Fishing- Covid-19 day 471

 Yesterday after breakfast I gathered our fishing gear and I took the girls to the Monila pond in Pleasant Grove to finally fish for the very first time.

After parking the car and watching a couple of YouTube videos, I decided to use the common sense and set up the fishing road myself.

Soon enough we were standing by the pond under 84 degrees trying to catch some fish. Unfortunately, we came back home with no fishes. 

On our back back home I realized we put a way-to-big piece of fish food on the hook. The fishes kept easily eating the food without touching the hook.

Giovanna was a bit disappointed, but at least we know it next time. I am excited to try it again soon. 

Back to the 50’s- Covid-19 days 468-470

The weekend was busy and fun- just the way I like.

On Saturday daddy took us to Heber City to see the  “Back to the 50’s car show”. It was so much fun and there was so much to see!

The cars were beautiful and I wished I owned a 1956 Ford truck. I learned I can get one for as little as forty three thousand dollars. Guess I am not getting one anytime soon.

On our way back home we stopped at Leatherby’s for ice cream, then I took the girls to swim.

On Sunday we had our home church and we shared our testimonies about how Heavenly Father is aware of us and is ready to bless us in the right time.

It was beautiful and spiritual, and I shed one tear or two. I love this gospel. I love raising my girls with the knowledge that they are precious daughters of Heavenly Father and that they have a sacred purpose in this earth.

Happy birthday Sis! - Covid-19 day 466

 Happy birthday to my beautiful sister who probably won’t see this post because she is celebrating her day in a piece of heaven called Jalapão, without internet.

Good for you sis!

I love you!

• • • • • • 

Jalapão, Tocantins BR 

Ready to camp! - Covid-19 day 465

We are excited to camp next week!

I reserved a camping site close to Bridal Veils, even though I knew I had a very limited camping gear. I was determined to make it work somehow.

So, a few days later a sister from our stake was donating lots of things she doesn’t need anymore. I went over to check it out and she had tons of camping gear!

I was able to get four really nice sleeping bags and mats, three outdoor backpacks, a couple of thermocoolers, chairs, and several pillows.

I feel extremely blessed, because our experience will be so much more pleasant and comfortable. Everything is laying in my bedroom’s floor.

The girls love camping and they have been counting the days. It will be so much fun! I bought s’mores sticks and a campfire pie iron (they make the best grilled cheese sandwiches!).

I also love camping and barely can wait.

New car- Covid-19 day 464

 Guess who finally got a new car?

I feel so grateful, and relieved, and happy. 

And full of plans.

* * * * * * * 

Covid-19 updates:

-We lost one more dear friend to Coronavirus. Sheila was from my stake in Brazil. She died really young- about four years older than me. She left a son.

-We are getting back to normal. I don’t see a lot of people wearing their masks anymore, and to be honest I am only wearing mine to go to stores in general.

-We don’t have vaccine to younger children yet. So we are still being careful in where to take the girls to. No bounce houses or fun centers of any kind for now.

Father’s Day weekend- Covid-19 day 461-463

On Saturday I woke up determined to reverse a camping site to take the girls over the Fourth of July weekend. Soo, our family is going camping on the second and coming back on the third just in time to celebrate our traditional Fourth with the Matutes.

Saturday afternoon Kelly brought the boys to swim. The girls were really excited since it is much more fun swimming with friends.

After pool and after they left, our family had dinner at Texas Roadhouse in celebration to Father’s Day on Sunday.

For Father’s Day we had a special home church when I shared a message from President Nelson about Father’s and their sacred role in raising and caring for His children:

“No mortal father is perfect. I am not; neither was my father, nor his father before him. The scriptures are filled with true accounts of imperfect yet devoted and loving fathers who tried to do their very best, including Adam, Moses, Abraham, and others of the finest men who ever lived.

On this Father’s Day, I look with joy at my children, grandchildren, and ever-growing number of great-grandchildren. I am a personal witness of the multigenerational impact of a father who loves his children—and who loves the mother of his children.

There are few things more tender to children than the example of their caring father. What fathers say and do lasts forever in the hearts and minds of their children. Kindness, fidelity, honesty, patience, and devotion to God, country, and family are all defining characteristics of a righteous father.

Father’s Day is joyful for most but sorrowful for some. Gratefully, each of us can communicate with our Heavenly Father in prayer. He is never absent but is ever-welcoming. Our Heavenly Father is perfectly loving, perfectly understanding, and perfectly capable of helping us rise to meet any challenge we face. On this day, may we honor Him and strive to emulate His example, doing our very best, day after day”.

Then we watched to several videoclips from where the girls were babies, and some current ones of them and daddy. We laughed so hard. It was great! Such tender moments.

I also took the girls to the park to study the scriptures while Ale recorded a pre-interview for a company he is applying for (he needed absolute silence).

We read the Book of Alma, chapter 13, and we talked about Priesthood and blessings. The girls kept teasing each other throughout the study, and I decided to head back home before finishing it.

I wasn’t happy at.all.

Then I came across the words of President Holland:

“We get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed”.

Blood Pressure- Covid-19 day 459

Today in our CNA class we learned how to take blood pressure. The other students seemed to know how to do it, but I am having a really hard time. 

Sometimes when I am talking blood pressure I don’t hear any heart beat at all. Sometimes I can only tell the diastolic BP, but never the systolic. 

My teacher says I will be able to hear a click sound for the systolic BP. But so far I will tell you it is not going good.

I even brought the school’s cuff and stethoscope to practice throughout the weekend. I have a blood pressure skill pass off on Tuesday and I am I not ready at all.

Other than that school has been great and I am really enjoying it. First weekend of July I start my very first clinical. I am excited! 

Team Unicity- Covid-19 day 458

 Today we accompanied daddy to a summer party from the company he works for. There were plenty of games and prizes for the kids, face painting, ballon art, and R&R for dinner.

It was a fun and HOT afternoon. We spent a couple of hours there and I was dying to come back home soon. I’ve been having a hard time with the heat, I confess. Which is new for me since I have always loved summer.

There were also prizes for the employees. Some people got electronic devices, others gift card. Ale came back home with one hundred dollars in gift card.

The girls played in the park for a while, then I was way too hot to keep waiting for them to be done, so we came back home.

Pool, Seven Brothers, and more- Covid-19 days 457

Past Saturday we had the Britos over to swim. We went to the pool after four and it was still sunny. The water temperature was perfect, and we had a nice time before heading to The shops at Riverwoods.

We had dinner at Seven Brothers then we played games and had ice cream at Provo Beach.

On Sunday our family had home church. We sang hymns, Ale blessed the sacrament for us, and we studied Doctrine and Covenants 86 about sacred things and following Jesus Christ’s guidance without complaining.

Ale and I also talked about plans to start attending church services again.

Fun Monday- Covid-19 day 456

 We are still under extreme heat advisory until next Wednesday. So I am being cautious and either keeping the girls inside or attending indoor activities.

Today I took Giovi and Bianca to the Rec Center to swim. It was so pleasant! The water was cool and the air warm, so it felt so nice getting out of the pool without feeling cold.

We swam for a couple of hours. The girls slide down from the water slide, jumped from the jumping board, and made new friends.

I reminded me of when my mom would take us to swim and we would make new friends too. Good times!

We had snacks, then we came back home for dinner and movie time.

Not bad for a Monday!

Loving it- Covid-19 day 452

 I am so happy for being back to school. I am loving every second of it. The pace is accelerated and there is a lot of reading and memorizing, but I’ve been able to keep up and get good grades.

I am not sure what (or if) I will do next since things are still in the air for our family for at least the next few months, but I’ve been looking into LPN course or Bachelors of Science in Nursing. I am not sure.

I am just excited and enjoying this time so much! Last week we started working on our skills- proper don of gloves and gowns, proper hand wash, changing resident’s draw sheet, etc.

I am a little shy since we have to perform these tasks in front of the class. We use a manequim we call Mr Smith to practice our skills, and sometimes it is funny and I fell silly talking to him.

Anyways, have I mentioned I am loving it? 

Cruela- Covid-19 day 451

 We watched Cruela. Not sure if I like it. I confess the beginning was boring and I felt like watching something else. 

Then from the middle on it started getting more exciting. I like how the movie ends and the fact that Cruela has actually a heart.

The girls like it. They want to watch it again.

P.S. One day I will miss them on top of me. Every time we watch something, they either lay down close to me or on top of me. I love it! 

3.8- Covid-19 day 450

Today my plans of being in bed all day watching Chronicles of Narnia were changed when the bell rang around eleven.

It was Mindy, Mell, and the kids with balloons and plans for my afternoon. Ale stayed home working while they took me and the girls for lunch and shopping.

We ate at Dellicato Gourmet- a Brazilian restaurant, then we headed to Oldy Navy where the girls let me pick a bunch of cute outfits. It was so fun!

We came back home around 4:00, perfect timing to get ready to go to school. 

And speaking of school, I think being back in class is the best birthday gift I could ask for. I am finally doing something for myself in a long time. And I am loving it.

Thank you girls for the surprise, and thank you family and friends for showing your love through words and actions. I had a wonderful birthday because each one of you! 

Almost 3.8- Covid-19 day 449

 Tomorrow I turn thirty eight. I am not sure if I like it, and I have asked family to congratulate me and celebrate me only in December when maybe I would be feeling better about myself and my life.

Things right now are in the air for our family. We have a couple of things going on that if work out they will be major changes in our lives (I will share all about it later).

But we have to WAIT. And this is hard for me. I am hoping by the end of the year things in our lives will be more concrete. It’s time.

Anyways, since tomorrow- my actual birthday- should be a busy day with work (Ale changed his schedule and he is working late afternoons), school and tests, the fam decided to take me for dinner today instead.

Of course my choice was Chili’s. It kinda became a tradition, since we only go there on my birthday. And I love that.

Time of the year- Covid-19 Day 446

It is that time of the year again when my girls live in their swimsuits.

Have a great weekend!

101 Degrees- Covid-19 day 445

It is hot. 95F hot to be more precise. Today I kept the girls inside all day. It is just not safe to anyone being out right now. And tomorrow will probably be another hot day.

I love summer, but sometimes it scares me a little. Remember last year when Bianca got heat rash?

Also, we need RAIN! Today UT governador Spencer Cox asked the people to unite in prayer for rain.

“I’ve already asked Utahns to conserve water by avoiding long showers, fixing leaky faucets, and planting waterside landscapes. But I fear those efforts alone won’t be enough to protect us. We need more rain, and we need it now. (…) Prayer is powerful, and I encourage all Utahns, regardless of religious affiliation, to join together on this weekend of prayer”.

I would also add it is crucial to have extra water stored. I do even though I don’t have a lot of space. Water is everything to me! I can go without food, but not without water.

Luau 2021- Covid-19 day

School is out and we are ready to celebrate the students of the house, and enjoy summer.

This year the Brito gang joined us on our annual luau to honor and recognize the girls who have worked so hard all school year long.

It was not an easy year specially for Giovi who had to adjust not only with the COVID guidelines, but also to a new school and new curriculum. She did amazing!

Our party involved games, good food, music, dance, AND a graduation ceremony. It was a perfect night and the girls were so happy.

* * * * * * *

Happy birthday to my niece that I love so so much!