"Happily Ever After"

Back 2 School

2011-08-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

Today was the girls 1st day back to school... Mataya was anxious to get back and see all her friends. She was especially excited that her "BFF" Lizette would be sitting just 1 desk away from her! Special thanks to Mrs. Tucker (Taya's teacher from last year) for arranging that pleasant surprise! Miss. Mia was her typical self... You know, "too cool for school". She took her dear time getting ready and was in absolutely no rush what so ever! Mataya tried her best not to panic at the thought of arriving to school late! Sheesh! Well Mom worked her magic and got everyone to school on time and even made time to snap some pictures of course!

"Beach Bliss"

2011-07-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Cali (Coronado Island & Del Mar) was WONDERFUL! The weather was AWESOME, the sound of the waves were RELAXING and I couldn't have imagined a more perfect weekend getaway. The girls spent there time building sandcastles, collecting sea shells and boogie boarding! Oscar did all the above plus some fishing and exploring of course. I did what I love most... Take pictures! I also enjoyed reading under my umbrella while listening to the sound of the waves. On our last day I was truly sad to have to say good bye... Here are some of my favorite pictures...

I love this shot of the girls!

We were very proud of the sandcastle we built together!

We were amazed at the sand sculptures we came across... Check out this shark!

Have you ever heard of "beach squirrels"? This little guy was so cute... at first! Then "they" got to really freak me out when he and all his buddies kept sneaking up on me! They were after my sunflower seeds and not a bit shy!

That's Oscar encouraging them to get closer... Err... I mean Oscar "The Squirrel whisper"!

I was glad to have my camera near when out of nowhere a flock of birds flew by!

No words... This picture speaks for its self...

What's more beautiful then watching a sunset into the ocean?

Off to the beach....

2011-07-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

It has been 15 months since our last visit to the west coast... (That's a long time for us!) We are all super excited! So excited that we are considering leaving a day earlier... tomorrow! So with that being said... I gots to go get packing!

Greeters Dinner

2011-07-10T20:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday evening Sis. Vanessa & Sis. Joanne hosted a dinner for all the church greeters. The food was delicious and the fellowship was sweet. I espesially loved all the extra touches they put into making everything so personable. Like the name settings tied around twinkies and placed on top of fabric tissue holders hand sewn by Sis. V. She sewed each one keeping in mind each greeters favorite color scheme. Here as some picts of our evening...

9th year Anniversary

2011-07-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, July 4th marked 9 years of marriage for Oscar and I. We celebrated on Saturday with a "Stay-cation" at the Hilton in Scottsdale. We started our day out with a little shopping and found some great bargains at our favorite consignment shops. Oscar took me on a ritzy home tour and even showed me one of the houses he helped remodel. Then we were off to our favorite pizza place... Grimaldis! Mmm Mmm good! After lunch we got the BEST massages! This was Oscar's first time getting a massage and I think he may be hooked! We agreed that if we were billionaires we'd definitely have our own personal masseuse! Later we went back to the hotel for a dip in the pool to help cool us down from the AZ heat. Our evening ended after a 3 hour action packed movie... Transformers! So romantic huh! lol! Our day was filled with fun but the best part of it all was just being able to spend it with my best friend.... Te amo mucho Oscar...

Embarrassing moments

2011-06-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

I'm determined to not let June pass me by without a single post... So with that being said I'm going to get real personal and share an embarrassing moment or 2... One of my 1st embarrassing moments was way back in my elementary school days... Alisha and I always hung out during recess time and I remember thinking how cool she always looked in her jean "jordache" skirts. So the next time my parents dragged me thrift store shopping I had them buy me my 1st jean skirt. I wore it proudly the next day to school and when recess time came we were off to the swings! We would swing in the air and jump as far as we could to see who could go the farthest. I'm not sure how it all went down but I remember being up real high in the air...jumping out of my swing...then a LOUD ripping sound... I remember landing and looking down only to see my skirt no longer attached to my body!!! Not only was I humiliated but my cool new skirt was ruined! My loyal friend walked with me side by side helping me stay covered till I got to my refuge.. A.K.A. "my moms classroom."

Good stuff huh! Oh, but the fun does not end there...

So yesterday after work I came home to an empty house. My mom had the girls and Oscar's parents who've been staying with us were out running errands. Oscar arrived shortly after and we had the house all to ourselves. So as you can imagine (don't worry this is the PG version) I was comfortable in my skin knowing that nobody was home. And... Hello It is a million degrees out there!!! Well anyway I was in my room about to venture out and grab something from the hall closet... And let me also mention this.. Before leaving my room to be extra cautious I even double checked w/ Oscar to make sure his parents were indeed no where close. He reassured me they were in Phoenix and wouldn't be home for awhile... So I'm in the upstairs hallway with nothing but a thong on when I think I hear something coming from downstairs??? I froze and then contemplated my next move... I began to quietly tip toe back to my room while holding/covering my twins... Then my mother-in-law's locked eyes with mine! I let out a LOUD scream, ran to my room and started hitting Oscar! He thought the whole thing was hilarious! I not so much... My poor mother-in-law was freaked out and stayed downstairs while I hid in my room. Later on that evening I greeted my mother-in-law with an awkward hug. Then Oscar tells her "Don't worry she's wearing close this time." We all busted up laughing!!! Yes even me! ;o)

Who can top that for an embarrassing moment?

Congratulations Gisele!

2011-05-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday my gorgeous niece Gisele graduated from high school! I remember the 1st time we met her... She was 8 years old visiting from MX and oh so very shy! A few years later Gisele and her mom left there old life behind and moved to the US. I'm so glad they did too! Over the past 6 years she has accomplished so much and there are a million things I love about her... Like... Her spunky, fun and down to earth personality! She is always a joy to be around and lights up the room! Oh and I just recently discovered that she is also a very talented dancer! Keep up the good work, don't ever lose your love for life and continue to reach for your dreams! I love you!!!

Dinner with Daddy

2011-05-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday my girls attended a Father daughter dinner with there Twilight group. They love hanging out with there fellow Twilights and of course spending time with there Daddy... Unfortunately details are very slim with this group... The girls only comment... "We didn't like the spaghetti... but the bread was good." Really!!? Oscar of course was short on words. Typical! Oh well.. At least I got some nice pictures!

What a beauty!

2011-05-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

The princess is here! Yulexia Illiani arrived Monday morning weighing in at 7lbs. 8oz! She has tons of black wavy hair and is absolutely gorgeous! Major props to Vanessa! She made it through 6 painful days of contractions and NO epidural...!!! You know the saying... "Beauty is pain" ;o) Love you Vanne!

Better late then never... ;o)

2011-05-08T23:06:00.000-07:00

So I know I should be posting about Mothers day but instead I'm picking up where I left off. Better late then never... Right? ;o) So a few weeks ago (Easter weekend) we decided very last minute to plan a little camping trip. We camped just a few miles past Willow Springs and had a great time. The kids had a blast fishing, hiking through Christopher Creek and even went on an egg hunt! Here are some picts. Enjoy! :o)

"Baby-Bump"

2011-04-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I headed to downtown Mesa for a photo shoot with Vanessa and her new bump. The pictures came out great! It helps when you have a gorgeous niece! Here are some of my favs...

Bring on the party!

2011-04-07T22:54:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow me and a bunch of co-workers are throwing a baby shower at work for our friend Elva... A.K.A "Fertile Mertile"! This is her 6th baby... Oh and she had her tubes tied 2 kids ago! Camille's bridal shower is Saturday evening and this fun event will take place none other then... My house! From what I hear it will be a fabulous evening with delicious deserts & "mock-tails" all night long! My niece will also be having her baby shower next weekend! I have had so much fun helping make over there guest room into a nursery. Her colors are pale lime green, cotton candy pink and chocolate brown. I will post pictures when we are all finished!

"Blog-worthy"

2011-03-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

It has been way to long since my last post! Way to ring in the new blogging year Right! So my only excuse is that nothing seemed all that "blog-worthy"! Or at least that's what I call it when I'm trying to determine what to post! Anyway I was told I was disappointing my fellow blog followers and by no means do I want to lose my 2 followers! lol! So here is a recap of some things that have been going on in my world... WARNING!!! Long Post!!!

My Grandad swung by the other day to show off his new pride & joy... an Orange Honda Fit! Grandad... Have you named her yet? The girls had a great time at the church carnival in celebration of Purim. They didn't dress up this year and Mia was happy about that... She woke me up the morning of and told me she was so glad she didn't have to be "A Mexican" this year!!! lol! (Last year was an international theme.)

A couple weekends ago I mentioned how it would be nice to go South Mountain to see the city lights... Then Oscar mentioned how he knew of a similar place... So we all headed out and were do you think we ended up? I should have known better... The only lights I saw that night were from Oscar's guns! Mmmm hmmm... He took us to a favorite shooting spot out in the boonies... I admit we did have fun!

This past weekend we were invited to an in house dinner catered by Chef Elizondo. It was very fun and oh so tasty! Oh and I am now in love with Creme Brulee!

Nicole (my sister in laws little sis) left Tuesday morning back to Ecuador after 2 months with us... My girls already miss her so much... We hung out one last time on Monday night and celebrated my brother's B-day...

Last but not least... Today I did a little remodeling to my front door... OK not really but I think it made a big difference and looks super cute... Oscar not so much...? Oh and thank you Susie for letting me use your cricket... Er uh... letting me come over and watch you use your cricket! lol! P.S This post is dedicated to you! Thanks for the nudge! ;o)

"Happy "Blog-aversary" to me!"

2011-02-27T20:51:00.000-08:00

This past Friday, February the 25th marked my 1 year anniversary...er uh blog-aversary! I really didn't think I would be able to keep up... but... 46 posts later and I'm still happy to be blogging! I really enjoy being able to look back at past posts and reminisce. It's also exciting to know that one day my kids will be able to have story's to read and re-live... With out the help of my blog would I really remember that on March 2nd 2010 Mataya went to school and joked about having "guns"! Or what about May 2010 when Mia was at church singing "My princess pea"! With a memory like mine it's good to know my blog will keep our memories living on! ;o)

"Love of my life"

2011-02-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

Did I ever mention how much I love my Hubby? Yes I am sooooo in love with my man! To think our story began back in the 10th grade... 2 crazy young kids with only 1 thing on our minds! Never in a million years would I have imagined we would be were we are today! Happy & healthy... 2 beautiful girls... Living for God and oh so in love! The list truly could go on and on! I give my Jesus all the credit! With out him none of it would have be possible!

So last night in celebration of V-day my sweetie made me and the girls a delicious home cooked dinner! The menu included T-bone steak, stuffed mushrooms, mashed potatoes and chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert! After dinner Oscar and I watched "Dear John" which I loved! What a perfect way to spend Valentines day with the one I love!

Oscar in action! It took him almost 2 hours to prepare everything!

Stuffed portobello mushrooms! My favorite! Definitely worth the wait!

What more could a girl ask for!

Mia's 7th Birthday

2011-02-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

Every year I throw my girls a Birthday party... Call it spoiled but I don't care! Birthdays take place only 1X a year and plus I only have 2 kids! ;o) This year Mia celebrated her 7th B-day cosmic bowling! Fun! Fun! Fun!

Mia's friend Abigail had a little trouble getting her ball all the way down the lane!

Mia and her buddie Anthony... Did I mention he was the only boy she wanted to invite to her party! I talked her into inviting her boy cousins...

Everyone Mia invited made it! How cool is that! Mia was so glad to finally hang out with her friends Gracie & Myra.

"Golden Girl"

2011-01-25T19:34:00.000-08:00

So last week Mataya or should I call her "miss smarty pants" er uh skirt came home from school and did not mention one word about her very special achievement. Mind you everyday after school I ask my girls to tell me all about there day... So you can imagine my surprise when as I'm flipping through the School newsletter I see my kiddo's name! I did a double take... There it was Mataya Contreras, Golden Honor Role! Yep my girl got the Golden Honor Role and forgot to tell her parents! Apparently she thought it "just wasn't a big deal" Hmmm... We proved her wrong and went out for ice cream to celebrate! I'm pretty sure next time she will remember to tell us! ;o)

TOUCHDOWN!!!

2011-01-19T17:13:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday was Mia's 2nd football game of the season and WOW was she awesome!!! What a difference from her 1st game... You know the one where her coach yelled from the sidelines "WAKE UP MIA"!!! LOL! Not this game!!! Mia had been practicing "Run Forest Run" (that's the name of her play) all week long! Well all that practice sure paid off cus she was on fire at the game!!! I think it helped that she had a large crowd of cheerleaders yelling on the side line like crazy! Ok mostly just mom and dad did the yelling! We were extra loud and crazy when she scored her 1st touch down and then an extra 2 points! Go Mia!!! Oh did I mention she's the only girl on the team? Yep that's right but don't feel sorry for her she really enjoys all the extra attention! You know Mia! :o)

Mia's touchdown play! Dad was so excited after she scored that he forgot to keep the camera in focus! But the audio is great! ;o)

"27"

2011-01-16T20:11:00.001-08:00

So I am now officially 27 years old... I know it's not even that old and to all my friends who are older then me (which is most) please forgive me but this year I just wasn't super excited about turning 27... On 2nd thought there was one thing I was plenty excited about... All the Birthday freebies! I planned my day accordingly... For breakfast a dozen free doughnuts courtesy of Crispy Creme. Free Lunch at Liberty Market... $10 dinner credit at at Joe's Barbaque and then ice cream at Cold stone! ALL FREE!!! Now that's something to get excited about! I also had a fabulous night out Friday after church with all my girlfriends. We ate at BJ's and laughed so hard that my abs seriously were hurting! We had lots of LOL moments!!! I will spare Susie the embarrassment and not post the biggest crack up of the night. Lets just say that for myself and 7 others the barbacoa tacos will never be thought upon the same... Enough said. Thank you to all my girls for showering my with gifts and more importantly friendship! I heart you all!

Christmas & some venting....

2010-12-30T21:18:00.000-08:00

I just downloaded my photos from this past weekend and was thinking about what a great Christmas weekend we had. We started out Christmas eve at Oscar's Sisters with a tamale dinner followed by some yummy flan. Played a little tabu with my nieces and watched one of them open up a brand new pair of coach shoes from her boyfriend... Apparently high-schoolers nowa days get coach from there boyfriends?? When Oscar and I were in high school he got me a stuffed bear... So the next morning the kids woke up to gifts from Santa and stockings full of goodies. Then it was off the to the movies... It's a tradition each year after we open gifts to head to the movies before noon when it's only $5! This year we saw "Tangled" and EVERYONE loved it! Yes even Oscar! Thinking back I wonder if it was really that good or if we are all just deprived from not having a TV... hmmm? So later on my family came over for brunch and we did some gift exchanging. My mom hooked up Oscar with a camo hat and a hunting T-shirt along with "A Cartridge in a bare tree"! Grandma & Grandpa got Target gift cards for all! Oh how we love Target! Later in the evening Oscar's family came over and Oscar made everyone barbecued duck! This is normal when you are married to a hunter... Oh did I mention that having a deer head in your freezer is also normal!?! Naming the deer and it having birthdays because it has been in the freezer so long... Not so normal!!! Sorry to get off subject... but sometimes a blog is the perfect place to vent... OK all better... ;o) So lots of good memories this past weekend and some pictures to share of course!

Welcome to the 21st century!

2010-12-27T18:50:00.000-08:00

So I finally gave in and got text messaging! I know everyone and there Grandma already has it but I was just fine with out it... Or at least I had been until the other day when I found Oscar a shirt at Goodwill but wasn't able to text him a pict of it before I threw down a Whopping $3.99! So after that I was convinced I needed text... Well that and my hubby really wanted it! (He had enough of Adam's peer pressuring!) Lol! So anyway I called T-mobile up and let them know we were finally ready for text! The guy then attempted to offer me a free month of Internet... I told him I had to get texting down 1st before I could consider Internet! He chuckled and said OK we will take baby steps... He must have thought I was the biggest dork which is kinda true...

On 12/24 I sent out my 1st text letting everyone know the BIG news!!!
Here were some of the replys...

Bianca: OMG your funny
Angela: Super xcited 4 u. Now you gotta learn the txt lingo :)
Lenny: Bla Ha Ha Ha!!
Jeanette: Yayyyyy!
Manny: Its about time girl
Jen: You are the biggest dork! But I <3 u.
Araceli: OMG... You are in the loop!
Linda: LOL! :)
Lilly: Yay! Its about time!:)
Sarit: Welcome to the 21st century. Lol! That's awesome!
Yolanda, Susie & Elva: Welcome to the 21st century!
Alisha: ? (accidentally deleted hers!) Hey I'm new at this!

TTYL (Talk to you later)
Amanda

Cookie Exchange

2010-12-23T16:07:00.000-08:00

Every year I look forward to hosting my cookie exchange and this past weekend's party was no exception! Each year the cookies get better and the number of friends in attendance continue to grow... This year there was a total of 25 ladies! I had so much fun that it completely slipped my mind to take a group pict!! Oh well!

So this year I had 4 categories... Best Tasting, Most Creative, Most Festive and the Prettiest cookie! After lots of tasting and much liberating the judges (me, Dona & April) went with Lilly's very scrumptious "Chocolate Oreo Balls" for BEST TASTING cookie! Then everyone had a chance to vote for the other 3 categories... The MOST CREATIVE cookie was unanimous and went hands down to Carmen for her "Melting Snowman's"!!! Although Angela's cookies tasted terrible (Just keepin it real! Lol!) they were very festive and that is why she took home the prize for MOST FESTIVE with her "Peppermint Candy Canes"! Elisa took home the prize for PRETTIEST cookie er.. uh.. pretzel! lol! They were NOT cookies but they were so darn pretty!!! After the cookie swapping we had a white elephant exchange and the cat claws came out! j/p! No really it was all fun in games and it was great to see everyone laugh and have a good time! I can't wait for next year!

It wasn't till almost midnight when I realized I hadn't take a group photo! So I placed my camera on the stairs and took this pict! We all laughed how it looked like we just found buried treasure!

Me still loving Sis. Yolanda's "Smart Cookie" shirt!!! She wore it just for me!!!

2010 Contreras Family photo shoot

2010-12-13T17:15:00.000-08:00

My friend Jen has really taken her photography business to the next level... The only problem is she had gotten so good that I couldn't afford her! My days of free photography were over! ;o) Lol! She recently offered mini sessions for a fraction of the price and so I of course jumped at the chance! Here are some of my favorite ones...

Cookie Exchange

2010-12-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

It's almost that time... Well not exactly but in 16 days I will be hosting my annual Cookie Exchange! I have already heard so much talk about it and I haven't even passed out the invites! It all began back in 2002 with about 5 or 6 girls and mostly store bought or "just add water" cookies! Not any more! Last year I had over 20 ladies and dozens and dozens of award winning HOMEMADE cookies! Each year I give a prize for Best Tasting & Most creative. After the winners are announced and awarded then the exchanging begins! WARNING!! Don't dare try to exchange if your cookies are not made from scratch! The is a very dangerous thing to do with a house full of women who have slaved all day over there cookies! Lol! I am looking forward to this years party and can't wait to taste all the scrumptious new cookies!

Here are some photos from previous years...

Back in 2005... Angela (Our party girl) just had her baby... but she still made it!

This was 2 or 3 years ago...

Over 20 of us at last years party!

Last years winners! Don't you just love the "Smart cookie t-shirt"

I really am Thankful...

2010-11-27T01:26:00.000-08:00

I just got done writing a beautiful post about how I am soooo Thankful for everyone of my family members... I took the time to write about each and every one of them.. It was beautiful... Ask Oscar.. he was sitting right next to me before I accidently deleted it! Now I just want to go to sleep... but know that I really did have nice beautiful things to say... Anyway hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving. I'm off to bed...

It's been way to long...

2010-11-12T14:51:00.000-08:00

It's been way to long since I've blogged... It's not that I haven't had anything to blog about.... I've just had so much going on that I barely been able to comb my hair let alone blog! Ha! So what have I been up to??? Well where do I even begin??? September 7th Oscar and I got our keys to our new home! Yeah! (Just 2 miles east & we are officially out of the ghetto!) The next 3 weeks our weekends were spent at the new house dry-walling, sanding, painting etc.. (OK mostly Oscar!) Then it was packing and moving... then came the settling in and finding out all the quirks about our home. Like... The dishwasher smells like rotten eggs, the master closet has a scary creek in the floor etc, etc... So now comes the fun part.... DECORATING! I only wish my wallet were capable of handling all my fabulous ideas! Oh, and when I say "my ideas" please know I mean the ideas I'm stealing from"Bloggster Land"... them and restoration hardware!

So our community is having a Yard Sale this weekend and I am hoping to rake in the dough so I can get to work! I only have about 4 weeks until my annual cookie party! I hope my body is up for the challenge! (and Oscar too! he he!) Did I tell you how much I love that guy? So very much and he is well aware- which is just fine by me! OK any who here are some picts of some of the things I have been up to the past several weeks... Another Quincernera (Mardi Gras style)... a wedding & even a Guinea pig! He will be for sale at our Yard Sale tomorrow! No joke! Mataya blew her B-day money on this creature or as Mataya calls her... Ruby... and has decided she is not much fun... All work & no play!

Busy bee...

2010-09-07T20:55:00.001-07:00

So I have been ridiculous busy this past month... I don't even no where to begin... Lets see... I threw Mataya a Luau for her 10th B-day, pretended to be a photographer and took maternity pict's, planned a surprise baby shower... Oh and did I mention Oscar and I were on a mission in search for a new house! Yes all that and more all in a 30 day time spanned!

So my friend Linda is having a baby and she asked me to take some pictures of her bump. I agreed but warned I was no professional... So we took photos in my back yard and I was actually pleasantly surprised on how well they came out. See for yourself...

Speaking of surprises... So I got some crazy idea to throw Linda a surprise shower... Yeah I know... Who throws a surprise baby shower?!? Friends tried talking me out of it but I was adamant that it had to be a surprise! So after a month of torturing my dear friend Linda and myself... The day finally arrived... Mind you, I had invited a good 30+ women and also took it upon myself to go into such details that involved baby blue bread and sandwiches in the shapes of crowns... To go with my "Prince" theme of course! So after everything was set up and ready to go and all the guests anxiously awaiting... There was just 1 minor problem... Linda was M.I.A... Yep nowhere to be found! After desperate attempts in trying to get Linda to answer her phone and almost having an anxiety attack she finally arrived! (This is the short version of what happened.)Mmmhhhmmm... I know... Craziness! So again anyone out there who gets an itch to throw a surprise shower.... DO NOT DO IT! Lol!

So lastly Oscar and I decided on a home and should be getting keys any day now... I will keep my millions of followers posted.... he he!

Mataya's 10th Birthday Luau

2010-08-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

It seems like just yesterday my tiny 4lb miracle baby Mataya Love was born... Now she is a little lady and growing up way to fast... Taya you are my "love-bug"... Always so gentle, loving, kind and caring towards others... I love you soooo much! You will always be my 1st love! (Sorry Mia)

Mataya celebrated this past Saturday with a Luau and her and all her girlfriends had an absolute blast!!!

Prizes were given for best dressed! Lots of grass skirts & even a coconut bra!

The Pina-coladas were a big hit! After Mia dropped her 5th one she got cut off.

Mataya wished for a Nintendo DSI & with $120 in B-day cash she is almost there!

Special thanks to Uncle Brian & Tia Natalie for opening up there gorgeous home!

Back to school...

2010-08-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

The girls started back to school a few weeks ago and so far things have been running smooth... The first day however was a little rough for my Mia. This came as a big surprise coming from "Independent Mia". When we arrived on the 1st day she insisted her tummy was sick and looked extremely nervous! Mataya on the other hand could not wait to get back to school! She is in a class with 3rd & 4th graders and has the same wonderful teacher as last year! She was also pleasantly surprised to be in a class with NO 4th grade boys! Not sure how that happened but Mataya is loving it! Since then Mia has made lots of new friends and loves her teacher! Here's some photos of their 1st day back...

Mia being a bit of a drama queen. She was also upset that her hair had a poof... because kids in her class don't like poofs??? Mataya acting as cool as can be...
They picked out their own outfits... Funny how they are so similar to each others... Mataya & Mrs. Woodall... Mataya thinks they're BFF's!

So what if her eyes are closed! It's the one pict I have of her smiling... even if it is a fake smile!

The last one in line... Still feeling a little uneasy...

Finally... days 5 & 6

2010-07-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

OK I'm getting tired of blogging about MX... So here are the final highlights of our trip... Wednesday Oscar went para-sailing and loved it! While he was up in the sky I told Mataya to write her name in the sand and lay next to it for a photo... I didn't see the jelly fish that was close by and she laid on it!!! Oops! She was not happy and has yet to let me forget about this little incident!

Thursday Luis-Angel turned 5 and had a fiesta... The kids enjoyed having there face & hair painted and even enjoyed hitting a pinata with no candy in it? I guess that's how they do it down there...

By Friday we were all pretty homesick and ready to get back home... Mataya and I took a plane and were home in less then 2 hours! Oscar and Mia on the other hand took the bus and after all the immigaration stops didn't arrive until 28 hours later! When Oscar got home I gave him a big hug and told him how sorry I was that it took so long... but he insisted that he didn't mind at all! So I offered my sympathy to Mia but all she could talk about was her new Amiga Lourdes that she had met on the bus! What troopers! ;o)

Mazatlan... day 3 & 4

2010-07-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

Our hotel's sister property "Emerald Bay" is about 10 minutes away and shuttles back and forth each hour between property. So on Monday morning went to check it out and WOW! It's the most luxurious place I've ever been! They even had flamingos and iguanas roaming around the property! Check out the website: http://www.pueblobonitoemeraldbay.com/

On Tuesday morning we rented a van and drove out to the ranch were Oscar's aunts, uncles and cousins live. It's about a 2 hours drive and we had 11 of us packed in a van that seats only 8! Oh! Did I mention people in MX drive crazy!!! So after a very scary ride and several panic attacks later we finally made it to the ranch... We hadn't seen any of them in 2 years and we just showed up with no warning and they were all so warm and inviting... Ready to cook us up a meal and basically stop everything they were doing to visit with us... Oscar enjoyed talking with his Tio's and the kids had a blast with all there cousins... I however was getting a bad soar throat and I past out in the hammock for quite some time! During this time Mataya took over my camera and took a nice pict of me past out! So after our visit it was back in the van for more torture! Oh and remember earlier how I mentioned Oscar was determined to catch fish??? Well on our way home he stopped and got live fish bait... You'd think after our long day he'd be tired but nope not when there's an ocean calling your name! So Oscar and his brother went fishing that night... He told me he'd be back in few hours... Well I was sick and couldn't sleep so I decided to wait for him.. I waited.. and waited.. 2 O'clock... 3 O'clock... by the time it was 5 am my hunny was still not home! At this point I wasn't even mad but sooo scarred and all kinds of horrible thoughts crossed my mind! I prayed and asked God if he brought my hunny home alive I wouldn't yell or be upset... I just wanted a live breathing husband! Well some time around 6'ish Oscar and his fishes rolled thru the door! So... I half kept my promise... I didn't yell (I had a soar throat) but I was sooo mad and let him know! Then I gave him a big hug and made him promise to never leave me alone in another country again! ;o)

Day 2 in Mazatlan

2010-07-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

You may think the US dollar has lots of buying power in Mexico... Well you're wrong... Or at least in Mazatlan... So after our 1st night having spent close to $50 on Dominos pizza and wings I decided we would be broke in no time if we didn't buy some grocery's.. So the next morning we all took what felt like a "field trip" to the grocery store. I was sure me being the "queen of thrift" could get serious bang for my buck... but instead I almost cried when I found out the price for a gallon of milk was 40 pesos! (That's just a little less then $4 US dollars). Honestly I don't know how you can live out there and survive... On average most are paid only 100 pesos a day (about $10 US dollars)! OK so after the horror of shopping with out any coupons we finally made our way out. Later that day we went to a popular beach "Cerritos". The kids did some swimming, I took photos of my nieces and Oscar and his brother did some fishing... or attempted to... See down in Mexico you don't go fishing with lures and so everyone stared at them like they were crazy for using plastic fish! Needless to say they didn't catch a single fish... While the locals were fishing with plastic bottles and fishing line (they were using live bait) and catching some nice size fish! This made Oscar a little upset since he had expensive fishing gear and caught nothing! This also made him extremely determined to try again... with live bait... but I will have to save that story for another post... ;o) Oscar's favorite bread... Bimbo....Very poular here...
(Did you notice the lady in the background looking at us like were crazy!)

Ramen Noodles...Also very popular...Have you ever seen this much ramen?!
Tio Oscar having some fun with Luis-Angel...

Our transportation the majority of our trip... And yes the tail gate is gone... It was stolen...

My neices... They were too serious so I was saying crazy stuff to get them to loosen up... It worked!

Oscar and his "hermano" (that means brother) fishing with plastic lures! Lol!
I just liked this picture...

Day 1 in Mazatlan

2010-07-22T08:57:00.001-07:00

Ever since we got back from MX things have been crazy busy. A few of my girlfriends have asked when I was going to get back to blogging? I was actually surprised to hear that I had "blog-stalkers"!!! So to all 2 of my followers! lol! I'm back!!!

Mazatlan was wonderful as expected... We initially were a little bummed as the weather report had said to expect rain and thunderstorms. However when we finally got off our 18 hour bus ride and stepped on to Mexican soil... It was perfect weather! The cab driver who drove us to our hotel laughed when we asked if there had been any rain! Also turns out our cab driver had been an old friend of Oscar's oldest brother! They had grown up together an attended the same school! What a small world! Especially considering Mazatlan is a huge city!

After settling in our hotel we took a stroll down the beach and picked up some lunch at a little taqueria. Later that day Oscar's family met up with us and we all hung out together at the beach and reminisced about our last visit... We also finally got to meet the newest member of the Contreras family... Valerie... (Oscar's niece's daughter & Luis-Angel's little sister) Mia and her became instant buddies... At least Mia thought so... After Mia dropped her a few times I noticed Valerie began to keep her distance!

Taking a stroll on the beach... Trying to walk off the tacos we just ate!

Posing for a photo outside are hotel... The beautiful Pueblo Bonita!

Hanging on the beach with the family...

The newest member of the family.... Valerie! Isn't she a cutie-pie!

Ok so if you have been blog-stalking it's time you show some love and leave a comment! :o)

Heading to Mazatlan! :o) On a bus... :o(

2010-06-28T16:48:00.001-07:00

We are leaving this Friday to Mazatlan! It's been just over 2 years since we 1st visited Oscar's home town and we are all very excited to return. This time we are taking a bus ride and it's about a 20 hour ride! :o( The girls are super excited and counting down the days till they see all their cousins, especially Luis-Angel... We absolutely love him to pieces and can't wait to see how big he has gotten... Oscar's looking forward to visiting with his little brother Ruben who has been very ill but thanks be to God he was just recently released from the hospital! When he was 1st admitted the Dr.'s expected him to be in for at least 2 weeks and even warned he could go into a coma... But after only a few days he was released and is now home! Oscar plans to take him fishing and is hoping to find him an Apostolic church close by and help steer him back on the right path. Please keep him in your prayers... Also keep us in prayer to make it back safe and sound.

The hotel we will be staying at... "Pueblo Bonita."

Cousins down at the Ranch.

Mia and Luis-Angel... Isn't he the custest little guy...

Fathers day

2010-06-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

"Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!"

My girls are truly blessed! They have a Daddy to take them fishing, read bed time story's, jump on the trampoline, take them to the candy store... The list goes on an on... I know my girls treasure these special times with their Daddy and I know the huge effect it will have on them once they are grown. There is just something special about a Dad's relationship with his daughter... It is a wonderful thing...
***************************************************I was thinking a lot about my dad yesterday... He was not the best father by any means but none the less he was my Dad. He had good intentions though not always carried out... For many years we did not get along but I remember when Mataya was born and how from that day on we built a relationship together. He was such a good Pa-Pa and oh how he loved his grand-baby's... I thank God for our short but sweet relationship together. I miss him so...

Yo-dippity

2010-06-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

My friend Lucy celebrated her 27th B-day a couple weeks ago and we met at one of her favorite place's "Yo-dipity". This was a 1st for me and it was a nice change from the usual Cold Stone... Just pick your favorite flavor of yogurt and add as many toppings as you wish. Then you are charged by the weight of your cup! Oh and did I mention the kids and err... adults get to color their hearts out and then hang your masterpiece for all to see! Check it out: www.yodipityyogurt.com

Stitches

2010-06-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at approximately 4:30pm Mia ran into the corner of the wall and ended up with a deep gash in her forehead. There was lots of blood...several OMG'S and then a quick dash to the car. During the 2 minute drive to urgent care Mataya cried, Oscar drove like a maniac, I cleaned up blood and Mia screamed in protest of stitches! We didn't have to wait long to be seen and got a wonderful Doctor who answered every one of Mia's questions. Like... Do I have to get stitches? Are you going to use a needle and thread? Why is the thread blue? Do you have pink thread? Why can't I have pink thread??? After she answered all her questions the fun began and Mia got a shot inside her forehead. This was the worst part and Mia did very well even surprising the Dr. who says she does stitches 3 X's a day! The sewing began at which point Mia was numb and having a good ol time talking with the Dr... I on the other hand was not doing so great and almost past out. The Dr. laid me down on the bed while making jokes that they were going to bill us for 2 beds... Ha Ha Ha.. We finally made it home and Mia threw a fit when she found out we weren't going to make it in time for church... I have never seen her so upset about missing church... Hmmm? Mataya teased that she only wanted to go to show off her stitches... Mia just walked past her while calling the walls evil... Yes she was scolding the walls for hurting her and calling them "the evil walls"! 8 stitches later and Mia was back to her usual crazy self...

Camping in Sedona

2010-06-02T18:42:00.001-07:00

We took a trip to Sedona this past weekend but due to the Memorial day Holiday we could not get a good rate on any hotels... So we camped out! Oscar's cousin and his family tagged along with us. On Saturday afternoon we set up camp, then I was dying to watch the Suns game so we made a trip to Peter piper pizza and watched the Suns loose to the Lakers... :o( Later that evening we hung around the bonfire eating our share of smores while we watched the kids play charades and telephone. In the morning we ate breakfast and did some target shooting. Oscar seemed surprised by my accurate shooting skills! (I was too!) On Sunday morning we went to Slide rock and had a blast! Mataya got some pretty nasty scrapes and bruises but said they were worth it! Oscar and his cousin did some serious fishing and cliff diving. I mostly just watched, ate and of course took pictures...

"My Princess Pea"

2010-05-24T17:02:00.000-07:00

It's been 2 weeks since my last post... Not sure why? I guess I just needed a blog-break!!! Well this past Saturday the girls went to a play with their Twilight's group and watched "The Princess and the Pea". They absolutely loved it! Especially Mia... After I had picked them up Mia went on and on about it... Then Sunday after church Mia wanted to know why we were singing The Princess in the Pea song at church? At first I didn't pay much attention not knowing what she was talking about? Then after several attempts to get an answer from me I finally listened enough to realize why she was so confused... You see at church we sang a song called "Because of who you are" and there is a line in the song that says "You are my Prince of Peace". Well as you can guess Mia thought it was sang "You are my Princess Pea"! Lol! I gave her a big ol' hug while I laughed at her and then explained everything. She kinda chuckled and then she was off about her business... Her name sure fits her to the T! She is definitely "My Joy!" and can always put a smile to my face!

Mother's day

2010-05-10T22:00:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful Mothers day spending time with the mothers in my life... I woke up to hand made love notes from the girls and a beautiful card from Oscar... After church we went to my Grandmother's for dinner and watched the Suns game. My grandmother loves the Phoenix Suns and their big win made her day! Later in the evening we got together with Oscar's mom and enjoyed some delicious flan!

I'm so thankful for my mom... I've been so blessed to have her in my life... She's the most caring, loving, giving and nicest ladies you will ever meet. Ask anyone who knows her and they will agree! I love you mom!

"Senioritas"

2010-05-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my niece is going to be graduating from Mesa High this month! It seems like just yesterday when she was playing with her dolls as innocent as can be... Now she is all grown up and breaking lots of boys hearts! She asked me to take some pictures of her and her friends and of course her being one of my favorite nieces I agreed!
Here are a few photos of Vanessa and her "amigas"...

I told you she was breaking boy's hearts! Wink-wink!
Maybe I should have put a PG-13 warning on this post! Lol!

A vacation to remember!

2010-04-27T22:34:00.000-07:00

My mom booked a suite at the Marriott Villas in Newport Beach for an entire week and was so nice to invite us to tag along for the weekend! Here is a little recap of how our weekend played out.... We arrived on Friday evening and were in absolute awe of the property! The suite was along side the sea and had balcony doors that opened up to a panoramic view of the ocean!
We started off on Saturday morning heading out to Balboa Island. We took a boat tour of the ritzy upscale Island and or guide showed us famous celebrity homes, the set from Gilligan's Island and a whole bunch of sea lions!

Afterwards we headed to Newport Beach Pier where the kids explored the beach and I had a good ole time taking pictures!

Sunday morning it was off to Disneyland where the girls had an absolute blast on the rides, meeting their favorite Disney characters and watching the Disney parade.

On Monday morning we woke up to a delicious breakfast prepared by my Mom and Bill! Then it was time to say goodbye and head back home...

Mom if you're reading this I love you... I'm thankful for the time we got to spend together and I'm so blessed to be your one and only daughter to have you all to myself! Oh and Bill... Even though you ate my dinner at Joe's Crab Shack and almost got us lost (yes, even with a GPS) you are still alright in my book and it is nice to see my mom so happy with you... Thank you both for a memorable vacation!

"Dessert Rats"

2010-04-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

Where should I begin... Well this past Saturday evening Oscar spontaneously decided to call up some friends and head out to Butcher Jones. I was a bit hesitant at first but decided to take a walk on the wild side! So we followed some friends down to Saguaro lake... Once we got off the main road the fun began... What Oscar failed to mention was how extremely rough the terrain was to get to this special place! Angela and I got a bit car sick on the way but managed to keep our cool. Oh! Did I mention the steep hill/mountains that we had to get up in order to reach our destination! This was quite interesting as we had one truck that was not 4X4! After several attempts we all made it up and into the cove. It was quite the spot actually and I see why so much effort goes into getting there. The kids fished and although they never caught anything they didn't seem to mind. Especially Simon... He kept yelling "I got a fish!" but each time it was just his line stuck! Oscar caught a small catfish, the kids roasted mega-marshmallows and Alisha made smores. The night came to a halt when just after midnight my brother mentioned his wife had to be at work at 6AM. So we packed up camp and then my hubby realized his key were missing! He and Manny went on a search mission in hopes of finding them... After almost an hour of waiting in the truck I stumbled upon them under the visor! Hallelujah! This was great news.. Especially when you have a truck full of kids and a Mia... On the way home my dog got car sick and threw up on my sister-in law (I'm thinking she won't be hanging out with us for a while after this trip!)*Natalie if you are reading this, you are such a trooper! I have to give you props for going to work after being thrown up on and only 1 hour of sleep!
All in all it was a night that won't soon be forgotten!

Mia and fire... Not a good pair.

"Little fishers in training"

Oscar setting the catfish free.

"Three Musketeers and Lucky"

Brian & Nat... pre-dog-trauma!

- WANTED -

2010-04-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

Mia came home with this from school last week and I thought it was hilarious! She is only in Kindergarten so allow me to translate...
Name: Mia Contreras
Alias: "Cookie"
Wanted For: Eating Cookies
Reward: $10

This is so true... She's always getting busted for sneaking cookies!

As You Wish

2010-04-14T23:00:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I received a coupon from "As you wish" good for free paint time and 50% off your choice of pottery! If you've ever been there then you know this is a smokin deal!!! So after I picked the girls up from school I told them I had a surprise for them and made them close their eyes all the way till we stepped foot in the studio... When they opened their eyes they were pleasantly surprised... Mia not so much as she kept peeking and pretty much knew where we were! Any who here are some Pict's of our special "Girls Night Out".

Mataya did an excellent job painting her Volkswagen bug.

Mia painted a Cat/Chihuahua... Still not sure which one it is???

Highlight of my day... uhmm... week!

2010-04-06T20:51:00.001-07:00

So I'm VERY excited about my new favorite place to buy produce, Superstition Ranch Market!!! OK so I am probably just a little too excited about this... but what can I say... When your married with 2 kids all at the ripe age of 26 things like this excite you! OK enough defending myself... Apparently this place has been around for like forever but I'm just now being acquainted with it, thanks to some of my girlfriends who let me in on the secret... I headed over this evening right before 7 PM and grabbed as many things that I could throw in my cart before they closed! Here are some of my sweet deals...

Pineapple $1.29 each, Organic Celery 50 cents a bag, Jalapenos 33 cents a pound, Zucchini 3 for $1.00, Asparagus 67 cents a pound, Spaghetti Squash 33 cents a pound... and... my best buy... Strawberry's THREE 1 lb. clams for $1.00!!!! Whoop Whoop!

I can't wait to eat me some fried zucchini and chocolate dipped strawberry's!!!

I'm Back!!!

2010-04-03T22:43:00.001-07:00

So it has been a while since my last post... All thanks to a nasty flu that had us all thinking we were dieing! Or at least Mataya and I.. Oscar and Mia are so tough it didn't even faze them! Mia would be running around all wild... then suddenly she'd say, "Oh, I have to throw up." Then immediately she'd be back to bouncing off the walls??? So with that being said I have some catching up to do...

Last Saturday the girls and I were on a mission to get some bargains! We started out at Scrapbook Etc's annual yard sale and scored some major goodies! I found a letter "E" for just 50 cents and had to pick it up for my Bloggin-Buddie Sis. E!
Then it was off to Goodwill's 50% off sale where I found Mia a beautiful bright yellow embroidered mu-mu perfect for lounging in and all for just $1.00! I also stumbled upon some items for the house... A black metal basket for $1.50! Perfect for storing some of my scrap-books! A sweet deal on a metal wall clock! To my delight the battery was included and the clock was still ticking! I paid a whopping $2.00!!! Last we made our way to "Once Upon a Child" where Taya picked up a brand new denim top for $1.50 and a matching paisley skirt for just $4.50! At the end of the day we had several new treasures and only ended up spending about $20.00! Don't ya just heart days like this!!! :o)

Any given Wednesday

2010-03-25T22:34:00.000-07:00

Don't ya just love "Kids eat free night"! Me and my friend Lucy sure do! You can find us at Jason's Deli almost any given Wednesday! Last week we met up with our kiddos and had us some delicious food all for under $10!!! Oh, by the way it was St. Patricks day and Lucy's little guy Lex had on a t-shirt that read "Mom's Lucky Charm". Lucy was rockin some green nail polish! Here are some photos of our night...

Blog Makeover

2010-03-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

As you can see I gave My Blog a little makeover... It's funny... Maybe not so funny depending on who you ask... but when I talk about "My Blog" it's like I'm speaking about a real live person! Ha Ha... I must have blog fever! I'm sure my hubby would agree with that... Anyway leave a comment and let me know what you think of the new look.

Taya's room & Lucky

2010-03-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Mataya is a super cleaner and her room is almost always spic in span... When I poked my head in her room today it was, as I expected, nice and tidy. But something was different... She asked me if I noticed anything new that she had done to it? I skimmed the entire room and then let out a scream! Lucky our dog was inside a purse hanging on her coat rack!!! At first I ran to rescue him and then I hesitated and ran for my camera instead. (I know what your thinking... animal cruelty!) But in all honesty he didn't seem to mind one bit being used for doggie-decor! He is such a trooper! Since her room was so picture-perfect I decided to snap some shots... Hope you enjoy!

Good News!

2010-03-17T17:48:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that the camera mentioned in my last post was not my brand new Nikon but my old beat up cannon (which had previously been dropped & shattered by Mia). Hope this makes all of my millions of readers feel better... lol!

Bad news...

2010-03-17T17:11:00.001-07:00

I was soooo hoping to post pictures of Oscar and Mia's trip to the zoo. I had the camera packed and ready to go... I even made a point of calling Oscar every hour or so to make sure he was taking lots of pictures! He assured me he was and I wouldn't be disappointed. When I got home the 1st thing I did was grab the camera. I noticed it felt a little damp... then after multiple attempts to turn it on I realized something was not right. I went to the source... and apparently the camera had been packed back up with a water bottle in which the lid was loose... and yep you guessed it... The camera had been soaked. I wasn't to upset since the camera was already on it's 9th life and I thought surely the memory card would still work... I headed over to Walgreen's to try and salvage their sweet memories together... but to my sadness the memory card could not be revived... I was heart broken to say the least. :o( So no photos... Only sweet memories that Oscar and Mia will forever hold in their hearts...

In need of some R&R

2010-03-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

The last 2 weeks have been so hectic... I've been crazy busy at work and Oscar's picked up a side job and working 16 hour days... I really shouldn't complain.... but it would be nice to take a break from it all... Oscar's actually going to be getting a break tomorrow as he is chaperoning Mia on her school field trip to the Zoo. Mia is very excited about this and has been telling us how all the kids at school are going to think her Dad is soooo cool! When I asked her why? she said "because he knows everything about animals from watching Discovery Channel" I told Oscar to make sure he is extra cool! I'm sure they both will have a great time... In the mean time I will be day-dreaming of going on vacation... I can't wait for thinks to warm up so we can take a trip to the beach... For now I will drool over my pictures from previous trips...

Check out those guns!

2010-03-08T21:16:00.001-08:00

Holy Moly!!! Check out those guns! You can see that the girls take after their dad... Last week at school Mataya had a boy in her class tell another boy that they wern't suppose to bring in (toy) guns to school. Mataya flexed her her arm up and said "What am I suppose to do about these guns?" :o)

Daddy's girls

2010-03-02T18:10:00.000-08:00

I finally got a chance to download the photos I took the night of the Father Daughter Dinner... The girls absolutely loved the idea of going on a date with their dad... I on the other hand was a bit jealous that I couldn't tag along... :o( I did however talk them in to letting me take photos before the big date! Yeah! Or so I thought... With Mataya worrying about being late, Mia complaining she was cold and Oscar being irritated that I had to take pictures at a special location... and then to top it off... it started to rain! Let's just say the smiles you see aren't authentic! But hey... unless your reading this you'd never know! So after the not so successful photo shoot I was off to the car to rescue my camera from the rain and Oscar and the girls headed out on their date... On my way home I stopped by one of my favorite stores (Name Brand Exchange) picked up a cool tie-dye t-shirt for just $5.00 and then headed home... Home all alone... I watched a little CNN (Shout out to Anderson Cooper!) then as 8'O'clock rolled by, I started to feel a bit lonely and decided to bond with our Chihuahua... I think I understand the meaning of mans best friend now! lol... So finally after what seemed like forever my kids busted through the door... I begged for details but all the girls could talk about was all the candy they got from the candy bar... After much begging and pleading I was finally able to get some details of their evening... Oscar enjoyed his time with the girls and was really inspired by some of the stories he heard that evening. We talked about how important it is for girls to spend time with there Daddy's... And I must say I feel so very thankful that God has given my girls a truly awesome Daddy...

"Mi Familia"

2010-03-01T17:47:00.001-08:00

We had a blast this past Saturday celebrating Purium with our church family. The celebration consisted of food, fun, games and an international costume theme. Our family dressed up as Mexicans... (this was not hard to do!) When I first ran the idea by Oscar he was a bit hesitant but he ended up being a great sport and really got into his character... A.K.A "Pablo-Ignacio-Guadalupe-Lopez the III"!!! Don't ya just love the mustache! Good times... Good times...

Here goes nothing...

2010-02-25T21:25:00.001-08:00

Ok... So... I have finally decided to enter into the blogging world! I'm very excited... but a little nervous in living up to the "blogging expectations". I once knew a girl (Mandy - lol!) who entered into the bloging world and... well... She didn't quite keep up to the hype... he-he! I laugh but I may have the same destiny! Let's hopethat I dont... Watch out Sis. Elisa! You've got competiton! Yeah right! Sis. Elisa... You are the blogger queen! (and probably the only person who will read this) he-he! I can only hope to follow in your foot steps!
Well... here goes nothing...