Surprise!!!

 Today I got home from work to find everyone sleeping and a beautiful surprise waiting for me. 

Ale and the girls had left chocolate, flowers, balloons, and Bath and Body Works lotions on the bed the night before. They have been celebrating me since the day my last grade was posted. They are as excited as me to close this chapter in our lives.

It was for sure a busy and stressful last two years. But we did it! And as I have mentioned before I could not have done it without  my beautiful family’s support. They’ve been champs navigating these waters with me.

I love them so much and I am so grateful for them in my life!!!

Finals- 5th and final semester

 I cannot believe two years have already passed I am graduating as a registered nurse!!! This last semester was HARD! Adding capstone hours to my schedule made life so much busier and exhausting.

I am grateful for wonderful people in my life who made it all possible: 

My husband for not only being a shoulder to cry on but also taking over the responsibilities with the house and our kids. I love you!

My children for being so patient and understanding when I couldn’t talk, play, cook, drive, or being 100% there when they needed. It hurt me more than you can imagine. 

Family and friends for cheering me up and not letting me give up with your words of encouragement.

My preceptor and capstone instructor for being so patient with me and willing to help me succeed. 

My work manager for being willing to make changes on my schedule so I could study, get things done, and still breathe. 

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 

Christmas dinner

 Tonight for the first time I was able to participate in one of our ward's activities. They are usually done on Wednesdays and, unfortunately, I work on Wednesdays so I am never there. But because of my school finals I am off this week and I could participate and see Bianca singing with the Primary kids.

It's been a couple of years since I felt "normal". It felt good to be there, talk, and just enjoy some time with family and with the church community. I can't wait to do this more often once I finish school... soon!

14th doctor appointment

 I can't believe I am taking Giovanna for her 14th annual check up! She is growing up so fast...

She is growing beautifully and I am proud of her efforts at school, at home, and as a person in this world. There are a few things we will have to check further beginning of next year, but nothing to be too concerned about.

Christmas Concert

 Last year Bianca asked to participate in her school's choir. I promised her I would enroll her this year. For the past several weeks, she has been staying late at school to practice for the much anticipated Christmas concert. 

Tonight she sang for us along with other students from several different grades. It was so cute! I love kids and I love elementary school with all its fun parties and presentations. It is such a fun time for children and for us as parents. 

I made sure to call in sick at work so I could be there to watch her. My family will ALWAYS come first!

The best Christmas Pageant ever

 I’ve been wanting to watch The best Christmas Pageant ever since they announced it a while back. Who knows me also knows I love Christmas and a good Christmas movie. I will say the rest of the family was not as excited as me to watch it but agreed on going to the movies with me anyways.

Bianca was restless and found the movie very boring while Ale probably slept through most of it. Giovanna really enjoyed it and even laughed at some funny scenes. She thought it was a cute movie and so did I.

I can’t wait to watch it again on the TV in December. 

Halloween 2024

 One more Trick-or-treating with the Matutes for the books. I was supposed to work Halloween this year but I was able to swap my shift so I could trick-or-treat with the girls, specially because I knew Ale would be working late and probably not able to take them before the kids had already left.

I confess this year costumes were all last minute arrangements. This last semester of school has been stressful, and I didn’t have the time or energy required to pick Halloween costumes. So off we went with a Dia de Los Muertos mask from Giovi’s 10th birthday and Bianca’s costume from two years ago. 

The girls didn’t really mind. They got tons of candies and played with their friends so they were happy. We also had delicious food after the candy marathon which made them even happier. It was a cold night, so nice and hot taco soup sounded perfect!

Giovi is 4TEEN

I can't believe Giovi is FOURTEEN! Just yesterday she was my baby. But I am so proud how beautifully she's been blooming. She is kind, loving, and a good friend. I am so proud of the young adult she is becoming!

We celebrated her with good food and a movie night with her friends. I decorated the clubhouse with all my Halloween decoration and I prepared a “concession stand” with popcorn, pizza, and chocolate bars. Mindy surprised Giovi with a Swig station. The kids had SO MUCH fun! 

And of course we had our traditional Halloween dinner.

We love you Giovi. Forever and ever.  

General Conference weekend

 General Conference is my favorite weekend of the year. I get excited to just be with my family, under the blankets, listening to beautiful messages of love and hope.

I have always thought it is important to get my girls excited for General Conference as well, so I would always plan something fun for them. For years I made them Conference bags, but this year I wanted to try something different.

This year I set up a General Conference store where they could earn money throughout the two days of conference by being reverent, actively participating, taking notes, singing, etc. They could visit the store and spend their “money” right after each session. It was so fun and the kids loved the idea! I might do this again next year.

After the last session of General Conference we had our traditional Ice Cream Sunday.

Timp Halloween

Today was Timpanogos Halloween Parade, and it was very weird (and sad) not to see Giovi there. After Bianca’s turn I would always wait for Giovi’s class to come out. It makes me even more sad when I think in a few year I won’t have Halloween Parades to attend to anymore. 

After the parade I checked Giovanna out from school so she could come to Timp and help with a class activity I volunteered for. Bianca was so happy to see her there! She is very luck to have a sister like Giovi who likes to be involved in her life.

I planned a craft for the kids- a witch’s broom made out of pretzels. It turned out really cute and the kids loved it. 

Crazy Hair

 For this year’s crazy hair I did an easy Ghost buns on Bianca’s hair. She looked so cute! She told me three other friends had the same hair and they had a lot of fun together as three little ghosts.

By the end of the day the ghosts were gone and she had only the buns left (well… quite). But who cares, right? It is crazy hair after all! 

Welcome back

 Dad is back from Italy and we are so so happy! 

Classic Skating- Layton

One more trip to Classic Fun with the Brito girls just because that’s what they’ve been loving to do lately.

 Cute girls!

In the meantime

While Ale is in Italy, us girls have been:

Playing games

Running errands

Eating out

Sleeping over at Mindy’s while mom works- Boo!