THE RONQUILLO CREW

My life, my world, my heart walking around outside of me....



Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Milestone for our Taitum


{Pre - braces pic}






So this past week has had a new exciting adventure for Miss Taitum.  Just over a week ago, she had her 2nd visit to the Orthodontist....Dr. Walton, who might I add, is the absolute BEST around.  I have been overly impressed with his practice, his office and his staff  in general.  It's hard to believe that in my 30 years of being a native to this town,  I have never paid a visit to his office.  Although, I did have braces as a child,  Dr. Tomkinson (whom also is wonderful) did all my dental work. 
On Taitum's 2nd visit......May 17th to be exact, she had her first phase of dental appliances placed.  She got two little brackets on her front two teeth.  Poor baby has her Mama's bad alignment and her Daddy's overcrowding issue. All in all, this makes for more than one phase of orthodontic work for this young lady!  Thankfully, we are able to start early and refrain from her having self-confidence issues with such crooked front teeth.  The way my dentist used to refer to my "angle parking" front teeth is exactly what she has, too.  I know what a conscience I had about it at her age, and I didn't want to have to put her through that.  So, here's to phase 1 of her orthodontia!!!
It was amazing to see how much her two front teeth shifted in just 24 hours.  She did awesome.  Little to no complaining and she's done really well with her oral hygiene and the maintenance that orthodontic appliances require.  She is projected to have these in place for about a year and then she will move to a retainer to keep her aligned while waiting for her baby teeth to fall out and permanent ones to come in.......with the possibility of some extractions and shaving down of some teeth (eek!).   I guess time will tell.  But in the meantime, we are happy with where we're at in the process right now!

Here's a pic of Taitum with Dr. Walton once she had her braces placed!!  She looks sooooo stinkin' cute!!






Sunday, May 23, 2010

CG Dance Company Recital 2010




The black and white pouting tutu bottom is my absolute FAVE!  Classic!


Big deal goin' on in the Ronquillo household this weekend.  Yep, that's right!  Our Rilyn had her 1st dance recital on Saturday night. And all the family came to watch her little dancing debut. 
 She is a Tiny Tot member of CG Dance Company....hopefully she will become "company" in the near future!!  She did an awesome job.  All the dancers were fantabulous!!!  She didn't seem to have an ounce of first time jitters or stage fright in her.  I think she's a natural.  Maybe she really was born to be in the lime light! Ok, ok.....maybe I'm just a little biased ;)
She managed to be pretty cooperative with me prior to dress rehearsa/recitall and posed for some pictures.  I've been trying to play with color and what not on the photos I took.   I don't have a clue what I am doing, but I can tell you that the "editing" I attempted made the pictures look a whole lot better than just the regular exposure pre-edit. 



Taitum is so proud of her little sis!


And so are we!!





Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Time to head to the voting polls today!  As my sister said, the right to vote is something we should never take for granted.  I opt to vote yes for a 1% state sales tax increase to fund education (2/3),  human services and public safety (the other 1/3).  It will repeal in 2013.  What's more important than education and the future of our children?  This is a no-brainer to me!! And that's not sayin' much because I am, by NO means, a political person.  However, I will take pride in the privilege I've been granted.  So, to the voting polls I will go!!!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

SUMMER TIME IS HERE!!



They look so much alike, yet so different. 
(to me anyways)


Although the heat has not been completely unbearable, it's here and it's time to break out the swimsuits and soak up the sun. 
This weekend we spent the entire time with the kids at my parent's pool.  The girls jumped right in with no hesitation.  They absolutely love the water and could play ALL day in the pool. 






Taitum and Makayla.  This is one of my best friends' daughter.  Her and Taitum are exactly one year apart.  Most of the time, these 2 are inseparable. 


Think it's safe to say these two are BFF's!  :)

30 is the new 20!!!!



SURPRISE!!!


So 30 is the new 20, huh?   Let's hope so!!! 
Although, I don't officially hit the big THREE-OH until the 21st of May, the celebration has already begun!  So last Saturday (May 8th), a surprise birthday party was thrown all for me!!  I had some suspicions, but didn't know for sure.  I was definitely surprised to see the turn out.  A huge thank you to my hubby and my sisters for throwing this all together for me.(and Margie for being the culprit).  You guys are the best!!  It was definitely a fun night!!



Me and My Family :)
Through thick and thin.....with a little bit of Dan in the middle! ;)


Fabulous Friends!!


So happy Tiff, Michael, Steve and Andrea made the drive down to celebrate!!
It's been waaaaay too long!!


Great Friends to have!!!


Awesome friends......man these people have known me since I was just my uncles "little bratty niece"  Hahahaha!!!


And my fabulous cake from Margie!!  You are the best!  Thank you a hundred times over!!


So what's in store for my 30s?  Hmmm.....I guess I haven't even pondered the idea.  Didn't think I was getting that old this fast!  Oh well, everyone I talk to says their 30s have been their best years yet.  I'm going to see to it that this is the case for me, too!!  I'm excited to start a new decade of my life and make new memories with my family. 


Spring Tumbling Class.....












Comes to an end.  This was the 2nd time the girls did the Parks and Rec city tumbling class.  At the end of each session, Miss Cathie always holds a little exhibition for the kids to show off their skills they've learned throughout their session. 
Here are a few pics from both girls' sessions.



Lucky girl got Grama and Daddy to play parachute with her while Mommy's still in a cast.











Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Catching up in 2010

So I guess I will pick up with Rilyn's 3rd birthday.
I can't even find where I put her party pics at the moment.  So family celebration at Chuck E Cheese will suffce.  This little girl grows more beautiful and wiser every day.  Both of my girls amaze me day in and day out.



JUNE: CGUHS KIDDIE CHEER CAMP
My little Cougar cheerleaders.  This year, Rilyn just turned 3 in the nick of time.  Days from sign ups.  It was nice that they both got to participate in the High School kiddie camp.  It's surreal to watch MY kids take part in this event.  Seems just like yesterday I was the high school cheerleader adoring every moment of having the cute little kiddos in my cheer camp.
They BOTH won spirit sticks on different days.  Of course, Rilyn shredded her's to pieces in no time!
Definitely think I have cheerleading/dancers on my hands!

Skipping over to September 26, 2009:  Taitum turns 7 years old.  I bit the big one and gave into her request for a slumber party.  I didn't even put a cap on the number of kids she could have sleepover.  What was I thinking???  In all honestly, they were all fabulous.  It was definitely a lot of work, but totally worth it.  She was in to Hannah Montana this year, so that's the theme we went with.  The kids decorated their own Hannah Montana pillowcases, danced, sanged and flipped the night away.  They fell asleep to "Hannah Montana: The Movie". 
This year, since Taitum's undoubted obsession with Hannah Montana consumed our houseld (along with Rilyn's obsession), we opted to take her to her first concert.  The 4 of us went to Hannah Montana the night before her party. 
Posing at Hannah Montana concert @ Jobing.com.
The girls had a BLAST!!  Mommy did, too if I must say :)
Hannah flew through the crowd on a Harley.  The girls thought that was the greatest thing in the world! 




October 2009:  We met Aunt Tiffy and Samantha and Tiegan along with our cousin's Natalie and Monica at the Phoenix Zoo for "Boo at the Zoo"
Rilyn, Rylie, Taitum & Tiegan
We spent the day partaking in all the festivities the Zoo had to offer this Halloween.  The kids got to paint, play games, play with the animals, eat candy, and then cool off at the Splash Pads!


FALL 2009
The cousins of our family!  We attempted to do a little self-shot family photo session.  Now we know why we'd rather hire the photographer to do the work.  Getting 5 little kids to play without fighting or pose for a quick snap shot is not an easy task!  Regardless of the outcome, each adorable little face was captured this day!

Cousin love.  (Tiegan was fed up with this by now)!!



We even got a surprise visit from Derek's brother and his family this Fall.  They moved a few years ago to Colorado, so we don't get to see them as often as we'd like.  However, we are vowing to make a trip out to Colorado to visit them.  Marcos and Monica have 3 girls: Elise, Ashlee, and Merissa.  My girls are in absolute heaven when they get to play with their cousins.  Here's a pic from their visit with all the crazy Ronquillo Girls!!

Elise, Ashlee, Rilyn, Taitum & Merissa = Ronquillo Cousins!!
WE LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND MISS YOU MORE THAN YOU KNOW!!
We will make it out to Colorado to visit this year!!!!





Now let's fast forward to December.  So first, let me preface this with saying that November 15th was mine and Derek's 6 year anniversary and November 27th is Derek's birthday. So I decided to surprise him with plane tickets and a trip to San Diego for a long weekend getaway.  We joined Stacy and Louie as they celebrated their anniversary, too.  We had sooo much fun and it was just short and sweet.  Not too long to be without our girls.  I say it we do it atleast once a year.

HAPPY 6 YEARS TO US!!

Old Town San Diego, with the best strawberry margarita......DELISH!!

The only downside to the trip was the fact that we missed my girls in their 2nd Annual Dillard's Fashion show debut!  But luckily Grama, Papa, and the Auntie's stepped up to the plate to get them their (as they always do anyways).  Here's some of the cute pics they captured for us!!



My girls posing with Taitum's friend Aryana from school.


Christmas Time 2009    

                                                                                                       


The AZ cousins.  I'm so grateful that we get to share every holiday tradition with my Uncle Mike and Aunt Julie's kids.  Once again, we're missing Tiegan from this picture.......

So onto her 1st Birthday! 
My Precious little niece turned 1 on February 26th, 2010.  She has been such a blessed addition to our family.  I truly think she is a gift from God, not only to my sister and Samantha, but to our entire family. HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TIEGAN!!!
We all love you more than you know.....yet!!

Tiegan LOVES Elmo and airplanes!!


Elmo's world!!  LOL




MARCH 2010:  WEDDING TIME
Just a few of us with the out of towners.  From the east and west, all of our family is simply the BEST!!
I love you all!!  And we miss you daily!!

Homemade southern cooked biscuits with Aunt Mick.
This has become Taitum's favorite tradition to do when Aunt Mick comes to visit.
Lucky for her, she's had the privilege to do it twice in just 7 years.  That's good.....and the biscuits are like no other!  Someday we will attempt to carry on Aunt Mick's tradition, too!!

Rilyn just fell in love with Sheila and Derek.  They are our family from Georgia. She still talks about "King Derek" and the "New Sheila" and inquires about when you are coming back.  We need to see you guys sooner than later~!!  xoxoxo

And she also fell in absolute love with our family from California.  Jeri and Paul.......she just couldn't get enough of "Cheri", especially after she received a Barbie from them.  You guys definitely know how to steal her heart.  Jeri is talked about daily.  Whether it's a plane flying overhead or some slang "Oh no you didn't" verbage....Ry LOVES these people!!  As do we all!!

Oh, and I can't forget to show my cast that was all "blinged" out for the wedding.  Thanks to my mom, Aunt Melissa, Ami and Katie for decorating this eye sore!!!



March was also had a sad moment.  Our beloved Ms. Beth, who has been the preschool teacher for both Taitum and Rilyn, had to close her preschool.  I think I had the hardest time with this.  Taitum understood, but was grateful she got to spend her preschool year with her.  Rilyn, still too young to understand.  Unfair and unforseen circumstances that are wished upon no one.  We love you Ms. Beth and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to have you as such a big part of my girls' lives. 


Preschool Pathways 2010