The Loftus Family

Naughty or Nice?

2010-12-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

This day in the mall they were definitely naughty! Having Caleb holding on to my legs for about fifteen minutes saying that he was starving and that he didn't want to go in the store, and having Alyssa make a scene on the top of the escalator because she wanted me and not my mom to hold her hand; those two things would most likely put those two on Santa's naughty list.

I just really felt bad for my mom that had to endure with me. Almost being accused of trying to steal a white, blue eyed child (Alyssa) during her "episode". She felt pretty uncomfortable when people started to ask her if that was her child, and because she doesn't speak English, she couldn't explain what was really going on. I wasn't anywhere near where they were, but I could hear the screams of "I want my mom!!". Tatyana tried to explain that my mom was Alyssa's grandma, but people were not buying it (due to the difference of skin color, hair, language spoken, and pretty much everything else).

The situation only settled down when I reached them. Caleb was still upset, but after a lot of talking, we were able to go on with our visit to the mall. For obvious reasons, I try not to do this very often. And when I do this, I always try to drag someone with me to share the embarrassing moments...

Too bad Santa doesn't really stick with his naughty list! He is a total sucker when it comes to these cute little guys!

Funny

2010-12-16T21:05:00.000-08:00

Caleb: Can I play video game?
Me: You were not really good today. You're gonna have to wait until tomorrow.
Caleb: I was good yesterday... Hey! It's a pattern: good, bad, good, bad, good, bad.

Yeah... We need to break this pattern!

This was a conversation between Tatyana and Alyssa. They were talking about a boy that always plays with Alyssa in the daycare at the gym.

Tatyana: Who is your friend in the gym?
Alyssa: Luke.
Tatyana: Do you like him?
Alyssa: Yes, but he won't let me kiss him.

Should I be worried?

The Best One Yet!

2010-11-20T17:27:00.000-08:00

Roman and I just watched it today at the Mammoth Teather at Thanksgiving Point. It was awesome!!! I can't wait until part II!

Fall

2010-11-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know... You must be thinking "but what about summer?" Our summer was so great and busy, that I really didn't have time to post anything. The best was definetly Disneyland. The whole family had a great time, including Roman! Lots of swimming, friends over and dollar movies. And after school started, it seems that I had even less time to post anything...

The truth is that I kinda got burned out too... When it became something that I felt like I had to do it wasn't as fun anymore! But I think we're back! I missed blogging and I'm ready to start over.

I'm not uploading old pictures, that would take forever... But I really wanted to put these pictures up. Classic fall pics!

Alyssa didn't like the leaves on her face very much.

Caleb didn't like them eighter at first.

But he got used to them.

And Tatyana is always ready for pictures, no matter where she is.

I'll try to be a little better... I don't think it will take me as long to post anything.

We've come a long way...

2010-05-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

Caleb was my most precious gift for Mother's Day! After I had Tatyana, I really wanted to have a boy. I already had the perfect girl, so a boy would just make our family more special.

Little I knew that this boy would bring lots and lots of trouble with him. Because of that I decided to write new lyrics to the song "My Favorite Things" from the movie The Sound of Music. I was inspired by a haircare TV commercial...

Blowing up a Bouncy House on his 3rd birthday,
ending up in the hospital with a 3rd degree burn.
Getting lost and making me cry last spring
These are a few of my least favorite things.

Running out in the snow with no shoes or socks,
looking for me he ran around the block,
Almost killing his dad and making me scream
These are a few of my least favorite things.

Washing the restroom wall in the daycare,
acting like his parents don't even care,
Always embarrassing me was an everyday thing
These are a few of my least favorite things.

But when a smile strikes
When a hug hits
When a kiss I get
I simply forget all these really sad things
And then I don't feel... so bad!

He is my angel! He's taught me to be patient and to be a better mom. I love him to death!

By the way, having their birthdays combined and then having a family celebration on their "real" birthdays is getting Caleb and Alyssa a little confused:

After we asked Caleb how old he was, he said: "I'm 5, again."
Alyssa today asked me: "Mom, is today my birthday? When is my another birthday?"

To Tatyana

2010-05-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Tatyana was baptized... It was a very important day for our family. I was baptized when I was 17 years old, and I didn't have the opportunity to grow up learning about the gospel. I am very grateful that my kids have this opportunity.

As I look back to the day that I was baptized, and look at Tatyana's baptism, I can't help it but to compare both days and notice the small differences. I mean the covenants are the same, just the circumstances were different. I was almost 10 years older than Tatyana, and I was baptized by a missionary, not a member of my family. I didn't have many of my family members with me that day... My grandma and my great aunt were there. And I think my mom was there too. None of my old friends were there, just the new friends that I had just recently met. The first counselor in the ward confirmed me a member of the church. I don't remember what was said, but I remember that it was beautiful and I could feel the spirit.

I am so grateful for that day. To be honest, I don't know if I had a full understanding of the decision that I made... It just felt right. I remember having a feeling of finally finding my place in this world.

I hope Tatyana doesn't take this day for granted. I hope she understands that it's a great privilege to be raised knowing the gospel and understanding the purpose of this life.

I think about the challenges that she will have. I am scared... As her mother, I just want to hold her and make sure that nothing bad will ever happen to her.

I'm sitting here laughing in my head thinking about that first boyfriend that broke my heart and I thought I would never get over that pain. I thought that greater love could never exist, it wasn't possible. Now, I look at my kids and I feel like my heart is going to explode, that nothing will ever compare to the love that I have for my family.

Elder Bradley D. Foster of the Seventy quoted President Joseph F. Smith last Conference: "The love of a true mother comes nearer to being like the love of God than any other kind of love". When I heard that, I thought: "I knew it!" It had to be right, because, just as when my first boyfriend broke up with me, I feel that there can't be greater love than the love that I have for my kids.

However, after I pondered about it for a little longer I realized that just because it was said that it "comes nearer to being like the love of God", it doesn't mean that it is anything like it. Heavenly Father does not have meltdowns, doesn't lose His temper, or regrets His actions. The love that Heavenly Father has for each one of us is perfect.

I hope she remembers that. I hope she remembers this day. Not because of the party, or the dress, or the pictures, but because this is what is right. This is the first step. I hope she can look back and think about how wonderful it is to have her family being raised in the church, learning the gospel when they are still young.

I love you, Tat! And I'm so proud of you for making this decision!

Let The Birthday Rumpus Start!!!

2010-04-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

At first I thought I set myself up for failure this time. I wanted Tatyana to have her special day because she was turning 8, but I also wanted to keep the birthday parties somewhat together. Caleb and Alyssa would definitely have to share the same day.

We first had Alyssa's and Caleb's birthday party at Chuch E. Cheese's on the 23rd, and we had Tatyana's baptism followed by her birthday party on the 24th at our house.

It was a little stressful, I'll admit. But both parties went really well and I'm glad it's over. I just wish I had taken more pictures... With all the commotion of getting everything ready, I kinda slacked on pictures and taping.

My mom, as always, baked both cakes and they turned out wonderful! I couldn't have done it without her help! Thank you, mom!

Isn't this cake pretty cool? I love it!

We decided to go with a Diego/jungle theme because Caleb chose Diego and Alyssa loves animals. But for a long time Caleb kept saying that he wanted a Star Wars party at Carter's house. He really liked Carter's birthday party, Katie!

This is my niece Nikosha playing air hockey with Tatyana. They came from Idaho for both of the parties. Thanks, guys!!

Tatyana and me before the baptism.

Grandma Loftus and Bre also came for the baptism! You guys are great! Thank you so much!

Grandpa Neves baptized Tatyana. It was really special for all of us! Thanks, Grandpa!

Milee was baptized the same day and that made the baptism even more special! We love Milee and we were happy to share this day with her family!

This cake was beautiful! Thanks again, mom!!

I Can't Believe She's 8!

2010-04-20T07:10:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday to the most wonderful, beautiful and thoughtful daughter! We are blessed to have you in our lives! We love you!!

Soccer mom, and proud of it!!

2010-04-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

"The phrase soccer mom broadly refers to a middle-class suburban woman who spends a significant amount of her time transporting her school-age children to their sporting events or other activities." Wikipedia

If you just wonder where I've been lately... An example of one of our Thursdays:

Caleb throwing a fit because he wanted to be in the blue team, not white team.

And, after Caleb's game we stayed in the park for about 45 minutes. The kids had a blast!

And after the park, we went to Tatyana's capoeira class.

Considering that there is still homework (Tatyana's of course), cooking, laundry, cleaning, gym,

preschool, school, playdates, coupon shopping etc ... Yes, we've been pretty busy lately...

Great Deal!!

2010-03-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

There is a great deal going on at Rite Aid. If you haven't bought any Easter candy yet, now is the time!! They have Hershey's, Reese's, Nestle or Cadbury bagged Easter candy 8-10 oz. on sale for $1.99. If you combine the coupon that we got this Sunday in the Smart Source for $2 off of 3 bags, with the coupon that they have in their add also for $ 2 off of 3 bags, you get your candy for $0.66 each bag!

Depending on how much money you spend, you can also use a $5 off coupon of transaction over $25. Just click on the link bellow: http://img.ionmx.com/ionmxweb2/MXOrgs/6008/Content/images/welcome/RA-MarCoupon5off-ADA.pdf

I got 12 bags! The Rite Aid in Provo doesn't have anymore of the Cadbury (my family's favorite), but they still have Reese's and Hershey's. I got the cookies n' cream and the miniature peanut butter cups. They still have a pretty good amount, but I would hurry. They are going fast!

Berimbau mais eu, Capoeira sou eu!

2010-03-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

There is something about it... I don't know if it's the music or the movements, the flips and kicks... Watching Capoeira is one of my favorite things to do. The fact that it is a martial art and should be taken very seriously, but yet, everybody has a smile on their faces through out the whole Roda, just amazes me. It's the history, the culture, the feeling of freedom.

Twice a year we have the privilege of participating in the Capoeira Batizado. It's a very special event where the students get the chance to play Capoeira with invited teachers and students from different States. It's too much fun, and, today, we got to watch about 3 hours of it!

Tatyana changed cords one more time, and she will start having class with adults pretty soon. We're proud of her!

Here are some fun clips. There are some pretty amazing and fast kicks and, of course, Tatyana doing her solo and fighting the teachers. Enjoy!!

Goodbye, my friend

2010-02-14T20:06:00.000-08:00

I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends. We've been friends since I was 15 years old and I'm very sad to see her and her family leave. Good luck in Brasil! We'll miss you!

My Friend
by Sammy Lane Sharp

We all need someone

To talk to in our life,

A friend to whom we run

In times of stress or strife

A friend who's always there

Throughout the years,

A friend we know will care

And take away our fears.

A friend who's always near,

Waiting for our call,

To wipe away our tears,

And lift us when we fall.

A loving friend indeed,

On whom we can depend

To fulfill our every need -

Thank you, precious friend.

My treasures

2010-01-24T15:25:00.000-08:00

I think anyone with little kids can relate to this. If I get 10 minutes out of any of the talks during Sacrament Meeting, I'm pretty happy. Caleb and Alyssa are usually the ones causing chaos and making lots of noises. There is a very good reason why we sit in the back...

But today was different. Alyssa and Caleb were not feeling so good, so we decided that only Tatyana and I should go to church. It was surprising to find out that I wasn't the only one listening.

The talks in Sacrament Meeting were about "treasures in the scriptures". Tatyana turned to me, after Sister Rasmussen talked about the treasures in her life, and said: "Mom, I know what the treasures in your life are." And I said: "What?" She said: "Alyssa, Caleb and me".

I tell myself all the time that I need to be a better mother. I pray for patience and guidance... I'm so scared that my kids one day will make bad choices in their lives because of things that I say or things that I do. I try really hard every day to be a good example, but I feel like I'm failing and that I don't deserve them.

It was touching to me to see that even with all my imperfections, and all that I've done wrong, Tatyana knows that I love her, and her brother and sister, more than anything in this world. I hope that she keeps this sweet spirit with her through her life. So willing to forgive me for my meltdowns. Or maybe, by the time they are teenagers I will learn to be as mature as she is.

Yes Tatyana, you're right! You are one of my precious treasures! I love you!

Kids Pictures

2009-11-20T10:15:00.000-08:00

We just took some professional pictures of the kids and I absolutely love them! They were taken at Portrait Innovations and their prices are the best! I don't think I'm taking my kids anywhere else. Here is the link: http://portraitinnovations.com/ .

Home on the Range

2009-11-08T18:23:00.000-08:00

Straight A Student

2009-11-08T18:18:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Bichsel told Tatyana that if she took her report card to Krispy Kreme, they would give her a doughnut for every A that she got. She was pretty proud of herself, and we are really proud of her too!

Halloween

2009-11-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

I didn't take as many pictures as I thought, but the kids had lots of fun!

Almost everything

2009-10-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't been really good about updating my blog. That's why I decided to just tell you all about everything, or almost everything, all at once, nonstop, until I was done.

I'll start with Tatyana's first day in school at Lakeview, more than two months ago. This is a picture of her and Sadie, before heading to school.

Girls Night Out in August. They had a mini zumba class and some other activities for us. It was great!

Caleb being... you know... Caleb.

Tatyana's second first day of school (if that makes any sense). A week after she started at Lakeview, they called me from Freedom Academy saying that there was a spot for Tatyana. I was a little worried about the change, but Tatyana, one more time, showed us what a great kid she is. She is doing great and she really likes her school.

She got a black eye at Lakeview on her last day there. It was just an accident, one of her friends kicked her while doing a cartwheel, but that didn't look too good when she went to Freedom. New school, black eye... Poor girl.

Caleb and his future wife, Mari, in one of Tat's soccer game. One can dream, right? We love Mari!

Alyssa being Alyssa.

Caleb on his first day in preschool. He loves Mrs. Stephanie.

Another Capoeira batizado. Tatyana and Victoria.

We went to a lot of birthday parties during this summer. One in particular was pretty fun. They had this girl doing some face painting and she did a great job! The kids loved it! That gives me some new ideas for a birthday party...

Brazilian Festival at the Gateway. Awesome!!

Tatyana's soccer. It was great to see her play with all her friends.

And, to finish, our last girls night out at Pirate Island. It was... interesting. It was great to spend time with my friends, but I'm not too sure about the place.

There you go. Sorry it took me so long. I'm just a couponner, bargain shopper, mother of three, maid, cook, tutor, entertainer, scrapbooker, and some more. Just keeping myself busy. I'll try to do better...

34 must be my lucky number!

2009-10-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

I remember when I was younger, how fun birthdays were. How excited I would get to get one year older. It meant presents and more freedom, right? At least that's what I thought. Right before I turned 30, I got really sad. I really didn't want to be 30, I wanted to stay on my twenties forever. I had just had Caleb in May, and that made me feel even older...

After that, birthdays were okay for me. Didn't plan anything, didn't expect much. And when I had finally convinced myself that birthdays are not fun anymore, unless you're 18 and under, the unexpected happened: I had the best birthday ever!!!

Roman decided to take a day off at work and let me spend a day in a spa. He scheduled the appointments himself and chose the treatments, which included a manicure, a pedicure, a facial and a body wrap. I got at the spa at 10 am and I left at 3:30 pm, with one hour for a lunch break. I don't need to say that it was the most relaxing day of my life... I also got a hot oil scalp massage while I was waiting on the body wrap. Simply wonderful.

When I got home from the spa, I found out that my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law, Breanne, came all the way from Idaho Falls to spend some time with us and to wish me a happy birthday in person. Isn't that so sweet? And that was only the second surprise of this birthday!

That same night we had a huge birthday party to go to (not mine). A Festa de Quinze Anos, also known as a Quinzenera, in Spanish. I didn't think that there was a better way to celebrate my birthday... A couple of hours dancing brazilian music, that's pretty much all I needed. It was kind of strange that almost everybody in the party knew it was my birthday and kept wishing me a happy birthday. But I just thought that my mom, who was also in the party, was telling everybody about it. Didn't think much of it.

Next day, I was pretty happy with how my birthday went. Roman still wanted to take me out to dinner that night, since he couldn't take me out the day before.

He was acting a little weird during the dinner. He was kind of in a hurry and he was really picky about the restaurants that he wanted to take me. He wouldn't even let me look at the dessert menu. His excuse was that he didn't want to leave his mom with the kids for too long. I asked why not, but he just said that she could get a little stressed with the kids. Didn't quite understand why that would be so stressful at first, and then I thought about how our kids can get pretty wild occasionally. So, after few seconds of pondering, I was okay with that too. Again, didn't think much of it.

Back at home, Roman parked right behind my truck and I told him to move it because I wanted to go to the grocery store. We came back pretty early from dinner. I get in the garage, opened the kitchen door and within five seconds this is what happened:

Everything was dark and I saw the reflection of three bottles of soda on the kitchen counter and, yet, it did not ring a bell. My first thought was that my mother-in-law must have gone to the grocery store already. It seems like I was really determined to go to the grocery store, because I couldn't think about anything else. And I don't remember if I turned the lights on or if someone else did, I heard a group of people scream SURPRISE!!!

After that I got it. They were throwing a surprise party for me. That's why a lot of people in the birthday party the night before were wishing me a happy birthday. A lot of them were in my party too! And that's why Roman was acting a little strange. And believe me, there were way too many signs that there was going to be a party, but I did not notice them at all. I just don't pay attention to details as Roman like to point out every once in a while.

Roman and I going to dinner, before my surprise birthday party.

This is my friend Tatiana that I've know for almost twenty years. She helped organize the party and made yummy food and a wonderful cake. Thanks Tati!

Tessa, a great friend and neighbor, and her cute baby boy Easton.

My dear mother that is so wonderful to me and my family.

Breanne, my sweet sister-in-law.
My brazilian friends that always make me laugh in every girls night out.

My beautiful mother-in-law. Thanks for everything!

And the most beautiful and delicious cake ever!

Thanks everybody! I hate being the center of attentions in any circumstance, but since we were all friends I guess it's okay... I'll forgive you.

Seriously, Thank you! This will be in the history of best birthdays ever, even knowing I'm 34 now!

Funny

2009-08-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

Tatyana said on a Saturday: " Oh! Today is take a nap day... Dad always takes a nap on Saturdays."

Alyssa when watching me putting make up on: "I want to color my eyes", pointing to one of her eyes.

Update - Part III

2009-08-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging at all lately... I've been so obsessed with couponing that I cannot make time for anything else... But finally today is the day! I know this is not very creative, but it's all got for now...

1 - Roman's new toy

Our next door neighbors had a yard sale about a month ago. Roman got a great deal on this go cart. He bought it for 160$... You can buy a brand new one for 1800$! He worked on it for a few days and got it running again. The kids love it!!!

2-Idaho Falls

And, one more time, we went to Idaho during this summer. It was my niece's baptism. I can't believe how grown up she is...

We also went swimming at Hicee (I think that's how you spell it). It was a fun day to spend with grandma, grandpa and aunt Bre.

Roman dreamed about having a bike. This is his dad's bike, so every time we go to Idaho you can pretty much guess what we talk about on the way back...

And Kenzi and Alyssa spent some time together listening to music. It looked like they were having a good time.

3 - Lagoon

We got to spend one whole day at Lagoon... We were there when they opened and we were there when they were closing. It was a really fun day! The kids had a blast! I was very impressed with all the new rides that they have for little kids. And even some of the grown up ones, Alyssa could go if she was with an adult. It made it a lot easier and funner for the whole family!
We got a bounce back ticket. We'll probably be going back soon.

Recent Quotes

2009-07-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

I don't remember why Tatyana said this: "Everybody hates me!!"
Caleb then replied: "Yeah! Everybody hates Tatyana and everybody loves me!"

* * *

Tatyana in the car: "Mom, I just can't wait until I'm a teenager... I just want to see how I'm gonna look like."

* * *

Caleb, Tatyana and Alyssa playing hide and seek. Tatyana said: "Caleb, you have to count to 10!"
Caleb said: "No! I'm going to count to one!"

Reasons why I haven't been blogging

2009-07-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

This has been a crazy summer!

Reason #1:
We came back from Vegas on the 2nd. We got home around 6 pm and by 2 pm next day we were ready and all packed up again to go to Idaho Falls. We stayed there for the whole weekend. We actually did a lot when we were there. We went to the parade, later in the day, we went to the zoo and we also watched the fireworks. We went shopping too! It was great!

Reason #2:
I signed the kids up for swimming lessons, and the lessons started the day after we came back from Idaho Falls. This time Alyssa would also participate with me, in the mommy and me class. It was fun, but I wish she was old enough to go by herself. She kept kicking me and pulling on my swimsuit. It was definitely a work out. I think it would be better if they had the lessons spread out through the month instead of having them from Monday through Thursday for two weeks.

Reason #3:
Any free time (if there is such a thing for any mom) that I had in the last three weeks, I spent doing some "research". I know I've already mentioned how obsessed with coupons I am. I was really proud of myself when I went to Albertsons and spent $36.14 and saved $48.73. I bought 5 boxes of cereal (all 1 lb. boxes), one 2 lb. block of cheese, one Spray n'wash, one bottle of olive oil, Finish power tabs (20 count), one box of bisquick mix, one TreeTop apple juice, 3 bottles of soda, one box of capri sun, 2 gallons of milk, one sponge, 2 J&M smoked sausage, one bottle of Purex fabric softner, and one garlic.

Most recently, I went to Albertsons again (it's my favorite place to buy groceries) with Roman and I bought one bottle of olive oil, one gallon of milk, 1.86 lb. of peaches and one bottle of Pantene conditioner. I spent $5.26 and saved $14.29 . I thought that wasn't too bad. Roman thought it was pretty cool that we bought all of these items for the price of one bottle of olive oil.

And that's what we have been doing lately. I'll try to be a little better about posting!

No Kids Allowed

2009-07-07T13:31:00.000-07:00

Vegas, baby!! Roman and I went to Vegas to celebrate our 9th anniversary! It took a lot of planning because we don't have anyone to leave the kids with. My mom works full time and her days off are Thursdays and Sundays. She was able to take a Wednesday off to help us out but we only had a couple of days to try to enjoy some well deserved alone time... So Vegas seemed the right place.

We had never left the kids with anyone for more than a few hours. Tatyana and Caleb stayed overnight at my parents house when I was in the hospital delivering Alyssa and that's pretty much it. I have to confess that I was having a little bit of anxiety when I left them Tuesday afternoon with Jalyn, a very nice 12 year old girl in our ward. My parents would only be able to go to my house later that night. I left two letters with instructions, one for my parents and one for Jalyn. During the 4 hours that Jalyn babysat for me, I called her 5 times... But everything went well and the kids had a blast! Tatyana was actually really excited for us to leave. She knows she can get away with a lot when she is with grandma and grandpa.

We stayed at the Excalibur and we had a non-smoking room. But I still could not stand the smell. I woke up a couple of times during the night because of it. I thought I would be used to it since when growing up in Brazil there were many friends and members of my family that smoked.

We had a great time! We walked a lot, visited a lot of the hotels and went to the shark reef at the Mandalay Bay. But there is something else that I need to confess... I'm 33 years old and that was the first time in my life gambling. I wasn't that interested at all. Roman wanted to gamble, so we tried the slots, the penny machines. I asked for a dollar, since I was there anyways I might as well gamble too. And I won $26.00. "This is really fun!!", I told Roman. And after that I was completely hooked. I kept going from machine to machine and at the end we got more than $150.00. I was so excited!

Now I understand why people get addicted to gambling. I'm glad I don't leave in Vegas or in any other place where it's legal to gamble. I think I would have a problem!

The battery for the camera died on the first day we were there and I forgot to pack the charger. We don't have a lot of pictures, but here are some of them:

Updates - Part II

2009-06-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

Not much going on... Caleb hasn't escaped since last reported... Yay!

Here are some random pictures:

Another fashion show, by Haley and Tatyana. Special participation: Alyssa.

Alyssa learned how to open doors. So now some of her favorite things to do is to get in my closet and play with my shoes and get into my make up. I'm not very happy with the last one, but it's kind of funny... I've caught her about five times and she knows that she's not supposed to do that, but she can't help herself, I guess.

Tatyana finished reading a book with 406 pages. It's a kids book with a lot of pictures, but still... She was really excited about it, and we're very proud of her!

Cousins

2009-06-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

Okay... I'll stop complaining about my kids and move on with my posts... Let's make it a little more positive, shall we??

My brother in law and sister in law, Nate and Julie stopped by our house on their way to Arizona and on their way back. It was great! The kids get so excited to see their cousins from Idaho... The house gets pretty crazy, with so many kids - 7 total. But it's totally worth it!

Oh yeah... I love my kids

2009-06-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

I really do! But I'm getting really tired of having them home all day. And since we don't have a whole lot planned for this summer, things are getting a little out of control.

Just recently Caleb locked Alyssa in the bathroom downstairs. I usually don't have any problems unlocking the doors, Roman and I are prepared for situations like that. Right above the door seal we have little "tools" that will help us just in case something like this happens. However, this time I could not find the little "key"... And the lock that we put downstairs is different from the locks upstairs, so I couldn't use the other keys.

I put Caleb in time out after yelling at him. He stayed in time out until I was done getting Alyssa out of the bathroom. I tried different things to open that door, but nothing really worked. Meanwhile, I could hear the water in the toilet splashing all around and I could also hear her flushing the toilet every now and then. I think she was having a good time...

There was only one thing left to do... I had to take the lock apart. It really isn't as hard as it sounds, it just took me a little while. I think she was in the bathroom for about 15 minutes. When I finally opened the door, she had toilet water up to her elbows. There was water splashed all around the toilet, but the toilet seat and cover were down.

I cleaned her up and started to get the kids' lunch ready. I thought I would clean the bathroom while they were eating. Well... Once I lifted the toilet seat up I found out a ton of tissues in the toilet. I looked at the tissue box and it was empty. It was brand new, I bought it the day before. I had to take all the tissues out because I knew it was going to plug the toilet if I didn't. But I found out after cleaning everything up that the toilet was already plugged.

The worse part is that we don't know where that key is...

I really do love my kids... Just get a little frustrated every once in a while...

My Pig Headed Son III - This will never end

2009-06-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

Caleb managed to scare us one more time. We have been trying to be a lot more careful with him lately, but it didn't work.

Last Saturday, he escaped twice! In the morning, Tessa was having a yard sale, and she asked me if I had anything that I wanted to sell too. I brought some baby clothes and Jill Griffith also brought some stuff to sell. All of us had our kids outside playing. Sadie and Jessica were selling cupcakes, cookies and apple juice. The kids were having fun. When I turn around to look for Caleb, he was gone. It took us about 5 minutes to figure out that he went after Jill's son, Brett, back to their house. We talked to him and tried to explain that he can't just take off and not let us know where he's going.

Later in the afternoon, Roman was outside washing the car and the kids were all out riding their bikes and scooters. I told Roman I was going to go to the grocery store. I pleaded with him to please pay attention on Caleb, because he will disappear if we don't watch him.

When I was almost at Macey's (about a 10 minute drive), Joy Martin calls me. She says: "Roberta, Caleb is here at my house." My reaction, as always, in disbelief: "What???" Joy said that she saw Caleb riding his scooter and she stopped him and asked where his parents were, and he said that he was going for a ride. Right away she knew that he was not supposed to be that far away from home by himself. Joy lives about 3 block away from our house.

She told one of her girls to go after him and they brought him back to their house. I told her I was going to call Roman to let him know that she had Caleb. I tried to call, but nobody answered. I knew Roman was already going crazy looking for him. I called Joy back and told her that I wasn't able to talk to Roman and that I was coming to get Caleb.

Joy was kind enough to send Kelly after Roman to tell him that Caleb was at their house. Roman and I got at Joy's house at the same time and I could see how desperate Roman was. He said that, one more time, he almost called the police...

I'm so grateful for my neighbors!! Thanks so much, Joy!! And if any of you find Caleb wondering in the neighborhood, please let us know! Caleb is not allowed to go outside anymore without constant supervision. He is not allowed to ride his scooter or his bike. We are taking away his transportation. We'll see if this time it will work...

Updates

2009-06-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

Tatyana's Ballet performance:

It's always so much fun to watch her do her little dances on stage. She definitely loves the spotlight! And also the fact that she gets to wear some of mom's makeup.

Caleb's last Field Trip:

His last field trip was to the Hogle Zoo. I took Tatyana with us, even knowing that she would be missing a day in school. I thought it was worth it... She kept saying all year long how unfair it was that Caleb got go to so many field trips and she didn't.

We had a great time with our friends, the Konolds, both Katie and Lindsay. But I have to confess that at the end I was tired of screaming at Caleb... I used to think that he had a hearing problem, but latter found out that was more like selective hearing problem. He hears what he wants to hear.

Carter and Caleb

Tatyana, Mari, Haley and Carter

Tatyana's School Carnival:

I really enjoyed taking the kids to the school carnival. They had a blast! The prices for the rides and the food were very reasonable...

Tatyana trying to climb up the wall. She didn't go too far...

Caleb's preschool graduation:

No need to say that Caleb loves preschool, he loves his teacher, and she is probably the only person that he actually listens to. He doesn't look very happy in this picture... He just wanted to go play, that's all...

He's definitely going back next fall! We love you, Mrs. Stephanie!!

Last but not Least

2009-05-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

We're a little sad... Our friends and neighbors moved out of their home yesterday. Tatyana and Caleb just had their last - at least for now - play date with their best friends, Haley and Carter. Katie and I had been exchanging baby sitting for a while, and now I don't know what I'm going to do with my Fridays anymore...

They will be back in about five months I think. Meanwhile we're going to miss them. We don't know if we'll still be here when they come back to our neighborhood, since we put our house up for sale. I'm just glad we have blogs and that we can stay in touch.

Caleb and Carter, last play date.

Tatyana and Haley, last play date.

We're sad but also happy for you, guys... Good luck! Hope to see you soon.

Mother's Day / Caleb's Birthday

2009-05-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

We had to celebrate both Mother's day and Caleb's birthday together this time. It really was his birthday on the 10th. My mom and step dad came over with some friends, that are also from Brazil.

I prepared dinner and my mom baked another cake for Caleb. He was really excited about celebrating his birthday again.

Just thought I should share

2009-05-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

So today, in preschool, Caleb got to fill out a paper, with Mrs. Stephanie's help, about me, his mom. And it goes like this:

My Mom is Special!!!

My Mom is special because:

SHE GETS ME EGGS.

I like it when my Mom:

MAKES ME EGGS.

My Mom can do many things! I think she's best at:

GOING TO THE GYM.

My Mom has a pretty smile! I like to make her smile by:

LETTING HER GO TO THE GYM

My Mom is as pretty as a:

DENTIST.

My Mom is smart! She even knows:

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF MY HOUSE.

Signed: Caleb

Well... At least I know how to keep my house nice and clean, right?? And I wouldn't be so offended by him saying that I'm as pretty as a dentist if his dentist wasn't an older man! Maybe he was thinking about one of the assistants...

There were some truths in it though... I really love going to the gym, and it is probably one of the things that I do best. Sad... I know...

Eggs???

My Pig Headed Son II - The Saga Continues

2009-04-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah... He's done it again.

After what happened with Caleb, last December, it seems that he really calmed down. I don't know if he really understood that what he did was wrong and decided to change his attitude or if it was just that he was growing up and getting a little more mature. Things really slowed down. Of course, he still had his moments, but things were getting better.

I gave Roman a really hard time about letting Caleb escape like that. He said: "That could have happened to you too!". My reply: "Not on my watch". Ironically enough, it happened to me this time.

Yesterday was Tatyana's last soccer game. Everything was going well... Haley scored the only goal of the game and the girls finally won. Caleb was playing with Carter pretty much the whole time. I kept checking on him, just looking around, to make sure that I knew where he was. I didn't even take Alyssa out of the stroller. So, it wasn't that difficult to keep an eye on him.

At the end of the game, the coach was getting the girls together to take a group picture. And that's when it happened. Too many people walking by and I took my attention off of him to take a few pictures of the girls. And he was gone.

I looked around. Nothing. Went over closer to the fence were he was playing a couple of minutes before, but he wasn't there. During the game, Caleb and Carter were playing with a dog, so I looked around to see if the people with the dog was around, and maybe Caleb had gone after them, but they were gone too.

I started to panic real bad. My heart is pounding and I'm feeling my eyes water already. Only a few minutes had passed, but that's usually how long it takes, right?

Katie asked me if I found him, and I said no. I told Tatyana to stay with Alyssa and I was going to run around and probably go back to the car. Maybe he was there. Chris had taken Carter to the bathroom and was on his way back to the soccer field. I told him, already crying: "I don't know where Caleb is." I was very grateful to have Katie and Chis there, helping me look for Caleb.

I called Roman, which wasn't a very good idea. There was nothing that he could do. He wasn't anywhere near to the soccer field. He told me to call the police and once I got to the car and saw that Caleb wasn't there, I started to dial 911.

I think that maybe five minutes had passed. This whole time I was walking around screaming Caleb's name. I noticed people looking at me... I was hoping someone would offer to help.

The 911 operator answers the phone, and I couldn't put together my thoughts or my sentences: "My son is gone... I had three with me... one disappeared... I need help... I don't know where he is." All of that in a crying, hysterical voice. I don't know if she really could understand me.

I'm walking back to the soccer field and the operator is transferring me to the operator in Provo. By the time they answered, Tatyana had already ran towards me and told me that they found Caleb. I told them: "I think they found him, let me make sure."

I saw him from where I was standing. I said: "We found him." I hung up the phone, brought my hands to my face and cried. I cried loud, I cried desperate, I cried relieved. I don't remember ever crying like that; I don't remember ever feeling the way I felt. I felt Katie's arms around me... I don't know what I would have done if Chris and Katie were not there.

I heard Caleb's voice. "Hi mom", he said. I looked down and he was right in front of me, looking up and smiling. I saw the sun shining on him as if I was being blessed again. One more time he was brought back to me, safely.

All the thoughts that went through my mind. What if...

Those five to ten minutes were the longest minutes in my life.

People were staring. One woman in particular that I saw on the parking lot was back to the soccer field too, looking at us, keeping her distance. I think she wanted to help...

I cried all the way home. I cried when I got home and saw Roman. I cried before I got to bed, and I'm still crying right now. I know it was just few minutes, it's hard to explain why this is so traumatizing... I really thought I lost him.

Hopefully he will learn from this and so will I. I need to be more careful with him than other mothers are with their kids... I also hope that this is the last episode of this saga. I don't think I can handle this very well...

What were you thinking? It's a Brazilian Party!

2009-04-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

It's true... No offense to all Americans, but we, Brazilians, know how to party...
Because Tatyana's, Caleb's, and Alyssa's birthdays are so close - April 20th, May 10th, and April 23rd, respectively - I decided to just have a big birthday party for all of them. Brazilian style, of course.
In a Brazilian party you have cake (or cakes in this case), no ice cream, and a lot of Brazilian candy - brigadeiro (the chocolate one), beijinho (the coconut one), and quindim (the yellow one that also has coconut in it). You always have tons of food because you want people to stay for a long time, and it's better to have left overs than to not have enough food . You invite all your family, your kids' friends and their parents, because you want to celebrate your kid's birthday with your friends and family too. There you go!
It does take a lot of work. On the other hand, I had so many people offering to help, offering to bring food to the party, that, at the end, it wasn't that bad at all!! I actually had to tell some friends that offered to bring stuff that I didn't need any more food. So many friends already doing so much for me!!! I really, really , REALLY, appreciate all your help!! Thank you so much!!
The best part of all is that I'm all done for this year!!! NO MORE BIRTHDAYS! Until next year...
Thank you all that came to the party! Thanks for being so kind and not thinking that having three birthdays together was too much! Thanks for sharing this moment with our family!

We had the birthday party at Classic Skating. It was great because I didn't have to worry about entertaining the kids. They have a DJ and games through out the party.

My sister in law, Breanne, helping me to set up the decoration. Thanks, Bre!

Tatyana's cake. She will turn 7.

Caleb's cake. He will turn 4.

Alyssa's cake. She will turn 2.

Mom, thank you so much for making all the cakes! They were beautiful! OBRIGADA MAEZINHA!

It was a fun party... Now, what am I going to do next year?

Easter

2009-04-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

A Twilight Night

2009-04-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

Our Girls Night Out this month had a theme: Twilight. The movie was out on DVD, so the girls thought it would be fun to get together and watch the movie again. I'm sure we all had a copy at home, and had already watched it twice, but it's always funner to watch chick flicks with your girlfriends. Plus it was a good opportunity to visit with all of them again...

Ladies Night Out

2009-04-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

During Conference weekend, after morning and afternoon sessions on Saturdays, Roberts has a Ladies night out. It's so much fun!! They have great sales and they have a craft session, the Make and Take. I love it!! These are some of the things that we made that night:

Roman asked me: "Aren't you gonna go to your thing tonight?" No need to say that I always go to these events. They also had a lot of crafts for children... I'll probably take Tatyana with me next time.

Tatyana's Ballet Performance

2009-03-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Tatyana and her group performed for the Trinity rest home. Here is part of one of the dances that she did:

Girls Night Out/ Grill from Ipanema

2009-03-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

This time we went to a restaurant called Grill from Ipanema, at the Jordan Landing. They have the brazilian rodizio, just like Tucanos and Rodizio Grill, but I think twice a month on Fridays, from 8pm to 10pm, they have all you can eat brazilian pizza and drinks (soda) is included. They also have a band playing brazilian music. It was great! I had a blast! There were probably forty of us in the restaurant.

I look forward every month to go to the girls night out!

There really wasn't a boy in the girls night out night. Paulo is a friend of mine from Brasil. I met him when I was probably 17 years old. He is visiting from Brasil and was there with family.

Field trip to the Airport

2009-03-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

I don't think Caleb got a whole lot from this field trip... Actually, I'm pretty sure he didn't understand most of the stuff that was explained. But it seemed that he had some fun.

After having beautiful weather for most of last week, this week was a total nightmare. I not only had to go to Caleb's field trip, but I also had to go to three soccer games, two was Tatyana's and one was Caleb's. My brazilian body does not have a lot of resistance when it comes to cold. I know... I've lived her in the US for nine years and two of those years we lived in Idaho, but I usually try to stay indoors a lot when it's really cold... So this week was really hard. Hopefully the weather will change soon! We still have a lot of soccer games coming up!

Caleb's first soccer game

2009-03-25T08:08:00.001-07:00

Well... It was actually his second game. He refused to play the first game. I don't think he was as excited about it as Roman and I were. Here is a little glimpse of what really happens during the game. He doesn't really kick the ball, just runs after it the whole time. His friends Carter and Jackson are in his team too.

Roman

2009-03-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

It was Roman's birthday on the beginning of the month... He hates celebrating his birthday, but he enjoys watching the kids get all excited about it! So we had cake and ice cream, and that was it! I debated if I should post anything, because I thought that maybe he wouldn't like it. But I thing he deserves a shout out...

I love you, babe!! I really appreciate all that you do for us!! You drive me nuts, but I don't think I can live without you anymore!

Girls Night Out, again!

2009-02-27T11:52:00.000-08:00

I just want to thank my brazilian friends for this. This one time a month when I can leave my kids with my husband and prepare myself for a good time and good laughs. You girls are awesome!

A true playa!

2009-02-27T11:41:00.000-08:00

Caleb loved the field trip to Jumping Jacks! I heard that a lot of the kids were asking to leave... Not my son. When I told him that it was time to go, like always, he said: "No! It's not time to go yet!" in his very nice (not) and obedient (not) voice. When he saw that everybody was leaving, he was okay with it.

Alyssa had a great time too, as you can see in this picture.

It's my fault!

2009-02-27T11:31:00.000-08:00

So every once in a while I realize that my kids are growing up and not learning Portuguese, my native language, the only language that I actually know that I know how to speak.
When getting in the car one day this week, I told Caleb: "Senta, garoto!". That means: "Sit down, boy!"
Caleb looks at me and says: "Santa???" and starts to look around and through the window, looking very puzzled.
How pathetic am I?

Pictures, as promised

2009-02-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

So, it wasn't really surprising to find out that there was something wrong with Caleb's valentine's box. I didn't make a lid for it. Oh well...

Besides the box drama (in my head), Valentine's day was really fun!!

What's wrong with me??

2009-02-12T15:25:00.000-08:00

Okay... I've been feeling pretty stupid lately. Two incidents in particular were kind of bothering me. This kind of goes along with my insecurities about English and the absurdities that come out of my mouth (and my keyboard) every once in a while.

Last week we had Activities Day and we were going to do a Heart Attack for some of the older people in our ward. So the girls were cutting out hearts and making all this cute decoration. My friend Melanie was picking up some of the left over paper to decorate her girls valentine's boxes.

Valentine's boxes?? What the heck is a valentine's box?? Tatyana is in 1st Grade and I've never made one for her for kindergarten or preschool. Was I supposed to make one for her when she was in kindergarten or preschool? Am I supposed to make one for her now?

When Melanie asked me if I wanted any paper for my kids' boxes, I said: "No". Note to everyone: When I answer a question really fast avoiding talking about it at all is because I have no idea of what everybody else is saying. Instead of acting like a normal person and asking what a valentine's box was, I just totally blew her off and kept doing what I was doing... So one more time I apologize to all of you when I sounded rude and totally ignored your question or acted like I didn't care for what you were saying.

Anyway... I didn't have to make a box for Tatyana, they were going to make it in school. But I had to make one for Caleb, and when I found out about it I almost panicked. I had no idea of what I was going to use at all. I even thought that maybe they would sell them in stores, but I couldn't find one. You might be thinking:"Why didn't you ask Roman?" Well... for some reason, I thought he wouldn't know. When it comes to the kids stuff, he really doesn't know anything.

Caleb and I made a valentine's box out of an old shoe box that we had at home. We wrapped it with a stripped blue wrapping paper and we decorated it with hearts. I took pictures of it but I can't post them right now because the cable that I use to download the pictures is broken. So the pictures are going to have to wait... Caleb was so excited, that it really didn't matter if it was completely wrong (if there really is a right way to make a valentine's box).

The second incident just happened today. I went to the gym and I gave my keys to the girl at the door and asked for an exercise band. I have to leave my keys with her until I bring the band back. When I was ready to leave, I handed her the band and she asked me: "How do your keys look like?"

I didn't know how to answer this question. There is really nothing special about my keys. I don't have any cool key chain or anything else that would distinguish my keys from anyone else's keys. The only thing that I could say was: "It has a Smith's card hooked to it." HA HA HA HA.

No, seriously... How do you answer this question? You guys have to help me, so next time when someone asks me that I can answer it and don't feel like a complete idiot.

One more time I apologize for my actions!! I really don't mean to be rude...

I told you...

2009-02-12T15:20:00.000-08:00

Caleb was playing with one of his trains during sacrament meeting, and he turns to his dad and says: "Dad, can you help me break this?"
Nobody believes me when I say this, but Caleb breaks everything!

Do you wanna fight me??

2009-01-29T15:52:00.000-08:00

That's what Roman asks the kids all the time... He likes to wrestle with them, and the kids love it! Alyssa is starting to get the spirit of it... I can only say one thing about her: She is definitely not the girly girl that Tatyana was at her age.
She is learning how to communicate very well... She adores Caleb and follow him around all day long. She gets beat up often, but that doesn't stop her. Some of the words that she says all the time: trains, spiderman, tracks, food, drink, juice, puppy, Jake(that's our cat's name). No princess stuff. She is just too funny!

Field Trip

2009-01-29T15:44:00.000-08:00

Caleb had a great time at his last field trip. We went to the Dinosaur and the Bean Museums.

Tatyana's First Soccer Game

2009-01-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday was Tatyana's first soccer game. Her friend Haley is in her team, and she loved it! Thanks for the tip, Katie!

My Pig Headed Son

2008-12-28T17:29:00.000-08:00

A lot of you must have heard what happened in church today. It seems that at some point, someone announced that there was a little hispanic boy lost in the church parking lot, with no shirt or shoes on. I missed the announcement, I think I was in the bathroom or just talking to someone on the way to Sunday School. But it couldn't be Caleb anyway because I sent him home with Roman and Alyssa. Caleb was out of control during sacrament meeting and Alyssa needed a nap.

It was very surprising to me when Sister Johnson came to get me in Sunday School. Only Tatyana was in her class, what did they need me for? As I got out of class and saw Rosemary Todeschinni holding Caleb, it took me about fifteen seconds to even open my mouth to say: "What?"

How could he be there in her arms when I saw Roman taking him home? He had Rosemary's coat on, so I didn't even realize that he didn't have his shirt on until she told me. His socks were wet from walking on the snow. And then it happened... That feeling of being a bad mother, of fear of something really bad happening to one of your kids, of him being picked up by a bad person... I didn't know if I was mad at him for walking all the way from home to church by himself, in the middle of winter, with no shirt or shoes on, or if I was really happy that he was safe in my arms again.

Roman wasn't going to be this lucky... I told Rosemary: "If I get home and Roman is playing video games, I'm going to kill him!" How could he let Caleb get away like that? How could he miss the sound of the door shutting? How could he be so careless? Caleb wasn't in trouble at all...

As soon as I got Caleb in the car, I saw Roman pulling in the church parking lot. He asked from his car: "Do you have him?" And I just nodded. I could see on his facial expression that he was scared, and very nervous.

We went back to the house and Roman opened the Ford's door, grabbed Caleb and hugged him. Roman had teary eyes and was relieved to see him. I couldn't be mad anymore... I thought he's had enough. He told me everything that happened. How he thought that Caleb was asleep in his bedroom, how he kept looking for him all over the house, opening every closet door. He went to our neighbors' houses, but nobody was home. He went up the road on the way to church, and he thought that Caleb couldn't have been so fast, so he went back to the house. He decided to drive up to the river to see if he was there, but he wasn't. He finally decided to check the church one more time, and if he didn't find him he was going to call the police. That's when he found us in the church parking lot, ready to head back home. Roman went through twenty five minutes of pure terror, not knowing where Caleb was.

You would think that after Caleb went out in the cold without shoes or shirt on, that he would have thought: "It's cold, maybe I should go back home." Nope. He had to keep going, all the way to the church building. The hispanic boy, that looked homeless, was my Caleb. My pig headed son.

I went back to the church to give Rosemary her coat back. Tatyana was still there too, in class. When we went back home, the kitchen door that opened to the garage was locked. I think Roman learned his lesson.

One day we'll be able to look back and laugh... We're not at that point yet.

Christmas Day

2008-12-28T09:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve

2008-12-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

We usually spend Christmas eve at my parent's house, but this year, I felt like it was our turn to prepare dinner and have them come to our home.
My mother in law and my sister in law also spent Christmas eve and Christmas day with us. It was really fun!

My Beautiful Family

2008-12-28T09:14:00.000-08:00

Let It Snow

2008-12-28T09:06:00.000-08:00

I'm not a big fan of snow or cold... I'm from Brasil. But the kids love it. I' so glad I can send them out with Roman and hand him the camera...

I forgot how funny Alyssa's snow suit (that belonged to Tatyana) was... She looked like a pink marshmallow. It made her look so big...

Is it underwear or shorts?

2008-12-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

Caleb is very stubborn... If he makes up his mind about something, it's really hard to convince him that he's wrong.

Ballet

2008-12-14T18:39:00.000-08:00

The same day that we had the capoeira batizado, Tatyana also had her Ballet performance at the mall. We left the Batizado at 3:30 pm; Ballet was going to start at 4 pm. We were a little late, but since Tatyana's age group was the 5th group to perform, everything worked out perfectly!

I just love Capoeira!

2008-12-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

So Tatyana had another Batizado, which is just a ceremony to change cords. It's very exciting when they do this kind of event because they bring different professors and masters from all over the place. Some of them were from Florida! It's almost like a dance, so controlled and so beautiful to watch.
Sometimes they will have Capoeira performances like this in malls or during the Brazilian Festival, but it's always so crowded that you are really not able to enjoy the Roda. Batizados are more private, just for the capoeira students and their families and friends. It's awesome!
I can get a little too obsessed about it... I invited my friend Katie and her daughter Haley to come and watch with us. It was very long and it was really hot in that room. I'm sorry Katie... You endured really well the almost 2 hours of Capoeira in that too small of a room for too many people. Of course I was okay... I couldn't stop watching it.
I can't wait for the next one!

Our Trip to Idaho Falls

2008-12-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

We left Thursday morning, at 6 am. That's the best time to travel with kids... I know I have already said that, but it's so wonderful when they fall right back asleep in the car... I just had to share one more time.
It was a short trip, but really fun. I took the time to read the Twilight book, and I loved it. It is much better than the movie, but I still love the movie. I know... How old am I again??
We pretty much spent the whole time with family... Here are some of the pictures:

Doesn't my mother in law look great??

Roman wrestling with the kids. Kenzi, the one little girl with white blond hair was really afraid of Roman, but every time she realized that there was a bunch of kids on top of him and she wasn't the center of attention, she would run and jump on him too. It was fun to watch her!

Alyssa so tired... Fell asleep on the floor.

My sister in law, Breanne, with Caleb and Tatyana.

Fall

2008-11-26T15:26:00.000-08:00

Girls Night Out III

2008-11-26T15:07:00.000-08:00

Birthday Girls

I really had a great time with the girls... We celebrated two birthdays, Cecilia's and Juliana's, at Olive Garden. After dinner, we went to the opening night of Twilight. I didn't read the books, but after watching the movie I definitely want to read them.
I'm excited not only because I had a great time, but also because I found out that I'm not the only romantic fool over 30. The feedback that I got from most of the women that I talked to is that they are completely obsessed about the books and the movie. My friends are already talking about the next movie that will come out next year in December...
My friend Kim has watched the movie twice and has already started to read the books again... She says she just can't get over it. She was telling me that, on a notebook, her husband, to mess with her, wrote: Kim + Edward and draw a heart.
If you like girl movies you should watch Twilight... But don't take your husband with you, go with one of your girlfriends, you'll see how much fun you'll have!

Halloween Pictures

2008-11-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

We celebrate Carnaval in Rio for five days. It's one of the longest holidays/parties that I have ever seen or heard of. However I realize that Halloween is becoming the longest and most time consuming parties for our family. This year it started the Friday before Halloween and ended on Halloween, that was also on a Friday. Yes... One of the longest weeks of my life... Dressing them up, painting Tatyana's face, volunteering in school, buying and making treats... It was definitely a challenge... I'm just glad it's over!

Alyssa during our ward Halloween Party.

Caleb and Karter in our ward Halloween party.

Isabella and Tatyana during the Brazilian ward Halloween party.

More Halloween Pictures

2008-11-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

Tatyana in her Ballet Halloween party.

Caleb in his preschool Halloween party.

And then Tatyana's capoeira Halloween party.

More Halloween Pictures

2008-11-02T19:33:00.000-08:00

Tatyana during the school Halloween parade. Miley Daw is right behind her.

Tatyana's class after the parade.

Roman and Tatyana carving pumpkins. (They didn't just draw on them.)

And More Halloween Pictures

2008-11-02T19:30:00.000-08:00

Alyssa, Tatyana, Karter and Caleb.

Sadie and Tatyana.

Finally In Nursery

2008-11-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Yes... She is in nursery!

Family Fun

2008-11-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

It was great to have my brother in law, Nate, and his wife, Julie, and kids, Nikosha, Katelyn, Kenzi and Kyler over. They live in Idaho Falls, so it's always really exciting when they stay at our house. So many kids together...

They were here for our ward Halloween Party... They never get to see each other during Halloween, so they loved dressing up and going to the party together.

Fire Station Field Trip

2008-11-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of pictures of Caleb's preschool field trip to the Fire Station.

Earth 911

2008-11-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

We just have to do our part!

Plastic Bags

*Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year, which is equal to 12,000,000 barrels of oil (The Wall Street Journal).
*Californians use over 19 billion plastic bags each year - this is enough to stretch around the globe over 250 times!
*Less than 1 percent (1 bag in 100) are recycled.

Below is a list of most items that you and your parents can recycle:

Glass jars or bottles, but no window panes or frame glass
Aluminum and tin cans

Plastic containers with the recycling symbol 1 or 2 (remove tops or caps from plastic bottles like water bottles)

Paper products (magazines, printed paper, junk mail, newspapers, milk cartons [non-plastic]), but no paper contaminated with food, no shiny paper products like glossy magazines, or no tissues or toilet paper (tissues and toilet paper can be composted!).
If you must use plastic bags, bring them back to the store if they have a recycling bin. Do not throw them in the garbage or recycling bin. They will most likely end up in a landfill.

REMEMBER THAT PLASTIC COMES FROM A NON-SUSTAINABLE PETROLEUM PRODUCT AND DOES NOT BIODEGRADE IN THE ENVIRONMENT. IT JUST BREAKS DOWN INTO SMALLER AND SMALLER PARTICLES WHICH ARE EATEN BY ORGANISMS IN THE OCEANS.

MOMS AND DADS, KIDS....ARE YOU SICK OF PLASTICS IN OUR ENVIRONMENT? DO YOU WANT TO MAKE A CHANGE TO THE WAY OUR FOOD AND CONSUMER GOODS ARE PACKAGED?

NOT The Brave One

2008-10-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

We were finally able to pull Tatyana's first top tooth out... It took forever, she was so afraid that it was going to hurt. She cried and cried, but we did it. And, as you can see, she was pretty happy afterwards.

One Week in My Life With Caleb

2008-10-16T06:45:00.000-07:00

Life with Caleb is never boring...

Sunday

I'm talking on the phone with a friend and doing the dishes at the same time. I know that Caleb and Alyssa are playing by the pantry, I can hear them, but I'm not really looking. As I turn around, I see that the floor is completely covered with maple syrup. Caleb has the bottle in his hands and Alyssa is standing in the middle of the puddle of syrup. He poured it on Alyssa's head too.
I had to wipe the floor at least three times to get all of it off of the floor. The picture does not make justice to the actual mess.
Oh!! And I almost forgot... Roman put Caleb in the shower downstairs and while we were cleaning up and taking care of Alyssa, he poured two bottles of shampoo down the drain. Joy...

Monday

Caleb has been in trouble a few times at the gym's daycare. I used to get really upset and argue with some of the girls... I just thought that there were too many children and they were not really paying attention to them.
I've been taking Caleb and Alyssa to the gym right after lunch. The daycare at this time is usually pretty empty. Once I started doing that, things got a lot better... And the girl that stays in the afternoon is so nice and sweet... She is very patient with kids in general, so I was pretty happy.
However, this Monday, Caleb had his first incident for the first time after I started taking him in the afternoon. He bit a little girl. At this point, I don't argue anymore, I just sign the paper, apologize and say: "Is the little girl okay?" And then move on, hoping that, after I talk to him he won't do that again.

Tuesday

This is a good one... I was working out and the very nice girl from the daycare comes to get me. Her words were: "Well... Your son went to the bathroom, took his shirt off, stuck it in the toilet and it seems that he wiped it all over the bathroom walls." My reaction: "What??" She smiled (because she is very nice) and said: "It's okay, don't worry about the bathroom, I just need him to have something on, you can use one of the dress up clothes until you're done with your workout."
I was pretty mad... I asked him: "Why did you do that?", and he said: "I wanted to go potty in the toilet." So you take your shirt off and put it in the toiled, and wipe it all over the walls???
I'm still trying to figure this one out.

Wednesday

Poor people from the daycare... I need to get them something or maybe bake some cookies for them.
Caleb, one more time, got in trouble. He pushed Alyssa down the little slide that they have there. You would think that after all that has happened he wouldn't do that anymore... I had to sign another paper, but it didn't count as a penalty for his records because Alyssa is his sister. Lucky me!!

I'll report on the next days if anything else happens. I'm also thinking about writing down how much money he costs us... like all the decoration and furniture that he has ruined and, since he broke Alyssa's arm, I think I should include her doctor bills too.

Someone said that kids that are very active and are always in trouble are very intelligent. The reason why they get in trouble so often is because they are bored so they do these things to get your attention. I just have one thing to say about that: He better turn out to be a flipping genius!

P.S.: I would like to dedicate this post to Tessa and Kurt Edwards. Tessa gave me the idea to write all this stuff down and Kurt said he wants a boy just like Caleb. Be careful with what you wish for...

How can anyone sleep like this?

2008-10-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that?

Poor Alyssa...

2008-10-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

So after that horrible day that she had to go to the pediatrician, then to the hospital and then to the orthopedic clinic, having each of the doctors and technicians torturing her, moving her broken elbow and arm all around, guess what? She had to do it again... We had to go back to the clinic to get new x-rays and have a cast put on her arm. She is traumatized... She starts crying when she sees any of the doctors, nurses or technicians getting close to her arm. I don't blame her...

Another Field Trip

2008-10-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

I know... I'm crazy... I volunteered for another field trip, but this time it was for Tatyana's school. I took Caleb and Alyssa with me and I had Tatyana, Harley, Kaley and Miley to watch. I always want to volunteer because I want to be there for my kids, however, when I am actually there, I always ask myself: "Why do I keep doing this to myself?" or "What was I thinking?" I guess I keep hoping that it will get better, that they will behave and I will have a good time... Nope! The completely opposite happens... I'm miserable and angry with my kids, and they are out of control.

Although, I have to admit that today was a tiny little bit better than the past ones. See... I'm a hopeless dreamer... I'll see you all on the next field trip...

Girls Night Out II

2008-10-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

We had another girls night out! I think it's official now, it's an every month event. I'm excited about it... I didn't have much of a social life before... It's been great and the girls are really fun...

First Serious Injury

2008-10-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

My poor baby... Tuesday night she broke her elbow. Caleb pushed her from a chair. Well... we didn't really see what happened because we were downstairs and they were in our bedroom. Caleb was playing on the computer and Alyssa was bugging him. I've seen her climbing up the chair while he's playing, so we assumed that that's what happened. We found her screaming, laying on the floor, not moving. The only thing that Caleb could say on his defense was: "Alyssa was pushing buttons", meaning she was messing with the keyboard while he was playing...
After talking to him for a long time, he finally admitted that what he did was wrong and he told Alyssa he was sorry... I'm not too convinced, we'll see how he'll do next few days...

I miss you

2008-10-05T18:59:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for everything you've done for us. It was a privilege to have you in our lives. We love you and we miss you...

My Birthday

2008-10-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, it was my birthday... With my grandma sick in the hospital in Brasil, there wasn't too many reasons to celebrate... At least, that's how I felt. Roman tried to cheer me up. He got cake, ice cream, candles, gifts and told Tatyana to keep it as a secret... That was very sweet of him and I really appreciate it. I couldn't' ask for anything more...

Caleb's Field Trip

2008-10-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

As you can see, it was a lot of fun for Caleb, and not so much fun for me... It was a long field trip, and Caleb was having too much fun. It was hard to keep up with him and get him out of every toy...

Forgive us, we really didn't know

2008-09-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

So we had a girls night out last night. We watched MAMA MIA and went for ice cream after. I totally forgot how loud we Brazilians can be when we get together. I hope we didn't disturb too much the people that were around us...

I used to be very conscious about my English. Well... I still am, but after last night, I started feeling pretty good. I'm not trying to say that my English is so much better than everybody else's, although it sounds like it. I just realized that we all make mistakes, and that it's okay to laugh about it. We talked about some of the things that we try to say in English, but it comes out with a completely different meaning of what we really want to say. I'll start out with some of the examples that were given last night:

1 - One of the girls were saying that she was talking to someone about bathroom decoration, and she was trying to say that her husband likes those hooks that you use to hang your shower curtains. Instead she said: "Oh yeah... my husband loves hookers in the shower." (I hope this is not offensive to anyone.)

2 - We also talked about some words that we shouldn't try to say at all because eventually, when you're trying to say something fast, they will come out sounding like something else. Like the word beach, or sheet. My friend said that one time when her mother-in-law was over, she was making the bed for her and she said: "I already got all your sh... ready for you." She said that her mother-in-law's stare was pretty strange, and that she just realized what she said after her husband told her.

3 - This example is in Spanish and I hope I can explain that well enough... My friend worked in this place in Idaho where 75% of people spoke Spanish. That can be really tricky, because Spanish is very similar to Portuguese, but a lot of words that sound the same have completely different meanings to them. She said that she was telling everybody at her work this: "Mi esposo me pega todos os dias." In Portuguese that means that her husband picks her up from work everyday. In Spanish that means that he beats her everyday. And she kept telling everybody that she needed to learn how to drive so that her husband didn't come to pick her up anymore. People kept asking her why did he do that to her and her answer was: "Ele es un esposo mui bueno" - translation: He is a good husband. After a long time someone decided to ask her if she really knew what that meant and explained that the word "pega" has a different meaning in Spanish. The worse part was that her husband worked in the same company that she did.

So next time I make a mistake, it's okay to laugh. That's all we did last night. I'll laugh with, I promise. And if we, immigrants in general, ever say anything that sounds offensive to anyone, please forgive us, because we really don't know what we're saying.

Quindins de Iaia

2008-09-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

I know... It's taking me forever to give away my recipe... I just have a really hard time translating recipes. The wait is over, I'm finally doing it.

100 grams sweetened and flaked coconut
1 cup sugar
6 yokes
2 eggs
1 T margerine

You'll need a little bit more of sugar and margerine to grease the tray.

Preheat oven 350 F.
Mix well coconut, sugar, margerine, yokes and eggs. You can use a mini muffin baking tray or a regular muffin size one. Grease using margerine first and then sprinkle sugar over it. Spoon the dough in the muffin tray.
To bake the quindim you're going to need boiled water. The water goes in a glass dish. After pouring the water in the dish, put the muffing tray in it also. You don't want to put too much water in it because it will get in the quindim mix. You need just enough to cover half of the bottom of the muffing tray (if that makes any sense).
Bake it for 30-35 min or until it's starting to get golden brown (not too brown). Let it cool (I usually put in the refrigerator).
Makes 21 mini-muffin size quindim.

Toca Berimbau

2008-09-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

One of the coolest thing about Capoeira is the berimbau, one of the musical instruments that they learn to play. Tatyana loves playing the berimbau... Well she doesn't know how to play it very well yet. She will also learn to play the atabaque and the pandeiro (kind of like drums and tamborim). It's too much fun!

The Latest

2008-09-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

Tatyana is a great reader. Last night, Roman was reading a financial guide type of book, and Tatyana decided she wanted to read with her dad. She did really well, but of course some of the words were pretty hard. Roman helped her to read the word "semi-privatization", and he asked her: "Do you know what that means?". She said: "It's when you're having private time at your own home." We don't really know what she meant by private time, but we both thought that was pretty funny.

Caleb after biting into a chicken bone: "I want a band aid on my teeth."

Yes!!!!

2008-09-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! Yesterday was Caleb's first day in preschool! Twice a week, for 2 hours, it'll be pure heaven! Don't get me wrong, I love my Caleb, but he's definitely a busy boy. He makes every little task very difficult, especially when we go out in public...

Carter and Mari are also in his morning class... I think that made it easier for him... He didn't cry at all! And I was all smiles...

The Brazilian Festival

2008-08-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

They had the brazilian festival at the Gateway this year. We were invited to participate in a parade. It was pretty fun!

I'm so mad!!

2008-08-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

Everyday, I've been sending a piece of candy as a treat in Tatyana's lunch box. A couple of days ago she said she didn't want to take M&Ms because there was a bigger boy that helps to clean the school lunch tables that was always asking for some of her M&Ms, and he would eat almost all of them. So yesterday I told her "Just say no!", and I gave her a kitkat. At first, when she came home from school, she didn't say anything, but when she saw me giving a piece of candy to Caleb she decided to tell me what happened. She said that after telling the boy that she wasn't going to give him her candy, he took it from her, ate it, and gave her the garbage back.

I'm so mad!! I called the school and talked to someone in the office, but it seems that they didn't care much... She told me that next time this happens, Tatyana needs to talk to Mrs. Ashley, that is responsible for the school lunch classes that come to help clean the school tables. She said every week is a different class, so this boy shouldn't bother Tatyana anymore.

But still... This is wrong! A bullie is taking Tatyana's treats in school and there is nothing I can do about it! She says she doesn't want to take candy anymore, but I think that she shouldn't be afraid of this boy. I told her: "Next time you make a big scene, yell at him, push him, and tell him in a very loud voice that you won't give him your candy". Roman told her: "Just punch him on his nose, I'm sure he'll be hurting... and then go tell an adult."

What do you think we or she should do?

Brutally Honest

2008-08-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

Isn't' it funny how kids are brutally honest? I was talking to Roman about weight loss and how much I've lost since I had Alyssa. Tatyana said: "It's weird that you lost all that weight but you still look the same."

We survived!!

2008-08-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

We survived first day of school! Or should I say I survived? I'm starting to feel a little better. I still miss her, she's my good kid... The other two are a lot harder... But I didn't cry at all, which was surprising to me. I kinda had an anxiety mixed with excitement feeling.

For now, she is taking lunch from home, and I'm a little more creative than I thought I would be. I'm going to wait until the school menu comes out to see if she'll eat anything from it. We'll see how it goes...

Fun Stuff

2008-08-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Classic Skating in Orem last Saturday for a birthday party, and it was so much fun!! The kids loved it! I saw some adults going around and I thought "I can do that". Went and got me a pair of skates. It wasn't as easy as it looked. It took me a good 10 minutes to remember how to skate. But I recommend to everyone... And to those that have little babies, you can take your stroller and push them around.

Ahoy There Matey!

2008-08-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

Alyssa is so funny!! She has the cutest personality, and I love it!!! She keeps following Caleb around even knowing that he will probably going to beat her up. She will jump on our laps and start blowing on our arms or cheeks. She climbs on everything and it seems that she's the one that is having the most fun always. Not a girly girl like Tatyana, definitely.

My friends

2008-08-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

These are two of my friends from Brasil,Tatiana and Fernanda. We've known each other since I was 16 years old, when I started to learn about the church. It's a blessing to be able to visit with them every once in a while and talk about things that we used to do together when we were younger. I'm just very thankful that we are able to still be friends after so many years and being so far away from home.

It's a Girl Thing

2008-08-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Alyssa is completely obsessed with shoes. If she finds them, she will try to put them on. I don't remember Caleb doing that at all when he was her age, but I do have pictures of Tatyana doing the exact same thing that Alyssa does now. I guess shoes are in fact a girl's thing.

Back to School

2008-08-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I'm the only one, but I'm really having a hard time with Tatyana going to 1st Grade. She'll be gone all day and I'm so worried about her lunch and how she'll handle being gone for such a long time...

Should I make her take lunch or just have her eat the school lunch meals? If she takes lunch to school, what should she take? She will end up eating the same thing everyday! If she eats the school lunch, she will not eat at all depending on what they will be serving... she's too picky.

While I'm struggling to adjust with her new schedule, she is super excited about being in 1st Grade. She's been counting the days...

I know she'll be fine... But my heart aches when I think of all the new challenges that she will have: mean girls, self esteem, bullies, pressure to look or to act a certain way. It's definitely a new chapter in her life... I know I am overreacting, but I can't help it! She is my baby!

But there is one thing that comes to my mind that brings me a little bit of peace. On Tatyana's first doctor visit when she was just a newborn, she was getting her first shots. After seeing my teary eyes, one of the nurses said: "It's harder on the moms than it's on them." That's what I'm hoping for...

2008-08-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

This is pretty fun! If you click on the question "Which Disney Princess Are You?" and go through their questionnaire you'll find out what kind of princess you are... You should try it!

You Are Mulan!

Strong and spirited. You're no one's girly girl; actually you are very determined person with a strong sense of self. Never let go of that! The only thing that equals your sense of self is your family, but the traditions of society can always be bent to protect something or someone you love.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Memory Game

2008-08-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember.

2. Next, re post these instructions on you blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. it's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

I'm It

2008-08-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

Katie tagged me... I'm not very good about sharing things about me. If you noticed, my blog is all about my kids, but I'll try...

The Rules: List three joys, three fears, three current obsessions/collections, and three surprising facts, and then tag five other people. Leave a comment for the people you tag so that they realize they have been tagged.

Three Joys:

1 - One of my favorite things to do in these summer days is to go to our front yard with Roman, after the kids are in bed, and talk to him. There's no TV, no kids crying, no phone ringing, just us, and the flowers. We talk about everything: plans, work, foods, the yard, our families, the news... It's very relaxing and fun.

2 - I love when my kids come to me and give me hugs and kisses. It really makes me smile when I'm not feeling that great. Caleb is really good at it... Roman says that he knows how to play me. When I'm upset about something that he did he will say: "Caleb is sorry", and then hugs me. Yeah, I'm a sucker...

3 - I love summer... I don't care how hot it is, it reminds me of home. I just wish we had the white sand and the clear water from the beaches in Rio de Janeiro.

Three Fears:

1 - I am obsessed about my kids safety... I need to know where they are at all times and I don't let them play outside very often. I'm trying to not watch the news anymore, because that just makes me more paranoid. At night, I lock all my doors (including the door that goes from my garage to my kitchen)and all my windows. Now that Tatyana sleeps downstairs, I get way too worried. I usually get up once or twice during the night to check on her. I know... I'm crazy...

2 - I am afraid that I am not enjoying my kids enough because I'm so worried about what I need to get done... Everyday I have a list of things that I want to do and I forget to spend more quality time with the kids, like reading books to them or just playing. I'm trying to get better, but it's really something that I need to work on.

3 - I think about the future all the time... We make financial plans for retirement and investments, but I am afraid that if, for any reason, I have to support our family, it would be very difficult if not impossible to maintain the life style that we have. I went to Law School in Brasil, but that doesn't really help me here... That's why Roman and I always talk about me going back to school. We don't know if that will ever happen...

Three current obsessions:

1 - I am completely obsessed about my pictures. I take a number of pictures with my digital camera (about 60), I pick the ones that I want to develop and once they are developed I separate them. I have a box for family and Tatyana's pictures, and another one for Caleb's and Alyssa's pictures. They are in order from the oldest to the most recent and I always write down the events and the dates on the back of them. I assume that by the time I actually get to scrapbook them I won't remember exactly the date or interesting things that might have happened.

2 - I love working out. It's my one hour and a half that I have for myself, with no one to interrupt me. Well... the day care at the gym will page me every once in a while, but it's not very often. I have my workouts organized in a folder with different exercises everyday. I research new exercises all the time... I always tell myself "The clock is ticking, it will only get harder to loose the weight as I get older", but that does not keep me away from the breads and the cookies...

3 - I never go to the grocery store unless I have a list and I really need to. I avoid to go most of all because of the kids. I also like to know what I'm going to be cooking during the next few days. I only buy my meat on sale. I always have tons of coupons... Yes, I am obsessed about not spending a tone of money at the grocery store... I really put a lot of thought into it.

Three surprising facts:

1 - I love to have my bathrooms clean, it makes me feel like the rest of the house is clean, even when it's not.

2 - I don't really like to cook. There are somethings that only sometimes I like to make. I think it's time consuming and a lot of times the kids won't eat what I make, so I have to make something else... It's frustrating...

3 - As I mentioned before, I finished Law School in Brasil. However, I don't consider myself a lawyer, since it's been almost 9 years that I have graduated and I haven't really worked as a lawyer. I know I don't sound smart but I speak and write much better in Portuguese than in English. For any of you that read my blog, I apologize for my spelling and grammar.

Now, I'm going to tag: Julie Loftus, Amanda McCarty, Lindsay Konold, Kristi (Julie's sister), and Amanda Davis.

A Fashion Issue

2008-08-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

Tatyana has been asking me since the beginning of this week to get her ears pierced. I told her we had to wait until today, Saturday. She's been counting the days since Tuesday and today was finally the day. She told her dad this morning: "I'm finally getting some fashion up here", pointing to her ears.
We took her to the mall and she wasn't afraid at all. I thought she was going to cry, but she was fine... They didn't even do both ears at the same time like I thought they would. Tatyana's friend, Haley, told her that if she held her breath while they were piercing her ears, it wouldn't hurt. That is why she is making funny faces on the pictures. What Tatyana had to say after all: "It didn't really work holding my breath, but it didn't hurt that much".

Pioneer Day

2008-07-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

It was Pioneer Day! You know what that means: lots of fireworks! It seems like every 4th of July we are out of town and we are not able to do our own fireworks, so Roman really looks forward to this day every year. He says it's for the kids, but half way through it the kids go play and he keeps on going, with a smile on his face. I don't understand why every boy and man likes to play with fire...
Alyssa loved the fireworks, I thought she would be scared but she was scaring us, running towards the exploding firework all the time. She is a funny girl.

Good Friends

2008-07-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

Karter and Caleb were having a great time! These are great pictures of the two of them.