12.31.2003

Another year is gone. 2004 is on it's way. Is everyone ready to shed those post-holiday pounds? ;-)

December was a fairly trying month this year. My granddad (featured below as the "cheater") underwent a double bypass and had a valve replaced in his heart. He's recovering slowly but well. Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with him as he heals and also with my Mimi as she helps him do so.

Christmas was at the Cadle house this year. Fun gifts were received by all! Marley had fun, as usual, with her dog cousins (or maybe they are an aunt and uncle?). Either way, she's dirty and needs a bath. We were sad, though, that Mark couldn't make it this year, but we received lots of phone calls from him. Hopefully next year will work out for him to travel. We have pictures of Christmas, but they are on a REAL film camera, so those won't be up for a while. In the meantime, here are some pictures of Trail of Lights 2003 and of our house decked out for the holidays.

I also quite enjoyed meeting up with some old high school friends this holiday. It was SO good to see Tara, Michael, Todd, and JoBob and their families and girlfriends. Hi, guys!

So what's in store for 2004? Guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out!

12.02.2003

The holiday season is upon us. Have YOU been good this year? ;-)

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with my grandparents (Mimi & Granddad) at their home in Jal, New Mexico. Leaving Marley behind at my parents was a little hard at first, but she thoroughly enjoyed being spoiled and playing with her canine cousins - so much so that she slept for the next day and a half! Our Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. It was also consumed early in the day, as my Mimi was ready to get started in the kitchen. *grin* And even though SOME people (who shall remain nameless, though his picture is on the left) cheated, there were many laughs shared at the kitchen table over the card game "Gimme Five". We spent our last night in Stephenville and had a great time catching up with some old high school friends, which ended up being a mini class reunion of sorts. It was great to see what some were up to.

Also of importance is the fact that Claire and Sam are married! Their wedding was a lot of fun, and Claire made a beautiful bride. We enjoyed being the youngest dancers out on the floor!

Need to also say Happy Birthday to Jessica (sorry we weren't able to celebrate with you), my dad, Rafi's dad, and little Maria Sofia - who turned a BIG 2 years old!

Rafi and I have begun our Christmas decorating. This will be our first Christmas spent in the states as a married couple, so you KNOW we're doing our house up right! haha... We send warm holiday wishes to you all and hope that 2004 surrounds you with love, health, and opportunity. Happy Holidays!

11.05.2003

Well the verdict is out - Marley is NOT a watchdog! We learned this while camping with our friends JoBob and Caris at Lake Somerville. Animals sniffed around our tent, dogs barked in the distance, and people sounds came from other campsites. Did our little girl respond to any of them? Nope. Not a peep. Wanna know what her only bark was for on the very last day? A moth. Sheesh! But we do have to say that she took to camping like a pro - even dug her very first hole (which she wanted to take home). :)

Halloween proved to be so-so this year. We were disappointed to see few people in costume downtown (as we always give it our best). The trick-or-treaters were GREAT, though. Several tried to enter our home for more thrills, one said he didn't want to leave, and another yelled "Thank you, Bryan!" as he ran off to the next house after his dad told him "Say thank you, Bryan." Too cute! Yet another claimed to his siblings "I'm not scared. This is all just special effects." HA! In case you are wondering, Rafi and I dressed as "Killer Party Hosts" - complete with invitations to "have you for dinner." Marley was a devil dog, and Pudge...well, Pudge didn't wear his "Bat Cat" wings this year, but I think he enjoyed the holiday just the same. :) Be sure to check out the pics!

We also want to say Happy Birthday again to our friend Andres (we won't say how old he is!) and to Rafi's Tia Stella. Stella's birthday party in San Antonio was so much fun, as we danced merengue, ate terrific cake, and, most importantly, got to visit with Ruthie, who had flown in from Panama for the occasion. :)

Happy 100th Year of Independence, Panamá!!

09.29.2003

What a busy month! From Gyrl's Night Mexican Style, to participating in the BMW Ultimate Drive to promote breast cancer awareness, we stayed quite busy!

Marley had an exciting month, as well. She loved Pet-A-Palooza - almost as much as her parents did! And she is also now "all growed up", as she graduated this month from PetSmart's Puppy Preschool. She enjoyed wearing her cap at graduation and won BEST IN CLASS! She received a 2lb. bag of yummy puppy biscuits!

We also celebrated our first (of three! haha) wedding anniversaries. To recap, our 3 anniversaries are: September 20, 2002, December 28, 2002, and March 15, 2003. We will celebrate them ALL! For this anniversary we decided to relive our first "mini-honeymoon" to Six Flags again since I was sick last year. We had a really great time and laughed all day long. I must recommend the Titan rollercoaster to anyone who goes. And Rafi got to watch the UT football game in the hotel with room service. Afterall, we DO have our priorities! ;)

08.26.2003

Whoops! We missed July's update, so I'll try to be thorough with this month's. I am now doing some contract work from home, which has been really nice - no early mornings for me! Rafi's move to the big Motorola building has resulted in half the commute as before, which means he is able to come home for lunch on occasion. This is a good break in the day for him. Other than that, I've been doing lots of home improvement projects. You know me - always changing something! ;)

Marley is doing very well at home with her training; however, while her PetSmart Puppy Preschool classes may be fun for her, it can be very trying for her parents. She is easily the most self-confident in the group, but alas, she is also one of the most easily distracted. It's taken a couple months, but now Pudge and Marley play fight together - no claws drawn really, just fun games of tag and drive-by slappings from the cat.

Our little nephew Luis Raul is growing up so quickly, as are our adorable nieces Nicole and Maria Sofia. In fact, the girls got to go to Disney Land this month with mom and dad! How cool is that! Luis Raul was baptized this month, as well. Sadly, we couldn't make it down there for that, but we're sure it was a beautiful event. We send a big e-hug to Rafi's parents and family. :)

As for news on the Cadle side of the family, class has started up again for my parents, so they will be pretty busy for a while. Mark is still enjoying his job as a border patrol agent. I think he is also enjoying his off time, too. :D

Well, that about sums up the past two months. I'll be back again next month for a new update. Ciao!

06.23.2003

We officially have our new baby! We took Marley Moon, a cocker spaniel, home on Tuesday the 17th. She arrived a tad malnourished, with fleas and worms, but after a quick trip to the doctor, she is happy, healthy, and very content with her new home. We think she has adjusted very well, although Pudge hasn't quite made up his mind about her yet.

My new nanny job has proven to be a lot of fun - as well as a great destresser. The kids, an 8 year old boy and a 5 year old girl, are well behaved, smart, and love to swim. We all have a pretty fun time together. :)

Not much else going on - just lots of "good girl!", "good potty!", and "Pudge, quit stalking the puppy!".

05.05.2003

There's a new baby in the Campana family, and it's a boy! Luis Raul Campana was born on April 22 and weighed in at 49cm and 6lbs.8oz. Be sure to check out his photos! We're also happy to report that Monica (Mommy) is doing fine and that Nicole, Maria Sofia, and Luis (the big sisters and Daddy) are excited to have him (as are we!).

Rafi and I are now looking for a baby of our own - of the canine variety! So hopefully we'll have more to report on that search soon. We already have the name picked out, we just need the dog!

On another note, today is Cinco de Mayo - so go out and celebrate the Mexican victory of "La Batalla de Puebla"!

04.21.2003

Okay, okay. So I should probably change out the picture up above, but I think I'll let it stay for a while because it's so nice to see all the smiling faces of our family and friends! Anyway, we've been home from our second honeymoon for a week now, and we want to go back! The cruise was fantabulous. We enjoyed everything we did and felt very rested when we returned to Austin. Be sure to check out the cruise write-up in the travel section complete with photos!

On a more important and exciting note, our new little nephew, Luis Raul, is due tomorrow (April 22)! I can't wait to see pictures of him. Hopefully this year we'll get to go back to Panama and visit him and his two adorable big sisters. I'll see if I can wrangle some baby pics from his parents as soon as they settle in.

Starting May 30th I am taking a summer job as a nanny/swimming instructor. It should prove to be a fun way to spend the summer during these tech-troubled times. Rafi is has been very busy with work lately, but not too busy to miss out on celebrating his 29th, yes I said 29th birthday! My parents and I gave him a neat Japanese-style birdbath. Pudge has taken a liking to it, too. :)

Well, that's about it for now. Until next time, check out all the new photo album additions!.

03.24.2003

Well, it's been a little over a week since our 3rd and FINAL wedding! We had so much fun! We want to thank our parents again for everything they have done to give us 3 weddings of a lifetime. And thanks again to all of our family and friends who came both long and short distances just to share the day with us. We feel truly blessed.

Please be sure to check out our online photo albums of wedding images from our Austin wedding on March 15. You might even see your own face! Our photographer Diana Lott was a dream come true and really captured the feel of our wedding day.

Our cruise honeymoon is scheduled for the week of April 6. We'll have more pictures to add to our travel section shortly after we return. We're really looking forward to a whole week of relaxation!