The Garcia Family

7 years!!!

2010-07-11T22:43:00.004-06:00

It all started on May 2, 2003...Raul and Kelinda were sealed for time and all eternity in the Bountiful Utah Temple. He haven't returned to that temple until this year, on our 7th anniversary. We took some pics and remembered that special day. I LOVE RAUL!!!!

Another picture?

trying to hide...I always find him...

Pioneer Trek

2010-07-11T22:33:00.004-06:00

Finally some pics of trek. We went to Martin's Cove in Wyoming for 3 days. We "adopted" 5 children, drove 6 hours, and had an altogether GREAT TIME!!!!! all our stuff in the stake center Our Family- minus me

Who's that handsome pioneer?

Ma/Pa Garcia

Women's Pull

So hard!!!!

Raulito's birthday!

2010-07-11T22:21:00.005-06:00

Raulito turned 3 on June 26. We had a BBQ in his honor. What a big boy!!! I can't believe it! He's talking really well (in Spanish, and getting better in English) and wants to follow his sister everywhere and do everything she does!

Shanise made the cake. Thanks Shanise, it looks great! Plus, I had just come back from trek and was nice that I didn't have to worry about it.

The cooks!

Thirsty kids!

Young love?

2010-07-11T22:01:00.002-06:00

We went up to Logan for my cousin's baby blessing. My mom and dad and my sister Shanise were there. Fun!!!! Shanise turns 16 in October...Any takers????

Rakel and my cousin's baby (she named him Behr)

Raul and Shanise

My handsome hubby!

Raulito and grandma

4th of July Weekend

2010-07-11T21:23:00.008-06:00

We had a BBQ with some friends and the kids played with sparklers. They had a great time. We also went up American Fork Canyon with the intentions of going to Timpanogos Cave, but we got there too late and too many other people had the same idea, so we just took some pictures. We'll have to go another day... We have an inflatable raft that we took out on the "lake" It was fun!!! Rakel and Daddy

Raulito and Daddy (he's helping!)

Me and Marbel. She was telling me the whole time that she didn't know how to swim, and the lake is so deep, and the boat was going to sink...we made it back dry...

Notice, I'm dry...

and then, I'm not! Raul was filming, but he stopped just before I fell..I'm sure it would have been hilarious...

Rakel and grandma

Rakel Graduation

2010-06-02T13:22:00.005-06:00

Apparently the other videos that I was trying to put up were too big, so I guess I'll have to get some pics up instead... This one is Rakel at her graduation.

Rakel Valt

2010-06-02T13:03:00.005-06:00

Yes, I know that it is sideways... It looked better that way on the camera when I was recording!!! HAHA!

Rakel!

2010-06-02T12:52:00.003-06:00

Rakel graduated from Kindergarten last week! She's so big! She's reading and has absolutely loved kindergarten! The next few posts will be videos of her graduation, gymnasitcs meet, and dance festival at school...Then we'll see what else I find to post! I love you Rakel, congratulations!

December fun

2010-01-11T13:28:00.008-07:00

Here's some more rewinding to last year....Get ready for a bombardment of pictures, but as the saying goes, it's worth a thousand words, and who wants to read that much anyway...Enjoy! New years with our friends Olga, Robert, and their kids. I didn't think my kids would make it till 12, but they were still going strong at 12:30am! We took some family pictures on New Years eve. Here's a bunch! Could be another engagement picture!

The kids had a lot of fun during Christmas break!

Christmas morning! (you can kind of se my mom, my brother Derek is in the black, and my sister Shanise is by the tree...)

Rakel finally got her cupcake maker! She's been asking for it since last christmas....

Not sure what that expression means....

More pictures of us!

One of our absolute favorite pictures from December! Someone's excited!

Dancing at our ward Christmas party!

The kids got to see SANTA!

HO HO HO

We decided it would be fun to make a Nativity Scene this year, here's how it turned out!

Oh, and Raulito discovered that he's a big boy and wants to wear a tie like Daddy....

Here's our snowman!

going backwards...

2010-01-11T13:11:00.004-07:00

This year we had 3 thanksgiving dinners...One with our friends, one with my family in Idaho, and one with just us at home....The pictures are from our first thanksgiving dinner... Raulito is always entertaining the kids, but I think the kids have the advantage in this one...

Everyone likes my hair like this, the only thing is that it takes FOREVER to do....so we have pictures to remember what it looks like. Raulito calls me his "Shakira Gringa"

Turkey!

The guys cleaned up after dinner....They made a pretty big show of it, and it was really funny!!!! I thought a lot about how thankful I am for everything that I have. The first things being a wonderful husband and 2 beautiful, healthy children. We have so many friends and family members that support us in all that we do. I thank everyone for that.

It was a great thanksgiving season!

Happy 2010!

2010-01-11T12:35:00.007-07:00

Wow, can it really have been over 2 months since I've written??? Needless to say, like everyone else our life has been crazy over the holidays. We did have a lot of fun, though! I guess to start out with we have been showing Marbel (Raul's mom) around as many places as we can, Cabelas, Temple Square, BYU, scenery, includin the timpnogos mountains and Sundance. Here's some pictures from our adventures... ' Look, Raulito found a friend!

Carving pumpkins with some friends. Raulito just said Eww...and wouldn't touch anything... I had a helper this year when I made applesauce. It was still a long day...But we should have enough to last us until next year...

We went to Temple square and happened to find a praying mantis...Raulito liked it until it got a little too close...Us on the roof of the conference centerMarbel got to meet my family for the first time!

Our Halloween costumes this year...We couldn't come up with a theme that would work for all of us, but we had a lot of fun. We still have some halloween candy...

Our friends Pedro and Kijung. Kijung made all of the costumes! Very cute.

One of the first times it snowed the kids wanted to go and play in it. I said ok, but by the time we had gone out and taken out the trash, this is what they looked like...Walking on a mountain trail... We ended up at the sundance resort. At least they had buildings to keep warm in after walking around in the cold!

Colombia

2009-10-28T23:49:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone! As a lot of you know, Raulito and I took a trip to Colombia at the beginning of October. We left the kids with a friend here in Utah and took off for a week and a half. We had a wonderful time. We hardly slept because we were visiting and traveling. Two nights we slept on a bus...not fun, especially when the bus got a flat tire and we were stuck for 2 hours without any AC in the middle of the night!!! We brought Raul's mom back with us. That part of the trip was pretty emotional, especially since Raul's brother is still in Colombia. The ward had a good-bye party for her and everyone cried so much!!! She really is a special woman. She is adjusting well here, though. She is motivated to learn English and excited to be with us and the kids. She and I get along very well, thank goodness! We took almost 700 pictures while we were there, but the disappointing news is that we don't get to share them with you... During the LONG trip back to Utah, in the middle of the night...somehow our camera stayed in LAX... We are SOOO SAD! Not so much because of the camera but because of all the pictures that were lost. We kept hoping that someone would turn it in, or at least the memory card, but to no avail...Oh, well, we still have the memories. Besides that, the trip was a blast! The kids were really good with the babysitter, although they missed us a lot. We're planning to go back sometime in the next few years and take the kids with us.

Temple visit

2009-09-13T23:56:00.005-06:00

Last Sunday Raul had the day off, so we decided to go check out the Oquirrh Mountain, UT temple. We drove up and took some pictures. It was really nice. The grounds are so peaceful, and it was neat to see two other temples from there. I am so glad that I was sealed for time and all eternity to my wonderful husband! We tried to get Rakel to take a picture of us...but she was just to busy, so we took one of ourselves...

The fountain was beautiful with the lights.

"I love to see the temple" So cute! We didn't even pose this one...

Seven Peaks Fun!

2009-09-13T23:40:00.003-06:00

The seven peaks summer is over...We're not as close to it anymore anyway...Overall, we thought it was a great deal, and we went 1-3 times/week. We took the camera a few times, so here's some of our fun summer!

The one time it rained really hard while Raul was there with the kids. It really scared Rakel and she has been a bit traumatized of thunder an lightning since...

Raulito getting a "dolphin ride"

The face of happiness

Raulito loved the alligator in the tadpole pond, but only the mouth...He wouldn't actually get on it...

Graduation

2009-08-16T16:33:00.004-06:00

Well, it finally came! Raulito's graduation! It has been a crazy week, with packing and everything, but we made it. Thursday we went to the commencement. Elder Ballard spoke and it was really neat. It was nice that there were not so many people there (being summer) and we got to sit pretty close to Raulito. Friday was the convocation. My parents, sister, and Aunt and Uncle came as well as some friends. It was great to see Raulito be able to receive his diploma! I cried at the end. He is such a hard worker and I am so proud of him. Afterwards, we had a little party for him and Rakel, because it will be her birthday on Tuesday. As happens, we were late to our own party, and I put the wrong address on the invitation, so who knows if people tried to come and we weren't there. Oh well, Rakel had a good time. Mom helped pack on Friday and Saturday, so we're making progress in that area. It will be another busy week, and who knows when we'll get our internet connected in the new apartment, so I'll post as soon as possible. Enjoy the pictures!

Ringing the victory bell. Rakel was too scared. It was pretty loud. Notice the dark clouds behind...We got rained on afterwards...Jumping for joy!The family: Mom, Shanise, Raulito, me, Raul, Rakel in front and my Dad in back Happy birthday Rakel! Shanise made the cake to resemble Rakel...It turned out pretty cute and took another thing of my to-do list for the week. Thanks!

Camping!

2009-07-30T16:37:00.006-06:00

On Monday morning, we decided we were going to take a trip...We needed to go to Idaho anyway to pick up a dresser from Grandma's house before the closing date...So Monday was as good a time as any, mostly because we couldn't find another date in the next few weeks. So, we went up to Twin Falls and spent the night with the fam. We actually got everyone together. All 4 kids at once! Tuesday we left for Bear Lake. We would have made it a lot sooner without the construction...Good thing for the dvd player in the car! It was not a long enough trip for us, especially because we only got to play in the lake for about an hour...But life's like that, and we're grateful for the family time we were able to have! Enjoy the pics!

Rakel and her friend Alex on Sunday...The eyes say it all!

We finally found a place to put the hammock!

White was not a good color for clothing...He fell down so many times!

Playing at Bear Lake! Rakel's favorite activity at the lake, shell collecting! She said she likes it better than 7 peaks!

The deer liked that camping spot for some reason, we saw him there twice...beautiful!

Raulito's Birthday...(Daddy)

2009-07-19T22:09:00.005-06:00

We had a great day for Raul's birthday. A friend came over to take care of the kids so we could go to the temple. That was a nice start to the day! Then after lunch and cake (ok, it was cheesecake) we went mini golfing. It was REALLY HOT!!! But we survived (we found a hose hooked up to a fauced in the middle of the course and cooled ourselves off...) Then we went to 7 peaks. Happy birthday Raulito, I Love you! Some fun with the whipped cream...

AWWW!

The kids actually hit a couple of balls...It only lasted about two or three holes, though...Rakel was running to get in the picture...Then we took another one...Yes, I'm a little wet. Don't mind the facial expression. I Really wasn't unhappy, I just didn't know he was taking a picture! The kids found a golf cart!

4th of July fun

2009-07-19T21:48:00.005-06:00

Well, since the fourth was a Saturday, both Raul and I had to work, but I think we had fun despite of it. Raul took the kids to the parade in Provo. They had a fun time. Then when I got off work we went down to downtown Provo and checked out the booths. Later, we were all able to meet up to see the fireworks. The first two pics are of the neighbors...They love hanging out with Rakel and Raulito...And they would stay all day long if we let them...We don't let them, but they have a good time anyway... What happens when we open our door for more than a minute...

Parade!

Rakel, Raulito, Sofie and Ema. It rained just enough to cool everyone off, then it got hot!

Glowsticks, YAY!

Just a small snake at the reptile show we saw...

ALmost the only free thing at the downtown event. There was also a long line! Rakel was really cute and helped Raulito go up and down...

Rakel's sparkly butterfly stamp. She was sad when it washed off..

Happy 4th!

Happy Birthday Raulito!

2009-07-19T21:30:00.004-06:00

Raulito (jr) turned 2 on June 26th! We had a fun party for him up at Timpanogos Park in Provo Canyon. It's a really nice park and we were really lucky to get a pavillion. The weather was great and we had a fun group of friends and family that came to celebrate with us. Let's see, at 2 years old, Raulito LOVES CARS!!! and he doesn't like sharing them with his sister...He is learning how to speak pretty well and will repeat just about anything you say. He is not too picky about food so far. Most days he wakes me up and wants his hot chocolate...Thanks Daddy...He loves to go to nursery and playing outside or in the water. He's pretty careful and doesn't fall down too often, but he's adventurous as well. He wants to do anything Rakel can do...He is definately a Mommy's boy. We love him and feel so priviledged to have his sweet spirit in our home! Here's a few pictures from his Photo Session at Kiddie Kandids (he DOESN'T like getting professional pictures taken...but we got a couple of smiles) and from his party.

The girls decided they were going to play tricks on the adults by taking the croquet hoops...haha

Most of the goup...(some had already left) My mom and dad, Sister Shanise, Grandma, and my aunt and uncle, And our little group of friends!

Water balloon anyone?

Raul and Shanise...He is like a big brother to her.

Raulito's Train Cake We converted his crib into a toddler bed, but we haven't ever bought rails for it...He didn't seem to mind. We never heard him cry when he fell out of bed...but the first week or so we found him like this...Poor thing. Oh, his bed is to the right of the photo...

Seeing Stars!

2009-06-12T22:14:00.004-06:00

Here are a couple of videos of the kids' musical ability. ;-)

Random fun pictures!

2009-06-12T21:58:00.005-06:00

There really is no method to my madness today...I wanted to get some recent pictures up. We have been having fun at Seven Peaks Water Park lately. We bought the season pass and the kids really have been enjoying it. We have gotten Rakel to go on some of the tube rides with us...Under some protest, but she ended up liking it. This week the weather hasn't cooperated, however. Also this week Rakel had her last day of preschool. She was sad to leave and I don't think that it has really sunk in for her, but she really did have a good year! Enjoy the pictures! Not sure exaclty what he's thinking in this one, but he really did enjoy playing outside at Rakel's school. Rakel with the only other girl in her class, Michelle.

He makes a cute little clown!

Putting on her makeup...

Rakel's teachers: Miss Gil and Miss Patty

Raulito's favorite part of Rakel's school. He pointed it out every day...

He really was sleeping like this!

Daddy did her hair! Not bad!

We went to the Bean Museum, and Rakel thought she would make a better photographer than me...

Good News!

2009-05-22T16:12:00.002-06:00

I have a ton to write, but I wanted to share this for now, and I'll write the rest later and post pics. I just wanted to let everyone know that my mother-in-law finally had her interview at the US Embassy in Colombia and they gave her a visa!!! That means that in less than six months she will come and live with us! We are so excited...It's been something we have been planning on since we got married!

Haircut

2009-05-08T16:56:00.004-06:00

Well, it's about time, I guess, Raulito needed a haircut. I was procrastinating so much because I love his long hair. And it's a little curly in the back, so that was really hard to let go. But, Raul decided that it was time, so I let him do it. And, to my surprise, he's even cuter than before we cut his hair!!! I can't get over it. He looks so grown up. My baby is not a baby anymore! Here's the pics!

BEFORE:

DURING: AFTER:

Idaho trip

2009-05-02T20:25:00.005-06:00

We went to Idaho last week after classes were over so that we could have some "family time" and get away from life for a few days. While we were there we visited Shoshone Falls. They call it the "Niagra of the West." It really was spectacular. I have been there before, but there has rarely been this much water going over the falls. Raulito just kept looking and saying "Agua, Agua, Agua." Rakel liked the rainbows too. We did a little bit of hiking around, which was fun. Rakel is very independent and wanted to go on her own, and of course Raulito wants to do everything his big sister does, so it was an adventure. To give you some perspective, this is the same falls 6 years ago, after we were married. BTW, don't pay much attention to us in this picture...Not much sleep after a wedding...And here's the falls now!

We also got to spend some time just being together. My brother and sisters were around, so it was kind of like a mini family reunion. No pictures of us all together, though, no one thought they were looking good enough for a picture...

With a free babysitter, we got to go to the Twin Falls Temple. It was Raulito's first time there, because he was in California last summer when they did the open house. We had a great time.

Me and my sister Monica.

In other family news, it's been a hard week for the extended family. My grandma's husband (she remarried after grandpa died) died this week. He comitted suicide. Yeah, I never thought it would happen in our family... It's not really clear what pushed him over the edge, but I think it had to do with a lot of changes with grandma's health (she has lung cancer) and decisions being made quickly without much imput from him. It was really unexpected and it is has been really hard on grandma. I am just glad for the knowledge that I have that I was sealed to my family in the temple for eternity, and that if something were to happen, I would still get to be with them after this life. I am grateful for all the prayers and thoughts in our behalf. Thank you....

6 Years and Counting

2009-05-02T20:14:00.005-06:00

Hi Everyone. I hadn't realized that it has been a month since my last post...But better late than never! Today is our 6 year anniversary!!! Yep, 6 years and 2 kids. It has really been great. Raul and I were talking last night and noticed that the biggest things in our life we have shared together (getting married, becoming parents, graduation, etc.). If you're wondering what we did to celebrate....we haven't yet. We both worked today, so as of now we have seen each other for a total of about 2 hours today...But he did bring me a dozen red roses to work! He can be romantic! And it gave me a chance to show off a little at work. Here's some pics from the past few weeks. Enjoy!

Us on our wedding day!!!

Rakel and Raulito with their balloons. There was a balloon artist at our Head Start Parent meeting this month. I tried to convince Rakel to get a butterfly or a flower or something, but no, she wanted a sword...

Easter dinner. Both kids loved the ham. Can you tell?

They're always cuter when the're asleep!

When Mommy's Away....

2009-04-02T15:59:00.006-06:00

This is what happens! (With Daddy's supervision, of course...)

Waiting...I don't like it...

2009-04-02T15:21:00.007-06:00

So as far as the title goes, it's because we're still waiting on internship/job opportunities. Companies should know by now whether they're going to hire or not, right? And the other thing is the DNA test that Raulito did. The embassy in Colombia has to contact his mom before she can do the test, and then they send it all up here to be analyzed...So yeah, still waiting. Other than that, life is great. I can't believe it's already April! That means Raulito is ALMOST DONE!!! We're really excited. The kids are great. Raulito is talking more and more, and Rakel is learning something new every day. She knows a lot of the states, and is learning to read (may take a while, but she's started and very interested). They are really so much fun, except when they are fighting. ;-) We got a new computer this week, so we are in the process of putting everything on the new one. My family is coming down for conference weekend and taking the old computer with them (I say old, but it really is only a couple of years old and works really well). We are really excited about General Conference this weekend, except I realized that I have to work during both saturday sessions...I told Raulito that he has to take good notes so that I can catch up saturday night. I wish we could go, because we're so close and who knows where we'll be later, but I guess I should just enjoy the fact that we get it on TV here and don't have to go anywhere. Well, I promised myself that this wouldn't be too long. Here's some recent pictures of us. Enjoy!

We said good-bye to our friends Sandra and Temo and their family. We also celebrated Kim's birthday! We'll miss you guys!

Raulito was pretty excited about the cake, can you tell?

He did NOT like me holding Alicia's baby...He thought he got Mommy to himself all the time!

Raulito's and my flower projects. The teacher made him do his after he got back from Texas...Which do you like better?

Here's some pictures of Raul in Austin. He took over a hundred, so I had a lot to choose from, maybe I'll put some more later.

Spaghetti?

He's so serious.

The kids found an ant outside, and loved it...

Raulito decided to dump the whole box of cereal on the table. After this picture was taken, he threw it all over...

The girls enjoying the time together and meeting Alicia's baby boy, Nefi.

We went to the Draper Temple Open House. Beautiful!

Rakel and Ema on the bus (on the way up to the temple)

When you tell Raulito to "say Cheese" this is what he does...

A quick update

2009-03-04T13:18:00.003-07:00

Well, we did end up getting a new camera, so we're in the process of figuring out how to use it. I think we've gotten some nice pictures so far, but they're not on the computer yet (we got a 4 GB memory card). Raulito took the camera to Texas with him this week, so he should come back an expert. Yep, I am a free woman this week! OK, not really. Raulito left for Austin, TX with a group of Industrial Design students Tuesday morning. I have to admit I almost cried...It's been a while since we have been apart...Meanwhile, I have been looking for babysitters (Thanks to everyone who has been helping out!) so that I can cover some of Raulito's classes. I am especially enjoying his Floral Design class. He has been telling me I should go sometime. It was a lot of fun, and today I got to make a floral design and bring it home! I will post some pics when I get the camera back. Oh, and by the way, a little note on communication. The night before Raulito left, I asked him where the computer cable was for the cell phone. He showed it to me (it also charges the phone). The communication failure was that I neglected to tell him that I wanted that cable for MY phone, because I had packed the other one. Well, he ended up taking both with him...So today I got to go and buy a new charger. I hope I can return it, because my mom is coming this weekend and is going to bring the other one that ended up at her house in Idaho over Christmas... Somehow I don't think we need 4... Funny story, but without a home phone, I kind of need my cell, plus, how would I survive without being able to talk to Raulito for 5 days! Update on Raulito's mom. She had her interview with the Embassy last week. They told her everything looked good EXCEPT, Raulito's birth certificate says he was born at a different hospital than the one he was born in...Don't ask me how they found out. So, we have to get that fixed and she has to go back for another interview (yes, it will cost more money to get another appointment...) So she has been trying to get it fixed, but the hospital doesn't have any records before 77 (he was born in 75..) . So option #2 is to have a DNA test done...YAY! We're still waiting to hear back as to how we have to do that, but we heard from someone that we have to go to the Colombian Embassy here in US (Which is in San Diego). Who knows, we might be doing a quick trip to CA soon! This "quick update" didn't turn out to be as short as I thought, but there it is... I'll get some pictures up soon. Wish me luck until Saturday (Raulito comes back)

Happy President's Day!

2009-02-16T16:17:00.005-07:00

Well, as you can see, I have been slacking. But nothing really exciting has been happening. Our camera broke, so we are in the process of either fixing it (which would be around $100 and take about 2 weeks...) or getting a new and better one. I think we have finally decided on the latter, but we're not sure which one to get...I know some of you out there have taken some really good pictures, any suggestions on a new camera? We've been looking at Nikon...Anyway, Raulito is pretty much obsessed (in a good way) with it so the sooner we decide the better, then he can get back to other things... As far as other things go, Raulito is going on a trip the first week of March with his fellow Industrial Design students to Texas (I'm pretty sure it's Austin) to tour some companies and hopefully pass out a few portfolios. Yes, we are looking for a job. We are really excited to be moving on to "Life after School", but at the same time we know it's not the best time to look for a job. So if anyone hears anything about anyone needing an Industrial Designer, please let us know. Some really good news is that Raulito's mom has her interview at the US Embassy in Colombia at the end of this month!!! The last obstacle before she can come live with us! (Yes, after all the money and papers and months of waiting, they could still tell her no at the interview, but it is not very likely..) We're really excited for her to come, although it probably wouldn't be until the middle of summer or something. We need to figure out where we'll be first...And because she wants to stay as long as possible in Colombia to support Carlos (Raulito's brother) because he will most likely be going on his mission around the end of the year! I'm so proud of him. He has come a long way in getting himself ready. I wish we could be there when he goes through the temple or leaves for the MTC...We'll see. Speaking of the temple, we went the other day and did sealings, and I fainted...NO, I'm not pregnant...The sealer mentioned that he had had a few people pass out on him lately, so he warned us against it...So I think my mind was so focused on not passing out that I did...Yeah, a bit embarassing, but the sealing session was nice while it lasted... And then there was VALENTINE'S DAY! We actually went out on Friday the 13th because both of us had to work on Saturday. We went bowling at the BYU Games Center and then played some pool. It's been a REALLY LONG time since we've done either. I ended up winning the bowling game, but losing at pool (which was actually not fair, because 2 of the 3 games that I lost were because I accidentally knocked the 8 ball in when I only had 1 other ball left...) yeah, it took us over 5 minutes on the first game to get one ball in...It was pretty funny. (By the way, all of it was free!!! The games center gives students a free game every year, and the pool tables are free for students, too!) Well, that's enough talking, I'm sure you all have better things to do. I think there's some pictures that I haven't posted yet, ENJOY!!! They always have the most fun with the boxes! We went to our Friends Brent and Shanda's for their Superbowl party, and Raulito and Abby loved playing ping-pong with their Daddy... Rakel likes to play dress-up with Raulito sometimes, and he lets her!!! Rakel wanted to make a cake, and she was really excited about eating it, too. You can tell because we didn't even get a picture before part of the wing was eaten... I made a shower cake for Alycia's baby shower a couple of weeks ago.

Snow anyone?

2009-01-12T14:14:00.002-07:00

We finally made it out sledding last week. We went with our friends, the Grays for Family Home Evening. I don't think it was the best night to go out, it had been snowing all day long and the roads were TERRIBLE. We made it to Rock Canyon Park and, after finally making it up the hill, Raul and I had a great time. Rakel...the first time down she started to cry and complain that she was cold and didn't wan to go anymore. We finally got her to go down with Khalillia, but at the end of that run, they both were crying, so we decided maybe that was the end of our fun...And we made it home ok. In other news, we had a basically un-eventful New Years. New Years Eve we wanted to go to a Colombian Restaurant in West Valley, but by the time we got there, they were closed, so we went to a Chinese Buffet across the street. We went with Sergio and Brenda, Kijung and all their girls. We would have partied some more with them afterwards, but Rakel wasn't feeling good, and Raulito (jr) had been sick also, so we ended up going home. After putting the kids to bed we put on a movie and ended up falling asleep until we heard noise outside and looked at the clock. HAPPY NEW YEAR... Oh, well, next year will be more exciting. Everyone except me (knock on wood) have had whatever bug has been going around, but seem to be feeling much better. Rakel returned to school last week and was so excited to see all of her friends. I have started working at Golden Corral, mostly Saturday morning/afternoon unless Raul prefers watching the kids and I go to work for him. I like working there and interacting with all kinds of people. Anyone's welcome to come see me there. It's great steak! Also, we have started going to the Spanish Ward. We have thought about it for a long time, but it has become more convenient because our regular ward's schedule changed to 1pm, and the Spanish ward now meets at 9am. We're sad to leave our other ward because it seems like we were just getting to know people, but I think we will have a good experience in the Spanish Ward, too. I have also started back at my 6am aerobics classes. I'm the TA for the Monday/Wednesday class. It's been hard to get back in the habit of going to bed a little earlier and getting up and out of my warm bed into the cold car, but I really like the class. Anyway, we hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. This year will bring a lot of changes for our family. Raul will finish school and we will most likely not be in Utah after he graduates. Also, Raul's mother will be coming to live with us sometime in the next few months. We are really excited about that. And who knows what else will happen, but we're ready for new adventures! Just out for a bike ride in the snow...

Late Happy Thanksgiving, early Merry Christmas!

2008-12-20T15:13:00.007-07:00

Things have been a bit crazy lately, and I missed blogging about Thanksgiving completely. So I thought I'd get a bit of a jumpstart on Christmas.... MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! We had a couple of Thanksgiving dinners, one with friends, and the other with family. We went up to Logan for Thanksgiving Day to hang out with family there. I have an aunt that lives there, and it is kind of a middle point between Provo and Twin Falls, Idaho, so that's where we ended up. We had a really nice meal, lots of food, and great company. We even brought some Christmas presents back from Grandma. We did the Black Friday thing, but not at 5 am. Raul has really been wanting a new tv (HDTV 40") and there were some pretty good deals that morning, but I really didn't want to deal with the hassle, and I enjoyed my nights sleep very much. We also decided it was really just a want, not a need, and think it can wait until next year. Since then I have started working at Golden Corral, just one or two days a week, and since Raul is home to watch the kids, I get a nice break and make some money at the same time. The people there are really nice, and I like interacting with the people who come in. Anyway, so Raul is done with finals, although he is still working on a project and his portfolio, so we won't have him completely to ourselves during the break. Hopefully in January we can start looking for internships or jobs after graduation in April (If anyone knows anywhere that needs an Industrial Designer, let us know!) This weekend has been a little bit different because we have a couple of extra kids staying with us. Our friends decided to go to Las Vegas (by themselves) and so here we are with double the fun. Their kids are just about the same ages as ours, so Rakel is having a great time. Raulito is working on sharing and being nice... He's also been working on that in the Nursery. He started his first week in Nursery last week, and he didn't do too bad, except when someone pulled his hair, and when everyone started leaving. We'll see. They have lots of cars and trucks to play with, and those are his favorite. Oh, and in the meantime, We were going shopping earlier this week and I ended up rear-ending the car in front of me. Of course, for some reason our coverage does not include collision, so we get to pay to fix it. Nice time to have a big bill, huh? It really could have been much worse, but it's still going to be almost $1000 to do the most basic parts (less than half as much as it would be to get everything fixed...). Anway, we're still planning on going up to Idaho for Christmas. Raul doesn't have to work on Christmas Eve (surprise!) so we might get to spend an extra day there. Then it's back to Provo to work and prepare for another semester. We hope everyone is doing well and has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Here's some pictures from the past few weeks. Enjoy!

Funny Story, he really did fall asleep like this! He was watching TV one minute and I looked over the next and he was asleep on the table! It was really funny!!!

Feeding the ducks at the Botany Pond at BYU

He now knows where his tongue is, and he was showing it off!

Rakel and some of her friends at the Ward Christmas party, waiting for Santa

The box is always the best toy! Although those packing peanuts are not so much fun to clean up...

Raulito at Thanksgiving, as always, working on homework...

The girls new favorite place to play...

One of Raulito's favorite toys.

New Pics!

2008-11-21T17:19:00.005-07:00

We took our yearly family pictures today! Raulito was scared of the flash (this happened when we took him to get his year pictures) and hardly smiled at all. He mostly wanted to play with the props and the toys...We had a really good time, and, if we had had the money to spend, would have gotten a lot of pictures. But the cheapest package would have been $85 and it went up from there, so we didn't do it. We did get some really cute pictures, though. Enjoy! Tomamos nuestras fotos anuales de la familia hoy! A Raulito le asustaban las luces cada vez que tomaban una fotos (lo mismo paso cuando le tomamos las fotos del ano) y casi no sonreia. Solo queria jugar con los juguetes que tienen para hacerles reir a los ninos...Pero nos divertimos mucho y salieron unas fotos bien bonitas. Si tuvieramos el dinero que gastar, tendriamos muchas mas fotos que estas, pero no lo tenemos. (el paquete mas barato valdria unos 160.000 pesos, y de alli para arriba) Que disfruten las fotos!!! One of the only pictures where Raulito is smiling! Una de las unicas fotos con Raulito sonriendo!

Rakel the supermodel!

Neither one look like they're completely enjoying this hug, but we liked it...

No parecen disfrutar este abrazo, pero a nosotros nos gusto la foto...

Pictures of us playing around after the shoot.

Estas fotos son despues de la seccion professional.

All Grown Up

2008-11-16T23:02:00.004-07:00

Today was our Primary Program for our ward. At last year's program, Rakel just stood there and wouldn't say (or sing) anything. So I was a bit nervous this morning. But I guess I didn't have much to worry about, she did GREAT! She looked at her teacher instead of the audience, but she repeated the words loudly and clearly. It brought tears to my eyes. Of course, that had started when the primary president got up at the beginning of the program. And she sang just as well as the other kids. I was surprised at how well she knew some of the songs because we hadn't practiced them at home with her. Anyway, we are SO PROUD OF HER. She does seem to be coming out of her shell a little bit and showing her personality. And every time I stop to think, I think she's growing up so fast! She's not my baby any more! I think children are so special and they exemplify the qualities that we should all have. My kids are always reminding me of what I should be doing to follow Christ. I LOVE MY KIDS!

Hoy fue el programa de la primaria en nuestro barrio. En el programa del ano pasado, Rakel se quedo alli y no quiso decir (ni cantar) nada. Asi que esta manana estuve nerviosa. Pero parece que no tenia por que estar asi. Le fue SUPER BIEN!!! Miro a su maestra en vez de a la audiencia, pero dijo su parte muy bien. Me salieron lagrimas. (Por supuesto, ya habia empezado a llorar desde que hablo la presidente de la primaria al principio del programa...) Y Rakel canto tan bien como los otros ninos mas grandes. Me sorprendio de que bien sabia algunas de las canciones porque no las habiamos practicado en casa. Estamos muy orgullosos de ella. Parece que esta saliendo mas su personalididad. Cada vez que me pongo a pensar, pienso de lo rapido que esta creciendo! Ya no es mi bebe!

Pienso que los ninos son tan especiales que tienen las cualidades que todos nosotros debemos tener. Tienen espiritus tan lindos. Me recuerdan mucho de lo que debo estar haciendo para seguir a Jesucristo. AMO A MIS HIJOS!!!

Discoveries

2008-11-15T12:05:00.002-07:00

For a while now, I have been on Facebook with my hubby, and sometimes he would be like, who is he/she? Because it was someone from Idaho, before we met. So he finally bugged me enough and I got my own account. (As if I needed more things online to take up my time...Oh well!) And I was so excited to find a bunch of people from Murtaugh (Idaho, where I grew up)! It's really cool to hear about people that you have no idea where they are or what they're doing. So to all of those who are reading this blog for the first time, welcome!

A bit of Self-Control

2008-11-08T11:15:00.005-07:00

Yesterday I decided that I was going to go the whole day without eating any candy, cookies, etc. Some of you probably know that it is one of my biggest weaknesses... I guess I just wanted to prove to myself (and my husband) that it was possible. AND I DID IT! And it wasn't as hard as I thought. No, I'm not going on a diet or anything, but I think it's really hard especially this time of year to stay out of all of that Halloween candy and not cook or bake something sweet with the cold weather. It goes to show you what a good goal and a little bit of self-control can do. Ayer decidi de que iba a ir todo el dia sin comer ningun dulce. Como saben algunos es uno de mis debilidades mas grandes. Supongo que era para mostrarme a mi mismo, y a mi esposo, que lo podria hacer. Y LO HICE! Y no fue tan dificil como pense. No, no estoy a dieta, pero pienso que especialmente en esta temporada es mas dificil teniendo los dulces de Halloween por toda parte o el deseo de cocinar cosas dulces ya que hace mas frio... Mira lo que puedes hacer con una buena meta y un poco de control.

Birthday and Halloween!

2008-11-05T09:37:00.004-07:00

So I know it's a little late, but Happy Birthday to me! I'm so old! Anyway, here we are celebrating at Sizzler. I love their salad bar! Aqui estamos celebrando mis cumpleanos...Estoy VIEJA!!! Fuimos a comer en un restaurante.I love this picture of Rakel! We had some extra time one Sunday morning and decided to do our hair the same. Me encanta esta foto de Rakel. Esa manana teniamos tiempo libre, asi que nos peinamos igual. Here's Raulito!

Rakel is painting the window for Halloween. It was apparently really bright, hence the sunglasses...It turned out pretty cute.

Rakel esta pintando la ventana para halloween. Parece que hacia mucho sol, asi que se puso sus gafas. Salio bonito.

Look, it's Rakel "Supergirl" Garcia, and her sidekick Raulito "Longneck" Garcia!

Miren, es Rakel "Supergirl" Garcia y su ayudante Raulito "cuellolargo" Garcia

AWWW!

Fall is here!

2008-10-11T14:59:00.010-06:00

I thought I would share a few of the things that have been happening lately. Last Saturday my sister Shanise came to visit and she helped with the kids and in making applesauce! So we made applesauce between sessions and after conference. After 8 hours of canning, we ended up with 10 quarts and 29 pints of applesauce! And we didn't even make it through all the apples we had picked. By the way, if anyone is in Provo and want some FREE APPLES, you can go to 900 E 200 N. The guys that live there are desperate to get rid of the apples on their trees before they go bad. They even have bags provided! La semana pasada vino Shanise y me ayudo con los ninos mintras haciamos "salsa de manzana." Despues de 8 horas y 2 sessiones de confrencia salimos con 10 quartos y 29 medio-quartos de salsa de manzana. Y ni siquiera terminamos con todas las manzanas que teniamos. Anyway, Rakel had a great time helping, and Raulito was pretty good, considering he picked that day as the first day to not take any nap at all...We found out that he likes to eat straight cinnamin, and that it can cause skin irritation if you eat a lot of it... So Shanise, thanks for your help. By the way, we got some pretty good pictures of you in your zen-like state on the couch, but I won't post them because you might not ever forgive me...LOVE YOU!!!

Rakel disfruto ayudarme con la maquina, y Raulito se porto bien, aunque por primera vez en su vida escogio ese dia para no tomar ninguna siesta...y averiguamos que le gusta comer la canela molida directamente del tarrito...y que eso causa un brote en la piel...Entonces gracias a Shanise por su ayuda!

In other news, Raulito likes to escape out the door whenever he gets a chance. Such was the case one Sunday morning... Do you like his tie??? It's one of Daddy's and the rest of it is tucked into his pants and could come out one of the legs...

En otras noticias, a Raulito le gusta escaparse por la puerta de la casa cuando pueda. Asi fue el caso un domingo por la manana...Te gusta su corbata??? Es del papa, y esta metida en su pantalon hasta su pie! We had a really good day yesterday (Friday). Raul has been bugging me to go up to Provo Canyon to see the autumn leaves. He finally convinced me. I was worried because it was only 40-something degrees outside in the valley, who knew if it wasn't snowing in the mountains... But we all went. We ended up at Sundance resort and decided to go ahead and pay the $16 to go up the ski lift and see the sights. It was worth it! We got to the top and then hiked up to the summit of the mountain (a STRAIGHT UP, 15 min climb). It was incredible! The only thing was that we lost one of the baby's shoes on the lift...and they were my favorites! We would have gone and tried to look for it, but there weren't any trails close to the lift at that point, and it was about half a mile up the mountain...Oh well...Enjoy the pictures! Tuvimos un dia muy bueno ayer (viernes). Raulito por fin me convencio a ir al canyon de Provo a ver los arboles y los colores del otono. Yo estaba un poco preocupada por el frio...pero de todos modos terminamos llendo a un lugar que se llama Sundance que en invierno es un resorte de esquiar. Asi que subimos a la maquina que sube a los esquiadores...aunque nos parecio costoso...hay que hacerlo una vez... Y valio la pena por las vistas! Fueron increibles! Llegamos al final y nos subimos hasta la cima del monte (una subida SUPER inclinada...) Pero otra vez, valio la pena! Lo unico malo es que se le cayo uno de los zapatos del bebe...Y era uno de mis favoritos...Lo ibamos a tratar de buscar despues, pero no habia camino hasta alli y fue como media milla arriba de donde empezamos..asi que no. Esta bien....Que disfrutes las fotos!! Notice the baby still has both shoes at this point... Date cuenta de que el bebe todavia tiene dos zapatos en este momento... He was so tired, he almost fell asleep on the table before we headed down again... Pobrecito, estaba tan cansado que casi se duerme en la mesa antes de bajarnos de nuevo... Don't look down! I normally wouldn't put pictures of me by myself, but I thought this one turned out pretty good! Normalmente no pondria fotos de mi sola, pero creo que esta salio muy buena... AWWWWW!!!

Rakel's First Day of School!

2008-09-22T17:54:00.006-06:00

Well, the day finally came. My baby is starting Preschool! We are so excited! The only thing is that it starts at 8am, so that means no more sleeping in...Oh, well. I got to stay with her for the first day. Rakel really had a good time. She's going to do great!

Decidi que debo escribir en espanol tambien, asi que aqui esta. (perdon la falta de tildes...No se como hacerlo todavia).

Bueno, por fin llego el dia! Mi bebe empezo el preescolar!. Estamos muy emocionados! La unica cosa es que empieza a las 8am...Asi que ya no podemos dormir hasta tarde...Esta bien...Me dejaron quedarme para el primer dia. Rakel se divertio mucho. Creemos que le va a ir super bien!

So here is Rakel outside her classroom door! (Which, by the way, was locked. We apparently got there before the teachers...We were only a few minutes early...) And it was COLD. I, of course, hadn't brought a coat thinking it would warm up... Aqui esta Rakel al frente de su clase. (Lo cual estaba con seguro. Parece que les ganamos a las maestras...Solo llegamos unos minutos temprano...) Y hacia FRIO! Por supuesto, pensando que se calentaria mas, no traje sacos...

Rakel loved the just-her-size sink. She washed her hands about 10 times... Oh, yes, and Raulito really liked school too... The let him stay for today. A Rakel le encanto el lavamanos pequeno. Se lavo las manos como 10 veces. Y a Raulito le gusto tambien. Le dejaron quedarse hoy, asi que penso que ya era parte del grupo y todo...

The Reading area

El area de leer

Playing outside!

Jugando afuera

I couldn't get both of them to look at me at the same time...

No lo podia hacer mirarme los dos a la vez...

Isn't she nice to take her brother for a ride?

Que buena llevando a su hermanito!

They had to line up after play time. Notice Rakel is the only girl...Pobrecita! Fortunately, this is only half of the class, there are more girls. Rakel didn't seem to have a problem with being the only girl today.

Tuvieron que hacer fila despues de jugar afuera. Hazte cuenta que Rakel es la unica nina... Pobrecita!!! Afortunadamente, es solo la mitad de la clase, si hay mas ninas. Parece que a Rakel no le importo ser la unica nina hoy.

She was a bit hesitant to paint her hand...I think she was thinking "is it really ok? Mommy doesn't let me do this at home!" She ended up painting a lot!

Espero un poquito al principio cuando le dijeron que pintara la mano... Parecia pensar "Estara bien? Mi mami no me deja hacer esto en casa!" Pinto mucho!

Singing songs with her teacher

Cantando con la maestra

The Kitchen Area...One of her very favorites!

El area de la cocina. Uno de sus lugares favoritas para jugar!

Yes, and Raulito is helping...

A Raulito le toco jugar tambien...

Computer...She asked if she could play PBS Kids...

So anyway, This turned out to be a really long post, but I wanted to share Rakel's new adventure with everyone!

Salio largo este post, pero queria compartir la nueva aventura de Rakel con todos!

Catching up

2008-09-17T12:01:00.000-06:00

So in case you were wondering, we made it through the summer. Raul did an internship in Irvine, California. And with housing prices as they are there, we didn't go with him. (We paid more for one bedroom in a hous with roommates in California than we pay for a 2 bedroom apartment in Provo...) So he left May 31st, leaving me with the kids to pack up the majority of the apartment and move it to a storage unit. It was a big project, but I had lots of help. The kids and I went to live with my parents in Twin Falls, Idaho. We had a great time, but it was still hard being so far away from Raul. We did get to see each other a few times over those weeks. We found some great deals on plane tickets, so Raul flew to Salt Lake and we drove down for the weekend at the end of June. We had a wonderful time, and even left the kids with some friends and escaped for an overnight "2nd honeymoon" in Park City. We were sad that he had to go so soon, but we didn't have much choice. Raul really wanted to show us all the places he had been in Irvine, so we decided to go ahead and fly out there for the last week of his internship (We don't have to pay for Raulito yet...). We had a GREAT TIME! We visited a lot of malls, most of them with a carousel, ferris wheel, train, lots of fountains, or something fun for the kids to play on. (of course, each one cost $2-4 each ride...) We spent one whole afternoon at a beautiful beach. The water was a bit cold at first, but once you got used to it, it felt so good. Rakel wouldn't go in past her knees, but she loved playing in the sand. The baby...well, lets just say it's better than last time. At least he wasn't crawling around getting sand on his hands and then in his mouth...He still wasn't a big fan, (especially when I was washing the sand off of him) but it wasn't bad. And nobody got sunburned! We also visited Fashion Island (which isn't really an island, it's a huge mall...) and Balboa Island (which really is an Island). Then we drove back to Provo all together. It was a long ride, but we had bought a laptop, so we had some movies for the kids when they got extremely bored...And we stoped quite a few times along the way. So now we're back in Provo. We are pretty much readjusted to being together again, going to school, getting back into our routines, new ward, etc. Raul is starting to feel the stress of school once again, and misses his "desk job", his "taste of the real world" that he had in California. He is back at Golden Corral working as a server. I am at home with the kids. I'm back to my 6am aerobics classes. My friend suggested I start training for a half-marathon...Yeah, I don't think so. Rakel starts preschool on Monday the 22nd, so she is SO EXCITED about that. She talks about it every day and she plays school with her dolls, she is the teacher of course... Raulito (jr.) is walking without help, although he is still a pretty big mama's boy. He sleeps through the night (a big accomplishment for him) and will go to sleep in his crib without me having to rock him or feed him...(an even bigger accomplishment...)

We went to the BYU game against UCLA last Saturday. I thought it would be a better game (closer, I mean), but we had a lot of fun. Rakel really liked the cheerleaders and Cosmo, and Raulito was pretty good for a one-year-old. GO COUGARS!

It's about time, I know!

2008-09-10T17:23:00.000-06:00

So I have finally entered the world of blogging... I love reading other people's blogs, so I guess it's time to have our own. Enjoy!