Disneyland!!

We went to California for our vacation this year. Here are some pictures from Disneyland, which was so fun! It was mine and Jade's first time so it was definitely very exciting to see and do everything!

Juan's mom traveled with us and that was a HUGE help with the kids and especially when we wanted to go on a "big kid ride".
Meeting the characters was so cool! They seem almost real...
We were locked in the cage for the train ride:
Because we were so wild!
Only a few pictures with all of us together; that is always so hard to get.
I think Jade's favorite was Micky and Minnie mouse.
He was quite enchanting and even kissed Jade's autograph book for her!

Why? Well he's just nuts.

The princesses were so beautiful!! I want to be a princess one day :)


I made an autograph book for Jade on a friend's suggestion. I just used scrapbook paper that we had in the house and it was such a great idea. I plan to now make a scrapbook for her using the signed pages and more scrapbook paper. I will just add the pictures of her and the characters and put it in sheet protectors. Easy!
In the evening they did a water show and fireworks. I think we were so exhausted that I don't really remember that part. But it was such a fun and exciting day!!

The next day we went to universal studios and there were a lot of monsters there (Frankenstein, Dracula, mummies, etc) so Juan told Jade that they were just monsters so she wouldn't be afraid. So then she asked if all the characters were in costumes. He said yes. "Even micky, and minnie, and goofy?" He absentmindedly told her yes. I had to kick him under the table to get him to correct himself!! I didn't think that she would believe that but I didn't want him to ruin the magic!

Work, work, work!

I started working again about 6 weeks ago, but I didn't like that job much so I kept looking for a new one and last week I was offered a job in hospice which is exactly what I wanted! It is a good company and I have been training for 4 days now and so far I am loving it. Then I got a call today and was offered another job (no interview or anything) at another hospice! (where my hubby works!) They are both part time and so I will be working both, one in the mornings and one in the afternoons! (For now) So we are very busy! Here are some baby pics, he is what keeps me going!




I don't think life is ever going to slow down... maybe when we are in the retirement home!

Stepfamilies

I read today that one-third of marriages today create stepfamilies, and that stepfamilies are soon expected to outnumber traditional families. I think thats a little sad. The world sure is different than 40 years ago. We are a stepfamily ourselves and I think that it is very different than a traditional marriage. Its more difficult from the start. Dealing with the ex, the custody arrangement, and parenting a child that isn't yours adds a lot of stress to a marriage. The report also stated that one-third of step-family marriages end in divorce. Of course, I'm hoping that we will not be those statistics :)
Jade has been having a harder time adjusting lately. I feel bad because the situation she is in is not her choice or her fault. She has a hard time getting used to the two different houses and I don't blame her. I think it would be so confusing. At first I thought that because she was so young, she would have an easier time. She was just barely three years old when I married her dad. I thought that she would always remember her family like this: her mom and dad living separately and me living with her dad. But it is still affecting her more than I thought.
Has anyone been in Jade's position that has some advice for us?
We try to pay alot of attention to Jade when she is with us and we go out and do lots of fun things with her. But her mom tells us that when she goes home she tells her mom that nobody loves her over here and nobody plays with her.
I'm not sure if she is just trying to please her mom and not make her mom feel like she has fun without her? Or if its the birth of her baby brother and she's not the baby anymore like she has been for the past five years?
There are some step-family classes here that I have been wanting to take since we first got married and I finally got us signed up for them. They start in June and they are supposed to help us learn how to deal with the issues specific to stepfamilies. Hopefully we will learn alot and it will help us make one big, happy family!

My little man

He is just too dang cute!He has a doting big sis...

An exhausted, hardworking papa...

An amazed mama...

We just can't get enough of this little guy!

Meet....

Juan Daniel Ibarra
Born Feb. 11, 2011
7 lbs 11oz. 19 inches

Fall Season

[Pictures soon to come]
I love decorating for fall and halloween! Decorating in my own house is much more fun then decorating an apartment. So I used that excuse to go out and buy fall decor. I love the pumpkins, harvest themes, the cooler weather and of course all the fun activities that go along: pumpkin carving, corn mazes, haunted houses, and stomping on the fallen leaves!

Working on getting organized...

A few weeks ago we cleaned out the cars because Juan was wanting to sell them and get a new one. Anyways we piled up all the junk in a corner of the living room. This weekend we finally! went through it all and got organized. Well, Juan did anyways. I am better at cleaning the house (doing the dishes, laundry, sweeping, mopping, etc.) He is great at getting rid of the junk and making the house look organized. We still have about 6 boxes of junk in the basement that never got unpacked (because its just junk) so I told him each weekend he can work on one box :) Well anyways in that pile we found an old camera! It had pictures from the summer so I can put up some new pics... Just not today because today I need to learn my anatomy! So far this semester I've had one chemistry exam and one physiology exam and wednesday is my first anatomy exam. Anatomy is probably my favorite class (The second time over everything comes so much easier!) Chemistry is my easy A. My first exam was 100/105 and my husband questions why I didn't get those last 5 points, until he sees my physiology score... I have a much harder time with biology, so time to hit the books for wednesday!!

The End of the Summer....

Well I can´t believe how quickly this summer has passed. We have kept so busy with working and the changes to our family. Fixing up and moving into our home took up alot of time, and its an ongoing process. We have had many fun adventures with Jade this summer. We´ve gone swimming, to the park, to Jugle Jims and Hollywood Connections, we went to Lava Hot Springs, seen a few movies, we went camping to Fairview, Jade loved her first Demolition Derby!, we´ve played at 7 creeks, sugarhouse park, and went to the county fair. So many adventures and I am so terrible at keeping up with them with pictures and writing our memories! Now I start school on wednesday and Jade starts preschool on the 31st so its off to another busy year!

Our little home

I haven't posted in a long time because we have been so busy and then I lost my camera for awhile! But I found it today so I wanted to post some updates to our life. In June, we finally closed on our house!!! It took a long, long time and lots of papers and patience, but it finally happened! And we couldn't be happier!!

The living room:

Our little kitchen, which is already a mess (of course):

The master bedroom:

The boys painting Jade's room:

The bathroom (my least favorite part of the house, it needs to be completely remodeled):

Our garage:

I cooked our very first dinner before we move in!

We just finished painting and put in new carpet so I will post the "after" pics asap!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. I am so thankful for my mom and the way she raised me and taught me. I wouldn't be the person I am without her. I love you mom!
This holiday isn't mine to celebrate yet. (I only have the work of a mom every other weekend... but I still get to enjoy all the hugs and kisses and I love yous, just minus the title.) So of course I am working again today :( but its ok, I get to share mother's day with all my grandmas and grandpas!
On friday was the commencement from SLCC. I am officially a college graduate! Whooo!
But an Associates in gen ed doesn't really get me anywhere so in the fall I will be off to school again. I am taking 3 classes fall semester and then I can apply to nursing schools. 3 classes should be a breeze after this semester... 5 was just too much so I bombed chemistry. But I don't think it will really be that easy. Anatomy and Physiology will take a lot of time and then I will retake chemistry. Since it is my third time in anatomy hopefully it will come easy this time. Third times the charm! :)
I enjoy the labs most of all and thats where I really do well. Its the written part of the classes that I have a hard time. I just don't really like lectures... I have a hard time paying attention and then I justify a million reasons for not going to class.
But not this fall. I am going to do my best. I really want to go to nursing school. I really enjoy working in geriatrics and especially with the Alzheimers patients. So I need to get my grades up so I can get accepted!

Last month we bought our first ever...... Zoo membership! Whoo I know you are all jealous!!
Here are the pics from our first day at the zoo:









So with the child custody we get two two week vacations with Jade in the summer and one of those we are taking starting next tuesday. So expect lots more photos of our adventures with our little princess!

Family Fun

Does anyone remember lite-brites?
Jade loves them!! And we all have fun helping her...

Jade always asks to go swimming so we finally gave in and went to the pool. We had fun in the water and we are trying to teach Jade how to hold her breath underwater. Not much luck yet.

Of course Barbie needs her hair dried too!