Letter From Santa

These days it is really hard to keep the spirit of Santa in our home. Alyssa doesn't "believe", and she informed Isaac who Santa really was this year! I knew that even though his sister told him Santa wasn't real in his heart he still wanted to believe. So a few days later Roxie received a letter in the mail from Santa! She was so happy. When Isaac read the letter to her, he knew Santa was real! He just wondered why Santa didn't send him a letter. I told him that if he doesn't believe in Santa, he won't send him a letter. Everyday he checks the mail to see if there is any for him. (I heard the letter is on its way) Thanks, Aunt Nancy for keeping the spirit of Santa in our home!!!

The Lights in Chino!

Yesterday we went as a family to walk the streets of Chino where the homes are famous for decorating for the holidays. Because it was so cold, most families stayed in their cars and just drove by to enjoy the lights. We had to get the full effect, so we walked along the sidewalk. The kids loved bundling up and seeing the houses full of lights! Roxie made it about 2 blocks before she fell asleep. That girl will sleep anywhere! We always enjoy being able to spend time together on Sunday as a family!

Thankfulness

I love this time of year, a time to reflect on all that we are thankful for. I definitely have a lot in my life to be thankful for - My amazing husband, my three beautiful children, my parents (including LaNore), my siblings, my forever friends, my job, my health, and the list goes on... Most importantly I am thankful for the Lord. I am forever indebted to Him for all the blessings he has blessed me with each and every day, including you :)

Below are pictures of our Thanksgiving weekend. Thursday we went to my parents and enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast with my family. It didn't end there, we enjoyed another Thanksgiving feast on Friday with David's family. I enjoyed spending time with our families, and of course eating! (we all know how much I love that)

THE GUZMAN FAMILY

ALYSSA AND MOMMY

THE BALLANTYNE/ARANDA/GUZMAN FAMILY

OUR FAMILY :)

Halloween Fun!

Our family Halloween fun with carving pumpkins the Sunday before Halloween. They turned out great, however since it has been so hot they only lasted a few days before we had to throw them in the trash! We then got together the day before Halloween with Davids brothers, and their families. We ate dinner and the kids had a lot of fun playing in their costumes, and enjoying their goodies from Grandma! Alyssa dressed up as a baby (which was nice because she can enjoy her costume all winter long), Isaac was Captain Jack Sparrow (perfect pirate since he doesn't have very many front teeth), and Roxie was a pretty ballerina. The next morning Alyssa and Isaac dressed up for school and they had a great day filled with class parties and fun Halloween crafts at school. They came home and took their costumes off and rested for a short time, then back on they went for dinner and trick-or-treating with my family!

Roxie's Pumpkin

Isaac's Pumpkin

Alyssa's Pumpkin









Cousin Gnome

Guzman Cousins

Cammie the Fairy, and Roxie the Ballerina

I'M BACK!!!

Yes I am alive! Life has been so crazy since the kids are back in school. With work, homework, and dance, I haven't had much time to do anything! Anyway, first I need to catch up on some of the tags I have been tagged with. I have never been tagged before, so I am kind of excited :)

How to play this game of tag.Post these rules on your blog:List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1st TAG

3 joys:
Spending time with my family
Going on dates with my husband
Cuddling with my children

3 fears:
I will lose my husband
I will lose one of my children
rejection

3 goals:
Spending time with my children
Finding true happiness within myself
Have Family Home Evening with my family

3 current obsessions/collections
Keeping my house clean
My Gift Card Collection
Texting

3 random surprising facts about myself
I hate putting laundry away
I love to clean when everyone has gone to bed!
I Love to take walks with my husband late at night!


2nd TAG

Answer the following with only one word.
Where is your cell phone?.........................................desk
Your significant other?...........................................HOT!
Your hair?........................................................short
Your mother?.........................................................caring
Your father?..........................................................giving
Your favorite thing?..................................................Family
Your dream last night..........................................none
Your favorite drink........................................Coke
Your dream/goal..................................vacation
The room you're in..........................................quiet
Your children?...................................................school
Your Fear?.............................................losingfamily
Where do you want to be in 6 years?......................happy
Where were you last night?................................home
What you're not?............................................perfect
Muffins?............................................blueberry
One of your wish list items?....................?
Where'd you grow up?..........................WestCovina
What'd you read last?.......................scriptures
What are you wearing?............................jeans
Your TV?..........................................flatscreen
Your pet?........................................dogs
Your computer?........................................crashed
Your life?...........................................blessed
Your mood?..................................good
Missing someone?..................................family
Your car?...........................................crv
Something you're not wearing?.................makeup
Favorite store?...................................Nordstrom Rack
Your summer?.....................................busy
Like someone?..........................LOVE
Your favorite color?.........................red
Last time you laughed................................Today
Last time you cried?...........................................yesterday

I am going to tag Lauren (the 1st one), Sarah, Soly (the 1st one), Traci, Adrienne

Fancy Nancy

My mom does so much for each one of us all the time, we can't but at least pamper her one day out of the year. Her birthday was on July 13th, so we decided to surprise her with a Fancy Nancy party. Since she shares her birthday the same day as our Grandpa Ballantyne, her and my dad went to Santa Ana to visit him. While they were gone my sisters decorated her house like the Fancy Nancy Children's Books. It looked so cute- the girls all wore princess necklaces and the guys wore top hats! My mom wore a tiara all day and a pink boa. (I can't take much credit for the decorating because when I got there it was almost finished, but I did help with the food!) We fixed a really nice dinner and even ate crepes and parfait for dessert! We had so much fun, and I think mom did too!

Day at the Beach

We have had a really busy summer, and I have slacked the last couple of weeks on posting our excitement. On July 15th me and my sisters journeyed to the beach with our kids! We had a blast! The kids loved playing in the water and sand, while we enjoyed talking and enjoying our time away! We even saw dolphins! Sarah, Alyssa, and I tried swimming as close to the dolphins as we could, but they were further away then we thought! Thanks girls for a wonderful day!

Me, Alice, Sarah
Mommy and Alyssa
Roxie and Cammie playing in the water
Isaac and Nathan playing football
Best Buddies
Cousins relaxing in the sand

My Husband, My Friend!

This post was inspired by my lovely sister-in-law Sarah! After having one of our uplifting talks we both realized that we needed to appreciate our husbands more. What a perfect time to publish this post - David and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary, and David turns 30 tomorrow! Wow... I can't believe that! As I think back to our 10 years of marriage I am so proud of David and the man he has become! He is such an amazing son, father, brother, husband, and friend! What a journey we have been on, and every bit of it has been worth it all! He lifts me up when I am down, he makes me laugh when I am sad, and most of all he is there for me when I am not so happy! He is so fun to be around, and I am grateful to have been blessed with him in my life!

Tomorrow David will turn 30! I can't believe it...we were just kids when we started dating and now he has hair on his chest, and can almost grow a full beard! :) To celebrate this special day we had a Surprise Luncheon for him at our house. He swears that he knew nothing about it! He had a great time, and said he has never felt so special! Thank you Alice, Sarah, and Mom for all your help! It was such a nice day, and I couldn't have done it without you! Happy birthday David, I hope you enjoyed every bit of it, and realize just how special you are in the lives of those around you!










Husband Tag
1- His Full Name: David______Guzman... I'm still a little leery of the Internet so I'll skip this one :)
2- How long have you been together? Married 10 Years, but dated 2 1/2 - so 12 1/2 total
3- How long did you date? 2 1/2 years off and on
4- How old is he? 30 tomorrow
5- Who eats more? Him, but I can almost pass him up!
6- Who said I love you first? I am sure it was me, but he was the first to tell me I Love You on my pager!
7- Who is taller? He is, but not by much! ha ha! He is not very tall!
8- Who sings better? We both sing like crap, but he definitely thinks he does! He seriously tries to sing like Paul Potts!
9- Who is smarter? He definitely is! When I was in school I had to try hard to get good grades, it comes natural to him!
10- Who does the laundry? I do
11- Who pays the bills? I do, if he did we would have bounced checks!
12- Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? When looking at the headboard, I do.
13- Who mows the lawn? Well when the lawn is mowed... he does it. I do have to say though that since we have a tiny yard he is able to keep up on it!
14- Who cooks dinner? I do usually, but David likes to cook too, so sometimes he does the cooking.
15- Who drives? David because I will be the first to admit I am a crappy driver, but I don't fall asleep! haha!
16- Who kissed whom first? David kissed me...Come on we know how aggressive he is when it comes to that!
17- Who's more stubborn? Do I need to answer that? I would be lying if I said David is... you all know how stubborn I am (Not one of my better qualities, I know)
18- Who asked whom out first? David asked me out a few times before I gave in.
19- Who proposed? He did, but we won't go there!
20- Who has more friends? I think we both have been blessed with many good friends in our lives
21- Who is more sensitive? Ok once again do I need to answer that? I totally win on this one...I am way more sensitive, but as he gets older he has shown more of his sensitive side!
22- Who has more siblings? We both have the same amount! There are 4 children in our families!
23- Who wears the pants? As he says...he wears the pants, but I pick the color! :)

I think you would agree with me that David is an amazing person! I have never met anyone who loves to serve, as he does. He would do anything for anyone, and not expect anything in return. He is so caring for those around him, and has such a great sense of humor! He is a hard worker, and loves his family! He is so patient with me. I couldn't ask for a better companion! I have learned so much from him. I Love you so much David and thank you God for bringing you into my life. I look forward to growing old together!

4th of July

What a nice day our family had. We started the day off, going to my parents house and hung out by the pool with my sisters! My mom worked really hard to make a perfect festive meal, and as usual it was! (Sorry I didn't have my camera with me the time, or I would have posted pictures) She amazes me how she puts so much effort into making everyday a memorable one for her children/grandchildren. Hopefully one day I will have that impact on those around me! Thanks mom for setting such a great example to me on what I strive to become!



After spending time by the pool, we went to the Galaxy Game with our Best Friends, Frankie and Heather! It was really cool... the kids got to go down to the Field and hi-five the players as they ran in the stadium! They loved it!! After the game, there was a firework show. The kids really enjoyed it, except Roxie who fell asleep during the game. She amazes me how she can fall asleep anytime, anywhere! She woke up this morning upset with me that I didn't wake her up for the firework show! (as you can see from the pictures, I don't think anything or anyone could have woken her up!)










On the way home from the game, David found a firework stand still open. He bought some fireworks to set off on our street, and promised the kids he would wake them up when we got home! As it turns out they were so pooped from the busy day we had together that they were just as tired as Roxie. Instead of David waiting for another day, he brought out the fireworks, and the otter pops and set them off himself! (Anyone who knows David, knows that two of his most favorite things in life is Otter Pops and playing with fire!) Soon after he started setting them off Frankie showed up with his kids who were just as tired as mine... all they wanted to do was go in my house and lay on the floor with our kids. Once I brought out the Otter Pops they got a quick sugar rush and held sparklers just log enough for their daddy to get a picture! (Frankie e-mail me the pictures you took and I will post them!)

Beach Time!!!

Yesterday I enjoyed the day at the beach with the kids. We were invited to go by my sister-in-law Solymar. Since David was working, I thought it would be fun to take the kids out for the day! They enjoyed playing with their cousin Daniel in the sand, and to my surprise they ALL enjoyed playing in the water (even Isaac who doesn't like to try new things) On the way home, all three kids thanked me for such a great time! It made it all worth it! We can't wait to take Daddy next time! Thanks Daniel and Soly, we had so much fun!

Mud Run or Mud Wrestling?

David participated in his first Mud Run at Camp Penalton this month! His friend Frankie, who runs almost everyday, talked him into participating. His brother Daniel also participated with them. The guys left really early in the morning, so my friend Heather and I decided to load up all 6 kids (my three, and her three) and follow behind later, after the kids woke up! Its bad enough to be in the car with 6 kids, but even worse to have 6 tired kids crying! As it turned out, we just cranked up the music, and the kids were really good! What an adventure! Come to find out when we arrived, we had missed the shuttle bus so we had to walk about a mile and a half with all 6 kids to the finish line! (maybe we should have just gone with the guys) I was pretty scared that he wouldn't make it through it or that he would be carried away in an ambulance, but we were so proud of him that he finished and actually kept up with his team! The fun didn't end until they all wrestled in the mud! I knew that Daniel would take him down since every time the family gets together we always break up the wrestling matches, so I had my camera ready!

Finally!!!

Okay so I am the only Guzman that doesn't have a family blog, so I decided to step up to the plate and finally create one! I felt like this was a great time to do it since summer has just begun so I should have lots of pictures of fun things to share that we are doing! The kids just finished their last year at John Adams Elementary School in Riverside to start the new year at Edwin Rhodes Elementary School in Chino. It was sad to say goodbye!

Below are some pictures of recent events in the Guzman Family! Roxie just had an end of the year preschool performance, and she knew every song! She didn't even cry when she went on the stage to sing. On Memorial Day we took the kids to Rosehills to visit Grandpa Guzman. Isaac asked if he could kiss the headstone! Great Kodak moment! Alyssa picked out the flowers! What a great choice!