Naina's Wedding Weekend

Last weekend we traveled to Washington, DC to attend my cousin, Naina's wedding. Sarina had so much fun reconnecting with her cousin Mirabelle and seeing Tara and Ava. I wish we has video from the wedding because the girls were dancing, dancing, dancing to the beautiful Indian music.

Sarina kept saying she want to see the president but the closest we could get was a picture in front of the white house. As you can probably tell from Sarina's grimace, it was was FREEZING!

The Phoenix 10K Family Style

We all had the opportunity to participate in the Phoenix 10K and more this year. Sarina and I did the 5K stroller stride, Darren ran the 10K, and Sarina ran 500 yard kids dash. It was a cooler day here in Phoenix but it was a lot of fun!

Halloween

Sarina decided this Halloween, she wanted to be a pink, scary monster. I have no idea where she go that idea so I just threw a bunch of pink stuff on her and called her scary. She had fun and got a lot of CANDY!

Pumpkin Patch

Another year, another pumpkin patch! We went to Mother Nature's Farm again this year versus the more commercial Schnepp Farm. It is so much more relaxed and easy going. Sarina loves picking out her pumpkin and decorating it.

JCC Trialthon and Duathlon

Darren and I participated in the JCC - Scottsdale triathlon and duathlon (respectively). It was my 1st multisport event and I think I am as addicted as Darren is with his triathlons. I just have train more so I can over the fact that I hate running :).

1st Time Horsey Ride

A landscaping company here in Maricopa had a fall festival in mid-October. Sarina had a chance to ride a horse. She was so excited!

Sorry...

For those you trying to keep up with the Soto's via this blog, I apologize! We have been busy, busy and I haven't had many free moments to sit down and type at home.

Since last I wrote, many events have occurred. Pumpkin patches,1st time horsey rides, Halloween, a couple of road races, and a wedding.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Running and Walking

Today, Darren and I participated in a running event together. It was 5K Run/Walk called the 4th Annual Remember 9/11 Run. Darren ran, I walked. I definitely need to speed up my walking pace (perferably into a run, but we'll see). Darren did awesome, and walked (or ran) away with 2nd place in his age group!

http://www.arizonarunningeventsco.com/#Remember_9/11

No pictures, since we both participated but the organizers did take a picture of Darren winning the award, we have to do some research and see if we can locate that picture.

Sarina's Birthday Party (ies)

We celebrated Sarina's birthday many times this year.

Party #1: August 31 in Ithaca with Govind, Charlotte, and Mirabelle
Party #2: September 2 (her actual birthday) with Ajji, Tata, Amma, Dada, and Grandma in Maricopa
Party #3: September 7 - a celebration of everything yellow with friends and family.

Sarina is now officially 3 but if you ask her she says "I feel like I am 4!"

More Ithaca Pictures

Some more pictures from the New York trip.

Labor Day Weekend

We always seem to go out of town for Sarina's birthday and this year was no different. We went to Ithaca, NY to visit Govind, Charlotte, and Mirabelle. Sarina had a blast hanging out with her cousin. We definitely need to make going to upstate NY a yearly tradition to get away from the heat of AZ. As the saying goes "Ithaca is Gorges!"

Darren's 2nd Triathlon

Darren joined his friends, Chad and Paul, and completed the Santa Cruz Triathlon on August 10, 2008. He did an amazing job. He swam in the ocean and rode a bicycle and ran through is childhood neighborhood.

Arthur's Birthday

We went to Santa Cruz for Darren's 2nd triathlon which conveniently occurred the same weekend as our nephew's, Arthur, birthday party. Unfortunately, Sarina did not go with us but here are a few pictures from the party.

Sarina Starts School

Today was Sarina's first day in the 3 year old preschool class. She was so excited and immediately went in and started playing with Play Doh. It lasts for 4 hours, which is 2 hours more than she is used to, so we have to see how she did. She is growing up so fast!

Darren Swims - Bikes - Runs

Darren completed his 1st triathlon on Sunday. I was very impressed...I would have thrown the towel in after the 400 meter swim. He did an amazing job though and plans to do another one soon.

More Tara Pictures

We went to the Arizona Science Center when Tara was here. They have an exhibit called "Grossology" and it really was gross. Tara helped "digest" some ravioli in the picture below.

Tara also played a virtual game of volley ball which was fun for all of us to watch.

The Tara visit

My cousin, Tara, came to visit this weekend. I am sure we completely exhausted her by going to the movies, painting pottery, swimming, and going to a museum. Sarina absolutely loved having her here! Next time we told her she should bring her sister Ava with her.