Ethan's Entourage

This was our 3rd year doing the Walk for Autism. It was hot, as usual, but went smoothly and rather quickly! It was weird not having Aunt Martha there, but we made it through it. :)

The Santoro clan got there early and of course, the Rojas' were late! Mom actually had to hot glue her Nike's together since the bottom was coming apart! That is classic! Finally, everyone was ready to start. We began around 10 am and walked the 3 mile course. I walked with Jenn and everyone kind of drifted apart as the walk went on. Mom took off like a speed demon, while Dad hurt his ankle trying to catch up with her. Miah and Molly fell behind after a while and who knows where Josh and Tia went! They were gone in a flash! It was nice for Josh's co-workers to come out and participate too! There were 30 people in Ethan's Entourage! WOW!! What great people we have in our lives! :)

Mom finished 1st and Jenn and I were right behind them. I felt like I had just finished a marathon! My legs were spent! We were all pretty exhausted and hungry so 17 of us went to Denny's for some grub. It was a great time and we all love being able to participate in something so positive and rewarding. Until next year!

The Start

Ethan is ready!

So is Alex

And Jaxen...

Waiting for the official start

There was a lot of support

And we are off...

Cameron on Miah & Jaydan on Molly

My handsome Evan

Taking pics

Getting ready to head out

Cameron & Bryson---so cute!

Alex

Molly, Miah, Jaydan & Tasha

Tasha and her brood

Madison & her broken arm

The finish line!

Halloween 2009

Miah was here for the weekend, so in traditional Halloween style, we went to the movies to see Saw 6. We have done that for the past few years, so it was a must to do again this year! Jake prepared himself for the flick by watching gory/slasher movies all week so he wouldn't have nightmares from Saw! He's such a little baby! During the movie, he even made me switch him seats so he could be in the middle! In the end, he was ok and said he didn't think he would have bad dreams. :)

We went back to my house to carve pumpkins, eat cupcakes and watch "The Orphan". Molly met us at the house and we just hung out and enjoyed the company and movie. It was a fun Halloween for sure!

Evan's family went over to Eric and Hillary's house to go trick-or-treating in their neighborhood and I thought I would share some pics. They are so cute!

Ethan and Hillary

Aunt Jannice w/Ethan

Alex and Madison

Jaxen was a Tootsie Roll!

Jaydan

Madison is so sassy!

Bryson, Cameron & Jaydan

Bryson, Alex and Jaxen

The New Schedule

Well, getting back to work is great and all, but I am exhausted!! Training is just a lot to take in and to use my brain in this capacity after it has been sitting idle for the past 8 months is overwhelming! The thing I am struggling most with is the schedule. I am not a morning person whatsoever! I LOVE to sleep and I would say I do it quite well :) Getting up at 5:15 5 days out of the week is just difficult. Hopefully I will get used to it soon enough. :/

My 1st week went rather well. The general info taught was easy to grasp and retain, as I have had to deal with loans, financial aid, the steps, etc, when I was a student. The reports and programs are pretty basic, just a lot to remember and steps to follow. But I'm not too worried about it. Once I get on the floor I am hoping to pick it up rather quickly. We took our Mid-Assessment test yesterday to see where we are in terms of comprehension and application and I received a 98%! I was very relieved to see that grade! So now we are finishing up the remaining reports tomorrow and will take our Final Assessment next Tuesday. I am shooting for 100% this time! Fingers crossed! :)

I am very blessed to have this opportunity come my way and I am confident that I will like it a lot. I enjoy positions where I am making a difference as well as being held responsible for my development and growth. I am lucky that this position fits me and I hope to be running the place very soon ;)

New Hobby

Recently, Evan and I joined a Wii Bowling League!! Yes, it is on the Wii and No, I am not kidding! It is just like a regular bowling league (rules and all) but we play on the Wii. Thank goodness, because I wouldn't be doing as well as I am if it was for real! My friend Jenn and her family decided to do this for fun and asked me and Evan if we would like to join her team, Dolls and Balls (that was my kickball team's name, so we used it this time too!). Jenn, Rachel and I are the Dolls and Evan is the Balls! Perfect!

#1 Team in the League!

What Dolls :)

There are 6 teams, each made up of 4 members. We play 3 games total every Sat night and then receive our averages based on those games. Our 1st game was this past Saturday and we did very well! My average was 179 and Evan's was 211. As a team, we are going to kick some booty! We all have fairly similar averages so I know as long as we can be consistent, we will win!

There will be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes for winning teams as well as other prizes along the way. It is very organized and planned out nicely. Thanks to Jenn's mom, Bonnie, we have rules, handicaps, and time restrictions so we can be official. She is even providing us with an "End of the Season" dinner! What a gal! Good thing she has played on leagues before and knows the ins and outs of the game. So far, it is tons of fun and I can't wait to continue with the "season"!

Happy Birthday!

Today would have been Grandpa Hamilton's 76th Bday. Sadly, he passed away in February of this year in Michigan. I know this was a very hard thing for my mom to go through and I admire her strength and her love for her father. We haven't seen him in a very long time, but he will always be remembered. I remember his gigantic height and his long, lanky legs. I remember when I was smaller looking at them when he would cross them and think, "Wow, those have to be 100 feet long! How is he able to cross them so easily?" Interestingly enough, I look at Josh and Jake and see that in my brothers.

But birthdays are a celebration of life and all that has been accomplished up to the point. So today, we remember John Stacy Hamilton: thank you for providing my mom with wonderful memories of a man and father whom she admired and loved more than anything. Thank you for raising such a beautiful daughter, inside and out, and for somehow giving her the necessary tools to be an outstanding mother, friend and human being. She makes an impact on all the lives she is in and makes a difference in our world. The fact that you were apart of molding this person to be who she is makes your life all that more incredible. I know you are aware of this, but we just want to thank you. Happy Birthday Grandpa. You are loved, remembered, and missed.

Back to the Grind!

I start my new job tomorrow! I am very excited to be part of the workforce again. I am definitely going to miss being home and keeping busy with things to do around my house, but I am looking forward to having a schedule and responsibilities other than the casa. I know my dogs are going to miss me. They will be all alone during the day now :( So I will need to make sure they get lots of attention and love when I am home in the evening.

I have 6 weeks of training, M-F from 7:30-4:30, so not too bad. The drive is about 45 mins to an hour, depending on traffic. It is going to be hard getting up early. I better go to bed at 8 tonight! But I am looking forward to what this new chapter will bring and how I will grow from it. Updates to come...

A Great Week

Jake had his last set of tournament games Monday and Miah was able to go to the 1st one for a little bit before we headed back to San Diego. Right before we arrived, we received a text letting us know that Jake's team had won the whole tournament! That was awesome news to hear! The team all got individual rings and the team received a trophy. Way to go Jake & The Wildfire!

Arizona Wildfire
2009 National Labor Day Tournament
4-2
Tournament Champions

As soon as we got there, we headed straight to Mission Beach. It was great! We went to Fred's for some Mexican food; we were starving! Miah enjoyed the waitress just as much as the food! It was a good time, indeed.

Mission Beach

Miah laying out

My new friend

Tuesday, while Miah was in school and at practice, I went to the mall and exchanged some clothes I had in my closet that are too big for me. I always buy clothes and never take the tags off until I wear them. This tactic came in handy because I was able to return all my Charlotte Russe clothes that I bought when I was a heffer and get a whole new wardrobe for work! I am very excited about this! So now I am set for a while or so. After I was done shopping, Miah, I and his roommate, Chance, went to see The Final Destination in 3-D. I had already seen it but it was definitely worth seeing again. Can you believe it was $29.00 for me and Miah???? What is that about? I know 3-D is more, but the reg movies are $11.50 with no student discounts. Man, California is expensive!

I was planning on leaving Wednesday before Miah had practice at 1:30, but his morning class got cancelled and there was no practice that day, so he begged me to stay! I couldn't resist! So we drove to Coronado Island and laid out on the beach for a few hours. It was beautiful there! Miah had to be at school for some rally his team was participating in, so we had to head back. I got ready and waited for him to finish. We went back to the mall and Miah patiently went shopping with me. He thinks I don't wear enough color and that I need to venture out instead of always sticking to black and white. Note taken. Thanks for the tip, Miah!

Miah

Beautiful spot

Waves that carried nothing but seaweed

More beach

We went back to the beach that evening in hopes of swimming, but it was too darn cold outside. I just couldn't get in. We bundled up in the beach towels and enjoyed the peaceful surroundings before heading back.

Freezing at Pacific Beach

Thursday morning, we got up early so Miah could go to school and I could leave. It was sad to leave after spending so much time w/him--I HATE GOODBYES!! I had so much fun just hanging out and talking with him. He is such a sweetheart. Hopefully we can see each other soon. I can't wait to watch his games. I love you Miah!

I drove home alone and made it safe and sound in a little oever 5 hours. I love living right off the 10! Perfect for Cali trips. On a totally random note, I hate these things! I feel as though they are going to come up out of the ground, start walking, and shoot everything in sight! They freak me out big time! I hate driving by them. Creepy!

They are monsters just waiting for the right time to attack!