Training Camp Part III

Most of you probably think that Vycci is the only one who really posts to our blog. While she is the driving force behind many of our posts, I often think of things to add or insert and usually provide some positive feedback before she actually posts. Therefore, I have the honor of posting pictures and comments from my third consecutive year of visiting the Denver Bronco Training camp. I was escorted by both Marina and Isaac this year. Both of them had a really good time, even when Marina decided that she wanted to role around on the grass. To help detour her I gave her my phone to take pictures. Most of these pictures are Marina's doing (with the exception of two, guess which ones).

John Fox (The Bronco's Head Coach) runs a completely different camp than the impostor coach we had the last two years. It was good to see someone who actually got involved in practice and take leadership.

We ended our day with autographs. I for one am not interested in getting autographs from the players, but Isaac really enjoys it and Marina liked it as well. The set up for autographs at training camp is that a certain position signs autographs each practice. Last year we got the defensive backs, unfortunately we did not get Champ Bailey's, but this year we had Tight Ends. The kids got autographs from Dan Gronkowski (super nice guy), Virgil Green (not sure if he'll make the team), and Daniel Fells (the starting TE as of preseason depth charts).

Tebow is the reason most fans come to camp.

Our Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Lloyd

Danny providing quality control for Coach Fox. Knowshon Moreno and Brandon Lloyd.

Isaac, trying to ignore Marina.

The Greatest Dad Ever!

My Dad is the best Dad ever because he...

takes us swimming
feeds us
is fun to play with
plays with us
is understanding
loves our Mom
helps us with homework
gets apps/games for us on his i-pad and let's us play with it
is funny
tells jokes
startles us
loves sports
loves the Broncos
lets us play sports
watches us play sports
watches March Madness with all of us
encourages us
plays Uno with us
gives us hugs
lets us climb on him
introduces us to new things
reads and shares his new books
writes stories
teaches us how to cook
inspires me to be a writer
buys us treats
does laundry for us
takes us camping
takes care of our yard
works hard
takes us to work with him
he takes us to church with him
he holds the priesthood
gives us blessings when we are sick, scared, and sad

because he's our Dad!

Love, Marina, Isaac & Esaias

Donuts for Dad

Danny got to take the kids to school this Friday morning and have a morning treat before sending them on their way. Donuts for Dads is a fun way to honor or recognize Dad at our school. Muffins for Mom's usually happens later in the spring. But the reason I make note of this is that Danny's Fridays off will be coming to an end in a couple of weeks. He has been offered a position at the Community College of Aurora and has accepted the position to begin in 2 weeks. We will be very happy to have him closer to home, and are very grateful that he found a new position, as his grant at UCD has run its course. We will miss having him home an extra day. I am glad that Donuts for Dads happened before his Fridays were up. We love you Dad! Congratulations on your new job!

My Sweet Husband!

I have to write this, and I have to be careful not too embarrass Danny too much. We both our pretty private people when it comes to real feelings about spiritual events. However, there has been a pretty significant change in our lives, or at least there will be. Today, Danny was ordained a high priest, sustained and set apart as the new 1st counselor in the bishopric. The calling was extended to us last weekend, so we've had a week to ponder and absorb the reality of this. But I have to say that it truly is a humbling experience. Whoever thinks that this makes you feel more righteous or to assume that we are more righteous...is insane. It has the complete opposite effect. I am 100% sure that we (or at least me) are not qualified. I know that the Lord will have to make up for our weaknesses. But I am grateful to the Lord that he has called upon us at this time.
I am always overwhelmingly surprised to have been so blessed to have married such an amazingly righteous man. I know all or at least many of his weaknesses, but I know even better all his strengths. I know that the Lord has called one incredibly generous, spiritual, and insightful man to do his work in this ward. I am honored to be his wife, and privileged to take this on with him, as a team. I recognize that in many ways this calling might seem to take away from us being a "team." But I know that this calling presents us with the chance to become an even stronger, more effective husband and wife team. I love my husband and am proud when he is called by the Lord to do anything. He is an amazing father and companion. Without his friendship my life would be...who wants to describe that? I am just so grateful for his righteousness and love.
It is my prayer that the Lord will bless us to be effective in our callings, those within the ward, those within our family, and anything that the Lord sees fit to ask us to do. I pray that we will be ready. I leave these thoughts along with my testimony that I know this work is truly the work of God the Eternal Father, and His Son Jesus Christ. In the name of my Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Father's Day Weekend Fun!

We're really enjoying having Danny home on Fridays this summer. We decided to go camping for the weekend and spend some time together as a family. We started our Friday a little later in the day because Isaac finished up the week by enjoying his golf camp. He is eager to play with his dad and grandpa this summer. He also has some scheduled play days during July. After golf we drove up to Boyd Lake State Park set up camp and then played in the lake for a few hours. It was a nice and hot day. Esais enjoyed being outdoors for the most part. It is a little challenging trying to juggle keeping a baby out of the sun, while playing with the other kids in the water. We managed by playing frisbee in the grass for a while.

After an eventful afternoon, we went back to camp and cleaned up to go to the Holiday Twin Drive In in Ft. Collins to see Toy Story 3. It was very cute. I would recommend it as a fun summer movie for the kids. I was excited because the double feature include Prince of Persia. I had been wanting to see it. I recommend "Netflixing" or "Redboxing" this one. The best thing about the drive in was that we were up so late we didn't need to wake up for Esaias' 3 am feeding. Of course this wasn't so great when we woke up at 6 am.
Saturday morning brought a cloudy cool breeze making it nice for breakfast and packing up camp. The clouds cleared and made for a hot mid-day. Which of course is when we decided to take the kids fishing. I pretty much sat in the car with Esaias while Danny took the kids fishing or should I say casting practice. Anyone who has taken kids fishing knows that it's really not about catching fish. It's about casting, reeling it in and casting again until the bait falls off and you call Dad over to bait it again. Danny actually enjoyed this. I suppose it was good that he wasn't trying to fish himself.

Isaac would say he got 5 bites. I'm not sure how true it is,
but he thinks it, so that made it worth the fishing for him.
I guess that's all that counts.

Marina the master caster. Left handed no less.

We finished the trip with a picnic lunch watching the boats load and unload. It brings back fond memories of my youth. I spent many weekends on the lake boating and water skiing. Even the smell of the boat exhaust brings a smile to my face.

Home at last to rest and recover. We called it an early night and slept late the next morning. Bringing Father's Day to a late start. We spent the day as a family, and according to Marina, "Mom has to do all the cooking today. Dad can't cook at all!" I'm glad we followed her orders and cooked steak and potatoes, a yummy favorite of Danny's.

Our Father's Day present consists of dinner and a pedicure this evening without kids. We're double dating with my sister and brother-in-law. It should be fun. Danny never wants a present. That's so true to his character. I am so blessed to call him my children's father. He is a terrific, patient, loving, and kind father. Who is always willing to take time to talk, laugh, play, and enjoy his kids. He knows who they are individually and strives to provide them with the best home he can. I appreciate that he sees this parenthood experience as a team effort and he never ceases to amaze me. He treasures his knowledge, and membership in the gospel and honors his priesthood. He is willing to share all his time and talents with us. Thanks Danny for being such a great DAD!

Isn't he gorgeous!

Baby Esaias

As most of you know we had a new addition to our family earlier today. Esaias Paul Sandoval was born at 1:35 pm on 4-24-10. He was 8 pounds and 20 inches. He is the biggest baby we have had and seems to be in good spirits thus far. Vycci is also doing well and I am here with her at the hospital tonight as I share these first pictures of our new blessing from heaven.

We started this adventure 2 1/2 years ago when we felt that another spirit was waiting to come to our family. After two unsuccessful pregnancies we were a bit apprehensive to try again but the Lord spoke to us through scripture and the spirit and told us that Esaias was still waiting to come to earth. We can't express our gratitude to everyone who helped with the spiritual, temporal, and emotional support that we have benefited from through this oft ever winding gauntlet.

We love you all who keep tabs on us through this blog and pray that you will feel the appreciation and gratitude you all deserve.

Grandma Chris and Papa Joe w/ grand baby Esaias

All 5 Sandoval's (Vycci, Isaac, Esaias, Danny, Marina)

Big brother Isaac w/ Esaias

First Bath

Danny and new baby Esaias

Esaias Close Up

Auntie Risa and Esaias

Esaias being weighed

Work & Sightseeing in D.C.

After much trepidation on my part and a lot of faith on Vycci's part I ventured off to a very important training/conference for work in Washington D.C. this week while my wife is 35 weeks pregnant. I don't know how she agreed to let me go but this had been a very fun, eventful, insightful, and important (work wise) trip for me to have taken. I have a plethora of pictures below of my short time spent in D.C. thus far. I am still here tommorrow and with a very flexible training schedule I have been able to see one of my MTC companions, sight see, go the temple, ride the metro, and enjoy some good food. I hope you enjoy the picture tour.

One of the first things you see when you get to D.C. is the Washington monument. I don't think this picture does it justice but it was a pretty shot with the trees. It has been raining and cloudy since I got here so I apologize for the gloomy pics. I wish I had a picture of this lit up at night but it was raining too hard when I could have taken the night pictures when I first arrived on Sunday night.

What would D.C. be without the capitol. Rather than taking a picture of the real capital building here is a model of it that is in my hotel, this variety is sculpted out of white chocolate; I think I would rather go to this one anyway.

On Monday night I went to Chinatown and ate a real "hole in the wall" eatery. Here was my meal which was delicious by the way. Sorry Isaac, it had peanuts. :(

A walking picture of China Town, it didn't come out too good but it was very busy while I was down there.

Here is a picture of one of the statues at the Vietnam memorial. Most people were taking pictures of the statue where soldiers had their guns. This one was of nurses helping the wounded, much more my cup of tea.

Here is a picture of the actual Vietnam memorial. As I walked along it I thought of all the stories my Dad told me about his time serving in Vietnam. I am grateful he had the patriotism to fight in a war his country called him to fight in. His sacrifice along with all those enscribed on the wall are a testament of bravery to me.

Here is the Lincoln Memorial, again, much more impressive up close, but I really like the distance shots and there are too many people crowded when you are close to get good pictures, especially since these pics are all off my phone.

This is the WW II memorial. It is very nice and symbolic of the war. I was here for maybe 5 minutes.

More WW II memorial

During lunch today I walked around the national zoo. Did you know all the museums, monuments, archives, and zoo are free in D.C. All paid with by our taxpayer dollars. It's worth the trip to come just to see your tax dollars at work. :)

Here is the giant panda exhibit. I only found this sole Panda. Can you find him?

My kids like Fruit Loops so here is their favorite bird.

The wild Mongolian horse. One of my favorites at any zoo.

After my training today I attended a session at the D.C. temple. What a remarkable building. Of everything I've seen here this wasy my favorite. I think there are like 5 levels in this temple.

After my session I went to the Visitor center where they had an exhibit on eternal families. I felt the spirit so strong as I looked at a map of the world dotted with all the locations of temples in the world. I have never felt the spirit so strong as I did about the miracle of temples on this earth as I did today. By the way, the temple is huge. If you get a chance to ever attend or visit, it is well worth it.

This picture is for my kids. They wanted a picture of the white house. This is the best I could get in my limited sight seeing time frame. I did not get a picture when Jared my MTC companion drove around the front side. Marina asked if I got a picture of the bee hive in the back yard. I'm not sure you can see it from this angle.

The one museum I went to and the one I really wanted to go to was the Native American museum. This statue was the lone picture I took. I think I have had better experiences in my own study of the indigenous people of America, but this was still very interesting. There are so many museums here that you could spend at least a week going to just museums.


I am excited to come home to my family tomorrow and hope that I can post some more pictures when I get back. If it is good weather we might try to get to the cherry blossom festival before we leave for the airport.

12th Anniversary on the 12th!

Okay, so some of you might be confused, if you know our actual anniversary is on the 6th of February. I'll explain. We celebrated 12 years of marriage last Saturday on the 6th of February.
We are extremely blessed and grateful to still love each other, and recognize that marriage isn't about "swinging from chandeliers." While having passion and romance can still be a necessary component to a happy marriage, we know that friendship, faith, hope, service, forgiveness and sacrifice is what keeps us moving through this journey happily together. We were able to go out to dinner and a movie Saturday night thanks to Grandma Chris and Papa Joe filling in for us, by taking the kids to the Blue & Gold banquet.
But the reason I say "12th anniversary on the 12th" is that Danny and I had the chance to go to the temple yesterday, which marked our 11th anniversary of our temple sealing. (thanks Grandma Layne) Danny and I eloped to the justice of the peace in 1998, but we didn't seal our marriage in the Mesa, Arizona temple for all time and eternity, until Feb. 12, 1999. I don't think in 11 years we've actually been back to the temple on that date until yesterday. It was kind of fun to be there together on that day and remember the importance of that moment in our lives. I am so blessed and grateful to know that no matter what happens in this life, that as long as we stay faithful and worthy, we can are an eternal family. So, here's to celebrating 12 years of marriage and the promise of an eternity together on February 12th.
Thanks to my wonderful husband for being all that he is/does:

• being willing to take time off work to go with me to the doctors
• truly listening to me
• holding my hand
• a worthy priesthood holder
• slow to anger
• a loving father
• the cook in the house & lunch maker
  
• doing laundry and cleaning bathrooms
• donating his time to support and help teachers on field days, Tbird dinners, Friday afternoons, and summers
• teaching his kids how to work
• patience
• adaptable
• responsible
• having an eternal perspective
• educated but humble
  
• playing games with the kids
• being an awesome uncle
• loving my family
• a non-conformist
• being an avid reader
  
• willing to cry
• non-judgmental
• not good at math :) (it wouldn't be good if you better than me in everything)
  
• great with teenage boys
• a good boss/supervisor
• a sports fan
• a traveler
• so much more than I can share here and
  
• willing to share your life with me!
  

Family Pictures Hung!

Saturday was a nice break from the long week without Danny. It was even a short week. I am not looking forward to adding one more "single parent" evening to the week. Everyday I remind myself of why I am doing this. 1) Because I love my husband 2) Because I value education 3) Because I know it is temporary and 4) Because I know it will be good for our family in the long run!
So, back to Saturday. We hung out and took it pretty easy in the morning, then ran the few necessary errands, and finally we took Marina to her first friend birthday party without her brother. She was very excited to say the least. Thanks to the Alex for inviting her. This actually gave us some time without Marina to shop for her upcoming birthday and start to work on Christmas shopping. It was a very quiet and non-whiny experience. "Thank you Alex for inviting her." When picked her up, we visited with the Easton's for a short time, it was nice to see them on a social note.
Upon returning home we decided to take on putting up our family pictures, while the kids watched a movie. It is the first time we have had family pictures hanging in our house since we've been married. Crazy huh? Since it's a monumetal moment in our family, I tried to take a picture of the pictures. Didn't work very well, but here it is, just to mark the moment. Thanks again to Kristie Chadwick for doing these for us. She was awesome.
I love that Danny and I have such a great relationship. I am so blessed to have a husband that helps do the duties at home. This weekend he took on the laundry, and of course the cooking. And took the time to talk to me and play the bestfriend role too. No wonder I miss him during the week. Just wanted him and all of you to know why I sound a little whiny, about not having him home. I guess I've just been very spoiled all these years. Thanks Hubby!!!