The January Run-Down

Fun with new bath toys (thanks Aunt Bri!)
The military buzz


His favorite spoon
Checking out the house
The front of the potential flip
Yeah Mom.
He loves to stand!

Awkward sleeping position.
Hanging out with Bri for her B-day.
Grandpa stole J from Bri on her B-day.
Playing in the sled dad made for Scouts.
Hanging out in bed.

The Second haircut - Featuring the First

You all know our camera problem, so in documenting Jackson's second haircut, I had to use the camera on our video camera. I will eventually be able to download those onto the computer, once I get my butt out there to buy a cord. But till then, I thought I would use his first chop to represent his second.

Although, there is a difference between the two... Andrew decided a buzz would be cute. So buzz is what we got - AND IT IS SO CUTE! One day....

My Student

is the drummer in this production: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocsfAoibzTw

The Ghetto of Agoura

Friday morning - EARLY morning, we were woken up by deep yelling of profanity. I believe it was about 3am when it all began. There was a lot of banging and heavy walking and as I said YELLING. It was so frightening as it was angry and mean. Jackson was not pleased by this display so he then woke up and began crying. We gave him his dummy, turned on his music and we tried to go back to bed. As the yelling continued, so did Jackson's discomfort. Around 3:45am, we brought him to our bed to sleep with us. It took him a while to settle down, considering the yelling didn't stop, but he did fall back asleep and slept the rest of the night, peacefully in daddy's arms.

As for me and Andrew, well we didn't sleep too well. Eventually the guy, our neighbor, left in his truck. I think I got an hour of sleep in there. But then around 5am, it was out of control all over again. Then when I got out of the shower at about 6:20am, it was worse!!!! He was so degrading towards to woman he lives with, the mother of his children, maybe his wife???? He was saying that her f'in IQ is so low and she's this and that and so on and so forth. He was, from what I gathered, hitting the walls and pounding things all around their condo. I was surprised his rage could hold up for so long.

This was the first time we have experienced anything like that here. In fact there was a night we left our garage door open and anyone could have come in the house, but it was fine. We have always felt comfortable but now I am a little uneasy.

I was scared to call the cops because I feared his retaliation. But as I was leaving for work, there were two cops here. Someone was brave - and I know I should have done it earlier, and I think if Jackson wasn't here, I would have. I know I would have because I have done it before.... well it was Pepperdine security, but close enough :)

So the ghetto - I have always said we live in the ghetto of Simi, but when I was telling this story to my students, they assumed I lived in "The Ghetto of Agoura" - is there one????

They Won!

VS.

My future sister-in-law and I have MUCH in common. We are very similar and so are our men! So Paige thought, why not have a competition to see which guy would do their long over due chore. This is the message I received this evening:

We Won!

So there you have it folks, Wes kicked Andrew's butt on this one - I am sure there will be many more in the future!!!

*Wes' task - clean out the folder featured above
Andrew's task - put the snowboarding stuff in the garage

Yeah Shay!

Way to Go Shay!!! Shay got a new job where she "will be working M-TH 8-6. I will be assisting the doctor with x-rays, muscle stimulation and assisting the patients with the machines...oh yeah it is the Maple Ridge Spinal Pain Center."

We're proud of you!

EIGHT MONTHS!

In respect to Jackson's EIGHT month birthday, Andrew and I watched the video from May 20th. CRAZY!! I had never seen it and I found the cords to hook it up - so there we were. It wasn't planned but it was a nice recap. It's amazing!

You Know You Grew Up In The 80's if:

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.
2. You watched the Pound Puppies.
3. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton
4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy.
5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.
6. You owned those lil' Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.
7. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on Blossom
8. Two words: Hammer Pants
9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"
10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars... and spokey-dokes or playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect
11. You can sing the entire theme song to "Duck Tales" (Woo ooh!)
12. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
13. Y ou wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
14. You saw the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen..and still know the turtles names.
15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
16. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side. 17. You played the game "MASH"(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)
18. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
19. L.A. Gear....need I say more?
20. You wanted to change your name to "JEM" in Kindergarten. (She's Truly Outrageous.)
21. You remember reading Tales of a fourth grade nothing and all The Ramona books.
22. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF"
23. You wanted to be a Goonie.
24. You ever wore fluorescent cl othing. (some of us...head-to-toe)
25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.
26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
27. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard.
28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
29. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.
30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.
31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.
32. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hook up.
33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes. > > >
35. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?" 36. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
41. You've gon e through this nodding your head in agreement.
42. You remember Popples.
43. Don't worry, be happy
44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.
45. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do..getting yelled at by younger hip members of the family)
46. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
47. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.
48. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!"
49 You remember watching Rainbow Bright and & My Little Pony Tales
50. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.
51. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
52. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NK OTB"
53. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell," The ORIGINAL class.
54. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
55. You just sang those words to yourself.
56. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.
57. Homemade Levi shorts.. (the shorter the better)
58. You remember when mullets were cool!
59. You had a mullet!
60. You still sing "We are the World"
61. You tight rolled your jeans.
62. You owned a bannana clip.
63. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
64. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?"
65 You had big hair and you knew how to use it.
66. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!

ROCK ON!!!

We're Rockin' & Rollin'

But not crawling. He is SO close and I know he should be doing it by now, so we just watch and wait!!! Today was the first rocking session, I didn't believe it would happen until I actually saw it today. I am not sure he has a clue what he's doing, but I do and it's pretty awesome. So for now, he's in bed for his afternoon nap, but when he wakes up, we will try again.

Other than that, not too much is going on. I have finals at the end of next week so I need to do A LOT of grading this week. Andrew is way busy with work and other adventures - including basketball, so things are pretty enjoyable.

There was a pretty major event in our life this past Wednesday night.... drum roll please.... We went on our third date since Jackson was born. Almost EIGHT months - what a treat!! A girl I grew up with, Julie Huse, and her fiance, Jake ?, came over and watched Jackson for us. We went to CPK - YUM!, and then I got to do a little shopping at the mall.... that's right, I couldn't have asked for a better date!!

That's it for now - hasta!

Open House

Today is the OPEN HOUSE for the Wise's flip!!! We just wanted to wish you good luck - partly because if it goes well, we may be able to see you :) But really, for your benefit as well - good luck!

Nothing to Show for It!

Well it has taken a week but Jackson is now comfortable sleeping in his position of choice - on his belly! He tried and tried and everytime he would wake up crying cause he was on his belly and didn't know what to do with his head. Well he didn't tell us this is why he was crying, but I think I can assume I am right :) Anyway, we have not seen our camera since we left Brianhead, so I couldn't take a picture to show you.

Nor can I show you the pictures from our trip. I am so sad because this was the gift Andrew gave me for Christmas and I LOVE it - yes present tense!!!! AND I gave away my other camera so we are left with none! So sad - if you see my scrapbooks, you know I LOVE taking pictures.

As for Brianhead - it was great. Jackson swam for about an hour in the pool, I snowboarded - sort of. By using her ski poles, Paige helped me get off my butt so I could make it back down the slope. I only went down twice, but I did it. We relaxed and enjoyed the snow and we are excited to go back with my family in the middle of February - RIGHT AFTER WES AND PAIGE"S WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, that's it for now - we are on a diet and so I now need to go figure out what I can eat - I AM HUNGRY!

The Andersons

Top to bottom (left to right):
Curtis, Chris, Tori, Andrew, Wes
Tristan, Annette, Jackson, Rachel, Paige
Kioa, Mya, Shay, Zoe, Richard
Ivan

Remember Christmas?

You know what they say, "Better late then never!". It has been a whirlwind of excitement for the past couple weeks. Christmas was just as exhausting as it was exciting!! As usual, we split our time up as best as we could.

Christmas began early this year, the Saturday before to be exact. That was the evening we spent with Annette's family, and we had the chance to exchange our make gifts. They do this every year, and it is something I recommend to all families.

Following that celebration, Andrew, Jackson and I celebrated our own "Chritsmas morning" on Christmas eve morning. We thought it would be nice considering we would be at my parents the next morning. Andrew and I exchanged our gift and then we gave Jackson his - this of course was after we had some yummy crepes for breakfast! It was such a pleasant morning and it made us even more excited for Christmas mornings of the future!

After church on Christmas Eve, we headed to my parents for our traditional Eve dinner and our second annual Christmas scripture/carol production. I think that has become my favorite part of Christmas. My Abuelita wasn't able to play the carols on the piano this year, so my dad stepped in and played them on the guitar - I loved it.
Once Jackson was asleep, Andrew and I headed over to his parents for midnight games. This is something we are getting way too old for!!!! We played this rag game until 1 or 2am; it ended because Wes broke the glass of a cupboard. In case you ever want to play, here's how: You have two teams, one team starts at the starting position, while the other splits up and hides along the pathway leading to some pillows. Each hiding person has a wet rag. As the other team tries to sneak across the playing field, in the dark, to gain a pillow and bring it back to the starting point, those hiding, try to detect some movement and hit the opposing team players with the wet rag. I am not sure how much sense I am making, so I will end there.

Next we have ACTUAL CHRISTMAS.... it began at my parents this year (last year it was at the Andersons) and we had a very nice morning. Jackson was showered with gifts, and like most babies, he LOVED the wrapping!

At about 9:30am, we then headed over to the Andersons to do their morning. Jackson was way too tired to participate in this one, but he is now enjoying his gifts! Richard and Annette have chosen to give us money the past couple years, so each year they come up with a new way to do so. Last year it was a scavenger hunt, this year, balloon darts. The guys didn't do as well as the girls, we kicked butt! But in the end, we all got our gift.

After hanging out for a while there, we packed up and headed out to Corona. I think we got there around 2pm, but I am not positive. Anyway, it was nice to be at our final destination and it was great to have Wes with us. A few weeks back we got together with my cousins to take a picture for my grandparents. I wanted to post them then, but I think you can figure out why I didn't. So here they are receiving their gift and here are a couple pictures from the photo shoot... they aren't the ones we used, but I like them!

Just when you thought it was over.... the Christmas celebrations continued on to Wednesday. We don't get a chance to see Richard's side of the family very often.... some we haven't seen in years. All four of his siblings came to the house and we were able to hang out at Vasquez Rocks and at the house. It was such a nice day and a nice way to catch up!

I have so much more to post considering we have had company for almost a week and we just got back from Brianhead, UT., but that will have to wait - I will give you time to digest all this!!

One Reason I Wish

I still had my Saturn is the dent preventive doors. I came out of Target today to find a white scratch and a small dent on my door!!!! I was so annoyed. I wrote a note and put it on the white Suburban next to me and then I decided to wait. So I took pictures of their car and their license plate, and waited. Jackson was not happy about that at all - it was almost lunch time for him and it was almost a 45minute wait!!!!! When she came out she asked her daughter if she did it, I said it might have happened because of the strong winds, but she said no. So we checked the door and it lined up pretty closely, but not enough to prove to the owner that it was her car. So I think I am still going to report it - so much for my long wait. We will keep you posted!

1 CORINTHIANS 13 - A CHRISTMAS VERSION

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling>lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just Another>decorator.>>>>If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies,>preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at >mealtime, but do>not show love to my family, I'm just another cook.>>>>If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that >I>have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.>>>>If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, >attend>myriad holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on>Christ, I have missed the point.>>>>Love stops the cooking to hug the child.>>>>Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.>>>>Love is kind, though harried and tired.>>>>Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and>table linens.>>>>Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they>are there to be in the way.>>>>Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices>in giving to those who can't.>>>>Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all>things.>>>>Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, >golf>clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure.>>>>Merry Christmas and lots of love to you and yours

Belated Hockey, On Time Birthday!

First, we want to wish our Uncle Sam a very Happy Birthday! I hope it's going well and that you can't wait a few more days for a face to face Happy Birthday. I am sorry you can't see us on your birthday, but I am sure it's still fun! We love you!

Now for the belated part.... last week, the 23rd to be exact, we took Jackson to his first hockey game. I was nervous because I didn't want to piss off any of the fans around us, especially because we had good seats so I figured they were paying good money to be there, they shouldn't be disturbed by a baby! BUT, Jackson proved to be a fan! It was a lot of fun to get out and do something different. I was so pleased with him and so pleased with all those willing to hold him! So - I recommend hockey games for babies!

Gotta Love My Roots!

It's a romantic full moon, when Pedro said,"Hey, mamacita, let's do Weeweechu."Oh no, not now, let's look at the moon!" said Rosita.Oh, c'mon baby, let's you and I do Weeweechu.I love you and it's the perfect time," Pedro begged."But I wanna just hold your hand and watch the moon." replied Rosita.Please, corazoncito, just once, do Weeweechu with me."Rosita looked at Pedro and said, "OK, one time, we'll do Weeweechu."Pedro grabbed his guitar and they both sang....."Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas,Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year."MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

A Cute Forward

It was written by an 8-year-old named Danny Dutton, who lives inChula >Vista, CA. He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to"explain>God." I wonder if any of us could have done as well?>> [ . and he had such an assignment, in California, and someonepublished >it, I guess miracles do happen ! ... ]>>> EXPLANATION OF GOD:> "One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replacethe >ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on>earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are >smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his >valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to>mothers and fathers.">>> "God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awfullot >of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at >times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio orTV >because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terriblelot >of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.">>> "God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere whichkeeps >Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going overyour >mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.">>> "Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think thereare >any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church.">> "Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work, like walkingon >water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't>want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him preaching tothem >and they crucified him But he was good and kind, like his father, andhe >told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and toforgive >them and God said O.K.">>> "His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all hishard >work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the roadanymore. >He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by >listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God totake >care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having tobother>God. Like a secretary, only more important.">>> "You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because>they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.">> "You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes Godhappy, >and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God!>>> Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun likegoing >to the beach, but sometimes fishing is acceptable cause fishermen praya >lot.>>> "If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will bevery>lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like tocamp, >but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, inthe >dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water bybig >kids.">>> "But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I>figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases.>>> And...that's why I believe in God."

12 Days of Christmas

This year Andrew and I decided to exchange little gifts the 12 days before Christmas. It's been a lot of fun and I hope we continue this every year. But what brings me to post about this, is the gift I received yesterday. This was in my stocking:

This coupon is worth a five minute massage from this male model.

Yes this is my husbands face, you can decide if this is his body!

What A Big Week!

Engagement & Graduation - Way to go guys!!!!

We are so proud of you and now we wish you luck in the real world - believe me, some days you will miss school!! :)