I'm Engaged!!!

As I was opening up a box that had a dozen red roses in it, Mike reached under the tree shirt and pulled out a box with a ring. He said that he thought he should give me roses for this occasion and then proposed. Of course I said yes :)

We are waiting until Carlos comes back from Afghanistan to get married, so we are hoping/planning for March of 2010.

Christmas '08

On Christmas Eve we all went to mass and then had dinner at the Landmark. Mike got to open his presents from Mom and Dad before we went to his place for our Christmas.

Here he is with the DVD of the Red Wings and the Stanley Cup


We didn't set up the big tree this year, but did decorate our "Mexican Tree".


Blue was excited because he was going with Mike and I back to his place...


I think he knew that he had presents there :)


A while back I was cleaning and accidentally broke Mike's Coca Cola glass he got from a Jaycee Convention that Gilbert had hosted. I felt bad so I replaced it.

Again our tree looked beautiful!

Christmas morning I spend with Mom and Dad and we open our presents then. Dad helps Blue with his, although this year he didn't need much help as he actually would bite the paper and tear it off.

Dad is a HUGE John Wayne fan and his favorite movie is El Dorado.

Blue got lots of toys this year :)

I bought Mom a new porcelain doll from this lady who makes them all from hand. This one is from Veracruz and I had the lady make her in a white dress to look like the one I used to wear when I danced.

I am very thankful for the gifts I received this year...including a Michigan t-shirt from Mike's sister :)

The gift from Mom and Dad that brought tears to my eyes was my own Betty Crocker Cooky Book...we used to make cookies from recipes in this book when I was younger and it definitely created some wonderful memories.

Chirstmas '08 Cont.

On Christmas day we got a phone call from Carlos and were able to talk to him for awhile. He said to tell everyone Merry Christmas and that he would be thinking of us.

We had Christmas at my parents' house this year and my family from Tucson came up.

Last year Liz fell in love with Mike's Oreo Truffles, so this year he made some especially for her :)

Mom made some of her famous rice for Liz too...Yum Yum!

Greeting Cards

Blue is so nosy that he layed behind Mom while she was making out greeting cards.

Mike & I Made Tamales

Mike wanted to learn how to make tamales and somehow I got sucked into it too. :) Dad showed us how to make the masa and cook the meat, and then we had to spread to masa on the husk and fold them up.






We made 7 dozen tamales...those combined with the ones Dad made equaled about 32 dozen all together. That's a whole lot of tamales!

Blue & Santa Claus

This picture was taken last year on Christmas day after Blue got his tux from Mom and Dad...I thought it was cute and had to share it.


Since I work at Petsmart and they do pictures with Santa, Mike and I took Blue the weekend before Christmas. Funny story: Last year one of my co-workers, Maybeth, was Santa when Blue got his picture taken, and this year her Mom was Santa.

He's such a camera hog!

Manicure & Martini Night

Furia's is a resturaunt that every Monday night they do a Manicure and Martini night. Mom took me with her and it was fun. I got to meet some other teachers from different schools and tasted some really good food. I liked the pizza mom and I ordered.

Julian & Santa Claus

When Greg's family came from Tucson to stay with us for a night, Dad dressed up as Santa Claus for Julian. Then Dad pretended to be Santa Claus on the phone later and Julian told him to bring a present for his little sister too.

Blue and Julian had fun sleeping on the air matress we set up.

John VanZile's Graduation

I have known John since he was in my Mom's Spanish class at Westwood High when I would help out in her classroom after I graduated. We ended up having a Jazz in America class together at ASU that was really fun. On his birthday that semester, I put a Snickers bar where he sat in that class because that's what my Mom gives to her students on their birthdays. It put a smile on his face.

So when John e-mailed me and asked if I would come to his graduation, I said of course and was honored that he would think to invite me.




We are proud of you John!

Señora Morales & Señorita Morales

No It's Not A Halloween Decoration

This is Mom's new addition to her classroom...this was a Christmas present from 2 of her Spanish IV students.

Red Wings vs. Coyotes

This was one of Mike's Christmas presents that I had to give to him early. Last year I promised to attend a hockey game with him and I never did so I thought I would surprise him and buy tickets for when the Red Wings came to town. The Red Wings are his favorite hockey team.



I got good seats...Second row above where the Zamboni comes out onto the ice.


I made a sign that said "THIS IS HIS X-MAS PRESENT" with an arrow pointing to Mike. :)

I just thought this was funny...biggest taco I've ever seen :)

Red Wings Won!!!

This was my first hockey game I had been to and I got to see a shoot out.

Mike was slouching and I was on my tippy toes in this picture...there really is more of a height difference :)

*Side note*

We walked Blue before we left and Blue had his red snowman t-shirt on...we looked funny and I'm sure everyone thought we matched. I even wore Mike's Red Wings hat :)