Party at the Moore Home in Reno!

This weekend our family made a trip to Reno Nevada to celebrate ALL THREE of my brother's children's birthday's! Abel 14, Abbey 4 & A.J. 3. My Mom also came to visit both families- ours & the Moore's- Thursday to Monday. It was great to see her surrounded by all the kids.

Not only are Adam J.R. & Abagail only 11 months apart- but their birthdays are only 22 days from the other! Then- 10 days later- it's Abel's birthday-
So A.J. was born on July 31st- Abby's is August 21st & Abel's is August 31st. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Adam's birthday & his wedding anniversary are both on July 9th! Lot's of reason's to celebrate life ; )

Cassie offered to donate her time & talent in creating cakes for the kids. Abby's current stage is anything Barbie or Disney Princess, so she used her experience from making Lexie's Fairy Cake to make an Abby look-a-like Barbie cake. Of course it was chocolate cake!

A.J.'s current stage is... hmmmm... anything with wheels- any action figure- any type of sport- oh yeah cowboys & let's see.. anything boy! Cassie settled on a Batman Cake for him. She started planning this cake out a month in advance- first drawing the dimensions on graph paper, then measuring & cutting out the windows from fondant & painting them with edible sugar paint. Super cool results and an honor to be a spectator of the overall process ; )

Another stage A.J. is in includes a) refusing to potty train b) refusing to wear any type of clothing other than a diaper! NICE! Stubborn? Uh, yeah- Adam JR IS HIS NAME! So A.J. spent the majority of the party running around in a saggy diaper- no shirt- no pants- no socks- no shoes. Well, that's not entirely true... at one point during Pinata time, his Daddy told him he had to have shoes on to participate- check out the pictures to see how he worked his way around that ; ) Again- ADAM JR....

One of our gifts to Abagail was a Barbie Karaoke Machine. As an Auntie, I personally think it's hilarious to give a 4 year old a Microphone to express herself. It's a funny thing to watch Adam's daughter out talk him! Overall, it was a-lot of fun to watch the kids play & enjoy being Auntie & Uncle. Although I do believe parenting toddlers is something intended for young couples- we were absolutely EXHAUSTED when we left!

Enjoy the photos of the party below.....

Trip to L.A. August 2009

This week, the girls & I accompanied Luis on a work trip (he had to work in Orange County) to L.A. On Sunday night we had a great time with the Barragan extended family at a BBQ. It was so much fun to watch the (3rd generation?) cousins play together!

On Monday, while Luis was hard at work, we girls had the opportunity to spend some time with my Dad & my Grandfather- we had lunch at my all time childhood favorite restaurant- The Bear Pit- in Mission Hills. YUMMO! Later that evening we went to my cousin Angie's home in Sherman Oaks & had dinner at Mel's Diner on Ventura Blvd. (Food is a running theme!) Then we went back to Angie's house for the best ever home-made whipped cream on Strawberry Shortcake.

The evening was enhanced by the presence of my cousin Devin- Angie's brother- who was my partner in crime as a child! I had no idea he would be there & cried tears of joy when we saw one another! Angie is a wonderful & inspiring Mommy to her almost 4 yr old daughter, Kaitlin, and soon (next month!) she & her husband Daryl will welcome a second little angel baby into their home. My Aunt Liz, my Mom's big sis, was also there with her husband, Gary. He's so great! A gentle, kind & happy spirit. I really enjoyed watching how happy he & my Aunt are together.

On Tuesday, after a quick side trip to see my cousin David at work & a little snack at our favorite Taco place, Mi Pueblito in Pacoima- (yes MORE FOOD!) we dedicated the day to Luis' Mom in celebration of her 53rd birthday. Cassie, along with her little cousin's help, created a home made birthday cake for her Grandma. Of course- there was more food compliments of Lola! Tostada's de Ceviche- mmmmmmm.....

That night, we met the Barragan extended family, along with the Perez crew, at Mimi's Cafe for a birthday dinner celebration -AGAIN MORE FOOD!- It was evident in Lola's face, by the light shining through her eyes, how happy she was to be surrounded by her grandchildren & family...

Enjoy the photo show below!

Roscoe & Simba...

Roscoe & Simba hangin' out together on a lazy Monday afternoon....

They love each other!

Road Trip to Portland Oregon & Seattle Washington

Below is a photoshow of our recent road trip to Portland Oregon & Seattle Washington, including Cassie, Lexie & Roscoe. We traveled nearly 1,500 miles in 4 days! It was great to see the Pacific Northwest area.

In Portland we enjoyed a doughnut place highlighted on the food network channel called Voodoo Dounuts where one can find treats unimaginable, such as:

Captain Crunch Topped
Dirt (vanilla glaze and oreo cookies)
Arnold Palmer(lemon and tea powder)
Butter Fingering(Devils food, vanilla, and crushed Butterfinger)
The Memphis Mafia(chocolate chips/banana/ peanutbutter/glaze big!)
Portland Creme(raised doughnut filled with creme and covered in chocolate with two eyes)
Nyquil Glazed and pepto-bismol

And many more! Check out their web-site at: http://voodoodoughnut.com/menu.php

In Seattle we drove our car onto a ferry & rode it to Bainbridge Island. I experienced "Ferry Sickness" which is bizarre because I'm usually the one known with the stomache of steal in the family- go figure! While on Bainbridge Island we visited a Diner highlighted on the show: Diners, Drive-ins and Dives by Guy Fieri , where we had a sample of Apple Pie & Chocolate Cake!

Apart from eating our way up & down the Pacific Northwest, we experienced beautiful scenery & a wonderful opportunity for quality family time together. Not to mention- Mommy completed an entire novel!

Lexie's Slumber Party

So why is a Slumber Party called a "Slumber" Party? Why not call it ; an all night shrieking, laughing, dancing, talking, singing, bouncing off the wall party? Because Mother's like myself, who have earned & enjoy the act of SLUMBERING, would never in a million years go for the idea!

Slumber parties are like childbirth- you remember it is a painful event- but yet we do it all over again- why? To make our little girls happy- that's why! So- when Jon was 10 we had an all night- sweaty boy- wrestle contest- fart fest- boy "SLUMBER" party. When Cassie turned 10- we did the same- minus the sweaty boy- wrestle...fart stuff (at least to my knowledge!) Not to be left out of ANYTHING- Lexie received the same... A slumber party.

The girls had a blast- I enjoyed watching them all do what girls do....the morning was less enjoyable I'll admit- but I plastered a smile on my face & when it was all over: Took a 3 hour NAP! Here is a PhotoShow of the party...

A Day in the Life of Roscoe!

1:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon; He is a BARRAGAN!

Barragan Family Visit to Florida

Liz created this photshow of memories, including many video clips of our puppies playing together! We all had a beautiful time together- especially watching Roscoe-Mia & Buster playing.

The "OTHERSIDERS"

The "OTHERSIDERS"

http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/theothersiders/

Last night we had a great time with our friend Hugo in Downtown Sacramento, who is also a camera operator for various shows and channels.. Along with the opportunity to spend some time with a longtime friend- he also introduced the girls to the cast and crew of a show called

"The OTHERSIDERS" on Cartoon Network! They are filming this week in the Sacramento area.

K.C. is on the left in the white shorts next to Lexie, then Jackie between Cassie & Lexie, Sam in the black pants next to Cassie & the Zack at the end. And last, but certaily not least, Hugo in the back behind the group of kids. We met Riley later that evening. We spent the night walking around Downtown Sacramento- having ice-cream & hanging out by the Sacramento River. The cast was really nice to the girls & their parents hung out with us too.

Cassie & Lexie were super excited & had a great night to remember. Thank you Uncle Hugo- You Rock! : )

Orlando Photos

So here are more pix from our recent trip to South Florida. Jeanette & Carlos invited us all to join them at their Hilton timeshare in Orlando Florida. It was beautiful. Each family had their own "condo style" apt. With full kitchens and anything we could ever need or want to make the trip as relaxing as possible.

We all walked away with our tummies full of good food- prepared by our in house cooks ; ) beautiful memories & a few SUNBURNS! Here is our "Side Trip to Orlando" including lots of video clips!

A Visit to South Florida

Here is the 1st to many more photoshows to

come from our recent visit to South Florida with the

Escalante, Rodriguez & Toledo Families...

Baby Diego Growing

Photos of our "Great GodSon" Baby Diego Luca, during our recent trip to L.A. His Daddy, Christian is our GodSon.

Slideshow also includes pics of the girls with their cousins Sebastian & Samantha Gonzalez & their Auntie Susie

(Luis' Sister) in North Hollywood.

P.S. The pages can be turned by clicking the the arrow at the bottom right corner.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Allison & Jennifer's Baptism

On Sunday June 28th 2009 our family was invited to attend Allison's Holy Baptism. Allison is my cousin Gregg & his wife Jennifer's daughter.

We were blessed not only to witness Allison's Baptism, but her Mom Jen was also baptized! I don't think there was a dry eye in the house!

What a beautiful & special occasion.

Moments such as these are what life is truly about....

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Aispuro Family

We spent a beautiful weekend last week celebrating life with our extended family. We were honored to attend Carter & Kylie's birthday at the Aispuro Family home. I can't think of anything better than watching children & a family grow!

Love & blessings, Missy

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Lexie's 10th Birthday

Happy 10th Birthday Lexie!

June 22nd 2009