These are some cards I made for Daddy and Grandpa. Angel, you are an incredible father. Thank you for making her laugh, and helping her to become the sweet, smart, funny, and beautiful little girl she is. And Dad, I love you with all my heart! I'll always be Daddy's Girl.
Sonja graduated from preschool last Friday. I didn’t expect to be so emotional, but there I was, tearing up as she marched to the podium in her little cap and gown. As they called the names of each graduate, the school director read what they want to be when they grow up. Sonja’s response was, “A doctor, because I want to help everyone.” Doctor, Scientist, Dancer, Artist, Architect, whatever… she is destined for greatness. We are so, so very proud!
How, funny, sweet, thoughtful, tender, precious, and adorable is this? Sonja did this at school, and her teacher couldn’t wait to tell Angel how fascinated she was that she did it completely on her own, without anyone giving her the idea or asking for help. We were also blown away by her attempt to sound out such a big word, and that she thought to do something special for mommy and daddy in the midst of her fun school day. We love our mamacitas!
It’s official! I’ve registered for classes and will be returning to school next fall. I’ll start with SLCC to get my Associates in Visual Art & Design, and see what happens after that. I’ll still be working full-time, so life might be a little rough for a while. I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little nervous… Ok, I’m A LOT nervous. Classrooms? Homework? Teachers? Grades? Ahhhh!! But, this is something I’ve wanted for a long time, and didn’t think I’d ever get the opportunity to go back. Now it’s all happening, and I’m just going to dive in. I guess I better live it up this summer, and prepare to kiss my 9 o’clock bedtime good-bye. No sacrifice, no victory, right? Thanks for the inspiration Transformers! Wow, I’m a nerd.
Sonja learned about different cultures at school last month, and had to dress up one day to show what a particular culture wears. We chose Hawaii.We spent an evening together on the computer learning all about the Hawaiian culture. We watched hula videos looked at all the different islands, and even learned some Hawaiian words. A hui hou! (Until we meet again)
She also came home one day with her face painted and said, "Mommy, today I learned about Aberigians!" (Aborigines)
For our annual Christmas charity, Maggie Sottero proudly raised $15,000 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. In an effort to continue in the fight against breast cancer throughout the year, we have decided to participate in Race for the Cure on May 8th . The department that has the highest ratio of people signed up gets lunch, dress down days, and their cars washed. The people with the lowest ratio of people signed up have to WASH THE CARS! Don’t let me end up like this…
Sonja and I will be there, and we'd love for you to join us!
3. Enter in your personal information and then click continue to the next page.
4. On this page you will be prompted to select your participant type, your fundraising goal, and then your role. Under role you will need to select Join a Team. From there you will be able to select Maggie Sottero under the corporate section. Please note that in order for me to get credit for this event, you and whomever you sign up will need to join the Maggie Sottero team.
5. Once you have selected Maggie Sottero as your team, please continue on to the next step and follow the prompts.
If you want to pass this on to anyone else that might be interested, please do. Email me back (jessica.donado@gmail.com) so I know who is signing up for our department.
For more information about the Susan G. Komen foundation, visit www.komen.org.
I can’t believe I am just finding out about this! For those of you that don’t know, I had always been curious about Frida Kahlo, but fell in love with her and her work after reading her biography in college. Last week, Tenille saw a billboard downtown and asked me if I’d heard about this restaurant. I was moved to tears to see something dedicated to Frida right here in Salt Lake, the last place I would ever expect. The owner is Jorge Fierro, also the owner of RICO Mexican foods. I haven’t been yet, only because I think I’d like to save it for a special occasion. I especially love their slogan, “Make Love to Our Food”. Very sexy… just as Frida would have wanted it.
Here are some pictures from Easter, FINALLY! Saturday morning we went to an Easter Egg hunt at my Grandma Alice’s place. Then, we went to my aunt Marie’s for another Easter egg hunt/birthday party for Greenlie. Jill had cutest little activities for all the kids! That night, we laid out Sonja’s presents from the Easter Bunny, then hid some eggs around the house for her to find when she woke up (a tradition from when I was little until I was probably 16). She got some outdoor toys, spring clothes, Princess and the Frog, and a couple other little things. On Sunday, we colored eggs and had a nice brunch. Hope everyone had a great Easter!
If you're looking for someone to vicariously share an adventure with, she's your gal. She’s so fun and inspiring, and it will be great for her to share her thoughts and journeys with the rest of the world.
She just spent a week in New York, and now she's in Costa Rica for the rest of the month. Love you, Linds!
As I browsed for Valentine cards and treats for Sonja’s first Valentine exchange at school, I couldn’t believe my choices! Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, Mickey Mouse, etc. There had to be something that wasn’t a blatant and cheesy advertisement for Disney! I thought, Sonja and I can sit down and make something ourselves. It couldn’t be that hard, right? We bought construction paper, glitter glue, Tootsie pops, and pencils. The idea was to make a little heart flower using the sucker as a stem, and the pencil as a little bonus gift I guess. Not so easy, and not as cute as I thought they would turn out, but it was a fun little project for us to do together.
Working late is tough for so many reasons, but it turns into heartbreak when I have to tell Sonja. I made my co-workers feel a lump in their throat when I told her that although she would already be fast asleep, I would be sure to give her a kiss goodnight when I got home. She was so sweet and simply told me that she would be a good girl for daddy, and that she missed me. When I finally got home and trudged up to my room very tired and grumpy, I found this on my pillow. Very moved, I rushed into her room to give her a kiss goodnight just like I promised. I stayed for a long time, just holding her as I shed a very grateful and joyous tear or two. Needless to say, all thoughts of work melted away and I was simply a very happy mommy.
We took our annual trip to Fish Lake last week, and it was incredible! First of all, we all stayed healthy this year. Second, I was definitely more prepared with actual winter gear. And third, it was BEAUTIFUL! The clear blue skies were paralleled with endless pristine white snow, and the sky-high mountains were decorated with rows and rows of frosted pine trees. It was quiet and peaceful… Well, besides our talk and laughter while the fishermen (and women) fished, and the occasional, “I got one!” and “Wow, that’s a beauty!” hollered all across the ice. Sonja reeled in two fish and Angel caught quite a few that he was pretty proud of. And, we spared no time chowing them down. They were filleted and fried by lunchtime. Nights were spent eating, hanging out in our cozy cabins, eating, and playing games... and eating. It just doesn’t get any better than that. Well maybe for me, the summer heat, a nice beach, and an ice cold Corona would be about the only thing that could top it.
Sonja catching a good size perch.
This is our "Spruce" cabin.
See my dad in the reflection?
This is Angel's proud catch for the day.
Who gets "Yugoslavia" playing Pictionary? AMAZING!
I can definitely say that we had a wonderful Christmas and a fun New Year. Santa knew just what Sonja wanted. She got a Disney Princess dollhouse, and instead of a “real Barbie make-up set” he was wise enough to get her a Kaboodle with her very own nail polish, lip smackers, and hair pretties. Oh, that Santa. He does know what’s best. Angel got his coveted Snuggie, so he can stay nice and cuddled up while he blasts the heads off of war enemies and alien soldiers in the man-cave. I got lots of jammies , movies, and… wait for it… I finally got a Wii!! It was from Sonja to mommy, so I guess she had one full piggy bank! It was my last gift, and as she excitedly put the wrapped box in my hands, “It’s a Wii!” burst out of her mouth. She just couldn’t hold the surprise in any longer.
On New Year’s Eve, we went to Clucker’s house for a bit, then brang in the New Year at home, just the 3 of us. We spent the rest of the week sledding, hanging out with family and friends, and reminiscing about the fun year we had. Here are some of our favorite moments in 2009!
