Hurray for Spring and Hurray for Saturday Soccer!

Home-Made Flan! YUM!

A gift of home made flan arrived at our door this afternoon from our very nice neighbor. She was thanking us for a nice deed that Martin did about 18 months ago. Her elderly husband was very ill with Alzheimers, and he often wondered off in our neighborhood (always in the middle of the night). Well, one time when Martin was arriving back home after playing music, he happened upon John, who was lost and wondering around. Martin recognized him and stopped the car, got out, and walked John home. His wife Tina was very grateful, as you can imagine. John died about a year ago, and we ran into her at Church a few weeks ago. She mentioned that she wanted to thank Martin and was going to bring by some flan (it's her specialty). We invited her in and chatted for quite some time tonight. She misses John terribly and it was so endearing to hear her stories. He was a very intelligent man -- a Harvard professor, and they traveled the world together. Ahhhh.....love......

Happy St Patricks Day! 2011

Oooo.....that tricky, tricky, sneaky Leprecaun! He did it again! The girls spent a lot of time preparing a box to trap him, but he was able wiggle through it and escape! How does he do that?!?! Well, the good thing is that he always leaves a few green treats for the girls. This time he left green grapes, donuts with green sprinkles, green mangos, grren apple fruit leather, and 2 green frisbies.
He even left this nice little note: "I'm too sneaky for you!! You girls are very clever, but I am more clever! Better luck next year! Thanks for being my friend...I like you both a lot. Love, your Leprecaun"

Go Fish! Audriana's 2nd grade music Program!

The Mullan Rd Multi-purpse room was filled to the brim tonight with moms, dads, grandma's and grandpa's, siblings, and friends. The program was really good -- and the kids did an amazing job with their singing! The costumes were amazing and everyone had a really fun time. There were sharks, jelly fish, clown fish, star fish, crabs, needle fish, swordfish, and other fun ocean critters represented! The mood was happy and upbeat from start to finish. What a talented group of 2nd graders! Thank you to Mrs. Pearman, who is their music teacher, for preparing them for such an entertaining program tonight! Thank you to Mom and Kristi for coming to support Audriana, too! I was hoping to upload one of my flip videos that I took during the program, but it hasn't worked for me yet...I will try again later.

Here is Audriana and her finished Clown Fish costume. Made from cardboard, paint, and tape.....Martin had a pretty good time himself putting this masterpiece together! Thanks babe!


Looking good, Audriana! We are so proud of you and the wonderful job you did tonight!

The end of an era.....I'm so sad!

Well, it finally happened. My 8 year old came into the kitchen this morning and informed me (very non-chalantly) that I could put her "colchita" away in her save-box. What?!? Well, it is a shred of a thing now, and really just a shadow of it's previous self, and no bigger than a dish towel. My baby is ready to give it up. **sigh** I'm happy for her. Even though it has been a couple of years since she really used it, she has had it under her pillow...just in case she needed it, I guess. My baby is growing up......this was a big moment for both of us!

I told her that I needed one more picture of her with her colchita before I could put it away. She has held onto this thing every night since she was a baby! I can't believe it.....

Sofia's hair today

Sofia does not get any cuter than this....she was looking so bright and "Spring-y" today with her colorful flowers in her hair. She loves to spend a few minutes in the bathroom, trying on different headbands, clips, and flowers. She does something different almost every day...this is how she looked today as she came out of the bathroom. You would never have known by looking at her that it was a freezing 30 degrees outside today. She's definitely ready for Spring! She's such a joy......I just love her with all my heart!

Our cute kids....February.

This picture of Audriana was taken just after her piano lesson out in front of Miss Ruth's house (and piano studio). The winter sun was just going down and it was a beautiful backdrop to admire! Oh, and by the way, she is wearing her brand new Eastern Eagles t-shirt -- she really wanted one when the Eagles Football team became National Champions for the first time ever this past fall. It has been quite exciting for Spokane and has definitely been a pretty big deal for our community.

Sofia is so fashionable and loves her flower clips! Also, if you haven't noticed, she is a very big HELLO KITTY fan! She's got a cute pair of HK jeans that grandma gave her for Christmas that she would wear everyday of the week if I let her. She doesn't know it yet, but I just bought her the cutest Hello Kitty bathing suit at Target today.....she's gonna be so excited when she see's it (picture to follow!).

Here she is with a fun gumdrop "sucker" that grandma gave her for Valentines day....isn't she cute?!?! And if you are wondering....yes, she ate the entire thing!

A beautiful winter day in Spokane!

The river running through Riverfront Park is running so fast! The pictures really don't do it justice.....but it was beautiful!
It was freezing out here, but I just had to stop and shoot a quick pic of the girls in front of the river. The sun was in their eyes.....

Ready for their last day of ice-skating lessons for this season....

Sofia, Alfred, and Audriana ready to skate!

10 Painted Fingers and 10 Painted Toes!

Sofia had a playdate with her best friend, Addy, the other day. She was so excited and happy that Denise painted their fingers and toes! So cute.....

It's funny....last year it was dresses everyday for Sofia. This year, it is nail polish and hair accessories! LOL!

Monster Jam 2011 with Carson