Geneva's Home!

Ah, Together at Last

After 5 days on the road, Geneva and her kids Angelica, Antonio and Anycia pulled into the driveway of their new home Thursday morning. My mom, Armando, our nephew Isaac, Esperanza and I went there the night before to meet the moving truck, help unload it and await Geneva's arrival. Geneva's friend Tyler drove a moving truck from Ohio and arrived at the house Wednesday evening at the same time we got there. We spent the evening unloading the truck and making a big mess of Geneva's new place. Geneva and the kids were really excited to get in on Wednesday evening but they ended up stopping to take a much needed nap a few hours away and got home instead at about 8am on Thursday morning.

It was a pretty chaotic day with so much stuff scattered everywhere as all of us tried as much as we could to organize, put stuff together, find things and go about our day all after a sleepless night for most of us. The kids still managed to have fun though - Geneva's kids met their cousin Esperanza for the first time and entertained her throughout the day, Antonio played basketball in the park across the street with Armando and Isaac, Anycia played with all her toys acting like it was Christmas in July as they were unpacked, and Angelica loved on Esperanza and was in awe of how adorable she was (she talks about how much she doesn't like babies and younger kids, but apparently it's different when it comes to her cousin Esperanza).

Geneva and her baby AnyciaGeneva, Esperanza, Angelica, Anycia, Antonio and their dog MestizoGeneva and EsperanzaAntonio and Angelica rough housing alreadyPlaying on the floor of their new homeGeneva & Tyler being silly - 'Yay, we did it'! Not an add for Penske - though Tyler sure was proud of his truck driving abilities

I can't express in words how surreal it is to have my sister, nieces and nephew living so close to us now. As we said our goodbyes yesterday, I felt like it was another 'goodbye until next year' because I haven't fully grasped the reality of it. Though they don't live close enough for me to stoll on over as often as I want to, it sure beats the hassle and limitations of living thousands of miles apart. We will see them again soon and often!

Picture & Stories Of Recent Events

This past week has been super busy and each day has been go-go-go. Today we finally took some time to just ground out at home for the day before another crazy week begins. Recently, we've had birthday parties, we took a day trip out of town to look at places for my sister to live, we went blueberry picking, we hung out on a boat with family, we've gone to the farmers market, we've spent time visiting with friends and we've been harvesting and eating berries and veggies from my garden as well as friends & families gardens.

Last weekend was Armando's mom's birthday. The entire family (and then some) got together for food and mingling to celebrate. Happy Birthday Angelina!

Our niece Sarah and her sweet baby Yareli Birthday girl and her cake Armando's sister Eva is almost ready to birth her 3rd baby (which will be a home birth with my midwives!). Can't you tell she's excited?
My BFF Val and her husband Jameson celebrated their 4th anniversary last week. Esperanza and I went over to their house to watch Annabelle and Carter so they could go out to eat. We played in the backyard and had a great time. Congrats Val & Jamo!
Jumping on the trampolineEsperanza loved the swing! Earlier this month I was questioning all my hard work in the garden because things just weren't perking up. Recently though things have changed and I think I may actually be rewarded with lots of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant before the end of summer.
Purple flower should become a purple eggplant soon Sweet green pepper ready to eatGreen tomatoes My friends' garden in the back woods of Camas is doing fabulous also!

Yesterday Esperanza and I went blueberry picking with some girlfriends of mine and their babies at Bella Organic Farm on Sauvie Island. It was very hot! We got up early to go but didn't stay long cause all the babies (and us mamas) couldn't handle even the early morning heat. We came home with about 5 pounds of yummy sweet organics blueberries - mmm.

Esperanza eating the berries as I pick them

Nursing Esperanza in the blueberry fieldWearing Esperanza in front of the blueberry fieldEsperanza touching baby Jai's noseMegan with her son PhoenixJenny & JaiAlisha and Adalay We went over to my mom's cousin Jill's house the other day and cruised around the Columbia River on her very cool electric boat. Jill lives in a house boat on Hayden Island and it was so nice to visit with her and spend the afternoon on the river.

Esperanza and Mando chillin' on the deck of the house boatCaptain Jill and my mom Mando and Esperanza ralaxing on the boatAnd THE most exciting thing happening in our lives, on this planet and in the entire universe right now is that my sister and her kids are on their way out to Oregon from Ohio! After 10+ years, she has finally decided to come back home. It is a huge move for them in addition to a really long road trip. One of the many challenges she's had is finding a place to live here, while living out there. So, my mom, Esperanza and I took a day trip out of town to look at a few potential new homes for her and her kids. I mostly took photos of the places, but here's a cute one of Esperanza. Have a safe drive Geneva, we can't wait till you get home!
Last week when we had a rainy day, I got what Armando calls the 'afluenza bug' and found some neat things on Craigslist I had to get: a child size wood rocking chair and a wood rocking horse. Is it still considered consuming when they are post-consumer items? Either way, I feel better knowing they were used. Both are still a little big for Esperanza but they were so cheap I couldn't pass them up. Unfortunately Esperanza is a little freaked out by the horse. I'm hoping she'll warm up to it though or else I'll have to re-post it on Craigslist.
And there you have it folks - a busy week condensed all into one post! It doesn't look like things will be slowing down any time soon either. Coming up, we have a ton of birthday parties (including Esperanza's 1st birthday), Geneva's arrival and helping her & the kids get settled, Mary comes home for a visit, more camping trips, harvest time for several gardens, more blueberry picking, more trips to the river, a trip to the beach, and much, much more!

Tio Rafael's Garden

Yesterday we went to visit Armando's Uncle (Tio) Rafael and Aunt (Tia) Danette who live on 5+ acres in La Center. Rafael loves to garden and uses several acres to plant corn every year. This year he got on a tomatoe kick and planted a few hundred tomatoe plants in addition to his corn and other veggies.

Danette checking on the apples in their 1930's apple treeRows of beanEsperanza perched in an apple tree

We strolled through their land and gardens, picking and eating various berries along the way. Some berries I'd never had before that they had on site were mulberries and salmon berries - yummy! Esperanza enjoyed the mulberries especiallyand ate almost all of what was ripe on their tree. It was a nice and relaxing visit with them and I even came home with bundles of swiss chard, lettuce and zuchini.

The Fourth in the Forest

We camped in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest close to Mt. St. Helens this past Fourth of July weekend. There were roughly 30 of us that went, all close family and friends. It was primative with no bathrooms or running water (other than the Lewis River close by). Our camp site was no where near any other camp sites so we felt like the entire forest was all ours (shared with whatever creature howls at night - an elk maybe). As always, I overpacked for the adventure and felt almost at home with all the stuff we had. We could have done without the play pen and most of the cooking supplies I brought since everyone else brought the same things. I was most thankful for the homemade bug repellent I made and brought with us. It turned into a huge hit with everyone else too - other than Armando, nothing keeps the bugs from his blood. I was also thankful that I brought ~please forgive me Mother Earth~ disposable diapers. Yes, I gave in and bought disposable diapers and disposable wipes for the trip. It was the first time I've ever used disposables with Esperanza and while it was convenient and they actually worked pretty well with no strange rashes or reactions, I went right back to the cloth as soon as we got home (although, I've decided I'll keep the wipes around for the poopy diapers from now on). Ok, back to camping - since we hadn't camped for awhile, I'd forgotten how much I really wanted sleeping bags and some type of sleeping mattress/pad for camping (lying down nursing in the middle of the night on the forest floor is NOT comfortable). I do see those things in my near future for the next camping trip though. We ate a lot of really good food, sat in a circle around the fire and told stories, played games, went to the river, hiked through the forest, and really enjoyed the trip away from the city and fireworks. Esperanza did amazingly well and I'm already looking forward to our next adventure in the woods.

Part of the gang
Gizelle and Brandon playing UnoMe and Little EClarissa & BrandonLisa and LazzyAbout a mile down the hill from our camp site was a really nice spot on the Lewis River. We hiked down several times so we could all swim and get some sun. The water was very cold, colder than the Washougal River at Dougan Falls. Everyone still enjoyed it though and the hike back up the hill always made us wish we were back at the river.
Mando's sister Cathy and her daughter ClarissaMando with EsperanzaMe with naked baby and cold beerThe river was all ourssome of the kids playing on the rocks and in the waterMando, Chilly and Esperanza in the waterA beautiful view with Esperanza and MandoLovely Foxglove were everywhereThe hike back up

Dougan Falls

My all time favorite spot on the Washougal River is Dougan Falls. Usually I head up there with my little sister Mary on hot summer days loaded with a cooler of cold beer to relax in the sun and the freezing water. Since Mary seems to like California better than Washington these days, I've had to find different river companions (I'm trying to make you feel guilty here Mary). So, last week, a couple of new friends of mine (mamas from a parenting group I attend), their babies, Esperanza and I all went up there. We packed lunches, beer and more baby paraphernalia than we really needed and headed up there early. We got there about noon when very few people were there and left about 4-ish, just as it was starting to get busy.

All of our babies seemed to be a bit fussy at times but we all still had a great time. The babies weren't up for going all the way in the water since the water was super icy. Us mamas though took turns in the water and loved every minute of it.