On the Back Burner!

These past two weeks this blog has been on hold!  J was in China, the kids started school and work has been keeping me busy.  My emotions were all over the place and I was sure missing my guy!  I realized something while J was gone....I simply cannot live with out him!  Marriage is work and there are times when he drives me nuts...but the bottom line is I adore the guy and can't live with out him!  We all missed him so much while he was gone.  It isn't over and he's got lots more travel left this month.  So, for now, the blog will need to wait....I promise to update on my little Cupcake's first day of Kindergarten (which has been tearful everyday since for both of us)!  I love this little girl and sure do miss my days with her.  We had a date night tonight while our guys are at the UCLA game.  She just fell asleep and so I'm blogging!  I am truly blessed to have my little Cupcake!

Our little Bruin Bears....

My kids are huge UCLA Bruins fans!  My oldest has been a Football season ticket holder since he was 5 - he and J go together (with Tio Jon) and they tailgate ALL. DAY.

This past weekend, while I was celebrating my birthday (more to come on that later), J took all the kids to a scrimmage to watch our favorite college football team.

JT was first in line to have the Coach sign his replica helmet!  Cupcake was right behind ready for him to sign her poster!

Here they are with a player who is truly an inspiration.  Mr. Franklin is deaf.  He has overcome so many obsticles and his story is one that touches my heart!  

Curly was so happy to be there with brother and meet the players...he came home ready to play some football!

They were happy to be there meeting all the players!  

My kids had a blast and can't wait for the season to start!  JT will travel with Jeff next month to cheer on the Bruins in Texas!  

GO BRUINS!

Happy Birthday, J!

Happy Birthday to an amazing man, who loves me and provides for me, who loves God,

Who finds time in his busy schedule to get away with his kids,

Who's patience is amazing and love is overflowing, 

Who works hard and when he has time, plays hard with his little people, 

to a man who loves to be with us!

Happy Birthday to the man we all love ....Husband, Daddy, Uncle, Friend!

Jeff you are loved and we pray for God's blessings over you in this new year ahead!

Happy Birthday, Jeff!

Rookie Year Completed!

It's been a year since this guy made Partner.  It's been a very hectic and busy year for J.  He has spent most of his life this last year working.  Besides the 11 days we were in Europe, this guy has spent 12 hour days at the office and countless hours at home with his laptop on and working.  After 15 years with the firm, he finally made partner last year.  He has devoted his career to PwC.  We are thankful for his job in this economy and for his promotion last year.  It's been a tough year for our family. We don't see much of him.  We miss him.  We support him.  We pray for him.

Yesterday J had his 1st year Partner review.  He, of course, did amazing this past year.  He attained all the goals set before him.  He inspired his team to work better and harder.  He is a great boss to so many.  The Partner board said they were proud of him.  I am so proud of him.

As we enter this second year of J being a Partner, it is my hope and prayer that we can get a little more balance in our family.  I love this man and want him to be happy and enjoy life!  I am so proud of him and all that he has accomplished at such a young age (he's not even forty yet).  I know he is doing the best that he can.  I know God has great plans for him.  Congratulations, J, on a great rookie year as partner.

The Cirlce Tour

call us CRAZY!  Call us Die Hard Fans, if you wish!  But, it's true - J and I are Bon Jovi Fans.  He hasn't missed a show since the Slippery When Wet Tour in 1986 and I haven't missed a show since 1993's Keep the Faith tour.  This past Friday, J took JT to his first Bon Jovi Concert!  The boys had a blast and JT came home with a new T-shirt and a smile from ear-to-ear.  J said our boy knew all the words and was in awe of the whole experience.  His favorite part of the show was when Jon Bon Jovi gets on this platform that moves...


J came home Friday night and said this is one of the top two shows he's ever seen!  We already have tickets for March 4 at the Staples Center, but J couldn't wait.  We looked online last minute and found some amazing seats for last night's 2nd show in Anaheim.  I decided since we were so close I would bring my good camera.  I took some fun shots and LOVED the concert!  I had a blast, J had two nights in a row of Bon Jovi and we are headed to Staples on Thursday for our last show of this tour....Call us crazy if you will!  Thanks for an awesome date, Babe.





You can view the rest of my shots on my Bon Jovi Slideshow Here

Here is a video from Friday night when JT was with Jeff

Autumn is in the Air...

September 22nd is the first day of Fall. Around here, we've been getting into the "Fall" fun and enjoying this wonderful season. The days are warm and the nights are cool. School has started and we are getting into our new routine of school and homework. We've been baking and making soups and enjoying the new season we are in!

Last weekend J and JT headed to Tenn. to cheer on the UCLA Bruins in their victory of Univ. of Tenn. They had a blast and came home exhausted!


I also made my first batch of Pumpkin Cakies.....a favorite around here. Even Lulu enjoyed an entire batch she got off the counter (I was not happy with her, but Curly thought it was funny until he realized he wasn't going to get any because Lulu ate them all)


Finally - our little pup, she's been so much fun and we love her, but we've come to the conclusion that she has an eating disorder. She has canine bulimia. She has some serious binges...then she purges.  Let's see in the last 2 weeks she has eaten the following:  an entire loaf of bread, an entire pack of tortillas, a new pack of craisins, an entire batch of pumpkin cakies, udon noodle soup, bean and cheese burritos (2 of them), half a bag of mini-chocolate chips, easter candy she came across in the garage, two wooden spoons, a brand new bag of dog treats for teeth cleaning (greenies), and entire bag of training liver treats (thank goodness these were low fat).  She is lucky she is cute and well behaved in other areas.  We are currently in puppy class hoping that we can figure out how to stop the madness!

Birthday Weekend Fun....

Saturday I celebrated my 35th Birthday! I don't feel like I'm in my mid 30's, but I am! I had a great weekend celebrating.

Saturday night J and I went to dinner with Jon and Court and the Beasley's to celebrate. Jenni and I share the same birthday and after 7 years of knowing each other, this was the first time we were able to celebrate together! We had a great dinner at Maggianos and enjoyed some wonderful conversation!

The Birthday Girls....


Sunday we headed South to the Del Mar Races for Family Day. We had a Fantastic Day and the kids loved it!









It was a fabulous birthday weekend celebration despite my lingering chest cold!  We all had a great time!

Happy Birthday, J.

In honor of my man who turns 38 today....here are 38 reasons why I love and adore him:

1. He loves the Lord


2. He is faithful


3. and honest


4. He comes home from a long day of work and spends quality time with the kids


5. He will go outside and play basketball with JT no matter how tired he is


6. He wants our company even when he's exhausted from a 14 hour flight home from Asia


7. He has provided a wonderful homelife for our children and me


8. He is silly


9. and funny


10. He encourages me to run and


11. supports me in my quest to run a marathon this year


12. He encourages me to have quality time with my friends


13. He loves my friends


14. He loves his parents


15. He loves my crazy, big family


16. He loves Argentine food


17. and Colombian food


18. and encourages me to cook the meals of my heritage


19. He loves my baking


20. and my cooking


21. He will watch NASCAR with the boys (even though it's not his favorite)


22. He is an amazing dancer- we used to boot scoot like the best of them!


23. He will be the "prince" and dance with his princess Cupcake over and over again.


24. He takes time to notice Curly's artwork and praise him for it!


25. He loves to vacation with us


26. He loves camping


27. and skiing


28. and surfing


29. He loves to dig deep into whatever it is he is learning


30. He loves to be home with us


31. He gets my "latin fire"


32. He has grown more patient over the years


33. He is a family man


34. He is a man of God


35. He is sensitive


36. and kind


37. and fun


38. and he is love of my life!

Happy Birthday, Jeff!  We wish you were here with us...we hope you are enjoying your birthday in Germany today!  We can't wait to celebrate with you when you get home!  We love you!

He married me twice...

11 years ago today J married me for the 2nd time!  I remember that blazing hot July day like it was yesterday!  What a great day it was and we had a blast!  We danced all night long and enjoyed celebrating our life together!  Although he is halfway around the world today, I can't help but smile at how quickly time has gone by and how much fun we've had over the last 11 1/2 years.

Happy Anniversary to my best friend, love of my life, man of my dreams!  You are an amazing husband, father, friend and partner in life.  I don't think a woman could ask for more.  Thank you for blessing me with your love these past 11 1/2 years.  I'd marry you all over again for the 3rd time!

4th of July Fun

Our family shared the celebration of our country's independence down on Orange St.  The block party was a blast and a fun time was had by all!



JT had a blast with his friends...



Curly spent the entire day on the slide - only to get off for the bike parade!  He even got to spend the night with the Beasley's and slide 'til they came to take it away!



Cupcake had a blast with her friends too...they had some good girl time!



J and I even got to enjoy ourselves with some great adult conversation!



Lulu joined the fun too...she is wearing her new "gentle leader" leash here...it helps her not pull on the leash!



We had a Fantastic 4th of July!  God Bless America!

M3- Time to honor my Manly Man

It's Monday and my man is in Korea.  Yes, he got home Friday from Colorado Springs and woke up at 5:30 am Saturday to leave for Korea.  Man he is a hard worker.  I wanted to honor him because this week he officially becomes a Partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers.  After almost 15 years and endless hours of work, his big day is finally here!  He did it and I am so proud of him.    I have seen him grow so much in the past 15 years with PwC.  I have seen him say good-bye to lots of co-workers, always keeping his dedication to this company he loves so much and is so committed to.  He stuck with PwC all these years.  He stuck it out when he didn't make partner.  I am so proud of this man's work ethic and dedication.  What really makes me the most proud is that not only does he have amazing work ethic, but he is truly a family man.  He comes home from work and spends time with the kids and when they go to bed, he pulls out his lap top and finishes his work.  He sacrifices his sleep so that he can be with us.  I love this man.  I am so proud of him and the wonderful man he is.    I am proud of the man he has become over the past 16 1/2 years we've been together (11 1/2 married).

Congratulations, Babe, on your Partnership with PwC.  Here's to a wonderful career ahead as a Partner.  We love you!

Homes for Hope

Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain
Psalm 127:1

JT and J took a weekend trip to Mexico with a STORM team from our church that partnered with YWAM.  They left Friday and returned home late Sunday night.  They went with 100 people to build 4 homes in 2 days!  They had an amazing weekend and are looking forward to going next year to bless more families - enjoy the photos:

These pictures are of the town - the sewage runs into the town creating a horrible stench! The front of the property where JT & J was a large ditch that had rebar sticking straight up because they are going to build a septic there...totally unsafe and scary.  J said if a small child falls into  that ditch they would die immediately!

Below are the pictures of the finished house...There is no running water or central heat, but electricity.  The family chosen is in the second picture and there is a picture of the inside of the house!