2008 – the year that was

We’ve been a bit remiss in updating the blog so here’s a brief rundown on what happened for us last year.

In June we graduated!

photos by Monique Saenz

I finished classes in Spring but wanted to walk with my man so after Roberto powered through his last term we had the ceremony together. Best feeling in the world not having any homework assignments in the evenings… But seriously though, we both feel so blessed to have been able to attend BYU-Hawaii and sure do miss that place, even (gasp!) our tiny little shoebox of a studio apartment at TVA.

Then we went to Ecuador for a few months to visit family and apply for Roberto’s work visa for Australia.

This is Arieli Iraida with her great-grandmother Iraida (her name-sake). We named Arieli after her great-grandmother because she is such a wonderful woman, hard-working, faithful, kind-hearted, loving, and generally adored by everybody who knows her.

And then we headed to Perth, Australia to stay with my parents while we get on our feet.

I think we can safely say this was the looongest trip of our lives! Took us three days to get there. Arieli was a little angel the whole way. We were lucky enough to have a spare seat beside us for most of the trip so we lay her down between us and at least one member of the Guzman family managed to get some sleep…

We’re living in Perth right now. It’s a nice place. Quiet, clean, and hot! One of the benefits of living on the West coast of Australia (although it’s far from anywhere else) is the beautiful sunsets we get off the coast:

Arieli had her first taste of food and is now enjoying all sorts but her favourites are yoghurt, fruit, and veggies. Although she does like Mummy’s beef stew too!

She is also a big Marmite fan – this is her after lunching on a marmite sandwich (if you don’t know what marmite is then you’ve obviously never been to New Zealand)

Arieli’s first Halloween – cutest bunny rabbit I’ve ever seen. (I was also quite proud of my home-made costume, who knew I had such hidden talents?!)

Our ward had a really fun activity called “trunk or treat” where each family decorated the boot (or trunk) of their car with Halloween stuff and candy and we all parked in the church parks and the kids went from car to car getting goodies. It was so fun to see them having such a good time and it was also a nice safe option for trick-or-treating.

Here’s a photo of our “trunk”

In Early December Arieli and I went to New Zealand for a week to visit with family, everybody was so excited to finally meet her and she loved spending time with everyone! This is Arieli with Aunty Maureen and Uncle Richard.

Arieli had heaps of fun playing with her two cousins Eva-Lee and Anahera.

Me and Arieli with my sister Katie and her girls. It was so nice spending time with family. This was also the week that Arieli cut her first tooth. She crawled over to me and bit me on the hand and I felt something sharp! She has two teeth now.

Arieli’s first swim in the pool – she loved it! She is a real water-baby.

At the park on Australia day. This is actually in January of 09) We’re not Australians but we thought it was appropriate to celebrate because we are grateful to be in this country.

The first time we tied Arieli’s hair up – this photo also shows her teeth!

And this one I just like, it shows my baby’s character – she has a great sense of humour and is heaps of fun!