Back from EPT

We just back from El Paso last night. It was a fantastic trip. We got to see a good friend of mine named Danny, who is now in the Air Force, and was lucky enough to get a leave for the holidays. I don't know when he is getting deployed to Iraq/Iran or when I will see him again, so it was GREAT seeing him. He means a lot to me, so it makes me sad that I may not get to see him for a long, long time. We also got to see most of my family that lives in El Paso. Aadrian came over to the house the night Danny and a couple Pablo's friends came over for some drinking and relaxing. We had a blast. I don't think we stopped laughing the whole night.

Christmas Eve was awesome! We danced and sang a lot to some good classic rock like good Burrulls and Cantus do, and all was good. The family didn't leave my house until around 4am. As a family, we made a toast to my Yaya Margarita and my Yayo, who have both passed on, but are still in our hearts. Poor Santa had to stay awake after the children went to bed to have all of the presents under the tree by morning. In all the craziness, we forgot to give him cookies! Santa is on a low carb diet anyway! =) On Christmas day, my dad would not let down with the "Santa was here last night" and Christmas carols until he had successfully woken us all up. As tired as we all were, it was well worth it to wake up. Santa brought us lots of goodies! Miguel received a comedy CD, family guy boxers, and a learning angel from my parents, an Incubus dvd from Pablo, and I got him some really nice cuff links (because all MBA students need good cuff links!) as well as a ton of ASU gear. My parents gave Miguel and I a rockin' ipod speaker set. I got some beautiful angels from my parents, as well as monkey socks! For those of you who don't know, I call Miguel monkey, so that was really cool. Miguel gave me a BEAUTIFUL sapphire ring (because it is his birthstone) as well as a blue tooth and cd. All together, it was a great Christmas trip. We left El Paso around 2pm with the doggies.

Miguel and I also said a prayer for Miguel's Nino Fallo, who passed away a year ago. We also said a prayer for the family, who we know is still struggling with losing him every day. It is still very hard for Miguel, but knowing that his spirit is still here and he is touched by it each and every day helps him be ok. We had a long talk about him on the car ride here, reflecting on all that he was and what a great man, father, brother, uncle, son, husband and friend he was. We talked about how he continues to teach us how to be a better person, and will be with us every day, until we see him again. We laughed about the time we went bowling before our graduation, the first time my family and I met him, and how he almost bowled a perfect game. Even though he tried to teach my dad and I how to bowl, he beat all of us by like 1,000 points (probably not 1,000, but it was close!) .

We love you Tio Fallo, Tia Martha, Yaya Margarita, and Yayo, and you will be with us for now and for always.

I also got my hair cut and dyed. It's shorter, layered, and much darker. I really like it, and so does Miguel, so that's good.

Now we're getting super excited for Miguel's family to join us for New Year's! Last I heard, they are driving here today. We are super excited to see everybody, and so ready to party Chavez style! It's a bummer that Miguel and I don't have a day off, even New Year's Eve. I'm pretty sure Miguel has to work a full day, and I work 8 hours. Such is the real world! As much as it stinks to have to work when we don't want to, we are loving being on our own and taking care of business as far as working hard for the things we have. It feels so good to know that we're taking bigs steps for our careers and our family. It's going to be a tough 2 years while we're both in school, but so worth it in the end. The light at the end of the tunnel is that I will finally be an RN and Miguel will be a big business man with an MBA. I would like to go back to school after I get a couple of years of experience in the hospital to get my masters in nursing, and eventually get my PhD and be a nurse practitioner. That's pretty far in the future, but I'm getting excited. I feel like we are at the starting line, getting ready for some rough roads, but ready for the victory that is at the end.

That was a weird tangent. Anyway, we also found out that Miguel's parents will be joining us in Houston! We are so happy to have them come, and I know my family is as well. Yaya Josefina just loves them, so she is very excited to see them. We are leaving on the 4th and returning that Sunday. We are going to be nice and cozy at Tio Fernando and Tia Laura's house. My last day of work is the 4th, so it should be a great start to my 1 week break before I start school on the 14th. I'm excited, nervous, anxious, happy.....all of the above. I guess I just don't know what to expect. I will keep you posted! Also, Miguel found out he did not get the supervisor position. It was his lack of experience, but they let him know that once he gets some more experience under his belt, he should be good to go. He is bummed, but happy that his weaknesses are all ones that can be worked on.

That is all for now! As if it wasn't a novel of a post. I should probably get it copyrighted.