Ellie's birthday party

Jasmine has a little friend at school named Ellie who is the cutest thing with dark brown hair and the cutest smile. She had a birthday and among all her little friends, Jasmine got an invitation to attend her birthday party last Saturday and I got to take her. They had a lot of fun making crowns, playing put the princess in the castle window, eating cake and getting their faces painted. I love watching Jasmine have fun with her friends and it reminds me how fast she is gowing up! Sigh...

Mother's Day

So, firstly to all my friends that are mother's HAPPY BELATED MOTHER"S DAY! I was too self absorbed and busy on Mother's Day to call anyone other than my own mother. It was a really nice day though. It all started with me waking up at 8 AM and Lorne bringing Jasmine into have a cuddle with me in bed. She brought me the card she picked out (a Mickey Mouse card that talks!) and Lorne gave me a gift - a beautiful bracelet that he bought me that I was not expecting but absolutely love! Thanks babe!I next went downstairs to finish icing a lot of cupcakes that I was giving as gifts and also taking to my uncle's house that afternoon for our get-together. While I was doing that, Lorne gave me 3 dozen beautiful roses (red and white) and I was excited because they are my favorite and were the colors we used in our wedding.Jasmine got into the shower with me to get clean for church and we all got dressed and rushed out to church. Oh, I almost forgot, I got a pretty corsage to wear to church and Lorne got one for my mom and grandma too! What a sweetheart - all you husbands out there take note!After a grueling day at church - we did crafts with the kids and I taught a lesson - we came home to put Jasmine down for a nap and have lunch. I also had to finish making the gifts for my mom, grandma and Casey and wrap them too. By the time we finished that it was time to leave the house to go to my uncle's house. We had yummy Uruguayan style dinner and relaxed and had fun just being together. This has to be one of my most favorite things to do, just relax and enjoy my family - there is seriously nothing better!Lastly - I know it is a bit late but I wanted to tell my mom how amazing she is and how happy I am that she is my mom. Mom, you have been my biggest support, ally, and friend. You have integrity and have always been honest and just with us. You are smart and talented and so very impressive with all that you have accomplished in life. I could not have asked for a better mother or a better grandmother to my little girl - I am so blessed to know that you will be my mother forever! I love you Mom!

Our Little Violin Player

Many of you may already know that our little girl is extremely musical and has been since she was born. As her parents are also musical it seems that is where she got it from! We have been thinking for a little while that we wanted to cultivate her musical talents and so she has performed twice at church (she is singing in my parents ward this weekend).

When I performed in the Hosanna at Easter, you may recall there was an amazing violin soloist that mesmerized Jasmine. We realized that violin is one of the few instruments that she could start to learn now. Also, we are lucky enough to have a friend who is an amazing violinist and teacher, Jason Day.

We contacted Jason and he had us come and observe a lesson at his studio (in his home) of a 3 year old he is teaching. I have never seen Jasmine sit so still and she periodically tugged on my shirt and whispered, "When is it my turn Mommy? Is it my turn yet?" After we left the lesson Jasmine insisted that she wanted a violin and could she please play it too. Lorne and I decided this was the right thing for Jasmine to try and so we talked to Jason and signed her up for lessons. She had her first violin lesson last week on Monday, May 5 at 4:30 PM. She was so excited and we explained to her that she would be getting her violin and learning to play it. She was so excited. When we got there, the first thing Jason did was to make her a foot chart that shows her feet at rest position and play position. Also her violin and bow. The he started teaching her the parts of the violin. She learned quickly but was anxious to give playing the violin a try. Jason taught her how to hold the bow and how to hold the violin on her chin. I have to tell you, the small violin that we bought her to learn to play on is the cutest thing you have ever seen! I was also instructed to pay attention and take notes because as parents, we have to guide her practice at home and know what to as well. Since she is so young, this isn't something she can do alone! Lorne and I knew that when we made this choice and we intend on doing our best to be active participants in this as well. I asked Jason if I could take pictures at the lesson and he said sure so enjoy the pics because they are precious!

39 Miles Baby!

So, last weekend we did the BIG walk - I need to begin by thanking you all for your generous support and moral support and interest in my activities, etc. It makes me realize how fortunate I am to have such wonderful family and friends around me - I am truly the luckiest girl in the world!

So, before I write the detailed report (which I know you are all dying to read), here is a brief synopsis!

Number of miles walked on Saturday May 3 - 26.2

Number of miles walked on Sunday May 4 - 13

Total number of miles over the weekend - 39.2

Total number of miles walked over the past 13 weeks - 302 miles!

Number of toes - 10

Number of toes with blisters - 8

Number of other blisters not on toes - 2

Number of blisters that popped while walking - 3

Chafing - YES! I won't tell you where though!

Nights slept in a tent after walking 26.2 miles - 1

Number of energy drinks consumed - 9

So, as you can see, we had an amazing weekend. We went into the city on Friday afternoon to register for the walk and relax before the actual walk beginning the next day. We talked, went to one restaurant (Gordon Biersch) for appetizers and then to Buca di Beppo for a team dinner. It was delicious and so much food! Afterwards, Marcia, Jen and me went to the hotel pool to have a calm and relaxing swim and a dip in the hot whirlpool. Unfortunately I left my bathing suit at the hotel on the back of the bathroom door and it was the only time I had ever worn that suit. Sad...

Saturday morning we participated in the opening ceremonies where cancer survivors told their stories and they were so touching. One lady in particular made me cry when she related that her daughter was 5 years old when she was diagnosed and she decided to fight the disease because she wasn't going to let anyone else raise her daughter. I thought of Jasmine and cried.

They opened the route at 7:30 AM and we took off - well, we were walking slow due to the large number of people that participated. It took at least 5 miles of walking before the crowd began to think out and we were able to walk at a better pace. We were concerned at first because it was taking too long to walk the beginning and we were afraid that we wouldn't make all the miles due to timing. We made up time though and charged on. We tried to limit our stops and not take too much time at any given stop so that we wouldn't lose time. It was a little concerning though because we reached a few stops where they had run out of water.

After about 9 miles we walked over the Key Bridge into Georgetown and at the edge of Georgetown there was a cheering station where the family was waiting for us. It was so amazing to see them. Lorne and Jasmine were there of course and also Dad and Natalia. They were cheering and hugged us and asked how we were doing. We posed for a picture with them and then they rushed us along so we wouldn't waste too much time with the promise they would see us later at another cheering station. It definitely gave us a much needed boost to see them especially as it was beginning to get hot outside. It was sunny and warm, not the day we prayed for. We wanted an overcast cool day because the heat zaps energy faster.Shortly after seeing the family, we stopped for lunch. As I always have to talk about the food, I will tell you that the food was good. I had a ham and cheese sandwich on a croissant and some sun chips and a cookie and some carrots. Anyway, it was a nice chance to sit down, take 15 minutes to rest and eat and recharge for the rest of the walk. The theme for the lunch time stop was the circus and all the crew members that worked the stop were dressed in circus looking outfits. It was funny to see them. All of the stops had themes and people dressed in costumes. The crew was amazing and we certainly appreciated all the work they did.

Margie, a member of our team was a crew member and her job was to bike the trail in circles to make sure people were OK and that no one was left behind. This turned out to be great because we saw Margie a lot on the first day and it was always fun to see her and yell out to her. I think she did as much work as any of us because she biked the whole trail more than once! Thank you Margie!

After lunch we forged on and climbed the longest hill of our lives. Up embassy row, the hill was about a mile and a half with a steady incline. My mom hates the hills and gets really quiet when we are climbing one. I on the other hand, don't really have a huge problem with hills so I just climb them thinking of a steady rhythm in my head. Every so often I found I was losing my mother and I would stop and wait for her. When we finally made it to the top, there was a rest stop and the halfway finishing line. We took a team picture and kept on a walkin'. I must point out that Marcia's goal was to walk 13 miles each day for a total of 26 so she told us to go on ahead of her so we could make up time. That is why we don't have many pictures with her on the first day.

We saw the family again around the 16 mile mark and at this point Jasmine was asleep on Daddy's shoulder. It was so cute to see her resting peacefully even though she wasn't in her won bed. Lorne kissed me, giving me renewed energy and getting me excited to see them again at the finish line. I have to say, I was so happy that Lorne gave me so much support, not only on the walk weekend but the whole time I was training, I couldn't have done this without all the sacrifice he had to make as well, this was truly a family team effort. It really showed me the love he has for me to spend his entire weekend outside cheering me on and taking care of our little girl so well.

So we walked and we walked and we walked. Around the 20 miles mark I noticed my mom was suffering. She didn't look good and was really quiet. We sat down right before we hit mile 21 but I don't think it was enough. After we passed mile 22, mom went down. I think she was suffering from a bit of heat exhaustion and needed to re-fuel. She laid down on the path and the kind people in the sweeping vans rushed over to make sure she was OK. I assured them she was fine (even though I myself wasn't sure - I just knew that over my mom's dead body did she want them to pick her up). Mom was hell bent on finishing that day. I mixed her Access drink and a few minutes later she said she felt better. She got up and kept walking.

About 3 miles before the end there was one last rest stop that we took advantage of and my mom took a rest, we caught up with Jen (whom by this time had fallen back due to sore blisters and calluses on the bottoms of her feet) and I filled every one's water bottles with ice cold fresh water. We then made our way toward the finish for the first day.

There were a lot of people cheering us on during the last mile and boy did we need it, we were tired, hungry, sore and ready to relax. Seeing the finish line was an amazing feeling, it was so empowering and I felt so accomplished. Lorne and Jazzy were there waving and cheering and dad too. We crossed the finish line at 6:30 PM. I danced across the finish line and can canned! I had so much energy and wanted to show off! Marcia was there too, having finished her 13 miles and she was looking freshly showered and relaxed. I on the other hand was stinky, sweaty, and grimy. Marcia had made sure our tents were set up and our gear was at our tents. What an angel! She also showed me where the Spaah Zone was where they had massage chairs and foot massage machines set up. I relaxed on one of those for about 10 minutes and Jasmine sat with me too! Then Lorne and Jasmine bid us farewell and said they would see me on the trail the next day.
After they left, the team set out to get dinner. They had a hot pasta dinner for us to eat and it tasted great (not sure if it was just because we were hungry or because it was actually good). It didn't matter because I was ravenous!

After dinner, I set up the tent while mom took her shower and then I went to the showers. It was amazing, they had these trucks that had shower stalls inside and they connected the hoses to the fire hydrants. By the time I was done with my shower, I felt loads better and was ready to lay down and try and get some sleep. I didn't sleep very well but it was neat to partake of the full experience by sleeping in the tents.

Getting up on Sunday was not an easy task. It was early, about 5:30 AM (again!! we had gotten up at the same time the day before) and we had a lot to do. Get dressed, pack our gear, take down our tents and lug our tents and gear back to the trucks. I was SORE! I knew I didn't do a good stretch at the end of the walk and I was paying for it. It took a while for the muscles to warm up so that I didn't feel the soreness, although I knew at the end of the day I would be hurting!

Again at 7:30 AM, we began our 13 mile journey to the finish line. We had a good pace going but around mile 2, Marcia told us to go on ahead because she wanted to stick to a slower pace than we did. Mom and I decided we would only stop if we absolutely had to and so we didn't make our first stop until mile 6 when we stopped for potty time. We then walked until mile 9 point something where Lorne, Jasmine, Natalia, Dad and Abuela Meme were waiting and cheering us on! So amazing again to see them and hug them and get a picture (for posterity and the blog of course). They promised us they would see us at the finish line and we took off once again.

We stopped a mile later for lunch and we wished we wouldn't have. Lunch was not good, and it was sad because we looked forward to eating! At this point it was just mom and me - Jen decided to go home at mile 6 as she had severe blisters and had bled through her bandages and socks - poor lady! We filled the water bottles and took off.

I think I was pushing mom's pace. At this point I just wanted to be done. I was tired mentally and I didn't care about the sights anymore. I barely cheered when I walked through my Alma mater, George Washington University. I didn't want to stop and I didn't want people getting ahead of me. My poor mom - she kept reminding me this wasn't a race and while this is true, I couldn't get a bit of my competitive nature out of my system.

After we passed the mile marker for mile 12 I was so excited. I wanted that finish line and to hug my family and to eat something good! I wanted to be able to say I did it. It felt like the longest mile but we rounded a corner and there it was, the finish line ahead. We could see it, we could hear the people cheering and we could taste victory. My mom and I crossed the finish line together at 12:35 PM and people were giving us 5 and saying Congratulations and my family was there - it was an amazing feeling.

We waited for Marcia and called her every so often to see where she was. We made sure her gear was in the car and decided that we wanted to cross the finish line with her. When we guessed that she was a few blocks away, we walked back to the corner before the finish and we waited for her. It was so neat when we saw her because you could see the emotion in her eyes. It made us all a little teary and we held hands and walked the final block together and held our hands high as we crossed. We hugged and cried and felt like a million bucks!
After we took pictures we collected some snacks and our completion t-shirt and decided we didn't care about staying for the closing ceremonies, we were tired and wanted to go home. We all piled in our Honda Pilot, 6 adults and Jasmine and went home - I felt bad that we couldn't take Natalia home but if we hadn't had the bags, we could have easily fit her in too! We dropped Abuela Meme off at home, then my parents and finally Marcia. After I took a nice leisurely shower we went out to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner and after that, I crawled into bed and had sweet dreams. Check out the vidoe I made!

Spring Fling

Jasmine's Art on Display (click to see big)

Thursday May 1, we were invited by Jasmine's school to attend their annual Spring Fling where they display all the children's art projects and have treats and parents get insight into how amazing the school is. I was asked to provide cupcakes for the event which is always good advertising for me. The cupcakes were a hit, they went fast and people really loved them. We got there early so I could set up and Jasmine had McDonald's with her friends Kirsten and Marin (those girls are so cute!). Abuela and Grandpa came to the event which I loved. I have always loved how my family supports each other in their successes no matter how small they may seem. Jasmine was super excited to see them and I want that to be a constant in her life, knowing that her family loves her and is proud of her. Lorne drove in from his business trip in Philadelphia to be there and it made me so happy to see him make it. I know he was tired but I know that Jasmine was happy to have her daddy there. She would run around calling after him and it was super cute. Since I had to man the cupcakes, Lorne went and found all of Jasmine's art so that when the cupcakes were gone, he could take me around and show it to me. I was so happy when I got home and really felt that those are the moments life is made of and I am so happy to be able to be there for my daughter when she needs me and to have the support of a loving husband and extended family. Life is just so good!