Quick trip to the beach

Today Gabe came home a little early and said, "Let's go somewhere." I said, "the beach?" And then Ella jumped into our conversion and said, "I want to go to the beach!!!" So we grabbed some towels and beach toys and headed to the beach. The beach was packed!!! I guess everyone else thought they should take advantage of the warmer weather. We stayed for a little over an hour and then headed home. We stopped at In-N-Out for dinner. YUM :) It was a perfect little beach outing. We just LOVE living in San Diego!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!!

Happy 11th

Anniversary!!!!!

I can not believe that 11 years ago you two got married.

I was a young 14 year old.

Even though I was only 14,

I saw the love you had for each other and

knew I wanted that for myself one day. And I got it!!!

Your marriage is such an example to us.

You are very blessed to have each other.

May God continue to bless your marriage and your family.

We all want to wish you a very Happy Anniversary!!!

To the next 11...

We love you, Espinoza Family

P.S. Can't wait to see in August!!!

Mexico

Welcome to Michoacan!!!
Mommy and Ella
Daddy and Ella feeding the cows

All of Gabe's grandfather's cows eating
Daddy and Ella horseback riding
Now it's Noah's turn

Our little cowgirl

Bath time
They both loved taking baths in this metal tub

Gabe and I

We rode a boat through a lake to the island of Janitizio

You can see the island behind us

Our family :)

Abuelito and Abuelita with their grandkids

Daddy and Ella

4 Generations:

Noah, Gabe, Gabe's dad, and Gabe's dad's dad

Ella dressed in a tradition dress of the state of Michoacan

Ella and Noah all dressed up

Noah in his sombrero and serape

We started our trip on Wednesday. We flew out of the Tijuana airport into the Guadalajara. We then drove almost 3 hours to get to the town of Caurio. Once we arrived, we instant made our rounds and met everyone. The next morning we got up and headed to the stable. We watched Gabe's uncle and cousin milk the cows. We then helped feed the cows. Ella and Noah LOVED this. After feeding the cows, we went horseback riding. Gabe took each of the kids and even I rode. It was scary, I kept feeling like I was going to fall off. Friday we went to the town of Quiroga and went shopping. It was amazing to me all the crafts, woodwork, and art for sale. All of it was so cheap too. We got Ella a leather purse for only $0.75!! From there we took the boat to the island of Janitizio, where we did more shopping. The next few days we stayed in town and visited with family and ate the most delicious avocados I've ever eaten!!! YUMMY :) On Saturday I watched Gabe's uncle, who by the way is a butcher, slaughter a pig. Yes, I did!!! It was incredible all the work that takes place for one pig. On Father's day we had a big fiesta!!! All of the family got together and ate, yes the pig meat from Saturday, and visited. We took a lot of family pictures including the 4 generations. Life in Mexico is nothing like life in the United States. It is very relaxed and tranquil. I appreciated that. It was a long trip but it was full of memories that will last a lifetime. But boy oh boy, am I happy to be home with Starbucks, Facebook, and people speaking English!!! LOL

HOME at Last!!!!

I just wanted to post that we are all home in San Diego. It was a long trip. And I'm soooooo happy to be home. We had a good time and made lots of memories. I have lots of picture to post, they will be coming soon, and lots of laundry to do!!! Salena, could you come and help??? Thank you for all the prayers. Stay posted details to come.

Trip to Mexico

This is a map of Mexico, the state we are visiting is in blue, Michoacan
This is the map of Michoacan, the city we are going is called Caurio, if you look on the map and find Zamora, it is bold and toward the upper left corner, you will see Caurio directly to the right

As many of you know, Gabe's parents were born and raised in Caurio, Michoacan, Mexico. They came to the United States when they we in their early 20s. While Gabe was growing up he would go back to Mexico every summer. Every since we got married, he has talked about us going there together. In 2007, Gabe's mom's father, his grandfather, became very ill. Myself, Gabe and Ella were planning an emergency trip to go and say goodbye. Unfortunately, Ella and myself did not have passports and we unable to go. Gabe went by himself. Gabe's father's father, Gabe's grandfather, is very ill. This is Gabe's last living grandparent. We decided as a family it was very important to us to go to Mexico as a family and see his grandfather. Gabe's parents are already in Mexico and own a home there that we will be staying in. Gabe's brother, Tino, is flying with us too. We are leaving today at 9:15am and will be in Mexico until Tuesday, June 23rd. We would appreciate your prayers for a safe flight and safety in Mexico. Stay tuned for pictures. Otherwise I will post as soon as we return to let you all know that we are home safe and sound.

Our 5th Anniversary date

Us in front of our table

Us outside

At the back of the boat while the sun was setting
Inside at our table

Outside with downtown San Diego behind us.

June 5th was our fifth anniversary. We celebrated this year by going on a dinner cruise that sailed through the San Diego harbor. Salena very graciously offered to babysit and we gladly accepted :). We ate delicious food, danced, and spent some much needed time alone. I had a fabulous time and would recommend it to everyone. Thank you, Salena for watching the kids, doing the laundry, AND cleaning the house!!!!! YOU WERE THE BEST BABYSITTER EVER!!! And can come back and do it again, soon I hope...hehe :)

Vacation with Salena and the boys

Last week I had the pleasure of spending a week with Salena and the boys. Unfortunately, my brother couldn't make it and was missed terribly. We all went to California Adventure, Disneyland, Coronado beach, Point Loma tide pools, San Diego zoo, and had Noah's first birthday party. It was an extremely full week but we had an incredible time. I LOVED watching all the kids. Since we live so far away and don't get the opportunity to see each other often, this time together was treasured.

Salena, Thank you so much for coming and staying with us!!! We had such a great time and can't wait to see you in Minnesota!!!

WARNING: Extremely long blog post so bear with me. We did so much together. Be sure to look at all my posts so you don't miss anything.

California Adventure

Abram and Ella
Walking with Grammy
Look how handsome he is!!!
Look who it is Boo Ella
Noah

All 4 kids and of course Ella is not looking, at least Noah isn't crying

Ethan

Grammy and Ella

Salena and Abram


On Wednesday, Salena and the boys, me and my kids, Grammy, and our friend, Angela and her kids, all went to Calfornia Adventure. I took Ethan on the Tower of Terror and well let's just say he didn't like it. Salena took him on Soaring over California and of course he LOVED that one. Then Grammy took him on a rollar coaster and he loved that one too. We took all the little kids on little rides. They all had a blast!!! Thank you, Angela for meeting us.

Coronado Beach

Salena building a sand castle with the kids...making memories!!!
Ethan- giving me a heart attack

Abram

Ella

Noah

We took all the kids to Coronado. First we did a mini photo shoot. The last picture we have of all 4 kids was the day Noah was born. I took a hundred pictures and got a handful that I really liked. After all of that it was time for fun!!! Ethan swam and Ella and Abram dug in the sand. And well Noah he did a lot of sitting. Salena built a sand castle with the kids. It was a beautiful day spent at the beach.