Happy 60th Birthday Mommy Alvarado!!!

Mom's birthday celebration started yesterday (Saturday the 28th). I took her shopping and she bought a pair of Black Croc Mary Jane style shoes and some really nice brown Clark sandals. She put them on dad's credit card. Then we watched Hairspray, ate at California Pizza Kitchen, did a little more shopping and finally went to Marble Slab for some ice cream.

Today after church we took mom to Red Robins for lunch. The Red Robin Bird was walking around greeting everyone. I had to take a picture with him. Mom was sung to for her birthday and given an ice cream sundae. The birthday song was really cute it was sung to the Flinstones tune. We had fun! See the post below for more birthday excitement.

A Surprise For Mom and .....

Check out mom's reaction to the present all her daughters bought for her.

More birthday fun.

Dinner at Yoshinos

Our Alvarado and de Leon families
(at least all the people that heard about it and could make it)
met one last time to hang out with the Lyons and Quintana families before they flew back to Texas. Even though the service was NOT good the food was yummy and the company was fantastico!

After dinner everyone was invited to our house for dessert.
Thank you
Tio Jesse Alvarado, Tia Rosa, Tia Irene Ramos, Tio Elias, Tia Maggie, Tio Arturo, Amanda, Sarah, Jon, Claudia, Cruz, Lyric, TJ, Angelica, Tony, Monica, Sandy, Victor, Patti Carlos, Elisa, Louis, Sonia and Dave for coming out. It was fun!

A special thank you to Daddy Alvarado, aka Vito, for driving to Fresno to watch
Hannah and Elijah while we ate dinner.
You are awesome Dad!

Worship Leaders

Brian and Kristen Ming use to lead worship at New Hope Family Church in Selma. Three years ago they moved to Oklahoma. From there they moved to Texas and are now the worship leaders at Christ for the Nations Institute. Even though I miss them dearly I am so proud of them and their faithful hearts towards the Lord.

Fernando has heard me talk about Brian and Kristen a lot. He now knows about the choir we use to have, their CDs, Blitz Ministry Tours, illustrated sermons, Kristen in our dance team (Sacrifice of Praise), Easter and Christmas productions and how Brian could turn something like food, burping or farting into a hilarious yet convicting church message.
Thank you Brian and Kristen for all the awesome memories.

Well, this morning Fernando finally got to hear and experience them lead worship for the first time. They lead worship at Bethel Community Church in Sanger and it was powerful.

Brian, Kristen, Breanne, Kaitlin and Tyler
You all are always in our prayers. We Love You!

Tia Rosa's Ranch

Today Patti's Family, Mommy and Daddy Alvarado and I spent the after noon at Tia Rosa's Squaw Vally Ranch. It is only 45-50 minutes from our house and it is so peaceful. I was very excited when we spotted a humming bird feeding. It is only the second time I have ever seen one. We also saw a woodpecker. It looked like Woody Wood Pecker with red feathers and everything!

Eliseo had a fun playing with the rocks, riding Ella and playing in Ella's water bowl. I guess Eliseo was hot because he dipped his head in the bowl.

Every guest that visits Tia Rosa and Mary paints a rock.
Then Mary glazes it and displays it outside on a stone wall.
What an awesome idea!

Thank you Tia Rosa and Mary for welcoming us into your cozy home. It was fun!
And next time Fernando wants to come and paint his own rock.

Check It Out

On my Hubby's Blog there are some cool pictures of Jon, Juan Jr. and Dave jumping from a trampoline into the pool at the Hartman home. Click on the link to the left that says Hubby's Blog. Good Job Sweetness! You are a great photographer.

A House Warming Party For The Parents To Be

Thank you Juan and Becky for opening up your home to all of us loud Alvarados and de Leons. I love family gatherings. We need to have them more often. And congratulations on the little bun in the oven. You two are going to be awesome parents.
Love ya!

Look carefully at this photograph.
Juan, Becky and little Juanecky are not the only people in it.

The Lyons Family Are In Town

It was so nice to see Dave and Sonia back in California.
We miss you guys so much!

Hey, when are y'all movin back?

This is what happens to someone if they even think about giving Stephanie's new husband a dirty look.
Even her own nephew got an a#@ woopin.

The Little Divas: Lyric, Hannah, Mercedes, Katarina and Victoria.

The kids were very entertained when
Tio Fernando came up with this cool twisting cushion ride.

Very close cousins. Our birthdays are all one month apart: Mari's 01/22/76, Claudia's 02/23/76 and Sonia 03/23/76. Funny facts about this trio: We use to mail letters to each other. Even Claudia and I who only lived 25 minutes from each other. We use to grow our pinky nails long and tell Ana and Debbie that they couldn't play with us because they were not in our "long pinky nail club".

I had to post this awesome picture of Tia Rosa and her contagious smile.
Did it make you smile?
I love you Tia!

Cruz, Mercedes, Hannah and Elijah in their fort made from cushions and a Dodger blanket.

Tori. Que Chula!

Hannah and Elijah

After Church the Hubby went to have lunch with his relatives and I went to have lunch with some of mine. I finally got to hang out with Hannah and Elijah. They have been here for 2 weeks. They have grown so big! Hannah looks like a totally different little girl. We played outside, took pictures and waited for the Hubby to come.

When the Hubby pulled up Hannah and Elijah ran to the curb yelling,
"Tio Fernando Tio Fernando!"
It was so cute.
We haven't seen them in so long I actually thought they would forget our names.

Hannah teaching Tio Fernando how to take apart these things from the tree. I am not sure what it was but Hannah would twist it and it would just crumble into feather like pieces. Then she would throw or blow the pieces into the air. We had fun.

Here is Hannah's demonstration.

What a Cool Date 7-7-7

The Hubby and I took a weekend trip to Los Angeles to visit family and friends. We spent the night at Patti and Carlos' house. We watched Eliseo for an hour and a half while Patti and Carlos went shopping. Eliseo just kicked back and watched TV until he fell asleep.

Here is a picture of the Meneses family in front of their gorgeous house.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLOS!

Eliseo not sure about getting into his new pool. Look at that pansa!

Later on that evening we ate with Fernando's friends and then played poker. Fernando let me play in his place for a while and I lost all his money. Sorry Handsome.

Fire Cracker! Fire Cracker! Boom Boom Boom!!!

This morning Fernando and I drove to Selma to eat breakfast with Daddy and Mommy Alvarado. I made scones.

Later that morning we were blessed with a California King Size bed that Dad and Mom were not using. Fernando and I spent the next 3 hours moving boxes out of the guest bedroom, vacuuming the guest bed room, moving our full size bed to the guest room, vacuuming our room, setting up the Cal King size bed in our room, washing sheets and comforters and making both beds.

Fernando didn't want to turn on the AC until Daddy and Mommy Alvarado came so we had to sweat it out. He is a hoot. I would hint by saying, "It's hot in here." He would just say, "No it's not." I just laughed because in some aspects Fernando is just like my Dad.

Isn't he cute up there untying the ropes?


Here is our guest bed room. Sonia and Dave will be the first guests to enjoy this room. Sonia already informed me that she wanted vanilla scented candles in the room and mints on the pillows. I will see what I can do.

Niko being very patriotic with his red, white and blue bow.


Mommy and I with our the evening's main dish, a chicken and broccoli wreath.


Daddy and Fernando with our Dessert. It is an original Helen Alvarado concoction. It consists of Angel Food Cake, Whip Cream, Vanilla Yogurt, Strawberries, Blueberries (Need those anti-oxidants), Walnuts and Almonds. DELICIOUS!

God Bless America!

Chile Colorado

Try this recipe and let me know how it comes out.

1) Salt and Cut 2 lbs of tri-tip into chunks. Put meat in crock pot.
2) Blend 5 dried Nuevo Mexico Chiles, 4 dried Guajillo Chiles, 3 Tomatillos, 3 Garlic Cloves, 1 tsp Vinegar, 1Tbsp Oregano, 2 Cloves, 3 Pepper Corns and 1 tsp salt. (Add water)
3) Strain blender ingredients into the crock pot. Place 3-5 bay leaves on top.
4) Cook on high for 1 hour and on low for 7 hours. Or 6 hours in oven at 375.
(Remove bay leaves when done.)

Passing the Torch

Today Claudia, Jon, Sarah and Amanda came over for dinner. Our menu was: Chile Colorado, Mexican rice, beans, tortillas, chips salsa and a Reese's Peanut Butter cup Cheesecake. A special thank you to Claudia for making the delicious cheesecake and to Mommy Alvarado for the beans. I thought I was all Mexican with making the Chile Colorado. I totally messed up. The recipe says to cook the meat in the crock pot on high for one hour and on low for seven more hours. After the first hour I checked the meat and it was already cooked all the way through. I was afraid I would over cook it if I left it cooking so I turned off the crock pot. I was puzzled because the meat was not tender. I later learned from Fernando that the tenderness comes from cooking the meat for a long time. Everyone said it was good but I think they were just being nice.

Now look at the shirt Sarah is wearing. She is the one wearing a shirt that says "virgin". This shirt has been in my family for about 13 years.

When I was a sophomore in high school my sisters and I were given a purity ring for Valentines Day. At this point we all had it engraved in in our heads that we were to wait until marriage to have sex only with our husband. This purity ring served as a reminder for my sisters and I to WAIT.

My oldest sister, Elisa, found this t-shirt at a Virgin Records store. When she got married she passed the shirt down to my youngest sister Ana. When Ana got married she passed it down to me. Now that I am married I passed it down to Sarah. I know she will uphold this title with the confidence and honor that we did. Be strong Sarah. We are rooting for you and are very proud of you. If all my sisters and I waited (some of us longer than others) you can too. You can do it!!! Or should I say NOT do "it".