{Back to School Pictures!}

"The glory of God is intelligence,

or, in other words, light & truth."

D&C 93:36

Back to school is happening ready or not. Every year I pass on the standard school pictures because A) they are expensive, B) the kids didn't smile C)I forgot it was picture day and sent them to school in bad clothing  or D) all of the above. Usually is D.

So this year, I took into my own hands and took pictures of the kids before school started. This way, I have a picture of them smiling, with new clothing, and looking cute! They won't look any different than in two days and on Monday, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be running late... just saying.

So, went outside, after doing their hair, and took two props. And apple & an old chalkboard.

I told the kids to smile and we did a little photo shoot. These are the pictures that turned out:

I had them hold the chalkboard and then went in later to add the scripture in. This is because I have awful handwriting, and also because I wanted a scripture we could use as a motto for the year.

Olivia was confused as to how I was going to put the chalkboard INTO the computer to input her grade info. LOL!

Matthew hates pictures, but managed to stick it out! He looks handsome in this one!

Olivia kind of looks like she could be in the 'Real Housewives' promo with that apple and sassy look!

 I love my kids. Super blessed!

And Monday is almost upon us... I will miss these two boogers during the day...

Jazmin

xoxo

Meet the Teacher!

Ok, first of all... I'M KEEPING UP THE BLOG!!!!!!! I never do, and I am! I can't wait to print it out in two years for our family records!

Anyway, today was meet the teacher! I'm super excited to have enrolled Olivia in the Dual Language program! I have to say, I was skeptical especially because I switched Matthew from Hebron, and he wasn't going to benefit from the Spanish program, I simply moved him to keep both of them in the same school, but again, SO GLAD I DID! Olivia is blossoming and loves it now, and Matthew has the best teachers and low student ratio! Matthew had an amazing teacher last year, one that took time out to go see him during his belt testing in Karate last year. And Olivia's teachers are enthusiastic about the Spanish/ English program. Best of all? They have made some fantastic friends! 

Olivia was sad to go back to school, but the moment she saw her friends, she LIT up! She can't wait for school to begin!

This is Ms. Dillon, she was also her Kinder teacher, and will be her 1st grade teacher this year too!

This is Mrs. Edinger, she is her Spanish teacher this year, and new to the school. I almost think it looks like Olivia could be her kid! Lol!

Matthew has Mrs. Rodriguez, and she made this cute tags with pencils to welcome the kids. I thought that was cute!

Oh, I ordered school supplies from the school, it is be BEST! No shopping for us, and its delivered to the classroom on meet the teacher day!

Matthew liked Mrs. Rodriguez! He is happy to have her be his teacher!

Outside there are the apple trees the kids planted last year. They are BIG now! 

The school is creating a vegetable garden! I think its to use in their food! I love this school!

So excited for the next year! The kids are actually excited for Monday to come!

Jazmin

xoxo

{Back To School} Prep!

Summer has officially left the building! And here we are, dusting off things to get back to school. This year, i decided to be "frugal" no real back to school shopping, just bought a couple of shirts and pants for Olivia and Matthew. By a couple of stuff, I mean 2 t-shirts and 2  jeans for Matthew and he tried on everything in his closet to ensure that it still fit, so he will have two days of brand new outfits, but that's it! Same for Olivia. I got her two cute shirts and long shorts, plus 1 skirt and two pairs of shoes... She is always a bit luckier because its easy to find cute things for girls, but again, no back to school wardrobe. With exceptions of shoes, since she needed shoes as she has outgrown all of hers. The only thing I did buy was lunch stuff. We are not the best of eaters, and I want to really turn a new leaf for the kids. I feel I have bad eating habits because I didn't' ever have limitations on food. And now, I struggle. Not wanting to do that for the kids, I decided to buy them better food containers. Last year we did OK, but they complained about soggy food, or cold food. So, I looked up some stuff online, and ideally I would have purchased Planetbox, but those lunchboxes are $60 bucks each!! Instead, I got  these two metal bento boxes ($25 each) which sounded WAY better and essentially do the same (Keep food hot or cold depending on the food temperture). I didn't buy a lunch bag for Olivia, instead she inherited the one I got from Nicole Barney's 31 party that I won. And i did buy a lunch box for Matthew, but I went to Ross for that one, and it was a whopping $4.99!

I love finding deals at Ross! I find the best stuff there!

Lastly, Matthew's backpack broke, so I went to Pottery Barn and purchased the ones that are on sale. I like the quality, and look but hate the price. But when I was in San Antonio, I used to go to the Pottery Barn outlet and they told me that at the end of June, they start getting new backpacks, and discount the older models, so I did that this year! Matthew's backpack was $25 and I added the monogram, and Olivia didn't need a backpack, but I saw this owl one, on sale for $19 so I went for it. And just like that, we are ready for another year!... I'm GETTING OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jazmin

Fotos y Recuerdos {Photos & Memories} Part 2

I have more photos of our little getaway to Corpus Christi this past weekend.

I wanted to post it in two different posts the break up the immense amount of photos.

Yeah, I have gone camera crazy! But I really feel that is super necessary to document the kids! They are growing extremely fast, and I already lost about 4 good years of photos, and I'm not going to do that again!

Here is the rest of our pics:

Olivia is EASY to photograph! She's super sassy, and poses like a pro!

Matthew on the other hand is more reserved. But the camera still loves him!

Another family next to us at the beach had 5 teenagers dig a hole to bury one of them. But they got tired of digging and left it alone. Next thing you know, Olivia was so deep we decided to finish the job! She has always wanted to be buried in the sand, and this was a highlight for her!

Ok, this picture of Steve & Matthew will get its own post! But basically, last time we came to the beach (about 4 years ago) Steve and Matthew took a picture just like this! Steve thought it would be fun to recreate it and the keep to doing it every time we are at the beach , to see the changes over the years. We hope to continue the tradition and keep documenting them as they each grow up. Yes, I want to see Steve old and gray with a big man next to him doing this. :)

Vicky and my mom decided to copy our idea... :)

I apparently love taking pictures of food! And this is making really hungry right now!

Jazmin

Fotos y Recuerdos {Photos & Memories} Part 1

'Tengo una foto de ti,
Que beso cada noche antes de dormir
Ya esta media rota ya se esta borrando
Por tantas lagrimas que estoy derramando

Y es todo lo que me queda de tu amor
Solo fotos y recuerdos

Tengo un recuerdo de ti
Que siempre me hace tan feliz
De aquella fiesta en que te conoci
De ese timido beso que te di

Y es todo lo que me queda de tu amor
Solo fotos y recuerdos'

-Fotos Y Recuerdos

Selena

This past weekend we headed to Corpus Christi for some much needed vacation! This was a last minute plan and we were totally throwing plans together, since Steve had someone cover his night call on Friday, which made him a free from work for 3 whole days!!! THAT IS CRAZY, UNHEARD OF! So, away we went! My mom, sister & step dad went along as well, as they were the ones who thought it was a great idea to do before the kiddos all went back to school next week... something I'm SAD about! :(

Anyway, since the getaway plan was thrown last minute, Steve ended up booking a cheap hotel for the sake of not breaking our bank accounts for a weekend trip. We drove 7 hours to Corpus and I can honestly say, I was excited to do so! When Steve & I lived in San Antonio, we always made it a point to take the kids to the beach, and Mustang Island is a very nice, clean fun beach to go to. We made some great family memories there, and since it was 3 hours away from San Antonio we went there as much as we could. Now, living in Dallas, I only have the Little Elm beach as my source of "beach fun" but its sooo not the same. Still, we figured it was worth the drive, and refreshed the kids of our little family vacations and living in San Antonio. It had been 4 years since we last visited Corpus!!!

Anyway, when we arrived, we realized that the hotel we were staying at was so not like it showed in the pictures... it was soo bad, we wanted a refund! BUT they didn't do refunds!!! we decided to make the most of it, and just chill. While there, we unpacked our stuff and Steve mentioned that the Selena Museum was only two blocks away. I loveeee Selena and we really didn't have time to visit the museum, but we will do so for sure next time. In any event, if you know about Selena, you know about her tragic death. We knew that Selena was shot in a Days Inn motel in Corpus about 18 years ago. We googled, and to our surprise, it was THAT same hotel we were staying in! NOT GOOD. 

Ugh, we joked a little about the ghettoness of the place and we looked for the room Selena was shot in (not to be disrespectful, although it probably sounds like that) we were just curious, and were trying to make the most of the place. Anyway, the trip was fun, but it really got me thinking about the impact Selena made in my life. As a Hispanic immigrant, especially Mexican, when Selena was shot, it was a HUGE shock. Selena was a girl just like me, who made it big. It was as if you knew her, and she was on her way to making it HUGE! My friend and I had a conversation about Jennifer Lopez being J-LO thanks to Selena. Jennifer Lopez would have had some tough competition if Selena were still alive. And pretty much Selena would have been what Jennifer Lopez is now, especially because Selena had a lot of signing talent. In any event, it was a reminder of my roots, of being not only Mexican, but and immigrant and adopting American as my home. I will write more about that later, as I really think it is important to remember your beginning... 

For now, here is some of the pictures we took of the beach!

Steve is joking about how fun it is not to drive.. Until we hit hour 4 and then it was boring...

I was really bored at this point... that's usually when selfies happen.

We are HERE!!!!!!!!! The beach looked heavenly!!!

Steve and the kids got in the water in NO time! So, ready to ride waves!

Vicky was super happy! She sat in the back of my moms van with Matthew & Olivia and mentioned her butt was numb and her ears as well, since she had to hear Olivia and Matthew complain about this and that... She was a trooper! And probably the happiest to be out of the car and into the water!

I wanted to take a million pictures of these two! But decided to cut back in order to enjoy them!!!

Steve looks super cute in this picture, but I look hideous. Still I took one for the team, to show his handsomeness. You are welcome Steve.

Look at these two!!! I look at this picture and my hurt just wants to jump out of my chest! I love them so much! And, doesn't Olivia look like she's 15?! Time is flying!

 We found these little shells with some sort of slug in them, that made little holes in the sand. Olivia is an explorer at heart!

After some fun in the sun, we headed to Snoopys. A sea food restaurant by the Pier. A friend that lives in Corpus recommended the place, and it was so gorgeous to eat outside watching the sunset!

Matthew NEVER smiles! He hates pictures, which really clashes with me, since I'm obsessed with pictures.

Was the food good?... You bet your sweet mermaid fin it was!!!

Olivia ATE everything which never, ever happens!

Here was our view... It was so relaxing!

If you want to go for a quick weekend trip, we suggest going to Mustang Island! Seriously, super clean, fun, and as inexpensive as it gets for a weekend getaway. I took living so close to the beach for granted! And I see it now!