Weddings, engagements, bridal showers, bday's, family visiting, soccer, BBQ's! We've been busy!

We finally had a few nights to enjoy the back yard Jaime, Pa and Tio Danny (and Carter if you count hammering the dirt!). Jaime put our hammock up and we loved relaxing and taking a nap! My favorite was taking a long Sunday nap in my snuggie with the two flamingos Jaime insisted on having in the back (and front yard lol).

I got to support one of my mentees as she was commissioned into the navy as a new UW BSN nursing graduate before she headed off to the East coast. I'm so proud of Clare. She met me at Starbucks on MI before she started her freshman year at UW with an eager desire to get advice on how to get into the UW's prestigious program. I was so impressed by her determination and I knew she would be able to achieve her goal. I checked in with her every one and while and got to give her a pep talk before her second round of applications at the proctored essay. She was so sweet to send me chocolate covered strawberries as a thank you for mentoring her after she got in! It was so fun to help mentor her along the way and it made me reminisce of how stressful, exciting, draining and empowering my whole experience was. I know I wouldn't have been able to do it if I didn't have help from other nurses along the way. Sumi Kim was my mentor and still is a dear friend in my life. I told Clare that I was so grateful I was able to see her reach her goals...I mean why wouldn't I want to help a young, kind and ambitious soul along their way to becoming a nurse!? Who knows, she just might be taking care of me one day of my loved ones. I told her the only thing I would ask is that she pass it on and pay it forward because there's going to be someone else out there like us who will need a mentor along their way. I'm a big believer in helping those around you in all facets of life. I believe and know from experience that the good energy you put out in the world will come back.

So you know Jaime is full Mexican and I am half Colombia. Colombia WAS supposed to play in the quarter finals at Centuy Link but the stinking coach put his second string players in against a team he thought they would beat and well....that messed up my whole plans of seeing Colombia play because they lost! Ugh. The good news was that the US mens team ended up playing and we still got to enjoy the game. I thought it was hilarious because my parents still wore their Colombian Jerseys. It was a fun time to catch up and we had amazing seats so we got to see a lot of the action up close!

We finally got to have some of our friend over for a BBQ in the back and guess what!? It rained. Not just like sprinkles but literally half an hour before our BBQ mother nature started dumping floods on us. I had just finished my hair and makeup and heard the thunder and the rain start to pour. I screamed "Jaime go outside and take down the hammock!" I was worried that is was going to get all wet, soggy and smelly. He said he needed my help so I ran out to help him and within about a minute my robe and hair was soaking wet and the makeup was smearing down my face so I said "I'm gonna go re-shower and get ready again." Luckily Jaime ran over to his parents and they had a tent which saved the day and couldn't stop us from grilling or making s'mores!

Father day was a success based on the evidence below. I asked Jaime to put up the hammock because I knew my dad would love it and within 1 minute of being at the house he ran out like a little kid and make me take photos of him laying on it, pretending to sleep, posing. It you know my Dad you know he has the heart of a child and I love that so much. He's the happiest guy I know and always makes the other people around him smile, laugh and learn to appreciate the little thing from day to day that we all take for granted. My amazing husband cooked him his favorite short ribs and he ate till he was stuffed. I was so grateful that we got to invite him over and treat him to dinner. Rosy, Myriam and Juanita joined us as well and it was really fun to have the family over.

My old buddy from UW invited me to play in a soccer tournament up North and we couldn't have asked for better weather! Blue skies and green fields are all you can really ask for. I missed the smell of playing soccer on fresh grass and our team ended up winning the whole tournament! Johnny and I used to play forward together on our UW IMA team. We won the competitive league's championship like 5 times in a row (but hey who's counting right!?) I told Johnny he should play forward with me and within 5 minutes I scored off his cross. It's so much fun to play with people you know so well! I know he's gonna drive up the line and cross it and all I have to do is be in the right position and punt it in...so many goals scored this exact way. I definitely miss those glory days.

Got to hang out with some friends and family at Jan's bridal shower before heading off to work the night shift!

For your viewing pleasure of some of the sunsets I get to witness from the 9th floor and a casual twinning pic with my work wifey Kelly out in the sun. I was crazy and used to work 16 hour shifts back to back with maybe 5 hours of sleep. I'm old now....haha....those days are gone.

Jaime took me to Hello Robin which is the second greatest place to Molly Moon's only because they bake fresh cookies and put Molly Moons Ice Cream in the middle. YUM and WORTH IT! Also, we made a stop at our favorite late night restaurant for our go to meal: rib-eye, creamed corn, and baked mac-n-cheese.

I had to add this one in just because I think it's so cute that Jaime sits like this when he plays his favorite video game....even though I absolutely hate video games but that's another story for another day.

We tried to take a cute pic at church and this is how it turned out...WOW fail. Sorry Jaime.

Got to celebrate this beautiful baby mama at her shower. I met Brianna through Jaime at NW Crossfit and instantly loved her when I found out she was a nurse. She's going to be such a wonderful mother and we cannot wait for her and Callan!

Lauren and I got to grab dinner with Jackie before she heads off to medical school! We are so proud of her and know she's gonna kill it. It's so much fun to see your friends reach their goals after years of working their booties off. I just love this one to pieces and have had so much taking our grandma walks around Shoreline Stadium and chatting about life. She's a catch and med school is gonna love her!

We got to go to Boeing's centennial celebration with my Dad. We had a family wedding the next day and had a lot going on but I told Jaime I really wanted to make the effort to go and support. My Dad has been a great example of perseverance and determination over the years. Despite the ups and downs, he and has taught me a lot about keeping your head up and being happy every step of the way regardless of the challenges you are facing. He was so happy to have us there and the light show they had was incredible. They projected light on the some of the new and old airplanes which actually had piolots in them and a big TV screen which opened up and split into 3! We were very impressed and glad we were able to attend.

We got to celebrate Saul and Jan's wedding. Here are some of the pictures from the fun! Jaime and Noah were the "best men" and stole the show. Noah pretended that he lost the rings and looked up at Jaime who looked at him confused and he did it so well we all thought it was serious.

  

Tio Danny and Jaime. Jaime & his cousin Junior.

 

My precious nephews Carter and Camden.

My beautiful mother in law Rosario and my hubby.

There was a break in between the ceremony and reception so I invited some of the family over so they would have a place to relax! Grandma Maria and Nilda enjoyed looking at some of the books from our trips.

The reception was a lot of fun! 

 

  

Congrats to the bride and groom. We wish them years of happiness.

  

My favorite picture of the night.

After the wedding festivities we met the family in the morning for some pozole and walked around downtown at one of our favorite spots on SLU. Then we decided to stop by the bite of Seattle. We ate donuts, frozen chocolate cheesecake, strawberry short cake and like 5 other desserts. I couldn't keep up with Jaime...I still tried but it bit me in the butt when we got home because I felt so sick I puked. Fail.

More play time with the nephews. Carter is such a clown he is so much fun.

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I was going through some of the family scrapbooks and found these gems. Just about died.

 

It was a tough decision but I went to per diem at Harborivew and took a part time day shift position 8 minutes from our house at Swedish Edmonds in an ED observation unit. It's definitely awesome to see the sun more often and feel a lot healthier. I will admit that Jaime is ecstatic that we are on the same day schedule and it is really awesome that I get to see my husband more. Before it was like we were passing by each other waking up and going to bed and I was a zombie on my days off. I couldn't get out of bed before 1pm. I love, love, love my night shift people from the zoo but two years of it kicked my behind...props to those who are 10+ years on nights and going strong. These incredible peeps had a pot luck on one of my last nights and half of them were shocked because they had to clue what was going on. I was pretty torn about the decision and had talked to my manager and assistant manager months before to get some advice and direction, both of which are amazing have felt like mentors over the years. Once I made my decision I decided to just fly under the radar and make the switch from full time to per diem but we all know nurses can dig up the real deal like no one else so the cat got out of the bag. I kept saying that I didn't really tell anyone because technically I wasn't leaving. In all seriousness thought I will always consider Harborview and the BICU/PICU my home and not only my home but my nest. These people have nurtured and inspired me from day one. My first hospital job and overall job in health care was as a nursing assistant on the unit and it's been 5 incredible years of growth and love for the nursing career because of this place. If I had a family member in need of urgent care, trauma or anything else, I would feel safe with any of these people taking care of my loved ones. They work crazy intense shifts and go above and beyond for their patients and families and I've been so grateful for my experience. I joke that I'll be per diem at HMC till I die...but for real that's the plan.

We finally got to go out and celebrate Devin and Stacey's engagement this past August! It's been so much fun to see their love blossom and we couldn't be happier for them. I've know Devin for a couple years now and he has always been a dear friend. I'm so happy he found Stacey and think she perfect for him and as for Stacey, she found a gem! We are so excited for their wedding in Hawaii on May 13th!

We made a stop at two of our favorite places: Din Thai Fung and walked right downstairs for our faovrite Molly Moons.

We always joke that our favorite day of the week is Sunday but it's the truth. We set aside work and other responsibilities to spend time with each other, family, go to church, nap, relax and do whatever else we need to plan out our week. We cook at home and just enjoy having a day to rest and be grateful for the beautiful life we feel so blessed to have. I always longed to have someone sitting there beside me every week at church. Jaime is not only is there by my side every week but he's like 90% of the reason why I physically make it there..especially when it's at 9am and I don't want to get out of bed. I really appreciate the active approach he has to everything he does. If he's going to commit to something he gives 100%. I'm really grateful for the perspective the gospel brings into my life and know the sacrifices we make to be involved in the church in terms of time, money and efforts are the least we can do to give back and be grateful for everything we have in abundance.

We got to celebrate B.B's 40th bday. His fiance Chelsea planned an awesome party at the Cantebury and we had a blast. I knew B.B way back from Nordies and Jaime's knew him through friends. It was funny when we all ended up in the same place when Jaime and I started dating and realized we all knew each other, small world!

 

 

Jaime was asked to teach a health and fitness class to the women at church. He planned an awesome and interactive night and there was a stellar turnout of women who came to learn more about keeping a health diet, new exercises and why it's important to stay active.

 

When two of your best friends get married life is just awesome. Nate and Melanie got engaged and I got to attend Mel's beautiful bridal shower. Just look at this view from her parent's home! We had the most delicious seafood boil with crab, oysters, corn, fish, prawns....it was all beyond delicious. We played a bunch of fun games and I was honored to win the questionnaire game about Nate and Mel! I guess I had the advantage since I saw it all start from the beginning! Jaime was a champ and got the home all ready for a dinner we had so I could drive out to Des Moines and be part of this girl's special day!

 

Garret, Cami and Hamilton came to town! It was so much fun to see this guy shortly after visiting. I missed him so badly. We played lots of tennis and laid on the couch the other 90% of the time because we are getting old and tired...haha. But for real it was so good to sit back and catch up. They also came to stay the night with us and we had to much fun hosting them and the perfect guest room to keep them cozy. We had a little bonfire and roasted some s'mores after hammer went to bed. Mom also hosted a dinner on Sunday and Gayla and Dave came to down. I miss my Grandma Arlene a lot and it's so much fun to have Gayla so close. She is her half-sister and told me she always wanted to look after us in honor of her sister and she's gone above and beyond to be there for every special moment of our lives.

  

 

Jaime and I have been working on some projects for our wedding celebration coming up this May! We are working with some amazing artists and we are so excited to see everything start coming together. We also may have some exciting news coming up soon but for now we are being patient. (No...we are not having a baby yet. Sorry Mom.)