CAIMAYALINE

Yosemite

2011-12-28T00:49:00.000-08:00

We decided to take a quick trip to Yosemite. We chose quality over quantity and only stayed one night so that we could go to a super awesome Tenaya resort. We started playing as soon as we got there and went swimming/hot tubbing in their nice indoor pool before even going to our room. That was immediately followed by ice skating. Xochi went around three times with me (her tiny ice skates were so cute!) and was done. She cried the rest of the night, but it didn't stop us from having fun.

Maya and Cambria LOVED it. They were like little scrambling bambis for the first hour, but they were not discouraged, even after a kazillion falls and harsh encounters with the ice. Finally, they met a new friend (Charlotte, above) and with her tips and inspiration, they got it.

There was a nice big bonfire next to the rink where Xochi hung out.

They didn't want to stop and even after over two hours ad bruised bums, we had to drag them off the ice.

We finally went to our cottage--a free standing building a small walk from the lodge. It was very cozy and warm with a fireplace.

We checked out the next morning. The lodge was beautiful!

Finally, we hit the road to see the park. We spent the rest of the day hiking and seeing the impressively gorgeous scenery.

The girls were so proud of themselves for hiking to the top of this boulder-covered escarpment.

We stopped to go bathroom before the long drive home and had some visitors. Awesome!

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T23:57:00.000-08:00

We had a super cozy and warm Thanksgiving at home. Our friends Jack and Dahlia came over and we made new friends, Caleb and Abby and got to enjoy the best turkey ever, thanks to the cooking skills of trained chef, Caleb. He made a Cajun turkey that took over 24 hours of marinating and preparing. It blew our socks off.

Jack, Caleb and Maya

Dave and Jack about to dig in.

The turkey guru.

The girls got their own litle table.

The adults were cozy on our four-person table.

It was a happy Thanksgiving.

Wrapped the day in lounging and watching How the Grinch stole Christmas, while drifting in and out of naps.

Gingerbread Houses with Friends

2011-12-07T00:09:00.000-08:00

It's a tradition that we've done with the Atherley's three years in a row. So fun.

Seattle

2011-11-28T22:50:00.000-08:00

We won a free flight anywhere in the US and I chose to go to Seattle for salsa congress--workshops performances and dancing around the clock. It was heaven. Here's me with "The Mambo King" Eddie Torres.

On the third day, I had three hours to kill before I flew home so I took a tour of Seattle. Beautiful and fascinating city!

A Day in the City

2011-11-23T23:48:00.000-08:00

I had an itch to go to the museum and be in the city on the day before Thanksgiving. The girls had school off (but Dave still had to work). So we spent the day adventuring. Park, museum, treats. I took a few pics with my terrible cell phone camera.

Cute Caima. She lost her first tooth (on the bottom) and is trying to show it.

Above:I asked a random guy if he would take a picture of my camera and his son yelled, "I want to be in it!" So the guy just waited for his son to jump in then took the picture. I was laughing so hard.

Below: Another guy nearby saw the whole thing (and was laughing too) and offered to take a better one.

My first Salsa Competition

2011-11-04T01:34:00.000-07:00

To my surprise, I got asked to be in the Annual Salsa Competition. I have been in love with Salsa since my love-at-first-listen experience in college. I even traveled through Central American with the intent to find it and learn how (oh, the days before the internet...), little did I know that it is from Cuba and doesn't exist in Central America (or if does, it's obscure). I learned Spanish and had some crazy adventures, but Salsa wouldn't come until later, back in the states. I have gone dancing over the years, but never had any training and never really knew what I was doing. So, I was flattered and thought it would be a good opportunity to improve and said yes. I had no to pride to loose. :)

My partner, David, is the social ring-leader of the local Latin club, Albertos. So, I was especially flattered. I felt bad I was so terrible. We didn't even qualify on the first round, but made it the second because there were only two couples competing that night, haha! THEN I found out that he has a dance studio in his house! So, we got to practice a couple of times a week and film ourselves. Plus, I was watching videos and practicing at home non-stop. I improved SO MUCH over the month and we ended up taking third! It was so fun and I have to say, I'm quite proud of myself for doing something so beyond my norm.

In case you didn't believe that I didn't know what I was doing, check out my awkward pose! Hahaha!

My friend Katie, on the right, was soooo helpful. She was a ballroom dance major and gave me desperately needed help on my styling, costume and hair. David also came and supported me in the final. I so appreciated all the times he took the kids so I could go practice and his support in being there. He's the best husband ever. I saw somewhere on youtube that you're supposed to "hold an egg." I take these things seriously. :) Also, I swear I looked less orange in person. :)

My awesome partner David. He was so patient and helpful. I'm so thankful he asked me and that I got this opportunity. It was one of the highlights of my life.

Here are the links for the final competition.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA6A5A28FF6D0D630

Visiting Mom and Dad

2011-10-25T00:29:00.000-07:00

Dad has been battling stage four Lymphoma. My siblings and I took turns visiting during his last brutal month. It was so good to see him. He looked better every day that I was there. I love my dad so much. My parents are amazing.

Cambria's 7th Birthday Party

2011-10-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

Garden Fresh

2011-09-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

Gardens are pure joy. (Linked the the making of our little eden.)
We are now enjoying the best heirloom tomatoes EVER daily (Purple Cherokee, thanks to my friend Tim), peas, carrots, strawberries, flowers, and soon, peppers.

Cheers!

Stealth

2011-09-11T23:30:00.000-07:00

Cambria spends hours and hours trying to catch butterflies. She has studied their patterns and movements and determined that they like the kale in our garden best and spend a lot of time there. Hence, a kale mask would help her get especially close. I came out and found her in this mask and about died of amusement. She is so awesome.

Where's Xochi?

2011-09-07T23:51:00.000-07:00

Oh, I found her.

I love my little nature girl.

Jim and Roberta's 50th Wedding Anniversary

2011-08-27T21:39:00.000-07:00

I met Jim and Roberta in Guatemala in 1998. I had planned on travelling from Belize to Panama in three months. But two weeks into my trip I rolled into a little town in Guatemala called Antigua and completely fell in love. Cobblestone streets, colorful colonial architecture, bugambilia flowers hanging over stone walls, all at the foot of a beautiful, misty volcano. I had to stay. So I looked for work. I found volunteer work with an organization called Nuestros Ahijados. I became a liason for needy Guatemalan children and their US sponsers and tutored in an after-school program. At night I waitressed at the Cafe Arco Iris, a quaint beautiful little outdoor restaurant for tourists.

It was a magical time. One of the best things that resulted from that experience was meeting Jim and Roberta, who had been living and working with Nuestros Ahijados for a couple of years. They lived there and spoke Spanish and were amazingly hard-working and kind. We became quite close through an unfortunate effort trying to prosecute and remove one of the founders of the organization, whom we had very good reason to believe was sexually abusing some of the boys in his care. I have so much respect for how much time, energy and money Jim and Roberta dedicated to the effort. We later met up in the states in Albuquerque and San Francisco and have maintained a good friendship.

I was honored to be able to attend the 50th wedding celebration of this fantastic couple.

At the dinner, Roberta went around the room and briefly introduced everyone.

I took the opportunity to say my feelings about them. In the past 20 years, they have been living abroad in the poorest nations in the third world, helping bring education and a higher standard of living to people. They integrate, learn the local language and do wonders. They have lived in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bolivia, Guatemala and Cambodia (I hope I got that right). I said that they gave me so much inspiration to keep caring and maintain idealism. So many people do service once in their lives or when they are young and then join the mainstream and forget about all of the poverty and desperation around the world. Jim and Roberta have given their lives to those in need. They provide a template for my hope in goodness.

The dinner was delicious. Sweet Maya serving herself.

Their wonderful family. They have three kids + spouses and grandkids.

They made a video of the night and conducted short interviews with everyone.

The night ended with dancing. Always a hit with our family.

The Bunny Hop!

The kids made music with shakers made of goat hooves that they got in some exotic place.

Group pictures.

God bless this wonderful couple!

(Pictures taken by their son, Alain McLaughlin)

First Day of School

2011-08-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

Back to Dual Immersion--Kindergarten for Maya and first grade for Caima.

Caima couldn't sleep for about three weeks before it started. She was very nervous.

Xochi had to have a lunch box, too.

Maya was very nervous, but did just fine.

She was teary when we had to leave.

They each got to choose one outfit. I thought they chose well. Man, I love these little spirits so much.

Painting

2011-08-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

The girls and I gathered and painted some sticks. I love them! The ordered by age going down.

It's the simple things.

Cheesy Narcissism

2011-08-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

I got glasses. Finally. My old ones broke and were about five years out of style anyway. I've been blurry-eyed for far too long. I got these from Warby Parker and quite like them.

I took a cheesy picture of me right before I went out and I kind of like it, but don't know what to do with it. So here it is.

And last, I had severe allergies to a tree in our yard this summer and thought these before-and-afters were amusing.

I know this is probably the most unlikable post ever, but whatevs.

Jared and Mike's Art Show in L.A.

2011-07-17T22:59:00.000-07:00

We bought this. I love it.

Visit To Albuquerque

2011-07-10T15:25:00.000-07:00

The girls and I left on the Fourth of July for a fun week with Grandma and Grandpa. We went to the zoo with Grandma on the first day. The Albuquerque Zoo is fantastic!!!

Todd's Wedding

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

We flew to Albuquerque to go to my old friend, Todd's wedding and to see my parents. I didn't take any pictures, but my friend Dave took theses and sent them.

This is at the reception.

The bride and groom--Rebecca and Todd, and Dave.

A group picture of all the old friends. I only really knew Dave, Frank and Todd. Dear friends. It meant a lot to be able to see them again.

Maya's Cast

2011-06-27T23:38:00.000-07:00

I found these on my phone and they are too cute not to share! Maya fell off of the slide her last week in preschool and got a small fracture in her elbow. She had to wear a cast during our entire family vacation to Sedona, San Diego and Albuquerque. She never complained once! She is such a doll.

It's off!

Date Night

2011-06-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

I found this one night when Dave and I got home from a late night date. I love Caima's drawings! Not too far off!

Chicano Park in San Diego

2011-06-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

My Birthday Dinner

2011-05-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

We went to Islands with our friends, Brent and LaDawn. Delicious and fun. Let's not talk about my hair.

Building a Garden

2011-04-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

"Mom, is this a dream? It doesn't seem real. I've never seen this much dirt before." --Maya

I wanted a garden, so I built these planters from scratch, got dirt and shoveled it all in. All completely by myself. I'm proud. (And Dave would have helped me, but I was too impatient to wait for him to get home from work :)

update sept. 24: I'm happy to report we have been chowing tomatoes, peas, kale, carrots, strawberries and soon peppers. :) It has been so fun for me and the girls.

Bunco--five takes!

2011-04-05T23:09:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas--Part III

2011-03-28T01:04:00.001-07:00

Maya's Birthday

2011-03-09T16:39:00.000-08:00

It was our sweet Maya's fifth birthday! She chose to have a party at Chuck E. Cheese followed by opening presents from Grandma's at home in jammies.

We love this girl so much.

Xochi Turns Two

2011-02-28T14:30:00.000-08:00

Our little Xochi turned two and we had a celebration.

She is very shy in large groups. This pic was taken when everyone was singing Happy Birthday. She would not look up. Suddenly, the neckline of my shirt was the most fascinating thing in the world. :)

No birthday at the Cooks is complete without a pinata. Xochi is obsessed with Elmo and Sesame Street, so naturally, that was the theme.

Happy Birthday sweet girl. We love her more every day.

Hiking at Rancho San Antonio

2011-02-23T22:53:00.000-08:00

Grandma Comes While we Were in New York

2011-02-14T22:22:00.000-08:00

Dave and I went to NY for Valentines Day. Mom came and stayed with the girls. They were in heaven with her.

She got them all ready and took them to church.

She bought them all cute little Valentine's Day outfits.

She dealt with Xochi's fierce independence. And appreciated the humor. :)

She took this picture of our new painting that Jared gave to us.

She loved her granddaughters.

She took this pic of me when I got home.

The girls after I got home. Happy and healthy. My mom is amazing. The best.

Random Pictures from around Christmas Time

2011-01-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

I need to clean off my desk top--here are a bunch of random pics. Some from our New Years Party. Some from Happy Hollow and the Tech Museum in San Jose. One of Maya's Pre-school Christmas program. One of Cambria's journal of her birthday party "I had a fun day. I got lots of toys! And I had my Halloween Fiesta. I had fun. We made crafts." And one picture of us by the Christmas tree in Union Square.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T01:29:00.000-08:00

Maya giving Caima hugs after opening a gift from her.

Gingerbread Houses!

2010-12-25T01:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas Time

2010-12-24T01:08:00.000-08:00

Maya's Project

2010-12-03T23:33:00.000-08:00

We took this pic because Maya wanted Grandma to see. She was so proud of this project she did at school with cloves and an orange—as she should be. It was artfully and meticulously done. Best in the class, by far. (I'm allowed to brag; I'm her mother. :)

Thanksgiving in Salt Lake City

2010-11-28T01:39:00.000-08:00

Las Vegas--Part IV

2010-11-14T01:17:00.000-08:00

Las Vegas--Part II

2010-11-13T00:40:00.000-08:00

Vegas-Part I

2010-11-09T23:13:00.000-08:00

Dave had a conference and we tagged along. It's becoming an annual tradition. This was a third time. This time Xochi was old enough to travel quite independently.

There is something about this that makes my heart so happy. A million of the same (it's my blog, I can be obnoxious! :)

Like usual, I got almost no pics, but I did get a couple at the top of the Eiffel Tower with my crappy cell phone.

I was surprised at how excited they were about the Eiffel Tower. They still talk about it. I guess all those episodes of Madeline piqued their interest.

There was a mall in the bottom of our hotel (Planet Hollywood--highly recommend. Our hotel suite was ENORMOUS and tricked out). I got the girls super nice down coats on super sale--thank you Vegas climate!

I couldn't resist.

San Francisco Symphony--Dia de los Muertos

2010-11-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

A combination of two things I love--I couldn't miss this! I love going to the symphony; in fact, when I was about nine years old, I had heard and fallen in love with classical music and asked for "a classical music tape" for Christmas. My sister gave me a tape of the Strauss waltzes (perfect for my age) and I wore it out. I had every breath of sound memorized. Soon after, my school class went on a field trip to the Symphony and I was so overwhelmed I cried and was embarrased and trying so hard to hide it. (I haven't changed much.) My point of this tangent is that I love going to the symphony, so when I saw they were playing for Day of the Dead--such a magical holiday-- I was very excited to share this with my kids.

There was Oaxacan chocolate and bread, exhibits, beautiful calavera costumes, and the best mariachi band I have ever heard--yes, it made me cry. We took a few pictures, but forgot our camera, so there are all from cell phones. I love the revolutionary.

Don't worry, I'm not traumatizing her. She does this to everyone she doesn't know. It just looks particularly funny when it's a calavera.

The kids played around under the stairs.

These were our nosebleed seats. I was nervous about having Xochi there and didn't want to pay any more than minimum in case we had to spend our time in the lobby. We were front and center of the balcony and I thought it was great. It was funny to see all the colorful calaveras in the audience.

After the show we hung out with friends whom I love and took pictures then had an amazing sushi feast at Yo Yo in the mission.

It was a pretty perfect day in my book.

Around Town

2010-11-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

1. I love living where we do. There is always something going on in San Francisco, but occasionally, fun stuff goes down in Mountain View. Brett, Dave and I were out for dinner one night downtown and there were a bunch of people at the bookstore. I ran over to see what was going down and when I came back and reported that Chris Kimball was there, Brett flipped out. Brett is a super amazing chef (kung food master--linked on the side) he and Meghan love C.K.'s show, America's Test Kitchen. Anyway, I looked through his cookbooks and was convinced of his genius. I am so excited about these recipes--and that's saying a lot!~

2. Caima took a pic of me and Maya in the car and I liked it.

3. This was Maya's cute card to her pre-school teacher before she went on pregnancy leave. She doesn't do objective art very often, so I captured it.

4. The girls and I went to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate. The music blew my mind-- all of the best bluegrass talent in the world. I used to be so into it and was reminded why I love it. But it was pretty strange to be back amongst hippies again. It's hard to remember why I liked that whole lifestyle--just felt so dirty. There were SO many people there. It was too crowded and even though I loved the music so much, I don't know if I'll go next year because I just don't want to battle the crowds again. This is the closest we could get to Patti Smith. We were way up on a hill and couldn't even see the stage.

5. My friend Nicholas came and visited for a few days. We met in Washington Seminar in 2000 when I did my student teaching in Anacostia and he did an internship in Al Gore's office. He is a very loyal friend and I'm thankful for his presence in my life. We share some of the same spiritual beliefs and relations to our respective religions (he is RLDS, now Community of Christ). I know I'm comparatively "out there," but I have spent so much time exploring spirituality and light and I feel like I have been guided to be exactly where I am. So the few people I know who understand me and don't judge me negatively mean a lot to me.

Also, I have become so disenchanted with politics because of all the meanness. I love to debate and argue, but I don't like it when there is hatred underlying it and there is too much of that lately. I have completely cut myself off from all things political for detox and wasn't even going to vote. But, Nicholas' enthusiasm was contagious and restored some of my interest and got me to the voting booth.

It was really great to see him. I'm mad that I didn't get a decent picture. I'm in the habit of only taking pictures of the kids. We went on a little jaunt to Shoreline lake on Sunday afternoon.

6. The Giants won the World Series! This was the ticker tape parade from the window at Dave's office in SF.

More Party.

2010-10-31T00:27:00.000-07:00

We had such a great Halloween weekend. It's been four years since we moved to Northern California. My awesome Aunt Sally has lived two hours from us on an amazing piece of land filled with fun and we have intended to, but have had yet to visit. So this year we were determined to go to her annual Halloween Bash and made the trek. We were so happy to have the Sorensons go with us and meet more family. It was quite a night...

We started with the costume parade.

All the kids.

Then ate chili and cornbread before the trunk-or-treat. This guy grew these crazy huge pumpkins and carved it in relief.

Uncle Brad gave us the special treatment and took us on a super long tractor ride around the farm grounds. Here he is pointing out where the owls live in the barn.

Then we roasted marshmallows on the bon fire and hung out.

Dad and Xochi.

Two favorite women--adorable Aunt Sal and Beth.

Then the night ended with a rave in the barn. One of Dalin's friends is an up-and-coming DJ and threw a super fun party. Super fun.

Kai and Caima dancing (with ear protection :)

It was such a fun night and I'm so glad the Sorensons came. I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of how awesome my family is.

And FINALLY, real Halloween day! The girls got dressed up again and we hit our own neighborhood (for the first time ever--we're finally out of the hood!) for trick-or-treating.

Xochi LOVED it and was giddily running around and squealing.

We got a fun visit from my friend Nicholas and I'm sad I didn't get more pictures--but it was so fun celebrating both Halloween and the elections with him. He's very into politics, travel and most anything that is interesting and it's always fun talking with him. His excitement during the elections was contagious and disolved some of my recent, and severe, political disenchantment. I am so glad he came.

At the neighbors house.

And our Halloween is finally done!

Cambria Singing the Calabaza (Jack-o-lantern) Song

2010-10-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Halloween at School (AKA Halloween Overdose)

2010-10-29T00:05:00.000-07:00

Maya started pre-school with a trick-or-treating excursion to through the community center and the Senior Center...

...WHICH I CAN'T WAIT TO JOIN! Man, it is a total party over there! Pool tables, dance hall, yoga room, lounge--all hoppin' at 10:00 AM! The old guys are so rad! I tried to sneak a pic of the pool room and this guy saw me and started singing and dancing for me. I was cracking up. I told him he made me impatient to get older.

This is one of Maya's best buddies at school, Rowena.

After parading and treats at Maya's school, we went to Caima's school for a singing concert, party and parade. Can you find Caima? (Back right).

I felt like the worst mom in the world. I somehow got the wrong time and showed up for the singing presentation 15 min. late and missed it. I felt soooo bad. But, she gave me a private performance on the playground. I'm going to try to upload one of the songs.

This is one of Caima's friends, Genie. Every time I bring Maya with me to Caima's class, all the kids call her Genie. There is definitely a resemblance!

These are Cambria's best buddies at school--Iliana, Genie, and Andisheh.

My little super-girl in the parade.

I wasn't sure if I should be slightly concerned that her teacher chose to dress up as a very accurate Milificent, haha! I'm just glad she's festive :). (She's a good teacher.)

This was a very rare short break from ultra-grumpiness that pervaded the whole day with Xochi. She was teething and miserable. But, she LOVES that little bowling pin (Andrew) and when I sat her next to him to watch the parade, she was happy.

It was a full day of costuming and partying. Holidays are soooo different when you're a mom--who knew there was so much labor behind the party?! :)

Halloween Traditions

2010-10-28T01:42:00.000-07:00

Every year we go to Lemos Farm in Half Moon Bay to bring in the Halloween season. It's a little run-down, but the kids love it.

This just pained me. Pregnancy is bad enough without being miniature. Poor thing.

Grandma gave them these outfits last year and they still fit!

Cute cute friends Rachael and Soren.

Caima was right in there petting, feeding and loving the animals. Maya and Xochi were reluctant.

The girls loved the pony ride (but Mom didn't--I sware they went around 100 times. The place was empty so they got LONG turns.)

My beautiful friend Katie and her baby Bronwyn, whom Xochi LOVES so much. She turns to butter around her and can't get enough. She's quite disappointed when she runs into babies who aren't Bronwyn.

Rachael and Xochi rode together on the Haunted train ride--creepy!--but Xochi was being punk and would not smile; that face is more deliberate than it seems. She cracks me up.

Hay Ride!

Maya wanted to take a pic.

We bought pumpkins in Half Moon Bay and came home and carved them. I love this. I'm still like a five year old and love getting my hands all goopy. The girls were hesitant, but I taught them to appreciate the mess :)

The final product (girls were ready for bed, wearing their "rojos"). Maya wanted a cute jack-o-lantern.

And Caima wanted a scary one.

It was a perfect fall day.

FYI

2010-10-27T23:46:00.001-07:00

I have added about 15 new posts this week, but I give them dates according to when the events happened, so new ones are buried down in August on.

Most of them are a little void of personality because I'm going for quantity over quality until I get caught up. Hopefully we'll step up the entertainment a notch in a bit...

The Haps at Home

2010-10-27T01:27:00.000-07:00

Some random pics of home life.

Dave complained that he could never get work done at home and that he wished he had an office. I am a genie...voila! Garage office.

Heart melting.

Xochi learned how to do Mr. Potato head!

Mostly. This struck me so funny that day...(I have a huge soft spot for misfits :)

Xochi has quite a fiery little personality, but when she is being sweet, we are all puddles.

The girls live for her hugs and kisses. She rations them sparingly.

The girls were getting ready for tap/ballet and Xochi wanted to join, so we made her a little costume.

All the picture taking wore her out.

Punk face Xochi--a common sight around here.

Caima wanted pics.

Best Dad in the world. I have been feeling soooo thankful for this lately. It seems like so many girls have heavy issues related to the way their dads treated them. I feel so lucky to have no daddy-issues and I'm positive my girls won't have any either.

The people I love most in this world.

SHAKIRA (I'm obsessed)

2010-10-22T00:19:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what to say about this. I have been a HUGE fan since 1996...14 years. I bought floor tickets and saw her last Friday. I have not been this obsessed with anyone since high school crushing haha! Seriously, though. It's all I have listened to and thought about for the past two or three weeks. For the days leading up to the show I had butterflies, upset stomach, loss of appetite, couldn't sleep. It's embarrassing! I mean, I know I am an intense person, and when I'm into something, I'm really into it... but a pop star?! Why couldn't I have been through this phase when I was 12 with New Kids on the Block or something. Why now, when it's so age inappropriate. Still, I can't help it. I listened to her during so much dating drama through college and no one seems to reflect (and amplify) my soul like her--on so many levels: her bohemian fee-spirit, her super-charged sexuality, her dramatic reaction to pain in the world, her introspective brooding, her celebration of culture and art, her love of dance in so many forms, and she's Latina (and I'm a wanna-be). Plus she's so hot. She expresses it all with sexy, confident abandon. She is amazing.

Dave was so fun to go with. He was such a good sport and just supported me in all my spazz. We had to wait for like two hours for her to come out. The anticipation was making me crazy!!! Dave helped calm me down.

Our pics turned out horribly. There were times when she was 15 feet from me--her energy is amazing.

It was so fun to be at a show and to know every single word to every song.

(Hair malfunction.) I was so incredibly spastic. Really, really spastic.

The finale (Waka-Waka) was incredible. The whole thing was.

I went through withdrawal for the few days afterward. I love her more than ever and can't wait until the next show!

Viva Shakira!!!

Cambria Turned Six!

2010-10-18T23:12:00.000-07:00

This little girl is such a lighthouse. She has such a powerful spirit and is so full of kindness and love. I feel so honored to be her mom. She had a wonderfully celebrated birthday this weekend.

Grandma Roberts gave her this darling dress and I thought the picture was especially appropriate because her little groupie was stuck to her. Caima is like a second mom to Xochi, in the sweetest, most patient, nurturing way. Xochi absolutely adores her. Sometimes she yells for her in the mornings when she wakes up and Cambria goes in and gets her out of her crib and takes care of her. Melts me to see their bond.

I have been so bad a taking pictures this year, so I'll have to do a scanitly-pictured breakdown of her birthday celebrations.

Saturday she had a huge birthday party in the park with all her friends (and their parents). We had food, treats, and a pinata. She was in heaven.

That afternoon she had a soccer game, in which she rocked! She has gotten soooo good!!! She really goes out there with confidence and skills! She scored the only two goals that their team made last game. I'm so impressed.

On Monday we celebrated at school and at home. I brought cookies and milk to her class and they all ate outside and sang to her. Later they did a little celebration in the class. That night we went to Outback with just the family. She and Maya ended the night in a love fest, hugging and giggling until we left the restaurant.

She had a great birthday and was soooo excited about the generous gifts that friends and family gave her. We have awesome peeps.

I'm so glad Cambria was born and I love her so much.

San Francisco Zoo

2010-10-09T00:10:00.000-07:00

We were on our way to a pumpkin patch and came upon horrible traffic, so we diverted and started heading toward the city instead. My lovely Caima had the fantastic idea of going to the zoo. We were much obliged! (I just liked this pic she took of herself).

It's an awesome zoo. I love it. We got no pics of the exotics animals, though--only of these domestic children.

Wild Peacocks wandering around the food court.

It ate from my hand!

Xochi loved the monkeys!!!

We stopped and got Thai food on our way home. It was a perfectly idyllically fun day!!!

Adventures with Friends

2010-10-08T00:32:00.000-07:00

Being out here in California is awesome on many accounts, but the one drawback is that we feel so deprived of family. I miss having family around so much and I crave that familiar comfort that having someone who knows your background and where you came from and the people you love and who you have an automatic love for no matter what. We are so lucky to have a little piece here. We share cousins--Bill's family--so we are second cousins by marriage, but family is family and I embrace it. I love them as friends, regardless, but having the family connection makes it extra awesome to me.

They are such a fun and brilliant family who are always doing interesting stuff which makes them fantastically fun to hang out with. We had a bunch of pictures piling up, so I thought I'd document a few of our adventures in one post.

We went to an awesome park in Golden Gate Park one day. The kids wore themselves out then we indulged at a delicious Peruvian ceviche (my favorite!) restaurant. I'm always excited to find friends who will eat seafood with us. We wrapped up the day with Bi-Rite ice cream. Yum.

Caima and Maya at the park.

On Memorial Day (I think) we met in the city and ate at one of our favorite Mexican places (lots of good vegetarian food). Later, they took us to this awesome place for nerdy genius kids to play (meaning build robots and hack computers and stuff). Since this is one of my favorite genres of people on the planet, I was very excited. Dave and the girls got a little kit and soldered a cool little integrated circuit board LED light thing. (I was on Xochi duty and we wandered around, talked to interesting people, and painted).

A few Sundays ago we went up to a hike that is supposedly one of the most beautifully scenic hikes in the area. But, we got drizzle and clouds and missed the view. It was still a really cool setting, though and I felt like I was on some Dune planet.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend decided to go on a road trip and had six awesome tickets to Cheap Trick that they weren't going to use and we got them--we were SO excited. Dave grew up on heavy metal and I'm a hessian at heart, so it was pretty much the best thing ever. I unleashed my inner hessian and threw some hair around and pumped some fist...and had a stiff neck the next day. (I'm such a dork).

Me with model-esque Beth.

Our hearts were full of the spirit of rock.

As if genius wasn't enough, they are also athletic and exhibited some impressive rock climbing skills at an awesome gym in Sunnyvale. I don't think I had been since I broke up with Mike (my ridiculously amazing climber ex-boyfriend) and it felt sooo good to be back on the wall (even though I sucked). The highlight for me was watching Maya skitter up like a little gecko. She was so good!

Both the girls.

Tthis is one of the coolest, most creative, smart girls on the earth.

And we adore this exciting, passionate, exuberant soul.

The girls were so giddy to learn that they were related (third cousins I think?)

And this concludes our adventure. You may now unbuckle your seatbelt.

Projects

2010-09-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

A few pics of some time-killers. Cambria saved some money and chose to buy a coloring book at Michael's then we made these puppets out of it and put on plays. I love to hear what they come up with.

Cambria's first book report. She is such a good artist and they have been so fun to watch her produce.

I made the girls these rope swings in the backyard. They took a lot of work for such a simple product. They have spent so much time on them, though. It was a good investment of time.

Friends Make Life Good

2010-09-25T05:04:00.000-07:00

The Stubbs and Jeremy Came to town to see Cap'n Jazz. It so nice to have old friends around. There is always a few days of mourning after old friends are gone again.

Cute heads.

More peeps we love. We got a fun, post-marriage visit and I had to get a pic of Miss Piggy snoring asleep on her back--cracked me up.

Caima and Maya's cute and fun buddies, Sydney and Logan.

My friend Jackie was in town and I was so excited to see her--she is such an amazing person. Brief history: Rocked at Air Force Academy, became doctor and was primary care physician in different places, including military service in Iraq, got bored and started over to become an ER doctor, which she does now. All of her work is heavily punctuated with medical service travels and pure pleasure travels ALL OVER the world. I don't think I know anyone who has been more places than her--all of them beautifully documented with fantastic photography. And she's super fun, generous and generally awesome. Goodness, I love this girl.

8th Anniversary in New York

2010-09-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

Dave was out of town most of September on different work trips. He was going to be in New York for Fashion Week on our anniversary and I was dying to go, so we made it happen. Well actually, my mom made it happen. She is a saint. She flew in from Albuquerque and took care of our three little ones for the week. They were so excited. Cambria even made a calendar to put on the wall by her bed for the countdown.

I had to fly out a few hours before she arrived, so I was bummed to miss her, but I was excited to be in the city with my man. Dave sent a town car to pick me up at the airport and I was so ready to be there. We stayed in Soho in a new hotel called The James--amazing. This was a view from one of our windows (we were in a corner room).

We got to do screen chats with the girls while we were gone. Here's me all relaxed in my hotel robe. Not my prettiest moment, but I sure was cozy. :)

I spent most of my time just wandering around and shopping. It was heavenly. One of my favorite moments of the trip was walking past a park...no whining, no stopping...just walking past it.

On our anniversary night, Dave took me to a fabulous restaurant, then we walked around. It was very romantic.

I took almost no pictures the whole trip, but I had to stop and snap one of this bike. I think I heard there were knitting vandals--knitting graffati around the city.

Shopping for glasses. I liked these.

We went to a couple of fashion shows and this end of the event party. I lifted these pictures from a site since we didn't take any.

Happy Anniversary to us! I feel more and more secure, in-love and impressed with him every year. And I swear he gets better looking every year. He is SUCH an amazingly good man. I'm a lucky girl. There is no one else I could have been as easily and happily married to.

We ate delicious food, wandered, and soaked up the city. The last night we went to Birdland. I've been wanting to go there since I was in high school and it lived up to my expectations. Dreamy. The whole trip was dreamy. I was so happy there. Ever since we went I've missed it and daydream about moving there.

I'm so thankful for my mom and for her sacrifice that allowed this trip. We got home and got to spend a day with her before she left the next afternoon. I was awestricken to come home to three happy girls, meals in the freezer and a spotless house. Literally spotless. She washed all our rugs, scrubbed our walls, ironed our clothes (and sheets) , and washed everything inside and out. I have no idea how she has energy for all that. She is the most amazing homemaker I could imagine existing. AND she's fun! And kind! An impossible combination!

We had a little photo shoot before she left. I love my mom so much. So so much.

Random Pics

2010-09-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

There are a few pictures from the last couple of months left before I am caught up!

The kite park! A family staple. We love it here. It was Xochi's first time flying, and maybe the last for a while-- she loved the drama of letting it go.

The girls got butterfly wings and catchers at a birthday party. I found them like this and thought it was hilarious.

We got a visit from Carl--yay!!! Unfortunately this is the only pic we got, but I had to put it up to document the visit. At the beach.

Chinatown. Now that the girls have learned to earn and save money, they LOVE Chinatown. So much spending power! (I guess that negates the saving part, though).

The girls like to do yoga and exercise. Their little swimsuit bums were too cute for me to resist taking a picture of.

TheFind had their first company party. There was so much for the kids to do and hardly any kids there so Caima and Maya had a blast with it all to themselves.

We went to the cutest reception ever! Our friends Rebecca and Derek got married and had bluegrass band, a sing-along, and miniature golf. All of the holes were from stages of their life. Awesome!

There was also a photo booth at the reception. Cute!

Maya's First Day of School

2010-08-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

Maya has the best preschool teachers in the world. They are so sweet and the classroom environment almost feels like a spa. It is so nice to know my little Maya is in good hands. She was very ready for the first day of school and excited to be back.

Xochi is ready too. She follows Maya in and plops down in the circle with the other kids. I feel so bad taking her away. She's usually a pretty good sport about it and yells "Baaaaaaahh!" (Bye) to Maya all the way out.

When we pick her up, she pushes her way through the crowds and is usually the first one in the room and runs over to Maya for big hugs. It's soooo cute.

This cute little boy is Xander. He was been Maya's best little buddy all last year. It's always interesting to me to see who your kids are interested in and what kind of people they are attracted to and get along with. He had a hard time and cried almost every morning. A lot. But Maya just took to him. His mom said he talked about Maya all the time at home. She was the only one who could get him to stop crying.

Yay for another great year!

Santa Cruz with Jay

2010-08-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

Spent a fun day in Santa Cruz. The girls have talked about it non-stop since Dave took them once when I was out of town. Our friend Jay invited us to go and we love Jay, so we headed down. It was fun to hang out with him, but I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of the boardwalk. But it was a fun one-time thing.

Me an Xochi hanging out while the big kids ride the roller coaster.

Here is Caima furiously pouting. I have a video at the end of this post of my horrible parenting moment--laughing at her.

Me, Jay and Xochi on the tram.

Caima and Maya wanted to ride with Daddy.

At the end of the day we went to the beach. Xochi was tired and cozied up in this blanket and stayed there. Cracked me up.

I listen to this and feel so mean!!! I'd probably be a much better parent if I could rewind and watch myself every day.

Cambria's First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-23T00:20:00.000-07:00

The day we found out who her teacher would be...

Oh man, I can barely cope with how much I love this little girl. Here is Cambria on her first day of school in room 19 (Maestra Ramirez in the background) at Castro Elementary in their Spanish/English Dual Immersion program.

It was VERY bright and sunshiny.

For the first two weeks, the parents got to come in and read with the kids. It was needed and cherished time. After two weeks of school I asked Cambria what her favorite thing in school was and she said "Reading time with Mom in the morning." I killed me and I have been volunteering twice a week in the mornings since then.

It is so hard to leave that little face every day! Sometimes I selfishly want to homeschool.

I didn't expect for it to be this hard. I cried for two weeks before and after Caima started Kindergarten. I know it's such a stereotype, but I think i exceeded the norm. I tried to never let Cambria see me cry, but I'm sure she picked up on it (because kids sense everything) and for this reason, I blame myself to some degree for how hard it has been for her. The Spanish has been hard for her, the five and a half hour days have been hard, having a strict teacher has been hard, and being away from her family has been hard. But, it has been getting better every week...

(This was actually posted Oct. 11).

Pics from Summer

2010-08-20T23:05:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite moments are when the whole family is engaged in creative projects. We gessoed and painted rocks one day--one of my favorite childhood activities. Dave painted a beauty--I wish I had a picture of it.

The girls and I drove to Berkeley one day to visit my old friend from Boston. Terry has been a very influential person in my life. It's a very long story, but he was a direct answer to a prayer and plays a huge part in why I became an elementary teacher and also how I raise my children from the time they are born. He's a very unique person, and one I am thankful for.

Xochi was less than happy that day. She was teething and miserable. I had been dealing with her for days and was exhausted and impatient. But that night I somehow absorbed her pain. My jaws on all four sides had an immense throbbing pressure than made my head feel like it was going to explode. Total misery! I can't believe nature would mandate babies experience that. I will never be impatient with her through teething again!

When we moved to this neighborhood we had no idea how beaver-cleaver like it was. They block off the street every summer and have a big pot-luck get-together. Followed by a group picture. I found this to be hilarious.

It's fun to have girls :)

Once again, Xochi beat me to helping her get in the bath.

A bunch of Sunday-after-church pics.

The girls saved their money and chose to buy these umbrellas in China town. They were so excited.

Trampoline Faceplanting

2010-08-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

San Jose Jazz Festival -- Salsa Stage

2010-08-15T15:04:00.000-07:00

Me and Caima getting our groove on. One of my favorite things about summer. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the San Jose Jazz Festival and spend most of my time at the Salsa stage.

Happy Hollow and The Japanese Tea Gardens

2010-07-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

This place is a staple of our summer and we go about once a week, so documenting it seems necessary. Happy Hollow is a kiddie amusement park, perfect for the girls ages.

We like to park down the street from the park and walk to it through the Japanese Tea gardens. It is a gorgeous piece of landscape.

There is also a zoo, which is a big hit especially with Xochi, who is too small to ride most of the the park rides. She loves getting out of the stroller and seeing all the animals. She loves animals so much and I sometimes feel guilty for not getting her a dog. She seems to almost need one.

Coolest HUGE tortoise. Loved watching it.

This slingshot swing is a huge hit with the girls. Many smiles.

Caima is proud of herself for riding the roller coaster all by herself. It is her favorite thing in the park.

This is Maya's favorite ride. While she is white knuckled, she euphorically loves it.

We always take our time on our way home through the gardens. The girls love to watch the little tetra.

We have brought people here when we have visitors because it's a good way to entertain the kids while the adults talk. I even dragged Carl here a few months ago. He was a good sport. But, it was a little more fitting when the Stubbs visited and Meghan took her three cuties.

Maya and Sobe.

Impromptu dance party.

Jack and Dahlia Get Married

2010-07-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends Jack and Dahlia got married! I love them both. They are so fun to talk to and hang out with. Dalia is amazing. She is a bio-researcher, originally from Israel, and has a background in Hippie (kindred spirit!) She is always up for adventure and we have had fun skiing, dancing and playing together. I love meeting girls that I click with. Jack is such a sweetheart. He is one of the best-hearted people I've ever met--one of those people that everyone knows and loves. He's always gifting me and the girls with jewelry (he is a jewelry designer/maker). It has been a fun friendship.

They are both brilliant and fascinating people and are so cute together. I'm so happy they're hitched for life.

Dave and Xochi celebrating.

We met Jack and Dahlia through our friends, so it was fun to hang out with them while we were there.

Camping in July

2010-07-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

Camping in July

2010-07-01T22:03:00.000-07:00

Thought I would test video uploading. Here are the pictures from our fun camping trip. It was our first ever camping trip with the girls and I was soooo excited to enter that stage of parenting fun. It was a success--we had a blast! Loved it.

My cute husband and cute baby. Makes me happy.

She was being so funny.

Cute Caima!!!

The only glitch we hit was that little Xochi had a hard time falling asleep in the tent, so I walked her around the grounds until she fell asleep. It was sweet.

They slept perfectly through the night.

Yup, we had marshmallows for breakfast.

The Redwoods!

We went to the redwood trail. They are so majestic. The girls in a tree trunk:

Look at that little face!

On our way home and wishing we could have stayed longer!