Texan Spring Break

At first, Lu & I were just going to hang here in Cali; however, we decided last minute that this might be our best chance to flip over to Texas...at least for some time.  Once summer comes, Luis will be busy with internship and who knows if we'll be able to go once his second year begins.  (We hear year two is the pits.) 

By the way, in case you're lost, our Moreno side lives in Texas...and Mexico.  Unfortunately, the  family agrees that it's too dangerous for me to visit my new tios and tias who live in Mexico. 
There are 30 tios and tias on Lu's side.  I know 9.

Day 1

This is probably going to be interesting only to Mom, but I'll try to mention who these people are.

Luis and Anthony, our nephew

Esmeralda & Ricky, two siblings

Anthony and three cousins, Perle, and the identical twins Yomira, & Yajaira

Aunts & Uncles

Tio Gilberto, Tia Chayo, Dad, Mom, Luis (nicknamed Wicho), Me, Tia Marta, & Tia Sandra

Cousins 

Perle, Eduardo, Yomira (or Yojaira), Lilian, Wicho, Me, Yojaira (or Yomira), Vanessa, & Brenda



Day 2

Luis & I took Anthony to the park for some Frisbee fun.

Check out my sun dress.  Anthony informed me that if we went to the library later, I SHOULD NOT wear that or the kids would laugh at me.  Apparently, people don't wear pajamas to the library.  I must be a real embarrassment to him.

Only in Texas.

For Family Home Evening, Mom taught me how to make baby shoe cupcakes.

They turned out a bit "special" since we were trying to hurry, but I think they could be really adorable.



Day 3
We stopped at a lake before heading to the zoo.  There were a million ducks, pigeons, some geese, and an an absurdly loud woman yelling at her children the entire 30 minutes we were there.

Going to the zoo meant it was time to practice animal faces.  My fishy face was much better than both of these boys...I'm just sayin'.

Luis always tells me I'm "fast as a gazelle" (like in Nacho Libre), so we had to take a picture next to the gazelles.  Too bad you can't see them.

We were having a marvelous time until we came to the scary animals...

lions,

crocodiles,

bears,

and attacking storks!

I'm serious...he was going to KILL me.

Look closely.  Can you see them?  There are two tiny sea horses.  One is black and the other is white.  When we saw them mom said, "Look!  Ashley and Luis."

Day 4

Look familiar?  Tortillas must be my specialty since they always become assigned to me.  (Or perhaps it's because I can't really mess them up.)

This should also look familiar...Luis is eating.

Actually, I took this picture to show you one of the top reasons I love eating "Hispanic-style."

No utensils.

Our last night we finally got everyone together and headed to the park for some fun.

It's been a long LONG time since Luis has played ball with his brothers.  He got whooped.

All Together

Mike (new brother-in-law as of one week ago), Melissa, Anthony, Mom, Dad, Victor, Ricky, Wicho, Me, and Esmeralda.



Tricky Little Leprechaun

Unlike everyone else, we did NOT wake up to green milk, eggs, and pancakes on St. Patrick's Day.  Our leprechaun must have slept in because we didn't have green foodies until dinnertime.

I HATE green milk. 

I have since childhood.  I was always disgusted that mom (unlike Santa, I learned the leprechaun hoax early in life) would tamper with my milk.  Traditions are hard to break, so green milk was unavoidable.  Like always I simply chose to avoid looking at my milk and pretended that it was white instead.

Our leprechaun was very tricky because we were left a treasure hunt on Friday, the day AFTER St. Patrick's Day.  There were a series of clues that lead around the place of our livelihood until a treasure was found!

Smarty-pants Luis was ready for the challenge.

I had 3 favorite clues amongst the many:

#1 This magical contraption makes things disappear...

answer: Luis's razor

(a subtle hint that he really needed to cut off his lumberjack beard)

#2  Look at your favorite Disney movie...

answer: Pocahontas. 

Luis was very interested to learn that Pocahontas was his favorite Disney movie.

I'm pretty sure he told me it was his favorite.  He just doesn't remember.

#3 What is Ashley's favorite hoarding place...

answer: the pantry

...which Luis got correct.

After a few more ups & downs...

...Luis found his treasure!

He got some aromatherapy stress relief products which I used to give him a much needed back massage.  It's been a stressful couple of weeks for him.   

HaPpY   sT.   PaTtY's!

Hannukah, Dinosaurs, Frogs

At work, I am assigned a bulletin board theme every month.  As a teacher, I pretty much NEVER did much with my bulletin boards, because I stink at it.  I am definitely NOT artistic.  Remember those puppets I made for a primary lesson when we were in Utah?  Enough said. 

Bulletin Board #1

Theme: Holiday Traditions

(Yay for menorahs, kinaras, and dreidels the size of fireplaces!  In case you were wondering, Luis helped draw items on this board)

Bulletin Board #2

Theme: Martin Luther King Day

Bulletin Board #3

Theme: Endangered & Extinct Creatures

My only idea was a dinosaur.  I kept waiting for Luis to have time to draw one for me.  School Finals = Ashley drew it herself.

Here is a close-up of the tragic dinosaur my students made fun of...in front of me.

Bulletin Board #4

Theme: Spring

(I did this all by myself and am quite proud of my hand-drawn frogs)

Random wall art the students created.



I'll keep you updated on all future bulletin boards.