Memorial Day Weekend

Saturday

On Saturday evening we went to Casey's high school graduation party. It was great to share in Casey's special day and was also good to catch up with old friends.

Sometimes it is almost impossible to take a picture of 4 girls...

First Attempt:

Julia, Rose, June, Michelle

Second Attempt:

Sorry ladies, wish I could cut and paste...

Sunday

On Sunday we decided to have a few people over for dinner.
On the menu:

Salpacio Salad, Grilled Shell Steaks with Garlic and Parsley Oil, Mashed Potatoes, Corn on the Cobb and Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream.

See, the food was so good that no one wanted their picture taken. Ha Ha!! Thanks for coming over guys! We will have to do it again soon!!

Monday

On Monday we went to the movies with Brad, Nikki, Robby and Katie. The boys went to see Pirates 3 and the girls to Shrek 3. I liked the story line of Shrek 3, but I can't say that it was super funny. I think the ending was great - hopefully they will just let it go and not do a Shrek 4! Gilbert thought Pirates was good, but just super long. But while the boys were still in the theatre, us girls did a little shopping! Glad we could end the weekend with family and a movie!

Dance Night

After months of not going out dancing, Gilbert and I finally went last night. Whoo Hoo!! We had a great time and Gilbert still wants to write his book for men - giving them tips for how to pick up chics. Ha Ha.

My only advice for women out there is to really think about your footwear before going dancing. Flip flops just don't work and can cause serious accidents on the dancefloor. And one more thing, unless you are a model, leave the mini skirt at home...

Fear + Free Gift = Idiot

As many of you know, I am afraid of pretty much everything. I am afraid of the dark, afraid of heights, afraid of speed, afraid of spiders and snakes and any bug for that matter. One of my other huge fears is wrinkles. Face wrinkles. So since the age of about 15 or 16 I have been using anti-wrinkle cream. I have also been forking out some serious cash for face products. I have purchased Mary Kay, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Wexler and Arbonne to name a few. My last purchase of face cream came from Lancome. In one of my many magazines (I love magazines) there was a free sample of some face cream – so I tried it and I liked it and went right out to buy it. Well, not right away. I had to wait for Macys or Nordstrom or Dillards to have a Lancome event so that I could get a free gift with purchase. So I go and get my face cream and my free gift. One of the items in my free gift is a different face cream from Lancome. Since it is a sample size, I put it in my gym bag and use it after I get done working out. I soon discovered that it is the best face cream ever. So I decide that once I run out of my other face creams (I use 3 different ones per day) I would go out and purchase this one to add to the mix. But I of course have to wait for the next Lancome free gift event. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to wait long as I received a flyer from Macy’s this past weekend in the mail. It lists all of their top products and the prices. I am thinking that this cream is $60 tops – but imagine my surprise when it is one of the most expensive things that Lancome carries – topping out at $108!! Why do I always have to like the expensive stuff? Stupid Lancome for their free gift. That is how they get you. They put their most expensive products in there for you to fall in love with so that you will fork out the cash on your next purchase. I thought I could out-smart their marketing pitch, but they won. I am totally believing that to fight my fear of wrinkles, I need a $108 product. Am I am idiot or what?

Introduction

The idea of starting a blog appealed to me for a few reasons. One reason is the enjoyment I receive reading my sister’s blog (or her friend’s blog if she hasn’t updated hers recently). The other reason is a way to share events and pictures with our family and friends – especially when we have some pretty exciting things/trips coming up in the next few months.
Here are the main family members/key players in the Aguilar clan.

Julia – author of the blog

I am a 28 year-old Mid-Western girl living in the great state of Texas. I graduated from Purdue University and moved to Austin a few months after graduation. I started out in the mortgage business and have managed to stay in the business despite all of the ups and downs of the industry. I am currently in the midst of a job transition and will probably blog more about my job situation in future blogs! Gilbert and I were married in February 2006 – we are one of those crazy couples that got engaged after 6 weeks of dating – but hey – when you know, you know. I love to cook dinner – I think it is therapy for me. So when I find a super good recipe, I may just share it with my blog. Pictures, recipes and updates from the Aguilars. What could be better? (besides ice cream!!)

Gilbert – co-author of the blog

Gilbert will be 33 in August, but according to him, he is almost 40. Why is it that men tend to round up and women round down? For example, if a woman weighs 144, she is going to tell people that she weighs 135. If a man wins $50 in poker, he is going to tell all his buddies that he walked away with $200. How funny!! Anyway… Gilbert absolutely loves football – especially the San Francisco 49ers. He is pumped that we are going to a game this year and is also pumped about his 49ers office and his flat screen TV in the office. His other loves involve poker and playing his PSP. I tend to take control of the remote at night and instead of fighting me, he just gets out his PSP. Then everyone is happy! One of our big projects for the summer is taking control of our yard by keeping it green, weed free, landscaped and possibly build a deck. More on that later…

Our recent landscaping adventure


Nieces & Nephew – Robby, Katie & Sophia

Katie, Robby, Nikki, Brad

Gilbert is a middle child with a sister on either side. Nikki is the oldest and is married to Brad and they have 2 children – Robby and Katie. Robby is 10 and Katie is 8. We are so lucky that they live in Bastrop (only 30 minutes away) so we get to attend their sporting events and birthday parties. Kids these days are so busy!! Both are very active in sports – Robby in baseball and Katie in soccer. Gilbert’s younger sister is Nora and she lives in Rio Hondo with their parents. Gilbert can rest easy knowing that Nora is there to keep an eye on them and make sure they are okay.
I have an older sister Amy – who is married to Cory. They have a little girl Sophia Grace who turns 1 in July. It is very hard on me to be away from my family – especially now with little Sophie. I can’t believe how fast she is growing up! Luckily for me, I will get to see her in June, August and September. I am really looking forward to bonding with her!

JoJo

Gilbert and I are soon to be Godparents of Joanna Mata. Her Dad Joe and Gilbert have been friends for years and we are very honored to be asked to be her Godparents. We usually watch her a few times during the week and she is such a trip. She loves our dogs, loves Gilbert speaking to her in Spanish, and of course loves Puffs! She is a very happy baby and can cheer me up after a bad day.

Ricco and Roxie

All this talk about babies made me realize that I need to include MY babies in the blog! We have 2 dogs – Roxie and Ricco. They are the best dogs ever!! Roxie is a Pekingese and Ricco a Cocker Spaniel. They are very spoiled, very loving, very jealous and very protective. They really are the best of friends!