In his memory I invited friends and family to release balloons with us. I received many messages and photos from so many people that loves us and him, he touched so many lives. We live you so much special angel, I know you’re waiting for us, up with the stars and the moon, playing with your balloons.

He was a Transformer for Halloween. His class had a little parade for the rest of the classes. He got a lot of compliments on his costume, which Ben made! We went to the mall and around the neighborhood later that night.

We visited the Steinbeck Museum in Salinas, they even had a treasure hunt for kids. Its a great place with tons of information on that great author. We had lunch nearby and then we headed to a Christmas tree farm to cut our tree. Sorry this picture is not good at all.

This is Dallas’ first school picture. I can’t believe how grown he looks in it! They also gave him an ID card which he refers to as his ‘credit card’

This is at Dave and Holly’s holiday party that we went to last weekend. It was great to catch up with them, we met Dave when we first moved to California and we also attended their wedding this summer.

That’s about it for now, we’ve been working on our little Christmas traditions and having a nice time. Also, this coming Wednesday is a very special day for our family and I’ll blog about it as well. Merry Christmas everyone!

We took him to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday dinner. We played for a long time and had a great time.

The next day I baked some cupcakes for his class. All the kids were so sweet, and the teacher told me how excited they were about getting a treat that day! His teacher gave him a little birthday crown for D to wear that day

The following Sunday we drove up to a city called Redding where they have the Sundial Bridge. Very cool!

Then we looked on the map and noticed that Mt. Shasta was an hour away so we drove to check it out. We had lunch at Black Bear Diner, the food is great and the salads are huge! New favorite place to eat. It’s really beautiful up there, it reminded me of Utah for a while.

On our way back home we stopped by Shasta Dam. It was a bit frightening to look down, but the view was amazing.

Mt. Shasta

Also, yesterday we got back from a week in Utah. We had a very productive trip, it was great to see our families (minus my mom who is in Argentina) and I got to hang out with two of my friends. Ben had some meetings and it’s looking really good for his application to the U’s school of medicine. We saw his surgeon and some other people from the Burn Unit, they were really happy for us and the progress we’d made. Then we walked over to Primary Children’s and unfortunately I couldn’t chat with 2 of Conner’s GI doctors but we did talk to his geneticist. He is such a great guy, he was so happy to see us and was really excited to hear Ben’s plans. Conner had such an awesome team in that hospital.

Now it’s back to routine, back to school for Ben and D, I need to find a new job. I also have to work on D’s Halloween costume, which these days is Transformers. We’ll see how it turns out!

On Saturday we left after making some yummy empanadas for the trip. First we decided to take Hwy 1, but that was a huge mistake. Tons of traffic on almost every freeway we were on, that ride took forever. We finally made it to Anaheim late that night and went straight to bed.

Sunday was Disneyland day! We kept telling Dallas that we had a big surprise for him and I think we over did it, because he wasn’t that excited when we finally told him where we were taking him. Oh well. We had a fun time. My parents had never been to Disneyland and I was excited for them to see what a great place it is.

He was there too

Star Tours

Dallas and Grandpa Danny

Riding the teacups!

Blowing things up in Toontown

We went to Star Tours, if you never been to that ride, they choose a person from the audience and they make the person the ‘Rebel Spy’ of the story. They picked me! I was so surprised when my picture showed up on the screen, haha! It was awesome. We rode Space Mountain (Dallas was the right height but he did not like it at all, poor buddy, it was too dark for him), the Buzz Lightyear ride (he loved that one!), Autopia (I was not a fan of that one), the Finding Nemo ride (the long wait was not worth that ride, I was disappointed).

We also went on the Dumbo ride, the teacups, we watched the parade and the Jedi Training Academy show ( I was hoping D would get picked, but no. They teach kids from the audience how to become a Jedi and then they fight Darth Vader, it was fun). We got on other rides and of course we couldn’t leave without having some Dole Pineapple Whip. It’s so good!!

After the fireworks I went to the store and got some souvenirs, my mom bought him a R2D2 Mickey hat, he loved it

The next day it was time to go back home but before that we headed to Newport Beach and we played for a little bit. It started to get cloudy so we grabbed some food and drove up north.

We had a great time and Dallas was beyond happy to have his abuelos with him!

Kindergarten 2011

He has been asking when does school start all summer long. He’s seen the kids that live upstairs go to school and he wanted to go so bad, now it is his turn and he is so excited. Last Monday we had orientation, we met his teacher, Mrs. Prather and we like her, she’ll be a good teacher for him.

He rides the bus now, I was a bit nervous, he’s so little! But he loves it. He chats with the other kids and has no problem leaving me behind, haha! This picture is from this morning.

School bus!

In Argentina there are no school buses, so I have no clue what that experience must be, but he enjoys it, so that’s all it matters. And the last one in his classroom. They give them breakfast and lunch while he’s there. I heard it’s a really good school and in a few months they’ll be going to the new one they’re building a few blocks from where we live, he’ll be sad about not riding the bus anymore, poor D.

Time truly flies, it looks like just a few months ago I was feeding him on a high chair and now he’s a tall, independent and curious almost 5 year old!

I love those chunky cheeks!

We love you buddy and we’re so proud of you!

I’ve been waiting to get this phone for a long time and here it is! Thanks babe! I love it, the apps, the camera, everything. See? Right now I’m posting this from the WordPress app with a photo I took seconds ago. How cool is that?
In other news, I started a new job this month, it’s alright, closer to home, so the commute is great. I ran a 5k at the San Francisco Marathon, felt good to cross the finish line. My little man starts Kindergarten next week! We’re all very excited, I’ll come back and blog about it.

Dallas got his first bike! Ben found it at a flea market (I love Cali for that, there’s flea and farmers markets everywhere!) and D loves it, I think he loves it even more when he gets to ride bikes with Ben. He asks him if he wants to “play bikes” with him. So sweet!

Pixar lamp

Once in a while if we’re in Emeryville (just north of San Francisco) we drive by Pixar Studios. You can see the Lamp from the sidewalk (Pixar doesn’t allow the public inside. Boo!) Dallas was so excited when I told him they made all the Toy Story movies in there.

Zombie Dallas

We have a video game called Plants vs. Zombies. It is an awesome game. One time we were leaving and I hear Dallas calling me. When I turn around, I see him like this! Here is what the zombies from the game look like:

He even copied the missing pants part, D’s such a funny kid. Love you buddy!

PEZ museum

Did you know there’s a PEZ museum in California? We visited a few months ago, it’s pretty small, but they have a really cool collection. The owner gives a little tour and he told us some interesting things about PEZ.

And there you have it. I should be starting my new job by the end of the week, and at the end of the month we have a wedding and a big race. Ben is running the San Francisco marathon and I’m giving a try to the progressive marathon. Wish our muscles luck, haha!

4th of July weekend is busy every year, the 1st is Ben’s birthday, the 3rd is our anniversary and then the 4th. Then last year we added one more occasion, Ben’s niece was born on the 2nd! Crazy busy weekend!

Let me add that our car is awesome. We made it from Cali to Utah in a tank and a half! I couldn’t believe how little it took, we are big Prius fans

So, here are pictures:

The Librandi/Alvord men

The only one missing there is Lucas who is in Argentina, but we’ll see him soon enough

Then my parents organized an amazing asado for Ben’s birthday. It was sooo delicious, thanks mom and dad! Ben’s siblings and their families were there too, it was a great evening.

Mingling while we wait for yummy meat

Birthday boy

Ben with his high school friend, Craig

On Saturday morning we got together for breakfast at Sill’s in Layton (yum!) with some friends from Ben’s high school days, they have 2 girls and it was great catching up. On Monday we visited their house and had a great time.

On Saturday night we had dinner at Yoshi in Salt Lake. Good food! Later that night we had a double date with my brother and his wife. We saw The Lincoln Lawyer. It was very good.

Happy Anniversary to us!

On Sunday night we left D with my sis in law and her family and we headed out for our anniversary date. 7 years! We’ve been through so much and I feel so lucky and grateful to have this wonderful man by my side. I love you babe! We had dinner at Ruby River in Riverdale where we promptly forgot our leftovers (we do that all the time!)  and we watched the latest Transformers movie. We had a great time.

Monday we drove to North Ogden for the Cherry Days parade. I’m always afraid that we won’t find a good spot to watch it from so we parked and ran to find a spot. So for the first half hour we just sat on the ground. I kept thinking I should have at least grabbed the one blanket we brought with us, but Ben was playing golf and it was just D and me. I didn’t want to lose my place. All of the sudden a woman comes up and offers me an extra blanket she had. That was so nice of her! That’s another thing I miss about Utah, the people are the nicest people, they pay attention and go out of their way to help out.

Alvord Lane

Years ago Ben’s great grandfather owned a farmhouse on that street. The historic museum in North Ogden decided to place a sign with the old names of the streets. 2550 N used to be Alvord Lane. So we stopped by and snapped a picture. The farmhouse is still there, but it doesn’t belong to the Alvords anymore. Too bad.

Alvord farmhouse

After that we headed to the Clearfield Aquatic Center. That was a great idea for such a hot day, the pool was indoors, with a big waterslide and warm water in the pools. We decided to get some pizzas and after that we watched the fireworks with all the siblings and the cousins. They played for hours until it got dark enough. We left the next morning.

Cousins

The other reason to go visit Utah was to stop by at Primary Children’s and University hospital to chat with some of the doctors, maybe do some networking for Ben’s application to med school. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a hold of any of them. We ran into one of the doctors that treated Ben at the Burn Unit but he didn’t strike me as a very approachable man.  We did go into the Burn Unit and found two nurses that had him as a patient and it was nice to chat with them, they were very happy to see how well he healed and what his plans for school were.

We had lunch at the cafeteria at Primary Children’s and that was a little rough for me. It brought so many memories back…

I was disappointed that we didn’t make time to visit Conner’s grave. I suppose there’s always next time.

All in all it was a really nice trip and great to see family. Hope your weekend was great too!

If all the reasons I listed on my last post about missing Utah weren’t enough, here’s another one. That, right there, is my little dream house. Every single time I visit I have to drive by and take a good look at it. The last time I did, I pulled over and took a picture. I just love the brick and the columns and the entrance, everything.

I have no idea what it looks like on the inside, but I’m guessing is really cozy and has hardwood floors and a pretty kitchen. At one point it was on sale, but we were in different circumstances at the time and it obviously was not meant to be. But I can keep driving by it, and daydream. Maybe one day… who knows?

But rain or no rain they got married anyway and they looked so beautiful (sorry, but I have to admit, I have a pretty handsome brother!). And Dallas, wearing a suit. Oh my goodness. I teared up when I finished dressing him, he grows up so fast! I didn’t take a lot of pictures, because I hate that camera of ours, but my dad was awesome and got us a new one. So here’s what I got:

Nicolas and Cristine Librandi

My handsome little man!

Mom and me

That hand is my dad’s. He was trying to get some shade for the picture, there was no sun that day, but it was bright enough that we were squinting so bad! Haha, poor guy, he tried.

On Saturday I met with my friend Anabel, which I hadn’t seen since I got married, back in 2004. The one sunny day we had! We went to the Gateway for some ice cream and some shopping and the kids ran around and held hands for a bit, they were so cute together.

Brielle, Dallas and Mathias

Then on Sunday  I had some breakfast with my girl Angi and then my parents and I visited Conner’s grave. We bought him pretty flowers and some toys. Lots of the graves had cute things on them, oh, how I miss to visit him.

Bubbas

It was a great trip, but unfortunately it made me so homesick. As in I want to move back right now. I miss my family, my friends, the mountains, Conner’s grave. So Ben is working extra hard to make sure he gets accepted into the U. I hope, I hope, I hope they accept him! I didn’t realize until now, but Utah is my home. I said this before, but is where I met and married my best friend, where my children were born and were my sweet angel is resting. How can it not be home?