Island Guy

I had a lot of fun, maybe too much fun, taking pictures of Guy while we were visiting Culebra island. I think he needs a separate post because these pictures are just too cute to miss out on. Guy is 7 months old in these shots.

Our sweet baby Guy was such a trooper on this trip. He spent most of the time napping in a pack n play on the beach. But when he was awake, he was either eating the sand, following Dad and big brother around, or crawling straight for the ocean. I love this little Guy so much. Just look at that face.

The island of Culebra

After Casey's team lost, we jetted off to the island of Culebra for a three-day vacation before heading back home to California. I have been wanting to make this trip for three years now and I was so excited to finally be doing it. We woke up super early to drive to Fajardo so we could catch the ferry that goes to Culebra. You have to get to the ferry terminal really early because there are only three ferry rides a day and the lines get really long. As soon as the tickets are sold out, you are out of luck until the next ferry takes off almost four hours later. We pulled up and got into line and within ten minutes, the tickets were all sold out. Our only other option besides waiting the four hours, was to go to the local airport and try to get on a flight to the island. We took our chances with airport because I was not about to wait for four hours with two little kids at a ferry terminal. Plus the daylight hours were burning and I wanted to get to the beach! We arrived at the airport and luckily we were able to get tickets on the next flight that was leaving within an hour. It was more expensive, but it was an experience we wouldn't forget so we went for it. The plan was so small that it was terrifying, but my only consolation was that if the plane goes down, at least we were all on there together. The flight was 15 minutes from take off to landing. Guy was in the baby carrier and slept through the whole thing. Cash sat next to me and thought it was the coolest thing ever. It was basically a dream travel situation. The ferry takes two hours, so we were stoked to get there early and get started on our vacation.

Culebra, or the Spanish Virgin Island,  is an archipelago consisting of the main island and twenty-three smaller islands that lie off its coast. The remote tropical island is really small, only 3,000 inhabitants. There are no stop lights, one gas pump, and everything opens and closes depending on the owners plans for the day. I loved it. The beaches were beautiful, especially Flamenco beach where we spent all of our time. Clear water and almost white sand. It was a dream vacation for our little family.

The U.S. Navy used Culebra as a gunnery and bombing practice site in preparation for World War II. This is one of several WWII-era American Sherman tanks still stranded in the sand of Flamenco Beach.

A loss for Plataneros

Casey's team lost in the semi finals in the seventh game of the series to Lares. It was a heart breaker because one of the best players on Casey's team injured himself at the second to last game and their team really needed him to win. They still came close to winning, but ended up with a loss and their hopes for a repeat championship dashed. The boys and I have loved watching Casey play again in Puerto Rico for the Plataneros de Corozal. The fans are loyal and loud. And they love Casey. Makes for good times.

New Year. New List.

My New Year’s Resolutions are getting stale. I feel the need to liven them up a bit. Instead of my go to’s: work out more, be more righteous/spiritual, learn something new, be a better mom/wife, save more money, etc. I’m going to mix it up in 2012. Not that those aren’t important things to do. Everyone should strive to do those things, but I should already be doing them. I want to resolve to do more than what I know I’m already supposed to be doing.

29 things to do before I turn 30

29. Get better at tennis

28. Play in a volleyball tournament

27. Perfect an authentic Italian style margherita pizza from scratch

26. Swim in a hot springs

25. Help someone move

24. Picture collage a wall in my apartment

23. Take a picture every day

22. Learn conversational Spanish

21. Make paper mache piñatas with my boys

20. Clean someone’s house in secret

19. Dance party with my boys at every opportunity

18. Make someone a picnic

17. Kidnap my nieces for a sleepover

16. Handwrite a letter to each of my siblings

15. Begin the process of getting my Masters

14. Surprise Casey

13. Invite someone I don’t know that well over to my house for dinner

12. Buy a complete stranger’s groceries

11. Give twelve days of Christmas Secret Santa gifts to someone in June

10.  Write down some of my favorite memories of my parents for my boys

9. Bike ride on the beach at sunset

8. Go out dancing with Casey

7. Send someone flowers anonymously

6. Make chicken noodle soup for someone that is sick

5. Learn more about Photoshop and photography

4. Visit my niece in Chicago

3. Read the New Testament

2. Plant an herb garden

1. Take a trip to New York City

After I have accomplished all 29 things, I’m gonna do something crazy on my 30^th birthday. Like skydiving or bungee jumping. Who wants to come?

Felicidades 2012

We started our New Year’s Eve at the movie theater as a family. We saw The Adventures of TinTin. Cute movie. It was like a younger animated Indiana Jones. When we walked out of the theater, it was a ghost town. Everything was shut down except for Chinese and Japanese restaurants. We drove around for a while and then decided to go back to East for some more teppanyaki enjoyment. Oh boy do we love tepanyaki. After dinner we headed over to Beba’s house for some partying with our PR family. Cash and Guy lasted until 11:15pm and they were both starting to melt down. Guy finally started to fall asleep, but Cash was going crazy.

We decided to head home and bring in the New Year at our house. Guy fell asleep right away and Cash caught a second wind as soon as we got home. We busted out the sparklers and sparkling cider and had ourselves a little New Year’s Eve celebration. Cash was not interested in holding the sparklers because as he kept saying, “hottee, hottee, owee, owee!” So he just sat on my lap as I forced him to enjoy the moment. At least Casey and I had fun with the sparklers. 

Everyone goes crazy here with fireworks and gun shooting for any celebration, so the New Year's countdown did not disappoint. We were lucky enough to see three different firework shows from our balcony. So we sat back, enjoyed the view, and rang in the New Year in Puerto Rico.

Happy New Year! I’m excited to see what new adventures and challenges 2012 brings us.

Feliz Cumpleanos a Mi!

I turned 29 on the 28th and we celebrated my day of birth to the fullest. We jammed packed a bunch of activities into one special day. First we took a trip to the El Yunque National rain forest for a hike to see some beautiful views and waterfalls.

Then we traveled to the public beach in Luquillo for some swimming and sunshine. The water was really calm and shallow making it ideal for swimming with the boys. I'm trying to soak up as much Puerto Rican sunshine as I can while we are here.

We had dinner at a local teppanyaki/sushi restaurant called East. I love me some teppanyaki and I always choose it for my birthday feast. Cash has been a handful of times, but it's been about a year since we have been. He was freaked out by the fire, but was really intrigued with everything the cook was doing. This was Guy's first teppanyaki dinning experience and he was mesmerized. He hardly ever looked away during the whole cooking experience. Teppanyaki is a fun dinning experience for the whole family. It keeps the kiddos entertained and provides delicious substance for the parentals. That's my little promo for you. I should get commission for my marketing. We finished dinner off with a birthday dessert for me. I love any excuse for dessert. Especially when it's a well deserved one like my birthday.

 After dinner we dropped the kids off at our house with our friends, Vivi and Crissy, and headed to the movies alone. I love date nights with Case, so it was the perfect ending to my really great birthday. It's hard for us to leave the kids behind and go on dates because Guy's still young and we love going everywhere as a family. Whenever we do get babysitters and go out though, it reminds me all over again why I first chose to spend the rest of eternity with my handsome big kid. We need to do it more often. I feel like a giddy teenager every time we get the chance to go out without the kids.

I'm feeling pretty good about 29. I'm nervous to enter my thirties, but I still have one more year to live it up and accomplish a bunch of stuff. Right now I'm just happy that my kids, my husband, and our lifestyle keeps me feeling young. I'm pretty excited to age with this group of boys that I call family. They make every wrinkle and pound feel pretty important, well earned, and beautiful.

Feliz Navidad 2011

Santa Claus came to our house last night with a few gifts for our boys. They deserve them. Cash (2.5 years old) is a sweet little boy who is getting fonder of his little brother and starting to become his protector. He loves his Daddy so much and copies everything he does. He is currently obsessed with Spongebob, balls, swords, and cars. Guy (7 months old) is a good baby. He is calm, loving, smiley, and such a little sweetheart. He is also very active these days and keeping us busy. If he isn't pulling the Christmas tree down, he is trying desperately to crawl head first down the stairs. Guy loves his binky, blanket, and Mommy. They are both special boys who are going to do great things when they grow up. I'm so priviledged to have a front row seat to all of their life experiences.

Casey and I were pretty good this year too. Santa gave us each a shopping spree in early December. Generous guy. Casey's volleyball team, Plataneros de Corozal, is currently in the semi finals. He is hoping to repeat and win the championship. He misses beach volleyball and is looking forward to getting back home to train for the summer 2012 season. Our family loves living in Puerto Rico and exploring the island. We miss Huntington Beach, our family, and our friends. But we are having so much fun meeting new people and building our Puerto Rican relationships. We are so blessed to have our two little beautiful boys in our lives. We are grateful to our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave his life for us so that we could have the gift of eternal families. That is the most important gift we will ever receive. God bless us, every one!