family fun!!!

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are mosty filled with "family" happinesses!!

Tio Edu's passing made room for lots and lots of family time!!! Tio Rafa came down from Guate, and he got to spend lots of quality time with the family, especially with his two granddaughters, Vides and Lucciana!! Vides LOVES her abuelo, and he had a great time with her and the baby..... :) Virginia had us over for Pozole and so that we could all enjoy some quality time, before everyone had to go home!!! :)

Abuelo and Lu!! look at how happy she is!! I LOVE this picture!! :)

awwwww!!!

Tia Lela and Vides.... Vides decided to go and give her a hug, "because she Tia Lela was sad about Edu", Gosh I LOVE the way 4 year olds think!! :)
Me and Bea!
We tried so hard to try and get a picture of all of the little cousins..... this is the best I got! Sophia wanted NOTHING to do with the picture so she took off.... and I caught her in the act!! hahaha!!!
...... and this is what happened next! she was PISSED about the picture!!! lol!! Poor Sophie!!
The big cousins, and their offspring.... I'm almost positive we're almost outnumbered.... we were missing Lukas and Timothy for the little ones, and a few of the "big" kids! ;) great picture though, it's not everyday we get this many of us together at one time!!
Cousins!!!!!

Cake Decorating here I come!!!!

So Gaby and I decided to take a fondant and gum paste class, we thought it'd be fun to learn how to use both of these things to decorate cakes.... The class turned out to be a lot of fun!!! we started off by making a bow out of fondant.... talk about jumping right in!! hahaha! I thought for sure that the bow was the final project, boy was i WRONG.... :) thankfully it wasn't very hard to do, the class is on tuesday nights, for 2 hours, and we're already looking forward to the next class.... :) here are a few pictures from the first class!!! :D

This is what my "work" place looked like!

Rolling out our mixture of 50/50 fondant/gum paste..... The teacher let us dye our fondant.... I decided to make a yellow bow and Gaby decided to make a pink one!!

getting the "ribbons" ready..... we made 14 total

The we made "bases" for some flowers we're going to make at the next class.... this one's going to be a carnation!

The first layer of our bow!

All done!!!!! :D

The pink one turned out super cute too!!!

Yep.... I was very proud of my final project!!! say Cheese!!!!!!!!!

Gaby and her final project!

more photos!!!! :)

We were so excited for our bows..... and we can't wait until the next class!!!! :)

Until next time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

The sun finally shined thru........ :)

The day started off gloomy and rainy, and kinda cold.... it seemed appropriate since we were saying "see you soon" to grandpa today..... Funny how things turned out today.... He managed to get the whole family and I mean the WHOLE family together today, not one kid was missing!! And that alone was a reason to celebrate!! :) there was so many people there today that I hadn't seen in forever, I LOVED it!! Thanks Ed for getting us all together again..... We love you and we'll miss you, thank you for teaching us what family is all about!

Then there was the fact that Holland won their game today... hmmmm.... not really a coincidence that grandpa was from Holland.... nope, not a coincidence at all!! i can almost guarantee that Holland takes it all!! ;) we'll see.... :)

And we got to finish the day on a good note, Gaby and I had signed up for a cake decorating class a few weeks ago, figures the first class would be today! we almost didn't go, the day's "activities" were exhausting.... we thought that since it was the first class we may not do anything important, and lunch and mingling was taking a while.... we ended up making it home with just enough time to get dressed and go, so we went. I'm so glad we did, it was just what we needed to clear our heads of a "gloomy" day! ;) and we learned how to make a bow out of fondant.... I would of been devastated if we would of missed that lesson, that's the part that I was looking forward too!!! :) and we had a good time! We couldn't believe how fast the 2 hours passed! I can't wait to take the next class.... here's a "sneak" peek at my creation, there will be a "bow" post later!!! :) oh and don't mind my appearance, it was a LONG, weird, emotional day!!! oh and one filled with Miguel's so I may of gained a few pounds today too!! haha!!

Happy 4th of july!

4th of July came and went this year.... we kinda did our own thing again this year.... My parents went to an Angels game.... their friends had a suite for the game, so they got to go.... appearantly MY invite got lost in the mail!! haha! they had a good time though, so I was excited for them..... Bea, Rome and the girls had come out for the weekend, the girls get to stay for a few weeks... Yiiippeeee!!! so we hung out in the pool all day and BBQ'd, Gaby, Mike, and Sisco came over for a little while too.... then they were off to Mike's parents, and V got to play with Ruby.... hahaha!!! Ruby's a runt compared to Sisco, but it looks like V had fun with her!! :)
Melissa, and Alex came over with the kids too!! and at the last minute Michelle ended up coming over with William too!! Samuel had such a fun time with William.... hmmmmm.... looks like he may need a little brother to play with!! ;)
Having fun in the pool!! :)

Vides looks ready to go swimming doesn't she??? haha!!!

we went up to the park to watch the fireworks, (don't mind my hair.... it was a long pool day) haha!!! we got such a good show for like an hour! Elsinore is seriously one of the best places to watch fireworks.... the neighbors ALWAYS put on the best firework shows!! ;) This year I even got my own personal show right outside my bedroom window! I didn't even have to leave the comfort of my bed! :)

I can't wait until next year!!! :)

For some moments in life, there are no words....

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal."

How do I begin a post dedicated to the man who allowed me to call him grandpa for 22 years?? The man who showed my family unconditional love for so long?? The man who DEFINED unconditional love?? The man who took my parents, and their kids in with open arms when we first came to this "unfamiliar" country that we now lovingly call home?? My grandpa was one of the most wonderful, selfless, loving, noble men I've ever known.....

Grandpa already had grandkids of his own.... my cousins, but he took 3 more in.... he refered to us as his grandkids, and he was grandpa to us... he was always proud of all that we accomplished, I remember how he taught us english when we first came here, and I remember how he always reminded me that spelling was important.... He was a teacher you see... :) I remember as a teenager how everytime i came over he "allowed" me to enter all of his grades into his book.... I so looked forward to it too.... It was my "priviledge" he'd say, but now I see that it was also VERY helpful to him!! :)

I also remember how proud he was of everything I accomplished, and he eagerly awaited hearing about all my adventures, he was always excited to hear what I was going to be up to next.... and I will never forget how excited he would get whenever I'd get home from a "vacation"... I also remember how "dissapointed" he was when after the Australia fiasco I said I was going to take a brake from traveling.... I'm almost POSITIVE that aside from my parents and my sister he was the only one that ever looked thru the whole "vacation" picture books cover to cover.... He was overly excited and proud when I finally made it to Europe.... and he waited eagerly for the "picture" book... :) and I know in my heart that even thought he wasn't really with us these last few days he heard me tell him all about my latest trip to New York, and I'm almost positive that he will be waiting for the "picture" book, so I better get a move on it! ;)

He was also my dance partner at weddings.... he always made sure that I got at least one dance... that's one of the things I will miss the most, that is one of the things that I have missed... I ran across this picture today..... it was the last one I took of us before he got really sick and couldn't remember us anymore.... Alzheimers is an awful disease... :( We were at a birthday party and we were dancing, this time I asked him to dance and I remember he was super excited, we both were.... This is definitly one of my favorite pictures.... I remember we had a great time.... and the picture shows it!! :) I will also miss the big bear hugs that grandpa gave..... and how his face lit up everytime he greeted you with a "como estas voz"??? ;) How are you?? And I will miss hearing the story of how he killed an elephant in indonesia as a young adult.... the elephants tusks sit proudly at my uncle's house these days.... I must of heard that story a thousand times, and it never got old.... and how while having a conversation with him you'd get at least 2 different languages if not 3, it always kept us on our toes!! ;)

Although we've known for a few weeks that the end was near.... hearing this morning that it had finally come was not easy... I'm not sure how I felt, I don't think I really felt anything initially, I was numb for most of the day....I told one friend, and 2 or 3 co-workers.... I think that's all I could handle... :) after work we drove out to Seal Beach, and the drive home was a quiet one, I think that's when it hit me, when the memories started rushing in, as I drove, tears kept filling my eyes.... Funny how neither my parents or I said anything at all the whole way home.... we were all consumed with our own thoughts, and memories of Ed.

Tio Edu, you will be in our hearts forever, thank you for all the memories, and unconditional love, and for allowing me to call you grandpa for nearly all of my life, I truly did feel like one of the "grandkids".... I know it was your time to go and although it hurts me terribly that you are gone, I know you're in a much better place, one without hurt and worry, and that gives me peace.... I know you'll be watching over us from up above.... Until I see you again..... I LOVE you grandpa!!!

Sisco, Puppy!

Awwww..... My puppy nephew, Sisco, came to visit with me, before I left for New York.... He was such a good puppy, and he had a great time in the backyard, it was totally a new place for him to play in!!! :) and we can totally tell, he was super excited to have his picture taken with me.... hahaha!!!
..... but eventually he did pose!!! :) Oh this dog has a special place in my heart for sure..... :) how could he not though.... isn't he so cute????

No access to news, makes me feel all out of "sorts:...

Memorial weekend came and went, and it was filled with lots of work and lots of fun! there was dinner in HB and fun in the sand, then there was a proposal..... no, not mine! hahaha!! I'll write a blog about that later, there was also dinner and a movie night on sunday, sex in the city 2 was really funny.... i decided I now need to watch the first one!! ;) on monday I was so tired all I wanted to do was relax, and relax I did.... laid by the pool all day and hung out with my parents.... then went over to the Fontaine's for a tasty BBQ, and some kite flying and bubble blowing!!! fun times!!! :) the weekend was definitly fun filled, I was busy, and I also got to puppy/house sit, that was good, except I was barely home soo I think Sisco puppy got lonely..... :(

so why was I all out of sorts??? well anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE watching the news.... it makes me feel connected to the outside world..... My sister and Mike don't have a tv in the room, so I didn't get to stay connected.... hahaha!!! and when I did get home I was too tired to "catch up" on the laptop.... so while I was being "disconnected", my family in Guatemala was having a not so fun time! The Pacaya volcano ( a fire volcano, as opposed to the water one, or the sand one that also "reside" in Guatemala) erupted, and caused havoc all over the country..... to make matters worse there was a tropical storm that destroyed whatever the eruption hadn't..... :( thank God for technology, I guess my parents did get a hold of all the family back there and thankfully they're all ok, stuck in their houses and "muddy", but ok.... My one aunt said that people in her village were having to vacate their homes in small boats and stuff.... it makes me so feel so helpless to be all the way out here while they're trying to just make it under what looks like horrible conditions, then there was my one cousin who was "missing", but she checked in on facebook yesterday, and let me tell you it was a relief.... gotta love those "status" updates!! the pictures are amazing, meanwhile in the city sort of by where one of my grandma's live, there was a giant sinkhole that ate an entire building.... Yikes!

and the airports been closed for days.... i have family "stuck" in texas and florida, because their flights were canceled..... weird how I missed all this.... one of my friends at work asked me on saturday if my family was ok in Guatemala, and all I could say was I think so??? then she asked me again on sunday, when I gave her the same answer she asked me if I knew about the volcano??? huh??? I made a phone call, my mom had just found out, the parents had spend the weekend in SD so no news for them either..... so I literally just found out how "bad" it really was on monday morning when i finally came home to my house.... to see the things I missed while I was without a tv, or laptop!!! :) I am thankfull that everyone I know it ok though, it's going to take a lot of "outside" help and lots of prayers to get all those little villages up and running again, but the people down there will make it thru, :) people lots their homes, and the small amount of "things" that they had.... most of these villages are full of very poor people..... it made me so sad to see the devastation on tv..... places that were once popular for tourists, are now under water..... I do have an aunt and cousins who are busy making food and trying to help out those people who are in need...... they and their house made it virtually unharmed.... If I remember correctly they're house sits on higher ground....man I LOVE the fact that my family is so giving..... :) and I pray that the rest of the family will be able to fly back "home" soon..... :) There you have it.... my breaking news!!! :) I'd attach a link to the news story, but I havent' learned how to do that yet!!! lol! have a good one everyone, and don't forget to be grateful each and everyday.... I know I am, and everyday I remember how lucky i really am!!!