Yellow ducks.... EVERYWHERE!!!

On sunday my sister helped put together a baby shower for one of her BFF's...  The girls did an AMAZING job....  everything looked great, and I thought the theme was cute too...  different than any shower I had ever been to...  Introducing A Rubber Duckie Good time!  ;)

Gaby wanted to do the cupcakes, a little something for the kids to easily eat!  ;)  I got to help her...  and I was really excited with how they turned out!  Thanks again DeBran for the wonderful royal icing tip!  ;)

The girls thought a "candy bar" would be fun....  :) and it was...  one of the girls is just starting her candy bar set up business so she went at it...  and set up!  her set-up was great...  and it contained different varieties of candy, chocolate covered marshmallows, chocolate covered pretzels, M&M's, lemon gummy bears, sixlits....  I almost lost my mind...  I LOVED these growing up!  :)

duckies "swimming" in water!  ;)  the cupcakes ended up being a hit with the kiddos..  :) 

The cake was cute....  this one came from the same bakery my sister bought her wedding cake from...  I know I said the same thing....  WHAAAAAAT????  ;)

Amy made these beautifiul pom poms.....  I immediatlyl fell in LOVE with them...  they were soooo cute, and really added a lot to the room!!  She found it on the Martha Stewart website....  you can find the tutorial here.  I will definitly be making these guys again!

The tavle decorations!  I was in LOVE with the yellow flowers...  they were so bright and springy, and added lots and lots of color...  :)

a pretty clothe line they used to decorate with!

My sister set up a design your own onesie, station...  some people went ahead and made a onesie...  They actually turned out cute!!  BUT I forgot to take a picture of the finished product....  next time!

The onesie table

This was the kid table...  cute buckets were waiting each and every kid they were full of "entertainment" in hopes that the kids would be "entertained" during the shower...  ummmm, good idea, but it only lasted a few minutes!  ;)

Gaby putting together or pulling apart!  ;)  the last of the Pom Poms

haha!!  Amy was hard at work, climbing and hanging pom poms all around the room!  :)

Amy, Jaime and Gaby

My bag of treats from the candy bar.... filled lovingly with all of my favorite candies! ;)

haha!! This picture's cute of both of them.... Aunt Gaby and Tessa!

The girls, Gaby, Jaime, Bobbi Jean, and I

Gaby, Jaime and the baby!

more ducks!!  :)  here's to another fun shower!  :)  Congratulations Jaime and Toni, we can't wait to meet the baby!!!  :)

They finished... :) and a beach day!

I had a few friends that set out to run a relay race,,,,  The ragnar is a relay that is run in teams usually of 6-12 people....  They ended up having a team of 11, and between all of them they ran a total of 200.9 miles.  They started in Huntington and ended in Coronado....  Some ran more than others but I still can't begin to express how proud I was of each and everyone of them, and of the fact that they all set out to train and finish their race as a team, even though some of them really didn't know each other at all...  :)  I was sad that the "complete" team didn't get to participate due to injuries. There's nothing worse than admitting the fact that one has to withdraw because of an injury, especially since I know how much time and training went into it, but I know that next year they will all be ready!  ;)  and again I will be at the finish line waiting for you guys with tasty treats...  :)  I just don't think I have it in me to run that many miles....  I've convinced myself that I'm a better cheerleader, supporter, and picture taker!  ;)  and with that, here are my pictures from the weekend!!  ;)

Here are the guys from van 2!

 I "got to" volunteer at one of the exchanges, AND YES!  I was out in the middle of nowhere at an intersection in Murrieta,...  fun times!  ;)

and I  got to meet up with Van 1.....  by this time they were all rested and ready to begin running their legs again!  ;)

 I got to see Kaitlyn, Ryan and Vincent exchange!

  haha!!!  the rest of van 1, don't let the little one fool you, he CRASHED when he got home...  he was so tired from his run that he barely made it out of the shower and into bed!  ;)

On saturday we all met and drove down to the finish line...  Jessica got this awesome picture of our 4 car caravan...  that's me and Amber pulling  up the rear!!  ;) 

haha....  somewhere along the line I took this one....  musta been when Jessica ended up behind us??  Sorry Jess..... 

The beach was beautiful that day too....  :)

we arrived with sandwiches for some of the runners...  after 24 hours all they wanted was real food!

 ....and all Ryan wanted was to see Miss Makayla!  :)

 while we waited for the team to finish we hung out at the beach....  look at how much fun the kids were having!  :)

 Jessica and Mr. Owen enjoying a beautiful afternoon at the beach....  because it really was a beautiful day!  :)

 more fun in the water!!!

Luke thought it would be fun to "race" me into the ocean....  and race we did!  ;)

and Lukey and I shared some yummy fruit....  Thanks again Jessica the fruit was delicious!

The Wilson's waiting at the finish line!  :)

 .... and here they came! 

 getting their "medals"  :)

 the WTF team...  so proud that they finished!!  ;)

 haha!!  looks like it got a little chilly!  ;)

 and there was a birthday boy in the relay so we had a little cupcake party celebration...  :) 

haha!  looks like he approved....  ;)

so we went ahead and sang happy birthday and then the kids immediatly formed a line!  ;)

 The sky on the way home was AMAZING!!!  :)

 Then we were off to a fun dinner to celebrate how proud we all were of our friends and all of the WTF team...  What a GREAT accomplishment!  I'll be honest, I was inspired to run, for about 2 and 1/2 minutes...  haha!!  I have come to terms with the fact that i can't run....  even thinking about it, makes my knee hurt....  so I will stick to "volunteering" and bringing treats...  :)  Until next year...  because word on the street is that the interest for potentially doing this again next year is kinda high!!  ;)

A proud aunt moment! :)

My friends ran the ragnar relay race this weekend!!  It was a team of 11 runners and they managed to together run 200.9 miles...  what a GREAT accomplishment for all of them!  :)  I have friends who have done this before but it's always been north of here, and with work i never got to "participate" This year I got to be a part of it by volunteering at one of the exchanges....  AND imagine my SURPRISE when I got a phone call from my friend Sam telling me to look out for his son...  he was running the leg with his uncle Ryan, and their exchange was where i was at!!  YAY!!!  I was waaaay excited....  :)  and so was he...  haha!!  This is when he crossed the "line"....

his uncle Ryan was a good half block behind... haha! when they asked him what team number he was he stood proudly and yelled at the top of his lungs 227!!! haha! at that moment I was a proud auntie....  maybe it was because he was so proud!  too bad he didn't have the exchange bracelet, so they had to wait for his partner to catch up! :)

Vincent ran a little under 10 miles with Ryan.... and Ryan told us that he was ready to give up a few times, his muscles cramped up 3 different times, BUT he said it was Vinny's excitement and motivation that kept him going, and kept him from stopping and walking part of the way!! Isn't it amazing what a little motivation from an 11 year old will do to ya?  haha!!  LOOK at that PROUD smile!!  :)

Way to go Vinnie, we're all very proud of you!!  :)

They have arrived! :)

We had some pretty special visitors come on wednesday night....  :)  They came bearing gifts from "home", food, COFFEE!!  Guatemalan coffee is seriously the BEST!  and treats, and chocolate...  I LOVE a good ol' Guatemalan cup of hot chocolate, there is nothing like it...  There's also something about the smell that comes with these special visitors, it reminds me of my grandma, and of my dad's family...  and of my cousins and of all of the fun times that we all had growing up... The smell it's still lingering, it's reminding me of all of the good times, of all of my family ack "home"....  :)  

 My aunt and uncle from Guatemala brought my niece down to celebrate her 6 year birthday....  This is her present from them, her grandparents....  We were all so excited, us because we finally got to meet her, we talk on Skype...  BUT it's not the same as meeting in person!  :)  and her, well she's so excited to be going to D-land, and all of the other places she's been...  I'm writing this on sunday night, and as we speak she's already spent a whole day, YES I said a WHOLE day shopping, and let me tell you I almost blew my head off...  haha!  and that's NOT a lie!  ;)  She LOVED it though...  and she's already been to Legoland, and Seaworld, and she is currently on her way home from the wild animal park, as I write this...  and weve watched LOTS of disney movies in spanish...  watching Mary Poppins in spanish was definitly a different experience....  all the songs are different!  ;)  she's seriously having the best time...  she told me this morning!  ;)  and you know what?  I think the BIG people are really enjoying themselves too!!  ;)  I can't wait until tuesday, we get to go to Disneyland, and there is seriously nothing better than watching a child's expression as they walk into D-land for the first time...  :)  we have 3 days slotted for Disney, and lots of fun things planned!  so be on the lookout for lots and lots of pics!  :)

Nina, enjoying her first full shopping day in California....  it was a bit chilly for this little girl from the "tropical" land!!  haha!

haha!!  her first official meal in California was Micky-D's....  unless you count cereal, and I don't!  ;)  Appearantly she's a VERY picky eater...  BUT she will eat chicken nuggets..  GO FIGURE!!!  I'll never understand this part of a child's "thinking"...  ummmmm....  excuse me.... chicken's don't have nuggets!  ;)  ok enough about that...  turns out Micky-D's nuggets are her favorite, and I LOVE an occassional Big Mac...  so that's were we ended up!!  :)  There you have it...  a little about my special visitor...  I LOVE her so much, and I LOVE the quality time that I have gotten to spend with her...  :)  I will have to remind myself to thank my cousin and her husband or letting Nina come out to hang out with us!!  :)

New likes, loves, and things that made me go huh??

I decided that this was an appropriate "title" for this end of the week post!  ;)  here are a few things I really liked this week....  :)

Coconut Creme Creamer is one of my new favorites.... I can't seem to get enough of it, so it's definitly a like this week...  Thanks for the suggestion, Em...  :)

...and Gold Peak's sweet tea is also a definite like...  it's on sale at work this week, so I have had my fair share of it!  if you like sweet tea and haven't tried this one...  give it a whirl, i promise you wont be dissapointed!

Today I have a new appreciation for Royal icing, after I saw the ducks I created today, I decided that maybe I should start "liking" it a little more...  I HATED it when I was making roses for cakes...  BUT REALLY liked it when I used it to make cupcake toppers!  :)  here's to second chances...  haha!

.... and to the LOVES!

I LOVE, weddings....  I love everything about them...  the fact that everyone dresses up for them, the fact that people seem to become "normal" for the occasion, suddenly all ackwardness is gone..  :) the food, and the fact that we get to spend a few hours with people that we haven't seen in a while...  the dancing, and the chit-chatting, and the food...  did I already say that?  ;)  and then there's the happy couple and the happiness that radiates around them...  and YES these are the "kids" that I saw get married this weekend...  May their life be full of happiness!!  :)

...and this little girl of course...  I LOVE that I've had the priviledge of watching her grow up, but I hate the fact that she's all grown-up!  And I mostly LOVE the fact that this is the face I see EVERYTIME we walk down Main Street at Disneyland and she spots the Castle for the first time!  :)  Ahhhh...  to be a kid again!  :)

..... and tigger tails, we finally found them at Disneyland and they were definitly NOT a dissapointment...  i can't wait to have another! 

• hour long foot massages
• midnight talks at Denny's with the chosen "fam"!  ;) 
• Moons over my hammie!  Oh how I've missed you, i'm pretty sure I haven't had one of these in years...  and it sooooo reminded me of old dorm outtings in the middle of the night....  :)
• Matter of fact conversations with the kids....  I had been trying to convince Luke to "close his eyes" for an hour.... I finally said it again, since I know he was deliriously tired... haha... ;) and he told me, i can't see the tv if my eyes are closed... :/ ummmm.... good point... he definitly gets no argument here! ;)
• phone calls, and txt messages, especially those that are just because!
• sincerity
• honesty
• loyalty
• old friendships, and new friendships
• airplanes
• birthay's
• cake
• snuggling children! 
• taco pizza
• PF Changs
• Dinner with friends
• fireworks
• Disneyland
• churros, cotton candy, popcorn, tigger tails, chocolate covered pretzels, fresh mangos
• Party planning
• baking
• lemon sweet rolls
• "decorating" treats
• chocolate cake
• Big FLUFFY clouds
• windy leaves, and thunder on my phones screen
• respect

and here are the things that make me go HUH??

People who actually eat and enjoy those ginormous turkey legs from the fair, or Disneyland or just about anywhere else....  we went to Disneyland on tuesday, and I promise 75% of the people I passed were indulging in one of these things....  all I could think of was WHY???  and then Jaime txted me this picture, all I could do was laugh...  and share it...  again WHY???  lol

and I can't leave out the people who indulge in these things in a bag??  WHY??  haha!!  again something people indulge in while at the fair or even Disneyland??  and there's absolutelly nothing worse than having someone not only eat this while in my personal space..  pickles STINK!, than  having them slurp the juice right out of the bag!  GROSS!!!!  haha!

and there you have it...  things I liked, and loved this week, and 2 that made me go HUH??  'til next week!  :)

The greatest LOVE of all!!!!!

For months I've been praying and trying to "figure" things out....  the things people say and the way they say them...  finally, today it happened I think....  I think God answered my questions, my doubts, my uncertainties my insecurities in the form of a song....   I LOVE this song, BUT I can honestly say that I haven't heard it in years...  and then there it was in all of it's glory as I drove home from the OC after a fun dinner with friends...  for some reason I really paid attention to the lyrics this time, I really thought about what the song was saying and decided that I really need to forget or at least try to forget the things people say...  and worry about the things people do, after all "actions speak louder than words, right?"  so today I promise God and myself that I will try my hardest to let the things people say, and the things people have said, and will probably always say, roll off into the distance without giving them a second chance....  This will be easier said than done...  I am sure of it...  But I will try my hardest to achieve it....  ;)  wanna listen along?? 

I believe the children are our are future

Teach them well and let them lead the way

Show them all the beauty they possess inside

Give them a sense of pride to make it easier

Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

Everybody searching for a hero

People need someone to look up to

I never found anyone who fulfill my needs

A lonely place to be

So I learned to depend on me

Chorus:

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows

If I fail, if I succeed

At least I'll live as I believe

No matter what they take from me

They can't take away my dignity

Because the greatest love of all

Is happening to me

I found the greatest love of all

Inside of me

The greatest love of all

Is easy to achieve

Learning to love yourself

It is the greatest love of all

I believe the children are our future

Teach them well and let them lead the way

Show them all the beauty they possess inside

Give them a sense of pride to make it easier

Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be

Chorus

And if by chance, that special place

That you've been dreaming of

Leads you to a lonely place

Find your strength in love

Go fish anyone??

I just ran across these pictures on Jessica's blog and thought I would share...  I can't believe I had totally forgotten about these...  haha!!  This happened sometime in January... 
I came over one day with a game of 'go fish' that I thought we could all play... ummmm, I think we all decided that maybe I should of waited  until the kids are a bit older...  haha!!  ;)  BUT we had a great time and it was definitly entertaining!!  :)

Luke kept wanting to 'go fish'....

and he LOVED the crab...  he kept asking "do you have a CRAB?" haha!

...and he collected all of the crabs he found!  ;)

haha!!  Miss Ella thought the game was pretty funny too!  ;)