Saying goodbye to Guadalajara

There goes all our stuff...back to Arizona!

El Polo Norte~our favorite ice cream!

Breakfast at Cafe Barra

La Crepe!

Last dinner at Savora

The sandwich and salad at Savora

Well, we did it! 3 years living in Guadalajara, Mexico. Done. Crazy how fast it flew.....my head is still spinning. I flew to Guadalajara 2 weeks ago to help Erik pack up the house and drive our car back to arizona. We had 4 days to pack up everything and say good-bye to a place we had actually come to love. The place we called home for the last 3 years.

The next days were complete chaos. We literally worked ALL day for 4 days straight, packing, cleaning and organizing... basically only taking breaks to eat and sleep;) We did try to go to all our favorite spots one last time, well for me anyways... since I won't be venturing back to Guadalajara any time soon except maybe for graduation! So we worked and had a little fun too;) Erik and I hadn't seen each other for a month so we were a little googily-eyed for each other... like we were fifteen again! So just being with him was awesome....I even decided to drive home with him (21 hours in the car) rather than fly( I already had a ticket).....I must really love him...lol.

So many emotions and thoughts as we packed up our house, it kind of felt like a dream just like it felt when we were packing up our house to move to mexico......are we really done here? Has it been 3 years already? Are we cheating by only doing 3 instead of the 4 years like most people do? I can remember being so nervous about this whole adventure, like it was yesterday.....is this the right thing for our family? Moving to mexico? Guadalajara? Seriously? Med school? Are we crazy? We're not going to know anybody and we don't know any spanish? With 2 small kids? The feeling of being so unsure and scared of the unknown. I admit, it was scary. BUT ....WE DID IT! It was challenging at times but the grace of God got us through. At times, I literally felt like he was carrying us through. It has been an amazing journey, a super fun adventure...and I wouldn't change any of it for one minute. I must say, Erik and I make a pretty darn good team....with God in the middle of course, with him all things are possible. And, we have 2 pretty great kids too!

I am so proud of my husband and what's he's accomplished so far......he's such an amazing man. He has a plan, to take care of his family by doing what he loves. This whole thing has made me see the driven person he is.....he knows what he wants, and there is absolutely nothing that can get in his way. And, he's kind of a smarty pants too! Cheers babe! You're going to make a great doctor and I'm so excited for what the future holds for us!

I wanted to make a list of a few things we will truly miss about mexico.....

*The kids school~GASPARINE you will forever be in our hearts!

*Savora~the most amazing steak sandwich and arugula salad! Oh, and can't forget about the sangria! Yum!

*i Latina~voted the best restaurant in Guadalajara! Everything we tried was amazing. Signature drink: Passion fruit and vodka, nothing like it! We had some pretty fun date nights there. Good times...

*La Crepe at the outdoor Andares Mall~Nutella and bananas? Or berries and sugar? Oh, these were melt your mouth delicious! Arizona needs a La Crepe;) Andares mall was our escape when living in mexico got to be too much......it's a beautiful outdoor mall with lots of stores/restaurants that the states have....we kinda felt at home when we would go here.

*El Arabe~shishtaouk, so delicious~lots of memories of Erik and I "day" dates at this place......I was a virgin before I moved to Guadalajara.....need to find a good lebanese restaurant here.

*Trompo Magico~the kids little piece of heaven! This is a pretty awesome kids museum......Halle and Costa's favorite thing to do in Guadalajara, for sure.

*Our babysitters! Need I say more? Daniela and Betsabee......we miss you so much already!!!!! Little angels......Erik and I were able to have lots of fun together expoloring our new home with lots of date nights;)

*Polo Norte~Platano ice cream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO yummy:) Nothing like homemade ice cream.....tasted just like banana bread batter.

*Adam and Marguerite's apartment~so many fun dinner parties here! Loved those nights:)

*Mazamitla~the cutest mountain town, ever.

*Being so close to beautiful beaches......last minute little "getaways"....to Puerto Vallarta and manzanillo~how lucky were we?

*Our church~San Juan Cristomos.....it was so small, personable and the choir was absolutely breathtaking.

*Colomos Park~So beautiful! A gigantic park in the middle of the city with an abundance of greenery everywhere! You almost felt as if you where in a rainforest. Lots of morning jogs here, saturday morning strolls with our starbucks, feeding the ducks and fish, cheap pottery painting for the kids and roaming through the japanese garden.

*The fruit cart guys~mango that literally tasted like candy......mouthwatering! We even started to become like the "mexicans" and would ask for the salt, chili and lime;)

*Last, but not least....our Guadalajara family and friends! We met some wonderful people, and made memories to last a lifetime. We will never forget the fun times we had and the love we felt while we were away from home!

Although our Guadalajara adventure has come to an end we will always cherish the memories and we are forever grateful for the adventure God placed before us!!!!!!! Onto the next adventure.... New York here we come! We can't wait!

Our casa
2597 Jose Enrique Rodo
Guadalajara, Mexico

40 Years...

Yesterday, August 29th 2010 Mom and Dad Contreras celebrated 40 wonderful years being married! WOW! So amazing......We can only pray for the same love that they share for each other after all these years. Two absolutely beautiful people! We love them dearly and look up to them more than they will ever know! Congrats, we love you guys!

My babies are growing up...First day of school

My baby girl started FIRST grade and my other baby started Pre-K today. Wow, time is just flying and there is no slowing it down. It was kind of a tough day....for Halle and I anyways. They were both so excited to wake up this morning and get ready for their first day of school. Halle LOVES school, and always has. She's our child that actually cried to come home on her fist day of pre-school when she was just 2 yrs old. Today was a little different. We were both smiling and happy for the first day of school, but there was just something different in the air this morning....I could feel it. LOTS of change. Costa was his happy self.......I knew he would be fine today.

We got up, had breakfast, put on those super cute new outfits and did hair just perfect with the cute new bow to match for Halle. I, personally was missing the uniforms, they, on the otherhand were pretty excited to wear outfits they picked out that were new. I felt bad because Costa was sporting his new shoes I had bought him weeks before that he'd been begging me to wear ever since... and Halle's we had ordered online and they hadn't come yet. Darn! She was a really good sport about it, though. There's just something about having new shoes on the first day of school. I know, I'm silly. Maybe it's just because I wore a uniform pretty much everyday of my life in school so I felt like my shoes kinda showed "who I was" and my personality;) Anyways, they both looked super cute and we took lots of pictures, of course! We were really missing daddy on this special day:( It felt so weird to me, that here I was, getting the kids ready for their first day of school...in arizona. So crazy.






We got to school and I think the butterflies immediately set in for both of us. My Halle girl had her little hand in mine... gripped so tight....I could just feel the nerves. As we walked to her classroom I began to feel as though I was dropping my tiny little baby tadpole off in this big, huge, giant ocean! That's the best way for me to describe it. There were TONS of kids runing everywhere! And, they were so big! It was scary, for me, I can only imagine what she was thinking! I began to think of mexico and the school she had gone to for the last 3 years. It was tiny compared to this! I started to get super sad! I felt a pit in my stomach. NO Lex!!! Don't do this.....hormones are going crazy, get it together. Be strong for Halle, change is good, she's going to be just fine.....these are the things I kept telling myself over and over. Who would have thought three years ago that their school in mexico would be on the top for "things I am really going to miss about mexico!"

The teacher arrived at the door to welcome all her students into the classroom. We all headed in and started searching for our childs name tag on the table they were supposed to sit at. The second we got to the table I felt Halle's arms wrap tightly around my leg and I looked down and saw the tears were coming. I quickly bent down and put my arms around her and squeezed her tightly.....trying as hard as I could to fight back my own tears! I didn't want her to see me crying too! It was so hard......I kept telling her that it was so exciting to start a new school and meet new friends and that she was going to have so much fun. Inside I knew she was feeling the exact same emotions as I was......this was a hard day for us! I know it would have been hard in mexico this year because she would have been starting a new school there as well. So much change! Luckily, there was a super sweet little girl sitting across from Halle whose name was Jasmine. She kept saying to me..."I'll be her friend." "That bow that she has in her hair is really pretty." She was adorable. Thank God for Jasmine.....she really helped Halle get through that first day. It was hard to leave her, but I knew she would be ok. My brave girl. We are tough girls, I know we will get through this!

After we dropped of Halle, Cost and I headed over to his school...Christ's Greenfield. He was so happy-go-lucky and excited for his first day too! My little buddy. No tears for him! Such a boy...."bye mom!", barely a kiss goodbye.




And off they went.....my babies. I actually kinda had a bit of a lonely feeling! So many emotions, especially for my Hallers. Change is hard, but good at the same time. We knew the time would come when we would move back to the states and it would be just as big of an adjustment as it was moving to mexico. I am excited for what's to come and thankful for the journeys we have had. Here we are, back in arizona until June. And the adventure continues...

The night before the first day of school we made dinner and the kids cheered to a new school year with some sparkling juice:)

Dear baby boy...

Dear baby boy,

Well, we went for our 18 week ultrasound last week and it's confirmed: YOU'RE DEFINITELY A BOY! And, we couldn't be more excited! Grandma Dottie, Uncle Luke, your sister Halle and brother Costa were all there in the room to see you move around and make sure you are growing just as you're supposed to be! We missed daddy at this ultrasound but he's in Guadalajara back at school. They told us everything looks great! Your heartbeat this time was 146. Looks like you are going to be a big baby like your brother and sis...already weighing in at 10 oz. and are measuring 3 days bigger than your due date. Maybe you'll be a Christmas baby? Costa, Halle and Uncle Luke were in awe of watching you. Halle and Costa can't wait to meet you and hold you. They ask me all the time when you're going to come out. They are always kissing my belly and saying hi to you. They are always saying..."Mom, you want that because your baby wants to eat it." Too funny. Halle told daddy on the phone "Our baby is definitely a boy daddy!" It's such a miracle, an amazing beautiful thing to see you growing inside of me! We feel so blessed to be having another baby. We have started to think of names....it's going to be a tough one! You are already a strong little boy like your big brother Costa because I have felt you move since exactly 16 weeks. And now, at almost 20 weeks your movements are already much stronger. I get to see daddy tomorrow and maybe you will show him your moves so he can feel you from the outside. I feel great! I haven't had any morning sickness since about 10 weeks...thank you God...it's no fun feeling sick all the time! I still get tired during the day but I haven't really been taking naps. Much more energy 2nd trimester! I am still working out but have managed to gain 18 lbs so far! You like sugar, preferably twizzlers...just like me...can't help it. We treat ourselves daily!



We still have 5 more months until you are ready to make your grand entrance into this world! We can't wait, but we want you to stay in there and grow so you can be born strong and healthy. This pregnancy is by far my quickest (sometimes I actually forget I'm pregnant!)....already 20 weeks this friday! Since this is most likely my very last pregnancy, I want to enjoy each and every moment I have with you so stay in there as long as you like......

Love,
Mommy

Missing daddy

BOY are we ever! Tomorrow will be four weeks since we've seen him. Halle and Costa are such troopers....as they get older I see how much harder it is for them to be away from their daddy. It breaks my heart. In the mean time, I'm pregnant and don't have much patience. I feel like a horrible mom right now. I miss him TOO! I see my kids sad faces and whiney voices and it puts me over the top! I see Costa throw himself down on the ground when I say no to him and I get SO frustrated. I keep asking my mom..."are they ever going to be normal again?" "Where did my happy kids go?" Our parents are all so amazing for letting us stay with them for so long and don't get me wrong, I do love being in arizona, after awhile I just get overwhelmed and stressed and need my own space. And I know they do too! I'm sure it's not easy having people stay with you for long periods of time. They do handle it well, though....thanks guys! I need my kids to have their own space....their own rooms, and beds. I can't wait for our family to be together again, together and happy.

So on a happy note.....Erik got signed off on friday! Which means.......we are going to be living in arizona for the next ten months!!! I couldn't be happier! We've looked forward to this time since we moved to mexico! I can't believe it's here already. I have been an absolute stress case with figuring out schools for the kids but I finally got it all taken care of and they start this week. I had Halle enrolled in a great Charter school, but then last minute last week we heard that Gilbert Elementary is offering a dual language program for first graders! YEAH! Erik and I are so excited for her to continue her spanish at least one more year. It's going to be different for Cost this year, only going to school three days a week instead of five! And, he won't be with his sis:( I do get a great feeling about the school he will be going to and feel it will be a great place for him. We have been so blessed to have had the opportunity to live in mexico and have our kids experience an all spanish school. I can't believe it's coming to an end.......I leave for Guadalajara this thursday to pack up our house and bring my husband home. So many mixed emotions. We knew this time was going to come, it just seems super sudden. It's definitely going to be hard to say good-bye to Guad, the family we've gotten to know and all the wonderful friends we've made living there. I trust that God has a plan for us and am truly looking forward to the next chapter in our journey!