take care

world, take care of my kids.
school, take care of our boys.
kids, take care of your grandparents.
ups guy, take care of my new lens.
pilot, take care of our flight.
handlers, take care of our luggage.
italians, take care of the americans.
bank, take care of our money.
bobby, take care of me.
everyone, take care of yourself.

see you soon.

journal

i love taking something with me to jott down our vacation experience. last year i took an art book and wrote down our adventures from the rv trip and wedding. so this time i wanted something pretty and practical. i found a notebook that you can alter and add pages to. the book came blank with the black binding. i covered it and used the dividers that it came with to make section dividers for our days, our meals (i intend to record and photograph it all) and our thoughts. i'm sure it will be full by the time we get back and ready for pictures.

i'm keeping the cover simple. it will be in my bag and i don't want to ruin it. i'll finish it when we get back.






keep crossing thing off our to-do list. but still so much to do.

overwhelmed

with things to do. with packing. with school supplies. with dr appointments. with emotion.

we leave on friday. the kids start school in one week. we are planning and preparing and trying to get through the next few days without going crazy. i want to kiss them and hug them all day but they won't let me. sofia keeps asking me if we leave for italy today. she can't wait to spend some time with her grandparents.

bobby and i have our flights, passports, hotels for florence and rome, car rental, guide book, a 'few' new clothes and lots of nerves. how much italian can you learn in 4 days? not much. mi chiamo gioconda. arrivaderci. prego. un caffe per favore. how far will that get us? there are times when the excitement is more than i can handle and there are times when the fear of leaving my kids for 10 days makes me not want to take one step away from them. i trust that they will be taken care of and i know that this is something that is long overdue for me and bobby but they are my everyday. my morning and night and everything in between. i will miss them and will be anxious to get home to hear about school and what adventures they had. ok enough of the sappy stuff.

i will share my travel book tomorrow, just putting the finishing touches on it. it will be a good place to put notes, thoughts and eventually pictures.

this week we have haircut appointments, eye doctor appointments, swim practice, and lots of laundry and packing. anyone want to come over and help?

cousins, a dodger game, a concert and a picture with the cast from the office

in typical mitas fashion we had a jam packed weekend.

saturday my cousins were in town from ensenada. so we took the kids for a cultural clash to duarte to meet them. i grew up visiting them at least once a month and during my college years I would spend a few weeks of my summer vacation soaking up the baja sun, visiting clubs (for term papers on intercultural socialization of course) and going to the tortilleria to get a fresh stack of corn tortillas. there was a moment on saturday when i could not believe that there i was watching my kids play with their kids in the pool. i guess i always still think of us as little kids playing together.

it was funny to see them try to communicate. their daughter speaks better english than my kids speak spanish. i know, i know bring on the criticism. there is no exuse. at one point i tried to show off that sofia knows her colors in spanish. (she learned that from dora not me) I would say 'how do you say blue in spanish.' and she would answer 'rojo.' then i would say ' how do you say green in spanish?' and she would answer 'amarillo.' my cousin turned to me and said 'the only thing you are showing off is that your three year old doesn't know her colors.' that is what i remember most about spending time with them, laughing. laughing till i was crying.

remarkably, i did not take a picture of this day. yeah really. i can't get them all i guess.

sunday we had the awesome good fortune to get tickets to the dodger game. but not just any tickets . . .i met up with a good friend from high school at sofia's preschool. she and her husband are season ticket holders to the dodger club. two tickets in row GG behind home plate for evey dodger home game. a few weeks ago at swim class she asked if we would be interested in taking one of her sunday games. i was like, wha? yes, yes, yes. i debated telling bobby or surprising him the day of. but i couldn't keep this from him. so sunday we headed out to dodger stadium at 11 o'clock with our prefered parking pass and a lot of hope in our eyes.

as we got out of our car and started walking the few steps to the stadium we heard someone calling our name. it was jordan's friend ryan and his parents jay and marisol also coming to enjoy the game. we went to the outfield to try and catch some practice balls from the braves. it was so great seeing bobby's face light up and holding his glove in the air. he never got anything but the experience was worth it.

so then we made our way to the dugout club underneath the stadium. we enjoyed a buffet spread of omelettes, salads, seafood, desserts and candy. basically anything that did not have meat or dairy, we consumed. and there was plenty. it was cool and relaxing. no lines and no prices. it is all included in the ticket. when we were full but not stuffed we grabbed some peanuts and an ice cold water and made our way to our seats. just a few rows behind the net. we sat down on our cushioned seats and watched the teams take their place on the field.

it was cool being so close and really feeling like you are a part of the game. and the guy that would come by to ask if we needed anything, for free, was pretty cool too. he brought us some sunscreen, fried calamari and an ice cold towel. it was bloody hot. we went inside during the fifth inning to cool off and so bobby could get a slice of s'more cake. then we finished off the game in our seats. heat or not we were not going to miss a moment of this experience.

just a couple rows behind us were a few of the cast members from 'the office'; Kevin, Oscar and Angela. i tried getting a picture of them from our seats but i didn't want to look like a stalker. as we were leaving the stadium they were standing in the lobby and i got up the nerve to ask for a picture. bobby and i have seen our fair share of celebrities and really hate to bother them for a picture but this was one i wanted to capture, and why not. so here it is:

really, could the weekend get any better? well, yes.

for the final leg of our day we went to the starlight bowl in burbank for the big bad voodoo daddy concert.


we did this a few years ago and it was so much fun. we met bob and d there, laid our blankets on the grass and enjoyed the night under the stars. we are big fans of their music, mostly their older stuff. the best part was watching sofia dance and play the air guitar. finally, at 9:30pm we headed home. full, happy and exhausted.

a happy recap

where has the time gone? I can't believe it is already august. we have been busy crossing things off our summer to do list. it might be easier to see what each of us has been up to.

jordan
-he has been swimming like a mad man.
-he took lessons at the park and recs pool and has made some big improvements in his strokes.
-he is reading just as madly. lately it has become a task to get him to put his book down and get outside of the house. if he could find a way to swim and read at the same time he would be set. -he will be taking a mini vacation next week to visit his old friend owen in sacramento.
-he is being a great big brother and playmate to his sibs. thanks jord.


andrew

-he is growing and becoming such a big boy (his legs are still skinny)
-he is starting to enjoy reading on his own. he still need encouragement to pick up a book.
-he is making us laugh all the time.
-he can swim like a fish. we have encouraged him to join the swim team but he's not interested in swimming laps.
-he loves watching america's got talent and wipe out.
-can use chopsticks better than me.



sofia
-has been busy being bossy
-took two swim lessons and can swim on her own. she loves doing belly flops into the pool.
-she works on her homework while the boys do their math workbooks.
-is very comfortable behind the camera. she has taken some good photos lately.
-she loves singing don't stop believing from the glee soundtrack.
-wants to be a power puff girl.
-is a great dishwasher unloader.



bobby
-has been working too hard. but we love him for that.
-has been playing softball like a pro. we love going to his games and rooting him on.
-is dreaming of a brand new camaro and ski boat.
-has the high score on bejeweled . . .but not for long.


me
-i'm staying sane around these kids.
-have been dairy free for three weeks. hopefully we can figure out if i have an allergy to milk or my symptoms are from something else.
-saw an ear, nose and throat dr. for my ear infections. he thinks it might be milk allergy too.
-am longing for a slice of cheesy pizza.
-have been attending pto meetings and getting ready for the new school year.


we
-are getting ready for our italy trip and the first week of school. so nervous about both.
-have been to the beach, the aquarium and the new outdoor mall in glendale.
-spend most of our days at the pool.
-are going to the big bad voodoo daddy concert on sunday.
-bobby and i are going to the dodger game on sunday and sitting in the dodger club seats. bring on the free hot dogs and nachos.
-visited our baby cousin grady and talk about him alot.
-are going to sacramento to pick up our boy and spend some time with our good friends too.
-miss you all and can't wait to see you.

and that is the happy recap.