Ricardo's new ride

Ricardo bought both of us new cars recently and he took his straight to the sign guy to have the karate school info put on it. I have to say, it looks really great! 

Alexander's First Belt Test

Yesterday was Alexander's first belt test for his yellow belt. He is one of the youngest kids at the karate school and is doing a great job and he really loves karate...just like his dad! Ricardo was so excited that he was able to pass him yesterday and can see him progressing in the sport. I have to remind myself he's only 4 and not to push him too hard but knowing how awesome Ricardo is at karate, it's hard to settle for mediocre performances. I'm so excited about October when he gets to compete for the first time!

And I quote, "I don't know why people complain about this...it's actually fun"! So, for the past 6.5 years I've heard this guy refuse to mow. All of the sudden Sunday he's Mr. Green Thumbs! Really?

Memorial Day 2013

We spent the entire weekend enjoying time with friends and family! I have to say that's my favorite thing to do...even when our house was much smaller. I love having company and hanging out and enjoying a great conversation, a good laugh, and a cold beer. This weekend I got to do all of those and some things around the house. The really fun part though was our party on Saturday. At last count we had 47 people at our house. Yes 47! We had kids running everywhere, screaming, having fun, and allowing their parents to sit and enjoy themselves. I think I saw Alexander 2 times the whole day. They ran around the pond, pretended zombies were chasing them, climbed the play set, played badmitton, and ate a ton of hot dogs! Alexander even got a great surprise visitor...his friend Ava from school. Her and their family came and enjoyed some food and corn hole which was great. I did not take all the pictures I should have because I was having so much fun hanging out and enjoying a great day!

House in full bloom

I took some pictures of the very back of our property. I'm so thankful for what we've been blessed with. Alexander (and MeMe) are certainly enjoying it. 

Alexander's last day of school

Today was Alexander's last day of school for this year and the last time he'll attend at the Y. We've decided to put him in a Christian School for his last year of preschool. Thankfully the kids in his class will all be 5 before November 1st so they're all the same age. This year, he was the youngest in his class which we preferred so he could gain maturity and learn a lot. We didn't want him to the be the oldest in his class and get bored. He was the youngest and yet the most improved per his last report card. We're very excited about his progress and are looking forward to what he'll learn next year both scholastically and spritually. Last but not least, today was the last day he'll see his friend Ava all the time. We're hoping we can meet up with them and let them hang out sometimes because they really bonded through the year. 

Alexander's gift to Ava

Alexander's best friend at school is Ava. Surprisingly Ava is a brunette but not so surprising is that she is older...all of 5 months. Today his dad helped him with a card and a cute little birthday gift special just for her. My Latino is fast at work always! His dad is so proud!

Dinner Prayers

We try very hard to make an effort to pray before meals even though we don't always succeed. The other night I asked Alexander if he wanted to pray for us and he said ok. So he bowed his little head, put his hands together and said...

"Dear Heavenly Father...I hope you had a good time in church, I hope my mom is good at work. We love you! AMEN!"

As funny as it was, I had tears in my eyes that he ended his prayer with "we love you". I'm so glad he's learning to love Jesus and that we're trying to set that example for him. Like I said we may not always succeed but God knows we're trying! :)

Congrats Mom!

Saturday we celebrated my mom's successful graduation from Ivy Tech. It was a great day with the fam hanging out and enjoying mom's acomplishment. Grandma and Grandpa stayed with us over the weekend which was so fun. Now that we have the room, it was great to have them and not be crowded and have to see them leave to go to a hotel. We all got to ride in my new car which turned out to also be my Mother's Day gift. Can't complain about that for sure, huh! That was also great because all 6 of us fit. Bonus! So we hung out at graduation and had fun messing around and laughing during the ceremony that was 3 hours long. Thankfully my awesome kid was a trooper the whole time and was able to sit on Aunt Meme's lap and get lots of attention from everyone. We couldn't have asked for a better kid! We headed to dinner afterwards and enjoyed a nice relaxing meal with the family and watched mom open her gifts...one of which was a bedazzled gymnastics trophy from Mel and Krystal. Seriously, that was the funniest gift ever! It said Ivy Tech on one side and I'm smart on the other. HA! And, we got to give her the ring we all got her for graduation and Mother's day which she loved. It was great to celebrate my mom in a different setting then just being a good mom and grandma!

Front of house...

I was able to take a few pics of our landscaping and the entrance to our addition today. 

Movin In

We've taken truck loads everyday of random items from our house. Of course we've cleaned, had painters there, cable guys, appliance deliveries, our friends helping with tv installs, yard work....and we've put things away. I'm ready for tomorrow to just be done! We've been very blessed by our neighbors already. They let us use their yard sweeper because the a-holes that sold the house left it super long. We had to mow it twice in 3 days and rake/sweep the yard! It was ridiculous!! Here's the before and after of the yard.

New House

Tonight, we got to hang out at our new house. Alexander got the privilege of opening the front door for the first time. Him and his friends had an awesome time playing in the yard. So blessed to have such an awesome house. God has provided for us for sure!

Getting settled

We've spent the past week getting our house in some sort of working order. Here are some pics of the progress! I forgot to take a pic of the downstairs bathroom. It's totally done. As you can see we're still hanging art work and putting thins away but at least we're getting there!