Little Frog

Thanks to a sweet hand me down from Kim and Brax, Joaquin was a frog this year for Fall Carnivals. It was so fun to see him as a cute little frog.

Asheville, NC Wedding Weekend

Last weekend, mom and dad graciously agreed to keep Joaquin, so that Carlos and I could drive to Asheville, NC to see our good friends get married. Jeremy and Karissa are both in the residency that Carlos graduated from. They are such an amazing couple and we love them both, so naturally, we were so excited to see them get married. They planned a great weekend around Asheville. We were able to go to an apple orchard, watch lots of football, eat at some fun places, and of course attend a beautiful outdoor wedding on a farm!!! We also got to spend time with some of our greatGreenwood friends that we miss a lot!!

GO Minnesota Twins!!

Uncle Joel came for his fall break from Law school from some rest, relaxation, studying and visiting. We were so glad to get to see him a few times. Joel bought Joaquin the cutest Minnesota Twins hoodie and so we needed to try it on for size. It fit great. Thanks Uncle Joel for visiting!!!! (As you can tell, Joaquin loves Uncle Joel).

Joaquin wants so share something...........!

Yes...that's right. It's official. The Acosta family is going to be a family of 4 on or around June 4, 2011. That means that we are 7 weeks pregnant. We are so thankful for what the Lord has already given us and are praying for this little life inside of me that is the size of a blueberry!!! :)

Make way for Ducklings!!

There is a great park that is right near Carlos's work, so today, Carlos met us there when he finished. It is full of ducks. Joaquin wasn't quite sure what to do at first. He wanted to pet them, but they really weren't up for that. Once he found that they didn't mind him running through the center of the group of them, he LOVED it. It reminded me of the book we used to read over and over as kids called Make Way for Ducklings. If you haven't read it, you should. It's adorable. We hope to visit this park a lot through the years!

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend, we went to a Pumpkin Patch for the first time as a family. It was a lot of fun. There were a lot of people there, lots of great pumpkins and beautiful land to look at. Joaquin really liked riding in the cart with the pumpkins. We will for sure make this a yearly outing!

Toddler's best friend!!

We don't let the dogs into the house very often, but when we do, Joaquin gets SO excited. He wears the dogs out by following them, petting them, talking to them and crawling all over them. Here are a few pictures of Dantes and Joaquin.

The Fair

We recently went to a fair that was near Carlos's work. Joaquin was too little to go on most things, but he did get to ride the train, which he loved driving. He also got to ride on the elephant ride with daddy. This was a fun fair for us because a lot of Carlos's patients were there. We are trying to figure out ways to connect with them outside of the clinic.

Choo-Choo

The Promenade Mall has a cute little train that drives around the stores. Joaquin and I decided that we would take a little ride. We had a lot of fun! I think we will have to do that again sometime.

Choo-choo!

Here we are, looking out the window and waving at Daddy!! HI DADDY!!

Just my size

After the Razorback game, we decided to drive AWAY from the crazy traffic from the game and went to the Prommenade (a shopping center in North West Arkansas). These cars (or carts) were $5 to rent for the time you were there. We decided not to pay for it, but Joaquin decided he still wanted to ride in the cars even if they weren't going anywhere. Again...HE LOVES TO DRIVE ANYTHING WITH A STEARING WHEEL. He actually went from car to car to car and tried out several.

Sweet friends

When we went to Becky and Shelley's for the game, Joaquin stopped for a few seconds from play to get a picture with Shelley. I wish I had gotten a picture with Becky too! Next time! :) He loves that they both play with him.

Arkansas/Alabama Game

Well...as you all know, the Razorbacks played a great game against Alabama yesterday. Although it was a very sad loss (a happy win for the Watkins), our family had a great time at Becky and Shelley's house for the game. GO HOGS.

Uncle Danny Pike

Our great friend Danny came for a long weekend visit this weekend. We were SO glad to see him. We have missed all of the time we used to spend with him in Greenwood and we have been so glad to catch up in person. Joaquin LOVES him. We ate at the Rolling Pin Cafe, watched the Razorback game at Jose's on Dickson(Go HOGS), went to the Farmers' Market, played Settlers with cousins and friends, had some good old guitar, drums, singing time and lots more!! We hope there will be many more visits through the years! :)

Bella Vista visit

Joaquin and I went on a day trip to Grandma and Grampa Smith's house in Bella Vista last week! We had a great time! We played with toys, visited with Gigi Lu and Gigi Rich, visited the neighbors, ate a wonderful lunch and played outside in the backyard. Hopefully we will get to visit again soon.Joaquin ADORES Gigi Rich. Grampa was playing with the tools with Joaquin and he loved it.
Learning about tools from the tool expert.
About to dig in to the ice cream sandwich.
Yummy yummy yummy appetizer that Grandma Lu made. It makes my mouth water just to look at it. It is a cracker, a slice of mozerella cheese, tomato, a spot of sour cream and FRESH basil!! YUUMMMY.

The New Slide!

I have been looking on Craigslist for months now to find a climbing toy with a slide for Joaquin. He is a CLIMBING monkey!! All of the ones I have found have been pretty expensive. Yesterday, I hit the jackpot. I found one for $10!! I picked it up and set it up in our living room. Joaquin is in heaven. I don't think he has done anything else since yesterday. Slide Slide Slide. He also claps for himself when he gets to the bottom.

Bible Study Fellowship (BSF)

Joaquin and I started BSF today for the first time. I am so excited!! My sweet neighbor, Sarah is also coming with us (we are so glad). This year the study is on Isaiah!! Can I get an AMEN?? It's a very structured bible study with a lot a small group time as well as a large group teaching time. The kids are not only taken care of during that time, they are taught (on a lower level), the same thing that we are taught! So my sweet toddler Joaquin is learning about the book of Isaiah!! Brings tears to my eyes. This year, they are working at translating BSF lessons into Spanish and Chinese! How cool. Here is the BSF website link if anyone is interested in finding out more about it.

www.biblestudyfellowship.com

Talking on the phone.

Joaquin LOVES talking on the phone. Whatever toy or object he can use to "have a conversation," he does. Sometimes he talks on two phones at the same time. We gave him an old phone of ours and it's a favorite. I love when he talks and then laughs at whoever he is talking to.

Swagger Wagon

So the time has come where we felt the need to trade in the TINY red Acura Inegra and move on to bigger and more roomy things! We have been looking and praying for a van for a while, but didn't feel like it was time yet. We went to Champion Motorcars recently and found a steal! God is so good. We got a great trade in value for our car and don't have to pay much for this one. In my mind, it is grand! I feel like a queen. I know that some people hate vans, but after having SO little space in the car for so long, this is a treat. In the process of looking and buying this van, the TLC crew from "19 kids and counting" were at the car lot (the car lot is owned by Josh and Anna Duggar). So, guess what folks, if you want to see us look for and buy a car, you need to tune in on Tuesday nights to TLC's 19 Kids and Counting! :)
Mom and I found these ADORABLE stickers for the back window of the car. That's our family! :)

Play with Me!

Joaquin loves our dogs, Dantes and Onyx. He loves to pet them and talk to them and play with them. Today, I let the dogs in for a few minutes to get out of the rain. Joaquin was so excited that they were in the house. He wore the dogs out. I'm pretty sure they were VERY happy to go back outside after he was finished with them. At one point in this video, he is making a kissing face at Dantes, asking him to "give me kisses" like we do as a family. Pretty funny.

Take me out to the ballgame

Recently, we were able to spend some time with a New Heights Church Community Group. We had been trying to get together with them for a long time, and it finally worked out. Everyone met at the Naturals baseball game for some good old fashioned food and fun. Of course, since it had not rained here in 5 weeks or so, IT POURED. After an hour and a half of rain, they finally called off the game. Despite the pouring rain, we had a good time getting to know some people from the church. Joaquin loved it. He ran and ran through puddles of rain.

4 YEARS!

This weekend we celebrated 4 years of marriage. I can't believe we have been married for 4 years. In some ways, it feels like forever and in some ways it feels like it was just yesterday. Grandma and Grampa Smith came down to Fayetteville so that Carlos and I could have a date night and they even let Joaquin spend the night with them. We went to one of our all time favorite restaurants (Marketplace Grill) and were able to spend some child free time together. It was for sure a great thing to get married on a holiday weekend, because now every anniversary, we have 3 full days to celebrate!!

WOOHOO PiG SOOIE!

Yesterday was the first Arkansas Razorback game of the season. The weather was AMAZING and it was a perfect day for an evening game. Carlos and I got a babysitter and headed to the game. The razorbacks did great, we were able to sit with some great people at the game, we had great parking (99 balloons) and had a really fun date. My game face.
Daddy with his little Razorback.
Mama with her little Razorback.

Bucket List

One of my favorite show's is "19 Kids and Counting." This show is about a family in Sprindale, Arkansas that has 19 kids. They are believers and really live out what they say they believe. I have enjoyed "getting to know them" through their show. When we decided to move back this direction, many people had heard about Springdale because of the Duggar family. A few of those friends have said that they were expecting me to be on an episode since I live near them. Today, I got my opportunity. The oldest of the 19 kids owns 2 car lots in Springdale. I have been curious for a while as to whether or not he traded cars. I went today to see if he would take a look at my Acura Integra. We are in the market for a van and I saw that he had one on his lot. He happened to be there, as well as the TLC film crew. They taped the whole time I talked to Josh about my car. He asked if I could bring the car by. I went to get the car and came back to the lot. The crew filmed us while we looked at it and while Josh drove it around. The film crew also came with us to the other lot while we looked at the van. The crew asked if I did decide to make the trade, if I would call Josh so he could notify them and they could film the transaction. Hysterical. It was really fun for me plus, I really think that Josh is an honest salesman, so I know if we do trade our car in, we will get a good deal. Watch for me sometime this season on TLC! :) HAHA.

Feliz Cumpleanos Abuela!

Feliz Cumpleanos Mary, Mama y Abuela!!! Te amamos!!!!

Buffalo River