Boys will be boys

When asked to pose for the camera, there was no hesitation. All of you and your superhero friends flexed your muscles and looked straight into the camera... or not. This was during our last small group meeting. The Velascos were soon departing to Idaho thus the end of our small group. You have grown with these kids and God has blessed you all with fun friendships. You have a blast each week we meet. Im not sure where God will take our family next as far as our new church family but we'll just enjoy our times now.

Sense of Style

We were all getting ready for church and Pi, we ask you to please get your clothes together. What seems like an ardous task for you became an exciting endevour for you today. We rolled with it and were just excited that you were getting ready in a speedy matter. After 5 minutes, you emerger from your room looking like a confused Laker girl. You had your cheerleading Laker outfit with a long sleeve under and tights(good following the winter rules) coupled with some dress shoes. Wow!!! The picture attached speaks a million words. We proceed to encourage your own sense of style and "fight" over who will take you to your Sunday class. You definitely have your own sense of style. We'll look back to this post and laugh. You might even blame daddy and I for letting you walk out the door looking like this but we feel strongly in letting both of you guys express yourself in your own way. But man... I dreaded walking you to your class. When I finally do, your teacher says "Ohhhh.... you're a cheerleader." God is definitely with that woman.

Big Bear 2012

We went on our annual Big Bear trip and stayed in out timeshare for 5 glorious days... or so we thought. Lets start with barren land. What used to be grounds filled with snow at least 6 inches deep is now just dirt. There was no trace of white. No worries, we can still enjoy each other's company. Until... Piper's coughing keeps us up, not to mention vomitting. Poor baby girl. We had the brilliant idea of getting a studio so Pi, you and I slept on the murphy bed. Phoenix and daddy went "camping." As if Piper's lethargy and huge desire to just vege-out was not bad enough, I get sick with unstoppable sneezing, runny nose and fever. Crazy!!! No worries, we forge on because that's how the Jovens roll. Not so fast... daddy was next to get sick. Phoenix, at this point, you were the only genki one. Then, I take you to the zoo, a long time coming for you Phoenix. Piper, you ask to sit down every five minutes. You were a trooper though.

We catch a break when it snows for a good 20 minutes. Daddy takes one for the team and pegs you with snowballs outside. Piper, you are really into just catching snowflakes with your tongue (pretty bird...) The highlight for daddy and I was going to church. The message was about not complaining and it really renewed our spirits. It was fantastic. Afterwards, we eat our lunch at Mc Donalds (Happy Meals for you of course...)

At night, we have our family movie nights. We watched Dolphin Tale and Muppet Babies another night.

Overall, it was an awesome time. Whatever may come our way, we still manage to make the most of it. We are continually blessed.

"Two Hundred Eleven"

Not sure how this came about Phoenix, but every time you want to emphazize the grandure of something you always express your thrill by using this numeric vagueness "two hundred eleven." For instance, you'll tell me, " I love you as big as 211 skies!" or "Mama, there were 211 kids there!" We find it to be quite amusing and fascinating at the same time since we have no idea where it came from. Why not 619? or 723? or 62? Who knows... all we know that it is so stinkin' cute.

How to catch a leprechaun

Both of you busied yourselves by creating the sneakiest trap for our friend the leprechaun a whole month early. Your engineering skills were put to the test. Phoenix, you built the one with the blocks stairs. You said that once the leprechaun gets to the top, it's so greedy that it will make itself fall to get the coins at the bottom leaving him trapped there. Piper, you devised the ever so intricate usage of a toilet paper roll as a tunnel with a necklace hanging from it. You also taught of the very simple tissue paper topped with a piece of jewelry gently put on top of a bowl. Simple yet genius. My two hopefuls... Phoenix, you kept asking if the leprechaun was coming that night only to be disappointed with the answer that he will not arrive for many many days.