Family Pics



Holiday Cheer

 School is out and the Casillas family is doing just about everything possible to get into the holiday spirit. I still can't believe how fast Christmas came this year. Before school go out, the kids both marched in a winter parade through Litchfield Park. Gianni marched with pack 990 for Cub Scouts and Carmen marched with her Daisy troop.

In addition to marching in a holiday parade, the kids were also in a school performance. Gianni was part of a singing group and Carmen had a speaking part as the wolf. If you click on this video link you will hear the end of their song and one of her lines. Just watch her facial expressions. She loves the microphone. Take a look at the awesome wolf costume that daddy made.
A wolf costume is hard work!
 http://youtu.be/DJWG8dxVBWA

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Next it is on to the winter dance recital. The girls did great! Here is Carm with her BFF Sophia. Both girls will be switching dance studios in January. Time to move on to a new studio and learn some new skills. I am so proud of her effort on stage.

If you click on this link you can see Carmen's dance on stage. She is the third to come on stage and once they leave the circle she is the third girl in from the end on the left side. She was not happy about having to be in the back row. They told her she is too tall to be in the front : ( 
 http://youtu.be/LJqP75ahmOk

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On Saturday night we went with my parents to the Desert Botanical Garden to see the luminaries and the Chihuly Glass Exhibit. We walked the grounds in our jackets and hats, ya know, because it's cold here at 48 degrees, and took in the beautiful colors.

My mom gave the kids these awesome hats. Everyone walked by Carmen and said, "look, it's a Chihuly hat!" She really did blend in well with the exhibit.

On Sunday we had chips and dip and watched the Cardinals game. We celebrated our win with gingerbread house making! Carmen thanked me 4 times. "Mom I know I already said it but thank you soooooooooo much!" She really loved adding candy and sprinkles to the house. Gianni had such a huge smile on his face and really got into the activity.  His goal was to make it 

look like the one in the picture.

Today was our first official day with no school so we went all out. First we hit the McCormick Stillman Railroad Park for two hours, then lunch, and then 3 hours at Crackerjaxs for some bumper boats, go carts, and mini golf.

Tonight it was the final finish to our holiday baking. One more batch of Pizzelles to take to Christmas Eve dinner and some fun cut out cookies for the kids.

One more gift to buy tomorrow, two casseroles to make for Christmas morning, and then I am officially done. I know, I waited to the last minute, but I had two beautiful reasons to put things off!

Carmen's Birthday and Halloween

 Although every mother gets frustrated from time to time, how can I resist this beautiful face. As she gets older she gets more dramatic and hilarious. She does remind me of "me" when I was a child, but something tells me she will take it to an entirely new level! She is a hoot!

 For her birthday she invited 7 girls over for a princess party and they all dressed up. The house was decorated with Sofia the First everything. The girls had princess sandwiches shaped like crowns and slippers and various other pink foods, played pin the crown on the princess, had a craft time where the girls made crowns and magic wands that they got to take home, and ended the party with a bounce house and pinata. It was one of our best parties in my opinion. She loved it and she was so happy the entire time. The girls had fun as well, and one little girl even told me, "this is the best party I have ever gone to!"

 And the cake...so Abel and I made this cake for her ourselves. It was not perfect and didn't taste as great as a store purchased cake, but it was impressive and the girls liked it.

 Look at the intensity in her face. She will do just about anything for candy!

 The party was a success. A few weeks later we celebrated Halloween. Nonna and Papa came over and watched the kids trick or treat.

10 Years and Counting

So on October 4th, 2013, Abel and I renewed our wedding vows for our 10 year anniversary. Many people asked us, "why do you want to do this?" It was really important to us that we celebrate being a family. It wasn't just about Abel and I, but it was about commitment to helping each other and loving each other as a family. Our closest friends and relatives that could make it into town were on hand to help us celebrate this special day.

Our dearest friend Adam read vows that allowed us to commit to each other, for a second time, despite the many things that often drive us nuts about each other. Adam had us in tears with laughter. First Abel had to agree to the following, "Abel…… do you promise to put up with Kristin and complete every honey do list that she leaves, keep her calm when she gets crazy, iron since she can’t, and repair all things that need to be sewed since she doesn’t have the patience for it?" Followed by my vows, "Kristin… do you promise to continue to put up with his need to keep everything in that drawer next to the bed and throw nothing away, read all directions when assembling things since he won’t, and be kind when he calls from the store 15 times because he has no idea what he is supposed to buy?" It's true, he called me from the store today...like three times!

The best part was involving the kids in a family unity candle. They are stuck with us now. 

After the ceremony people ate dinner and watched a beautiful slide show that my dad put together that showed Abel and I growing up, getting married, and the kids from birth to present day. Such a beautiful job! My daddy is the best!

Dancing of course!

And the next part is even more fun because the next morning it was off to Disney!



Our Disney Post

 

I know...everyone has been asking.....where are the Disney pics and the vow renewal pics. Well, this should hold you over. I am really trying to get back on track. Here is a run down of our disney adventure. Thanks to Nonna and Papa we stayed at the Beach Club and did the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, Epcot, and Downtown Disney. We had a blast!