Back 2 School

Jake started school as a Sophomore at Bourgade on the 11th of August. He was very excited to get back to school to see his friends and of course, for the homework! He is enjoying it so far and is staying out of trouble. Friday was their 1st home football game & after-game dance. He had a lot of fun. Jake loves to dance so I am sure he enjoyed himself! Saturday, he tried out for a local baseball team and was asked to be apart of it. Jake is very excited to be playing and we will keep you updated on his games and how he is doing in school. So far, so good :)

Josh, Miah and Mom all started back on the 24th. Josh is at ASU and as of now, he is due to graduate in May 2010. Very exciting! He is majoring in Recreation & Tourism-something he is very good at and passionate about. I know he is going to do great things in his life and I can't wait for him to graduate! He is working at Desert Schools Credit Union and is training for a promotion as Branch Lead, which is a step into management. He works part-time for the City of El Mirage as well.

Miah is attending San Diego City College and really loves it. He thinks school is "gay" but his classes are good. He goes to school Mon-Thurs and has baseball practice until 5:30. Friday is his only day off, so it's nice he has that. His games should be starting soon so I will keep you updated on those.

Mom started school as well at Glendale Community College. She is taking a few online courses, a reading course and a country dance class! She really enjoys her dance class most of all! She is working hard and is happy to be back. Now her and Jake can do their homeowrk together! I don't how my mom manages to work at night, go to class in the evening, sleep for an hour and then head back to work! She is dedicated! Keep up the great work Mom and stay focused! We are proud of you!

I am going to be able to get my Masters onling w/my new job. I figure I should get a bunch of degrees since they won't cost me anything. That's my favorite benefit and am very thankful I have it! So hopefully one day I can be a journalistic psychological marketing pro! Watch out!

Longer Wait...

I was supposed to start my new job but due to an error in the recruiting department, I will have to begin my 6 week training September 14th. :( I guess the training class this round was overbooked so being that I was the last one hired, I was rolled over to the next training class. No big deal, but I busted my booty to get things squared away to prepare myself for getting back to reality. Oh well! Calories burned--YES!! At least I still have a job :)

Officially Moved :(

Well, sadly, Miah is officially a resident of California. He is all moved in and ready to go. Dad, Miah and Molly headed out there on Thursday and got everything all set up and unpacked. Mom, Jake, Aunt Jannice and I left AZ early Fri morn and arrived early afternoon. We checked into our hotel and met up with the rest of the fam at Miah's new casa. It is so cute and cozy! Perfect little place for Miah to feel at home. It is centrally located and very close to school and the beach-just perfect! We made ourselves at home while Mom and Aunt Jannice put Miah's bed together (something Mom wanted to do for him). We just hung out for a little bit and were very happy we got to spend some time at his new place.

The outside of the building

The front entrance

Getting his room and bed finished

Molly and Jake on the patio

Miah being silly

A little exhausted

Cozy on his new bed

Mom and Aunt Jannice joined him

Miah and Jake cuddled too

At this point, we were all hungry and decided to have dinner. We ate at Miller's Field by Pacific Beach, where Pizzeria Uno used to be. We all ordered pizza and man, was it tasty! It hit the spot for us all. We killed some time waiting for the food by taking some pics.

Molly bet Jake $10 that he couldn't eat a Large pizza by himself. I don't think she knew that is what he always does, so this was an easy win for Jake. He started to struggle just a little bit with only 2 pieces left, but sure enough, he succeeded! We all wondered where this food goes since he is so darn skinny, and he showed us where! He was a little nervous he was going to vomit later so he ran to CVS and bought some Pepto. Luckily, it was never used! :)

This is where he keeps his pizza weight--must be nice!

After dinner, we headed to Pacific Beach and played in the water for a little bit. We all got pretty wet and when we felt raindrops coming down, we decided to head out. We all said good night and went back to the hotel for some sleep. We needed it after the long day we had.

Saturday morning, Jake called us at 7:30 AM, waking us up, of course, and wanted us to get up and head to the beach. We decided to hang out, relax, and get ready when we wanted to. After about 4 different calls, we got up, got ready, packed up and left to meet them at Mission Beach. Once we got there, we did a little shopping and spent some time looking at sunglasses. I bought Jake some Michael Jackson sunglasses-since we are such fans of his, I knew he would love them! Darn it! I should have bought a pair for Grandpa! He is MJ's #1 fan, after all! ;) Miah tried on a pair he thought fit him nicely; we had to agree! Mom, Dad and Aunt Jannice got some new shades too.

Jake rockin the new shades!

And Miah's

Me and Jake w/his other new pair

We headed out to the beach and enjoyed the beautiful views and weather. Man, I wish we all lived here. It is just perfect there! However, the amount of guys who wear speedos and who don't wear swim trunks that fit them, allowing their cracks to show, could definitely be eliminated but what can we do! Jake did some wake boarding and managed to get some waves. Molly and Miah joined him in the ocean for some swimming. They looked like they had a blast! It was a relaxing time to just sit there and enjoy the magnificent environment we were in.

The cutie pies on the beach

Dad and Jake heading back in

Jake got some waves

Runnin in

Me and Mom

Miah, Molly and Jake heading out

We had some dinner before heading back to Miah's place to spend a few mins with him before we all went home. We got to meet Chance, his roommate. He seems very nice, chill and similar to Miah. We are all very glad he is rooming with someone like that; they seem like they will get along splendidly! He has a good sense of humor so that always works nicely in our family! Chance took a pic of us right before we had to bid farewell.

Saying good-bye was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I know we can all say that. But for me, I just felt this emptiness in my heart. I normally don't see Miah everyday, but just the thought that I could if I wanted to was always nice. Now, I can't. I know he is going to do great things and he is going to be fine. I don't worry about him at all. I suppose that is why it is so sad; he is so independent and such a good person, it makes it harder to let go. I tried my hardest not to cry, but that lasted for about 2 seconds! I just didn't want to stop hugging him. I miss him so much already! We all wish him the best of luck in school and of course, baseball, but most importantly, with his happiness. Can't wait to see what his future holds for him.

I adore you, Miah, and love you very much. We will all miss you!!!

Exciting News!!!!

I finally got the job!!!!! I am super excited!! I will be a Finance Counselor at the University of Phoenix. I start training next Monday and am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. I have enjoyed my time off, don't get me wrong, but I am blessed for this opportunity finding me when it did. I was able to be around and help out a lot this summer so I can't complain about that! Thank you Grandpa and Grandma, Mom and Dad, bros, Aunt Martha, Aunt Pat, and Z for your prayers and wishes for me to get this. I appreciate all your support. I love you all mucho mucho and am so very thankful to call you family. Woo Hoo!!! :)

A Sad Farewell

Saturday night, we planned a "family" dinner at my house. Miah knew about it, but we decided to invite a few more unexpected guests to bid him farewell and good luck. With Molly's help, she was able to invite some of his close friends to attend as an extra surprise for him. We invited her family, some mutual friends and of course, Aunt Jannice and the Santoro clan as well. Everyone arrived between 6:30 and 7, right before Miah arrived. He was very excited and happy to see everyone! We had subs, chips, chili con queso, artichoke dip, fruit salad, pasta salad, and Miah's fav-the green shit! I made brownies for dessert, which seemed to be a hit. Carlos enjoyed them the most, I think.


Miah and Patrick--friends since they were babies

Miah with Molly's family

Auntie Jannice, Miah and Pops

Hill and Miah

Patrick, Eric, Molly, Miah, Carlos, Eric's GF and Jake

Molly and Miah

Jason, Jake, me, Bonica, Onj and Evan

Towards the beginning of the night, one of the balloons I decorated with got loose and ended up tangled in the ceiling fan. I was so embarrassed because I neglected cleaning my fans!! It was so dusty--I felt like an idiot! Of all times for me not to clean them, this happens! Ay! I apologized so I hope no one thinks I am a terrible cleaner!! So embarrassing! Jake and Miah were able to get the balloon out, but I wish they could've done it without turning the fan off!


Freeing the balloon from my dirty fan!

Evan, Eric, Aunt Jannice, Bonica and Jason had a poker game going in the backyard and sadly, Evan didn't win the $50 pot. Eric did, of course! Not cool!!


The Poker Table

I bought Miah a plastic children's bat and had everyone sign it. Miah really liked that a lot. I hope the messages stay on forever!

Hill signing the bat

Ethan was the life of the party! Everyone wanted to play with him and got such a kick out of his energy and excitement for life! He is so adorable and sure is growing fast. He loves his new brother and as I tried catching a shot of him kissing Jaxen, I got an even more unexpected pic. I have to say it is the most hysterical thing I have ever seen! Jaxen is getting so big! He is so animated and lovable! How can one not love these kids?! :)

Ethan loving the music

Ethan was entertained with throwing things in my sink.
I had to laugh at him. He is so darn cute!

Baby Jaxen!

Too cute!!

We all just hung out and really enjoyed each others company. I must say, Molly's family is very delightful. They bought me flowers! How sweet. I enjoyed them and their genuine spirits. Everyone left one by one, so we called it a night after taking just a few more "kids" shots. Miah was saying adios to my house, my counter, and giving Evan a little kiss before he left.

The familia--we were used to me and Jake being the
shortest and would go on each end, but now what??

Miah and Me

Miah loves the counter!

Miah giving a good-bye kiss to sleeping Evan