Antonio, Jennifer, Alexia & Savanna Neyra

some summer pics

2011-08-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

This summer has flown by!! We have had a lot of fun and have gone swimming a ton (as you can see by the pics). I am soooo ready for the heat to go away! I am not a fan, although I hate snow even more! Anyway...here are some pics from the summer. We have a ton more, but I need to find them.

Here is Alexia jumping the waves at Seven Peaks. Evidently I had some water on the lens and didn't notice...oops.

Alexia and Savanna in the wave pool..

These two are kind of weird, but I love them dearly. :)

Here are the kids playing at the playground in Jackson on our second trip there this summer. They love to go play, but I wont take them because I don't want any animals to get me during the walk. AND....a couple of years ago when we were there a baby moose and her mom were outside of the condo eating the trees. I mean we are talking 15 feet from us! It was cute, but scary.....anyway my point is that I make Antonio take them to the playground. :)

Here they are walking back to the ol' condo.

While we were waiting for our food at Bubba's the waitress brought us out warm chocolate chip cookies. Savanna is not known for her clean eating habits as you can tell by this picture.

Antonio and Alexia going on the alpine slide. What we really needed was a picture of is me trying to calm Savanna as she was crying the whole time for Antonio and throwing herself onto the ground. I think people thought I was trying to kidnap her because she didn't want anything to do with me. I keep reminding that I gave birth to her and gained 70 pounds while pregnant with her (yes it's true!!!!) and my body will never be the same, but she doesn't seem to care. Rude!!

Alexia liked her new found freedom from her floaties. She went all over the pool with them. We REALLY need to get her into swimming lessons.

Antonio was trying to show Alexia that it wasn't scary going under water with the goggles so he told me to take a picture of him so we could show her. After I saw it I was like nice picture of you flipping me off. He swears he didn't mean to do it, but you never can be too sure. haha ALSO....poor Savanna got dunked as he went under water trying to show them it wasn't scary. He didn't believe me until I showed him the picture.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this little girl. She is so fun and happy! She says the funniest things. She just barely turned two and she talks full sentences. It's crazy! I'm so glad that I made Antonio have another child sooner than he wanted. Women always know best!!! ha

After swimming and a bath, Antonio was blow drying their hair and Savanna fell asleep on the bathroom floor.

She is obsessed with taking pictures. Here is one that we took of her a week or so ago. I'm not sure what she is doing with her face, but it's kinda cute.

I'm fixed!!!

2011-08-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

Thursday was the big day....I had the hole in my heart repaired. Originally I wasn't even going to go to the doctor until next week, but one day I lost my eye sight in my left eye and my left arm kept going numb and so they got me in early. I feel surprisingly good. I got a little scared once I got to the hospital, but I was trying not to think about what they were going to do and tried to trick myself into thinking I was just going to take a nap. Anyway... they had to use a 30mm helix to repair the hole which is BIG. The Dr. said that he has hardly ever used that size and especially not in a woman. I think he had to use such a big one because on top of my hole I also had atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) which I don't completely understand. I think it is the membrane that separates the left and right upper chambers of the heart and mine isn't closed, but flapping. The procedure wasn't too bad. I'm not in too much pain and I even turned down a loritab!! ha!! Anyway....I should be up and running (literally...I hope) in about 4 weeks. I am even planning to do a half marathon in November in St. George so I better be better. :)

pics...I hate thinking of titles so I'm not going to!

2011-07-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

I have no idea why I can't type by the pictures, but I don't want to figure it out so I will just write here. Above is a picture of my Daddy. I think it is such a cute picture of him. He looks so happy. He was talking to my Uncle Basil. They are buds. The bottom picture is of me rolling down the hill in his back yard. When I was younger I used to love to go to his house and roll down the hill. It seemed like such a huge hill when I was little, but it really isn't as big as I remembered. I also don't remember getting so dizzy when I was younger. :) I guess old age is kicking my butt. It was so fun though. My uncle and dad thought I was a little weird.

Anniversary, Swimming and update

2011-07-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to me!... oh and Antonio. We have made it 14 years!! I think....just a second....yup 14 years! It has been so long that I have to subtract the years. Crazy! I will admit that I didn't want to do anything because I am a party pooper. Antonio bought me some new running shoes. I think it was a hint that I needed to get running again. I got the new Brooks Ghost 4. They are cute! They didn't fit so he talked me into exchanging them and then tricked me into going to dinner. I didn't want to, but I'm glad that he forced me to. We went to Carrabas which is my favorite!!! A normal person wouldn't bring their kids on their Anniversary date, but we waited so long to have kids that we actually like being around them. GASP! It was fun. Afterwards I tricked Antonio into going to the mall....fair is fair! The girls got some ice cream and I shopped a little....ok a lot. hahaha I love to shop and I'm not afraid to shout it from the rooftops! The swimming pictures are from another day. We all love to go swimming (well I just love to lay out, but swimming is fun too, I guess). I would put up more pictures, but Antonio has them in some weird format so he can edit them and I can't figure out how to use them.

OK now for all of you who care...I officially have a diagnosis!! I will spare you the whole story because it is loooonnnggggg, but the diagnosis is that I have a hole in my heart. Yes....a hole. Evidently everyone is born with a hole in their heart, but when you breathe oxygen it is supposed to close, but mine didn't. The Dr. said it is pretty common (about 25% of people) Some people go a lifetime and never find out about it. Others (like me) start to have symptoms and find out later in life (but not too late because I am still young...you hear me? I'm still young! :)) I have an appointment with my cardiologist in August to do further testing to see how big it is and to make an appointment for surgery. I couldn't get in until mid August because I am going to Jackson again the first week of August! I know I just got back, but my dad bought another condo there so I am going. Who can resist? not me! Anyhoo....My doctor has told me not to run until I meet with the cardiologist because I have had 2 TIA's. Yikes! He knows I am concerned about gaining weight, but he told me that I can just buy a corset if I gain weight. Yes, he really said that! He was joking, but I thought it was funny. He said that my sparkly toes and shoes were cute. He also asked me if I was always so talkative and "fast paced". I was like "what? I actually am low key today because I have had a migraine." I think he thinks I'm psycho...just like the last doctor. I'm just nice! and friendly! and cute! and .....ok a little psycho!! So...I know I shouldn't be happy that they found a hole in my heart and I'm not, but I'm just relieved that they actually found something wrong with me and now I can get fixed! I have been saying for years that something was wrong. I am not imagining it. All right that's enough for tonight....bye!

A health update.... sorry, but people have been asking me about it....

2011-06-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

So....I was innocently sitting in the condo in Jackson when my phone rang. I looked at the number and I realized that it looked like my doctor's office phone number. That's weird (I thought) and I answered it and it was them! The nurse said that she had my results from my blood work....blood work? I thought that it was done and that I don't have a blood clot. Hmmm..... the next thing I hear is "blah blah blah....blah blah blah.....so as soon as you can we need you to come in to see what is causing this.". What??? Whoa, whoa, whoa, usually when the nurse calls with my lab results they say "it all came back normal". I had her repeat the information. She said that I have too much calcium in my blood and that is not normal and so they need to do more tests to see what is causing it. Ok...I told her I would come in when I got home. Of course I immediately go to the computer and google this. The most common reason is hyperparathyroid. Thyroid? That's weird. I look at the symptoms...."Loss of energy"....hello....I have two small kids that run me ragged. "Feel old"...yes that is actually a symptom! uh yeah because I AM getting old. "Headaches" Yes, but I just had an MRI that showed that I have a spot on my brain consistent with migraines. "Spouse claims that you are more irritable and harder to get along with" ....hahaha....I don't think Antonio would dare answer this one. :) Anyway my point is that anyone could have these "symptoms". OK....what else could this be? I scroll down and see cancer. Of course I always think I have cancer because of all of the cancer in my family. My dad has lost 3 brothers, a sister to cancer and he has had it himself. On my mom's side there is my mom who died of cancer, my cousin, my grandma (she didn't die from it though)....my odds are not good. Then I read the #1 type of cancer that can be associated with high blood calcium is: Multiple Myeloma. My heart sinks...that is the cancer that my mommy died from. I know that the probability of me having this is very low, but I'm still scared. I gave more blood and I should know the results tomorrow. I'm pretty certain that it is not cancer, but it is still in the back of my mind. I just want whatever it is to be fixed so I can start running again. I keep seeing people out running and I get angry because that should be me. Ohhhh I don't think I ever told you how the ol' inhaler works. Well...I finally went running in Jackson where it is higher altitude and I didn't get that "sports bra being too tight" feeling, but I only went 3 miles. I promised the family that I wouldn't go more than that because they think I'm going to kill over or something. It was a little harder to breathe, but I think it was just the altitude. Yesterday I decided to give it another go and about 1 1/2 minutes into it I started to see black spots and feel very dizzy. I thought I would just run through it and it would stop.....wrong! I managed to go 1.50 miles ...I had to stop at the even number. I actually had to grab a hold of the hand rail a couple of times because I thought I might pass out. I checked my heart rate....48. That is pretty low especially when you have been running 15 minutes. I don't know what to think. I guess I'll just wait to see what the doctor finds out from my tests. I'll keep you posted!!

A few pictures ... finally...

2011-06-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

This was on Mother's Day. I got the Brazilian Butt Lift DVD. Before you get all mad at Antonio for being so rude....I asked for it. I have been meaning to buy it for a while now and I just didn't get around to it. I'm excited! I will have a tight rear in no time.....especially since I can't run until I find out what the heck is wrong with me.

Alexia graduated from preschool. She didn't want to wear the cap and gown and would not take off her coat. She is quite a character. She wouldn't sing and when they called her name to get her diploma she stood up and let out the biggest sigh I have ever heard. She did tell everyone that she wanted to be a "great artist" when she grew up. I was surprised she even talked.

She doesn't like crowds. She gets very shy.

I was watching the graduation and asked Antonio where Savanna was and he didn't know so I knew immediately that she had found the cupcakes in the next room. I ran over there and I was right. She had frosting all over her hands. She is such a little stinker.

Antonio was making fun of me because I look more excited than the kids do. This was at Thanksgiving Point at the Lamb and Wool Festival. I had never seen a sheep sheared before.....come on. It was kinda cool.

Alexia informed us that she was going to have an art show. Antonio and I went to her room and she said "Welcome to my art show" and we smiled....then she said "you can clap now". It was cute. She originally had all of her art covered in a blanket and then she pulled the blanket off for the big reveal. She really does draw very well. All of her teachers comment all of the time how good she is. She doesn't get it from me that's for sure.

She LOVES to ride ponies. Savanna wouldn't even sit on one.

a little snag in my plans

2011-06-07T21:46:00.000-07:00

OK...first off I have been trying to post pictures and stuff for a couple of weeks now, but I cannot get it to look right. My settings have changed on this blog....so all 5 of you will have to wait a little while longer especially since I am out of town for the week. So...on to the "snag" in my plans... I have some bad news.....I cannot run the AF Canyon half marathon. :(:(:( "Why?" you ask. Well I have been having some chest pain. I first noticed it on a little 5 mile run when I started to breath heavily. I thought that was weird. I couldn't catch my breath. It felt like I had a really tight sports bra on. I don't know how else to describe it. Sorry for the visual. :) I ran about a half mile more and I had to stop and I was kind of having a asthma attack. I don't know what that actually feels like, but it was what I imagine one would be like. I had been sick a few days before that so i figured I just wasn't 100% better. Anyway.....it happened the next time at mile 4....then the next time at mile 3......and then mile 2.49!! Crazy! It's getting worse. I actually got scared and got off of the treadmill at 3.23 miles which I don't do because it isn't an "even" number. My heart rate was 39! 39!!! I have a low heart rate anyway, but it is usually 55 - 62ish. 39 is practially dead. My blood pressure was low too. I was actually scared that I was going to die. I went to the doctor and he did an ekg, x-ray and some blood tests to see if I had a blood clot. All of the tests came back normal. He said that some "elite athletes" (his words...not mine) have a very low heart rate. I told him I would hardly call myself an elite athlete and he said that the fact that I said "I was only on mile 5 and I couldn't breath" tells him that I am. I have him fooled,. Can I tell you how much I love him for saying that? He is my new best friend. I wonder if he is on facebook. haha. Anyway....he said that he thinks I have exercise induced asthma. He gave me an inhaler to try. I haven't tried it yet because I am in Jackson and it is already harder to breath up here. I have a whole bunch of excuses, but mostly I am scared to run again. It has almost been a week. I hope I don't die....if I do...this may be my last post. OK, OK, I'm not going to die. If this inhaler doesn't work I have to go back and do a stress test on a treadmill while hooked up to some machines and also visit a cardiologist. I hope that this inhaler works. I will try it out tomorrow (I have been saying that for days now) I'll let you know and I promise to post pics because let's be honest....it's the only reason you all even come to my blog. You probably aren't even reading this....RUDE! j/k

Am I Crazy????

2011-05-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

www.afcanyonhalfmarathon.com

I think I am crazy! I have been very annoyed lately because I haven't been exercising like I should and it wasn't a priority for me or my family (ahem...Antonio) to get my running in. I don't know why because they should see that I am in a lot better mood when I get my run in. I can't believe that I have turned into one of those people who love to run! It all started on my 34th birthday...(holy crap I'm OLD!!) Anyway the only thing I wanted to do was sleep in and go for a long run.....well not long...just 6 miles. That's all I wanted to do and I didn't get to do it. I was not happy. The next week came and went and I hadn't been able to get very many runs in. I need this for my sanity, people!!! I had a mini nervous breakdown one weekend and my dad asked me if I wanted to go for a ride to my brother's house and while driving I saw a sign that said 6.25.11 American Fork Canyon Half Marathon. I told my dad that I should sign up for it so that I could at least get my exercise in. I got home and googled it and found out that it was to support cancer!! It was a sign from above. I had to do this race. For a moment I wanted to be a slacker and just do the 5k, but I knew that I didn't need to train for that and it wouldn't help me towards my goal so I decided to do another half marathon. It is pretty much down hill so MAYBE I can get my time under 2 hours. I really don't want to put pressure on myself, but I can't help it. :) All of the proceeds go to help families that cannot afford treatment. I know first hand how much that can be. My dad paid a TON of money each year.....more than most people make in one year salary for my mom's medication. I can't imagine how sad it would have been to watch my mom die and know that she might have been able to live longer if we could been able to afford treatment. Sad. So...my mission is to get all of my family to run this race (at least the 5k) in memory of my mommy. My dad is even going to do it. He is 71!!! He works out though so he will be fine! Me and my brother are going to do the half marathon and everyone else is going to do the 5k. I am kind of nervous because my brother volunteered me to fill in if anyone drops out of the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay the weekend before so hopefully all of his team runs it because I don't know if my feet will be better by the next week to do a half marathon. My brother is doing Ragnar AND the half marathon and I think he is crazy!! My toenails better not fall off or I will cry! Last week after every run my toes were bleeding because my toenail kept digging into my skin even after I cut them way short. I told my dad that I might be too vain to run because I don't want my toes to be ugly. :) I think I need new shoes. Actually I KNOW I need new shoes. I will get some tomorrow. My running shoes are a year old so it is definitely time! Wish me luck and let me know if you want to do it with me!!! There is still time to train!

Happy Easter

2011-04-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

All of the kids with their loot and candy from the Easter egg hunt my sister did.

I made these with my own two hands! I'm turning into quite the domestic goddess! haha....don't look too closely, I was running out of frosting and I didn't want to make any more so I skimped on the top. These take FOREVER!!! but they are so worth it. I gained 2 pound over Easter and I blame these little bad boys!!

What is it with kids and bubbles?

Savanna is quite pleased with her bubble that she thinks she made.

After church Antonio wanted to take a picture because we can NEVER get Alexia to wear actual clothes let alone a dress. I can't believe she isn't crying because usually when we get home she says "mom, I'm tired"....that is usually the cue for me to say "yes, you can wear pajamas". My trick to avoid the meltdown was that I didn't let her go into the house until we had our picture. hahaha....I'm a sneaky snake!! Hope everyone had a good Easter.

Las Vegas

2011-04-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

Trevor didn't want to carry Sheri for the picture so I took matters into my own hands.
We went on a trip to Las Vegas with our good friends Sheri and Trevor. It was soooo much fun. We didn't take the kids and I missed them a ton, but I'm glad that we went alone. Have you ever seen a little gem of a show called "Pawn Stars"? It is such a good show. We went to see the pawn shop and here we are.
The whole inside was so crowded. The girl that worked there said that it actually wasn't busy at all. She said that they usually have a line wrapped around the building. It was probably because we were there on a Monday morning. We didn't see any of the stars that are on the show. :(
So.....these are out of order. I'm not very computer/blog savvy so sorry. You will have to go through our trip backwards...I guess. This was the last night there. It was late and we were eating dinner. We were all so tired.
Trevor, bless his soul, wanted to go on all of the rides at the Stratosphere. I was going to maybe go on some, but once I got there I decided not to. It was soooo high and scary. I felt like the whole thing was moving. Does it? I swear it was swaying in the wind. Here is Trevor on one of the rides. I think he looks a little scared....don't you? He said it was a little scary, but not really. Yeah right. Have you seen that thing???
I finally found some comfort behind the bars. I'm telling you....it's scary. Have I mentioned that? I was looking at the lights of Las Vegas. It was pretty from up there, but SCARY!!
That was as close to the fence as I was getting. Here is the gang on top of the Stratosphere.
Antonio and me inside Caesars Palace. We love to go to Vegas.
I believe this was inside of Paris.
New York New York
This was us driving down to Vegas....yes I drove. That is the farthest that I will drive. I hate riding in a car.
Sheri and Trevor got married at Treasure Island so we went back there to recreate their wedding...except Antonio tried to steal a kiss from Sheri after our fake ceremony.
This one is my favorite (I didn't post all of them because there were a lot)...look at Antonio's face!
inside the Venetian. We were going to go on a gondola ride, but the boys pooped out. I told Sheri that we should just go, but we never did.
Antonio jumping.....it took me by surprise.
Waiting for the water show at the Bellagio

Antonio had his wide angled lens on so that is why we look like giants. He wanted to make sure the ceiling was in the picture. We look distorted...I know.
me and my Snug Bug

Thanks Babe....for a great weekend.

This is where our next (and hopefully last) home will be

2011-04-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

Here is the lot that we bought to build our house on. Look at our view! I'm super excited to have our house built. I will keep you posted with progress of the house.

We put our house on the market and had four offers on it. I couldn't believe it. It was even priced higher than all of the houses in the neighborhood (except one). Anyway our house sold quickly and we didn't have a house so we moved in with good, ol' dad. He says he likes having us here because it was too quiet. I wonder if he is still liking or the noise or if he wants some quiet back...hmmmm. We love living here. There is a full apartment in the basement, but we hang out mostly upstairs.

a bunch of pictures

2011-04-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

Alexia on her 4th birthday. Antonio made her cake. It took him a loooong time and my kitchen was a mess, but Alexia loved her "Blue Mickey Mouse cake"
This girl is the funniest girl. She always does the cutest things. She talks so much. People are surprised when they hear she isn't even two yet.
flying kites...by the way...Savanna put her little outfit together....not me. :)
Alexia's first time camping. They went to Yellowstone. I stayed home because I'm not much of a camper. I'm more of a mall type of a girl.
Every year we make a home made slip and slide....total red neck I know,but it is so fun. Savanna loved it.
Our yard was kind of steep and I also put some soap on me so I was going pretty fast....evidently I was a little scared. :)
Savanna would swing for hours.
No matter how many times we have been to Jackson, we still have to get a picture with the horns.
Me and Savanna on some hike to some waterfall or something.
I didn't realize it was going to be a steep hike. Alexia had on crocs and I had on some fancy sandals. Oh well....we made it.
My sweetheart
Alexia's first alpine slide ride. I thought she would freak out, but she loved it.
I made Uncle Terry take her. heehee
This was on the 24th of July (I think). We had been to Raging Waters all day and then to some friends house for a BBQ and fireworks.
Don't we all look tired?
Savanna is eyeing whatever Alexia is eating....typical.
me and Sheri at the Eclipse premiere. I miss all my friends since I moved, but we are going to Vegas this weekend and I am super excited!!!!! oh....and did I mention that I will be going with NO kids? Whoo-Hoo!! although I will probably be saying Boo-Hoo after a few hours because I will miss them! Good thing Antonio is coming with me.
me and old next door neighbor, Nikki....she got married and moved away and I don't get to see her very much. I miss her!! Come back to me!!!!
Ember and me.... I don't see her very much at all anymore. She is too busy with her kids and foster kid. I miss her. We are supposed to go to a movie soon, but who knows.
Alexia miniature golfing in Jackson. We go every year while we are there. She had fun and was pretty good.

Canyonlands Half Marathon Take Two

2011-04-02T15:21:00.001-07:00

As many of you know....I got talked into doing another half marathon. I was dead set against it, but my brother, Terry, is a smooth talker. I'm actually really happy I did it because I found my love of running again. I was very nervous that I wasn't going to beat my time because we moved about a month before the race (I'll explain at a later time). It was very stressful and I didn't run at all for two weeks. Luckily I didn't have any problems getting back into my training.

Last year I didn't have any pictures because Antonio didn't come, but this year he came AND I brought my phone so I could take pictures. :)
Here I am at the start of the race. This was just minutes before it started. I was excited to get started. I just wanted to enjoy the run this time (unlike last time). I decided to start up in the 8 minute mile group. I don't run 8 minute miles hardly ever, but last year I started back with my 9 minute peeps and there were a bunch of slow people that I tried to pass, but couldn't because there were too many of them. I decided to be the slow person for the 8 minute peeps. :) heehee By the way...I made a "half marathon" playlist for my ipod and I had to make it three times because I kept messing it up....we are talking about hours wasted on this playlist. I finally got it done and plugged my ipod in and when I left for Moab I grabbed my ipod and didn't look to see if the playlist was on it. I get up the mountain and I realize that I forgot to sync my playlist and it wasn't on my ipod. GRRRRRR. To make matters worse...there was a bad head wind. I HATE running in the wind. It is hard! I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy the run. I told my group that if I didn't beat my time that I was using the wind as an excuse and they said it wasn't an excuse because the wind was insane.

Anyway...the gun went off and I started running and I was actually passing people that started in the 8 minute category. I was shocked and glad that I started up there. After the first mile I was pooped. I started off too fast. I decided that I better slow down or I would be crawling by the time we were running through the crowd and I didn't want to look like a wuss. I ran mile 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and then I realized that I was tired. I grabbed some Gu that had caffeine in it and I was hoping that it would give me some energy. Just then....I see it....a steep hill at mile 9. I didn't think there could be any more hills. I couldn't remember the course from last year. Ugh... here I go and here comes some nice wind to help push me down as I try to run up the hill. Then it happened...."If you really want More (more), scream it out louder, Get it on the floor, bring out the fire, And light it up, take it up higher, Gonna push it to the limit, give it more". It was my song from Usher. It was like a choir of angels and at the same time my Gu kicked in and I was feeling good. I could hear the drums beating from the mouth of the canyon. They have a group that does it every year. It is really cool. I was feeling good, but I couldn't believe that I still had 3 + miles to go. I kept pushing and finally I could see the finish line. It seemed so far away. I wanted to stop running because I was so tired. All of the sudden there was an older couple that runs past me holding hands and everyone was clapping for them (or me, :) but I'm pretty sure it was for them). I didn't even care that these old farts were going to beat me. I was looking for Antonio and hoping that he was going to get a picture of me so that I don't have to pay $30 for a picture from the photographers at the race. I get closer to the finish and I see 2:01. I see that I am actually going to beat my time despite the wind and all of the sudden I get a surge of energy and passed the old farts and sprinted to the finish line. I grabbed some water and thought....hmm...I didn't see Antonio. I knew there was a good chance that he wouldn't get a picture of me because there were so many people in the race and he had our girls with him. I spot him right by the finish line with his camera glued to his face and I yell for him and he looked shocked. He said 'when did you come in?' and I said 'about 6 minutes ago'. He felt so bad for missing me (and probably even more bad that I was going to have to pay another photographer for a picture) and he couldn't figure out how he missed me. He got a picture of everyone else in the group, but me (oh and my brothers girlfriend). Oh well! My final chip time was 2:01:20. Now I want to do it again to see if I can get it under 2 hours. I'm sure I can...especially if there wasn't any wind.
"I don't know how you missed me!!"
He took about a million pictures of me after because he was trying to make up for missing me.
Here are me and my sister stretching...trying to be cool.
I was so happy to have Antonio there this year!!! He was in charge of getting the girls up and dressed and doing their hair, but he failed in the hair department. It was windy anyway so there wasn't much he could have done.
Me and my 'sweetheart' Alexia. She is a mommy's girl. She used to be a daddy's girl, but now that she is older and wising up she is all about her mommy. :)
Savanna is a daddy's girl...in this picture she was crying "Daddy! Daddy!"
Here is the family after the race was all over with. I'm very glad I did it, but my toenail is falling off now and I don't like that at all! How am I supposed to wear sandals this summer???

Canyonlands Half Marathon....yes HALF MARATHON!!!!

2010-12-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I have taken up running. I first decided to run a 10K and then I got talked into running a half marathon. I really didn't want to do it because I wanted to do a triathlon next, but I did it and I am glad I did it and I'm glad it's over! haha I have been meaning to write about it for a while, but I am a slacker and just got around to it.

The race was on March 20 and I had been training for months. I was ready and a week before the race, I got a call saying that Antonio was in the E.R. because he had wrecked snowboarding. He had to get two plates put in his arm and his surgery would be on March 18. I guess all 0f my training would go to waste. Antonio couldn't take care of our 3 year old and our 9 month old with a broken arm. He knew how hard I had trained and insisted that I go. He had his sister come stay with him so that I could still run my race. I was sad he would not be there and now we didn't have a photographer to take our pictures. :(

On the morning of the race I was nervous. I was not nervous that my lungs would give out because I was in shape and had trained hard. I was nervous because I was having problems with my IT band. When I would run for long distances (over 7 miles) I was in pain. Maybe I over trained. I don't know, but I just wanted to be able to finish the race.

Anyone that runs races knows that runners have problems with having to go #2 when they run for a while. I do not have this problem. Before the race, the lines to the bathrooms were long. I didn't want to wait in line to just go pee so I didn't. As the race got ready to start and with all the talking about poop, I realized that I needed to pee. It was too late. The race had begun and my sister and I were inching our way towards the starting line. I told her that I needed to pee. She said she would start running and I could catch her later. I crossed the starting line and remembered that my brother told me that if I had to go to the bathroom to go to the first stop (which is about 1/2 mile in) because not many people would take a break so soon. I rushed over to the bathroom and was in and out in about 30 seconds. I tried to find my sister and I could not see her because there were about 5,000 runners. I started to run faster. She was always telling me how slow she ran so I thought I would have no problem catching her. I kept running and looking for her and could not see her. All of the sudden I was at mile 3......4......5 I was getting more mad by the minute thinking how she would be at the finish line mocking me because she beat me. Anyhoo.....this made me in a bad mood. My legs didn't hurt, but I couldn't enjoy the beautiful scenery because I was mad. I finally gave up and just accepted the fact that she was going to beat me. I then focused on the pain my body was starting to experience. It wasn't as bad as it usually was, but I kept asking myself "why the hell am I doing this?" I made an oath to myself that if I got through this race I would never have to run over 6 miles again. 6 miles would be my max. I would NEVER run a half marathon again and I certainly was not going to run a full marathon. I kept looking at people around me. I would make up mean nicknames in my head for them. It really wasn't an enjoyable experience. At about mile 11 I was out of the canyon and running through the town of Moab trying to get to the finish line. I wanted to run faster, but I just couldn't. My legs wouldn't let me. I didn't care what my time was I just wanted it to be over. There were a ton of people on the sides cheering, looking for their family and friends that were in the race. This only made me in a worse mood. No one was there to see me. I turned up my music and kept running and counting the minutes till this was all over. I kept wondering where are the damn balloons?? There was always balloons at the finish line. I finally saw a banner and realized that was the finish line. I was about 200 yards away from finishing and I hear "JEN!!!" really loud. I looked over and saw my brother's friends Troy and Gary cheering for me. It seriously made my day! I crossed the finish line and stopped for the volunteer to take off my time chip and I literally couldn't walk. I didn't stop the whole 13.1 miles and it's a good thing I didn't because I would not have been able to start back up. I limped my way through the crowd looking for my sister to see if she was gloating at me. I didn't even care anymore. I was just glad to be done. I limped back to where I saw Troy and Gary standing. I figured my sister and brother would be there. I saw my brother and he finished about 25 minutes before me. I asked him where my sister was and he said that she hadn't finished yet. I said that she did because I didn't ever pass her. He reassured me that she hadn't finished yet. All of my being mad was for nothing. I must have passed her and didn't realize it. Troy told me that I finished around 2:05 and I was excited, but I really didn't think I finished that fast. Gary showed me a picture he took of me and he said "you look pissed!" hahaha I guess it was written all over my face. Anyway....I found out that I finished in 2:04:48! I ran an average of 6.5 mph for 2 hours. Whoo hoo!! I went to the line to wait for my sister. She came in at 2:34. I heard her say "Where's Jen?" Evidently she was worried about me the whole time and thought I had got hurt and was lying on the trail somewhere in pain. She didn't see me pass her either. She almost went back to look for me. Here I was mad at her the whole time and she was worried about me the whole time. I'm a crappy sister!

I vowed that I would never run a half marathon again and I have kept that promise, but somehow I got talked into doing the same half marathon in 2011!!! I'm a sucker...what can I say? I am going to try to not care about my time and just enjoy the run, but I don't know if I'll be able to do that. :) At least I will have Antonio and my kids to cheer me on and to take pictures. The picture above is the only picture I have. My sister hates it and says that the only reason she wants to run another half is because she needs a better picture of her. :) My race is on March 19, 2011. Wish me luck!

Zoo

2010-10-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

Me and my girls!!
Comparing ourselves to apes
Savanna
Alexia and her Daddy
We were being quiet because the tiger was sleeping.

New Pictures....finally!!!

2010-03-03T07:52:00.000-08:00

Alexia and me...she doesn't like to get her pictures taken (most of the time). I think she is worn out by always posing for Antonio.
Savanna and me....I can't believe she is almost 9 months old. My life has been so chaotic that I can barely remember when she was a little, tiny baby.
Here is another family picture. As you can see, neither of them turned out very well. We are just happy that no one is crying and everyone is kind of looking at the camera. :)

Mom'sHeadstone

2010-03-03T07:45:00.001-08:00

Karen G. Richins 1944-2009

2010-02-04T14:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't written about my mommy's passing because I just wasn't ready. I am still not ready and I don't know if I ever will be, but I feel that I should. This was one of the worst things that has ever happened to me. Here it is....at least some of it...I could write a book on everything. I know this is long, but if you don't want to read it...don't. I had to write it though.

I am not a writer, so please don't judge my writing.....

My mommy was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2003..it is a rare cancer that is treatable, but ultimately fatal. I still remember that horrible night that my parents told me. She had been ill for a while and my dad had just been diagnosed with Prostate cancer and needed to have an operation to remove the cancer. My mom wasn't feeling well and could hardly walk and was so tired all of the time. We all begged her to go to the doctor, but she wanted to wait until my dad was over his surgery. He recovered (they got all of the cancer....yay!) and she finally went to the doctor to see what was wrong. At first they told us it was arthritis. I thought that was the end of it....I didn't know they were doing more tests. One night in October, my parents showed up at my house. I was happy to see them, but they never just stop by. We sat down in my living room.....I still remember where everyone sat. My dad said, "Well, Jennifer....the doctor called and it isn't good." I said, "it isn't cancer is it?" I was totally joking thinking there is no way that my dad AND mom would both have cancer...especially 3 months apart. My dad said, "yeah" as he choked back the tears. I started to cry and said "is it curable?" I had hope that it was curable because his cancer was gone. He started to cry and said "no" and I started to sob and I mean sob!! My mommy came and sat by me and hugged me and we cried together. This was only the second time that I had ever seen her cry. The doctor said people usually live 4-10 years after being diagnosed. I was devastated! I love my mom with all of my heart and I could not imagine my life without her. I was only 26 at the time and the thought of going all through my life without my mommy was too much to handle. I said, "my kids wont even know you" I hadn't had any children at the time. My mom fighting back the tears said, "well, you can tell them about me." I didn't want to tell them about her....I wanted her to be there for everything....birth, Kindergarten, Junior Prom, graduation, weddings, ...everything!! I can't even begin to tell you how it felt.

As the years went by, I watched her go through chemotherapy, lose weight, lose her appetite, lose her hair, sleep more each day, lose her strength, receive blood transfusions at least a couple times a month and become weaker. She was a fighter.....her doctor told her that she was a walking miracle about 5 years after diagnosis. He said that he didn't think she would live past 2 years after being diagnosed because she was so advanced. He didn't ever tell her what "stage" she was in because he said he didn't believe in stages. She fought hard for 6 years!

In March of 2009, I called my Mom as I did everyday to see how she was doing. She didn't answer so I called her cell phone and my dad answered and told me they were in the Emergency Room. He said that my mom was in so much pain that she couldn't stand it anymore. I couldn't hear him very well because I could hear someone wailing in pain....then he asked me, "can you hear her?" I said, "that's her?" he cried "yes". She had always hidden her pain from us and to hear her crying and in so much pain was heartbreaking. I rushed to the ER to see her and she was trying so hard to be strong. She was in so much pain that she was shaking. I told her that she had to hold on because I was having another granddaughter in June and she said she was going to be in the room while she was born. My mom said, "I will" and I said, "promise?" and she said, "I promise". I lived to regret asking her to promise me that. She had pneumonia in both of her lungs. She stayed in the hospital for about a week. I couldn't believe they released her so soon. Each night when I would leave the hospital, she said "I love you, you're my baby" My whole life she would tell me I was her baby and that I always would be. The doctors were shocked at how much pain medication they were giving her in the beginning and it wasn't even touching her pain. Some nurses commented that they had never seen a doctor order that much pain medication. Once the pain was under control, she was able to go home, but she was never the same.

In May, I got home from church and had a miss call from my brother and my parents. I instantly knew that something was wrong. I called my dad and he said that they took my mom to the hospital in an ambulance. She actually agreed to go which was a miracle. She never wanted to go to the hospital, but for some reason she agreed this time. She was in more pain than she was in March. It was so awful to see her like that. She had been telling me for the last year that she would fight hard to live, but when the pain got too much to bear that she would quit fighting. I knew that it was time and that she wouldn't be with us for much longer. As much as I wanted her to stay, it was selfish of me to ask her to be in all of that pain. The whole time she was in the hospital, they couldn't get her pain under control. She would wake up and plead, "help me" and then ask "why wont you help me?" I felt so helpless. We all did. It was a nightmare that none of us could wake up from. One day we got her results from a test that she had on her bone marrow and it was not good. Half of her bone marrow was cancer and the other half was scar tissue. This was the reason for all of her pain and there was absolutely nothing they could do. Her body just stopped making blood. She didn't have much longer. The doctors recommended bringing in hospice.

Through all of this stress, I got put on bedrest because my blood pressure was VERY high!! Finally, my doctor decided to take the baby 2 weeks early. My mom wasn't able to go with me to deliver. The day I had Savanna (Thursday) my family said that my mom was doing good, but I found out Friday that they were lying and just wanted me to have one happy day with my new baby. My dad came to see Savanna and me on Friday and told me that she had no more than a week to live. She had said goodbye to all of her siblings, all of my siblings, and she was just waiting to say goodbye to me. I was released that day (a day early even though my blood pressure was sky high) and I went straight to her hospital. As I was riding over to the hospital, I called my sister and she told me that mom had asked her the night that I had Savanna if my sister was ok with my mom not fighting anymore. My mom said she wanted to die. My sister told her that even though she would miss her, she understood and that she did not want to see her in pain anymore. My mom said, "I'm worried about Jennifer" My sister told her that we had talked and that I felt the same way and that I would understand if she left us. My mom said "but I promised her I would be here when the baby was born". When I heard this, it made me very sad. Was she enduring all of this pain just for a promise that she had made to me a couple of months earlier? This broke my heart and I still have guilt because of it. When I arrived at the hospital, I sat beside her and I started playing with her hair like I always do. I told her that as much as I was going to miss her that I understood that she couldn't go through this anymore. I told her how much I loved her and that I would miss her everyday and that she was my best friend. She could barely speak, but told me she appreciated that I could let her go and that she loved me, too and I was her best friend, too. We said more things, but they are too sacred for me to share with all of you. I'm sure you understand. She wanted to hold Savanna so badly, but couldn't because she was so weak. I laid Savanna in her arm and she was so happy. We took a picture, but it doesn't even look like my mom. At least I have a picture. We put her on hospice and they were able to get her pain under control within 1 DAY!!! (I was so mad at the hospital, but that's a different story) I went to see her everyday with Savanna hoping that she would be able to enjoy her new grandaughter a little bit more. On Wednesday, Antonio, Alexia, Savanna and I went to the hospital to see her. She was insisting (I was just glad to hear her speak) that she was going to go home on Thursday and not Saturday like we had originally planned. When she woke up on Wednesday, I saw the old mom that I knew. She told me my shirt was cute and that Alexia's shoes were cute. I couldn't believe that she was dying because she was starting to talk and sound normal. When we left, Alexia gave her a hug and told her "I love you" which she had never done before because she has been slow to talk. I think that made my mom happy.

The next day my mom went home. She was so happy to go home. I went to see her that night and when I walked in, she was sitting up in bed, brushing her teeth and she waved at me and said "hi baby" through her muffled tooth brushing. You would never have been able to tell that she was dying. I thought.....the doctors are wrong.....she is getting better and she is going to live longer. She finished brushing her teeth and she put her arms out to hold Savanna. She was so happy to be able to hold her on her own. She asked where Alexia was and I told her she was getting sick and I didn't want to bring her over and get mom sick. She looked disappointed. My mom held Savanna for a few minutes. She looked her up and down...up and down....up and down and said how beautiful she was over and over and that she loved her. She started to get sad. She didn't want me to see her cry so she closed her eyes and told me to take the baby cuz she was getting too heavy. I think she was thinking about how she wouldn't be here for her life and if made her sad and she didn't want me to see her cry. I told my mom that I would let her sleep and I went into the other room. When I went home that night, she was very tired and so I just put Savanna's head up to her mouth so that she could kiss her head. My mom kissed Savanna and then rubbed her cheek on her head. Every time I tried to take Savanna away, she would kiss her and rub her cheek on her head. It was like she kept trying to get one last kiss in. I really think she knew that this was the last time she would see her. I told my mom that I loved her and that I would see her tomorrow. She told me she loved me and that I was her baby (just as she had every night I left her in the hospital). I wish I would have stayed and talked longer to her as that was the last time I saw her.

Friday at about 1:30, my phone rang. It was my sister, Chrisann. "Jen, mom's gone". "Nooooooooo". I felt relief for a moment that she was no longer in pain, then I felt a pain in my heart so strong that I thought I would die, too. I nearly collapsed. She told me that mom had woken up and wanted some blueberries. She hadn't eaten anything but a couple bites of fruit for 3 weeks so they were glad she wanted something. She ate about 12 blueberries and then asked for a "swiggie" which was a Coke from the gas station. My sister got her one and she wanted to drink it in her massaging chair so they helped her in it. She drank a sip and asked my sister if she could see her boys. While my sister went to get them from downstairs, my mom told my dad she wanted to get back into bed. My dad turned to put the bed down and he heard her making sounds and turned around and she was gone.

My brother picked me up and took me to my parents home. When we got to my parents home, I went into the bedroom where my mother's body was. She looked so peaceful and beautiful! I sat down next to her and held her hand. It was still warm. I held her hand until it was a little less warm, cooler, and then it was cold. We had a while because the mortician was coming from Morgan and he usually likes to give the family time with the body if they want it. When the mortician came to pick up her body, I had a few minutes alone with her and I just told her a few things more that I wanted to tell her. Mostly, I told her how much I loved her and how much I was going to miss her. I had no idea at the time just exactly how much I would really miss her!

My mom was such a fun person. She loved to play jokes on people, LOVED to shop (although she tried to deny this), didn't want to just sit back and watch people have fun...she wanted to be in on the action. She was such a giving person. She always gave me and my siblings the best of everything. She taught me to always do things for others and to give service. She also said that when you're giving service to the Lord, that you give your best. Even when she was so sick, she always went all out to give service to members of her church. She taught me to love people for who they are and to not judge people because you "can't judge a book by its cover". Mostly she taught me to love. Love with all my heart. She truly was a one of a kind person and I can see why Heavenly Father wanted her back in heaven. I am so grateful that she was chosen to be my mommy!!

It's been a long time

2010-01-29T17:13:00.000-08:00

Yes it has been a long time since I've updated my blog, but I have had an awful year! I will write and explain...maybe tonight....maybe not

Feeding the Ducks

2009-05-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

Antonio took Alexia to feed the ducks a couple months ago and I was jealous so we went again so I could go, too. She was VERY excited when the ducks would eat her bread.

Dying Easter Eggs

2009-05-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

Alexia had so much fun dying eggs. She liked to throw the eggs in the dye really hard. She broke a bunch, but who cares? She had fun and that's all that matters.

Easter

2009-05-11T14:56:00.001-07:00

Alexia playing outside after her Easter Egg Hunt and Grandma and Grandpa's.
She did really well finding her eggs.

I can almost hear her say "cheeeeeeeeessssssseeeeeee"

The Swingset

2009-05-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

Antonio and I have been looking for a swing set for a long time and we finally gave in and got one for Alexia. Here is Antonio building it.
Antonio, his friend Enoch, my Dad and my Mom all helped in the process even though I don't have any pictures of them. It was an ALL DAY event!! Thankfully it was warm and I got a really, really good tan so I was happy.
Alexia loves it as you can see by her face.
We didn't get any pictures of her on the swings, but she loves to swing.

My Little Angel Pie

2009-05-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

Alexia and her Grandma

2009-03-04T21:46:00.000-08:00

Alexia's grandma, Maria Luisa came to visit in January. Alexia loved it. She followed her around all day. I kinda felt bad because Alexia wouldn't leave her alone. It was very cute though.

New Years

2009-03-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

Antonio and me at midnight.
Alexia learned a new trick on this night. All of the kids were jumping off of the stairs and she decided that, that was fun. She does it non-stop now. It is kinda scary. I'll be upstairs and I hear "boom" and it is just her jumping from the ottoman, or the couch, or the stairs. She is obsessed with jumping.
She is also obsessed with guitars. She turns everything into a guitar..spatulas, those little rolley things that make music when you push them, hangers, antonio's camera bag......She was in heaven when she played with this guitar.
Jumping...again

Christmas...I know...it's way late!!

2009-03-04T21:32:00.000-08:00

Alexia got a little playhouse for Christmas. She loves it!! I don't know why there isn't a picture of the whole thing, but here is the kitchen part.
Look at the smile on her face.....she just opened up a "Wiggles' CD
She loves puzzles.
Alexia also loves "boks"..blocks.
Here we are together opening up some of her presents.
Alexia got a little laptop and she LOVES it!! Now she is like dad, although lately she wants to get on the real computers and it is causing a little friction.
Alexia peeking out the door of her playhouse

Alexia feeding ducks

2009-03-04T21:28:00.001-08:00

Alexia's new room

2009-03-04T21:24:00.001-08:00

Since we have a new little girl joining our family in a few months, we decided to get Alexia into a new room so that she wouldn't feel kicked out of her crib. I guess we didn't take pictures of the whole room, but here she is in bed. By the way....I bought her a cute, new, pink stereo and she didn't like it cuz she didn't know how to use it. Now we have to live with the ugly, blue one.....at least until I figure out how to switch it back!! :)
She LOVES her doll, Stella. She has to go everywhere with us. Here she is reading a book to Stella.

So....we got a little bit of snow

2009-03-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

I had to go to a Primary meeting that was about 8 houses away from mine and there was no way I could drive so we decided to walk.
We got about this far and decided to turn back. The snow was so deep that Alexia could barely walk. It was insane.
This picture was taken in the morning...keep in mind that it snowed until about 9:00 pm. The postman didn't deliver until 8:30. I felt so bad for them. I thought for sure we wouldn't get mail that day. The news reported that we got 13 inches, but I know that it was more than that!! It was insane!!!

2009-03-04T21:13:00.000-08:00

Chrisann and Packard

Me getting in the fridge
Alexia playing

Wheeler Farm

2008-12-21T23:03:00.000-08:00

One Saturday I went out with my friends to watch the movie Twilight. While I was gone, Antonio took Alexia to Wheeler Farm. He always does so much fun stuff with her. I think he got some good shots.

Random Photos

2008-12-21T22:52:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the BYU game. Go Cougars!!!

Here is my Uncle Basil, Daddy, and me at the BYU game...obviously.

It was past our bedtime, but Antonio took a shot of us together. This is the only time Alexia snuggles so we had to get a picture of it.

Las Vegas

2008-12-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

Here is Alexia enjoying her Doritos.

I thought this one was funny because if you look at her doll, Stella, she is mooning us.

When we went to Caesar's Palace, Alexia got so mad because she wanted to go swimming in their fountain.

Here we are at the Rain Forest Cafe (this is the only reason I go to Vegas). Alexia had so much fun mimicking the animals.

Halloween

2008-11-18T21:16:00.000-08:00

Alexia wasn't too sure about trick-or-treating. The first house she went to she cried and did not want to go on the porch. As soon as the neighbor held out the candy, she decided to go get it and run as fast as she could back to Antonio. It only took her a couple of houses and then she was a pro. She would go up to the door by herself and knock. She got so excited. I can't believe how fast she is growing up.
Every year we go trick- or -treating to my parents house. They buy "Halloween presents" for the grand-kids. They are so sweet. This was actually the last stop, so Alexia wasn't quite as excited as she had been earlier. Here she is posing with her cousins.

Alexia went trick -0r -treating to Uncle Terry's. He gave her about 10 Kit Kats. She was loving it.

Here she is trick- or -treating at our house. I stayed home because somebody had to give out candy. If you know me, that is a hard thing for me to do. As I have mentioned before, I am the holiday grinch. Halloween is starting to grow on me, though. I just hate when kids come and say, "How many do I get?" I just want to say "none!!"

I love this picture of Alexia waiting for her candy. She actually picked out her treats herself. She mostly got suckers. It was so fun to look in her bucket and see what candy she picked. I need to train her to get more Twix. :)

Alexia playing

2008-11-18T21:04:00.000-08:00

More pictures from California

2008-10-30T13:21:00.000-07:00

So I was looking through some files int he computer and found these lost pictures of California. So here are a few more.

Me and my sister, Heidi in front of Golden Gate Bridge.

Me, Heidi, and Alexia playing at the Monteray Aquarium.

My little Angel sitting in a shell at the aquarium.

Antonio and Alexia looking at the fish in the huge aquarium. It was sooo cool.

Alexia trying to catch a frog.

The Zoo

2008-10-26T21:01:00.001-07:00

This year we decided to become "members" of the zoo. We bought a yearly pass. You will probably see lots of pictures of us at the zoo in the future. Alexia loves it and so does her dad. He takes so many pictures. I get a little bored. The weather has been perfect (70) so we have been going more often. Since we have a pass we don't have to spend all day trying to get our moneys worth. It is nice. Here we are in front of the elephants (although I just realized that you can't exactly see an elephant). Oh well.

Here are Antonio and Alexia in front of the zoo. Alexia did not want to smile or look at the camera.

As luck would have it, as soon as I walked away from this bear, he decided to play with his little toy. I guess I shouldn't be so impatient.

The zoo keeper was feeding this giraffe and it was soooooo close to us. I got scared a couple of times that it was going to eat Antonio's camera. Seriously!! We were right under it. It was fun and scary.

I thought this tree was so pretty. I didn't see too many red leaves this year so I had to take a picture of this one. Too bad Alexia wouldn't look at me. Ahhhh...two year olds!!

Alexia

2008-10-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

My little sleeping angel....
It was FREEZING on Saturday, but we wanted to go for a walk (or I wanted to go for a walk to get a Diet Coke from the Chevron :)) I told her to get her shoes on and of course she put on her Crocs. She loves them. I am going to have to hide them from her because it's all she wants to wear. I did make sure she had on socks so her feet weren't totally freezing.
Alexia likes to look out the window in her bedroom. If I don't pull the blinds up, she gets under them.

The Circus

2008-10-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

Antonio took Alexia to the circus while I went out with my friends. I-I-I have never been to the circus. :( Oh well, at least they got to go. They were even on the front row. Antonio took a TON of pictures, but this was the only one of them. Since I didn't go :( I didn't know which pictures were cool or not so I just posted some of them. I don't even know what they are, but if you have gone to the circus, maybe you will.

Alexia wore her princess dress...and liked it!!

2008-10-08T21:31:00.001-07:00

The other night we thought we would try the princess dress again. We are trying to get her ready for Halloween. Thanks for the Halloween costume, Aunti Chrisann and family. We know it cost a small fortune and we appreciate it!! Anyway we put it on her and she liked it. We made a big deal out of it telling her how pretty she looked and she really liked it.
Ok, I know she doesn't look happy in this picture, but she really was.
She kept taking the crown off and putting it back on like this. She also put it on backwards, but we didn't get a picture of that.
I can hear her saying "cheeeese" in her cute, little voice when I look at this picture.

Conference Weekend

2008-10-07T22:28:00.000-07:00

Every conference weekend we venture out into the mountains to try to get a good shot of us with the leaves changing. This year it was totally raining, but we still (or Antonio still) wanted to take pictures. We ended up going to Alpine on a windy, windy road. As you all know, I get car sick. By the time we got there, I was not feeling so good and I had to pee because I drank a DC on the way up there. As you can see, our picture did not turn out too good. Alexia wouldn't even look at the camera and in half of them Stella, her doll, is mooning the camera. This is the best shot of me. I know it isn't saying much, but it is. Since I update the blog, I should be able to pick out the picture, right? I think so.

Alexia does the funniest things

2008-10-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

So after Alexia got dressed, she found one of my headbands. She put it on her and wore it all day. We went out to lunch...she wore it....we went to Walmart...she wore it...We tried to take it off, but she started to cry. I don't know what she is imagining it is, but I think it's cute.
I also need to mention that it was raining, but she still wanted to play outside.
Here I am trying to convince her to come inside. She would just shake her head no and keep running.

Alexia turns 2

2008-09-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

So.. for Alexia's birthday I thought it would be fun to have the family over for dinner and cake. You know...nothing big. Well, this ended up being an ALL DAY EVENT!! Let me start off with the morning. Picture it...it was 8:00. I had just gotten up to get ready for church. I went to the fridge to get a drink, but the fridge was open. Evidently when Antonio had gotten a drink the night before, the fridge didn't close all the way. I frantically checked the food that I had bought the day before. It was all warm. Ugh...all that money down the drain. I would have to buy all new food. I didn't want to take the risk of people getting sick. So I still was trying to be a good little girl and got ready for church. We were actually on time (seriously this is a miracle) and we drive to the parking lot and I am thinking to myself ..hmm a lot of people must have walked today or they are late. All of the sudden it dawned on me...Stake Conference! I totally forgot. Well, it gave me an excuse to go the grocery store earlier cuz I couldn't wait around for it to start. I know, I know, but it was an emergency. It is a good thing that I went early, too. When I started cooking at 11:00, I didn't finish until 5:00 or even later. I didn't even have time to do my OCD cleaning or to pick out a cute outfit for Alexia. It was insane. I can't believe it took me that long. I guess I underestimated cooking for 20 people. Also the first cake I made was too chocolat-ey (yes, it is possible) so I had to make another cake. Anyway.....it all ended well and I must say the food was di---vine!!! Needless to say, next year I think we'll just have cake....from Smiths :)

Me and Uncle Packard (I didn't have time to do my hair either)

Tia Rocio

Alexia had fun with the ribbon on Grandma's present

Here is "The Cake" (the second cake). I'll have you know that I made that cake by SCRATCH and the frosting, too. I even decorated it. I know, it's hard to tell because it looks professional, but it's true. It was actually really good..if I say so myself.

Alexia's cousins from the Neyra and Toelupe side.

Uncle Terry, Ruth, Dan, Tia Becca, Aunti Chrisann, and Grandma

Tio Pepe Neyra

Tia Rocio gave Alexia a new bike. She absolutely loves it. She wants to ride it all the time.

Uncle Terry gave Alexia a cute, pink soccer ball and a little strainer to put on her head. She loves them both, but the strainer is her favorite. It is just her size.

The Neyra family gave Alexia a doll which she loves. She has been feeding her bottles since she got it.
The Toelupe family gave Alexia a pretty Belle princess dress. She wasn't liking it too much in this picture, but I put it on her today and she was liking it. I think she will love it with more time. She loves to play dress up.
We were all eating and talking and before we knew it, Alexia was digging into her presents. What a little snoop!! I wonder where she gets that from?

More Alexia

2008-09-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

What can I say? Alexia likes to put things on her head.
She also loves to play with her legos. She never gets tired of it.
This is Alexia's favorite headband. She always wants to wear this one. Sometimes she will come downstairs with her headband on and all of her bracelets. She loves to get dressed up. Antonio tries to help her with her bracelets, but she does not like that. She wants Mommy to do it. I love it! She recently has decided that she needs all of her barrettes in her hair too. She has about 30 or more, but she wants them all in. I try to hide them from her, but she always finds them.
This is what it looks like when she puts her own headband on. I think it is so cute. I love that she likes all of the girly things!

Alexia

2008-09-04T15:02:00.001-07:00

Here are just a few shots of Alexia.

Alexia and Antonio

2008-09-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

Antonio and Alexia messing around after a bath. She had just eaten a sucker.

Lagoon

2008-08-04T14:10:00.001-07:00

Alexia wasn't sure if she wanted to get on the boats
Once she did, she had a blast. She cried and threw a fit when I took her off. She wanted to stay on. We got it on video. It was so funny.
Here is Micah taking Alexia on the bumper cars. She had so much fun. When the ride was over, Micah tried to take her to the exit, but she kept escaping his grip and trying to get into another car. It was so funny. She threw another fit when we forced her to exit.
We let her ride again with Gabe. She did the exact same thing to Gabe. I can't wait to see the video. I'm sure she will love the video when she is older, too.
Alexia and her daddy. She loves him so much. He is definitely her favorite.

Lagoon Part 2

2008-08-04T14:03:00.001-07:00

I had put Alexia on a horse on the carousel with me, but she did not like it. She opted to sit on Antonio's lap instead.
Micah sharing his ice cream with Alexia. What a sweet cousin.
Here we all are (except Terry, Christian and Antonio)
I told my sister that people would look at this picture and think...boy Jennifer sure has aged :) Here is Chrisann with my husband and Alexia.

A Day at the Park when I was not there (obviously)

2008-08-04T13:26:00.001-07:00

I was innocently trying to find pictures of Alexia to put on my blog and I ran across these pictures that I didn't even know existed. I was like, "oh, cute...Alexia on the slide"
Then..I was like "Oh NO...Alexia on the slide!" I almost had a heart attack thinking of all the things that could have happened to her and then I saw the next picture...
Alexia by the ledge, by herself. I calmed down and thought well, she is getting big and she won't fall down...she will be alright. Then I saw the next picture...
What in the world is she doing? I have never seen her try to do such a thing at home. I guess she is getting daring in her old age. I think the funniest (or scariest) part is that Antonio was not helping her, he was taking pictures.
At last, Alexia in one piece. I guess it all ended well. I'm sure she had a blast.

Alexia

2008-08-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

The Coven

2008-08-04T13:16:00.001-07:00

Ashley is moving (bottom middle) so we decided to have a BBQ for them. Here we are messing around there. We have so much fun. Top: Sheri, Ember Bottom: Me, Ashley, Nikki

Fourth of July

2008-07-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

For July 4th, we all decided to go to my Mom and Dad's house and make pizza and light fireworks. It was my idea for the pizza. I have been a baker lately (it probably explains the 15 pounds I have gained). I have been baking bread and so many other things with one recipe. I learned it from a DVD called Pantry Secrets. You need to go check out the website. It is www.Pantrysecrets.net and it is amazing!!! You can make homemade bread in less than an hour. It is Di----vine!!! Anyway....It was a lot of work, but it was fun in the end. Here are me and my Mom cooking. The pizza was really good (especially the ones I made ..... ha ha)
Anyone that knows me, knows that I am the Holiday Grinch. The Fourth of July is no exception. I do not like fireworks, but Mr. Neyra likes them so I participate. Here we all are lighting fireworks.
Alexia wanted to be right in the middle of everything. I was afraid that she was going to get burned. Luckily, Uncle Packard helped her and she got to be his "helper". She had so much fun. Last year she cried so much that I had to take her inside, but this year she loved them. She held very still and just watched as the fireworks burned. The cute little boys around her are my nephews.
My brother Terry, sister Chrisann, Gabe, and Micah.
Antonio also helped Alexia with the fireworks after he took 20,000 pictures. She tried to touch this one. You can see Antonio holding down her free hand.

Last pictures of California (hang in there)

2008-07-01T22:41:00.001-07:00

Alexia loved the beach and when I say loved, I mean LOVED!!! She did not want to come out of the water.
This is what happended, when we took her out of the water. She threw a fit. Everyone was staring at us. On this day at the beach, there were signs everywhere warning of riptides. The waves were insane. I have never seen waves like that. The water was so powerful, that it was even hard for me to stand. We did not go in far because we didn't want to drown.
Alexia looked like a little wet dog. She was shivering, but she did not want to get out. Finally after about two hours we got her out. She screamed and everyone stared, but after she got dressed and realized that she was now warm, she was ok.
We had a bonfire where we roasted hot dogs and made smores. Alexia realized that she likes Doritos (you can see them on her face).

Whale Watching

2008-07-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

So, I have always wanted to go whale watching ever since I can remember. I don't know why I never have because I have been to Monterey, California tons of times. Monterey is one of the best places to go whale watching in the world. Anyhoo...I finally went and it was .....wait for it......AWESOME!! I had so much fun. We saw about 15 Humpback Whales and thousands of dolphins (at least that's what they say, but I don't think we saw that many dolphins) Here is a mom and a baby Humpback. It was so cute that they were swimming together, just like me and my Binks (Binks is Alexia's nickname...long story). You can't tell in this picture, but their tails are HUGE.
We got so close to the whales that we could smell their breath (not a pleasant smell, I might add)
Here are some of the dolphins. They liked to swim right underneath the front of the boat. They were so close to us. In this picture they had moved out a little.
Here we are on the back of the boat when we were heading back to land. This day also happened to be our anniversary. We have been married for 11 years. I can honestly say that I love him more than I ever have. I am so greatful for Antonio. He is seriously the best husband in the world. Seriously!!! I love him so much and I am so lucky to have found him. He is everything that a husband should be. I love you, Babe!!!!!!!!!!!!

More California pictures.

2008-07-01T22:09:00.001-07:00

Guess where we are here? That's right..the Golden Gate Bridge. It was very cold that day, but isn't it always cold in San Francisco? I swear that we took a better picture than this one, but I think Mr. Neyra must have deleted it on accident.

While we were in California, we went to visit my friend, Jill in Modesto. She asked what I wanted to do and of course I said swimming because I wanted to get a tan. Here we are at her sister's pool. We had so much fun seeing Jill. She hadn't seen Alexia since she was 2 months old. She couldn't believe how much she has grown. Alexia had a blast with her.
Alexia was a little scared of the pool at first, but after a while she really had a fun time.

Our Trip to California

2008-07-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

On Father's Day, we had a BBQ. Here is Antonio pushing Alexia on a swing. He is such a good dad. She loves him so much. She is definitely a "Daddy's Girl".
This was taken at the Museum of Fine Arts in San Francisco. It was so beautiful. I had been there before, but Antonio never had. He took A LOT of pictures.....too many to post, plus they are just scenery shots. If you want to see them, I'm sure he will post them on his website.
Here is my sister Heidi. She is the reason for the trip. We wanted to go visit her. We had such a great time and hope that she did too. Alexia loved her Aunti. She is usually very shy around people she doesn't know very well, but she loved Heidi.
Alexia wasn't cooperating very well with the pictures, but I thought this one was cute with her smiling looking at her dad.
The pillars at the Museum were HUGE. Antonio insisted that I get a picture by them.

Game night at the Mullen's

2008-06-08T22:25:00.001-07:00

Sheri and Trevor with Nikki in the background. Sheri was having a good time.
Ashley and Spencer with Lexie
Ann, Nikki, Ashley, and Sheri.
Alexia was ready to go home.
So every month (almost) we get together to play games. It is fun. Mostly it's just an excuse to hang out and pig out. We haven't had it at my house yet because I refuse to have all of the kids at my house. Now that it is warmer, maybe I will volunteer (the kids can play outside) It is so fun to be with all of our friends.

Another old post

2008-06-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

One day after church we decided to take a picture of all of the snow. By the way....guess who shoveled it all? ME!! I realized that it was good exercise and I like being in the cold weather. This was a very snowy winter and I didn't go skiing once. :( We got so much snow this year. I don't remember having this much snow since I was a child and that was a long, long time ago.

Antonio's Birthday

2008-06-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

I know that it has been a few months since Antonio's Birthday, but I wanted to post a picture of the fam. Here we are by his cake that I made (just kidding, I bought it at Harmons). So Antonio turned 35 this year. He is getting old. Before you know it, he'll be 40 and then 45 and then 50. Yikes!! .....that means I'm right behind him.

Alexia and Danny

2008-06-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken a couple of months ago, but I wanted to put some pictures up of our family from Antonio's side. This is our nephew Danny. He is the oldest son of Oscar and Tatiana. He is such a cutie. He was Alexia's age when Antonio and I got married. That makes me feel so old. Anyway...he brought Alexia some puzzles that she LOVES and I mean LOVES. She plays with them all of the time. I can't believe that she already knows how to put them together. Thank you for visiting us Danny and thanks for the puzzles.

Temple Square

2008-05-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

Legos

2008-05-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

Antonio and I think Alexia is smart. I'm sure that everyone thinks that about their kids, but in our case...it's true. :) Alexia is the one who chose the colors on her tower. Look closely, she color coordinates it. She picks a red one and Antonio tries to give her another color and she wont take it. She looks in the box until she finds another red one.
And then she goes and puts the box on her head.

Another Bowl on Alexia's Head

2008-05-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

This bowl is her favorite. I think it fits her head the best. I have no idea why she loves this so much.

Mother's Day

2008-05-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

Me and my Mommy. She is the best mom in the world!!
Me and my Daddy on Mother's Day. I know I already said it about my mom, but it is also true for my daddy. He is the best in the world!!
Us kids with my Mom on Mother's Day.
Here we are with our Daddy.
Here is my baby girl. I love her so much. I didn't know I could love someone so much. She is the best baby. She can always make me happy just by her smile.

The Grandkids

2008-05-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day, we decided to get all of the Grandkids together to take a picture for my mom. They had a blast. I don't know where the good "photo-shopped" pictures are, but these are pretty good, too.

Family Birthday Party

2008-05-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

Me and Alexia...I don't know what's going on with her hair.
Chrisann (my much older sister ha ha) and me and Alexia
Me and my Mommy-Kins
Alexia has a new thing of putting bowls on her head. Yesterday Chrisann was here and she started laughing because Alexia was sitting on her princess chair watching "The Wiggles" with a tupperware bowl on her head. She is also obsessed with hats. She puts them on and walks around the house. It is so cute. She is starting to think that one hat is not enough. She now needs to put on two hats (at the same time). I still need to get a picture of that. It is so funny.

Ohhhhh!!

2008-05-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

I don't remember why she was crying. It was probably because I had to do her hair and take her away from "The Wiggles".

Another Birthday Party

2008-04-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, my friends took me out to lunch and bought me a gift certificate to Maurices. I am soooo excited to use it. We went to the Citris Grill and it was di---vine. I had a spinach, artichoke, shrimp pizza. I know it doesn't sound good, but it was!!! I know I look like crap in this picture, but I wanted to post pictures anyway to say thank you to my friends. I still have two more birthday parties to go. I know....I'm so loved.

31 Years Old

2008-04-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday to me-ey. Happy Birthday to me. So, guess who had a birthday? Me!! For my birthday, Antonio took me to the Melting Pot. It was soooo good. I loved it. Here I am cooking the main course. We were going to get a picture of us with the desert, too, but it was so good that we inhaled it so fast and forgot. If you have not been to the Melting Pot, you need to go. Did I mention that it was really, really good? No? Well, it is really good.

The "Coven"

2008-04-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

Sheri's husband, calls us "the coven" because he says we all sound like a bunch of witches laughing. Here we are at Gateway shopping. Ashley, me, Ember, Nikki, and Sheri

Silly Alexia

2008-04-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

One night, Alexia was trying to put her tights on her head. With help, she was successful. She looked so funny. She played around for a while like this.

My friends

2008-04-27T22:35:00.000-07:00

Ashley, Tila, and Sheri on our girls night to Applebee's. We try to go out at least once a month. It is so fun. We are so loud and annoying, I feel sorry for everyone else in the restaurant.

Me and my friends

2008-04-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

Ember, Nikki, and me at Applebee's for a girls night out.

Alexia and her Daddy

2008-04-27T21:31:00.001-07:00

Today after church, Alexia fell asleep in Antonio's arms. I thought it was so cute so I took a picture.

Blowing Bubbles

2008-04-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

Alexia loves to blow bubbles. Unfortunatly, I can't keep up with her love for them because I get too light-headed. I guess I'm just getting old!!

Picnic

2008-04-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

Alexia at her first picnic of the season. It was very windy!! She had a blast.Alexia loves her big wheel. She wants to ride it everywhere.
Alexia loves to play basketball with her cousins.
Uncle Packard helps her make a basket.
Alexia on Easter morning. She didn't care too much about the egg hunt.

2008-04-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas

2008-01-09T20:18:00.000-08:00

We went to Las Vegas with Juan and his family. Here we are (except me cuz I was taking the picture) at the Rain Forest Cafe which is my favorite restaurant.

Las Vegas

2008-01-09T20:17:00.000-08:00

Alexia in front of a big aquarium in Las Vegas. She loved it.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

The whole family on Christmas.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-09T20:14:00.000-08:00

Alexia with all of her toys on Christmas morning.

Halloween 2007

2008-01-09T20:12:00.000-08:00

Alexia was done playing butterfly by the end of the night. Poor girl, she was so tired.

Halloween 2007

2008-01-09T20:09:00.000-08:00

Here is Alexia on Halloween. She was a butterfly. She didn't like her outfit too much but didn't she loook cute? Her friend, Linzy is beside her.

At the zoo

2008-01-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

More pictures of us at the zoo.

At the zoo

2008-01-09T20:05:00.000-08:00

On the train with her Daddy at the zoo.

At the zoo

2008-01-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the zoo. Alexia had fun.

Alexia learning to walk

2008-01-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

but this was taken on the day that she really took off., So Alexia started to walk in October. I can't remember the exact date

Alexia and her Daddy

2007-08-10T22:54:00.000-07:00

Antonio is such a good dad. He is so good to her. He sings to her, reads to her, plays with her, changes her diaper....he helps with everything. He always makes time for her even though he is very busy. Did I mention that he takes a million pictures of her? Alexia loves him. I am really lucky to have such a wonderful husband who is such a good father. Thank you, Antonio. You are the best! I love you.

You are the love of my life...you are the love of my life....you are the love of my life.....you are the love of my life....(inside joke from MAD TV)

Raging Waters

2007-08-10T22:46:00.001-07:00

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On July 28 we decided to brave the water-park. We weren't sure that Alexia would like it, but we were wrong. She had a blast. We went with out friends, the Mullens. They have a little girl, Linzy who is about Alexia's age. We have become good friends with them. It was a very fun time except for when Antonio made me go on the scary slides. I think I'm just too old to do that anymore. I thought I was going to die. Antonio said the lifeguard was laughing at me because I screamed the whole way down. Oh well, I don't care because it was scary. Did I mention that Antonio lost his sunglasses when he went on the scary slide and couldn't dive for them because he "didn't want to lose his contact lens". Guess who got the honor of diving in to get them? That's right....me. After all the hassle, they were scratched and we ended up stopping at the mall and buying new ones that day.