New Year, New Year's Resolutions, New Shoes

Its almost February and I haven't posted about our New Year's Resolutions. 

We enjoy setting goals and we have been doing great so far! 

Otis' goal is to sleep through the night.   That's all we are going to get him to work on :)  He has finally regulated his BMs and that is wonderful gift to all of us!  He just out grew his issues, like Mylo did :)

Milli's goals are to sit nicely while eating, learn to ride a bike (weather permitting) and go to Primary by herself.  She has achieved the last goal.  She has been doing so well, she even volunteered to say the prayer!!!  WOOHOOO MIlli!!!

Mylo's goals are to be more kind (by not pushing), try to sleep longer (he is our early bird!), learn to ride a bike (he has a hard time.  I think he is scared to fall), learn to do an "S" curve on a snow/skate board, say prayers in the morning.

Leah's goals are to control her reactions, nail down her "S" curve and listen to at least one talk during sacrament (baby steps :))

Dave's goals are to leave Skullcandy work at work, attend the temple at least once every quarter and decrease in weight by 10%

My goals are to control my yelling (yes, I yell at my kids sometimes and I dont' like it.  I am not perfect!), pray more fervently and decrease in weight by 10%

Family goals are to be better listeners, take naps after sleepovers (they are horrible after sleepovers!) and read our scriptures daily.  We have been doing SO good with these!  We have loved to 'check in' on each other weekly.  

To achieve one of my goals Dave got me a pair of Vibram Five Finger Shoes...

I have really like them!  I have only ran with them twice, but have been working out with them all the time.  I am looking forward to running with them as that was my biggest reason for wanting them.  I had some soreness after the first couple of workouts/runs but I feel that they are strenghtheing my muscles, slow but sure! 

I am looking forward to this year and the good it will bring to all of us.  Though some times things might be hard, they will always be worth it!

New Year's (and Some Random Pics)

 

(this picture was not taken on New Year's Eve. I love the kids playing in their backyard :))

New Year's Eve was spent at The Pearce Home.  But we first had a fun visit with Carmen.  She came over to spend some time with us and we drove up to the lot and filled her head with all sorts of house stuff, that is super fun and interesting to us but maybe not so much for her :).  She was a good sport and was excited for us.

Otis took a special interest in Carmen, as most of the nieces and nephews do.  He quickly went up to her and mostly, just wanted her.  It was cute and Im sure Carmen loved every minute of it.

After our little visit with Carmen we headed to see our friends the Nakaya's for like two seconds.  The holidays were so busy that time to see them was super limited.  But I am glad we saw them just the same :)  THEN, we headed to The Pearce's for dinner and some fun looking at old, OLD pics of the Trevino family.  [(a little random here) Dave has taken on the task of scanning ALL of the pics Al has EVER taken.  He and Leah started with the slides.  There are some PRICELESS pics in there.  Leah is doing some "genealogy" (which would make Karen SO proud) and earning a little cash while doing it]. We then just hung out and chit chatted.

I was grumpy and frankly not feeling well.  I didn't enjoy the night as I normally do.  Truth is the changes that have occurred in the last 3+ yrs have been VERY hard and this is the reason for my grumpiness.  Life is not the same and although I try to make the best of it, sometimes I get down and it affects my "mood."  I hope it didn't ruin anyone's night.  We took off shortly after 10 and got the kiddos in bed early.

I think Dave and I watched a movie that night and that was really nice :)

Some Randoms:

Carmen made Leah and I sweaters!  Carmen is a fantastic knitter and we LOVE it when we get something from her.

Leah wore her sweater EVERY day for an entire week.  She even wanted to sleep in it!  I had wanted to take a picture on Sunday, because we both wearing our sweaters with our boots... We were super cute ;), but she was starving when we got home that we missed the opportunity.  Still, WE LOVE OUR sweaters!!!! Thanks again, Carmen.  XOXO


Leah and Dave scanned TONS of slides over the winter break.  They worked side by side and Leah loved it. The pics carry great memories and we have enjoyed seeing Dave and his siblings as well as Grandpa and Grandma when they were all so young.  I will post some of my favorites on another post. 

This has also been Dave's "office" since we moved her last June.  It makes for a very messy kitchen/family room, but it is nice to have him so close :)

Leah, Mylo, Milli and I went to watch Esteban and Marcos play some indoor soccer.  It was fun to cheer them on and although they lost, I enjoyed watching them play together.  They are both great athletes :)  

(this post took me forever, to post! UGH!!! Glad I am done with it :))

Our Christmas

Christmas morning was a great!  Early, but so fun!!!  The kids were thrilled Santa came, even though we had not "tree" to put the presents under.  They woke up around 6a.m. and we made them wait another 1.5hrs.  We needed out sleep :)

Once down stairs the kids took turns opening their gifts....

 

Milli got a chest full dress-ups from Santa.  A new Belle Barbie and the Beauty and the Beast DVD and some other stuff from mom and dad.  She LOVED it all!!! 

Mylo got the coolest Star Wars LEGO set EVER, from Santa.  It took him and Dave 2.5hrs to put together.  He also got some LEGO books from mom and dad and some other random stuff.  He was pretty stoked!  

Leah was THRILLED with her new Babie Camper/House.  HOURS of playing with her new stuff, it was been wonderful! She has been wanting a Barbie House for ever and although this was not a house, she said she liked it better, cause she could take it wherever she wanted to :) She got an pencil art set and some "make up" from mom and dad.  Needless to say, she was pretty happy!  

Otis got several toys with LOTS of little pieces, who thought of that?!?!  He loves dumping them out and picking them back up.  He has been playing with it tons and although he was not "present" when we opened gifts he was pretty happy once he got to play with it all.  (We chose to let him sleep, because Otis - Sleep = BAD Otis) 

I got some Vibrams Five Fingers, more on that on another post :) 

Leah's Christmas GNO and Some Extras

Leah has been doing wonderful in school and as a reward she got to invite a few of her friends for a Christmas Party.  Mylo and Milli also got to invite one friend over, it was a lot of fun!  However, 11 kids in our small apartment is not optimal, but still fun!

They decorated cookies with LOTS of frosting and LOTS of sprinkles...

Otis watched, HOPING for some frosting to decorate his non-frosted cookie :) (is he not SO cute!!!!!)

Leah has made some super cute friends this year and continues to be friends with some from last year.  Im looking forward to having these girls over more often.... roudy but FUN girlies!

HOLY FROSTING!!!!

Then, they watched Santa Claus (1).  It was an entertaining movie, cute too. 

 

This was  fun night... perhaps we will do it again :) 

Getting Into The Christmas Spirit

 All of our stuff is in storage, still, as our original move in day was sometime in late November.  SO, we helped Abuela get her Holiday Pretties up :)

 

The kids had fun placing ornaments on the tree and "helping" with the lights.  

It was a fun time getting the decorations up.  Its been hard to "feel" that Christmas Spirit at our temporary home.  Not having a tree and the Nativity out and having friends/family over.  But this definitely helped get that feeling we all want at this time of year.   

We had seven parties to attend the week just before Christmas and I didn't take ANY pictures.  Still kicking myself because of it.  We had a party at my Mom and that was nice to see friends from the old ward and some family.  Leah had a Christmas Party at our house, I did get some of those pics, I just have to find them. 

We had the years Trevino/Hunter party at Hidden Valley, where just the adults go.  This year Al asked everyone to tell about our families, which was sorta funny since we are all family :)  Diane's two kids are their and their married children.  When it was our turn to "introduce" ourselves Dave announced that we are expecting our fifth!  There was complete silence in the room... it was a BIG JOKE!  Otis is the cherry on top, we need nothing else on our "perfect sunday" :) 

We had the Uboldi Christmas party at my moms.  I need to get the pics from Maria to get those on here. 

Then we had Trevino Christmas Eve.  The cousins all exchange gifts and that is always fun.  Grandpa and Diane also give the kids their presents that night.  Its always fun to be with them as we laugh a lot.  It has become tradition to have Deer Valley Chilli, YUM!  I have never made it, but it is delicious!!!! I made rolls for that night (also super yummy!)

That same night we went to Mike and Mary's Christmas Eve Party.  Mary is my dads sister and she has stayed close to us. They like to spoil our kids and us.  We SO appreciate their generosity and thoughtfulness.  It was fun to munch and chit chat a bit.  We also so Abuelo that night, I can't remember the last time I saw him or even worse the kids. 

THEN, our last party was Christmas morning at Al and Diane's house.  We have brunch EVERY Christmas morning and it is one of my favorite traditions.  Diane got the kids yet another present and the kids love showing what Santa brought them. 

It was a long pre-Christmas week and we were exhausted, but it was SO much fun.  Filled with laughter and love everywhere.  Our gift to ourselves was a nice Christmas nap :)

Thanksgiving Day

This year we did something we have never done before, we spent T-day with friends. These friends are not just any friends, they are like family to me, and therefore to us :)

We had a fantastic time with them.  It was delicious, fun, adventurous and at one point disappointing...

 I love Maricela and her family. I am grateful to have her in my life 

(almost daily really, except for Wednesday and Sunday, LOL! Wednesday 'cause H is off of work and Sunday cause its nap time or one of us is at church.  

I never could have imagined that running would give me one of the best gifts life has to offer, friendships)

 

 Dinner was SUPER yummy.  The turkey was perfect, the gravy was good, the sides were all yummy.  The only disappointment, and I am only writing it down so we can look back at this an laugh in years to come, was the rolls.  We attempted to make beautiful fresh rolls and it the midst of trying to speed things up we put the rolls to rise in a "warm" oven with plastic ON TOP OF IT and after 15mins of so the dough had baked a third of the way and the plastic had successfully melted over them AND the bowl they were in.  We did have back up roll and they were not good.  Mari made the rolls later that night and they were SUPER yummy. Now we know.  Live and learn :) 

 Not in this picture are Pops and his family :(  I just noticed it.  

The kids were in heaven up at the Young Family Compound.  We hardly saw them :)

 Rockwell and Maricela 

 The kids LOVED hot tubbing in the snow 

 Theresa and "papita" (aka Amaya) I love this woman.  She will give you the shirt off her back if you needed it.  She is also a great cook and a hilarious lady!  On a side note, this picture does not do this baby any justice.  She is GORGEOUS... FOR REAL!

A sweet moment caught on camera.  These two are too cute to watch.  

It was a fantastic time.  On the way home that night Dave and I talked about what a great time it had been and how blessed we are to have the Youngs as our friends.  Great times, that is for sure! 

My Grateful List

For the month of November I took it upon myself to think of ONE thing I was grateful for every day.  I had realized that it would have changed my attitude towards almost every day things.

Below is most of my list (in no particular order)

Today I'm grateful for extra hours of sleep and a husband who takes care if the kids.

Today I'm grateful for a Thanksgiving Day spent with people I love

Today I'm grateful for disposable diapers and wipes of any kind (baby wipes, Clorox wipes...). Life is easier with them :)

Today I am grateful for laughter. I love to hear my kids laughing. I love to laugh with family and friends. Laughter makes me happy :)

Today I am grateful for friends. Honest and caring friends! I have been blessed with many and it warms my heart to have them in my life! XOXO

Today I'm grateful for my alarm clock, his name is Mylo. He never fails to give me my first wake up call at 6am! I love that boy!!!!!

today I am grateful for the sealing power. Grateful for a family that can be together forever!!!! My heart is FULL!!!

Today I am grateful for good, dedicated and loving teachers. They sacrifice for my kids and love them and want them to succeed. I love my kids past and present teachers!!!

Today I'm grateful for self motivation and a desire to better myself.

Today I'm grateful for unexpected change that brings progress, because progress is exactly what we want :)

Today I'm grateful for a washer and dryer. I'm grateful i don't have to do all my washing by hand!

Today I'm grateful for an able body.

Today I am grateful for Relief Society. What a wonderful organization it is!!!

Today I am grateful for great deals on fresh yummy produce. :)

Today I am grateful for a supportive husband who helps be the person that i am and pushes me to be better. A husband that is hard working and loving and helps me to live my dreams.

Today I am grateful for lotion. The dry, cold weather kills my hands and lotion is my hand saver :)

Today I'm grateful for happy, healthy kids!

Today I'm grateful for my smartphone. It's just so smart! ;)

Today I'm grateful for my mom. She ALWAYS helps me and loves me unconditionally. Not sure what I would do without her!!!

Today I'm grateful for Dave getting home early from his trip (and the extra hour of sleep).

Today I am grateful for snow covered trees. Beautiful sign of winter fun!

Today I'm grateful for free aerobics classes. Now I won't feel bad if I eat some candy :)

Today I am grateful for Otis' soft hands on my cheeks as I cuddled him after a fall. Oh how very blessed I am to have those tiny hands around my (fat) cheeks!!!

Grateful for a (future) neighbor's phone call :) I can't wait to REALLY be your neighbor!!!!!

 After not doing this every day, I have missed it!  I have noticed my attitude is not one of constant gratitude.  So, i am now just writing one down on paper.  There is SO much I have to be grateful for.  The list is endless! 

Uboldi Thanksgiving (picture overload)

 This year we were lucky to have the Maggiora's in from Texax and Florida to celebrate our Thanksgiving Holiday.  It was a great time!!!!  I spent the majority of the day with tia Maggie and my mom to help get things ready and hang out with Los Tios.  It was wonderful!

On the highlights of my day was hanging out with El Tio Norberto.  We went to the vitamin store.  It was way more exciting that it sounds.  We laughed a lot!  He is an awesome guy :) The kids LOVE him and cousin Christian, tons!

We all had a great time chit chatting, laughing and eating.  The kids had a great time being kids....

 Marcos "scolding" Marissa.  I think she had taken Otis' binky away, not sure.  But it was cute :)

Above: Sidney and Maria relaxing after some delicious Thanksgiving meal.  Below: Joel with Chiara and Christian.  These two and my two brothers, hilarious!

Above: The boys.  Below: The older girls.  They are all getting huge!

Sisters!!!! 

Allegra and Kylie in the "mouse house" 

Tio and I.  He doesn't love to have his picture taken and its an easy way for me to tease him :) 

Above: Amy and Gabs (how cute are they?!) Below: Proud Abuelos and Chiara

At the end of the night el Tio came home with me to "help" me put the kids to bed.  Dave was out of town (AGAIN!).  After Otis had his jammas on he went up to el Tio and cuddled with him, all by himself.  SUPER SWEET!

It was a wonderful time with the family!  Family is the best and I REALLY love mine :)