Performance at Latin Festival

Chris and I were asked to perform at the Main Street Latin Festival today. When we were first asked we were really excited. It's been about 4 years since we have performed on stage together so we were anxious to see what we could come up with. But the excitement quickly turned to fear at the the first practice for several reason. For one, our practices consisted of 2 kids running in the middle of the rehearsal or we would have to wait until they went to bed, which meant around 9 pm...and at age 30, we are ready to drop into our beds by that time. So we had a really rough time putting this together. Another thing was the prego thing....with the first 2 kiddos, I was able to dance, teach and perform (tricks and all) until my 7 month. That is not the case this time. I'm only 3 months, but I feel like I'm 5! Any trick that I had thought of in my head quickly went out the window within the first try. My belly felt odd and stretched in a weird way. I didn't want to chance anything so we ended up playing it safe, meaning having to do a not so exciting routine. Then, to top it all off, WE ARE 30! We do not go out and dance the way we used to. Our endurance is not there so we were huffing and puffing before we even hit the middle of the routine! So frustrating. Needless to say, it's been a long month of practicing, but we managed to put something together. Here's the ending result. We posted this for those of you that have been asking to see us dance. Like I've already said, it's nowhere near what it could have been if I wasn't prego, but we are just happy we didn't pass out by the end!

Coupons= Tons of Savings & Food Storage!!!

We had a wonderful Enrichment Meeting this month. The main topic was The Basics of Family Finances. It was taken directly from the pamphlet that was put out by The First Presidency. Most of what was taught was something Chris and I have implimented in our family for years now. But the one thing I loved about that night was the lesson from my good friend, Jennifer Watts. She taught us how to use coupons and save 100's of dollars in one shopping trip. It was almost hard to believe until she proved it to us at Enrichment. She had a whole table of things that she bought on one trip to the store. Her receipt showed that she paid about $30 for all of the items and SAVED $150! I about freaked out. Then there was our other friend that had just done the same the day before. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This is unreal.

Now, I honestly never saw myself as a couponer...but with the way the economy is going, no one can afford to waste money right now. So I listened intently. She handed out a cheat sheet on the best ways to save the most money, etc. So my friend Monica and I jumped in and started right away. I must say, it's a bit overwhelming at first, still is actually. But it's great to see the savings on my receipt. I saved $50 last week, couldn't have done better but haven't really got the hang of it yet. But the way I see it, even if it's $50 a week, that's $200 a month that we will have in our pocket. I'm soooo- excited! And another great thing that I've started doing is buying the Buy 1 Get 1 free items, putting one in the pantry and the other in food storage. What an easy way to stock up without having to pay for extra food! AH! It's so fun! Thank you Jenn for teaching us how to save. And thank you Monica for making it so fun to coupon!

If any of you want the websites to use for couponing let me know and I'll post them. It's great to know I am doing my part to save money and build our food storage.

Lil' Christopher's School picture

Lil' Chris brought home a picture from school yesterday. He was so proud of it. In front it he had drawn our home and our heads popping out of the windows. This picture is the inside, second page. It doesn't look like much to the naked eye, but because I know our family so well it spoke volumes to me. I had him explain it to me, just in case I misunderstood. He was so excited to tell me every detail...

He said he drew Daddy first, the big man. He has spikes all over him cuz he says daddy scratches him with his hugs, (meaning the way his face feels unshaved. His uniform also itches his because of all the velcro)

Then there's MiaLuz, he made sure to put the chongito that she always has on top of her head. Pretty big chongo huh!?! lol He said she needs to have alot of clothes on to stay warm, hence to body full of marker.

Then he said he drew Mommy, the diamond to my right is my purse with the snacks for church. Then he made sure to draw a big nest on top of my head, which represents how my hair looks everyday at home, pulled up and out of my way, looking as bad as the picture! lol

Then he said he drew himself last, He said he drew himself small because he is a big boy, not a big man, so he had to be smaller than Daddy! He also gave himself spikey hair, to resemble the way I do his hair for school and church.

Maybe it's just me being the Mommy, but I think this boy is super observant for his age! It just goes to show, they know and see more than you think! Such a smart boy!

MiaLuz's first pair of heals!

Mia LOVES heals, any pretty shoes actually, but especially HEALS! She is always pulling my dance shoes out of the closet and trying to walk around in them. Her foot is so tiny that it slips all the way through the front, making her foot completely flat on the floor! Whenever we go to our friends houses she always puts on their little dress up heals. I have tried buying her little shiny tinkerbell slippers or something to keep away from the heal thing (I know it's not good for their little feet, heals at such a young age...) but she wants nothing to do with them. She takes them off immediately. So I finally gave in. I bought her some plain blue ones that I was going to dress up with some jewels that I have since they were out of pink ones. But when she started modeling them I hated that the heal was so high. I just freaks me out! So I finally found some other ones that are alot lower, nowhere near her size, but at least her foot isn't so arched! Here are the pictures of her modeling them for me. I still get anxious seeing her walk around in them so I only let her do it for a short time and then hide them for the rest of the day! Yes, mommy is crazy!!!Her first pair. There she is modeling in front of the mirror. She kept saying, "Pretty shoes!"

Anytime you ask to see her shoes she will pick up her foot and say, "See! See!"

And here are the new and improved heals!

Check out how big they are!

Modeling again!
She is such a girly girl...and I LOVE IT!!!

*** Notice the pacifier? Yup, it's back! We had gotten her used to only having it at night. But the past month she has been teething, BAD! She has been breaking in 5 teeth all at once. She refuses teethers, does not want ice or anything like that. She just wants her paci to ease the pain. It took a while for me to give in but she was so uncomfortable that I couldn't stand to see her whole fist in her mouth, whining cuz of the discomfort. So yes, I gave it. We will just have to wait a bit longer to get rid of the old habit. The good thing is that she only uses it at home. I have her put it in her crib before we leave the house. So I guess that's a step forward, right? ***

Picture Perfect Memories!

Lately, the kids have really enjoyed sitting down together and playing, more than the usual that is. Whether it's just sitting close, side by side, and watching Dora or Diego, or coloring at the table, they have played so well together. I know alot of it has to do with Chris being gone half of the day. MiaLuz really misses him and constantly asks, "Where's FoFer?" (that's how she says Christopher) Her face lights up the minute we walk into his classroom to pick him up. I walked into the room today to see this cute little picture and had to snap it for the memory. These moments are few and far between so it's always a plus to have the camera out and ready!

GO LONGHORNS!!!

TEXAS LONGHORNS 41

WYOMING COWBOYS 10

That's just pathetic!!!

Myrtle Beach!

This weekend we headed to Myrtle Beach. The Army gave an all inclusive trip to any and every soldier that wanted to attend a Marriage Retreat. The trip was from Friday until Sunday evening, but we came back late Saturday evening to make it to church Sunday. We had a great time. The marriage seminars were nice and Chris and I found out that we knew much more about each other and our Love Language than we thought. We spent the afternoon at the beach and being tourists. I do wish we had more time there. It was so nice to be able to just have 'family time' with no interruptions. We will definitely be planning another vacation there soon. This was the underground pathway to cross the street. Great idea since there were nothing but crazy drivers on the road! It was one of the kids favorite spots.

The strip!

The view from our hotel room...Mia's was on that balcony every chance she could get!

For Johnny

Okay, this blog is for Uncle Johnny. When Noemi and Mom came to visit we sang one of our favorite songs that Johnny wrote, Look To The Heavens And Live. It has special meaning to all of us and I knew the only way it was going to ever be sung was at this time. We sang it without the piano. We were very worried on how it would sound, worked really hard on making sure the verses didn't drag or slow down...and made sure we hit all the points that Johnny would have done to make it sound the way he would have wanted. It took alot of work; without the piano it's much harder, but it's something I really wanted to do . We were nervous, especially since I have NEVER been able to perform the song without breaking down during the last verse. Noemi has always covered for me at that point, but with no piano or no Valerie Morlett to fill the spots, there would be no room for error. Noemi and I had a long talk about the meaning that this song had for each of us...then we brainstormed on what we could do to get through it without crying...as Johnny says, "They don't come to hear you cry, they come to hear you sing!" Long story short, we said a prayer right before sacrament and although we were literally shaking in our shoes, we nailed it! I don't think we had done that good in any of our practices! The spirit was so strong and everyone was in tears! (That's how we determine whether we did good, the tears from the congregation!) This was the second song of Johnny's that we have sung at our ward and the members are just in awe of how talented he is, as a composer that is...they have yet to hear his piano skills!!! Anyhoo, we had intented to record a clean performance for Johnny and never got around to doing it. So I Youtubed one of our practice runs...now let me explain....
This is not a good run by any means...not anywhere close to what the ending result was but I want Johnny to hear it anways, and try to imagine how good it really was 4 days later. I also wanted him to hear it with Chris singing. (Chris, by the way, is really worried on how Johnny is going to like it since he has never heard him sing!) Okay, I'll be quiet already! Here is the link, let me know what you think...but only if it's good feedback! : ) (Tif, tell Johnny about this blog. I'm not sure how much he checks it! Thx)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYnySxkc12w