Psalm 139:14

FLL World Festival here we come.

2018-04-14T21:37:00.001-07:00

Jorge and the kids have made it all the way to FLL World Festival. It has been a few late nights but we are almost ready to go. Here is my fave pic of what we have been doing. The Robo Knights are ready.

WINTER SNOW

2014-04-26T13:05:00.003-07:00

I am so behind in the blog but I had started these posts a WHILE back and decided to go ahead and post anyway...

We got lots of winter weather this year and here are my pages about it...

Valentine's Pictures

2014-03-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since I posted on the blog. I did however wanted to stop by and add the pictures of this years Valentine's day. I don't always take pictures of the kids on their birthdays but every year at Valentine's I take pictures and it is incredible how big my kids are getting. They are pretty awesome too and we are starting to have so much fun.

Here are the pictures. They were the first pictures I took with the camera Jorge gave me for valentine's day so they are far from perfect. I am still trying to figure it out but I am loving it!

*BTW Benjamin is doing the the mysterious poses because I have started taking VBS pictures and it will be a spy theme - he is helping me out! :)

Dowtown at Christmas

2014-01-08T21:13:00.000-08:00

While Jorge was on vacation he took us downtown to enjoy the lights and decorations and so I could get some pictures. He must now my heart well because I loved it. It was a perfect time of day also and I loved the pictures I got. Especially those huge pinecones.

Christmas Tree 2013

2013-12-30T12:53:00.000-08:00

I love taking pictures of our Christmas Tree and especially the ornaments that we add each year. This year we got the kids their own tree. I made the tree skirt and after Christmas got them a star (that is why there isn't one on it). They made a ton of Ornaments for it and bought a couple at Kohl's for it.

Along Came Joy

2013-12-29T21:23:00.000-08:00

I know that Christmas is around the corner when practices and the days get crazy because of our church's Christmas Production. It is something pretty spectacular. We are planning a break next year (but we have said that the past 2 years too!) but thought I would show some of our friends and our kids in Along Came Joy.

Christmas 2013

2013-12-29T21:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas at our house. I miss my family so much during this season that my heart aches but God is good and he has allowed our little family to enjoy our time together. So even though I wish I could be with my parents, brothers and nieces and nephews.. I will choose to be joyful for the good times I have with my family here.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2013-12-24T12:54:00.003-08:00

From our house to yours...

Adreana is 10!!!

2013-12-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

How did it happen? How did my daughter hit double digits. She is definitely a great girl and makes us so proud. We can't wait to see what God has in store for her!

I made the owl and love it! Doesn't quite go with the decor but I don't care... maybe our fall stuff. It isn't perfect but neither am I. All the kids did great. They each had their own way of doing things. I can't wait till Adreana wants to go again!

Catching up with October

2013-11-25T21:27:00.000-08:00

This post is basically to catch up with October. I am not even sure October is completely done but getting some of it done is great.

Geography Fair - Belgium

2013-11-24T18:04:00.000-08:00

Last year our church announced we would be partnering with a church in Belgium for mission trips. They even did a big reveal as well as one for the kids. With all the talk about Belgium, we decided it would be the perfect country to study for the fair. Then my mom brought the awesome outfits for the kids so we put it off... but this year picking a country was easy.

Now let me tell you... this was the first year that I played a secondary role on our display. We picked up a couple books at the library and the kids read them. Actually Adreana read them out loud to Ben and I as we traveled in the car. They then decided what information was important enough to use on the display and what they should look for on the web. Truly it was more Adreana because she is older but Ben helped her along. I supervised the web search and then taught them and helped them put together a slide show display and pictures for the display. Then Jorge helped print it. It was so fun to see what they deemed important. (Let me note NONE of the history made it on the display... apparently that was too boring)

They were so very proud of themselves and Adreana kept telling me how much she felt she knew about Belgium. What can I say? My kids are growing up!

Our display had less "things" than ever before so we had to get creative when deciding what to do. The kids kept getting the German and Belgian flag confused so they each colored a flag and we put together the "which flag is from Belgium" poster board. It was funny to see how many kids even though they had just seen the flag on the display still got it wrong. The older kids didn't get it since all they did was look up to see which flag was right. Benjamin still gets them wrong.

Our other big deal this year was the "Aquino Family Waffle Experiment". It wasn't scientific but was fun. Our friends that had gone to Brussels had told us how the Belgian waffles were completely different than the ones we eat here so I was curious and searched the web. In the web they talk about two different recipes and when I told the kids they wanted to try both of them and then see what we should do for the fair... But I messed up on the Liege waffle recipe so we decided to do the Brussel waffle recipe. This was by far the best part of the fair for me. I really need to do a separate post just on this. What I really need to do is do the Liege waffles right and then do another post. We shall see... The waffles were a HIT! We had kids coming to have seconds and some even thirds and we brought 0 waffles home.

The bad thing about the fair was that I forgot the camera so all I have are cell phone pictures but it should do to help us remember.

Past Geography Fairs

2013-11-24T17:48:00.003-08:00

I came to post about this years Geography fair and was trying to reminisce of years past and it became evident that I only posted pictures of last year... so I decided to do a couple pages with past years... So here is 2008 and 2011.

In 2008 we did Honduras. Adreana decided to dress up in her soccer jersey because she loved it! She was in Pre-K and all we really learned about was weather (we were doing seasons in Science) and food. We made horchata as sample and brought a TON home. Jorge had a good time finishing it off. It was the first time we had even heard of the Geography fair and we learned a lot. But mostly we learned not to do it until the kids were older and could help out!

In 2011, we decided we should give the Geography Fair a try again. This time I let the kids choose a country of someone we knew. Benjamin wanted China because of Luis but after I told him he grew up in Panama, he wasn't as interested. There were quite a few countries on the table but the kids chose Aruba. I think because they love Ada and Luis. So after talking to Ada she got us a whole bunch of things and gave me a lesson on all thing Aruba. I learned so much and then went to the web to find pictures for the kid to see. I so want to visit Aruba some day. Sounds like the perfect place to relax. When talking about food, Ada told me that they ate cocadas and since my mom was coming for a visit the day before the fair we decided to have her bring us some. Again not a lot of fans of the cocadas except a friend from Mexico that took a bunch home. But we were able to share some with Ada and I enjoyed the left overs. The best part of this Geography Fair
was having my mom be able to experience school with us.

And if you are interested in our Geography fair for 2012: Go here! and for 2013: Go here

Halloween 2013

2013-11-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

The kids choices for costumes this year... An owl (handmade by me :)!) and a Ninja...

Baby shower - Jaclyn

2013-10-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

You guys already know that I think Mireida throws the best showers ever! Well this time she let me play along with her. I basically crafted what she needed for it since she works and I like to craft. I am so glad she let me help because I had so much fun.

The hanging balls are truly my favorite. They are made from dyed coffee filter (which I dried and ironed - yes I went there) and I loved how they turned out. I have been asking Jorge where I could hang some in the house but he isn't going for it :)!

Head on over to Jaclyn's blog if you want to see more pictures and better details of it all. Mireida as usual out did herself.

Pick your own pumpkin

2013-10-13T19:02:00.003-07:00

Just one layout for this. It is self explanatory. You know I love pumpkins and I love pumpkin patches so a patch where I go to hunt for my own was PERFECT. The only problem is I kept looking for the perfect squash and pumpkin and then I could never find the next to perfect one I had just left behind. Who knew finding pumpkins was so hard! If you want to know where it is... send me an email. :)!

The last Piñata

2013-10-13T17:28:00.001-07:00

We didn't have Ben's party until late September although his birthday is in early August. We had fun anyway and I hope he felt he was celebrated. This was the last piñata at our house. It makes me a bit sad but it is time. The boys had to have blindfolds and we had to be careful to let them all get a turn. They are definitely getting too big for piñatas. My babies grew up and so did their friends.

We had a Laser Quest party and a couple of dads joined us. There was only 1 other family at laser quest when we went so it turned out to almost be a private party which made it so fun. Dave was the big winner on our first game and Bill in the 2nd one. These men were taking no prisoners!

We came home to do cake and food and the piñata.

Please take notice of the gun on the piñata. A did that all on her own. (Dave helped.)

This was my favorite part when we kicked them out of the house to play outside. It was a beautiful day. Ben would run into the house to try and make that rocket go higher. Not sure it worked but he sure smiled and laughed. It was a good last piñata.

Back 2 School

2013-09-01T17:29:00.001-07:00

I finally took some pictures of the kids this new year. We started school up 2 weeks ago right after my mom left. It was easier to not miss her so much if we were busy. We are liking our new curriculum (My Father's World) and are as always enjoying each others company.

This year the kids are also in a co-op where I just drop off.. No classes for me. 3 hours of alone time. They had their first session this past week and I had a Dr. appointment so I really didn't get to enjoy all the free time. The best thing was getting them back. B was definitely clinging to me so I told him that being away from me must be good since we spend so much time together and my sweet boy said time with mom is always better. On days like this God reminds me that homeschooling was what was best for us!

4th of July

2013-07-08T12:23:00.001-07:00

4th of July is one of those holidays that have taken me a while to appreciate but once our little family started building traditions, I sure enjoy it so much more. This year we skipped on the tradition of the balloon fight because the kids had had one recently, just the two of them and Jorge and I were also not up to filling balloons. Our plans were also subject to change so we wanted to keep life simple. We did however do the parade again and A rode a float once more. We cooked a special burger dinner and got ready for fireworks light up bracelets and all.

AHGs float ended up being the 2nd float of the parade! Yeah because we didn't have to be there long but oh no because we had to be there early. It was a great parade small town parade, with my boy loving the OKC Starwars club the best. Ada and Luis got to join us which made it even better. If you have been reading the news you heard about the boy that got run over by a trailer after he fell or jumped off the float he was riding. That is at the back of my mind as I make this post. Please pray for that sweet family. Some good friends of our knew him and I know that his family is being loved on by church family but I can't even imagine what that is like for his family. He was Ben's age.

I think these pics need an explanation. I didn't feel like taking a tripod. This year we were thinking we would have to walk so I knew I didn't want to lug it around. For a couple of years, in fact, I haven't wanted to mess with the tripod so I have been "experimenting" to no avail so this year I decided to go firework bokeh style! I love it!!! Not your typical fireworks and some were a bit blurry but some turned out just like I wanted.

Easter 2013

2013-04-04T12:29:00.002-07:00

This is a long one. I started making my one or two layouts with our pictures and information and quickly realized I hadn't really blogged or written down our Easter traditions so I decided to take more time and show more of our Easter. We don't always do the same things but one thing we do is celebrate that Jesus was not at the tomb. HE IS RISEN! We finished the night watching The Bible miniseries and also had time for a nap. What a great day! - all I was really missing was a sunrise service! Maybe next year...

Naturally dyeing Easter Eggs

2013-03-27T14:46:00.001-07:00

Adreana and I went searching on pinterest for what we wanted to do this year with our Easter eggs. There were many wonderful ideas but the ones that caught our eyes was: Dyeing eggs with Natural products. So after reading MANY blogs and Martha stewart we set on our own experiment! It was sooo much fun that even though the blog world really doesn't need another post I just couldn't help sharing our experience!

Oh and Adreana has a great little book club that has been reading the Kirsten American Girl books that are set in the 1800s. We have also been studying early American History so this was even more interesting because it would give us an idea of what they had to do for pretty colors.

My first thing was I didn't want to spend money so I wanted us to use what we had on hand. With that in mind we used a lot of things that weren't in the lists of egg dyeing but were in the fabric dyeing lists when we researched for history and some that were in our pantry and fridge so they worked.

Here is what we used:

*Curry powder

*Yellow Onion skins

*Pomegranate (skin and seeds)

*Beets

*Avocado (skin and seed)

*Paprika

*Achiote and azafran flowers

*Cinnamon Sticks

*Chamomile

How we prepared the "baths":

Following instructions we found online we brewed the onion skins, pomegranates, beets and avocado for 30 minutes. The rest we boiled water and brewed then like you would a tea. We added vinegar to all of them because it was suggested to help the dye set.

We added some eggs while the brews where boiling and then some after we had strained them. Some like the avocado I chose not to strain at all. Some eggs we left in the mixture for 30 min like most blogs suggested and some we decided to leave over night like Martha Stewart suggested. This year it was all about experimenting and history. For next time we are pretty sure we will be using graphs and more math and science.

Our results:

The length of time really did make a difference for most of them. Also as was obvious the straining made a huge difference. I think we didn't boil the beets long enough because the color is nothing what was to be expected.

My favorite the avocado. I am pretty sure there was some sort of reaction because the color is not what one would think off. Adreana's favorite was the curry. I haven't checked the bottle but I suspect food coloring. It was way bright!

From left to right"

Top: Pomegranate - Onion Skins - achiote/azafran - beet - avocado - cinnamon

Middle: The second line is the same except with different times in the dye.

Bottom: chamomile - onion skin (least amount of time) - Paprika - curry - avocado - curry

I don't think the paprika was noticeable and probably won't use it again. The avocado is purple and although the first beat was kind of rosy the beet we left in all night was brown. The cinnamon that was in all night is a real pretty color.

After we had started doing our eggs I wondered if the results would be the same as with fabric so Adreana and I decided to give it a try.

I wish the picture was better. It doesn't do justice to the small differences in color of the cinnamon, chamomile and paprika. They are like a tea color but in different tones. This sure was fun and for now it is serving as a garland in our fireplace. I really need to figure out what to do with these swatches.

Left to right:

Top - chamomile, paprika, cinnamon, no dye

Bottom: curry, onion skin, achiote and pomegranate (this one is my favorite)

Easter dresses

2013-03-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

Our family is in the middle of a dispute over Easter dresses. Jorge wants one that she has in her closet the he picked out last year. Adreana wants one she picked out while Abuelo Leon was here and I want one I found at Target. I lost. Mine is to be returned at Target soon, but I just had to take pictures of her with it. I am pretty sure Jorge will lose too but he can be more convincing than I am, and I actually also like the dress he picked. Jorge and Adreana both hated mine.

When I asked her to put it on for the pictures. She began pouting so we took her pick for pictures also. We still have to take pictures of Jorge's pick but it is soon to come.

You can see more of my photoshoot in my photography blog.

I am still editing more from this shoot. She picked what we would take and lots of her poses. We sure had fun.

Adreana made a layout!

2013-03-17T18:49:00.001-07:00

I could have put it in the layout blog but she wanted you all to see it so we decided this was a better place for it :)!

Credits all from digital scrapbook place
Just for Journaling element and Beyond the birds by Lauren Bavin
Who's who in the Zoo by Meryl Bartho
All Boy Mega Kit by DSP designers

Love letter?

2013-03-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to say except that he is cute! Actually I was pretty surprised when we saw the note he brought home. He didn't think much of it and I won't make a big deal about it either... but I couldn't resist adding this to my blog.

The conversation had nothing to do with the note. We had it about a month ago but I decided this page would be the perfect place to write it down. It all started while we were watching Lion King and at the end it is all lovey dovey. I asked them what they wanted in their future spouse. I was expecting something funny but instead Adreana looked apalled at the thought and Benjamin told me he hadn't ever thought about it. I thought the conversation was over... to my surprise at breakfast about a week after that he gave me a very precise list of what he was looking for in his wife. You could tell he had thought about it. He gave me about 2 more reasons that I didn't jot down so I forgot. I love his reasons. The second part of the conversation happened a few days after that. We were all trying so hard not to laugh. I hope he doesn't change his mind. I pray for this wife of his often so I know God has someone special just for him...:)

Oh and before I forget I thought we should compare the list with my brothers list at around 12: 1.Blonde, 2. knows how to make chocolate cake and pancakes... So glad he did change his mind about the blonde and picked a kind and loving dark haired beauty! She is an excellent cook though, so I am sure he is getting a few pancakes and maybe some cake.

Powder Puff Derby

2013-03-16T19:43:00.001-07:00

A's cars for this year. Benjamin decided he didn't want to enter a car in the open category this year so Adreana asked that the extra car be made to look like a popsicle. I really wanted to glitter it up but she is against. She did tell me recently I can so be on the look out for a sparkly popsicle!

The Iphone 9 was Jorge's and A's idea. J decided to see if he could make it play music and he did by adding a shuffle ipod to the back and attaching it to some speakers. No it didn't make sound while it was speeding away but it sure was cool to look at. Adreana picked all the apps herself and she even came up with an AHG one. They won most imaginative design and 2nd place in her division. Very fun!

Daddy Daughter Dance 2013

2013-03-12T12:24:00.000-07:00