ChChChanges...good ones!

today my honey started at his new job...well not new...but the one he transferred to doing the same thing (Correctional Officer). he had a hard time falling asleep last night, this is VERY unusual for him. i am normally very jealous as i hear him drift off to a nice deep sleep minutes after his head hits the pillow. but he tossed and turned for a good hour before i finally asked, "are you OK?" to which he replied, "yeah i just can't get comfortable." i pretty much called him out on the 'first day of school jitters' and he fell asleep within 5 minutes of accepting that silly little fact.

he left the house at 4:45am not knowing what the traffic would be like. he needed to be at work by 6am and his drive is roughly 30-40 minutes, depending on weather and traffic. he called when he was on a break but i was in the shower so i missed it. he he left a message saying, they did a lot of paperwork and he got some time on the range. he loves the range so i am sure he enjoyed shooting a bit. he said it was cold out there but that things were good.

the BEST part of today and the rest of his time at this new Prison is that at the end of his work DAY he comes HOME!!!!!! yay! i cannot wait to make dinner and sit down as a family. i am really looking forward to this big change. not having him home everyday for over a year has been really rough. it made our time together sooo precious and we learned to never take each other or family time for granted. we are just soaking up all this goodness.

i can't wait to hear Jordan sing:

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home
glad as i can be
clap my hands and shout for joy
then climb upon his knee
wrap my arms around his neck
and hug him tight like this
pat his cheeks and give him what?
A GREAT BIG KISS!!

OK. OK, OK it will most likely be me singing it...i am super pathetic like that and WAY too excited that our new life TOGETHER has finally begun!! wooo hoooo!!!

Jordan's Big Adventure

As i mentioned in the previous posts Jordan went on a little trip down to southern California with her grandparents. here are a few pics from that trip for your viewing pleasure. i asked Jordan if she wanted to be a guest blogger and make her own post she replied, "nah you can do it, i will read it when you are done". cute kid eh? yeah i will keep her...lol.

First Stop...

The Paige Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits

At Knott's Berry Farm...showing us ALL how it's done on the rock climbing wall

after a loooooong windy day at Knott's Berry Farm


these are all that i have OF Jordan, i need to get some more pics from my sister in laws camera, i know she caught some cute ones with Jordan and Snoopy.

BUT, fear not fans and readers of TheVasquez3 Blog. Jordan received a digital camera for Christmas. the following are ALL pictures she took on her trip. she took 98 pictures in total, it was hard to pick the best ones. i HAVE to start with this super random picture, from the drive, of a random pink monkey hanging on some random truck. gotta love a new camera and seeing the world through the eyes of a 12 year old. my kid totally rocks!!

here are few pictures Jordan took while at the Paige Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits.

Koi Fish (i think this is an awesome pic)

Saber Tooth Tiger eating a Buffalo (she thinks)

and the next day at Knotts Berry Farm a Hearse...not sure why.

and a Roller Coaster she did NOT go on...hmmm

back at the hotel Snoopy and Brownie Cat are posing pretty

and the final day a stop the Queen Mary on the way home...

Jordan had an amazing time, as she always does with her wonderful Grandparents who loooove her soooo moch!! here they are posing for the new photog in the family! THANK YOU Grandpa and Grandma for such a super fun trip!! you guys are AWESOME!!


so here ya have it, Jordan's big adventure!! they also stopped for a visit at an aquarium on the way home but i guess there are no pictures of that on Jordan's camera. perhaps my in laws will send me some if they took any.

Christmas or a little of it...

well we did not have our "Christmas Eve" with Jordan after all. she arrived home from her loooong trip to southern California with Paul's folks way too late to do any of our family traditions. yea i was pretty sad, i kind of still am a little sad. i want to give this kiddo traditions to look forward to even when we don't have the actual holiday together, it's fun to pretend and "make up" for the lost time. but it didn't happen...oh well. next year. we TOTALLY made up for it today and had a lot of fun celebrating Christmas together. we woke up early, had our cinnamon rolls for breakfast and opened gifts and laughed and had a great time with my in laws.

here are a couple of pics of our cute kid for your viewing pleasure...

almost ALL for Jordan!! spoiled much?

CUTE new pajamas!

awww teddy bear!sooooo tired from opening soooo many presents!!
so many new games, so little time!!
Jordan is going to be one super stylin' kiddo, with all the new clothes and shoes she got for Christmas...so stay tuned, i am sure you will see them as we go through 2008. We hope your holiday was everything you hoped it would be and more.

Indulge Me...

*NOTE* some of this will only make sense to people in my family...so indulge me..lol

this was a little bit of Christmas morning and Christmas Eve at my folk's house. tonight we have "Christmas Eve" with Jordan and Paul's folks and tomorrow is our "Christmas" with her. we picked her up from her mom's Christmas night and Paul's folks came and got her early the next day for a trip to So. California for Knott's Berry Farm, and a few other attractions down that way. i was hoping they would get up and high tail it home today so we could have our Christmas with Jordan but it seems they are slooooooooowly making their way back home stopping at the Queen Mary and poking around Long Beach. i am trying to be very patient and just blog and do a few things around the house but i am feeling kinda gypped, i want her home now!! oh well, i am sure she is having fun...without us! i love that Paul's parents want to take Jordan to do things and i know she loves time with them, especially since the word "no" is not part of their vocabulary!!

my boo boo rocking it out on Guitar Hero...HOT!! the new puppy...at last vote his name was Sarge i am pretty sure that people who are not part of my family won't enjoy this very much. but for Scotty and Meg it must be posted. we wish y'all had been there. oh and hang in on the video of mom and dad...it gets better and better. sorry for the poor quality.

Happy Anniversary, My LOVE!!

Two years ago today i married my best friend. my life has been forever changed and blessed by this most amazingly wonderful man. he has shown me a love that i have never known. he is patient and kind and his love comes without condition. he makes me laugh and think, two qualities that i REALLY value in him. he is a wonderful provider for our family, and has made major sacrifices to make sure Jordan and i have the things we need. this last year has been most challenging for us. we have not been able to live together full time since Paul and i took a HUGE leap of faith in Aug 2006 and moved before his transfer went through for work. the state put a freeze on transfers shortly after our move and we have been waiting ever since. he has been traveling 2 hrs away and is gone for his work week and only with us on his days off for over a year. this last Tuesday was his last week away from home since our prayers have been answered and he transfers closer to home on Dec 31. we are spending the next 5 days together just basking in the fact that he never has to sleep away from home for work again. i hardly know what to do with myself i am so excited. !! we are not sure what his new work hours will be but just knowing that we get to be together as a family EVERYDAY brings me so much joy!! its been really hard being without him and there were times when i felt so alone and overwhelmed being here and going through the dailies without him...i never thought his transfer would happen, but prayed daily, sometimes several times a day, that the Lord would find a way to make it possible for him to be closer to home. Faith. Hope. Prayers...answered!

i love you Boo Boo, my world is better and brighter because of you. 2008 has great things in store for us, i just feel it. Happy Anniversary, thank you for loving me the way you do, for investing in our marriage, for validating me and for always loving me even when i am a poop. you are the best husband i have ever had (;

Eternally Yours,
me

No Shaking, Poking OR Peeking!!

i haven't wrapped ANY Christmas presents yet this year. there are 3 gifts under our tree for Jordan from my parents and 7 gifts Jordan has wrapped for people she is gifting. i haven't hidden Jordan's gifts...i know crazy right? growing up we use to think my dad had their room booby trapped so no one would dare to sneak in and see what was waiting to be wrapped. he even went as far as to rattle his door, knock things over and scream a very convincingly "OW, ah booby trap, ouch ouch OUCH" that could be heard through out the house. it was years later that we found out there was no booby trap. ANYWAY, yea i pretty much just took the bags and packages from my car to the house and said, "don't look in there OK?" is that mean? is that too much temptation? if i were her, i would have gone in there and looked a looong time ago. even though one year when i was little i actually unwrapped and rewrapped a few gifts...i never did that again, Christmas morning sucked knowing what i was getting. so yeah, Jordan had fun putting her ear to her gifts and shaking them. and then she said, "you know a good time to wrap my presents in when i am at school or in bed." hmmm good idea, i am sure i will get to it eventually, most def before Christmas morning!

isn't she just the cutest?!? what a goofball!

Sunday Scribblings

This weeks SundayScribblings prompt is Holiday Memories.

Growing up, Christmas was my favorite time of year. my parents went all out making the holiday really special for us 5 kids. i remember years of coming out to the family room and seeing presents piled high and it would take hours of us each taking a turn opening them. my Grandpa Sam and Mima were usually there (since they liked us best *wink*) and it was just a day filled with fun stuff. but i can only remember a few gifts from the many we received over the years. its the traditions my parents created for us. every Christmas eve we went caroling, yea really. we usually went to the homes of people we went to church with, people my daddy worked with and when my mom started working, her co workers homes as well. we would all kind of moan and complain as we got older, but looking back...i am glad we did it. it didn't kill us and i now have the memories. another tradition we did as a family was "The 12 Days of Christmas". we would pick a family, or two and 12 days before Christmas we would begin leaving gifts on their doorsteps with goofy poems and RUN!! on the 12th day, Christmas Eve we would go with the final gift and reveal ourselves to the families. it was a whole lot of fun and it started other families doing the 12 days too. we also use to act out the Christmas Story. the best was the year my little brother Scotty asked if he could "be a leopard watching their flocks by night" since he already had a costume from Halloween. LOL. we never really used traditional costumes anyway...lol. and finally the tradition of waiting in the hallway Christmas morning until our names were called. to this day our parents make us do that...i seriously think now that we have kids we should not have to wait in 'outer darkness' for our name. i think it all started so they could see our faces as we saw what Santa brought and have half a chance at getting a picture...though i have yet to see ANY Christmas pictures from the old days.

Christmas is different now that my folks no longer live in the house we all grew up in. but one thing remains the same; my mom still decorates to the nth degree. she always has 5-7 trees in her house, all with a different theme. she takes EVERYTHING off the shelves and walls in her home and replaces it with snowmen, santas, angels and other Christmas stuff. she has a gazillion Nativity sets and puts them all out too...and the outside is always decorated as well. my brother likes to say, "it looks like Christmas threw up here." but i know he knows that it would NOT be Christmas without it...you walk in the door and it feels like home, your spirits are lifted and its just a warm fuzzy feeling. i TRIED to recreate the feeling in my home. i have two trees (pictured below) one small one in our family room overflowing with traditional ornaments we have collected from places we have traveled as a family etc. and a BIG one in our living room in the front of the house in the huge window. its more formal and is mostly lights and not much else, since we are still collecting "fancier" stuff for it. it looks GREAT from the street though..lol.

last year we decided that it was time for our little family to start some traditions of our own. every other year we will have Christmas here at our house with anyone who wants to join us. Jordan REALLY go into the idea of creating family traditions and she was the first one to propose a few ideas. First she said it would be a great idea to make S'mores and watch Charlie Brown Christmas since "it's a good story, it's no too long and they talk about Jesus at the end". we liked the idea and it is now a tradition. she also found a cute flannel board story at the church bookstore of the Christmas Story and said that "all of the kids could tell the story as they got old enough to do it, and she would help them when they are small" (i think she thought we would have had a few more kids by now...sigh, me too). anyway this is only our second year with our new traditions and i am looking forward to this Christmas and the many Christmases to come!

its blurry....but its cute, trust me!

yep its pretty empty, but we have only been collecting for 2 yrs

for more Sunday Scribblings go HERE

Love, S

Thank you Grandpa Sam for loving me the way that you did. Thank you for showing me how a man should treat his wife and children. You and Mima have always been such a beautiful example of Happily Ever After. I loved all of the special dates we went on. I love the magic you brought to my childhood, planting donut seeds (cheerios) before going to bed and waking up to donuts in the morning...how did you do that? Thank you for saving my life when Amy and I dumped honey all over the kitchen floor (seriously mom would have killed us). Thank you for only spanking Sally and me when we drove on the golf course putting greens ruining them (and jeopardizing your job) instead of killing us. Thank you for sitting through the MANY "shows" that we practiced all day long and that lasted hours...we know you were really soaking it all in and not really sleeping. OH...and thank you for all the dances we danced.

I miss you way more than I was ever prepared to miss you. I am so thankful for the millions of wonderful memories I have of summers in Gualala, Christmases in Gilroy and 10E reunions all over the place. Sometimes I think I hear you whistling, it brings me a lot of comfort.

I know you are really super busy reuniting with all of our family up there in heaven but if you happen to pass by the angel babies looking for a home here on earth point one or two my way. I know we already have a gazillion boys in the family named after you but if you do happen to send a boy my way Sam is a name that never gets old!

I love you...save a dance for me OK?

Wordless Wednesday

More Wordless Wednesday HERE and HERE

This Pisses Me OFF!

YEP...it is TRUE!!

i cannot even begin to put into words how much this angers me. and honestly i am not 100% sure why (only about 98% sure). i don't know this girl, but i do know my 11 yr old daughter loves her show on Nickelodeon, Zoey 101 (so much that we named our dog Zoey). i also know that her older sister Brittney is a TRAIN WRECK and that she also use to be one of my daughters "heroes" (gag). she use to talk about how excited she was that Brittney was having a baby and then it was another baby...and ARGH!!! it was so hard to explain to Jordan why i felt like she was a horrible mother (again, i don't know her but i have a serious opinion about her and how she "mothers" her children) AND how time and time again she has made horrible choices regarding her children. AND that in my opinion never really has fought for them in this whole custody situation. she is a lot like another woman i know (way to well) who seems to be using her kid(s) as a tool but doesn't really seem all that interested in being a mother to them. Brittney uses her time with her kids to shop for chandeliers while someone else sits in the car with them, seriously, that can't wait? i hope Jordan does not look to Brittney (or the other woman i speak of) for an example of what a parent should be. and on that note, in a shared custody situation if it is YOUR time with your child save the other stuff for when they aren't with you and DO NOT let other people (including your own parents) do ALL of the parenting on YOUR watch.

Jordan is obsessed with babies, she talks about it all the time. she talks of the day when she will have the 6 babies she dreams of having and i am also excited about that. but how on earth am i going to continue to teach her proper principles and values (and to WAIT for the right man and the right time/age) when the people she looks up to are so messed up and make choices that are soooooo different from what we are trying to instill in our child? what the hell is going on?! where are all the role models? i cannot do it alone, can i? i feel like i am one of the only women my daughter has to look to for a good example and role model...this is a huge responsibility, it feels almost daunting, but i take FULL responsibilty and i take my role seriously. and honestly i know she is watching me but i don't think she is watching me like she is watching the girls close to her age; Jamie Lynn Spears, Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff...and on and on. i don't remember idolizing "celebrities" so much as a "tweenager". it feels so out of control and i REALLY hate having to explain to my daughter WHY i think these girls are making the choices they are...because honestly i don't know why and even more than that i REALLY do not approve! oh and where are their mothers and fathers? are their agents raising them?

ALSO....

it also kills me when i see precious little babies come into the lives of people that are so not ready for them, when here i am with open arms and an empty uterus. i mean really...it is just so unfair!!!

OK rant over...blah blah blah, nothing i have to say is going to change anything.

Cousin Time..woo hoo!

Since ALL of my mom's grand kids were in town at the same time, for the first time in a long time, she REALLY wanted to gather them all for a picture. 10 kids, 3 cameras and no one looking the same place at the same time...this is pretty much what you get. eh they are still TOTALLY adorable! (note to the other photogs...if you got one on your camera with them all looking at you and smiling, send me a copy..oh and congratulations for being more awesome than me, i know it wasn't easy...being more awesome than me never is)

We had a great weekend together. Jordan was able to not only spend lots and lots of time with smaller cousins hanging from her hip but she also got to spend some time at Uncle Mark and Aunt Melinda's Gym, USA Sports. we just happened to be in town for one of their VERY fun "parent's night out events". Jordan had a blast and even made a new friend (hey it's all about networking). OH and yes Jordan got a haircut (actually 2 hair cuts 3 inches the first time and 3 more a few days later...she looks so grown up all of the sudden...boo hoo)

(L-R back) Jordan 12, Reese 3, Garrett 9, Quincy 1, Taylor 12

(L-R front) Zack 7, Steven 2, Parker 8, Brock 4, Tyler 6

Jordan is mine. Reese and Quincy are Meg's, Parker. Tyler and Steven are Amy's.

Taylor, Garrett, Zachary and Brock are Mark's.

YES, cute girls DO run in this family!
Aunt HolleeAnn had to break out some SERIOUS potty humor to get some
good laughs and smiles (especially from Garrett who did not want
to participate in the pictures from the word cheese)...you are welcome!


Lacey is in Colorado, but we did not want to leave her

and all her cuteness out, she is Scott's.

Wordless Wednesday

More Wordless Wednesday HERE or HERE

If ya can't beat them...

so my brother Scotty and my sister Meg have REALLY funny and creative blogs. seriously if you haven't checked them out you must, you will thank me for sending you over to them...good stuff, really good (was that too much hype?). Meg has 2 beautiful little girls and the day to day stuff she blogs about is hilarious...who knew so much HA HA Guffaw could come from potty training, barfy days and other toddlerific antics. Scott is just the most brilliant person i know (actually it's a tie between him and my husband, and i am not just saying that), and it takes smarts to come up with the stuff that he does...i wish he had more time to blog, the world would be a better happier place if more people read his stuff. ANYWAY they are the family faves and even though it hurt my feelings a little to find this all out recently i decided i would just sing their praises a little...i mean really, a pity party for one is no fun at all!

OK i have a truly beautiful daughter, funny, smart, compassionate, loving, kind, i could go on and on and on...but my nieces and nephews are adorable too..and well sometimes 12 year olds just cannot compete with the adorable antics of toddlers! so here are a few pics from my trip of my niece Reese "riding" the princess pony that Jordan sent for me to give her cousin... BY THE WAY...Jordan, you are very sweet to send a bag of toys for your cousins to play with in the car and in the hotel, one of the MANY things i love about you is the way you think of others...you are a great kid and i love you! (like i am going to blog about someone else's kids and not give my own a shout out...puhleease i know where my loyalty lies)

and here is Quincy...umm just because she is adorable!

so yea it was naked time in our hotel room...if you think they are cute now you should see them dressed!!

A Meme....

i am seriously trying to get back into the swing of blogging and being the cute, fun, girl i was before my really long and rather emotional road trip. i have been really sick since i got home and in a bit of a funk so i gave myself the afternoon to "stop and smell the roses" aka "soak up bloggy goodness of my bloggy friends". while poking around one of my favorite blogs HappilyShovelingWaterWithaPitchfork i discovered, much to my delight, that she had tagged me for a pretty fun meme...YAY!! sorry i took so long to play, i missed it in my absence from the blogshere. so here goes:

Here are the rules: Type the answer to each question into a Google image search, and you pick an image from the first page of results...easy peasy...and fun.a BIG tip make sure you set your Google search to use "strict filtering" (Filter both explicit text and explicit images). I wish i had before i started...yuck!

1. Age on my next birthday (ummm that seems old)

2. Place I would like to travel (Italy, with my honey)

3. Favorite place (Maui, with my honey)

4. Favorite food (sushi, i could seriously eat it everyday!)


5. Favorite animal (Giraffe, it's all about the eyelashes!)


6. Favorite color (PINK! and these shoes are fierce honey!)

7. Town I was born (Gilroy Ca, Garlic Capitol of the World)



8. Name of past pet (Foxy Lady, yes really)

9. Name of past love (Gary hasn't changed much since High School)

10. My first name (HolleeAnn...hmmm gotta get off search engine)

11. Bad habit I have (shopping)

12. First job (babysitter)

13. Grandmothers name (Myrtle, and oh how i love her so!)

14. College major (Early Childhood Education)

i want all of my friends to play. so i am tagging all of y'all, let me know when you have posted.