Christmas 2008

Here are some pics from Christmas 2008. We had a great time this year even though the crowd was small. Yes. I said the crowd was small...Feliz Navidad!

Group Picture

Tio Ben and Sam

Marissa, Mom and I

Marissa, Merrean, Kiersten and I. I am the oldest cousin (at the ripe age of 21).

A family affair...

I had to share the latest from Christy.

She's so gifted. Thank you, Christy! Love you.

http://bonifaciophotography.com/guilford/

An evening at the park

Wow have Saturday nights changed! They are just more mellow and relaxed with a little guy around. Matt, Sam and I decided to go to the park on Saturday night and we had such a fun time appreciating the simple things...beautiful weather (highs in the 80's), lake front and a playground!

Sam is fearless on the slide and climbs right up to get on...it made for a great evening to wind down.

Happy Monday!
ariana

Sam on the Beach

Quick update!

Here's some pictures of Sam and family on the beach last week. We went to Hilton Head and stayed at a beautiful house that his family rented for the week.

We had a great time relaxing, eating, biking, eating, hot-tubbing, eating, pooling, eating, reading, eating, shopping, eating...

Can't wait to go again!

By the way, I am ABSOLUTELY going to keep that little bear cub.

The Big Three Oh

I promised I would tell you about my birthday. As you can see, it was a significant one! I had mixed feelings about it, but now that it's over, I see it doesn't make a difference and that age is just a number...that tells you where you stand in your life span. Ha! Really...

I don't have photos from the Guilford's, but the weekend started off on Friday night when I celebrated my birthday with Matt's family - Brad, Joy, Mimi, G-ma, G-pa and the little ones. We had lasagna, strawberry cake (2 pieces for me) and birthday presents. It was sooo good! I even got some cool sewing tools and that was really fun for me (of course!).

Saturday night it was a party at Paige's with girlfriends. It has been so wonderful to make friends with other women and moms. It's really an important piece of life - I strongly believe that now that I have reached this ripe age. :) Girlfriends do understand you in a unique way and their love and support is priceless.

Sunday afternoon we had a 70* day here in Knoxville - perfect for a barbecue! Birthday celebrations continued into Sunday's dinner where we had macaroni and cheese, chips, potato salad, hot dogs, hamburgers and birthday cake. Mmmm! Matt invited several friends and families from church to enjoy the afternoon.

And, yes. The party included t-shirts with "Ariana Math" printed out. The lovely t-shirt is modeled there for you by little Oscar. :)

So now what? I feel great! I feel healthy and have enjoyed so many wonderful life experiences - including becoming a mom. It's pretty awesome, I must say. I am ready to rock on and savor the years to come. Each day is a gift from God and we are not promised the next. I'll keep that in my back pocket and try to find something to enjoy in each one.

hugs,
ariana

My camera can do that?

We bought a camera when we found out that we were going to have a Sam. It's a Kodak Easyshare V610. I really like the size and how easy it is to use. We've had it for over a year now.

Do you have things that you realize that you are not using to the fullest potential? I do. I just realized that this camera can take video clips. It's really cool! It was a fun discovery...look what I caught.

Labor Day 2007

Our family grew up with the Abreus and Jackie Abreu got married this weekend! We had a wonderful time at the wedding - it was so fun to see our old friends and catch up with what is going on in their lives. As you can see, Jackie was just so beautiful! Oh. And the cake? AWESOME. Loved it!!! Mmm...

Sunday we went to Titi Lugu's house for a barbeque and ate well again - chicken, rice and beans, sundaes...Plus we got to enjoy being outside without roasting or risking heat stroke. Knoxville has been extra warm these months!

As you can see, we were able to jump Jonathan, my outgoing and sweet as sugar cousin. Ha! Those of you who know Jon know why this is amusing. :) Everyone had a wonderful time!

Monday we went to visit The Jackson Family. Kelly and I worked together before I got married and moved to Knoxville. We clicked and became really great friends and still see each other whenever we can many years later. It's always wonderful to have friends that you can just pick up where you left off. Look how cute the babies are!

I am WAY behind and do I have a post to share about the race on Sunday! I will be back soon...

I wish my sister had more friends...

As you may know, our family hosted a party for Marissa on Sunday night and I would definitely call it a success! My parent's home was full of people and there was even overflow outside. My dad didn't mind that at all because he disappeared with his buddies out to the garage to play dominoes. :)

It was really fun to see all of Marissa's friends and catch up with family. Here's some pics of the event - Marissa and I and Mom, Marissa and I.

Enjoy!