Merry Christmas

Christmas 2012

This has to have been one of the most fun yet most stressful Christmas ever! Not only was work a bit rocky for me but running around after a 2 year old as most of you know, is no walk in the park. Luke ignored the presents under the tree for the most part up until he figured out what was inside the bags and wrapping paper. We did "child proof" our tree ahead of time so i was able to keep him out of the gifts and away from pulling on the ornaments.

We had a couple of "pre-xmas" celebrations so come Christmas- Luke had the present opening down. He was showered with gifts as usual. We have a very lucky kid!

Our visit to Santa Clara was fun but exhausting with trying to fit time in to visit family and friends.

It was really fun watching Luke get excited as he opened every gift!

cousins. cant get them to sit still!

Dia De Los Muertos

Celebrating Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

Día de los Muertos is on November 2nd, with celebrations beginning on November 1, Día de Muertos Chiquitos--The Day of the Little Dead also All Saints Day, and continuing on November 2, All Souls Day. It is a joyous occasion when the memory of ancestors and the continuity of life is celebrated. It is believed that at this time the souls of the departed return to visit the living. It is not a time of mourning since "the path back to the living world must not be made slippery by tears". Its roots are in ancient Mexico but it is celebrated in many North, Central, and South American countries. It is a mixture of indigenous and Catholic traditions and includes gathering at cemeteries for the cleaning and decoration of the grave sites and socializing. The manner of celebration varies regionally with folkloric traditions being particularly strong in Oaxaca where there is a substantial indigenous population.

This is our Day of the Dead alter. We didn't display any photos of the departed but instead wrote their names down on a scroll.

Happy Halloween 2011

We celebrated Halloween at our usual spot...10th street in Manhattan Beach at Casa de McDermott  (aka our friend kari's house).  As usual Kari had a delicious spread of cheeses and wine. Although this is technically Luke's 2nd Halloween, last year he was just over a month old and wasn't really into the festivities. This year he really enjoyed people watching. We also took him to a few houses and scored some good candy for mommy and daddy!

Pumpkin Patch

Luke with his friend Lucy



swarm of Bees!



4th of July

Happy 4th of July! We decided to stay home this year and kept the 4th of July intimate. Since Luke is still so small we didnt know how he would react to the loud sound of fireworks so we bbq'd and enjoyed family time.

Boys Day 2011

Boys Day Kodomo no hi or Japanese Children's Day is a festival originally for boys ("tango no sekku") but which has been renamed for both sexes and is held on the 5th day of the 5th month.

Boys Day with dad and the flying fish

On this day families with newborn sons fly koinobori, beautiful multi-colored carp windsocks outside of homes to wish their sons a good future. Otoko means "boy" and sekku means "festival". The festival originated in China and later became associated with May rice planting in Japan. A set of streamers usually has three or more fish. The large black one (magoi) represents father. According to a Japanese children's song, the red one (higoi) represents the first born son.

Happy Cinco De Mayo

Overwhelmed with Easter gifts and cards from friends and family

Easter Family Pic - Can never get the kid to look at the camera when we want him to!

My Sweet Valentine

I know I'm extremely behind updating our family blog but I'm still trying to figure out how to balance all the changes in my life. a quick recap - Lukie had his 4 month doctor appointment last month. He weighed a whopping 16 pounds! He is in the 70 percentile for infants his age so he's right where he should be. He just seems very big to us since my family is used to having tiny girls! We will be having Luke's 6 month doctor visit within the next couple of weeks. He'll once again have to indure those painful vaccines. Poor little guy! In the mean time, Luke wishes you all a Happy Valentine's day!

Merry Christmas 2010

We wish you all a happy holiday season!

Luke (13 weeks) 3.5 months old

Luke's visit with Santa. Santa actually came to our street. So fun for the neighborhood kids.

What a busy holiday season we had! Most of your inboxes have been inundated with pictures from Thanksgiving thru New Years Eve. We are very blessed and grateful to be surrounded by such wonder friends and family. May you all have a great 2010 and may peace be in your hearts.

Happy New Year!

Perla & Marc

New Years Guitar Hero

It’s August already? How the heck did that happen? Where has the year gone? Here is a year in review of what we’ve been up to (so far)

January- We rang in the New Year with my little sister Paloma and a guitar hero marathon.

February- Ah February, The month of love and more importantly, my birthday! We celebrated my 31st birthday at Buena Park’s Pirate Adventure Dinner with Paloma and my niece Alexis. I think I was the only person over 10 celebrating their birthday there. The show was fun and we were able to enjoy muscular men without shirts on swinging from ropes and breaking into song. What were they singing about? Who knows, I really wasn’t listening. All I know is that it was great! As for Marc’s opinion, he didn’t think there were enough women in the show. Who cares right? It wasn’t his birthday! The evening ended with a mini surprise party held for me by my sisters with yummy Mexican food cooked by my grandma.

In February we also spent an evening in Vegas for our friend Shelley’s 40th birthday. It consisted of a panoramic suite, plenty of liquor and tassels.

March- Happy St. Patty’s Day! We flew up to San Jose for the day to attend Jenny & Clay’s baby shower (Marc’s sister). It was nice to visit with family even for just a few hours. We also decided to do a bit of remodeling which was a little frustrating and stressful but we are so happy with the results that it made the dust worthwhile.

April – Happy Easter! Easter was spent with the Buenrostro clan at Sandra’s newly remodeled house. As usual we over ate and had a fun time watching the kids hunt for eggs. Marc, Paloma and I also endured the 100+ degree weather at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival in Indio, CA. It was a day filled with lots of sun and good music where we enjoyed such acts as Paul McCartney, Franz Ferdinand, Morrissey and many others. This is the second year we attend this event and hope to make it one of many family traditions.

May- In May Marc and I participated in the Revlon Walk for Breast Cancer. This is our 5th year doing this walk together. The biggest excitement in May was the birth of Marc’s sister’s daughter, Brynn Malia Heberly. Paloma and I attended the KROQ Weenie Roast where we saw over 10 bands. We took an early anniversary vacation to Hawaii. There we had the opportunity to visit with Marc’s family as well as eat everything in sight! I love Hawaii!

June- Happy 2nd Anniversary! I can’t believe two years have gone by since we got married. Time does fly and we still have yet to order our wedding photos!

In June we were able to meet baby Brynn in person instead of just drooling over her in pictures. We flew to San Jose and had a nice relaxing BBQ at Jenny & Clay’s house. It was so amazing to see all the Uchida’s smiling. If you’ve met the Uchida’s, you know what I’m talking about! It’s incredible what effect a 5 pound new born can do to a family. Brynn is absolutely adorable and I can’t wait to hold her in my arms again. In June we also made our world famous apricot jam with the few apricots that the squirrels spared us.

Congratulations to all our nieces, nephews and friends who graduated this year!

July – 4th of July was spent on the beach followed by fireworks at my sister Veronica’s house. In mid July we were graced by the presence of Marc’s BFF Vinny. We spent a day at the ball game drinking beer and gazing at Derek Jeter. Ok, maybe I gazed at him while the guys actually watched the game.

At the end of July we also attended Comic Con. This is where my inner geek shines thru. It's my favorite event of the year filled with spandex, super heros, and art.

Happy Summer everyone!

We wish you all a great 2009! May your year be filled with new exciting adventures. Cheers!

Happy Holidays!

Today we celebrated our first Valentine's as husband and wife. Marc made some delicious sword fish sandwiches with tater tots! Its one of the best meals I've ever had! My husband rocks!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

~Perla

We would like to wish you all Love, Peace, Good Health & Happiness in 2008. May it be a great year for all of you.

Happy New Year,

Perla & Marc

Our First Christmas Tree