Ready for September

The Olympics are over, D is back, and I'm ready for September to start. I love autumn, and although our summer hasn't been too hot so far, I can't wait for the crisp air to return. We will have a busy schedule this year, but I'm looking forward to it. Summer has been a bit blah.

Of course k is too young for back to school shopping, but she definitely needed new shoes. Check them out:


Random picture: enjoying a waffle while sitting in a tub

Vicente Guerrero Part 2

The weather on Monday was pretty nice, it was sunny and warm but there was a cool breeze.

Here are some of the boys. You can see in the background where family #1 takes a bath and washes clothes. I worked on the house for Virginia (family #2). Her oldest son is the second guy from the left. His name is Indalesio.


Sandra, on the left, is Virginia's only daughter.


The first day, we built that walls and the roof panels. I worked on helping measure and mark the 2x4s so they could be cut to the proper length. And then did a lot of hammering with long nails to put the 2x4s together and then also to sheet the walls with plywood. By the end of day one we had framed the roof panels and walls.

Day 2
We lifted up the walls and put on the roof panels. This was the most physically demanding day. But with team work and help from the supervisor from IDT we were able to get it done. We had a lot of people help raise the roof and used 2x4s to help put the roof in place. The funnest part of the day was sheeting the roof. On the roof, there was a breeze and a nice view of the valley.

The family sacrificed a lot to make us tamales for lunch. These were muy delicioso. This was the other meal that was tied for the best. However, since it was home-made I enjoyed it the most. I ate my two and since other people didn't want to eat their's I ate another. Three tamales and macaroni salad made me stuffed.

Here is a photo of the house that I helped build. You can see that it is really close to the old house. And their view is pretty nice since it is on a hill.


Posing in front of the house.


Day 3

We put on flashing and tacked in the tar paper on the roof. I spent most of the time on the roof. I also worked on installing a whirly bird to the roof and helped install an interior wall. Not only did I use a circular power saw, I drilled a large concrete screw into the concrete floor using a power drill. I asked someone on my team, "are you sure you want me to do it, I am a financial analyst?"


Here is the old house that we didn't demolish. In Baja they tend to keep building and not tear down the old structures.


The kids were resourceful in using the wood scraps to build tables and boxes.


Day 4

I worked on making bunk beds. I was thinking I could make a wood bed for k. We'll see. I also worked on stapling electrical wire.

Here is the completed house


Here is the bunk bed I helped make. Here is my buddy Roberto, another of Virginia's sons. There is another brother, Jose-Luis, who is not pictured.


Kitchen table.


I spoke Spanish with them quite a bit even though I forgot most of my Spanish. I used a lot of words that didn't make a sentence; however when I added in pointing it helped. I used more Spanish this time then when I went down to Mexico right after high school when I knew the most Spanish. This time I wasn't worried about making a fool of myself. I missed my family quite a bit; however I enjoyed playing with the kids and they made me feel welcome. The dedication on Thursday was touching and I cried since it was amazing to see God use us to bless the lives of that family.

On Friday I swam in the ocean and it was cool but nice.

Vicente Guerrero

I went on a missions trip this week to Baja California, Mexico with WPC. We left for Mexico on Sunday morning and stopped in San Diego to pick up another van and drop items off to an International Disciple Training employee that helps bring items across the border.

Here is some of us in the Home Depot parking lot.


Here is the border crossing


The drive along the coast from Tijuana to Ensenada is beautiful. Here are some homes around Rosarita. Can you spot the island?


We also stopped in Ensenada to get gas.


We finally arrvied in Vicente Guerrero just before dinner time.

Here is a picture of our accomodations for the week.


The first night was a weekend, so Norma, the cook, doesn't work. So we went to El Pollo Loco. But it is not part of the chain restaurant in the U.S., it is a hole in the wall place. This meal was tied for the best meal during the trip.

Large Taco de Pollo y Queso


Our base camp for putting all our stuff. One old home is in the background.


To be continued...

Feliz Cumpleanos, Uncle Tom!

Yesterday morning we went to the Celebrity Food Show at the Anaheim Hilton. This was our first time, so I was not sure what to expect. We weren't too impressed. The non-VIP tickets were $10 each, so I didn't feel too bad. It was basically a bunch of food companies giving out samples. There were way too many hot sauces/salsas and cookies; nothing very substantial. We still had to eat lunch afterward. We tried this one African sauce in medium, and that set my mouth on fire. Good thing that Lipton tea was giving out full size bottles. We also received some boxes of kosher salt. Um, ok. I personally liked my little taste of sour cream ice cream, while D liked his mango flavor. There were also some really good fleur de sel caramel covered chocolates that you were supposed to eat "salt side down." Also, it wasn't too easy manuevering k's stroller among the crowds. I don't want to think about how many people's feet I accidentally ran into. Oops.

I guess the VIP tickets may have been worth it if you were really interested in the featured celebrity chef. This year it was the guy from "Ace of Cakes", which I've never actually seen. There was also a cake decorating contest, but since it lasted all weekend, and we were there Saturday morning, none of the teams had progressed too far.

That evening we went to my second cousins' father's 80th Mexican-themed birthday party. They always throw nicely put together parties, but they really went all out this time. Their backyard is perfect for entertaining.

Lovely table settings.


k's third cousin.


They had "Enrique the taco guy" cooking chicken, carne asada, and pork tacos outside.


Muy delicioso! k over-indulged in the guacamole.


There was even live music!

k was really getting into it. This is her dancing. One of the band members joked she must be from East L.A.--haha!

We had to leave early since it was way past k's bedtime. They sent us home with prettily wrapped pan dulce and a humongous piece of tres leches cake and flan. What a nice celebration!

Beijing Olympics

The Olympics have been very exciting and interesting TV watching; however it has been bad for my sleep.

Cal Swimming has come through with 10 medals.

Women's Swimming

Natalie Coughlin (USA) - 100 Backstroke (Gold), 400 Free Relay (Silver), 200 Individual Medley (Bronze), 800 Free Relay (Bronze), 100 Freestyle (Bronze),
400 Medley Relay (Silver)
Sara Isakovic (Slovenia) - 200 Freestyle (Silver)
Emily Silver (USA) - 400 Free Relay (Silver)

Men's Swimming
Nathan Adrian (USA) - 400 Free Relay (Gold)
Milorad Cavic (Serbia) - 100 Butterfly (Silver)

Indiana University did not have any swimming medals, so Cal surpassed them in overall Olympic swimming medals. Cal 61 vs IU 60. Spitz (IU), Biondi (Cal), and Coughlin (Cal) each have 11 medals.

Birthday Parties

On Saturday we went to a birthday party in the morning and hosted a birthday party for my mom at night. The first party was for S, who turned 3! It was a Ratatouille-theme: menu board signs, herb centerpieces, and a lot of good food. The kids made tortillas since the birthday boy really enjoys the tortilla factory at CA Adventure.

D helped k with hers.


There was a waffle station. Plus eggs, tortillas, muffins, scones, and fruit. We didn't eat again until dinner.


The kids played outside. k didn't want to get off of the swing.


My sister made an ice cream cake for my mom. We had Chinese food in honor of the Beijing Olympics.

OC Fair

Today we went to a funeral in the morning and then to the fair in the afternoon. This may seem like it would be a weird combination of events, but the memorial service was truly a "celebration of life"...aloha wear was even requested by the family. This would explain our outfits at the fair (No, D did not wear shorts and Tevas in the morning. He changed in the car.)

First stop was the petting zoo.

"Pick me up...these animals scare me!"


"That's better."


"What am I doing in a petting zoo?"


We watched kids try the climbing wall while drinking frozen lemonade. We didn't see anyone reach the top. D wanted to try so he could add it to his "adventure" list--haha.


We weren't too hungry since we ate lunch at church. Instead of indulging in the "mile-long hotdog" or the Australian battered potatoes we snacked on some fried apples. They were lightly battered and dusted with cinnamon sugar, and served with a generous dollop of whipped cream, pretty good. D said we were eating healthy. Um, not quite.


We briefly walked through the garden, visual arts and home arts displays. However, we didn't catch any shows. I doubt k would've sat still anyway. We were pretty tired and called it a day.