Kara's thoughts on British Music :)

So, I have two random topics to discuss that have to do with music.. both sharing one common theme (even though they are fairly unrelated :). They both have something to do with British music.
Thought #1-Why does the United States produce bubble gum singers (obviously I am generalizing) like Brittney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and Miley Cyrus and the UK produces cool and soulful singers like: Joss Stone, Adele, Corrine Bailey Ray, and Amy Winehouse? I love the sounds of the UK girls with the orchestras behind them. These girls have pipes. It seems to me that we have such a large focus on appearance, and although I am sure that England has the same focus to an extent, it seems like really talented girls get noticed more. Seriously, there are thousands of girls all over the country who can sing better than Miley Cyrus. Has anyone noticed this trend too? Don't get me wrong, we as a country produce some amazing singers, but it just seems a lot harder for these people to be noticed if they aren't good looking... but this also does happen in the Uk.. to be demonstrated by my next point :).

Thought #2-So, to bounce off of my last point... I need to talk about the whole Susan Boyle, Britian's got talent thing. I am sure that most of you have seen the you tube video by now. I like most other people who watched the video, got choked up, but mainly for me, I think it was because I was sad. The words of the song she sang are emotional, and I couldn't help but thinking about her life in relation to the song. With that said, it took me a while to figure out why I continued to feel bothered by the clip and all of the publicity that it has received. I first of all realized the obvious like others that looks have nothing to do with talent. I have heard many people sing beautifully in my life who weren't super models themselves. I know that everyone was rooting for Susan as an underdog, but I am the only one who feels like making such a big deal out of it like "wow, the poor ugly lady really can sing" is almost demeaning and exploiting Susan Boyle? Once the media caught on that this would make a good story, they have gone nutso.. and I even heard one news anchor say,"When will the US find our Susan Boyle?" What in the heck does that even mean? Meanwhile, the Britain's got talent judges are soaking up publicity... and I don't know... I am just bugged by it all. Susan Boyle has talent, and she certainly deserves a break, but I am just tired of her being exploited and teased. Okay, before I keep repeating myself over and over again.. I will stop. I don't know if this will make sense to any one. Oh well, I am tired :). Good night.

Easter

Sofia's Easter dress was so cute. I'm sure I will get more pictures in that dress where you can see the detail more.

I wasn't going to include this snotty nosed pictured, but it is sweet.. and well.. Gabe usually does have a snotty nose.
Easter went a little something like this:
*Chris let me sleep in until 7:30. I never thought I would be overjoyed to sleep in until 7:30.
*Chill morning with easter bunny excitement and getting ready for church.
*Walking to church with mi familia and Marianne and George.
*Going to church.
*Walking home.
*Eating dinner with Kris and Dan.
Yep... a pretty low key Easter but nice.

Spring is Here... or at least today it was today!

This picture truly captures perfectly the brother and sister bond that Sofia and Gabe share. It is precious. They wrestle and love on each other all day long.







It has been so beautiful here the last couple of days. It is nearly impossible to be in a bad mood with the weather we have been having, especially since we probably have quite a bit more rain to come. Here are updates on the kiddos.

Sofia-The other day when we were in the park, Sofia started playing with a little girl from Spain around her age. The little girl was shy, but she slowly started warming up when Chris started speaking Spanish around her. She also spoke English and after a few minutes, Sofia and Nora were in serious play together. As they were building sand castles... they had a conversation that went a little like this:
Nora:I am really strong.
Sofia:I am a little bit strong,but not too much.
Nora:I am really strong.
The conversation repeated itself a few time and then Sofia busts out."I'm not too strong, but I am adorable. Yeah.. I'm adorable. Are you adorable?"
Nora: Yeah... I'm adorable, and strong.

Where did Sofia come up with this?? She is one funny girl.

Gabe: Gabe sings now! If you leave out words in twinkle twinkle, he can fill them in. He and Sofia melt my heart when they play together. First thing in the morning after nursing, Gabe runs in and yells "Sissy"or "Fia" to wake her up. Sofia always responds by yelling "I'm sleeping1!!" but within a few minutes they are laughing and playing. I love it!

Water for Elephants

Pictures from my baby class

If any of you are in need of a page turner.. this is your book. I was so excited to have a book that I was anxious to read as soon as the kids went to bed. The book is about an old man living in a nursing home who flashes back to when he was a young man who joined the circus after tragedy strikes. Sound random? It kind of is, but the book seriously is great. It has an amazing love story as well. I love love the parts of the book that describe Jacob's life in a nursing home... how lonely and desolate, and how Jacob is coherent to the fact that he is treated like a little kid...except for by one nurse who he adores.
For the last 3 terms, I have started a tradition in my Live and Learn with Your Baby classes to go and visit an Alzheimer's care center. The residents adore the babies as many of them have not been around babies in years. The activity coordinator has said that it is very therapeutic for them. It seriously almost brings me to tears to see the residents adore the babies. One lady rocked a baby for 20 minutes feeding her her bottle.... it was so precious. Humans need to be touched and loved by other humans.
The other thing that this book compelled me to do.. was to call my own grandparents to tell them that I love and appreciate them. I had a great chat with my Grandma, and she still raved about how appreciative she is for Chris fixing a broken drawer in her kitchen (7 years ago). I couldn't believe she still remembered and cared about that. It goes to show how important simple acts of kindness are.
So... I don't want to ruin anything, but this is a great book. Oh.. and for modest folk out there like me.. there are probably 5 pages in the book that are way too graphic and explicit for my liking.... so if you want, I will seriously find the specific pages so you can just skip them!

Random Catch Up

Here are a bunch of random pictures from the last month in no particular order!

A snapshot of my sweetie pie family at the end of a long day.

We had lots of fun with Scott and Jaime and the kiddos during spring break. We went to the Aquarium one day and Omsi the next.

Abuelo and Gabe hanging out.

Scott and kids came to the Becerras to go swimming with us.


Kim and Jackson came and visited from Virginia. We had lots of fun hanging out with them and wish that we could see them more. Grandpa took us to wildlife images in Grants Pass. Bye the way... my dad must be a heavenly sort of dude, because every picture I have from him that day has a glowing light around him. Seriously.


Another sheep barn trip with Aunt Kris and Heather/kids.

I promise to post pictures tomorrow....

But until then... I will share a video of Adele. I love this girl's voice. Seriously.. she has to be one of favorite finds this year. She has such a soulful voice, and I love this cover. So romantic.