The Freestone Files

Kira's Week in Review

2012-02-11T18:22:00.000-08:00

Today we went to a different beach resort. It was super cool. There was a small section where there was a playground! Seesaw!! It was fun, but with constant creaking, I eventually forced Kate to let me off.

I'll let my mom and Cito tell you more about the beach tomorrow but the one thing I will mention is the Hammock! Everyone eventually laid on one throughout the day.

I was really fascinated with my book. Mom taking pictures and saying, " Say cheese!!" didn't help me concentrate.

This week we have had to wake up at 5:15 every morning for school. The uniform/dress I must wear is itchy and the P.E. shorts look like they have been inflated. The kids at school are really nice, alway saying, "I just love your-" then they whisper to their friends and continue slowly, "hair?". My favorite class is special Spanish, when I get to get out of class for a class that basically teaches Spanish to the Americans. Our school has a break at 9:30. Also, you can roam the outdoor school until 12 for lunch (which starts at 11:30). Numeracy (a.k.a. Math) is probably hardest for me. They are learning things in Blaine's class that I just recently learned in 5th back Texas. Other than Numeracy, I am way ahead in any other subject.

Our air shipment, which I really hope has my sewing machine, will probably not get here for a while, so I get to wear the same pair of shorts and a t-shirt again! Yippee (by the way I am being sarcastic)! I was supposed to borrow a ladies sewing machine a few days ago and i won't get it until tomorrow around 3:30-4:00. Ugh!!! I am so sick of having nothing in our hotel!! I also have to scavenge for water. We aren't supposed to drink the the faucet water, so we drink out of the same 5-6 water bottles every day that we fill up every day in the Gym. I feel like I am always thirsty! Wish me luck while I am at church tomorrow, I will be wearing the same old church outfit as last week (which I will wear next week too) Hope to see you soon!

See ya next week,

Kira

uni's-part 3

2012-02-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

I wasn't a huge fan at first, but Kira's uniform is really growing on me....

Cito--assuming his favorite position in his P.E uniform

School uni's-part 2

2012-02-09T19:57:00.001-08:00

Tie tying 101- 5:30 a.m sharp daily. Professor Freestone always dresses for the occasion:)

Check out our messy bathroom-how embarrising.

Kira & Brooks--looking like 2 little rays of sunshine this morning in their P.E uniforms. So, the kids have all sorts of uniforms. They have a regular uniform, a P.E uniform and a swimming uniform. On P.E. days they were their P.E uniform. On swimming days they bring their swimming uniform--except for Brooks who wears his swimming uniform under his regular uniform. Got that? They have P.E twice a week and swimming once a week--all on different days--but some days two of them overlap. The logistics alone are exhausting. My goal in life right now is to send everyone to school in the right uniform on the right day. So far we are 2 for 2.

Cito-looking mighty fine, if I do say so myself. Tie tying class is going well. He had swimming today--which means he had to untie that tie and tie it back up again--by himself. I would say he got a solid B. He came home with it tied perfectly.....but inside out:) No prob--that's an easy fix.

Is it just me or would you say he has a new confidence about him?

Just trying to entertain ourselves while we waited for the restaraunt to open for breakfast. We need to start eating as-soon-as it opens at 6 so the kids can catch the bus at 6:20. I love the school but why oh why must it start so early??

First day of school

2012-02-08T06:35:00.000-08:00

Brooks, after his first day of school.

(all of the younger kids are required to wear aprons

over their uniforms? don't ask me....)

Brooks getting off the bus-van

Today started very early...5 a.m to be exact. It was Kira, Cito and Brooks' first day of school and the four of us needed to be ready and out the door by 6. I'll be honest, it was rough. I'm not a morning person--not even close--and Brooks isn't either when it involves getting dressed. Whether it's 5:30 a.m or 5:30 p.m, the boy does-not-like clothing. He is most comfortable and happy in a pair of underwear and nothing else. He turned into a limp noodle when I tried to get him dressed this morning, it was not a pretty sight. On a good day his uniform will be quite an ordeal--heaven help us on the bad days. The good news is as soon as we were out the door and down at breakfast he was happy as a clam and borderline excited to go to school.

I rode the bus this morning with the kids. It's called the bus but really it's a van. Brooks was pretty bummed about that--definitely not as exciting as the big yellow school bus he was hoping for. The Embassy busses all the American kids to school. For security reasons the bus picks up every child at their house (in our case, the lobby of our hotel for now). It's a pretty good gig if you ask me.

When we got to school and Kira & Cito got off the bus it was as if two rock-stars just stepped off, it was really funny! A crowd of kids swarmed them and I pretty much didn't see them after that. I'm still laughing actually because Kira and Cito had some stunned looks on their faces as they were walking away. It was more like a stunned/excited/somewhat overwhelmed and nervous look. Later I learned it's slightly uncommon for kids to start in the middle of the school year here. Also, the American kids knew we were coming and because there are relatively very few Americans it was like Christmas for them apparently. There are two other American girls in the 5th grade and two other American boys in the fourth grade. Perfection! To sum it up...it was a very warm welcome:) My biggest hope for Kira and Cito though is that they will not solely rely on the American kids for friends. I think their experience will be richer and their spanish will be better if they can branch out a bit and make friends outside of their comfort zone. I'm excited to see how this goes in the next two years.

There weren't any 4 yr-olds cheering for Brooks when he got off the bus so I walked him to his class:) He went in without a problem, it was much smoother than I anticipated. There are two other American boys his age but I'm not sure if they are in his class, it's hard to get a straight answer from him about that.

Then I rode the bus back to the hotel. It was just me and the spanish-speaking bus driver. That was fun. What normally takes about 3 minutes took 20 because there was so much traffic. The bus driver had a lot to say about the traffic issues. Mostly I just nodded and said "si." One time I did go out on a limb and said, "si, muchos carros." Impressive, right?

All three of them came home happy--it was such a relief!! I stressed all morning about what they were up too but it seems as though all will be well at the British school. Kira and Cito told me ALL about their exciting day. Here are a few of the highlights:

Kira had swimming today. She likes that they swim at school but doesn't appreciate the fact that all the girls change into their swimming suits at the same time and in the same place. Oh, and the pool is a little colder than she'd like.
Blaine is fascinated by all the british accents. He recounted an encounter he had with one of the teachers for us--complete with a perfect british accent. We all had our moments speaking with a british accent this afternoon--it's quite fun really--(I just mentally said that with my british accent, I can't help it now:) My question is: what does a british accent in spanish sound like? I guess we will find out.
All three went to a special spanish class with the rest of the American kids. Cito said it was his favorite class of the day. They all take an hour of extra spanish everyday. Most subjects are taught in English but P.E, art and music are taught in spanish.
They call an eraser a "rubber." Interesting.
Cito had homework, Kira didn't. Totally not fair in Cito's opponion.

For Kira and Cito's writing assignment this week I'm going to ask them to write all about their first few days of school. I'm sure they can give more detail than I can.....

**Pictures did not happen this morning. I took these of Brooks when he got home today. Kira and Cito wanted nothing to do with picture taking when they got home--I don't blame them. I've got to get some pictures tomorrow though because their unis are pretty sweet:)

First Impressions--church

2012-02-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

San Salvador Temple

Our church building

(the temple is across the parking lot to the left)

I'm not quite sure how to sum up our first church experience in El Salvador. The verdict's still out on that one. I think I like our ward--I'm sure they are very nice people--I guess I was just really missing our McAllen ward on Sunday. For one thing, our ward is todo en espanol, I came home with a major headache because I had to concentrate so hard. By the third hour I just zoned out to be honest. Our ward is mostly El Salvadorans with 4 or 5 American families. I really need to get crackin' on my spanish because almost all of the Americans speak spanish and the impression I got from the El Salvadorans is that we speak spanish here. Okey-dokey then, I'll get right on that.

Of course, it doesn't get much better than attending church on the temple grounds. The San Salvador temple is beautiful and the church building is beautiful too! They are both brand spanking new. The best part is how close we are. From our hotel we are about 2 minutes. It really would only be 1 minute if we didn't have to do an annoying, slightly dangerous U-turn in heavy traffic in the beast of all beastly cars. It's quite a production every time. I usually close my eyes until it's over. When we move into our house we will be about 3 minutes away. Sans u-turn--it's worth the extra drive.

I love the temple, I'm grateful for the opportunity to go often.

Kate's first day at Arbol de Dios

2012-02-07T07:58:00.000-08:00

Look how cute Kate is in her Arbol de Dios uniform! Her teacher's name is Leonor and absolutely no one at the school speaks English, except for one other american boy (in Kate's class) named Alejandro. Funny thing is when I saw Alejandro at the school I tried talking to him in English and he responded in Spanish. I think Kate has her work cut out for her :-) It is a really cute school with nice facilities and play areas. Being surrounded by Spanish on a daily basis and starting at such a young age will likely make Kate the best Spanish speaker in the family. :-) Kira, Blainecito and Brooks are getting there uniforms today and will start school at the Academia Britanica tomorrow. Exciting times!

Blaine grande :-)

La Semana en Revision te Cito (Cito's week in review)

2012-02-06T17:59:00.000-08:00

Hola, es Blaine aquí, yo estoy haciendo esto en español porque estoy tratandomuy duro para aprender español.

(Hello, it is Blaine here, I am doing this in spanish because I am trying really hard to learn spanish.)

Lo siento, vale bien el domingo me fui a Benihanas e hicieron de toneladas de fuego. Y que me fracturé un huevo sin mis manos (con un cuchillo /espátula). Fue muy divertido e incluso tenemos fotos!

(Sorry, okay well on Sunday I went to Benihanas and they made tons of fire. And I cracked an egg without my hands (with a knife/spatula). It was really fun and we even have pictures!)

Lo que es realmente interesante es que tenemos patrocinadores. Que al igual que nosotros en coche por todas partes. Y vamos a la Academia Britanica Cusclatleca (ABC). Se trata de un escolar de la diversión y tenemos más o menos hay reglas.

(What is really cool is we have sponsors. That like drive us everywhere. And we go to Academia Britanica Cusclatleca (ABC). It is a fun school and we have pretty much no rules.)

Bueno para que lo sepas que estoy usando Google Translate. Estoy teniendoun momento de diversión en El Salvador. Blaine está fuera!

(Well just so you know I am using Google Translate. I am having a fun time in El Salvador. Blaine is out!!!)

Kira's Week In Review

2012-02-05T18:39:00.001-08:00

My Mom, or as I now call her 'Ma' (I don't know why I call her that so don't ask) said that I should post about what has been going on, so I will, every week, from now on. We went and tested at our new private school, where we met two other new kids, from Peru (their dad is the Ambassador!), and the twins are my friends here in El Salvador. They could never beet Kimberly L. but they are good friends. I like the new school, I feel like I am almost always outside. If you walk out the class room door you are outside. You eat outside, you play outside, and you sweat outside! It is a good school and we really like it.

When I am not at school I am at the hotel, planning away on my new quilt. My teacher in Mcallen gave me the best website, crazymomquilts.blogspot.com, and I literally check her blog twice a day! I just wait for the newest pattern to come out for me to start planning. I still wait anxiously for my sewing machine, so I have just been doing every other thing I can do to quilt, without sewing. I started a new quilt here at the hotel, with the fabric I didn't pack. Sneak Peak-

I started out by cutting many long strips of 5 different Valentines Day fabrics, and made 5 long stripes of an almost white color (It is pretty much white)

Then I ordered them into rows, one at a time. Oi!

Then I added the whitish fabric and thus became my quilt's top:

I am not sure if I am going to free motion quit the top of this so, I will figure that out later. I hoped to finish it soon, but alas, my machine will probably not be here and ready until Thursday or Friday.

I really like the Valentines day colors, I have been working on the color scheme all week long!

I hope it looks good in the end as well. I think I have re-written the order in which the strips are in about 10 times.

I also did my backing to the quilt. I know most quilts have one fabric piece for the back, but I did go a little wacky, yet I think it is best that I do it this way.

It is pretty much the opposite of the top. Don't worry, I still have some trimming to do on both the top and the back of this quilt setup. I also have some quilt binding ready. Now, I am not sure what I am going to do with it. I might just keep it for myself, (a dumb idea since it is never cold at all here) but I would like to know if any of you would like to claim it. I really just like the making of the quilt, and I don't think I would ever use it, with it being 60+ at coldest here. I have no problem giving it away. By the time I am done, it will probably be just like a week or two before St. V's Day, so it is just perfect for the season. If no one wants it I will give it to Kate, but I have a good idea for a cool quilt for her. I plan on making tons of quilts so this is just 1 out of a whole bunch, because I am addicted to quilting.

I love you all, back in the U.S.A. I hope to see you all soon. I miss you!

See ya next weekend!

Kira

El Salvador-day 2

2012-02-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

I'm officially in love with El Salvador! Someone is really going to have to pull me out of here kicking and screaming in two years. I realize we've only been here a total of 48 hours and "real life" hasn't begun, but still...this place is awesome. We went to the beach today, it was fantastic! I love the beach. I love the smell. I love the sounds. I love the sun. I love that my kids play for hours and hours without a single fight--it's pretty much the only place on earth that happens. The waves are big here, much bigger than what we are used to at South Padre Island. Kira and Cito held their own out there today, I was impressed. Blaine CAN-NOT-WAIT to get his skim and surf boards. They are coming on the boat shipment which is bad for him, good for me. We will probably see much less of him when they arrive. Our boat shipment is still 6 to 8 weeks away though....

This particular beach has a resort that we had access to. They have some sort of deal with the Embassy. Apparently there are other resorts around the country that have the same deal, I plan to find and visit each one often. We went from beach-to pool-to beach-to pool....repeated 10 or so times. Today is just what we needed. The past 4 weeks, and particularly the last week, have been the most hectic I think we have ever had. Speaking of hectic.....

The driving situation here is crazy. The roads are nice but the drivers are psycho! I white-knuckled it all the way to the beach today, it was about an hour drive. Here is what Blaine successfully dodged today on the HIGHWAY: cows, goats, chickens, trucks filled to the brim with coconuts, PEOPLE!! (someone really needs to tell these people that leisurely walking or riding bikes on the highway is NOT a good idea--there's a reason that's frowned upon in the states). I never feared for my own life today but I feared for everyone else's. We drove Blaine's car--it's a beast. It's a big car to begin with but with armor added it must weigh a million pounds--or something close to that. It's big, it's heavy, the windows alone are 2-inches thick and it's slightly more difficult to slow down or make sudden turns. I feared the entire time that something or someONE would dart in front of us and Blaine wouldn't be able to stop in time. Besides a semi, nothing really stands a chance to that car. I was really cracking up though. By design, the windows only roll a quarter of the way down--didn't seem like a problem until we went through a drive-thru:)

El Salvador-day 1

2012-02-03T21:11:00.000-08:00

Things to figure out at some point:
1. Why my text was small and blue yesterday? And why the option to "change text font" was M.I.A?
2. Why I can't make a comment on my own blog post? Twice today I typed a lengthy comment and it logged me out of blogger instead of posting it. Ugh!

In other news.....Kira, Cito and Brooks tested at the British School today. As far as I know it went well. We will find out on Monday if everyone "passed" and will be accepted into the school. I will be shocked if Kira and Cito have any problems getting in--Brooks, however, is a different story. Hogwarts (that's what we call it) apparently takes pre-K very seriously and we will just have to see if Brooks is Hogwarts material right now. It looks like a really fun school and it's a beautiful campus. The classrooms are big and bright with huge windows that are open 24/7. Kira and Cito can give more details on their day. As one of Kira and Cito's El Salvador "assignments" I've asked them to write down their experiences at least once a week and post them on the blog. I promised them I wouldn't edit or delete anything they write (which will probably take every ounce of motherly-self control I have in me). Hopefully I can get mi esposo to chime in every once and a while too!

(school grounds)

We also had a big family outing today and walked all over this place (probably won't be doing that again anytime soon). Our hotel is within walking distance of pretty much everything. We went to wal-mart (nothing like wal-mart at home), walked around the mall, had Papa Johns for lunch and then KFC for dinner (blah!), rode a little train for only $1 and found the movie theater. The movies here are only $3--and they're new releases.

So far, so good in El Sal!

We're here!

2012-02-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

We made it!! Safe and sound. Besides feeling more tired than I can ever remember feeling, the day was uneventful for the most part. The kids were really good. I’m pretty sure this was the best day of Brooks‘ life to date--airplanes and airports all day long.

No major meltdowns to report--I probably came the closest. The skies were friendly until the last two hours when they turned down-right scary. I’m not even exaggerating. It was dark, we were in clouds and it was really, really, really bumpy. I went into my ‘don’t talk to me-don’t ask me questions-just let me look out the window and do my Lamaze breathing’ mode. But we landed safely and I’m all better now. Blaine’s co-workers were at the airport to great us. They all seem like very nice people.

We didn’t get to see much of El Salvador because it was dark on the way home from the airport. I did notice the roads seem really nice though. And our hotel....it is AWESOME. I kinda want to move in for the whole 2 years. Just kidding but it’s much bigger and nicer than what we were expecting. I don’t think it will be a problem being here for a couple of months, its like a little condo really....but without a kitchen. Ok, going to bed now.

On the docket for tomorrow:

*Wake up before the crack of dawn for school testing.

*Unpack

*If all the stars align--take a nap

Santa Cruz beach & boardwalk

2010-06-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

2010-05-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

Dad,

We rode Sherwood ( Grammy's Horse ) and we want to keep you posted. Here are the pics . . .

Why can't laundry just put itself away?

2009-01-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

Science projects are done.....Phew!!

2009-01-20T08:03:00.000-08:00

Colorado 2009!

2009-01-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

This year was no different than our previous trips to Colorado in the winter---the kids had a BLAST, Blaine talked incessantly about how beautiful and grandiose the Rocky Mountains are and re-committed himself to move back someday, and I was FREEZING every time I left the house, and re-committed myself never to live in the snow. (I have actually decided it is a blessing that we don't really have a say in where we live, if we did it could potentially be a problem):) I did have a great time and here are a few highlights from our trip. (I didn't take very many pictures because I took a lot of video, I haven't been able to get a good balance of doing both yet).

The first day Blaine and Vic took Kira and Cito skiing/snowboarding. Kira is a skier and Cito snowboards. Brooks and I came later to watch and Brooks had so much fun riding the magic carpet up the bunny hill and running as fast as he could back down. Blaine has a lot of fun seeing the kids progress at skiing/snowboarding every year.

The next day we all went ice skating. It was extra fun because Brady, Beth & the kids came up from Denver to spend some time with us. Kira & Cito had a lot of fun hanging out with Quinton & Sophie. Again, Brooks loved running on the ice and he also had fun being pushed on his bottom by Blaine. Kate stayed nice and toasty at home with Sandy.

The next day we went sledding. We usually go the easy but expensive route and go to Copper Mountain where you can take a long magic carpet up the mountain and then tube down a tubing course. Blaine decided to go old school on us this year so we went to a sledding hill on the side of the road. The kids still had a ton of fun but there were a few more tears due to some unexpected big bumps and bonked heads.

The last day was pretty snowy so we all went to the indoor rec center. It has a couple of indoor pools, baby pool, and water slides for the kids. Brooks went down the same little water slide probably 30+ times in row and Kira, Cito & Blaine did the same on the big water slide. We learned Brooks has no fear of the water when he ran and jumped right into the big lap pool. Luckily, a life guard was standing right there and jumped in and got him. Brooks wasn't even phased by the incident. Later that night we invited Kira & Cito to go with Blaine and I on our "special date" to the Mint Restaurant. Cito said, "oh yuck, are you going to kiss?" I guess that is what he equates a date with. We promised them we would not kiss and they obliged to join us. The Mint is one of our favorite restaurants and we go every year. It's been around forever, and very popular among the mountain folk. When you walk in you pick out your meat from the butcher shop, they have steaks, chicken or seafood. Then you cook your meat on a huge grill in the middle of the restaurant. I usually go out to eat because I DON"T want to cook but for some reason it's really fun to grill up your own steak with yummy sauces and spices cooked just how you want it. They also have a yummy salad bar and you can order yummy side dishes and desserts. Anyway, Kira & Cito thought the place was really cool, and they both ate more food than I have ever seen. At dinner I asked Cito what his favorite part of our trip was and he said, "this is". I'm glad we invited them on our "special date", we all had a great time.

We all had a good laugh playing with Sandy's wig. What do you think, should Blaine get hair plugs?

We are very lucky that Vic & Sandy live so close to all the fun things
to do in the mountains. It is fun to spend time with them every winter in such a beautiful place, we hope they never move!

My boy is a potty mouth!

2008-12-27T13:16:00.000-08:00

Brooks has a new word that we are not very proud of. Blaine and I get a good chuckle a few times a day when Brooks yells oooooooh shiiiiii*. Luckily he isn't proficient yet with the T sound or it could be worse.

*Just for the record, he did not learn this foul lanuage from us:) We know he trying to say something, we just don't know what it is yet.

Uh-Oh!

2008-12-27T12:52:00.001-08:00

Brooks loves to say "Uh-Oh" and he actually has been saying it for a while now. The thing that makes me laugh is the context in which he uses it. Let's use this picture as an example--

Correct context: Choclate milk ACCIDENTLY falls on the floor, Brooks notices a spill, Brooks says "Uh-Oh".

Brooks' context: Brooks looks at his choclate milk in hand, gets a big grin on his face, YELLS "UH-OH", throws the cup on the floor, stares at the spill with a bewildered look on his face like how did that happen?

Christmas 2008

2008-12-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. Last night we spent Christmas Eve with Justin & Rachelle at their house. The kids were all wound-up!!! They woke up this morning the same way and stayed that way until about 10 minutes ago (bed time). It is fun to see all their energy and excitement for Christmas!! Here are a few pictures from our day. Merry Christmas!

Blainecito got a zero gravity wall racer from Santa. It's a remote control car that drives on walls and ceilings, it's really pretty cool.

Kira got enough make-up to last until her wedding.

Brooks got a thing that has a lot of buttons and makes LOTS of noise.

The kids got Guitar Hero World Tour from the Freestone's, and clearly Blaine is just as excited as the kids are. We'll chalk this one up for family time:)

Christmas Eve PJ's

2008-12-25T13:30:00.001-08:00

The kids all ready for bed in their new Christmas jammies!

Do you see why it's hard getting a good family pic? Someone (in this case 2 people) are bound to look possessed.

Brooks...snuggling?

2008-12-25T13:01:00.000-08:00

Lately the only attention Kate gets from Brooks is a swift bop on the head and an occasional poke in the eye, but a few mornings ago he climbed in next to her on her bouncy chair and snuggled her for about 10 minutes, it was so, so cute! I think he may of been secretly apologizing for spiting out his chewed up granola bar on her about 30 minutes earlier.

After about 10 minutes of snuggling Kate tried to pull out his binkie, she is learning how to fight back. Kate is quickly closing the gap though, as of today Brooks only has 5 lbs. on her.

More Dominican Photos

2008-12-23T17:51:00.001-08:00

This is Carlito's son, Blaine.

>
Carlos, my Dad, Cory, and Christian. In Nizao.

Me and George in front of the US Embassy in Santo Domingo. This is where I worked for 6 weeks.

Quisqueya Stadium, Santo Domingo. Licey Tigres vs. Aguilas del Cibao (Santiago) Craziest baseball environment I have ever seen (similar to a South American soccer match...)

Dominican Republic

2008-12-23T17:33:00.000-08:00

The first photo was taken in front of Carlos Mormon's house in Nizao. Carlos now has three children, Cory (7), Christian (6), and a baby girl. These are some of the photos I took while in the Dominican Republic.

This is Carlos Mormon's house, which he has slowly built from a very poorly crafted wood structure (like the one next to his house in the picture) to a two story beautiful home with a store embedded into the first floor of the home. I was very happy to see he and his family are doing so well!

This is a photo I took at the Faro a Colon (Columbus' Lighthouse). My Dad and I went to the lighthouse while my Dad was in the Dominican. We were very impressed with the museum. The pope visited the lighthouse in 1993 to celebrate 500 years of the discovery of the new world.
This is in the Zona Colonial. It is the Parque Colon. Santo Domingo is home to the first Christian Cathedral in the New World, the first Bank, the first block and mortar house, etc. Right in front of this monument is the Hard Rock Cafe, where I saw a band play a concert covering Depeche Mode songs. Very entertaining.

Something cool we discovered we can do with our hands!

2008-12-19T12:20:00.001-08:00

It's a little off balance because of the big mom hand in there.

Christmas pictures 2008

2008-12-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Well here they are.. Christmas pics 2008. I did my darnedest to get a picture of the four of them together, but the stars did not align yesterday. Next step-- create a Christmas card with four individual pictures. Hmmmm.

Kira-8 years old, Blainecito-6 1/2 years old, Brooks-19 months old, Kate-4 months old

Raingutter Regatta

2008-12-13T19:34:00.000-08:00

Cito participated in his first Raingutter Regatta this morning. It's like a pine wood derby but with boats they race by blowing them down rain gutters filled with water. The kids had a lot of fun cheering each other on. Poor Cito didn't win a single race but he was a pretty good sport about it. It's probably more my fault than Blaine's. Me, being a single mom at the moment, didn't really prepare Cito properly for the race. I didn't know that they would be blowing on the boats! I'm sure all the other parents had there kids practicing in the bath tub for the last 6 months, getting ready for this thing. Let me just say that parents these days are out-of-control and I'm getting fed up with it because it makes the rest of us look bad. So I didn't spend the last 6 weeks sanding and painting to perfection my child's boat, instead I let him do it himself--isn't that what they are supposed to do? Well, Cito didn't seem to care what his boat looked like, or that his blowing skills were far from perfection. Watch out, next year his boat WILL win the "coolest boat" trophy! (I've already redeemed myself with the gingerbread man he had to turn in this week at school, I learned that lesson the hard way too!)

All in all it was a really fun morning. It was great watching Cito cheer on the other boys in his pack(or is it den?) One boy had a full-on crying melt-down because he didn't win a trophy, so I felt good, leaving in good spirits, even if it wasn't with a trophy.

Cito doing his darnedest to blow that baby to the finish line.

Cito had the loudest cheering section (not in a good way):)

Kira's new sewing machine

2008-12-13T19:16:00.000-08:00

Last year for Christmas Kira wanted a new sewing machine. I found a cute little pink one at Toys R' Us that was only about $25 and thought it would do the trick. Well, it was cheap, cheap, cheap and caused way more frustration than fun. So we went for round 2 this year and didn't settle for anything less than the real thing. Today when Brooks & Kate were taking naps Kira and I made a purse. She was a real natural, I was actually surprised that she could do most of the sewing herself. These pictures are no joke, she had a perma-grin the entire time.

My Early C

2008-12-12T19:53:00.000-08:00

When I joined the Freestone Family I quickly learned they have a lingo that only close friends and family understand. I now speak their language, and find myself having to translate to my friends and family from time to time.

Just like my family, the Freestone's are all about giving "early B's" and "early C's" (translated to "early Birthday present" and "early Christmas present"). I can't remember the last time that we actually made it to our birthday/Christmas before we were desperate for our present early for one reason or another (pathetic, I know). Well, this year is no different, (in fact, I think Blaine received his "early C" back in September and yes, I was able to hold out until October).

Anyway, I knew this year I was going to get a mixer for Christmas, and by late October I just couldn't wait any longer. I ordered my mixer with my "early C" money and waited anxiously for the UPS man to show up. I waited, and waited, and waited. Blainecito was just as anxious for me to get the mixer as I was because with the mixer came a promise to him to make homemade cinnamon rolls, his favorite thing on this planet besides cinnamon toast.

Well, about 6 long weeks later the mixer FINALLY arrived, and tonight me and Blainecito made the yummiest cinnamon rolls ever! (Thanks to Lisa's recipe).

The new Bosch. (I was peer-pressured into buying a Bosch over a KitchenAid, but I have to say I love, love, love it!) --It's amazing the things I get excited about these days:)

Blaine was enthralled with every step of this process

Brooks is STILL completely enthralled with the shop-vac. It kept him happy the whole time, well until he saw the mixer.. and then it was love at first sight, it was a new appliance with a cord, wow.

The finished product, YUM!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T14:04:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween we had. . .

Kira, the candycorn witch.

Blaine, the S.W.A.T team member.

Brooks, the most adorable little turtle.

AND.. Kate, the cow.

We had a great night with great weather in beautiful El Paso (this place is really growing on me).

Chupacabras 100km 2008

2008-10-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

These photos were taken after the Chupacabras 100 kilometer bike race on October 13, 2008. It was a really grueling but fun race. There was a lot of dust this year and when I met Kristin and the kids after the race at Whataburger Restaurant this is what I looked like.

Moab Mountain Biking Trip

2008-10-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of a recent mountain biking trip we took to Moab, UT.

Birthday Girl!

2008-10-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Kira had her 8th B-day party. I'm still recovering from the event which is why it has taken me a week to post this picture. Kira and her friends had a blast. Blaine and I felt firm in our decision to let our kids have a "real" party every other year.

After much thought (many, many, months) she decided on a cooking theme for her party. We sent out invitations that looked like recipe cards. I wish my scanner was working so I could post one, they turned out really cute. Anyway, when the guests arrived they all decorated chef's hats and aprons. Then they all made their own pizzas, we played games and then they decorated their own cupcakes and made their own ice cream sundaes. It was really fun but we invited WAY to many people for a cooking party. I think 8 would have been about perfect but yeah, we had 16 instead. This is the one and only picture I was able to take until all H#$& broke loose. 16 kids decorating their own cupcakes and ice cream sundaes -- not such a good idea. Let's just say I had a few stunned looks on the parents faces when they came to pick up their girls. And, they left with part of the party on the bottom on their shoes (i.e. marshmallows, candy balls, sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc.)

I guess the important thing is that Kira had fun--and she did. I can't believe my little Kira is 8! She is really excited to be baptized next Saturday. We are so proud of her! I had fun looking back at pictures of her previous birthdays, she sure has grown up.

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

4th Birthday

6th Birthday

More baby Kate

2008-09-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

I took some more pictures of Kate yesterday. She was a good subject to practice on because she fell asleep. She is still a really good baby. She slept from 7:30 p.m - 5:00 a.m two nights in a row. Yippy!! I hope she's getting herself onto a nice little schedule.

The not-so-useful stair gate

2008-09-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

I ran downstairs this morning because Brooks starting screaming really loud and... this is what I found

After he realized he was OK he decided it was actually fun to swing on the gate
Yes, I think its already time to take down the gate that I finally found to fit our wide stair case. It seems like the day I put it up he became very proficient at coming down the stairs safely. So for the past two months the gated has been used for a few things.
1. (In the closed position) Stopping toys when they are chucked from the top of the stairs. (This is a favorite of Owen & Brooks when Owen comes over to play).
2. (In the open position) A major obstruction in a busy walkway that Brooks bonks his head on a few times a day.
3. As of today a really fun swing.

Cheetahs Soccer - Kira

2008-09-14T08:23:00.001-07:00

Kira and the Cheetahs played their second soccer game of the Fall soccer season yesterday. In their first game the Cheetahs lost to the tune of 8-0. Yesterday, the Cheetahs won 8-0. Kira scored 4 goals and had 2 assists. The Cheetahs played great and Kira was really excited to score some goals and win the game.

Mom & Kate

2008-09-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

Today Rachelle came over and took some pictures of me and Kate. Kate wasn't really cooperating during the photo shoot but we managed to get a few cute ones. Kate will be 6 weeks old on Saturday, she is growing so fast. She stills sleeps a lot during the day and is a really good baby. At night she has been waking up at 3:00 a.m sharp to eat and then goes right back to sleep. I know that could all change but for now we are sure enjoying our good-natured little Kate!

Good luck Gombers!!

2008-09-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Sandy (a.k.a. Gombers) is having a double mastectomy. Hopefully this will be the last step in her battle with breast cancer. We have been amazed at what a positive attitude she has had throughout this whole ordeal. Keep Sandy in your prayers this week. We love you Gombers!

*As you can see Brooks was mildly obsessed with Sandy's hat when she visited us in Washington D.C.

Labor Day 2008 Camping Aguirre Springs, NM

2008-09-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

Justin and I took the "big" kids up to Aguirre Springs, New Mexico to camp in the great outdoors. Aguirre Springs is about 20 minutes outside of Las Cruces so it is only about 1 hour from our house in West El Paso. Aguirre Springs has a couple hiking trails that remind me a lot of the mountains back in Colorado and Utah. One of the hikes is called the Pine Tree Loop, which as its name suggests has big, beautiful groves of pine trees. Oak trees and other trees are found up at Aguirre Springs as well. The campground we found was perfect. It had a rock garden for the kids to play on as well as a stream where the kids found some tadpoles. They also found frogs, lizards, butterflies and of course, some big bugs.

We hiked the pine loop trail for about a mile and enjoyed the beauty of the mountains. The weather was perfect on Sunday afternoon when we arrived at the campsite. The cloud cover was pretty low and the temperature hovered at around 65-70 degrees. Sunday night was a rough one. It rained most of the night and not all the tents were waterproof. Justin had to deal with the kids waking up in the middle of the night since his tent was pitched close to the kids. I was down in the valley by the stream so my challenge was wondering whether or not the stream was going to overflow and carry my tent (and me) down stream.

We survived the night and had a fun day on Monday also, although it got pretty hot on Monday. Kristin, Rachelle and the little kids drove up Monday morning and hung out at the campsite with us. We finished the trip off with another short hike and then we traveled home to El Paso.

1st game of the season!

2008-09-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

Today was Kira's first soccer game of the season. She is playing on the Cheetah's for the second year in a row which is fun for her. Same coaches, same girls. They have a lot of fun together, maybe a little too much fun, because they have yet to win a game. We are hoping for the big win this season. If not, oh well, Kira has a lot of fun playing and she is fun to watch.

2008-09-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, now that I posted a silly picture, and can't figure out how to delete it off my blog, I thought I would explain it.

This is one of our first sit down dinners as a family of 6 (plus my mom who was visiting). Although this picture does not capture the craziness of our dinner experience, just take my word for it-- it was crazy. Blaine and I both ended up holding one of our crying babies while we quickly scarfed down our spaghetti with one hand. Has anyone else noticed that the more kids you have the faster you have to eat? Kira & Blaine were always in need of something, and my mom thought it would be fun to take a picture, I'm glad she did.

For the last several months I have been thinking about creating a blog for our growing family. I feel guilty that I am not better about sending updated pictures of our kids to our out-of-town family(which is almost everyone), and hope they will check in periodically. But more importantly I have realized what a great journal blogging is and hope to be able to remember the "little things" about our family that I would probably otherwise forget.

Testing

2008-09-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

Just testing