Casa de los Olsen

On Lucas

2012-01-31T12:11:00.001-07:00

I feel like a bad mother because I don't have near as many pictures and posts about Lucas' life to this point as I do Olivia's. Ya se (I know) that having two kids limits your time do do things, and that our life is much busier now than it was back then, but I still feel bad. So, here is a post on my little boy.

Lucas is my sweet little boy. He's all about his Mami, I love it! I know it sounds horrible, but I think there is a bond with him that I didn't have with my Oli. I attribute it to my health, since with Lucas I've been able to care for him 100% since the day he was born and I really wasn't able to do that with Olivia until she was much older.

He's super smart. at the age of 10 Months and one week, here are a short list of his accomplishments: laughing, fake laughing, smiling, giving kisses, waving goodbye, very, very good object permanence (since like he was 6 months old), jumping (expert jumper since he was like 3 months old-no joke he loves to jump), standing up, crawling and going up stairs, dancing, talking [no, no, no, pa pa pa (papi), ma ma ma ma (mami or mas-more)] and an expert at throwing fits. He understands when Mami or Papi tell him "no" and he understands when we ask him to come over to us.

His little personality is starting to come out more and more and it's so cute to see. He is not much of a fan of libros (books), at least not the book Olivia loved. He loves balls, cars and trucks. He loves when his Papi sings to him "I hope they call me on a Mission." He loves to EAT. You couldn't tell from looking at him since he's such a little guy, but he's got a bottomless pit as a stomach. He eats anything and everything-baby food, bread, tortillas from Guelita, fruits, anything we eat he eats too! He loves to be tickled, loves to play games and to rough house with dad. He's mischievous, he keeps me on my toes all day long. He is by far my most active baby. Loves sitting down and watching sports-he sat at 2 months old and watch a Mexico soccer game with me from start to finish.

I could go on and on about this kid! But instead, I'll post some pictures instead!

Day he was born- March 2011:

One Month (April):

Two months (May):

Three Months (June):

Four Months (July):

Five Months (August):

Six Months (September):

Seven Months (October):

Eight Months (November):

Nine Months (December):

Ten Months (Januray 2012):

Mos of the pictures here at taken close to the month mark except this last one. I love this last one-it was taken at the beginning of the year so he wasn't quite 10 months old at the time, but I love it-you can see his personality shining right through!

On Projects

2012-01-30T11:46:00.001-07:00

He tenido (I've had) a little bit of extra time lately. Not much, just a few minutes here and there. I've been doing a lot of different things in that time-keeping up on house work, reading for fun and for a book club, playing and reading with the kids, you know, the usual.

The one thing I haven't had much time for in the past year is exercising. I've been trying to get some done recently, it hasn't been much, just one or maybe two days a week. Then, hace dos semanas (two weeks ago),I sent John a text letting him know I had gone running on the treadmill. I always like to tell him because he is so supportive and encouraging when I do have a chance to workout. Then, John came up with a brilliant plan. He made working out a competition between the two of us. John and I are competitive junkies, so this was perfect.

Tuvimos que decidir (we had to decide) we would judge this competition. We couldn't judge it based on the number of miles ran or how fast it was done because I would be at a disadvantage. We finally figured it out. Decidimos (we decided) that the person that exercised the most days en la semana (during the week) was the winner. The loser would then have to do something for the winner. So, the first week we did it, John won and he asked me to do a cleaning of our bedroom-dusting, folding away clothing, vacuuming, etc (we usually do this together every week). I won this last week. He owes me a day of exercising together-running, or yoga, or a Nike workout. He didn't like losing. I have to say this wonderful. I don't mind losing because at least it gets me out doing something-even the week I lost, I had at least exercised for a few days. I'm already seeing benefits from this. I'm sore (I love it!), I feel better, have more energy and am eating a lot better. Thank goodness for competition!

Otra cosa (another thing) that I've been doing a lot of lately is crocheting. This is last on my daily to do list, and sometimes it doesn't get done and that's OK. But here are a few of the projects that I've done:

An infinity scarf (not the best pictures, sorry about that):

Owl Fingerless Gloves:

And a to match:

I just finished the body of a pair of owl gloves for Olivia (purple, of course), I just have to make the eyes and beak. Then I'm going to make her a matching cowl (she already has the owl hat, but it's not purple, so I might make her a new one to match). I'll pictures when I'm done. For Lucas, he's got some slippers (that I'm still deciding on the right pattern) and possibly a tiger or Lion beanie (still haven't decided which one I like the most). He pensado (I've thought) of selling some of my stuff, what do you think?

On Random Musings

2012-01-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

We had Stake Conference this weekend. It was pretty great. We were lucky enough to have an Apostle -Elder Richard G. Scott and Area Seventy - Elder Stephen B. Allen (I couldn't find an official church page with his info, but if you Google him you'll find a lot of info on him), preside over our conference. Wow. That was a lot of links. Anyway, I felt pretty uplifted overall by the messages we received. I especially loved hearing from Elder Allen-I've known him for a long time. He was my Stake President as a teenager and young single adult and my family was really close with him. And por su puesto (of course), it is always a privilege to hear from a General Authority. As Elder Allen put it, if there was no growth in the Church, the next time we would have a General Authority visit would be in 27 years. It also nice to catch up and see a lot of people from our old ward, I miss them a lot.

We've been keeping busy as usual. John leaves for work at 6:30 in the morning. Mondays andWednesdays trabajo (I work) in the afternoon. To add to the craziness, John watches the kids in the afternoon, while he has cross country/basketball/track practice. What an amazing guy! Oli has preschool in the mornings-either on Tuesday and Thursdays or Wednesday and Fridays-it all depends on the high school's schedule. I also work from home on Tuesdays-John has basketball games so he can't watch the kids. This is usually what my Tuesday nights look like:

And finally, I work Thursday mornings and am off on Friday. Oh, how I love Fridays!

We've been doing lots of fun stuff this year. We've gone to the Library, took the kids to Airborne a few weeks ago. It was awesome-Olivia has such a fun time every time she goes:

I love this last picture:

Olivia got "hurt" and she had this group of big teenage girls around her comforting her! What a little ham she is!

A noche (Last night) we had a "sleep out." A while back John and I bought two large sleeping bags that you can zip up together and make a queen sized sleeping bag (it is seriously huge!). We always said that one night we would pull out the sleeping bags and have a sleep out in the sala (living room). Oli's been wanting to do this for ages-but we've never gotten around to doing it. We finally did it last night, got to take a picture right before we went to bed, but this is what it looked like in morning:

We had a lot of fun (especially Olivia)-and can't wait to do this again! Hope you all have a great week!

On Chinese New Year

2012-01-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Chinese New Year! This year marks the year of the Dragon-what is your Chinese Zodiac sign? I'm a sheep, Oli is a Boar, Lucas is a rabbit and John is a Horse. El Sabado por la noche (Saturday Night) we celebrated Chinese New Year with John's familia. We went to a little restaurante in Salt Lake City. I told John I had memories of this place as we drove by it every Sunday to go to church (Barrio Lucero) when we lived in Salt Lake, but had never been in. I must be honest, I was a bit leery. However, it was one of the funnest times we've had this year! The food was delicious! Then half way through our dinner, the owners came by and handed everybody a dollar bill to feed dragons. Meanwhile, outside there was a firework show and then drummers and the "dragons" came in and danced through out the whole restaurant. The place isn't very big, but the show was awesome! Olivia and Lucas loved it! Lucas would hold his little hand out to try to touch them. I can't wait to go el proximo año! Thanks Jenny and Paul for inviting us!

Oli eating with chop sticks-she's pretty good!

Fun, huh? There was a film student recording this as well.He told us he would be putting his video up on a blog, so once he does that, I'll post the link. We have a video, but it was taking forever to post and it wasn't even long. So if anybody knows of a better way to post videos, let me know!

On a side note, Olivia's had a little flu bug. She told us that her dollar bills she was holding gave her the flu! I've been laughing all day long thinking about how her little mind must have come up with that!

On a new year

2012-01-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

I'm late. It seems that I'm late more often than not these days. I'm late in wishing everybody a Happy New Year, but thankfully today is Chinese New Year, so I can say I'm right on time! Well, 2011 was a whirlwind of a year! We started they year with our old (and dear) home being reconstructed. We had a baby! We moved-twice! We worked a lot-in our jobs and in our new home, went to school the semester Lucas was born. Took DOS (two) classes last semester. That may not sound like much, but do it while tyring juggling my crazy work schedule, John's crazy work schedule (teaching, cross country practice and meets, basketball tryouts, practices and games), two kids, household, work and school responsibilities and moving twice in one semester. Only one word can describe it-crazy. Learned lots of new things and had much reinforced. Los niños have grown. A lot. They've learned a lot. They've also been sick. A lot this invierno (Winter).We're officially sick of being sick. I'm glad for 2011 and all it brought, but I ask 2012 to not be a repeat of 2011.

Hoy es el aniversario (Today is the anniversary) of my dear Guelitos. Gueltio passed away last May. Olivia saw his picture the other day and said "I miss my Guelito." We miss him too. But we are grateful for Guelito's life and his example and especially to have Guelita.

We are doing great! It's been stressful at times and I sometimes let that get to me. But, I have a good husband que me recuerda (that reminds me) that I'm not the only one going through this. Most of the time (like 97% of the time) it snaps me right out of my funk. Our life is crazy and that's ok. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Here is a look at 2011. Hope 2012 has been treating everybody well!

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

Change in "Class Project"

2011-11-18T15:14:00.001-07:00

Ok. In class yesterday, we had quite the discusion (discussion). It appeared that algunos of the students didn't approve much of the time that was voted on for our pictures. Apparently 4-20 has something to do with international pot day (as in the drug-not something you cook in or use for your plants and flowers). It was a heated argument, the terms democratic system, voting, intolerant among many other terms were thrown around. So, we had a redo and are now taking pictures at 12:34 PM MST-right after noon.

One of the things mentioned both in class on the last post was that the pictures would be similar, or that they didn't know what to take a picture of. Eugene (my professor), dijo lo siguiente (said the following-I took notes by the way!): "Make your picture interesting to you. Make it something that you would be proud to put on your wall." I hope this helps. Have fun!!!

On a class project

2011-11-15T21:32:00.001-07:00

Today in class, your professor presented part of our examen final (final exam). I thought it was such a cool idea that I wanted to see if I could do something like that as post as well. Here is what we are doing:

Todo empezo (it all started) with the day 10/10/10 as inspiration. People videotaped what they saw on that day and sent it in. There is literally footage from every country in the world-it's pretty amazing-you can go here to read more about it.

After watching this trailer, our professor presented the idea that we as a class would do the same thing, only with fotos (pictures). Nuestra clase (Our class) decided that we would take our pictures on Thanksgiving Day, at exactly 4:20 PM, Mountain Standard Time and then present our picture as part of our final.

So here is my desafio (challenge) to you: Take a picture on Thursday, November 24,2011 at exactly 4:20 PM, MST. Email it to me and I'll post them on my blog. You in?

On Class

2011-11-11T12:12:00.001-07:00

I'm back at school this semester. I'm taking two classes-one on campus and one online. A veces (sometimes) I feel really discouraged that I can't take more. I get asked how much longer, and it feels like an eternity because of the limited number of classes I can take. But I love it.

The class I'm taking on campus is Intro to Digital Photography. It's the best! My teacher's name is Eugene-he's really cool and really patient. I've learned muchisimo (a ton) already, here are some of the pictures I've learned to take:

Light/ time lapsed photography:

This is of Marriot Library-taken with out a flash:

For my homework on Color balance- I love that I took this and it wasn't a photoshoped image-so cool!

I can't say that my photography is getting better, but I now know how to prioritize my settings and how they each work, and my understanding is continually improving.

The other thing that I'm learning is how to use a Mac Computer and we've recently started to use Photoshop. It can be a little overwhelming, but I'm having so much fun! Can't wait to see what else is in store for the remainder of the semester!

On a greeting

2011-11-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

I tried to post the day after Halloween. I wanted todos (everybody) to watch a video. It didn't work. I think the video was to large. I'll have to figure out how a different way to do it. Let's see, what happened in October??? Oh! John's boys and girls Cross country teams qualified for the State Championship! The boys have qualified ever since John took over the program, but this was the first year they girls qualify in close to 20 years. Both teams did great-John was super pleased with their results.

Life has been busy. We moved (again) and are still trying to unpack and get settled, but it's proven to be a challenge. Our vida (life) is just so crazy right now-work, kids, school, moving/unpacking. A veces (sometimes) it feels like it's to much for me to handle, but once I get thinking about it, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Our neighborhood is super nice. We love our neighbors and all of the kids on our street. This is especially exciting for Olivia, she has already made some great friends already! We are also trying something new-we've decided to attend our home ward instead of a Spanish branch/ward. The ward is great-really great, I love it already- but I miss hearing the gospel in Spanish, and I especially miss singing in Spanish. Olivia miss it too, she told us the other day: "I think we should go to our Spanish church because I don't know the songs in English." We asked her what she did in primary when she didn't know the words, she replied "I sing in Spanish." However, I'm happy with the decision we've made.

So without further delay, here are some pics from October:

Birthday Hike at Alta:

State Cross Country:

Picking out pumpkins at our favorite Pumpkin Patch:

Twins:

So, the last post I mentioned was going to be about Halloween (we hope you all had a good one!). Since I couldn't get the video up, here are a few pics. Before I post the fotos (pictures), let me tell you about our Halloween. IT. WAS. AWESOME. We decided to stay in our neighborhood this year. On our old street, we maybe had 5 kids come by all night-at the very most. This year, we were super excited to see what the night would bring. Our vecinos (neighbors) told us about how awesome it was, and they were right! Haunted Houses for kids to go through, freshly baked scones, sugar cookies with cider and not to mention all of the candy. I told my neighbor that I felt kind of bad for just giving out ducles (candy). We had a blast taking Olivia trick or treating-we can't wait for next year. Here are a few pics:

Halloween: Buzz and Jessie

John's Class: One of his students was dress up as Woody:

Trick or Treating:

Waiting for Scones:

Our Pumpkins: John had started his pumpkin-it was going to be really cool-Mike Wazoski from Monsters Inc. However, Mikey didn't survive. Maybe we'll get him next year! Olivia's, Lucas' and Choco's pumpkins were too small for the pattern, so I had to freehand the pattern. It was hard! But, here are the finished results:

Mine: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead Skull)

Olivia's:

Lucas':

Choco's (It's supposed to be a paw print, but I cut where I shouldn't have so it sagged a bit):

That's it for now. Hope you all are doing great. Hope to post again soon!

Voting redo

2011-08-31T11:24:00.001-06:00

Ok. So after much struggle getting Oli's picture approved by The Children's Place, it's finally up. It's not my first choice of pictures, but they wouldn't accept any of my other entries. So, here's the ID number: 447620 or you can find it by my gmail address (aaolsen5@gmail.com). Get out and vote for Oli! Thanks!

On voting

2011-08-30T10:29:00.001-06:00

I know I haven't had much activity on this blog recently. There is a lot going on-kids, work, school, moving. Yes, moving. We sold our beloved home and are now in a sense homeless. We are currently on the hunt for a place of our own, but I'm saving the story for another post.

This is the reason I'm blogging today:

http://childrensplace.promo.eprize.com/model

I feel silly blogging about this but I entered Olivia in this contest. Everybody has always told us she should be a model, so I figured I would give it a try. Her picture isn't up yet, it should be within the next few days. You can find her entry by typing in my email address (sexymexi5@hotmail.com). So please spread the word go and vote for her!!

That's if for now, I've got homework to do. I promise there will be a more interesting post to come. Thanks for being patient. For now, enjoy this picture of Lucas!

On a Random post

2011-07-18T09:43:00.000-06:00

I wish I could say I haven't been blogging because we've been jet-setting this whole summer. But, alas, it isn't so. The truth of it is that we've been trabajando, trabajando, trabajando (working, working, working). So here is just a random post about what we've been up to:

Lucas and Olivia had had summer bugs. Olivia had a temperature of 103 at one point and Lucas had a temperature of 100 on Saturday night. He was doing much better by Sunday night.
I've been living the single mom life for a few days. John left on Thursday to help is hermano move to Iowa, he came home super late last night.
Olivia had 3 weeks of preschool classes through the U-she loved them! Me dijo (She told me) that she wanted all of us to live at the 'college.'
John's been teaching Spanish in the mornings this summer at the U for continuing education. He leave super early to be at cross country at 5:50 AM to run with his team and then to the U for his classes. He works so hard-I'm so proud of him!
Lucas learned to roll over-he thinks it's so funny.
We've had a nice long weekend with my cuñados-Mike and Camille, who came to visit from Arizona! Our summer has been filled with hanging out with our familia (family)- it's been great!
Olivia constantly cracks me up with the things she says. My favorite is when she is doing her prayers and asks Heavenly Father to bless her so that she doesn't have "Pescadillas" (aka-pesadillas, nightmares).
I've been getting back into photography. I love Sundays because I can use my mom's camera and take pictures in their beautiful yard. I may take a photography class this semester, haven't decided yet. Wish I had a nicer camera-one of these days I will.
Went to "Pac-12 Day" at the capitol. Heard the band play, got balloons and ice cream. Ran into my cuñada, Jen and her kids and had a random play date-had lots of fun.
Olivia loves water slides. We went to a my prima's (cousin) little girls birthday party and that's all she wanted do was the water slide. I got over my complex of water slides and went down it with her. Thanks Oli!

And that's about it! With both of us working it's hard to get out much. We're excited for what the rest of summer has to bring. We hope you have been having a great summer! Enjoy the pics:

Hanging out with Abue:

First day of Preschool:

On hitting close to home

2011-06-30T11:22:00.000-06:00

Ayer (yesterday) I received an email. That statement is nothing out of the ordinary, really, as we all receive numerous emails through out the day. However this email was diferente (different). Here's how it started:

Hello friends :0). I am writing to you today to ask for your help.

Nothing out of the ordinary, right? Here's what followed:

There is a family in our stake, the Mack family that just recently lost their mom and the baby sister. Wendy, the mom of 3 beautiful kids was 8 months pregnant with a baby girl when suddenly she passed away, the baby was delivered by emergency c-section but only survived for 2 days to meet her dad and her 3 siblings. Wendy didn't have insurance for a heart condition that she had, so the family is not only dealing with the lost of their mom and baby sister but also with all the financial obligations that they suddenly have now.

That's what hit me. A pregnant mom who died of a heart condition. I cried as I read their historia (story). I kept thinking "that could have been me."

So here is where the request for help comes in. The friends and neighbors of this poor family are having a 5k run and 1 mile walk to raise money for this family. You can read about that and register for that here. If you don't want to run (or walk) and would rather just donate something to them, you can do so here.

"even if it's $5 or $10 all you can contribute it will be much appreciated. If we all help a little we can make a huge difference...., this will be a wonderful oportunity for us as individuals to serve, or if you want to get your kids involved and teach them about service and love for others this will be a perfect ocation to do so. Thank you guys for your help and love and please keep them in your prayers. Also forward your friends/family and let's try to get other people involved. We don't need to know the person to be able to help. Who knows when one of us might need help from people we don't even know..."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

On Body Art

2011-06-21T07:38:00.000-06:00

Some body art is pretty. Some not so much:

Needless to say, she learned the hard way that removing marker from your body isn't fun....Sorry for the blurriness, but I was laughing so hard when I saw her!

On biking at the Capitol

2011-06-20T10:24:00.000-06:00

John grew up across the street from the Capitol. It was like his own playground. I have fond memories of the Capitol as well, mainly performing in it when I was in high school. You can get so many neat pictures there, I love going up there! So, me encanta (I love it) when John suggests we take a walk on the grounds. We did this on Memorial day and took Olivia and Lucas with us. She borrowed a trike from my Suegra, followed Tio Randy and the boys, and off we were, here are a few pictures of our adventure:

Visiting the Stone Lions:

Through the tunnel:

Lucas:

Going up a ramp-look at the determination in that face!:

Playing by the reflection pond:

A Visitor:

Going home:

On Planting

2011-06-20T10:10:00.000-06:00

It's safe to say that we have a big yard-in comparison to all the new housing developments around us. For years, I've wanted to do a garden, but nunca teniamos tiempo (we never had the time) to start it. Finally, this spring, John made it happen. He has worked so hard and has been so diligent, and he's starting to get great results. We've planted potatoes, onions, carrots, rabanos (radishes), peas, beans, lettuce, all sorts of chiles (peppers) and tomatoes, squash, pumpkin and pepinos (cucumbers). The rabanos have already come up-lots of them and they are delicious!

Oli's caught the gardening bug too, she loves it. For her cumpleaños (birthday), we got her some sunflower seeds to plant. She asks every day if we've watered them and put them out in the sun. She really does a good job caring for her seeds, which have started to sprout. Here are a few pictures of what they've been up to:

On Smiling

2011-06-20T09:54:00.002-06:00

Can you believe he will be 3 months old in two days time? No lo puedo creer. Time has gone by so fast! He is the nicest little boy around. He's super calm, a good eater and sleeper (he's been sleeping through the night for almost a full month now!) and has got just a sweet spirit around him. He's super alert, loves to chat and he knows were his Mami is at all times. I love it when he smiles and giggles, can't wait to see what month #3 has in store for us!

On Lindsay Wright

2011-05-26T10:01:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of having some fotos (pictures) taken of our hijos (children) with the fabulous Lindsay Wright at her studio. As always, we had a delightful time, she makes taking pictures fun. Well, Lindsay has posted some of the pictures from our session on her blog, which you can see here. Check them out and show Lindsay some love! A word about Lindsay. She is amazing. I heart Lindsay! I want to be a fotographa (photographer) just like her when I grow up! Thanks Lindsay!

On being larger than life

2011-05-20T17:08:00.001-06:00

He's always been larger than life to me. Even as his body shrunk with age, I was never near his stature. He was my Goyo-the name I used to call him as a child because I couldn't quite pronounce the word "Gordo." I have heard countless stories about him from his own mouth and from that of my father. Larger than life.

Through out the years I have seen the steady decline of his body-much like that of anybody else that goes through the process of aging. Last year, he gave us all a big scare. He wondered if he had done enough in his 90+ years. Wednesday afternoon, at 4:55, after a valiant struggle, his body finally succumbed. Though the thought of leaving his childhood sweetheart and his family must have pained him, he is now free. He is now with loved ones and friends that were waiting for him on the other side of the veil.

His body, run down by hard work in the fields and his businesses and other jobs he had through out his life is now resting.He has had numerous callings through out his life in which he worked hard and diligently, but the most important of those were as husband, father and grandfather, missionary, priesthood bearer and patriarch. His hard work is evident in the family he raised and he has earned his reward:

"Right now, in heaven, God has a pot of beans cooking, fresh tortillas are being made and a place has been set for my Guelito. Lord, you know who he is, please make him a General in your army of light."
(by, Jacob Alba)

Still, larger than life, he lives on through those he left behind. He taught us to love, to serve, to work hard and to laugh. To enjoy life and each other's company, an occasional Coke and Pan Dulce. While I wish I could have taken advantage more of the time I had with him, I know that he knows of the love I have for him. There is no doubt in my mind that he has done enough. However the only question that lingers is for me: Have I done enough to be worthy of him and his legacy?

I hope that the way I live my life and the way I teach my family will be worthy of you. I love you Goyo. I miss you Gueltio. I can't wait to see you again!

Samuel Alba Cruz

November 25, 1919-May 18, 2011

"While we were watching round her bed,
She turned her eyes and looked away,
Saw what we couldn't see;
She saw Old Death. She saw old Death
Come like a falling star
But Death didn't frighten Sister Caroline;
He looked to her like a welcome friend.
And she whispered to us: I'm going home,
And she smiled and closed her eyes.

And Death took her up like a baby,
And she lay in his icy arms,
But she didn't feel no chill.
And death began to ride again--
Up beyond the evening star,
Into the glittering light of glory,
On to the Great White Throne.
And there he laid Sister Caroline
On the loving breast of Jesus.

And Jesus took his own hand and wiped away her tears,
And he smoothed the furrows from her face,
And the angels sang a little song,
And Jesus rocked her in his arms,
And kept a-saying: Take your rest,
Take your rest.

Weep not--weep not,
She is not dead;
She's resting in the bosom of Jesus. "
~James Weldon Johnson

On not enough

2011-05-13T19:19:00.001-06:00

I've been bad, and I feel terrible about it. I swore that if I ever had another child, I would take as many fotos (pictures) of them as I have of Olivia. Well, I've failed. Maybe it's because I desperately want a new camera (mine is going on me-super sad). Maybe I just need to get better organized so that I can enjoy my free time better. No se. Regardless, I need to start taking more pictures of this guy. He is now 7 weeks old and filling out very nicely. He was born on his papi's birthday, and I think he is taking the titulo (title) of "The Judge" away from him as well (he's so serious)! He's started to 'talk'-especially with me. We're good buddies. He's a sweet little baby, with a personality all his own, we love him to death. More to come-I promise!

An update

2011-05-13T19:19:00.000-06:00

Remember a few posts back I was talking about how I was unhappy with my final? Well, that evening, I emailed my professor. I told her I wasn't looking for extra points, but I basically wanted to know where I had gone wrong. She emailed me back. She said I had been right about the exam. Questions were thrown out, and my exam grade increased by 10%-up a whole grade! Definately pleased with this new score. I checked WebCT again this week, and got my final grade. It was a fabulous grade (not to brag). However, I'm so glad school is over for the summer!

POTW

2011-05-13T19:18:00.001-06:00

Product of the Week. No, it's not a new topic I'll be writing on-I'll leave that to more capable and cooler people, like my Sister in law, Camille (who has fabulous POTW posts, by the way). However, I couldn't pass this up. When I ran my first 5k, at the finish line, there was so much food that the race organizers were giving away. Literally, they were giving away boxes of stuff. Anyway. They gave us Emerald Trail Mix. I wish I would have gotten more than just one bag because it was amazing. Well, ever since then, I've been stalking Smith's to see if they carry it. I haven't had any luck yet. Then I saw a commercial for this:

Then, I found a coupon for it. I sent John to the store with it, and he found them! They are delicious! I don't know how expensive they are, but you can go here and print off the coupon to try them out. Just do it. You won't be disappointed.

On turning 4

2011-05-13T19:18:00.000-06:00

Mi Chiquita (my little girl) turned four last Saturday. I could go on forever about her, but i'll save you the reading. She is one special kid. Love this girl, so glad she's mine!

On Incredible

2011-05-06T10:28:00.002-06:00

I thought this was quite lovely. Enjoy!

On learning a lesson

2011-04-30T16:35:00.000-06:00

Things have been a little ocupados (busy) around here this week. This is my last week of the semester. I took my final today (don't ask how it went as I'm not too happy with about 5 questions on the exam that weren't in our readings, thus, I'm not too happy with my test score), turned in 2 of my last 3 assignments and am in the process of finishing up my final paper to turn in today. Pero, he aprendido mucho (However, I've learned a lot) this last semester. For example, I've learned that there are some parenting practices that are not associated with positive conscious development-who would have known that the practice of deprivation of privilege or objects and ground are negatively associated with with positive development? I also learned more about bullying in the schools, developmental risks (both positive and negative), media influence and numerous other topics related to home, school and the community. However, lo que mas aprendi (what learned the most) was the following:

I have a long way to go until I can consider myself a good parent
Online classes aren't too bad
It is important to recognize the small interrelationships among families and schools and the community
I can do hard things
I can't stay up as late as I used to and wake up early without feeling like I was run over by a train
Finally, never take a class when you are well into your third trimester-those first two weeks with the baby will kill you in terms of school work!

Well, that's it. I'm back to finishing my paper.

On Seven Years

2011-04-23T09:49:00.000-06:00

I love this man.

He's my best friend.

We got married 7 years ago-it's been amazing!

Love you John!

Just because

2011-04-21T12:28:00.000-06:00

I thought I would post these while I still can post pictures:

On having a problem

2011-04-21T12:14:00.001-06:00

Ok. So I haven't really blogged frequently in a while. The reason behind this is I'm having a bit of a problem with Blogger. A while ago, Blogger wouldn't let me post pictures. The message I got was that I had exceeded my storage capacity for pictures. Now, to get around this is to delete the pictures I have posted in the past or to purchase more space. Well, I don't want to purchase more space just to post pictures. So, I'm asking those of you that have been blogging a while if you have had this problem and how to resolve it (aside from purchasing space) without making to many changes (like switching to WordPress, for example). Please let me know. Thanks!

On Lucas

2011-04-12T12:31:00.000-06:00

We would like to introducing John Lucas Olsen. Our little man was born on March 22nd, on his daddy's birthday at 12:30. He is perfect. Our doctor was worried about his lungs, but when he came out, he let out a loud, strong scream that could be heard all the way down the hall! Lucas was small, being born two weeks early. He was 6 pounds and 13 ounces, however, he was 19.5 inches long-the same length as Olivia was when she was born.

Our hospital stay was fantastic-we had the BEST nurses taking care of us, they were wonderful. Our doctors were checking in on us all week long to make sure that both Lucas and I were doing OK. However, I do have to give a lot of credit to my Doctor, he is seriously amazing, I credit him for reducing my risk for PPCM. We had lots of visitors, thank you to all of you that came out! I lived off of these:

that week. Seriously amazing. Try them.

We took Lucas to his 2 week appointment on Thursday. He is doing marvelous. He is still on the little side-but we think he'll catch up quick. Our pediatrician told us that newborns lose weight and by the second week, they are back to their original birth weight, which is where they want them to be. Not Lucas. He's almost gained a full pound in two weeks!

That's all for now, more updates to come later!

Just because

2011-04-07T00:27:00.000-06:00

No, I haven't forgotten about this blog. I just wanted to do a quick post. Thanks to all of you that have showed interest in following our blog once it goes private. I promise that it will be done and you will get an invitation. I also promise to post pictures of our little guy. We are slowly readjusting to life with a baby, hence the lack of posts. Lucas goes in for his two week appointment tomorrow, so I think that it will be a good time to post pictures and stats and so forth. Just wanted to let you all know that we are still alive!

On going private, redo

2011-03-18T22:27:00.003-06:00

I just wanted to let you all know that I will not be posting your comments on that last post. Since we have comment moderation, I can just copy and paste the email address so that your address and delete the comment. That way, your email address isn't out there for everybody to see! Thanks again for your patience!

On going private

2011-03-18T16:06:00.000-06:00

As much as I hate to do this, we have decided it's time to make our blog private. I know it's a pain to log in and such but the time has come to make the change. I'll make the change after the baby is born, so please leave me a comment with your email address and I'll be sure to get you added on. Thanks for your patience!

On one last trip

2011-03-15T11:34:00.001-06:00

John's hermano (brother) is moving away this summer. He got accepted into medical school in Iowa. Before he left, he wanted one last family trip. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to do it in the summer because 1-that's when he leaves, and 2-his first baby is due in June. So, we took a look at every body's horarios (schedules) and decided on a weekend in Sin City. Can I just say that I love Vegas? I don't know if it was because of the trips there with the marching band or what, but I seriously love the place. I don't gamble, I tried the slot machines once when I was around 24 and was literally ID'd every two minutes. I was so infuriated because I couldn't just sit down and play that I vowed to never do it again and haven't since. For whatever reason, I love the place. So, we trekked down this last weekend. I was insistent on going and getting away before little man was here. We had a lot of fun! We had a chance to go to a few games of the Mountain West Tournament (we got to see Jimmer score his 52 points). Oli and I went shopping (came away empty handed-much to John's relief) and she got to go with John to see the Leones (lions) at the MGM Grand and went the New York New York. Oli I think had the most fun of us all, especially because she got to go to the pool! It was a short trip, but worth it. BEcause I can't seem to upload multiple times on blogger (it appears it has to be all at once), here is part one of our favorite pictures:

Mountain West Tournament- Forgive my pictures-we were three rows from the very top-it was hard getting the right settings on the camera:

We like this guy-he served part of his mission in our ward!

Jimmer:

Legendary Coaches :

Jerry Tarkanian (UNLV):

Steve Fisher (Current SDSU coach):

Favorite mascots:

On good news

2011-03-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

We received some good news today from my doctor. He's a wonderful man. If it hadn't been him, I would have been sent home with Olivia and had some real damage done to my heart. He didn't feel right about releasing me with so many loose ends so he kept me long enough to find my condition, transfer me to the right doctors and get me treated. We don't know what causes my condition, whether or not I'll get it again or why I even got it in the first place. So when I went in today, he asked me to sit down and talk. I was a bit nervous thinking that something was wrong with little man. He wanted to know how I felt about moving up the labor date another week. He said that little man might run the risk of being in NICU for observation, but he would rather have that happen than keep waiting and put me at risk for a recurrence of PPCM. I was ecstatic to hear this! Baby L will be making his big appearance on March 22 instead of the 29th. Papi is excited that his little boy will be born on his birthday-how neat is that?! Again, what a blessing to have great doctors looking out for me. The countdown is on!

On Ice Fishing

2011-03-08T09:59:00.000-07:00

I think it might have been the first year we were married when John first took me ice fishing. I wasn't prepared for the experience, hacia frio (it was cold) and obscuro (dark) and slightly mortified that I was walking around the middle of a frozen lake....but I had a lot of fun! I haven't been back since that year. Last winter, I decided that I wanted to enjoy winter more. I wanted to get back to skiiing and have the appropriate gear for that and ice fishing. So, towards the end of el invierno (winter), I bought a new jacket and boarding/ski pants for this year. A lot of good that did me! However, this year was Olivia's first year ice fishing. She LOVED it! No fish were caught (she told Papi that she didn't want go back unless they caught fish), but both enjoyed the experience!

On Being in Motion

2011-03-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

John is a coach. He's a very good coach. He's also a very good basketball player and soccer player. He recently started to coach Olivia. He's been giving her mini-clinics on futbol (soccer) and basketball. The clinics aren't very long-45 minutos (minutes) is about all she can handle and Olivia does pretty good for a three year old. I don't think she likes basketball very much-dicé (she says) it's boring, she would rather play futbol (a girl after my own heart-we may not look alike, but we sure think alike!). She does however love the time she gets to spend with her papi and he loves the time he gets to spend with her and teach her. Here are a few pictures of her first clinic. Sorry for the blurriness, but I kind of like them like that.

First lesson, learn "Triple Threat" (that's a Rick Majerus term, if you're wondering):

Lesson # 2: Dribbling

Lesson # 3: Passing:

Taking a break to be silly:

Soccer lesson #1 dribbling the ball:

Lesson # 2: dribbling the length of the court

Lesson # 3: Controlling the movement and direction of the ball:

Cool down-Racing with Papi:

On Counting down

2011-02-25T13:03:00.001-07:00

Our days of being a three person familia (family) are winding down. We still have a lot to do-sometimes I feel overwhelmed and other times se me olivida (I forget) everything I have to do. Sometimes the time feels eternal, other times it seems like there is little time left. So, I kept thinking que podia hacer (what could I do) to count down the ways in a fun and productive way. Here is what I came up with: A countdown chain! As you can see, we've got 31 (not counting today) days left.

We remove a loop a day and on the opposite side is a task that we've got to finish today. Here is today's task: Finish crocheting booties and start beanie.

I'm pleased to say that we've remained on top of the tasks. It's been fun doing all sorts of different little things to make the transition that much more easier! We can't wait for this little guy to make his debut!

On more basketball

2011-02-25T12:53:00.001-07:00

Last game of the season and senior night. They made the coach's wives come onto the court with the seniors and coaches prior to the start of the varsity game. I was embarrassed. I looked and felt like a frumpy wife. Oh well. I'm proud of John and all of the hard work he does with those kids. Aside from teaching them to be good players, he also teaches something more important-to be good people. Good bye basketball, hello track.

Oli and her best friend Bubba. I met Bubba a few during Spring Fling Basketball Tournaments-weeks before Oli was born. He's now graduated, at BYU (he's just about the only BYU person Oli can stand) and just got his mission call. Oli loves this kid!

Senior Night:

On hanging out

2011-02-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

A Olivia le encanta estar (Olivia loves to be )in our room, snuggle up with her favorite blanket and watch movies. I love it too.

On Coaching

2011-02-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

A Picture essay (sorry for the blurriness of some of them):

Final result:

On progression

2011-02-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

I don't remember why, but one evening, Oli and I decided to make brownies at my Padres home. We were already back at home, and I'm having a hard time remembering why we baked them there. Either way, Olivia me ayudo cocinar (helped me bake) the brownies. Her biggest help was "cleaning up":

On Dia de los Reyes Magos

2011-02-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

I guess it's safe to say that I'm a little behind on blogging (and everything else in life right now). In Mexico, on January 6th, the Day of the Wise Men is celebrated. Es tradicion (It is tradition) that families gather and have a Rosca de Reyes (Mexican sweet bread-called the Kings crown) with hot chocolate. In the Rosca, there is a little figurine that baked into it. Whoever finds the figurine is the one that will throw the next party on February 2nd. The night before, the kids leave there shoes out, for the wise men to leave gifts as they search for baby Jesus.

We celebrated este año (this year) at my mom's (as we do every year). Oli had some gifts from the wise men at Abue's home and ours. We had delicious Rosca de Reyes and I was the one to find the figurine. Sorry mom, I'll get around to the party some time this year! Here are our pictures from our night:

Rosca de Reyes:

Hot Chocolate mugs:

Opening gifts:

On feeling blessed and beignets

2011-02-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Doctors appointments. I've had a few of them this last week. I try to have rational thinking and be calm about them, but there is always a hint of anxiety that keeps me company. I feel bendecida (blessed) with the results of my appointments. I know that it isn't by my own hand that I have had such a good pregnancy so far, I know that is is an answer to many oracions (prayers) on my behalf and priesthood blessings.

I also feel blessed to have such a great husband that will make yummy beignets for us (thanks Tia Nancy for the mix!)

I like mine with this:

Little Man

2011-02-16T16:32:00.001-07:00

Picture and info courtsey of The Bump

Baby's now the size of a honeydew!

Things are heating up inside as well: Baby may grow up to a full inch this week alone, and his brain is developing like crazy. Pretty soon, he'll be able to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing. Also, his bones are hardening, and he's started to keep his eyes open when he's awake.

Other good news from our Doctor today everything is looking good so far and....little man will be making his appearance on March 29-about a full week earlier than our due date!

Happy Dia de los Enamorados

2011-02-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

Hope your day is filled with lots of Amor!

On Being Normal

2011-02-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

Phone rings-
Me: Hello!?
Other end: Is this Areli?
Me: Yes.
Other end: Hi, I'm Elaine calling from Dr. Nielson's office.
Me: Oh, Hi!
Elaine: Dr. Nielson wanted to let you know that he got the results from your echocardiogram you had on Tuesday.
Me (a little nervous): Ok.
Elaine: He said they came out normal.
Me (relived): Thank you!

What a great way to start the weekend!

On dressing up and other things

2011-02-01T18:52:00.001-07:00

Olivia had her first corte de pelo (haircut) today. I had to go in to get my hair cut and she asked my stylsit if she could cut her hair as well. She was really nervous and kept asking if it would hurt. Alysha (my stylist) did a fantastic job and was just loving Olivia. Olivia even had her blow dry and style her hair! At the very end, she turned and said, "Alysha, you are a very good hair cutter" and gave her a hug. Being the prepared mom I am, I didn't have my camara (camera) with me. However, here are a few pictures of Olivia post hair cut. She loves to dress up, especially with 'jewels.' My mom gave her a couple dress up kits for Christmas and she loves putting them on. She is such a girl, I love it!

Other than our hair cuts, I've been busy today with tarea (homework). I'm happy to report that so far, I'm doing ok in my class. It's my first online class I've ever taken, it was a bit more intense that I would have liked, but I told myself to just buckle down and do it. So far, that little pep talk has worked. Things outside of school are going well for us, little man is doing good too. I go in next week with my cardiologist. I'm not too incredibly worried, but he'll do a echocardiogram to make sure that things look good. Wish us luck!

Bracelet, ring and gloves:

Couldn't find the matching pairs:

My favorite:

Cancion de la Semana

2011-01-25T13:19:00.001-07:00

This isn't really a new song, but I like it anyway. It's on the Toy Story 3 Soundtrack and sung by one of my favorite groups of all time-the Gipsy Kings. If you've never heard the Gipsy Kings, you need to. I think my all time favorite songs from them are Volare, Bailame and Babmoleo. The guitars are amazing, seriously amazing. Anyway, Oli and I love to watch the credits on Toy Story 3 just so we can hear the song. You can purchase it on here on iTunes (a window may pop out, just click 'allow' and it will open a seperate iTunes window). If you want to see the Gipsy Kings perform it live, you can go here (sorry, it's from Dancing with the Stars), it's the full version of the song while the video above is a the shorter version from the movie. Have a great week!

On Digging out

2011-01-25T09:13:00.001-07:00

¡Por Fin! (Finally!) Construction on our home is finally over. We spent the last weekend cleaning up and putting thing back in order. For those of you that didn't know, we had some flooding in our home. Our washer (which is located in our upper floor) didn't stop filling up with water. The water overflowed and went in our air vent and spread through out our home, causing major damage. We had floors ripped out, holes in our walls, it was a mess. We were very fortunate to have insurance. Our insurance company and agent are the BEST! We went through the contractors and flooring recommended by them and had the most positive experience. All in all, it has been a bendicíon (a blessing) because we have been able to do some serious deep cleaning, get rid of clutter and donate a lot of good things to the good ol' DI (Deseret Industries). Here are a few pictures of what we've had to go through since December 27th, 2010:

In the garage:

Inside-Entry from the Garage and our restroom:

(Bathroom ceiling:)

Pre-grout and base boards:

Main Entryway:

Kitchen, living room, dining area:

Laundry room:

Sorry for the picture overload. It's still a work in progress getting everything put back, but at least it's done and clean now!

Little Man

2011-01-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

Information and picture courtesy of The Bump

Baby's now the size of a squash!

This week:
As baby's skin smoothes out, his brain just keeps getting more wrinkled. All those grooves and indentations increase surface area, meaning more room for that oh-so-essential brain tissue. He's also adding some brawn -- his grip is now strong enough to grasp a finger.

For the next two weeks:
Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though -- as you’ve also probably noticed -- they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.

Cancion de la Semana

2011-01-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

We are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with our home! Yay! In the meantime, here is a little something to hold you over. This is the song from the Daddy/daughter video that was posted last week. I had a some requests for more of it. The song is called 'Home' and it's by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. It was on a commercial for the NFL a while back as well and you can purchase it on iTunes. Love this song, been jamming to it for over a year now and I'm still not sick of it! Hope you like it!

On Christmas Eve

2011-01-14T18:00:00.001-07:00

As is tradition, on Christmas Eve we had a fiesta (party)with my mom's side of the family. It is always a lot of fun, and this last Navidad (Christmas) was no different. We had delicious food, dancing, singing, a live nativity and of course, some basketball. Here are a 'few'; of our pictures:

On the menu: Posole, Tostadas, Arroz, Frijoles, a yummy pig that my little cousin made (Polynesian style), and of course, lots of dessert:

Entertainment:

Live Nativity- starring Oli as the 'angel':

And of course, Basketball:

A few of my favorites:

Sorry these are blurry. Oli decided that she wanted to be blindfolded for the Pinata-she was the only little kids to do so, here is the result:

(Yes, that her peaking to see where the pinata is at)

Oli's dance session with her Ito:

On a new Tia

2011-01-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Around Thanksgiving, my mom had a friend of her's from her high school in Mexico come down and stay with them for about a month. We loved her! She became known as Tia Yola (short for Yolanda). We were all sad to see her leave. She 'taught' Oli how to make tortillas de maiz (corn tortillas), Oli still talks about making them! We can't wait for Tia Yola to come back and visit us again!

Tia Yola making tortillas:

Oli making Tortillas:

Cancion de la Semana Redue

2011-01-13T12:23:00.002-07:00

So I was mistaken about Neon Trees. They aren't local in the sense that they were born and raised here in good ol' Utah, but they all met here and started their band here. Go here so see some of their videos (including 1983 and one for Animal, which was shot in Provo) and to read a little about what they said about Provo! Also, see the very last video on this post. You know a band is good when they don't have 'studio sound'- meaning when they perform live it sounds just like it does on the CD/MP3's. All I have to say is I LOVE. THIS. BAND.

PS-Love that their drummer is a girl! I'll have to have Oli watch her!

Cute

2011-01-11T20:40:00.006-07:00

I thought this was pretty cute-I want to learn to play the guitar so I can do this with my kids-not that I'm a great singer, but that's beside the point. On a side note, is anybody willing to teach me how to play the guitar? Anyway, I LOVE this song-it was going to be on Cancion de la Semana, but maybe I'll have to push it back a while. Enjoy!

<br/><a href="http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/home-by-dad-and-daughter/20mimux1?q=Viral+song&rel=msn&from=en-us_msnhp&form=msnrll&gt1=42007&fg=sharenoembed" target="_new"title="'Home' By Dad And Daughter">Video: 'Home' By Dad And Daughter</a>

On gingerbread houses

2011-01-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know, my Mami is a school teacher. She teaches first grade to be exact and she is brilliant at it. Every year, her class makes gingerbread homes. However, since making food and home and bringing it to class is now a no-no in most schools, she makes 'pre-fabricated' casitas (houses) out of graham crackers (yes, graham crackers) and the kids bring all the candies to decorate them. She an extra one that she brought home and she taught Olivia how decorate her own gingerbread house and then gave her free reign. Here is the processes and finished product-Thanks Mami!

Cancion de la Semana

2011-01-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

Cancion de la semana is back! Yay! Remember to send me your suggestions! Well, this week I want to highlight Neon Trees. If you haven't heard of them, they are super big now. They are local Provo boys, and their first big hit was Animal (love that song). Now, there is no particular reason I picked this song today, other than I've been really sick, my house is under construction and I happened to hear this today and it made me happy. So, enjoy!

On John's Sad Day

2011-01-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

Our linda casita (darling home) is a mess. We are still trying to dig out of this mess. I'll do a post on the whole disaster as soon as everything is put back together. In the mean time, here is a little post to hold you over. A few days before Christmas, John sold his old Subaru. We loved that car. John had it since he got home from his mission, it was his primer carro (first car). We've had it since we've been dating and through out our entire marriage (thus far) although it was a little viejito (old), it was a good car. Here are some pictures of our sad day:

Good news / bad news

2010-12-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

I want to get the bad news out of the way first:

Yesterday, we experienced flooding in our home. John had a load of wash going and the washer didn't stop filling the tub and it flooded over (our laundry area is located on the top floor of our home). We've got enough damage to start a claim. We had to get the water extracted out of the carpets last night. The sheet rock got all wet as the water went into a vent and through our main air return, so there is water all over the place. It got into the basement, garage and even into our furnace. It was about 9 PM when our furnace started-after an hour of fans being placed to dry it out. We weren't sure if there would be damage to the furnace or if the pilot light had just been turned off. We've got people coming through out the day to further assess the damage. I guess we have to get a new washer.

Now, for the good news:

I got my grades for my first semester. Two A's for my two classes. Yep, 4.0. Still unsure of what my classes will look like next semester, but the pressure is on to maintain my GPA.

That's it for now. As soon as we dig out of our little crisis, we'll get our Christmas pictures posted. We had a fabulous Christmas and hope you did as well!

On the Christmas Tree

2010-12-21T10:04:00.001-07:00

When I was growing up, we used to go out in the cold nights to the different tree lots and find our tree. We did this until about 12 years ago, when they switched to an artificial tree. From there, it was our tradition to put up the tree during the Utah / BYU Game-not a day earlier, not a day later. Every year, my mami would buy my papi, and mi hermano and I an ornament. It usually represented what we had been up to or our likes for that año (year). I loved seeing what she would come up with. One year, she bought an angel with cymbals. I claimed it for my own that year since I had been playing cymbals on the Ute Drumline. Over the years, as one can imagine, her collection has grown! It's fun to look back and see the things we were doing or that we liked. I loved that tradition so much that I started it with my own little familia. It's fun every year to see the old ornaments and see how we have grown and changed. Here are some of my favorites:

Olivia's:

We got this one from my parents the year we found out we were pregnant with Olivia (little man has his own this year too!)

We got this for Olivia two years ago when she discovered her love for the U:

John:

I got John this ornament the second year his team went to State (they did really good):

John's favorite NFL team:

Our first year, my parents got John his own box set of ornaments-a variety of all sorts balls from different sports:

These were some of our first ornaments-to celebrate my Mexicaness (as said on The Office):

Mine:

I got this two years ago when I started to play soccer again:

The last three years, my Suegra has given each family a different ornament from The Christmas Story-I love them!

This year our ornaments include a runner (for John and his half marathon), a Frog Princes (for Olivia), Baby blocks (for little man) and one that says "Learn" (for me). So what are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

On an Olsen Christmas

2010-12-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

A noche (last night) we had the annual Christmas party with our extended Olsen family. We had so much fun! A big thanks to tia Mary and tio Noel and everybody that helped to make it a blast!

Videos:

Must be Santa-so much fun and so good-set the tone for the whole evening! (love how primo Kasi is getting down with the tamberine!)

My Favorite (of course, I'm biased, but let me know what you think!). This was all her-we didn't tell her what to say!

Part two of her performance:

From the movie Scrooge:

Two talented twins:

Catching up

2010-12-17T13:35:00.001-07:00

So here is what we've been up to since my last 'real' post:

Thanksgiving Trip to Arizona-we missed the "Blizzard" of 2010 and escaped to sunny weather. Thanks Camille and Mike-we had a blast!

Tahnksgiving day spread:

Dip in the pool-it was really cold:

Traditional flower picking:

Thanksgiving day Dinner (Thanks Mike!):

Suns Game:

Got to see John McCain at the game:

Saying Goodbye:

Final school projects:

Studying for finals:

I'm finally done with my first semester! It's a big load off my shoulders and I'm still trying to figure out how my classes will shape up next semester, but it's been fun being in school again. That's about it, I think. More posts to come of our goings on! Thanks for being patient!

Little Man

2010-12-17T06:30:00.002-07:00

Starting this week, we may be able to pick up his heartbeat (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

(picture and information courtsey of The Bump)

Little Man

2010-12-10T06:30:00.002-07:00

This week, he is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. And still the size of a Papaya!

On Happenings

2010-12-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hay muchas cosas (there are a lot of things ) that are going on right now. I'm right in the middle of finals. My first and only final will be tomorrow, I can't wait to get it over with. Then, I have a final paper to write and some quizzes (five to be exact) to take for research credit, which will only take an hour or so (I hope). Me duele la espalda (My back hurts) from sitting to long today (studying), and little man isn't happy about my posture and and sitting arraignments either. Also, since it's Christmas time, Cancion de la semana will take a break until the new year. I've got lots to write about, but it will have to wait until after finals. Hope you don't mind! See you soon!

On being embarassed

2010-12-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen that church video-"The Mouths of Babes?" I think one of the classic lines in that video is when a kid gets asked "If you weren't Mormon, what would you be?" and the kid answers "A Mexican." That kid was my cousin-just as a side note! Well, kids do say the darndest things. I never thought it would happen to me. Honestly, I didn't, but I guess it was finally mi turno (my turn) to experience it. Here are a few of Oli's latest sayings:

"Oh, your house is dirty!" (I promise, we don't ask if people's homes are dirty, nor do we care)
"Mom, it was the lady with the big belly that took our picture" (the company she said it in front of were a little on the heavy side)
"Stranger danger Dad!" (as John was talking to a veteran while waiting in line at the grocery store)
"I think you're too old to be driving" (said to my Father in Law)
"What's wrong with his teeth?"
"You're old because you have a big belly" (I promise we don't ever talk about people's weight or age-I PROMISE!)

Finally, this one happened on Thursday. We were at my work party, hosted by Gail Miller at her home. We had a chance to finally go up and talk to Gail (my Father in law grew up with her late husband Larry) and thank her for hosting the party. The first thing that comes out of Oli's mouth: "So, where's your bed?" I wanted to crawl under a rock. Gail was gracious and had a little conversation about beds with Oli. Oh, as much as this girls puts us in binds, we love her! And just a warning to all you new parents to be- It WILL happen to you too!

Little man

2010-12-03T06:30:00.006-07:00

This week, our little guy is the size of a:

Papaya!

Cancion de la Semana

2010-11-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

I've been a little behind this week. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, which was spent in Arizona ( a post to come on that!). Unfortunately, I haven't been able catch up with home, work and school. So, the song of the week is in honor of last Saturday's big Rivalry game. GO UTES!!!!

Little Man

2010-11-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

So I was supposed to do this on Friday, but didn't have a chance to. As of Friday, our litte guy is the size of a large:

We are slowly inching closer to meeting this little guy. I can't wait!

Little Man

2010-11-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

Our little man this is week the size of a:

Can't wait to meet him!

On change #3

2010-11-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

This has been my favorite change! I haven't posted on this yet for various reasons, but I'll just go ahead and let you know that I went to the doctor today for a check up. I am happy to report that I'm doing OK and

'BABY BOY' Olsen

is doing great as well! Yay! We are so excited! We found out today that we are having a little boy! I'm 20 weeks today and feeling great. He is due the first week in April-either on the 4th or the 5th. So far, I haven't had any complications and the baby is looking great! Olivia is a little devastated, she was set on having a little sister, but I think she is starting to warm up to the idea of a little boy. I do have pictures, but I was too excited to upload them. I'll do that as soon as I can. Happy weekend!

Cancion de la Semana

2010-11-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

I like to put new songs on that most people might not have heard, but this is in honor of the Beatles finally being on iTunes (Sorry to all of you that hate the Beatles)!

A qucik post

2010-11-16T09:11:00.002-07:00

I spent yesterday nursing a sick child. She threw up on our way to work-not fun. She did however get to spend the day in her Utah gear and princess slippers watching TV. She came downstairs this morning demanding things-I guess she must be feeling better. I've got a Halloween post to put up still-I was a bad mom and didn't take pictures with my own camera, so I have to borrow my mom's. I spent the weekend doing homework, also not fun. now, I've just got 3 big projects to do for the end of the quart-it seems feasible...I hope they turn out OK! Also a post on change # 3 sometime on Friday-it's a good one, so check back!

On running

2010-11-09T12:23:00.001-07:00

Ya se (I know) that I'm always blogging about how amazing John is. Well, sorry, you'll just have to bare with me through another post about him. Clear back in March, John and I had decided to run a half marathon in Boulder, Nevada together. I started to run, waiting for him to give me my training horario (schedule). Well, life got in the way of that. I ran for a full month, and then had to pick up extra hours at work which put an end to that, and before we knew it, I was too far behind to even train for the race. Bueno, hace algunos meses (Well, a few months ago), John decided that he was going to run the half marathon anyway. His schedule is so busy once school starts, I don't even know how he trained. There would be semanas (weeks) where the only run he could do was his long run-that at cutting out at least 3-4 runs on those weeks. He trained with his hermano (brother) and cuñado (brother in law), who ended up surprising the boys and running the race with them. John had a goal time that he wanted to run and a goal time / mile that he had set, he was just worried he wasn't ready.

Two weeks ago was his race. He was amazing! He came in tercer lugar (third place) over all, and second in his age division. He met both of his goals! What astounds me is what a strong and talented runner he is, even if he hadn't trained as much as he would have liked, he still had a great time! Anyway, everybody in our family that participated did fantastic-my cuñado Tom took 2nd place overall, my other cuñado Paul took 6th overall, John's cousin Rich took 8th over all and even his wife Misty, ran her first half and did fantastic! It was a fun weekend, so much fun that we may do it again soon! Here are pictures from our race weekend:

Were we stayed the night before the race:

The scenary:

At the starting line:

L-r: Paul (black), John in the middle and Tom (in blue)

Cousin Rich standing by Frankenstein (that guy ran with that mask the whole way!):

The race:

That dark green speck is John:

My mom telling Tom to be a good brother and wait for John:

Paul:

The final Mile and a half:

The winner and his time:

Patiently waiting for Papi:

The final straightaway:

Frankenstein comming in:

Rich's wife Misty:

Post race:

Love this picture-Oli took it!

The boys:

The boys with Misty:

PS: I want to give a big thank you to our family that came out to the race-it was lots of fun! Also, a big thank you to Paul for training with John-he still says that he couldn't have done it with out you! Paul was even kind enough to drive all the way out to our home at 4:30 AM one Saturday to do a long run with John. THANK YOU!!!

On Projects

2010-11-05T11:35:00.001-06:00

Almost one year ago, I taught myself how to crochet. I kind of already knew a little, thanks to Mujeres Jovenes (Young Women), but never really paid enough attention to do anything but make a really long chain. So, on the recommendation of my concuña Kelsi, I bought this book. I loved it! I had tried other books before, and had no idea que estaba haciendo (what I was doing). I found this book was super easy to follow, with pictures and patterns to do! He hecho (I've made) a few beanies from patterns I've found online, and they've all turned out pretty cute. I've also made a few headbands for Oli-which I've used more than she has! While brosing Etsy, I found these patterns, the girl I bought them from has the most amazing hats-I can't wait to buy a few more patterns from her! I bought 3 patterns and got the fourth one free, and here are the first two that I make:

I made the first one for a baby shower we had at work-it's a monkey hat (I've got to make one for Oli now):

The second one is an owl hat-Olivia loves this! She pestered me for months to make it for her and so I finally broke down and did it-I just wish I had better pictures of it:

Next up is probably a cow hat that Oli insisted I make for her. I got back on Etsy about a month ago and saw that she now has a Koala Bear and a Panda pattern-I can't wait to buy them and make them! Oli has been begging me to make her some bunny slippers, but i can't find any cute patterns for a toddler sized foot. The patterns are either for baby or adults. Let me know if you have any recommendations or patterns!

On Seeing Witches

2010-11-05T10:31:00.001-06:00

During fall break, we got together with the Olsen's and took the kids to see the witches at Gardiner Village. They had a little attraction, "Ride to a Witch." It was pretty pricey, but fun for the kids. We can't wait to do see the witches again next year! Here are a few pictures of our night-sorry about the blurriness, I had troubles with my settings:

Cancion de la Semana

2010-11-05T10:16:00.001-06:00

Ok. I've been trying to get back on schedule with this little feature, so sorry it's taken so long to do a post. This week's song is called "No te Aguites" by Los Hollywood. I serendipitously found this band on iTunes and love them! If you like 90's early 2000's music, you will notice that they sound A LOT like Gwen Stefani and No Doubt. As always, you can recommend any song or artist for this feature (thanks to those that already have!). Let me know what you think!

On a cute story

2010-11-05T10:12:00.000-06:00

A noche (last night), we went to John's cross country banquet. There, his directora (Principal)stood up and told a little historia (story) about a call she got regarding the cross country team. I went something like this:

"I received a call about two weeks into the school year from a little old lady. At first I thought she was calling to complain about the kids leaving bottles on her lawn, or that they were too rowdy. However, she began to talk and said, 'I have lived in the same house for over 30 years. I've watched from my house cross country teams run by every year since the 60's. Your kids are very good, but what I wanted to talk to you about was that coach of theirs. He runs with them. That's something I haven't seen. He's always at the end, bringing up the rear. Tell him to keep it up, I can tell he's getting better."

She had us all laughing. She said that she had to bite her tongue from telling this little old lady that what she didn't know was that John "could whip them any time he wanted to." What his directora (principal) doesn't know, is that the true test to be a varsity runner at Hillcrest is if they can beat John on their runs. I'm so proud of John and all he does for these kids!

On Fishing

2010-11-02T11:11:00.000-06:00

During the glorious semana (week) we had off for Fall Break, John and I planned a day little trip to Strawberry Reservoir to fish. Oli and Choco loved wandering off and exploring, and Oli did very well on her first 'hike out' (as she called trekking from the car to the lake and back). I was able to finish a project and we had a nice calming relaxing day. No fish caught, but we had fun just having a day to be together.

Our hike out:

The Lake:

Fishing-Oli and Mami were sad we didn't have our own fishing pole:

Best Friends:

Exploring:

What she found-a 'crab' leg:

Finally getting to fish:

On birthday's and Puzzles

2010-11-02T10:54:00.003-06:00

For my birthday, John took me up to Park City for a weekend! We started the day with a XC (cross country) invitational, followed by lunch and relaxing in the pools. Most of our family was able to make it up and it made out for a memorable weekend! I unfortunately don't have pictures-my batteries died, but thanks to those that made it up.

As you all may know by now, Oli and I love rompecabezas (jigsaw puzzles). So, my darling SIL, Jill, gave me one by Eric Dowdle (my favorite) for my birthday. I seriously love his puzzles-he has one of the Days of '47 Parade that has the Ute Marching Band front and center (in our old, old uniforms) that I really want. Well, it didn't take long once we were home, to open it up and get started on it. Jill, it was a blast! Here is the finished product:

What's the best part of puzzles? Taking them down, of course! Oli is the BEST helper with that!

On homecoming 2-pictures from the U

2010-11-02T10:45:00.000-06:00

Pre-game rehearsal:

Tailgaters and the Ute Walk:

"Bubbles" (aka-the Crazy lady) at Tailgaters:

The Team:

Pre-Game Show:

The Crowd:

On Homecoming

2010-11-02T10:31:00.001-06:00

Yes, it's been this long since I last blogged. Septiembre (September), was the month of homecomings. We kicked it off with the burning of the 'H' at Hillcrest. In all of the años (years) that John has been trabajando (working) at Hillcrest, we had never gone to one. Well, this year, John was one of the teachers selected to participate-apparently it's quite an honor to be selected. So, we trudged along to Hillcrest, not knowing what to expect.

We got to see the Homecoming parade-which is really just all of the Homecoming Queen nominees that ride in cars from one end of the stadium to the other. The football team was introduced and then there were the bailes (dances) by the cheerleaders, song leaders and drill team. Then there was another baile (dance) by the Student body. There were literally over 100 kids on the field doing this choreographed dance. There there was a skit and then was the presentation that John was a part of.

The stadium lights were cut, and the Administrators, teachers and students that were selected to participate went down to the field. The presentation was of the major times/eras of Hillcrest. Each person was given a green glo stick to light and hold up in the air when their part was read. It was fun to hear the history behind the school.

Finally, the burning of the H. I thought it would be similar to what we used to do at Bingham, but I was totally wrong. At Hillcrest, it is the burning of the H by means of a mini explosion followed by a firework show. I have to say that I was impressed-I haven't been to a homecoming at Bingham in over 12 years, but if it is still the same-they have a lot of catching up to do! Here are pictures of our night:

The lighting of the glo sticks:

The exploding H:

The other Homecoming was at the U. My friend Sarah and I decided to do alumni band a day before our registrations were due. It was a fun day being back in the stadium, visiting with old friends and being grateful that I had a chance to do marching band back in the day. Now a days, game day is a lot more different that it used to be and more time consuming, or at least it felt like it. None the less, it was fun and we can't wait to do it again next year! I took a ton of pictures, and it won't let me upload them now, I'll try it again later!

On a list

2010-10-26T10:40:00.000-06:00

I've got lots to blog about...but I just can't remember what they are. So, until i have a chance to sit down and remember, here is a list of what's been going on.

Cross country. The season is over. The boys qualified for state again, with one girl qualifying as well. She did awesome! She took third place at region and 11th place in state. The boys were projected to finish fourth again, but took eighth at state. I think it was a little disappointing for everybody.

Primary. We've been busy practicing for the primary program, which was this past Sunday. Olivia participated this year, even though she isn't officially in primary yet. She said her line beautifully, but that was it. I'll have to post on this later as it's a pretty funny story.

Work. School. Studying. Repeat. Need I say more?

We're getting ready for a little trip for this weekend. That's all I can say for now, more on that to come.

Snow. It snowed yesterday. I'm not ready for the cold, but I love seeing the mountains covered in white and the valley air clean-it's so beautiful.

Birthdays. We celebrated my dad's, mine, my brother's, my sister in law's, several nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins and my two grandmother's this month. It's a busy month.

Took a fishing trip with John. I actually took pictures, and I can't believe I remembered that I wanted to blog about this, so you'll get a post with pictures!

Finally, I finished some projects-mainly Oli's 'Owl hat'. I'll post those pictures too!

Just a small list, to give you a taste of our October. Can't believe October is almost over! Have a wonderful day!

Cancion de la Semana

2010-10-22T07:07:00.000-06:00

So I wasn't sure what to post for this week. I can't find videos/songs available for the groups I've been wanting to introduce to you, and then I found this little beauty. It's by Mindy Gledhill and it's called Hourglass. Mindy is a semi-local (she moved to Utah when she was 16) and also sang in the Lower Lights. Let me know what you think!