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Camping Trip on the 4th of July

We hadn't gone camping for a long time, so when we were invited to Concan, Texas for the 4th of July; we were more than ready to get our camping gear! We stayed at the Garcia's (Cristina's Godparents) beautiful cabin. It was the perfect getaway to put up our feet, relax, and enjoy the great outdoors. And we even got to see fireworks in the beautiful night sky!

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Malakoff Pride

I can't believe how much my little boy Charlie is growing up. Just yesterday I was enrolling him in Kinder Basketball. Now here he is along with his 2nd grade team members celebrating another great basketball season. Although they did not make it to the playoffs this year, they were happy just spending time with each other and having a great time at Hal's Landing while enjoying their End of the Season Party.

We almost didn't make it to the party because Charlie was sick-yes, that's right. I had to take him to the doctor. The doctor gave him a nebulizer treatment at the clinic. He may not show it on the picture but he had a bad chest infection! He was flushed from releasing all of his body heat. He didn't want to miss spending time with his friends. And who would blame him?

St. Patrick's Day

I was looking forward in spending time with with the kids this Spring Break. So on Monday, St. Patrick's Day, I took the kids to the public library. To our surprise, they had several activites going on celebrating St. Patrick's Day. They had story telling, music and art activites. They enjoyed checking out books and reading them in the kids tent. As you can see below, they had a lot of fun.


After our three hour time in the library, we went to visit Grandma at work. The kids enjoyed the day and I had a lot of fun watching them and capturing these moments with them.
At Grandma's Office

Egg Hunt Fun @ Malakoff

This was Cristina's first Egg Hunt at school. I was very lucky to have captured these cute photos of her(I was in planning when they began their hunt). The entire Kinder class of 2008 enjoyed a sunny day at the school's courtyard. Cristina was so excited and happy to be with her friends. As you can see she had a lot of fun.

Cristina and her teacher, Ms. Pia Martinez




Searching for "Cascarones"

Valentine's Day Celebration

My good frined and collegue, Mrs. Recio surprised me this day by giving my family a valentine's day gift. It wasn't your typical holiday card, box of chocolates or even a stuffed animal. To my surprise (inside a big brown paper bag) was a bottle of cider nicely secured with packing peanuts. She told me how they celebrate Valentine's Day in her family by drinking a bottle of cider with her husband, Dad and even her son, Jose Emiliano. She wanted us to celebrate by doing the same. I explained the ritual to Charlie and the kids and this is how we celebrated. We hope to continue this tradition anually just like my friend. Thank you, Mrs. Recio for the wonderful idea!

Good-Bye 2007!

As we say good-bye to another year, I can't help but think of some of the many events that took place this year. First, the most unthinkable (I can't believe it myself!) Charlie and I reached our tenth year anniversary last February. It's amazing how time flies. Seems only yesterday Charlie and I tied the knot after a short, but well established courtship. During the past ten years we purchased our home, had three wonderful children, bought a much needed family vehicle, and moved out of our home to my in-laws and back. Let me tell you that it hasn't been an easy ride. During that time I also also went to school full-time and worked 40 hours a week in the attempt to finish school. Fortunately, I accomplished my goal and I successfully graduated from college and happy with the career I choose. Don't ask me how (we) have managed, but we have gone through some testing times during that period. We can only endure those times in our life and live and learn from them. My hope is that we can accomplish another decade just as good, maybe better than the last ten years. Our journey has just begun....

As years go by-the kids keep getting older too. This past year our eight year old son, Charlie, started his first year of CCD for his upcoming communion. In the summer he also lost several of his baby teeth. Needless to say his recent pictures are toothless but still sweet as usual. Six year old Cristina, our middle child, embarked on what will be the first year of schooling for many years to come, I hope. My little girl started anxiously her first day of Kindergarten in the "big school" as she would say. She couldn't wait to join her big brother. Since Carolina, our youngest and four years old still has one more year for elementary school, We moved her from a farther day care to a smaller, closer and more amiable atmosphere. The move for her was no big deal. She wanted to stay the day we went to explore the day care. I am happy to say that she is doing very well and will be ready to join her brother and sister the following year. I can't believe how much they've grown and matured in one year. I am happy to be cherishing these special days with them.

In the summer we also took our very first BIG trip "where dreams do come true" to magical Disney World. I have to say that I was flabbergasted at the many things to see and do. Considering we only stayed for a week, we were able to accomplish more than what we expected. We all enjoyed the trip just as the kids did. We will see where this summer takes us next....

In August, I began my third year of teaching. Seems only yesterday, I was going to college and being pregnant in the fall every two years. I laugh at it now but I still remember doing my projects for school at home in the kitchen or living room floor with a belly. I had a lot of fun. I hope that all that studying while I was pregnant transmitted to my children in some way; maybe this is why they are so smart! What else can a mother say about her children?

Before the year ended and to our surprise, Charlie received a call we hoped to get from the county. He was hired to start working with the Department of Road & Bridge as a Mechanic. This was truly a blessing. He couldn't be happier to accept a change for the better and certainly an opportunity for professional growth.

We will see what's in store for us this year. We will take anything it has for us gladly and respectfully. Welcome 2008!

Thanksgiving in A & M

This year, we were thinking of visiting my sister in College Station for the Thanksgiving holidays. (I wasn't sure if she was going to travel anywhere since she is 37 weeks and can go into labor anytime now.) I wanted to see her (our last visit was in Spring 2006) and these holidays were the perfect reason to visit.

Then, we got a postcard from my sister extending an invitation to spend it with them. I knew we were going to spend it with Charlie's family, but I also wanted to go see my sister and my cutie niece, Elena. So Charlie and I compromised. We spent it at his aunt's house and after our Thanksgiving lunch we headed for A&M. We almost didn't make it to "Aggie Land" due to car trouble, but Charlie worked his magic on our vehicle and we were on our way.

Although the visit was short, it was nice to have spent it with family. I especially wanted the cousins to spend time together.

At night, Josie and Omar took us to Christmas in the Park.
It was nice just walking around the park with lights everywhere we turned. The kids of course enjoyed it the most. Thank you Josie and Omar for a great time at A&M!

The WoodHouse Treatment

After celebrating my birthday last week, I have to say that I was very happy and blessed to have family & friends share this day with me. I was happy just being surrounded with the people I love the most in my life. Two of those people are my In-Laws. I am very fortunate to have them in my life. They not only see me as the wife of their eldest son or the mother of their only grandchildren, but as their daughter. So on my birthday they did the unexpected. And although gifts are a tradition on birthdays, I was particularly surprised on the one that I received by them. They gave me a gift card to The WoodHouse Day Spa. There I literally received the "royal treatment". I was catered to the moment I set foot in their spa. From a glass of water, to a soft comfortable white robe, a hot pillow over my shoulders all to the culmination of their Seaweed Foot Facial. I've never been so pampered in my life! Needless to say, it was unusual having people there to accommodate your every need. With the hectic day of the first day of school, this was just what my body and feet needed. Thank you so much Mom & Dad for the wonderful gift!


Enjoying my evening at the spa


Me after the "royal treatment"

First day of school pictures

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Disney Montage

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Even though I am not going to begin this scrapbook anytime soon, I wanted to share a few photos of our trip in the meantime. Enjoy!

Worries of a Mother

When we came back from Orlando, I was ready to take care of things that I needed to do before school starts. Such tasks as buying school supplies, new school uniforms, paying bills, cleaning house and all that entails after a week long vacation. However, I couldn't have expected what I was going to find out in the coming days about my Charlie Brown.

About five days ago, I noticed that Charlie was coming down with something. It started with a regular cough and then he couldn't stop coughing at night. He began complaining about his throat and some chest pains. I gave him over the counter medicine but nothing seemed to cure his long acting cough. As any Mother would, I took him to the doctor so that he could tell me what Charlie had. What I thought was a normal cough turned out to be something else. In the end, the doctor said his chest was congested and his airways were blocked. He said he had symptoms of Asthma and most probably developed these symptoms from the recent changes in the weather(from Orlando and Laredo). He is currently on the Nebulizer (Xopanex) and two other medications.

I have to admit that news like these tend to scare me. The doctor informed me that kids are easily suceptable to these types of illnesses. He assured me that he would outgrow this overtime. I certainly hope so.

Since Charlie has been taking his medications, he has been doing very well. He has a doctor's appointment on Friday for a check-up.

Return from Orlando

Well, after a long week of driving, eating, walking, sleeping and tireless nights- we are back from Florida. We went to five parks! Even if we would have had an itinerary nothing could have prepared us for what was to come while in Orlando. We woke up early every day (we tried anyway)to get to our planned destinations as early as we could. Our goal: to go through every crook and crany of all the parks. After the third day, I have to admit we were exhausted already. There was just so much to do and so little time. The parks were overwhelming with tourists trying to do the same things we and thousands of people wanted to do. At times, the kids got restless and they would take a nap in their strollers. Because we went during hurricane season, we got much of the water while at the parks. It rained everyday of the week while we were there. We had to carry our umbrellas and raincoats daily to prepare for unexpected drizzles and showers. No matter the weather the show went on and we continued as planned. After the third day, we decided to take it slow and just enjoy our time at the parks and the city. Over all, we accomplished the impossible and got to take advantage of all the attractions, rides, and shows.
One thing is certain, we will never forget the good times we had in DisneyWorld.

Keep reading our blog for the latest pictures of our wonderful trip.

Martinez Family Reunion Scrapbook

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Here is a scrapbook of the reunion. Since I can't bring or make a book for everyone, I brought it to you!

Feliz Cumpleaños, Rafa

On July 3rd would have been my older brother's birthday. He would be 36 years old had he not had Leukemia. Although he passed at the very young age of 16, Rafa was full of life. I remember that while he was hospitalized our family was approached by an author by the name of Erma Bombeck. She was on a mission to write a book about children with cancer. Her efforts became a success. She wrote a book titled: I Want to Grow Hair, I Want to Grow Up, I Want to go to Boise. As a result of this, Rafa's drawing of Garfield was published in her book along with many other ill children that contributed with a short story or drawing. His drawing of the silly cat was attached to a machine with bubble thoughts above his head thinking, "I hate this machine". This picture still astonishes me to date. This only demonstrated that even though he was ill he had a sense of humor and only looked at the funny side of life. I own a copy of this book and treasure it with all my heart. They say time heals the pain...and although 20 years seems so long ago, to me it seems only yesterday when I was thirteen and my brother left us...the pain and sorrow is still there. Rafa is the bravest person I ever met. I was privileged to have had him as my brother.

Tu hermana que te extraña y te quiere mucho, Carmen

Disney Bound!

In ten days we will be going on our first family trip to Disney World for an entire week. We will be traveling with Charlie's family. It might turn into a chaotic vacation with my kids, but we are sure to have a blast in the process. Charlie has been there before. On the other hand, it will be a first for me. So you can imagine my enthusiasm and eagerness to meet Mickey and the entire Disney characters-especially Cinderella. The kids are just as enthusiastic about going. They can't wait and are keeping a "countdown calendar" on our fridge to remind them everyday how many days we need until our trip.
As much as we would have liked to have flown to Orlando- we will be driving. Yes, you would think that flying would be a better choice with gas prices hitting the ultimate high this summer, but the cost of flying there would have been more expensive. So Charlie, his Dad, and brothers will be taking turns on our way to Orlando. We will be staying at a wonderful resort - the Sunterra Grand Beach Resort. Click here if you would like to see some wonderful pictures of the resort. Check back with us to see how our Disney Adventure went.

Martinez Family Reunion

On April 14th we gathered at El Ranchito to celebrate a long awaited family reunion. From far & near, they were all there!

Charlie's family had not had a reunion since the passing of his paternal grandmother. Although it was a one day event it turned out to be a weekend they would never forget. I have been very fortunate to meet most of his family throughout our ten year marriage, but I have to admit that I was overwhelmed by the number of Martinez's in the family. They seemed to never end!

Just as there is a begining and an end-the reunion too had to end. It was sad to see everyone leave & return to their hometown. One thing was agreed -that they would do it again in five or ten years. If you'd like to see some pictures, check out the scrapbook above.

New Family Blog

Hello, family and friends. Welcome to our family blog! I am very excited about keeping everyone posted about our everyday happenings.

With so many options out in the world wide web about posting your daily thoughts and interactions with people, I decided to finally create our own in this site. So hopefully you will enjoy what you read and see in our family blog. I will also be adding photos on our photo hosting page.