Job situation ...

Really nothing new to report, but there are some resumes out there - one right here in San Marcos (but he hasn't heard from them in over 2 weeks since his interview ...). One resume was sent to Costa Rica (we would L O V E an overseas job somewhere), one to Dallas, one to Raleigh, NC ... but he hasn't heard from anyone! We're also working on a Chick Fil-A owner/operator application ... and we're even open to missions. Victor is toying with the idea of going back to school - maybe seminary, maybe archaeology. And I am trying to not even think of any of this and just pretend life is stable! Thank you for your prayers!

When to Brush - Part 2

Thanks to the 3 of you who responded! You were all right! :-) The correct answer (according to me) is after you eat breakfast. A special thanks to Kaylyn the dental hygenist for responding. Your answer holds a little more weight.

Coldstone Creamery Tour

"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice-cream!" It's on her spoon and coming out of her mouth! Our weekly, Monday afternoon playgroup activity was a tour of the Coldstone Creamery and we learned how ice-cream is made! Marisa is tasting the cotton candy flavor that was made before our eyes!

Here, Lucas got to mix his M&M's into his cotton candy icecream all by himself!

Here's the cotton candy ice cream ... and the kids licking their chops...

Oh so patiently waiting ...

It was fun. We had a tour of the freezer, the back of the store, and learned all about ice cream making! Perfect day to eat icecream since it was almost 180 degrees today - or it seemed like it.

I'm a Soccer Mom!

Lucas had his first ever soccer game on Saturday and it was so much fun to watch him play! He showed some real potential - he just needs to learn the rules and technique! But he certainly lacks no energy or passion! He got 2 goals in the first 5 minutes! Go Jaguars!

While the cat's away ...

The mouse doesn't cook!

Victor is away for a week and I'm making sure my children and I eat well balanced, cheap meals. We have frozen pizza for $2.50. Chicken pot pies at $.75 each. Banquet pasta and meatballs for $1.00 and lasagna for $2.50. It's cheap to be white trash!

Unfortunately, he flew to Puerto Rico for the sudden funeral of his only uncle, so we're sad about that. We're looking forward to having daddy back on Tuesday! And then its back to cooking...

When to brush ...

OK - help Victor and I solve an 8 year dispute.
Do you brush your teeth before you eat breakfast or after?
(According to my dear husband, there is a right and wrong answer. Are you right or wrong?)
Please give your answer in the comment section.
Thank you and the winning answer will be displayed next week - or whenever there are enough of MY answers to prove that I'm right.

Only 136 more!

Ever since Lucas and Marisa were born, I have been wishing them older ... to an easier stage ... to a more enjoyable stage ... wondering when "time is going to start going by so fast" as everyone says. I get so caught up in managing life that I forget to LET myself stop and enjoy them. This month I started something concrete that I hope will help me smile more and scream less. I found this tiny watering can (because we are the gardeners that 'water' our children - with God's help of course), and in it I put 136 tiny pinto beans. There are only 136 months left before Lucas graduates from high school and leaves for college. (Pinto beans - because that's what I feed my puerto rican family every Friday night.) When I put the pinto beans in the watering can and saw that it only covered half of the tiny watering can, it made me literally nauseous. The first day of every month I will take one bean out and hopefully this will remind me that my time with them is short. Love them, love them, love them.

Arizona Fun!

We had a great week in Arizona. We stayed in Flagstaff and took daytrips to different places. ONe of our favourite places is Sedona - we had a fun day hiking here. Marisa got really scared in part of the hike where we were almost rock climbing straight up for 10 -20 feet or so. Victor wanted me to take her back to the car, but being the good mom that I am, I pushed her on. (I think I missed receiving the "unselfish gene" when it was handed out to new mothers.) She did it though and loved being at the top.



We visited 3 different Indian ruins. This is Wupatki National Monument, about 1000 years old. Notice the coats - it was extremely windy this day. Also, notice Lucas climbing on the 1000 year old walls. oops.

The GRAND CANYON!! We spent 2 days here and loved it! You're looking at the Bright Angel Trail and I want to hike it!! We are looking for a family to join us in a couple years to hike down to camp at Phantom Ranch at the bottom. This is probably about 2 - 3 miles of the 9 mile hike. Any takers? We did hike down another trail for about 45 minutes but didn't want to overdue the elder Vazquez' sore knee.

The cold and wind blown Vazquez family! But who cares - we're at the Grand Canyon!

And oh so typical Lucas - while we get out to view the canyon at one of the roadside stops - Lucas opts to continue reading his book about the Grand Canyon instead of seeing it.

The best excitement! OUr last day it snows! We left Flagstaff Saturday morning with 24 degree temperature and arrived 8 hours later in Vista with 70 degrees. Ahhh, we're home. But it was a great week.

While driving home we went over all our experiences and everyone picked what they liked best. Here they are:

Victor - visiting a present day active Hopi Indian village where Indians have lived for 1000 years, and visiting the Lowell Observatory one night and viewing Saturn and its rings through the very telescope that was used to discover Pluto in the 1930's or 40's.

Me - hiking in Sedona and the Grand Canyon and eating Navajo Fry bread. :-)

Lucas - Reading about Ancient Rome in the car while we were driving from place to place. (HONEST - that's what he said!!)
Marisa - Doing crafts at the hotel's activity center one afternoon, and playing at the hotel playground.

So ... do you think we ever need to take our children on vacation again or should we just drive from playground to playground and read about Ancient times while in the car?

At least one of us enjoyed the Grand Canyon!!