What goes around, Comes around...Part 2

Approximately 20 years ago, as fourth grader, I beat up a boy. Yes. It's true. I'm not proud of it, but it does make for a hilarious story.

We were on the school bus on our way home, and this kid named Chad (poor, poor Chad) wanted to have a friendly chat. I was in no mood for his antics and asked him to please be quiet. And then, I wasn't so nice and said that if he didn't shut up I'd beat him up.

He didn't believe me and he continued to talk. So, when we got off the bus, I made sure the bus turned the corner and then I charged him. I ran up to him, pushed him to the ground, and started punching him as if he were a lifeless flour sack. I went to town until his glasses flew off...

I know - it's AWFUL! I was a coward and ran off for fear that he'd hit me back or worse - I'd get caught fighting!!

Anyway, poor Chad wanted to make amends by giving me one of his mother's rings. I accepted.

The only problem was how in the world I was going to present this to my MOTHER!! A boy gave me a ring, because he's really sorry he annoyed me so much I beat him up!? No. Absolutely not. No, I chose this story instead:

Mom, look at what I found on the playground!! Isn't it pretty? I was on the swings and I saw something shimmer, so I jumped off and found this.

Well - I should have checked in with my older brother before telling this tall tale because just as my mom is gushing over this beauty, he waltzes in blowing my poorly executed cover: MOM - DID YOU SEE WHAT CHAD GAVE MY SISTER?

hahahahaha!! OMG - I had dug my own grave. I had to spill the beans - How I beat him up. How he felt sorry. How he gave me his mom's ring! And then on top of that, I was escorted by my mom to return the ring and apologize to him and his mother!


Fast forward to TODAY:

I walk into class today and I'm so excited to see that my students have worked on their 100 day projects (posters they work on that show 100 somethings). I notice that one particular poster is creating quite a buzz, but didn't really make out what anyone was saying. So I take a closer look and realize that my Curious George puzzle is on this kid's poster!!

Once his sister finished helping him settle in with this gigantic poster, she leaves and I begin to probe.

Even the other students, when they saw this poster, began wondering with quizzical expressions - Ms. Marquez, isn't this YOUR puzzle?

Me: Oh, look! How interesting! I had a puzzle like that. I can't seem to find it.
Student: Oh really?
Me: Yes, don't you remember it? I usually have it right here and look - it's missing.
Student: Well, I found this one outside.
Me: Really? Where exactly?
Student: You know...I was outside playing and then I see these puzzle pieces all spread out in the grass. So I picked them up and took them home.
Me: Wow - what are the chances?

I step away and continued on with the morning routines like nothing had happened. I asked the kids to line up to go to the restroom and just BURST into laughter!! I told my kids: Life is HILARIOUS! It's so interesting how things come full circle. You remember that! They all begin to laugh only to ask: What's so funny?

He had no idea that while he was enjoying his time in P.E., I was calling his grandmother to "check in" on things. How this will be handled from here, I'm not quite sure.

But just know...that everything I ever did as a child is coming back to haunt me. It makes LAUGH!

********
For Part 1, click here.

During

It's true that it takes a village to raise a child. It also takes a village to get a teacher ready for school. I don't know that what I would have done without my family and friends!

I want to be sure to let everyone know that my favorite thing about my classroom is not necessarily the fact that it looks AWESOME (oh - and it does!). My favorite thing about my classroom is that when I walk in I think of my family and friends who helped me put it together! I'm INCREDIBLY BLESSED!

First, my mom and younger brother came. Mom cleaned EVERYTHING - even the unifix cubes that my students will use for math and science. My brother Tim helped me put the bulletin boards together and he also hung up all the posters that are out of my reach - which is practically every poster. HAHAHA!! My brother Aser came by one day and helped me punch out the pre-cut letters for the bulletin boards. He also had fun writing funny things on my white board.

Look at the difference in the WINDOWS (top right clean!)!!

On this day, I had promised we'd leave early and I didn't follow through.
BUT we had a delicious lunch! The room by this time was lookin' pretty good.

Aser had a lot of fun writing on the white board.
Ask him to read what he wrote to you! You'll laugh because his accent is HILARIOUS!

Another day, Angela was SUPER sweet to come help me with what Tim and I hadn't finished. We got 3M strips and covered up a chalkboard that I don't use. Now I have more "bulletin board" space and everything looks more uniform.

I didn't get a picture of Angela...but this is a cute one of us at a friends wedding.

And finally, this past Thursday I sent a picture text saying: "Are you good with scissors?!? This is how I'll be spending my time tonight. :o)" Look at that! It's a never ending roll of laminated stuff and I was going to do it BY MYSELF!

Looking at the amount of laminated stuff made me want to cry! (not really - I just whined about it until I got help)

It would've taken me all night and I still wouldn't have finished. Luckily, one of my friends - Ryan - said that I should go over to his work place and bring scissors. OMG! I jumped on that! I brought 5 pairs of scissors and put them to work double time!!

Ryan is THE super star for offering the much needed help!

Corey was either cutting out stars or showing off his guns...still haven't figured out which!

Chad was multi-tasking!

Jeremy said he wouldn't help unless he got to use the Christmas Tree scissors. haha!

Real men help first grade teachers cut out stars and such!

There were other people that work with Ryan that helped & aren't pictured.

I feel like saying THANK YOU isn't sufficient. The work EVERYONE did is seriously priceless!!

Saying Hello To The New!

This week our newest family member came home. His official name, in my opinion, is Chandler Copper Chase Marquez (all the names we debated). However, he is not MY dog and I've had to relinquish my desire to keep the name Chandler in existence and let the rightful owner (my dad) name him whatever he chose. So, Copper...Copper it is. :o)

We are all very happy he's home. Zacc is so happy to have a playmate and loves his new role as "pack leader." Zacc's personality changed so much - it's WEIRD!

So here he is....Mr. Chandler Copper Chase Marquez!

The day we met the TRIPLE C!


The day we picked him up to take him home!

My gramma was really happy to meet him.

His first bath

The Copper Fro!

Project Runway: Newspaper as Fabric

You have no idea how exciting it was to watch Project Runway! The latest challenge was to use newspaper as fabric!!

Look at this winning design:


To see other designs click HERE!

And LOOK!! Remember the blog entry from November 2007? Yeah!! The family had a newspaper challenge too and Hannah created a really beautiful dress!



In the second picture, you can see the Super Hero costume we made for Andy (right) and how other designers didn't give Sophia the option of free limbs (left). Without asking what Sophie thought the designers wrapped her in newspaper and made newspaper "arms" with a gun at the end. So funny! Do you see it? And of course, Olivia is sporting Hannah's design which included the bow made out of the newspaper bag (center).

It's so sad that the beach house where these pictures were taken is no longer standing. Thank you Hurricane Ike!

Thwarted Plans

This weekend, I was supposed to go with some friends to New Braunfels to stay at an amazing house, spend all day today at Schlitterbahn, all evening in a jacuzzi, and eat homemade ice cream and other delicious foods! However, plans on my end fell through and continue to. I'm not complaining though - no, not at all!

Today, I woke up and had breakfast with my dad. We both talked about how we were SO excited that my mom and brother Tim were coming home from their mission trip to Puebla, Mexico. It was a nice time. Then, I raced to Memorial Park, where my friends changed up the games a bit and instead of playing sand volleyball to old school sand lot style baseball. The fields we were hoping to use were locked up, so we made do with an open field. IT WAS FUN! Trust me - it was fun! Whew, I was drenched though! I took off wet clothes as if I had been in a pool, only it wasn't chlorine water...it was my SWEAT! Gross, yes! Oh but it felt great afterwords.

Most of us went to have lunch afterwards, where we talked about structural engineering (which seriously I don't know the first thing about, but Praise the Lord there are those who DO!), and books we've read/are reading. I got a call from my dad that my mom was home!! So, we finished up and I went home and gave my mom the biggest hug ever! I'VE MISSED HER SOOO incredibly much!

My family hadn't eaten so they were on their way out as I was coming in. I ran to my room changed my clothes redid my pony tail and hopped in the car with them! I had dessert while everyone ate their lunch!! Conversation was fantastic! (And I was still gross! ha ha!, but I wouldn't have missed this lunch with my family for all the world!)

We finally came home, and after getting cleaned up I took a nap! WOW - I need to do this more often! Sleep is good.

And of course, the Saturday dinner that I thought was planned for SATURDAY, was changed to Sunday lunch...and frankly no one is to blame and again I'm not complaining. Because if I were I'd be saying that I didn't enjoy my evening, WHICH I SO DID! My brother, Aser, has been telling me about this movie that he knew would be an instant favorite. So I took him up on it. My brother and I went to the movies and watched my new "You've Got Mail." Seriously, I love it THAT much.

His pick for me was Julie & Julia! GO SEE IT! It's perfect. It's directed by Nora Ephron also directed you've got mail. It's no wonder I love it so much...but seriously, it's perfect.

Someone not too long ago mentioned how all movies show couples when they finally decide to commit to each other and the end they live happily ever after. However, this movie is proof that there are movies of relationships AFTER they've made the commitment of being each others better half. That's the sub story though. The STORY is of Julie and Julia finding themselves in cooking! And it's truely worth your time and money.

And seriously, if you like food, love, and accomplishments then WATCH THIS MOVIE!

I've also got a new favorite song. I've been singing it nonstop since I heard it on Pandora...Enjoy.


And now I'm off to bed.
Good night!

Big Russ & Me

So, as I've mentioned many times before, I LOVE to read! As a result, I tend to have more books than I can read at a time. I bought the book Big Russ & Me by Tim Russert LAST YEAR and I'm just NOW coming around to reading it.

GO PICK UP A COPY!

It's an easy read. It's nostalgic. It makes you want to call your dad and tell him you love him! And it also makes you want to write down every possible memory that you have with your dad, so that a hundred years from now someone will remember the good times you spent with him!

For me - it reminded me of the road trips we took with my dad to San Antonio or San Jacinto, how my dad would put me on his shoulders as a little girl and jump rope, how my dad made me get back on a bike after having a horrible fall and said, "We're not quitters just because we skin our knees," how we finally told him to stop cooking eggs for us because we thought they were disgusting (ha ha ha, at least he tried). It reminded me of the time when my dad was teaching me to swim and the silly looking goggles he bought for me and how he went to every single orchestra concert I had growing up and how he tears up any time he's overwhelmingly proud of me or my brothers.

It makes me sad to think of the times I was embarrassed by him because I love him! (I'm crying now. ha ha!) What a great dad I have! He's truly amazing!

I'm not quite finished reading this book, but I will be in the next couple evenings when I get a chance to read....but I couldn't help myself - I YouTubed "tim russert" and found this video that I thought would be perfect to share with you!




p.s. My dad's birthday is this Thursday and I have an AWESOME surprise planned for him on Saturday. I will make sure to have my camera and tell you all about it. I seriously CAN'T WAIT! It's going to be great!

Happy Father's Day!

To a dad that never misses a birthday
who always tries his best to get the things that make me happy
who never ever missed an orchestra concert
who will fly kites with me
who will drive across the country to make sure I'm doing okay
who would carry me to the car if my feet hurt
who would go broke to invest in one of my crazy ideas
who is proud of me and loves me dearly.
To a dad who continues to work harder than anyone I've ever met and has taught me too much to list here.

I love you, Daddy!

I still have sand in my shoes...

Why the 3 day weekend couldn't actually be a month or two is beyond me! :o) I had a great weekend with friends and family. If we could get paid to invest in the people we love most, I'd be so rich!

Friday: I watched movies with the fam on Friday.

Saturday: Got up extra early to get ready to hit the beach with some friends.

Sunday: Went to church with the family and had friends meet me there. Lunch was delicious. After church I went home to plan the VBS and got a lot of stuff knocked out (well, at least the planning part - now it's the follow through that needs to happen...FAST!). I'm amazed that right after that I got all prettied up fairly quickly and got to a friends wedding before schedule. That in itself was amazing, not to mention the wedding! It was fantastic.

Monday: I ran errands in the morning and then had dad help me pick out some art stuff at Texas Art Supply. As soon as I got home I got to work on this big poster. I got to mix tempera paints to my hearts content!

The weekend was super full. Time well spent. And I'm back in the trenches with sand in my shoes.

Rocco Márquez

April 23, 2009, 12:30 a.m.

Rocco Márquez, the best cocker spaniel ever, breathed his final breath. He is survived by his loving family of five and his friend, Zaccheus. We enjoyed his companionship for over 14 years.

Sad Day

It's a sad day for us. The little guy on the right is Guerro, my mom's dog. He's missing. And doesn't sound hopeful. He's the most loyal dog anyone could ever ask for. He worshipped the ground my mother walked on. He was her shadow.

For my mom, doing the every day stuff won't be the same.

We are very sad. Very sad.

And Then...

Update on Mexico:
The trip was sad, yet enjoyable. I spent a lot of time with my family - cried some, laughed more than I cried, and ate more than either of those. :o/ (oops...I should have sat on my hands.)

It wasn't the same going to the market, knowing the purpose of the trip wasn't tourism. I went and bought maybe 3 items. I did go to walmart to pick up disposible cameras and other things the family needed...the lines are more ridic than they are here. One thing that I love about Mexico, other than having the BEST tacos on the planet, is that you can buy 2 kilos of strawberries for less than 2 dollars. I mean SURSLY.

I learned a lot about Mexican tradition. One of the things I learned is that on your birthday they will play "Las Mañanitas" on repeat right before the day break until you leave to go to work (I suppose this depends on the family). I'm not sure that I like it. Especially being the neighbor. :o)

This is the first time EVER (which I've been there endless times) that I could imagine myself living there. I wonder if that means something...

5k:
My training prior to Mexico was on the up and up - had momentum going like nobody's business. However, I ate more than I should have in Mexico and therefore GAINED pounds I had lost and it made it difficult to get back into the swing of things. And add to that a wretched cold. I can't wait to get back into it.

Valentine's Day Wedding Project:
Some of Tim's friends are getting married tomorrow and I volunteered myself to do a center piece for the guest sign in table (is there a name for that?). I started it early, but procrastinated. Ergo, I freaked out last week and it's come together faster than I imagined and also prettier...I think so anyway. I call it a quotation tree. I'll have to get a picture to show you. It has LOVE quotations hanging from the branches. My favorite one is:

Do you love be because I'm beautiful or am I beautiful because you love me?
-Cinderella

Okay, So I guess I've promised a picture...I'll have that for you next week.

When it rains, It POURS!

The past several weeks have been pretty stressful. It's as though I'm literally living out the reality tv show, Survivor. That or the wretched movie - THE GAME! Have you seen that? Just imagine the pressure. Well, maybe not quite that bad...but seriously. I'm not sure how much more I can take.

To add icing on the cake, I heard yesterday that my Tio Pepe passed away. Tio Pepe is my dad's oldest brother. He is the uncle that always picked us up from the bus station or airport any time we went to visit. He took us anywhere and everywhere in Mexico City and it's surrounding areas. He told the most hilarious jokes. Anyway...I've never seen my dad cry quite like this.

Although, I'm really sad to lose my uncle...I'm extremely saddened for my cousins that has lost their father. They are my age, but still...Can you imagine losing your DAD? OMG! The thought makes me go crazy!

I'm going to Mexico tomorrow night. Not something I had planned, per se...but I want to see my cousin, Ale.

You guys can keep us (Marquez) in your prayers.

Advice to First Daughters

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

This is such a touching letter from the Bush girls to Sasha and Malia.

A Good Scare and Great Music

So, I got my wisdom teeth pulled out and gave everyone a good scare when I got home. I did it on purpose - to see if everyone really loves me. HA! Just kidding. It was truly a misery and I'm glad to be home. Ready to celebrate Christmas.

My diet consists of Raman Noodles, Home Made Soups, Ice cream and lots of water.

I also wanted to share with you my current obsession - Griffin House. Here's a video.

ROCK-tober

October has been like the elevator business. It’s had its ups and its downs.

Oct. 3-4, Mosaic Fall Retreat. My Sunday School Class had a "retreat." It was a NICE dinner and AMAZING dessert prepared by our Martha Stewart - Jeannie. We carved pumpkins. Played some Sharades. Stayed up until I couldn't handle it anymore (11:30pm for me). And the next morning, we had breakfast, bible study, etc. It was really nice. See Pictures Here.

Oct. 5-9, I was in DC. I got to do fun things like:

1. Spend more than enough time at Union Station.
2. Stopped By St. Matthews Cathedral where JFK’s funeral services were held.
3. Took the over-rated Double Decker Tour. It was good for my grandmother otherwise money not wisely spent. I say – get a map, comfortable shoes an start walkin!
4. Went to the Holocaust Museum (Not sure this qualifies as “fun” per se).
5. Evening walk around the National Mall – I am still and forever will be amazed by my grandmothers endurance! We chilled at the Washington Monument for a bit. Sang silly songs and laughed at each other…or was it with each other…I can’t remember.
6. A visit to Mount Vernon! THIS WAS MY FAVORITE…I felt like I could be Elizabeth Bennet walking through the hilly landscape to visit Mr. Darcy – or something.
7. A walk through the Arlington National Cemetery. Saw the changing of the guards and a really HOT guy in uniform. Thought it would show extreme disrespect if I slipped him my number.
8. After Arlington Cemetery, we walked to Iwo Jima. Kind of funny that the President of Slovakia was there. Secret service told to me stay on the grass. I barely even touched the pavement…

I went back to work on the Friday the 10th.

Oct. 16, Without asking for my permission my brother Tim turned 17 years old. I gave him a cool wallet for his birthday. I still owe him Korean food. MMmmmm, can’t wait.

Oct. 18, Annual Pumpkin Carving Party. While I was in college I carved my first pumpkin and LOVED IT! Every year my friends would get together to carve pumpkins. When I came home I thought – UH HELLO! This would be fun with the FAMILY! This tradition started in 2007 and will continue till kingdom come! It’s my favorite party to host for the family. Talk about TONS OF FUN! The pumpkins are amazing…and some of us still face pumpkin carving challenges, but I won’t single anyone out (one of my cousins ended up cutting their pumpkin in Half!!). Oh - and I totally have to share with you a Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe! It's SOOOOO delicious!

Oct. 20-25, Crazy week at work. Parties, Seminars, Board Meetings, lots of food. I did sneak in some fun with friends! (snort, snort) And Saturday the 25, was my Sunday Schools second Flag Football game. I and another friend decided to be team “moms” since we weren’t playing. Fun stuff – and AMAZING PLAYS!

Oct. 31, Dressed up as an 80’s girl. And went to Long Point’s Fall Festival.

Nov. 1, HoeDown. My church has an annual hoedown for the singles ministry. It was A TON of F-U-N!

I'll post pictures...It's amazing I even got this post out.

My version of Mr. Ike

Hi friends.

So here’s my IKE story:

I freaked out before the storm came – I think you witnessed that in a previous blog. I bought out aisles and aisles of HEB’s snack and nonperishable foods (enough to feed a tribe). I looked online every so often to check the progress and see if the Hurricane Center said anything different (I was practically glued to it, okay). I was hoping that the local news people were hyping it up. THEY WEREN’T!

Friday was a tad bit boring and it seemed as though the storm wasn’t coming. I was telling my parent’s that I wanted to go out into the street and yell, “Come already! HIT ME WITH WHAT YOU'VE GOT! HIT ME!” (ha – I would’ve never survived it if it actually hit me). That evening my family and I sat around in the back yard admiring the spectacular skies and the wind that was picking up a bit. I called it a night about 11 pm when the storm was there (not yet in full force) and not too long after I was up again. I was woken up by the trees snapping in half and howling winds. It sounded like a train or worse. My little cousin (3 yrs) describes it like this, “Mimi, there were monsters all in the wind.” Yeah – like I said, it was scary.

In all honesty, I was more composed than I thought I would be considering I freaked out so bad prior to the storm. My gramma was with us – and that helped me keep my cool. I’m not saying I wasn’t scared because I was! I think it would’ve been much worse for me if I didn’t feel like I was responsible for someone else’s well being. Does that make sense?

My grandmother handled it very well. My mother was absolutely HILARIOUS! If there only had been a constant video recording of her. She’s so funny! My dad slept through the whole thing! Aser would have been outside the entire time if we had allowed him to. I tried sleeping but was unsuccessful. Instead, I had Caedmon’s Call’s - There’s Only One looping in my head. Tim laughed at the rest of us.

After the storm, everyone walked out of their homes as if they had been in bomb shelters. It was the weirdest thing ever! Once everyone saw that everyone else was okay, everyone got to work. This was the most neighborly kindness I have ever experienced in my life. All I have to say is that I love my neighbors! They are amazing! Everyone was helping each other – raking, cleaning, sawing fallen trees to pieces, sharing water & food, etc. It was beautiful! One of my neighbors went to a neighboring town and bought pizza for ALL of us! WHOA!

So the mess – there are still fallen trees everywhere. We lost two of them. There was no damage to my house. My parent’s house is also okay. It almost seemed like there was a bubble protecting the house. There are two trees that hover over it and the big honkin’ branches that should have fallen on the house, fell away from it. It was amazing. My grandmother’s house is also JUST FINE! There was no flooding even after the rain we got after the storm.

Things are not yet back to normal. Gas is hard to come by. Electricity is also out in a lot of places – thankfully not at my house (my parents are still staying with Aser & me). I dare not step into a grocery store where I imagine it’s crazy. I’ve heard that people have been fighting over LOAVES OF BREAD! Now why would you go into something like that knowing that people are at their wits end?

One of my friends is my HERO! I’m honestly impressed by her. Her house is near the coast and suffered serious damage. When I spoke to her last night she said, “It’s sad, but it could be worse. This loss is only materialistic and I could have nothing right now.” She is in good spirits and thankful that everyBODY is okay.

Something that I keep wondering is – You can prepare physically, but how in the world do you prepare emotionally and mentally? Is it possible?

Through all of this, I’m reminded that GOD is and forever will be good. He’s so good to us. Read Psalm 29.

The Lord will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace.

Feeling Better Already

Yay! We got my gramma's house in order!
And we've done what we can at my mom's.

The other girls backed down and they'll brave it in their own homes. Gramma's still coming with us. I'm baking stuff and have stuff to do until the storm is over.

It feels so good to know that everything is in place...

Now the actual storm. :o)

Preparation and Anticipation

Since the hurricane season started, I've been pretty "indifferent" about it. But this time the stress is building and I'm trying to remain calm. I am praying for God's protection and I'm preparing the best that I can.

Have you seen the size of this thing? No matter where it hits Houston is on the dirty side! My grandmothers house floods and we've planned to get her out of there TOMORROW!! Do you know how stressful I find that? Why not TODAY? LEt's get prepared TODAY!!!!

Last night, I went to the grocery store and bought a good balance of healthy and junky. On my way home is when things started to sink in! The city had a police lead caravan of charter buses headed south to help people evacuate. And they were also VISIBLY preparing for contraflow. When you can SEE the preparation that's going into it and then you see the size of this thing...It's a little scary. Just a little.

I know we'll be okay! I know that we will. I'm going to have a house full and I'm going to make it a party!! If things go as planned, My aunt, my grandmother, My cousin Amy and her dog, my cousin Rosy and her girls, and my family (there's five of us and 4 dogs) will all be staying at my house.

Here is what is stressing me out:

1. I want to get my gramma's house ready TODAY and get her ready to come to my house (or wherever she chooses to stay) tomorrow morning.
2. Being at work unable to get my house ready for guests.
3. Having enough food for everyone.
4. The traffic coming home tonight! Talk about Post Traumatic Stress from Rita.

Really, it's just the anticipation that kills. I think we're going to be fine in my heart of hearts.

And I'm just now finding this out?

Last weekend, we got the family together from near and far to celebrate my grandmother's 80^th birthday. We had a little "program" which means one of my aunts put together some history and had people give speeches. The History is what intrigues me most and really I'm SHOCKED that I've been oblivious to my grandparent's story.

My grandparents met when they were really young and very good-looking. (If I had some scanned images I'd share. Perhaps I'll update the post with pictures. ) They sent letters to each other naively through my grandfather's brother, Tio Pepe, rather than using the Post Office. Tio Pepe of course took advantage of the opportunity and read every single one of the letters he got his hands on. I have no doubt he teased them half to death because he would!!

When my grandmother was 19 years old, my grandfather asked her father for her hand in marriage. Her father adamantly said NO! There was no way that his sweet daughter would benefit from this marriage and so the answer was no and would remain NO! They continued dating – I guess that wasn't prohibited. My grandmother has always been "put together" and still will not leave the house until she feels she's reached near perfection. My grampa knowing that about her showed his love for her by spending a LOT of money to give her the most expensive powder and lipstick on the Mexican Market. One day, they were given permission to go to the movie theatre with her sisters as chaperones. They purposefully sat 2 rows behind my grandmother's sisters and guess what they did!? They sneaked out in the middle of it and ELOPED!

Plans were made way before the movie theatre outing and they took their merry little selves to Saltillo and stayed for who knows how long. They eventually came back – married!!! To date, she has no idea what movie they went to see!

I still don't know how growing up I never knew this story. I'm intrigued to know more. If you would like to see pictures of the party click on the picture below.

Superb week

Talk about an inspiring week. For the longest time I've waited for the invitation to a leadership conference in Chicago, IL. Little did I know that there are satellite locations in Houston! I was finally invited and I went happily (Thurs. & Fri.) and came out blessed beyond measure. Now my question is what to do with what I've learned. I'm curiously praying!

Then after the conference I came home to watch the most SPECTACULAR olympics ceremony! Amazing!!! Did you guys watch?

Tonight we celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday. It is going to be a PARTY! I'm so excited about it.

There was some sad news in the middle of it. My great uncle, Pepe, died Wednesday morning. He had been sick. Tio Pepe was my grandfathers brother and was probably the funniest man I have ever met. After his death, we talked about the crazy stories he told and I came to the conclusion that the Valdez are amazingly engaging story tellers! He will be missed.