FREE Weekend...

With the holidays approaching quickly and the budget set for the rest of the year, I gave Marc the task of finding fun things to do with the kids on the weekends for FREE.

Within 1 day Marc had a handful of printouts to show us. He was soooooooo proud of all the FREE places he could take us!

This particular weekend he added the 4 older kids to the Home Depot list for their weekend craft. Then on Sunday he gave Uncle Jeff a call and asked if he wanted to tag along for a museum day. (I was really tired so I stayed home with Rosalia)

Marc, Uncle Jeff, and the 4 older kids explored the Arizona Military Museum and the Arizona Railway Museum.

All had a fun day, although Uncle Jeff did make a comment about reading the signs on the displays next time he goes (I guess the kids practically ran through the museum and didn't really have much interest in reading all the signs HAHAHA... KIDS!!)

Marc didn't take any pictures of the children at the Home Depot craft but he did bring the camera to the museums! Enjoy some of the pictures he took...

Pictures Of Rosalia...

10 Days Old

17 Days Old

18 Days Old

19 Days Old

Freeman Farms Pumpkin Patch...

Last year we traveled to Wilcox (about 3 1/2 hours northeast of us) to Apple Annie's. Although we had a ton of fun, we wanted to try a place a bit closer this year. A few people mentioned Freeman Farms which is located in Prescott (just about 2 hours away).




The day was filled with a hay ride, carousel rides, a train ride ...complete with "candy robbers", a fun corn maze, petting zoo, and pumpkin picking. Needless to say the kids had a BLAST!

Since Rosalia was still so brand new and I was still recovering from having her, Grandma and Papa came along to have a fun day as well!

Being from back east, Marc and I have come to the conclusion that Arizona pumpkin patches can NEVER compare to the ones we grew up going to! Lucky for us, our children are satisfied with what Arizona has to offer...for now!

A Fun Day At The Park...

Today, I decided to take the kids to a local park for the morning. They, of course, had a blast as you can see...

Now There Are FIVE...

The girls

The boys

All FIVE... and we are COMPLETE!

Birth Story Of Rosalia Grace...

Saturday October 9, 2010.

I woke up feeling quite icky feeling. Definitely knew something wasn't right. My skin on my stomach felt like if it stretched another inch it would bust open, I was peeing every 3-5 minutes, contracting but very irregularly, and really bad back pain.

Marc took the kids out for most of the day, while I remained on the couch resting. Around 5pm, I decided to run over to the hospital and get checked. My theory was to just see if all these irregular contractions and back pain possibly dilated me to the magic 4 cm (at 4 cm the hospital will admit you for labor). As for Monday I was still only 3 cm, almost 100% effaced, and at a minus 1 station. Marc stayed home with the kids until his parents arrived then met me at the hospital. I wasn't worried about him even coming to the hospital since I had no high hopes of them keeping me. The hospital is literally right around the corner from our house so for me to drive myself and go in wasn't a big deal at all!

After being at the hospital for a little over an hour, the nurse said "We are most likely going to keep you." The two main reasons were the severe back pain which was figured to be back labor and Rosalia's heart rate which kept dropping below normal levels quite often!

10:30pm

The nurse admitted me and I was transferred from OB Triage into a laboring room. 10 minutes later I received my epidural. 10 minutes after that my Doctor broke my water. I went from being 4 cm dilated to 6 cm almost instantly. The nurses played the flipping sides game for 30 minutes but each time an attempt was made, Rosalia's heart rate would drop.

11:45pm

8 cm dilated but not progressing as fast as the thought I would, mostly because they were unable to flip me to my right side. Rosalia's heart rate dropped alarmingly low... extra nurses were called in along with my Doctor. Heart rate stabilized and more waiting.

12:50pm

10 cm ready to push, waiting on Doctor.

12:58pm

Push #1... Rosalia crowns

1:03AM

Push #2... out pops Rosalia!

Rosalia Grace was born at 1:03AM on Sunday October 10, 2010 (10-10-10) weighing 7lbs 14oz and 20 1/4 inches long!

She has a full head of dark jet black hair. She looks almost identical to Ava. She has her Grandma Simpson's Filipino nose and long limbs like Liliana! We are so blessed to have child #5 arrive so healthy!

Fishing Fun...

While we wait for Rosalia's arrival, weekends have become quite the challenge when it comes to keeping the kids occupied. The weather is still mildly warm (far to warm for me to be comfy in at this point in the pregnancy) meaning many local places are still a no go! Lucky for us today wasn't as hot as it has been. Marc and the kids agreed that a trip to a local park for some fishing would be a fun Saturday activity. I opted to stay home since I wasn't feeling all that well.





Later in the afternoon, everyone returned. Marc and the kids were exhausted while I felt a little rested since I snagged a couple hours of sleep! My back still hurt and contractions were starting to pick up. Before I decided to go to the hospital, I uploaded the pictures from the park. They turned out so nice and its always fun to see the enjoyment on film! Enjoy...

Oh and Liliana caught a decent sized catfish!