Haircut

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

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

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....

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

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

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

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!

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.