Happy St. Patty's Day ☘ 2013

We celebrated St. Patty's day with full heart this year! 

Lucky the Leprechaun came for a visit this year. He brought us some Lucky Charms for breakfast. As well as Cruz a new St. P day shirt. See Cruz hates green... and doesn't own any green. 

After Church we had a traditional St. P day meal of corn beef and cabbage with Irish soda bread.

We also jazzed it up with some other GREEN foods such as guacamole chips, green jello, and a electric lime green drink. For dessert we had pistachio ice cream. 

Not sure I am a fan of green jell-o or electric lime drinks... but all in all it was a fun dinner!!

I saw that Irish blessing online, and I thought it was a perfect wish for St. P day. So I had to make it into a little tag, for the lucky charms. ;)

Hope you all have had the Irish Luck with ya this month.

☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘
We have had pretty fun St. P day's celebrations over the years...
2012
2011
(2011, probably the most festive)
2010
2009

Snow Canyon

Randomly on we went for a little HIKE. We were out and about doing some Saturday errands and when we were done, I was wanting to go and do something fun. So, we grabbed some Mexican food at Casa Dona Maria... delicious!!! And then decided to go for a drive. Ended up at Snow Canyon. Not a long drive... so we went on a little hike. It was the middle of the day, so it got really warm... but we loved the views, and it was nice to get outside in the sunshine!

Valentine's Day 2013.... LOVE

Some people think Valentine's day is dumb. But we LOVE it.

A good reason to think of the people you love, and mostly your spouse.

We keep it pretty simple... 

This year I had been in Orem working at Covenant's Office helping train people.

I came home on Valentine's day. It was a treat to just be together. 

When I arrived home, our place was spotless, and finally our Christmas tree was out of sight. (It had been in the corner empty for over a month.) This was a present in itself... but there were also a lovely vase of flowers on the table.

I started getting a cold... and didn't feel that great, so I asked Cruz if he would just pick up some take-out on the way home.

Which was perfect because restaurants were going to be busy. Cruz worked his connection at the Mexican restaurant down the street and they put his take out order ahead of everyone else!!! Awesome for us... sorry for all those waiting. He also had a surprise box of Belgian chocolates for me; and of course a card. (I really like cards from the husband-o!)

I decided to get Cruz some of his favorite treats for his little Valentine's gift....

Chocolate covered almonds.... yum!

Movie Theater gift card, with a drink cup for the megaplex... which is only $1.00 to fill when you go to the movie. 

(The movie we eventually went to was... Jack the Giant Slayer... which was really good.)

We ate our dinner and then watched a cheesy chick-flick on Netflix.

It was a perfect little Valentine's day for us. 

Love you Mr. Cruz Armando Marcano!

oh, BABY!

We are super, super excited to announce that we are expecting a BABY! 

due date: August 21st 2013

(Joining the August birthday club with my family! We already have 4 birthdays in that month.)

We are just over 12 weeks!

Last doctor appointment we got to do an ultrasound. Which was fantastic!

And with that they measured the baby and moved my due date up a week... which was awesome. Skipped right past 11 weeks and onto 12 weeks. 

I have been feeling pretty good. 

I am counting my blessings on that one.

I have been really tired. Especially in January.

So our little lime (that is about the size the baby is...) is growing strong.

Cruz thinks it will be a BOY.

For me I am not sure. Boy or Girl feeling neutral about it.

Only time will tell.

We told our families the other day, and it was fun to hear their reactions.

So, nice to have such a awesome family with lots of support.

Cruz's Mom said "about time" which made us laugh.

Cruz's Sister Josmery squealed with excitement.

My Dad was the 1st to know after Cruz, and it was when I was super sick with the flu over Christmas. We were trying to decide what medicine I could take. He said "Bless your heart" which made me laugh a little. But his face was filled with excitement. 

My friend said, I can't wait to see what a little Marcano looks like. I couldn't agree MORE.

Yay!! 

Celebrating my BIRTHDAY!!

For some reason this year we have been awful at taking pictures... which is so unlike us. 

But doesn't mean that we haven't been having a good time! :) And the few pictures we took of my birthday were on Cruz's phone and he deleted them... except for the one he posted on facebook.

This year I celebrated my birthday at a delicious restaurant just before you enter Zions NP. Oscar's Cafe was so delicious!! YUM, I am drooling as I type this. I decided to get a steak which is so not me. I guess the baby was craving it. lol. It was so good, and one of the best steaks I have ever had. Cruz had a burrito which was also very good.

After dinner we were too full for desert, so we waited until later that night.
We had yummy treats at the Bear Paw in St. George. Again, delicious.

Cruz is always good a surprising me for my birthday and he did just that. He bought me a kindle, and a book to go with it of my choice. I downloaded "TEN YEARS LATER" which has been a good read. It is amazing to read about people who have hardships and turn them around to be gifts. He also go me a armband case for my phone so I can take it exercising. I had no clue what he had got me, it was a complete surprise. I loved it!!

We also celebrated with some friends and had yummy sandwiches, and red velvet cake on the Sunday after my birthday.

Then when I was up north early February we had a family get together, with lots of laughter and good times. 

Always fun to have another birthday, and a great excuse to celebrate!!

Cheers to being 32!

CHRISTMAS 2012

 Above is in Vegas. Cruz and I decided that when we took his Mom and Dad to the airport to go home we would stay an extra night just the two of us. We mainly just relaxed. Slept in, and saw a few of the sights. We go to Vegas ALL THE TIME. Too often for me actually. ;) But Cruz is a big fan. He loves the buildings, and all the hustle and bustle. So, glad we enjoyed this time because little did we know we were going to be SO, SO Sick for Christmas! They had this amazing mini show playing on the street. It was so fun to watch. I loved the dancers who were on stilts. The costumes were incredible. Ironically these were the only pictures we took. :)

Christmas was on a Tuesday this year... which was extra nice because we went to Orem on Saturday and didn't have to return until Tuesday evening. That was the plan....

Saturday, my Mom went to the hospital with a strange pain. So we rushed down. Lucky for her and us... she was ok. They did keep her overnight and she was able to be home for Christmas. She has a lot of different health problems, and I won't go into it here... we were just glad to have her home and on the mend. 

Sunday, we were able to go to Church and relax with family and friends.

Monday, Christmas Eve. It snowed a lot. We had some plans to have lunch with Joel and Lexy. We decided to go to BLUE LEMON since it was near Lexy's BF house who we picked up along the way. I started to feel sick as we were driving. Sort of like car sickness. It was weird. I brushed if off. (At this point the only person who knew I was pregnant was me! I was waiting to tell Cruz on Christmas.)

I thought maybe it was morning sickness or something... but tried to ignore it.

We had a fun time with our friends and chatted as we ate delicious food. I only ate a little of mine cause I just wasn't feeling right.

After we went to Joel's apartment. I felt so sick, I had to leave abruptly. 

Got home just to run into the bathroom.

I HAD THE FLU.

I DON'T THINK I HAVE EVER FELT SO MISERABLE. 

So, while my family all celebrated Christmas Eve with a dinner and white elephants etc... 

Cruz and I BOTH spent it running from the bed to the bathroom. 

I did manage to sneak into the living room where the family was gathered for a few minutes. Emma was opening her gift from us. She had the cutest little surprised face. It was so fun to watch her. I love kids a Christmas. Also, David and JJ were overly excited with batman toys and backpacks. Em, also wanted to come and sit on my lap. Her Dad said she couldn't and had to come grab her. I said "Em, I am super sick... you don't want to get sick." She cried. It was so sad. Stupid flu!

I have to say it was the yuckiest Christmas EVER! 

Tuesday, we felt ok enough to drive home on Christmas day.

That was the end.

I was so sad that I didn't get to even enjoy the holiday. 

Though felt lucky that we did so much during the entire holiday season that we still can look back at it with good memories.

We had celebrated our own little Christmas early. We decided to update our phones to iPhones. So, nice and easy to use. We are loving them. Just reminds me to celebrate the moment... because plans do not always go the way that you want.

We felt completely better by Wednesday.

But both decided to take a sick day to make sure. Probably a good choice since we were still exhausted.

Hope your Christmas was better than ours!

Cruz's Parents Visit Part 3!!!

I really love San Francisco!! It has been so fun to visit there. This was our 3rd time visiting there since we have been married. :) Good memories all 3 times.

 We went to the Japanese Tea gardens. So pretty there. It was a nice way to start the morning.

We took lots of pictures. These were just a few. The gardens were very pretty this time of year. Other time we went was in the winter... and still pretty but this time it was even better! 

Golden Gate Bridge. One of the many icons of San Fran! 

Lombard Street: Took us forever to get there... ended up driving down it... which totally freaked Mom out and put her on the edge of her seat! Then totally illegally parked and ran and got a few pictures. 

Coit Tower: Pretty picture before sunset

Transamerica Pyramid: Came across it as we were driving back to our hotel.  

Tiburon City: Such a cute little town. Reminds me of the artsy feel of Park City... but with water. :)

 Alcatraz Tour: We almost missed it. We were stuck in traffic and missed the tour we had purchased but were lucky to get on the next boat. So glad we made it, such a great tour and neat to see. Cruz's parents loved it. We were glad we got to see them. Ironically on the way back we sat at a table with a couple who were originally from Venezuela. Small world. :)

Pier 39 and Fishermans Wharf! I LOVE THESE PLACES... such yummy eats here. We had lunch at this little place were you could see the sea-lions out the window. They provided lots of good entertainment as we at lunch. Felt nice to sit and relax a bit. We showed them some of our favorite shops, including the salt water taffy place. Yummy.

We had a wonderful time there, we walked our feet off... and had some good laughs.

 I thought we can't leave San Fran with out riding the trolley. Little did I know that it would take FOREVER TO WAIT IN LINE!!!!! The parents were FREEZING, and to be honest miserable. But look at their smiles before we got on the trolley. And what a experience we had. A car pulled out in front of the trolley. We were in the back, but I guess it was kind of a miracle that we didn't smash it. Then we couldn't get up the hill... so a truck came to push us. But we were stuck. The trolley was so packed, I think it was too heavy. Then they sent a semi-truck to give us a good push and up the hill we went. SO CRAZY!! We ended getting off at China town and had dinner. Always fun in China town.

We had the most wonderful Salmon dinner at Cruz's uncle's house. His wife Kristina made a delicious meal, that we gobbled up. Lots of fun to have time to spend with them. So nice that we were able to make the trip and visit with them. Cruz's Dad and Enrique were good friends/cousins growing up and it had been several years since they had seen each other. They always make us feel welcome when we visit San Fran.

That was our trip, and the next morning we drove home, to Saint George. Slept and parents began packing. They had come with one suitcase each and went home with 3 each. WOW! The following day we took the to the Vegas airport to go home. They had a wonderful time while visiting us. We are so happy they came. It was so fun for me to get to know them better. It was so nice for Cruz to have time with his parents. We loved having them and can't wait until they come back in the spring. 

Cruz's Parents Visit to Utah... Part 2

 We love having Cruz's parents stay with us. We were happy to take them on a little CALIFORNIA adventure! They were good sports to come on our little road trip.

First stop... Downtown Disney.

Lego Land... so fun! They had such amazing characters built from legos. 

Cruz's parents loved all the disney stuff. We didn't got to Disney they said, let's do that when we have kids. LOL. But we really had a good time in downtown disney for the night, as well as a good dinner.

The next morning we went to Long Beach and visited the QUEEN MARY. 

It was fun to see the ship, and the tour was good... a little messed up because they were revamping it so we kind of got lost. But still fun.

Long Beach has such a fun Pier. We looked around for a bit, and then introduced the parents to FUNNEL CAKE... they liked it. ;)

Next we visited Hollywood and the famous sign.

Then time to see the "Stars."

We also went to REDEO drive, and did some window shopping.

Next we went to Santa Monic Pier. 

Next stop... Santa Barbara! And the sun finally came out.

And then we went to Cambria. Such a cute little ART town. Fun stop.

We loved our little road trip. Lots of good laughs!

Part 3 is San Francisco!!

MeRRy ChRiSTmaS! Our Christmas Card

Click to see it bigger. :)

Above is our Christmas Card for 2012.

Had a great time designing it this year. I think we summed up our year pretty good on this little card. However, one fact on this card... didn't actually take place this year. ha ha ha. The husband-o pointed it out after we had already printed it. Can you guess which one it is? 

I wasn't very satisfied with the way it printed, but it still worked... I just love how nice and bright, and crisp on the screen. Maybe it's the Costco here... because I've had such good luck with them in UT County. Oh, well. 

I can't believe Christmas is so soon. 

Merry Christmas!

CRUZ'S PARENTS VISIT...part 1

Cruz's parents visited us for a month! We had so much fun with them. It was really great for me to get to know them better, laugh together and spend time with them. It was so great to see how excited Cruz was to show them. This is PART ONE of their adventure with us. :) 

warning: long post with lots of pics.

We picked them up from the Las Vegas Airport and then staied a few days hanging out and showing them the sights of Vegas. Cruz's Mom wasn't that excited about Vegas at 1st. Not much of a gambler, so she didn't really feel like she needed to see Vegas. Vegas is however one of Cruz's favorite places. His Mom quickly learned why. They loved seeing all the hotels, and their designs. We took lots of pictures, and walked pretty much the entire strip. We also went to Le Reve (The Dream) show. It was amazing! We all loved it.

One we got back from VEGAS, Cruz and I worked for a few days, and over the weekend we took them to the GRAND CANYON!

They loved it. Cruz's Mom was Freezing!! But the views were spectacular! Worth the drive, is what we all agreed on. 

On the way there we also drove through Zions, which was Cruz's Mom's favorite National Park that we visited. The Sunset was very pretty. Oh, and on the way there we saw a tumble weed go across the road. Cruz's Dad was thrilled. Something he'd seen in movies of the WEST. So, Grand Canyon and tumbleweed were crossed off of the list of must see things...

We then went to St. George for a few days, before heading to OREM for THANKSGIVING!

We meshed his family with mine. It was a great chance for them to meet each other for the 1st time.

HAPPY THANKGIVING!! 

We had lots of yummy food. Got to hang with the family for the day. It was fun. Cruz's parent are kind of hiding in the picture but they are behind Gerald. :) Thanks to my family for making them feel welcome. Now, let's all learn Spanish so that next time they feel even more welcome. ha ha.

They both loved the views of Timp. Whenever we were driving place to place they were pointing it out. Drove up to Bridal Veil Falls and through Provo Canyon.

On the way home we stopped and enjoyed the lights at RIVERWOODS mall.

The lights at Riverwoods were awesome! I think better than I've ever seen them.

Krispy Creme was a huge hit with the parents. We visit it often for their morning coffee, and some donuts too! I was pretty donut-ed out by the time we left orem.

next stop was the DINO museum at Thanksgiving Point. We have lots of funny pictures from this adventure. They have nothing like this, with all the full dinosaur skeletons where they are from.

Every time we were driving in the mountain areas we said to look for deer. My Dad was telling them maybe they could see an Elk. We never did, except for some dead deer on the road. :( So, we took them to Cabelas! A first time visit for me as well. And... you guessed it, they loved it.

Then we visited Salt Lake...

 Lights at the Gateway, and some shopping too.

 Lights and more shopping at City Creek Mall.

 Then to Temple Square!

They loved it, even though they were freezing! And it was actually pretty warm. We got them some hot chocolate to help them not turn into icicles.

Then we took them to Park City to see SNOW. A first time sight for Cruz's Dad.

 We had fun riding the lift up to the Canyon's Ski Resort. Had lunch at the lodge. 

We also took them to main street. 

Seriously, it was like a spring afternoon in Park City. We also visited the Olympic Park.

The Next day we took them to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

 It was amazing. They wished the singing lasted more than a half hour. After we all went to the little America for Brunch.

Tour of the Conference Center.

Back to St. George!

Well, the next week was in St. George. Cruz and I had to get caught up on work, after being gone. So it was more relaxing for his parents. His Mom (with the help of Dad) made us delicious lunches and dinners. We played lots of Rummikub, phase ten and uno. All games that aren't english based. :) oh, and see those silly pics of us with Christmas on the heads... that is at Walmart. Cruz's Mom LOVED that place. We went there often, and filled up many carts of food, and stuff. They did all their Christmas shopping while they were here! It became a joke.... well, we could go to Walmart! Oh, and they helped us with our Christmas tree.

St. George temple/visitor center. Had a great time there. Also, went to the tabernacle there... where they got free copies of the Book of Mormon. The other picture is when we tried to go to a Christmas concert at the tabernacle, ended up being a rehearsal only... Cruz's Mom was the youngest one there by at least 20 years... not counting myself. Funny story. Too bad Cruz was at work and he missed it. 

Live Nativity at Tuacahn. Short but fantastic!

St. George temple lights and frozen custard. 

more shopping.... at pier one.

Cruz took his parents while I was working to Zions and Virgin. They had a good time. Filled up the memory card with hilarious pics. :)

Little road trip to Arches National Park.

We did the little tiny hike to see the arch. Kinda far away. But we had a good time anyway.

Whew! Know wonder we were feeling exhausted. 

They love Utah, and all of it's sights. 

Part 2 is our California adventure!