Chicken pox, The City and fun

Since we've been back from our trip out West we've been busy.  Here's a quick run down...

-The morning we flew in Isaac had school bus orientation.  He is so excited to ride the big yellow bus.  They took the kids on a short ride and let them get a feel for it.  Isaac can't wait.  

-School shopping.  Who doesn't love back to school shopping?   New clothes, new crayons and a backpack.  

-Sunday dinner with The Call's.  We are so excited to be living so close to family.  Thanks for coming over to see us.  We can't wait for all the good times.

-Joaquin is really behind with his shots so every few weeks he has another round of 4 shots.  Unfortunately, he didn't get the chicken pox shot yet.  Some of our good friend are stuck at home with the chicken pox.  Hopefully we can avoid getting them.  If not, no big deal.

-Girl's night out.  I had a lot of fun going into the City with a few friends from our new ward.  Dinner was great and the company even better.

-Picnic at Riverside Park with some of our old City friends was a great way to start the Labor Day weekend.  Thanks guys.

-My sister in law, Kim came out with her Mom and Sister to watch the U.S. Open.  I was able to meet up with them and join them for a night out at Grimaldi's and walking the Brooklyn Bridge. 

- And tomorrow we are headed to the beach and then a BBQ with friends.  

I think I'm all caught up on blogging.  Hopefully I went get so behind again.  Sorry for the overload.  

West Coast

Wakeboarding at Lake Powell.

Stella tubing with the big boys!!

Isaac kneeboarding.  Way to go buddy!

Joaquin happy to be on the boat eating licorice.

Happy Birthday Joaquin!

Grandma Karen's birthday party

They attempted sleepover in the Living room.

How is it possible that all the boys in this picture have their finger in their nose?

Isaac golfing with Grandpa Victor.

We also went on a trip out West.  It was very last minute but great.  We were able to surprise my Mom for her birthday!   This is a huge thing.  My Dad is the worst at keeping secrets and he did it!!!  Thanks Dad.  

We played in Vegas for a week.  It was hot but we enjoyed the pool - multiple times, ate at Cafe Rio - yummy, shopped till we dropped, attempted a sleepover in the living room with Grandma Karen, played with Uncles, and just enjoyed being with everyone.  Thanks a million.

After a week we drove to Blanding.  With a quick stop in St. George to visit Granny & Grandpa Heard and my Aunt and her family.  It was fun enjoying a meal together at Pizza Factory and playing in the new water park.  

Blanding is always fun once we get there.  The drive is long but well worth it.  We had a ton of fun playing with cousins.  We LOVE the cousins.  It was great seeing everyone.  Thanks for all the fun memories.  We loved Lake Powell, playing in the Perkins two story tree house, jumping on the trampoline, golfing and especially all the chatting and relaxing.  We also celebrated Joaquin's birthday with a big family dinner and pinata.  It was a blast.  

I'm so glad we made it out to see everyone.  We already miss you.  

Did you hear? We bought a house...

Drew & Eryka's bedroom

Joaquin's bedroom - guest room - family room

upstairs' bathroom

upstairs' bathroom

Isaac & Stella's room

Isaac & Stella's room

So here are a few pictures of our home!  (I haven't taken any pictures of the downstairs yet.  Maybe tomorrow!) We love it.  It feels so good to be in and unpacked and to know that we will be here for a long time.  We've never done that but I'm so ready.  

Let the blogging begin

Okay, I've been a huge blogging slacker but tonight I'm going to catch up.  So sorry for the delay but I hope you enjoy.  

quiet moment

I have a ton of things I need to blog about but I'm a little intimidated by it.  Not to mention short on time.  So here's a cute story...

Isaac and Stella were playing outside and I was busy cleaning when I walked in on Joaquin.  He had climbed up on Stella's bed and started looking at a pile of books.  He would open the books and start telling himself a little story.  He was so cute.  He was so happy just sitting and looking at books.  So I sat and read to him for a while.  He cuddled right in and listened.  I'm so glad I took the time to just be with him and have a few minutes of bonding.  

I feel like I don't spend enough time reading to him or playing one on one with him.  Being the oldest you really get spoiled.  You get so much extra time.  I hope I can help each of my kids feel loved and like they are special.  I love each of them so much and feel so blessed that they are part of our family.  

Vegas is hot! For my Mom's birthday we decided - very last minute - to fly to Vegas and surprise her. Some how my Dad managed to keep it a secret. If you know him you know this is next to impossible. Thanks Dad. It was so fun to be in on a secret with Isaac and Stella. They loved the whole surprise idea. It was great. Especially when we ran in the house and yelled Happy Birthday Grandma Karen. She was a little shocked. Being in Vegas has been great. We've been swimming, playing at parks, eating all kinds of yummy food like Cafe Rio and In'n'Out, done a little back to school shopping but mainly spent a lot of time with grandma & grandpa martinez. It's great to see my kids interact with my parents. I love it. Tomorrow we are off to St. George to see Granny & Grandpa Heard. They are super excited to meet Joaquin. Then we are off to Blanding. Isaac keeps asking when he can play with his cousins. So I hope they are ready. We can't wait!!!

I love New York!

My life has become SO SO SO much easier. I love America and New York and friends and English and everything. Life is really good right now.

As soon as we arrived we joined the local pool. Love the pool! It has been so nice to go and let the kids run around, swim and enjoy the weather. They all really love it. Isaac has taught himself how to swim. Stella loves to jump around and thinks she can swim. And Joaquin is at the perfect age for the pool. He's really chill and happy to be wherever I need him. I'm so glad he's not walking yet. His favorite is to sit on the edge and splash. Needless to say we try and go to the pool whenever we can.

When we're not at the pool I'm at home unpacking. I'm so excited. I only have 4 boxes left to unpack. Of course I still need to hang pictures and paint but the pool is just so attractive. I'm hoping to finish this next week. And as soon as I'm done I'll take pictures and post. I know everyone is curious. You'll just have to come and visit to see for yourself how great my design skills are. I'm totally kidding about the design skills but we would LOVE any visitors. So pack your bags and come enjoy New York.

I just wanted to give a quick update. We're LOVING life. Hope you are too...