Its all about Milli

Milli has been a lot of fun lately, and a lot of work as well.....

She has also been a lot of cute. She woke up from her nap and wanted to wear a Shabby, her tutu and hold her microphone for who knows what reason. She looked so cute and happy. She looooves to be dressed up and thinks she is a princess.

On Monday, Dave and I took her out for a date. It was fun! We never get to do this with just her (Otis was there, but non-existent). I think she felt special, because we really feel she is special to us!!!!

Milli is also our accident prone child. She has been the one to take us to the ER more often than the others put together!

The other day, she fell fro the very top part of the playground. It was about 8ft high!!! I saw it happen. A little kid ran passed her and pushed her out of his way and down onto the wood chips. I was scary for a moment. When I got to her she was still face down. I was sure she wasnt breathing, but thank Heaven she was!!!!! She cried a lot and all she has to show for it is a big scrape on the side of her face. I am glad that was it.... I could not handle the ER with 4 kids!

She has been potty training and is almost there. She has an accident almost everyday, but she is trying and thats what matters, right? She gets distracted and you know... I caught Mylo reading to her the other day, as he used the potty. It was cute.

Two Months Old

This is old, but I am very behind!

I took Otis to his two month baby well check, a couple of weeks ago. Time is flying!!!! I am enjoying every last minute with him.

His stats:

Height: 23 3/4 inches (50%)
Weight: 12lbs 12oz (50%)
Head: 16 1/4 inches (50%)

He is perfectly proportioned. HOWEVER, he is 100% in cuteness!!!! The Dr. agreed :) He is more rolly polly than Mylo was at this age. His little hands are cute and chubby too. He is sleeping 10-12hrs every night! Yup, he loves me and I love him... we make a good team. He eats only every 4 hours and naps like its going out of style. His eyes are still undecided, but the Dr. seems to think they will be blue. I don't fully agree there, but I think they will be not brown, we'll see. He is a healthy baby, other than a cold here and there.

Otis smiles as soon as mom, dad or siblings talk to him. He is a sweet patient baby. He is getting stronger every day and doesn't mind the tummy time so much. He likes to sit in his rocking chair and just watch us. He has had a hair cut already. I miss his mowhawk, but now he has a nice even do. We love him to pieces!!!!!

Tomi's Visit: Oktoberfest

Dave and I have been attending Oktoberfest for years! We love going up to Snowbird and just enjoying the music, food, costumes, and the scenery. We were fortunate to have Labor Day to go up with Tomi.

We rode the lift a couple of times, some of us took a little hike/walk, we ate over priced German food, danced, shopped and watched the kids roll down the hill.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Tomi's visit. Both Tomi and Leah look beautiful! The kids call Tomi, Poopy Squatz. And Leah LOVES Poopy Squatz!

Tomi thought this guy's outfit was pretty awesome and wanted a picture with him. I have seen him up there SO many times!!! The old folks dance, like pros and drink so much German beer its crazy!


I love Leah's self portrait while on the dance floor. WOW! Look at those chompers!!!

Leah has been going to Oktoberfest since she was a little baby. When she was old enough to dance, she really got into it. We were really looking forward to watching Milli dance, BUT she was SOOOO clingy! She is our dancer. She loves music and has good (latin) rhythm. Well, turns out she was not feeling well. She threw up three times that night. Every time she needed to get a bath!

Oktoberfest is going on until October 10th. If you haven't been up there you should! It is a fun time.

Tomi's Visit: A day at the park

We had a day at the park. The boys, Abuela and Tomi played some tennis. Then all of the sudden Abuela was on the floor. It looked like she was cracking up, but really she was crying in pain. Her knee gave out on her and she was down! It was a bummer, but then she got to just sit with us and chit chat and put her knee up :) (something she never does, she is always going and going. Never stops!)

The pictures that day were "lazy pictures". I didn't want to go chase kids and take pictures. But I did manage to get some.... This cute baby boy melts my heart!!! I LOOOOVE HIM!!!!

Milli, was Milli. Fun and happy to be playing around :) and looking a little crazy.

Amy loves the babies. She gave Maria and I a "little break", while she snuggled with our babies.

I managed to get a picture of Kylie. All the cousins were there, but she was the only one pictured and close enough to get in the shot.
It was a very fun time, a side from the hurt knee. I love my family and the love we have for each other. We are all very different but we can all have fun together as well. It was also very nice to have Tomi here for so many fun activities.

Tomi's Visit: Park City and Family

This adventure is a must when Tomi is in town. We had a GREAT and LOOOOONG day up there. Tiffany watched Mylo for me (THANK YOUUUU!), so we were able to leave early in the morning. It was SO nice not to have to worry about him and to just enjoy ourselves up there.

Maricela met us up there as well. Tomi loves her and they clicked instantly, maybe cause they are both latinas? I don't know. Anyway, it was fun. We had a lot of laughs!

Milli was being a monkey ALL day! I think she is a very strong little girl and she has an amazing grip.

We had to leave by 3pm so I could make it back in time to meet the kids at home after school... BUT thanks to Dave working at home we were able to stay until 5pm. It was SO nice. We really had a great time. Then we got home and ran out the door to my aunt and uncle's house for dinner.
The plan was to have dinner and then go to zumba... Well, we were having SO much fun that we skipped zumba all together and chit chatted to our hearts content! We love Mike and Mary!!!!

It was very fun to hang out with Dallin & Amy and Allie & Jeff. They are all super nice and we had a great time. Dallin and Mike tried to feed Otis some carrots (just pretend) to bug me... It was fun!

this was a very busy day.

Tomi's Visit: The Zoo

We had a great time at the zoo. We stayed for quite a while and enjoy every minute. The kids were great, which made for an even better experience.

Milli, Me, Tomi, Kylie, Nicholas and Alex. It was fun to spend time with Alex and Nicholas, once again. They loved Tomi and Tomi loved them... perfect match :)

Two of my favorite "monkeys"... heheheeee

Abuela, Tomi and the kids went on the train. I stayed with Otis. The kids LOVE the train. We also went on the merry-go-round and that is always a fun.


We were also able to catch the bird show. I think the kids really like it. Its a pretty good show :) However, my favorite part of the zoo is the elephant enclosure. I just love that baby elephant!!!

After the zoo Tomi, me and the girls went to IKEA for some much needed items. No pictures of that adventure. It was fun! I loved spending the day having so much fun.

Tomi's Visit: Children's Museum

I was waiting to get some pics from Abuela's camera but the blogging must go on. SO....

We went to the Children's Museum on Monday. My mom was watching Nicholas and Alex and it was WONDERFUL to spend with them. I brought a long Kylie, since her and Milli are close in age. They all had a great time!

Milli, Tomi and Kylie trying to put some puzzles together. Thank goodness Tomi had her nieces with her to help her :)

The helicopter is always a fun place for the kids. Nicholas was inside the "tower" thing pushing the buttons and talking to those inside the craft, the other three, Milli, Kylie and Alex, were enjoying the ride.

I don't love the upstairs part... BUT this time we had SO much fun up there. I say skip the bottom and go straight for the top next time! Nicholas and I built some building and them watch them get destroyed with the earthquake simulator. He is so cute! I love him!!!

We had lots of fun with the magnets. (not pictured) We built all sorts of different things. It was a really fun time.

Otis just hung out and slept the whole time. He's an angel.

After the museum, Tomi, Kylie, Milli, Otis and I did some window shopping. We also got some chocolates from the "little chocolatiers" at their avenues shop. It was very delicious and a very nice afternoon.

Remembering Karen....

Two years have passes since I lost one of my very best friends. I think of her every day and I miss her tons! I wish I could call her just to chit chat about whatever. I know I will see her again... but for now I miss her!

Tomi's Visit: Abuela's B-day

The real reason Tomi came was for Abuela's B-day. Tomi and I decided she need a visit from her baby so we planned it all out and it was supposed to be a surprise. After two weeks Abuela had a rough day so we just made her happy by spoiling the surprise. :) we are the best daughter she could have asked for ... heheee...

The cake with lots of candles. I was halfway through lighting them and they all blew out. I said, "forget it" and just had her blow out the lighter : ) The cake is a Yellow Cake Mix from Betty Corcker. We added orange zest to the mix and used the juice of one orange plus water to have the necessary amount of liquid it called for. The rest was just way the box calls for it. The filling was dulce de leche. You can buy it at a Latin Market. The frosting was Brigadeiro. Its sweet and condensed milk, one tbs of chocolate powder and a tbs of butter. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Then spread over the cake. Its a sticky brazilian fudge. We had to make a double batch of frosting.

Some of abuelas grand-daughters. Kylie was MIA.
Otis and Marissa (Marcos and Maria's baby girl) they are two+ weeks apart. It will be fun to see them grow up together :)


Esteban was the grill master that day. We had steaks, oven roasted potatoes, grilled veggies, green salad, a bean dip and chips and salsa. It was all very yummy!

The best part of this day was seeing my mom so happy. She does so much for all of us! We love you ma!

Tomi and I forgot to give her a "sito susson" for her b-day... i guess it was have to wait until next time :)

Tomi's Visit: The Arrival

Tomi arrived on the 28th of August late at night. My dad picked her up and we met for yogurt at Orange Leaf. We had a great time chit-chatting and laughing at my dad's stories. We hugged a lot and I am sure we looked a little funny and kid-like while we hugged and kissed like sister-who-haven't-seen-each-other-in-2-years would have hugged and kissed :) (that was a mouth full and probably grammatically incorrect... I don't care :))

After yogurt we went to the hospital where my mom works, since that is really the reason Tomi came. For my mom's b-day. It was a sweet reunion. We talk to Tomi almost daily and it is amazing to have her here! Tomi bawled like a baby when she saw my mom, it was cute.

We met some of my mom's co-workers and then took our picture together and parted ways until the morning. It was SO fun to be together again!!!

We ran to the store for some last minute things and came home to make my mom's cake for the next day. My mom loves orange cake with dulce de leche filling and a brigadeiro frosting. It turned out really yummy!

Tomi was beat from her trip but we managed to get to bed by 2am! This was just the beginning of a great and very busy week.

Sisters are the best!!!!

$8.97

I have A LOT to blog about... but this could not wait.

See that smile on my face? It also came with tears in my eyes. That is because I went grocery shopping at the newly improved Smith's and they have some "exotic" fruit for sale. Among these new fruits is my favorite of all the fruits, passion fruit. I have seen it there for several weeks, but because of the price on the fruit I have not purchased it. Its $2.99 each! I couldn't hold back the desire to purchase it today... so I did!!!!

As soon as I got home I cut open one of the three, yes I bought three (hence the title of this post), my smile was from ear to ear and my eyes filled with tears of sheer joy! Its amazing that a fruit that perhaps look unappetizing can bring so much joy and bring back so many great memories. I quickly ate all three (after Dave took these two pics).

I enjoyed it some sugar in it...mmmm, SO GOOD! Dave however was not impressed with taste and for sure not impressed with the price (party pooper!). I think it was $8.97 well spent.

ps. I also got some on my white shirt... My shirt liked it too.

Oti's Blessing

We had Oti's Baby Blessing yesterday at our home. I am glad it is done and a little sad to never do it again. Dave did a great job and I could tell he was emotional as he spoke. What a wonderful blessing it is to have the priesthood in our home!!!

Otis was surrounded by men who love him. Included in the circle was Dave, Grandpa Al, Abuelo, Marcos, Esteban, Uncle Mike and our sweet Bishop Moyes. I love all of those men in different ways :) We also had the love and support of many in attendance. Its amazing how much love we can feel for our family at these times!

Since we did it at home we had to have an opening prayer and the Bishop asked me to share my testimony. Leah said the opening prayer and asked that the spirit be with us, I LOVE THAT GIRL!!! She was nervous, but did a great job. I bore a quick testimony and of course cried, because I was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude!

The best part was to have so much family here. Otis was passed around from arm to arm all night and he loved it. All of my family was here, including my dad, as well as my aunt and her whole family. From Dave's side of the family we had Grandpa Al and Diann, Karalee, Sarah and their families and Amy and the boys.

It was a wonderful event!

I can't help but be grateful for the abundance of love our Father in Heaven has for us, for our little family! We feel so incredibly blessed to have Otis as part of it. My heart is full!!!

"Too Religious of a Blog...."

This is MY blog. I blog about things that make me happy, my kids, my beliefs and some times I blog about my faith. Its great because its MY blog!

My religion, my faith, is what helps me get through my life. It gives me hope, guidance and it helps me understand why I am here on earth... being tried, even from the people who should simply love me unconditionally because they are my family. I try to respect others beliefs and not push my religion upon them.

I feel amazingly blessed by the opportunity Dave and I have to have four children. It might be more than others ever wanted, but we feel this is what is right for our family. I honestly wish we could have more. I don't judge others for just having one or two kids or more. It would be nice to have that in return.

I hate feeling judged!  I am not perfect and I have passed judgment at some point, but I don't do it on purpose.  I really try to love everyone.  Wouldn't it just be nice if we could all just love each other for who we are and not dislike someone because of our differences, rather embrace others differences?!?!