Happy 13th Birthday Marissa

We officially have a teenager in our house (yikes)!. This past weekend was great, we had several family members here from California to come and surprise Marissa for her birthday. Our family arrived on Friday morning the 25th. Our goal was to surprise each one of the kids separately. First it was Ethan at the airport, he was speechless. Second it was Christian at his school he was completely surprised and turned red from ear to ear. Last it was Marissa. We had planned her surprise very carefully. Marissa goes to physical therapy at least once a week for her arm. I booked a fake physical therapy appointment for her a couple of weeks ago for that Friday the 25th. While I went to pick up Marissa the family waited for her at our home. I had to think of a way to get Marissa home before we had to go to her appointment. When I picked up Marissa I told her that I had left my wallet at home and that I needed to go back home to get it, I also told her that I called the physical therapy office to let them know we were going to be a little late. Marissa and I just talked all the way home, right before we got home I told her if she could run into the house with me and grab my wallet while I go to the restroom. She came into the house and had the surprise of her life. She was so taken by the surprise she bursted into tears of joy. She hugged her grandma first and then her cousin Pamela next. The surprise was priceless.

Thank you to grandma and grandpa for making this possible and for putting together a wonderful bar-b-que for Marissa. We love them so much and are so grateful for them for coming. We are also grateful for Cousin Pammy and Danny and Uncle Danny and Uncle Jose Louis for coming as well. Marissa was so happy to see everyone. I think this will definitely be a birthday she will never forget.

It is amazing to me how time passes us by. I can remember as if it were yesterday bringing our daughter into this world. The tears of joy came to my eyes then as they come into my eyes now. I found myself in tears a few times this weekend as I looked at this amazing young girl grow up before my eyes.

I love you Marissa and look forward to many more Birthdays!!!

P.S. The first couple of pictures are of Marissa being surprised. The next few are of her and her family during there stay.

Our little Swimmer

Our little Ethan loves to swim. Here is a recent picture of him at the Trails Rec center.

Spring break

As you can tell from this picture Ethan is trying to hide.



This past weekend Gonzalo had to go to Salt Lake City to work for a couple of days. Since the kids were on spring break, we decided to join him. This way we could spend time with Gonzalo while he works. So Sunday morning we headed off to Utah. It was a painful drive, there is a whole lot of nothing to see while driving through Wyoming. The kids however did great. We packed lots of snacks and movies to keep them busy. We also had a two hour delay due to a terrible accident that had occured early that morning with a diesel truck. While sitting in the car for an hour and a half we pasted the time by playing games and making each other laugh. I'm not sure that was a good idea since most of us had to use the restroom. Little Ethan was the only one who could successfully go to the restroom while we were parked on the road without anyone seeing. The rest of us just had to hold it.

The first day we were there we went to Temple square. This was our second time to Temple square as a family. The kids enjoy going, they love to see the Temple and visit the visitors center. We also went to see the Joseph Smith movie. The kids loved it so much last time that we went to see it again. Marissa had brought her friend Nicole from church who had not yet seen the movie.

That evening Gonzalo the kids and I took a drive through Murray, Utah. We were looking for one of our favorite places to eat (Sweet Tomatoes). While driving we pasted Murray High School. If anyone has been watching American Idol you know that David Archuleta is from Murray, Utah. He has become our favorite, plus our little Marissa has a slight crush on him. I told her we need to come back after dinner and take a picture of her next to the school sign that has David Archuleta's name on it. She declined stating she was to embarrassed.

The next day we joined our friends from Aurora,CO that were also in Utah for a day at BYU. We were able to tour the campus and enjoy a nice lunch with friends.

All in all we had a great time in Utah and like joining Daddy on his business trips.