taken yesterday. This post would not have been so cute had I been the one taking the pictures. Also a HUGE thanks to those that helped with the food, the clean house (that would included Leah and Mylo) and the recipes for the yummy food.