California love Part I

This year we decided to do something different for spring break. Erik and the kids had 2 weeks off and we knew we had to do something, or we'd go crazy hanging around here in mexico. For the past 2 years we have ended up being home in arizona. Sooooo this year we decided to go to San Diego and stay with Aunt Diane and Uncle Dirk......the tickets into Tijuana are so cheap and we absolutely LOVE San Diego! It's such a vacation for us when we visit there. We LOVE going home to arizona to see our family and friends but it's SO expensive to fly into arizona....it was SO nice to see my husband just chill and enjoy doing nothing! In arizona he feels like we should always be visiting somebody or he should be working, making money. We called Aunt D and asked her if she would mind us coming for that long and, being the amazing person that she is said "Of course, we would love to have you guys....we're family and we'll have a great time!" LOVE her....and Uncle Dirk too, of course:)

We flew into TJ on friday, March 26th....to be honest, I was a little nervous about getting a taxi to the border. You just hear SO many horror stories about TJ lately....it's scary. The things we do to get across the border and back in the states!!! We've flown into TJ one other time but my cousin Matt was right outside the airport waiting for us. This time we were on our own to get across and then my family would be there on the other side waiting for us. But, to my delight it was SO easy! Erik went and pre-paid for the taxi at the airport so we knew exactly how much it was going to be and didn't take the chance of getting ripped off. We walked outside and the taxi was waiting for us there. The drive to the border was about 5 minutes and there was NO line to walk across. Piece of cake! And, once again it felt amazing to be on the OTHER side:)

Saturday morning we woke up and the first thing I did was head to the salon! I was in desperate need of getting my hair done(it had been 4 months and I had about a 2 inch grow out! I was feeling kinda yucky) I told Aunt D to get me an appt first thing, and sure enough first thing saturday morning, that girl is on it!......I felt like a brand new person, LOVE that! Erik had a great time hanging out with Uncle Dirk on his boat........drinking beers, doing guy things and enjoying the beautiful california weather! That night we bbq'd ALL kinds of fish! Erik had gone with Aunt D that morning to their grocery store that they own, Stump's Market and picked out like 5 different fish......Uncle Dirk is an amazing chef and LOVES to bbq, and boy OH boy.....it is the bomb! We all couldn't believe how full we were from eating fish, it was amazing! None of us even ate any of the side dishes we had prepared!

The beautiful backyard

Sunday we had plans to head to Aunt D's Palm Desert house for our first week of vacation.......I had told my bestie, Angelique that we were coming to california for spring break, she was like...."I want to see you guys! We'll drive and meet you guys in the desert!" I got SO excited! I love that I never skip a beat with that girl, best friends since we were 15 and have managed to see each other at least once a year with all our craziness going on! LOVE you Lique! And now we have hubbies that have become great friends as well.......we have such a great time every time we get together. I was super excited for this time because our kids are old enough now to play together. Cael is 4 and Chloe is 2......so adorable. All 4 of them got along GREAT and had a blast playing and swimming. We spent most of our time taking the kids to the pool, cooking, relaxing and just catching up. It was fabulous. The weather couldn't have been any more perfect.

Little Miss Chloe~AKA the bag lady

Aunt Lynz and Uncle Mark also headed out to see us too! I was SO very excited to see her and her little fam as well. Especially since my little Tatey Pie is changing so much! She's almost 6 months already! Crazy how fast it goes! We got to enjoy one full day with them swimming at the place they were staying at. The kids had a ball in the pool, it was perfect. It was fun for Lique and Lynz to get to see each others families as well......we even got to have an adult dinner out one night! It was so fun. We went to one of Mark and Lynz's favorite sushi restaurants called no.da.te(funny name ).... Mark knows alot about the desert because he used to play in the Bob Hope golf tournament every year. Lucky for us! It was SO yummy! And it was hilarious because the guy that owns the place is really good friends with Mark and was a total crack up! He was sitting with us, making jokes all night. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. He kept bringing the guys micheladas( red beers with lemon juice and chili/salt rims)...Erik wasn't really digging them, it's like the signature drink of mexico next to tequila! He wants the american beer when he's home!!! So......funny story...... Right when we got there we noticed that Alice Cooper, the rocker was sitting in the corner with some other people. Shin, the owner told us that famous people come in to his restaurant all the time.....Nicole Kidman was just there the week before. It's so funny cuz it's just this little tiny place, nothing too fancy! Well, Alice got up and came over to talk to Mark because they know each other through playing golf in the Bob Hope. All of a sudden, Erik goes "Babe, you got the camera? Get up." I'm thinking what the heck is he doing? Does he really want a picture with Alice? He gets up and goes over to talk to the other guy that Alice is with.....I'm like...who is this guy? I had no idea......Apparently my husband knows and is VERY excited about it! Well, come to find out it's CHEECH from Cheech and Chong! SO FUNNY! Erik was so star struck it was hilarious! So, luckily for Erik they were cool and we got a photo with them. A night we will definitely never forget!

Shin!

We were SO sad to see Lique, Lynz and their families go......we had such a great time with them! But, we were looking forward to Papa and Grandma Contreras coming to see us! We are SO loved with all these visitors! They brought Uncle Sal and Auntie Lanie with them as well. So great to see them! And last minute Uncle Artie came too! OH, and Libby, Justyce and Eliana April fooled us and showed up also.....Hallers was so surprised when the door bell rang and it was them!.....They even made an april fools sign, so cute! Aunt Diane was so awesome and made everybody feel so comfortable and welcome! On friday Erik got to golf with his dad and Uncle Sal. I know he really enjoys this time with his dad, it's so special. So while the boys were golfing us girls headed to lunch at one of Aunt D's favorite spots, Pacifica. It was still lent, so it was friday fish day! The food was amazing! We sipped on some wonderful white afternoon wine and enjoyed great conversation. SO beautiful.















Friday afternoon Aunt D, Libby and myself made a quick escape from the kiddos and headed to check out Aunt D's time share she has at the new marriott villas. We had so much fun talking and laughing just the 3 of us.......after we checked out the marriott we headed to the JW to check our their lobby bar.....it's a happening spot! It was a great afternoon! Thank you so much Auntie KK for watching the kiddos~you're the best!



That night Erik, Artie, Lib and I headed back to the JW for a night out. They have a night club inside the hotel called Costa's....LOVE the name:) Even spelled the same. It was a really nice place and we all had a lot of fun dancing! It was fun dancing it up with Libby since I've probably only been out a few times with her....EVER!....usually it's just the back patio and a bottle of wine for us!

Easter was very relaxing! Of course, the kids were very excited that the Easter bunny found us in the desert! Hallers found her basket behind the curtains right away, and poor Costi was so sad it took him awhile to find his and he was convinced the Easter bunny had forgotten about him:( We had to help him a little! After he finally found it in the shower!......It was so fun watching them open them, they both got watches this year! Halle got a Hello Kitty one and Costi got Spiderman, they both also got some pretty cool sticker books, and candy, of course, that darn Easter bunny;) .......In the morning we went to mass, which was so beautiful. It was such a nice morning they had it outside in the garden. After the mass, the priest invited all the children up to the front to sing a song. Halle didn't want to go, but Costa did so I went up with him. He didn't end up participating but him and I just sat in the front and watched the kids. After the song was over they released doves! It was SO beautiful.

After church, Artie and Erik made all of us an authentic mexican breakfast.......chiliquilis, beans, tortillas and eggs. It was yummy! I was excited for them to make it for Aunt D and Uncle Dirk.....they loved it! Then it was time to say good-bye to Grandma, Papa and Uncle Artie:( We had such a great time seeing them, it was hard to say good-bye but we're looking forward to seeing them shortly again, in June when we come home for summer break.

The rest of the day we just chilled. The kids and I dyed eggs and then did a little hunt, they loved every minute of it. It's just not easter as a kid without dying eggs and a hunt! OH, and how could I ever forget? We experienced our very first earthquake that day! It was nuts! I was on the computer and all of a sudden my chair was moving back and forth!!! I was like, "what the heck?" "Are you guys feeling this?" Aunt D said......"This is an earthquake Lex!".....OH WOW! I quickly screamed out...."Where's the kids?" They were out in the back on the golf course with Erik......it was kinda scary! It lasted about 30 seconds but felt like 5 minutes! It actually made me feel sea sick! I'm so sensitive, I swear. Quite the experience!

We loved being in the desert with Aunt Diane and her family but it did feel a little awkward not being with everyone in arizona. I've never been away for Easter, we've always seemed to make it work and end up back home during that time......It was especially different because my kids were the only kids.......we missed all the cousins!!! But, we did have Uncle Dirks awesome dinner, salmon and filet. Great ending to a beautiful weekend!


CONTINUED TO PART II..........

Annual Miniolimpiada

The kids school had their annual miniolimpiada(olympics) today. We had a really nice surprise when we got to the park this morning~Daddy was there!!! We didn't think he was going to make it because he couldn't miss anymore school.....leave it to him to surprise us;) Another surprise was Halle was picked from her class to carry the torch for the opening ceremony, not a real one of course it was paper;) I actually got all teary eyed watching her be a part of this special event! This will be her last year at this school and it makes me sad! So, her being asked to represent her class like this was a big deal. She was so cute with her big smile so proud carrying the torch with everybody clapping for her! I can't believe it's almost been 3 years since she started there. It just seems crazy that it's about to come to an end. My baby's growing up!



So they have 4 grades and each class prepares a little routine. Halle's class did their to the song Hey Mickey...but in espanol;) It was adorable.......for the past 2 weeks Halle's been going around the house singing...."Oh Mickey donde estas? donde estas? me gustas mas-Hey mickey...hey hey...hey mickey. They had to wear lime green shirts and had yellow pom poms....she only has one boy in her class, Luis....so you can guess who was Mickey?!


Costa's class wore red shirts and did theirs to You are my sunshine, the reggae/rap version. My little buddy......he was so cute. We hadn't heard anything about what his class was doing, such a boy....he even walked out to the opening ceremony with his hands in his pockets, Erik and I were cracking up......we knew the song his class was doing only because Halle told us:) But he did seem to know the routine, somewhat;) It's crazy how these teachers have so much patience with these kids to teach them these routines. They are wonderful.


After each class did their little routine, they had some relay races for the kids and parents. I participated in a water balloon one, it was fun and the kids got the biggest kick watching me!

* I tried to upload the videos of their routines, but I can't seem to figure it out, it just loads FOREVER so I need to have my husband help me figure it out!

Costa and his teacher Miss Lucky

Halle and Costa with Isees, an assistant teacher....Halle LOVES her and is always talking about her!

Oh, and we had gymnastics today and they gave out listones again~and, ugg I forgot my camera...bummer!.......Halle got another one for discipline....yeah! GO Hallers! But my poor little guy didn't get one! He was heart broken, it was the saddest thing ever for his mama to watch. All the kids that got them stood up in front of the class for the parents to see and take pictures and then went to sit back down. Costa looked around like, um where's mine? Why are they forgetting me? And then I saw him start to rub his face and eyes and I knew the tears were there, he was trying to hold back but they were coming.......:( And down pour... we had some BIG crocodile tears....so sad. I was trying to console him and be happy for Halle at the same time! It was so hard! Duh, don't they know they can't give one to one sibling and not the other? NO bueno! Soooo we'll try for next month!

Creative kids

Awhile back Halle came to me and said she wanted to make a wagon for her ponies out of a cardboard box we had that we were throwing out......Of course, I thought how creative? Sounds FUN! So I helped her find some ribbon and we made a handle for her to pull them around. Costa saw this and of course had to have one for his cars! Thankfully we happened to have another similar looking box and fixed him right up! They decided they wanted to decorate them with paint.....it was a cute little project.....thanks Hallers!

The finished wagons!

Afternoons with a princess

Lately I've been really trying to spend more one on one time with Halle while Costa's napping. I usually just want to relax on the couch and snuggle with her in the afternoons after school, but sometimes I feel like that's being lazy and my "guilty"~ not being a good mom feeling kicks in;) ...and it's always easy to get distracted by the computer! And trust me, Halle is getting to the age where she tells me "mom, you LOVE the computer"....uh oh.....She is usually in the mood to play something, and of course wants me to be her playmate. I know that Costa is going to eventually outgrow these naps so this special time that I have with her will come to an end.......So, with that being said I'm trying my best. I always have to remind myself that they're only little for a short time and she won't always want to play these games with me:) I need to embrace these times! She's so cute and usually changes from her school clothes into one of her princess dresses. Such a girly girl. Lately, we've been playing with her dollhouse that Aunt Lynz got her.....it's adorable. She bought her this wooden doll house 2 christmases ago with the whole calico critter set to go inside it, the only piece she doesn't have is the kitchen set.......the pieces are tiny. I mean these dolls have everything....itty bitty everything.....Halle loves to set it all up and play for hours with it. She also likes to play with her ponies and barbies, of course and always has a game plan thought out and tells me exactly what she wants the ponies to say......Auntie Nisa got them a wooden block set for Christmas so we've been playing with that lately as well. The other day we played the animal memory game and she kicked my butt pretty much every time.......little smarty pants;) I've really been enjoying our afternoons together....Love you Hallers!

The calico critter family

Every princess loves to paint her nails and toes!

Daddy's Jeep

The other day Erik didn't have to go to school early so he took the kids to school...in the jeep! They LOVE this thing! You should see their faces light up when we go for a ride in it....it's pretty priceless.

COLDPLAY

Erik and I went to the Coldplay concert a couple weeks ago here in Guadalajara....crazy concert! We went with Kacie, Chris, Adam, Marguerite and Jimmy. It was SO fun but kinda overwhelming. It was a sold out show so there were TONS of people there. I got a little bit clusterphobic towards the end...we even left a little early! We found out the next day it was only about 2 songs early, but I REALLY had to get out of there! It was such a scary, weird feeling! They do put on an amazing show, though. They played all the good songs, well at least all the ones we know!

I just want to say...Babe~Thank you for always taking the time for our marriage....to keep the fire alive;) You truly spoil me with all sorts of fun things....You're amazing, and I fall a little bit more in love with you everyday! And I LOVE you even more for telling me how much you love every moment of our adventure together, while we're holding each other at the Coldplay concert...SO romantic! It feels so good to hear you say it! A moment I will cherish in my heart for always! I honestly feel like the luckiest girl in the world;) This journey in Guadalajara has been amazing...we've been blessed in every way! Thank you for the chance, thank you for the journey. I LOVE you and our little family with all my heart! XOXO