Sanchez

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Ethan's Quotable Quotes, Pt.1

Here's the first of an ever growing compilation of quotes from Ethan that we'll be posting. This kid really makes us laugh!
Enjoy...

Sarah: Guys, do you know what one of my favorite things to do in the world is?

Kids: What??

Sarah: Be your mother!!

Elli: My favorite thing is to be your kid!!

Ethan: My favorite thing is to play Frisbee!

Kate doing the Family Home Evening lesson

This video is one of the sweetest, cutest and funniest things we've seen as parents. We are lucky to have caught it on tape (I guess it wasn't that hard since it went on and on for almost 10 min).

So here's the story...

Not too long ago I (Sergio) taught a lesson on the similarities between the temple and our home during a Family Home Evening. Elli and Ethan paid attention (mostly) and answered questions as they usually do. Kate...not so much. She spent her time as usual, walking back and forth between the living room and kitchen -where she goes after the cereal boxes to get a treat- and that is just fine with us since she's so little. We figured that as long as she sees us doing Family Home Evening our mission is accomplished and she'll eventually get the hang of it. Little did we know she was already paying great attention to what was going on! At the end of my lesson she grabbed a marker and went straight up to the board and her part of the "lesson" was captured in the video.

Isn't she sweet? For me, the most amazing part of it all was realizing how much children look up to you as a parent and learn from/imitate your behavior. A testament that the most effective teaching is in fact done by example.

If seeing that video is not enough cuteness for a day, here are some additional pictures of Kate.

How about those cheeks

Kate with her favorite people in the whole wide world!

We love you Kate!!
Thanks for making our home such a happy place to be!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Elli is 6!

I can not believe Elli is six years old! Amazing! She had a fun luau party this year with swimming, slip and slide, and the limbo! It was so fun! This is her with her sand castle cake.

Elli is such a sweet and wonderful little girl. She always tries to do what's right. She is so nurturing to her siblings and other children. She's patient and loves to make others happy. I feel so blessed to be her mother. Happy Birthday, Elli!

Kate is doing the hula!

Our week at the beach!

We had a great time at the beach with Katie and Justin and their family this year. The weather was great and I have never been in warmer water, not even in the Caribbean. It was like bath water! It was so great!

What could be better than the taste of sand?

All right! Lets hit the waves!

Ahhh! What a way to spend the day!

Coldplay Concert

Sergio and I had such a blast last month at the Coldplay Concert at Nissan Pavilion. It was amazing! They are Sergio's favorite band, but I have never been the biggest fan. I'll have to say, after the concert, I am converted. It was amazing. I am definitely ready to go again!

Here's the proof that we were there!

Happy Birthday to Kate!

Kate turned 1 on May 19th and we went for a puppy cake this year because there is nothing she loves in this world more than puppies. Some days it seems that she says "puppy, puppy" all day long. And each cute "puppy" is followed by some pretty cute panting if I say so myself. It was soon after we had her birthday that I realized every animal is actually a puppy to her. So far she has given the name puppy to chipmunks, birds, cats and even turtles. I try to teach her their real names, but she is pretty satisfied with just "puppy".

She loved the cake and I'm just glad didn't throw up after eating so much of it.

"Here Mom, try it!"

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Scripture Power

Two months ago for visiting teaching, the message was about the scriptures. Catalina and I visit teach Jessica and the three of us decided we wanted to have better scripture study. We set some goals and Jessica drew up a funny contract. We all decided we really wanted to wake up in the morning to study the scriptures so we could have the Spirit with us all through the day, so we committed to wake up before our children and study every day for a month. We even signed our names to it. Cheesy...but boy did it work!

The reward: A girls night out. Woo hoo!

Well, our children were there and they wanted in on it, too. So we drew up a contract for them, too. They all decided to wake up and read their scriptures first thing in the morning before school and their reward: Ice cream out with friends. As Elli explained it to Sergio, "It's not a family thing, Dad. Its a FRIEND thing." And what amazing kids...They did it every single day for a month!!! Even Ethan did it. Some days I read to him and some days he just looked at the pictures, but he opened that book up first thing every morning. I am so proud of them.

So right away, after the kids met their goal, they chose to go to Dairy Queen.

And needless to say, us Moms met our goal, too, but we haven't gotten to celebrate yet...ahh, the life of a mom :)

Here are the kids eating their much deserved ice cream!

Our Community Helpers

At the end of homeschool the this year we spent some time learning about Community Helpers. We had so much fun. We went to all kinds of places in our community and met people who work to make it a better place. We went to the fire station, the police station, the bank, the SPCA and pet store, the grocery store, and the kids' favorite...the Brick Oven. At each place the kids asked questions and then made a book at the end. Their favorite highlights....having free reign over the pizza station at the Brick Oven to make their own pizza, seeing the safe deposit boxes at bank (exciting? oh yes), playing with kittens at the SPCA, and meeting officer Bacon and seeing all her cool weapons. Here are some pictures at our final and favorite stop: The Brick Oven.

Outdoor Spring Fun

Springtime brings new life to Copeley. Friends you didn't see as much during the winter you now you get to see almost every single day. Parks and pools and Copeley Creek or just hangin' out around the neighborhood. The only negative--bath day is every day, sometimes twice a day-especially if the kids were playing in the creek. Here are some of the kids after a crazy game of tag.

Goodbye Andrea and the Cannon clan...one of our not-so-fun springtime events.

For any of our Charlottesville friends who have not discovered Riverview Park--it is the best. Just off Meade Ave and THIS is the view. Could it get any more beautiful?! They have a new playground there that is the best I have ever seen for kids who like to climb, there's a picnic table, the river to play or swim in, and the Rivanna trail goes through and takes a loop by the park that is perfect for a good walk for the kids or even a bike ride! There's even a field for kickball or frisbee. Check it out. We love it!

Fun at the Park

Elli Lost her First Tooth

Months ago when Elli found her first wiggly tooth, she was so excited. I'll have to admit, though, I was a little scared. You see, Elli doesn't do well with pain and new life events that involve pain. So far she has fainted four times from these kind of things in the last couple years. It happened when she got her finger pricked to test iron, when she got a bee sting, another time when she had an ear infection and I gave her ear drops, and after she got her kindergarten shots. I was not excited for what would happen when we had to pull teeth out. I remembered from my childhood the pain and anxiety that came with loose teeth and wondered how many times Elli would faint in the next few years with each tooth that fell out.

So happy to report....Elli lost her first tooth and there was no fainting whatsoever. WooHoo!

It simply came out, in her mashed potatoes of all things. Boy, was I relieved. And since then she lost her second with no incident at all!

The Virginia Consort

Back in September, my friend Catalina saw an ad in the paper to audition for Charlottesville's community choir-the Virginia Consort. She needed a ride so I drove her to the audition and on a whim auditioned for the choir myself. And I am so glad I did! We both made it and had so much fun together. It was just a seasonal spot so we only practiced from Dec-March. The final concert was amazing with full orchestra and soloists and everything. It was the hardest music I ever sang-Samuel Barber's Prayers of Kierkegaard was the kicker. At one point it split into 4 choruses with all parts and it was all atonal-crazy...but so cool in the end. It kinda reminded me of high school sometimes because the director yelled at people for not knowing their parts and tested us in small groups, but I guess thats how it goes. Here are some pictures of the final concert.

Me and Catalina

My sweet Elli was so good during the concert! And my mom came down, too!

Thanks mom! It means a lot to me!

This is what we found when we left the concert!

Happy 30th to Me!

Way back in February, I had a wonderful birthday put together by my wonderful husband. We had a dance party at the church along with yummy food and even some guitar hero. Three other girls from the ward celebrated their b-days on the same weekend so we all partied together.

The Birthday Girls!

My whole family came down for the party! You guys are so wonderful!

My sweet husband!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Hangin' Out at Home

Story time at school! Even Kate joins in.

Kate's favorite toy...her own socks!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Greatest Place on Earth!

For years we have been wanting to take the kids to the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg and we finally went! Ethan will tell you that its the best place in the world!! He still asks to go back almost daily and even asks to go in his prayers. For those who haven't gone yet...its a definite must-go for winter time. There's an indoor wave pool, huge waterslides, lazy river, etc etc. We went a few days after Christmas break was over in January so we practicallly had the place to ourselves. It was soooo much fun!