a BIG surprise

My mom was at my grandma's house for a week and I was missing her terribly.  Suddenly, on a Thursday, she texted to see if I wanted to skype.  I got on, but she was having troubles with her computer.  As we were on the phone to figure it out, I heard a knock on my door.  I peeped out my peephole and saw some guy in shades and a hat.  Not wanting to bother with a salesman when I was wanting to talk to my mom, I decided not to answer.  He knocked again.  And again.  Pretty soon, he was knocking and knocking and knocking without stopping.  Talk about ANNOYING!  I looked through the peephole again and saw him putting his ear up to the door to listen for inside noise.  Talk about CREEPY!  I vowed to mom that I was NOT going to open that door.  Finally, I looked again and couldn't believe my eyes!  I swung open the door and there stood my mom, dad, and older brother Dave (the creepy and annoying salesman I hadn't recognized). 
 SURPRISE!!!

The whole time they were here, we pretty much just hung out, though we did have a few adventures: $1 scoop night at Handels, BBQ at the park, picnics, pool and splash pad fun, Molly's Souper for breakfast, Islands Restaurant for lunch, Redlands Temple, and Disneyland!

  That was one of the best surprises of my life!  Thanks for coming to visit, Dad, Mom, and Dave!!!  Let's do that again sometime:)

Texas - Volume 5

On Valentine's Day, Luis, Raquel and I went on a family date to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.  They were pretty, despite the fact that it was winter, and we loved being able to stroll around, have some lunch, and enjoy the beautiful weather!

These plants are from Lu's motherland.

This sign says Mexican Ash.  Yes I am.  Really!  Anyone who eats cactus for breakfast (and likes it) must be Mexican.

Luis and I kept trying to get a good Valentine's Day "couples picture," but we kept getting these dead trees in the background.  How stunning!

Luis very romantically surprised me with my very own Valentine's Day roses (which he took pictures of at the garden and then showed me later).

Raquel's and Anthony's V-day gifts.

That night, we had dinner with the Coles.  Brother Cole used to be Luis's bishop, and the two families are good friends.  Brother and Sister Cole actually have 5 kids, but 3 of them were not here for this picture.

Another of Lu's cousins, Jorge, came by the next night.
(From left to right: Victor, Luis, Raquel, Jorge, and Ricky.

The day we left, we had one final set of visitors - Lu's uncle and his family.  We had to wake Raquel up from her nap so she could meet them, but surprisingly, she woke up very pleasantly and even went straight into a stranger's arms without protest.  My girl changed a lot this trip!

Tia Delia and Raquel

Tio Jesus and Raquel

Luis and I still can't figure it out.  All the gifts people brought throughout our trip were for Raquel.  I think they must have forgotten Luis and I were coming.  Raquel was spoiled rotten!  Check it out:
Dolls

Clothes (including some of the hair bows you see)

Toys

Other gifts not pictured:  a pink unicorn, bibs, teether toys, sippy cups, baby mesh feeders, bath toys, and $20 cash.  Every time we turned around, someone was offering her a gift.  What gives?

This was our final picture before we left, and the first one to include our entire Moreno family.
(From left to right: Victor, Mom, Anthony, Raquel, Me, Dad, Luis, Esmeralda, Melissa, and Ricky)

It was so sad to say goodbye!  Although, one of the funniest moments of our trip happened as we were circling around giving hugs.  We were all a bit weepy, some more than others.  Suddenly, I realized I hadn't said goodby to Anthony (Lu's nephew).  I looked around and noticed he wasn't with us.  I glanced over to the kitchen, and there he was, standing on a chair, quietly sneaking some forbidden snacks from the cupboard.  As soon as we made eye contact, he froze with an "uh-oh" look on his face.  It was classic!

We love our Morenos and miss them terribly.  Raquel keeps asking where her fan club is and wondering why everyone isn't crowded around her taking pictures.  Life is pretty dull with just having her mommy around all day:)

One of the most exciting parts of this trip was hearing our Morenos talk more than ever about how much they want to move to Utah when we do.  Wouldn't that be a blast?!?  I want my kids to know both sides of the family and it would be WONDERFUL to have them both close!  I know my family has also talked about this and have said how much they would love having the Morenos join our family get-togethers.  I think the Fergusons and the Morenos were meant to be together.  All in favor say I!