Riza's Blog

See Jeff Run!

2012-01-26T20:33:00.001-08:00

Jeff actually came to my run club on Wednesday night - we all meet at mutt lynch's bar on Newport beach. He has come before but this time - he actually ran!!! I did 6 miles this night and so surprised about how good I felt (although the last mile was a bit tough)- but without Maggie pacing me- I couldn't have done it! Now... If I could just get Jeff to do a tri with me!

Happy Feet with the Girls

2012-01-24T22:57:00.001-08:00

Tonight we had a much needed girls night out... And got massages. Dani had never been- and we have now converted her! This place is awesome.. And the company was even better!

Chops 5th Birthday

2012-01-23T23:16:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to post some pictures from this past weekend for Chop's 5th day birthday party. Despite everything else going on- we managed to host a party at the house-- with the HUGE help of Rose and Dave... Without them- we couldn't have done it! Thanks guys for ALL your help and for everyone who helped out at the party. It rained the day before AND after the party--but the day of the party we had beautiful weather! God was looking down on us. Oh- and since Ethan's birthday is on Halloween and we always dress up-- we threw Choppies a costume party in January! It was fun to see kids AND adults dressed up!

Happy birthday Chops!

2012-01-16T09:47:00.001-08:00

Chops turns 5 today! We woke up and there was snow on the ground and chops said- what a great birthday present--- it snowed on my birthday!!! We left camp this am and we stopped at a lookout point to take some of these pics below- the name of the place where we are is called Angelus Oak. It's really beautiful here-- just missing you guys!

Zumba, snowmen and baseball!

2012-01-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

There is a varieties of activities going on here at Tahquitz! Good time is being had by all though!

Camping at Tahquitz

2012-01-14T16:15:00.000-08:00

Me, jeff and the boys are camping this weekend near Big Bear- about a two hour drive away! Look how beautiful! There's no snow buy we doing some tiny patches that kept them busy! Let's hope it will snow a bit tomorrow. Love u guys - we get back on Monday!

Roger made it back to LA...

2012-01-05T20:29:00.001-08:00

Safe and sound! Jeff and I picked him up at the airport and enjoyed a lovely dinner at our fav Indian restaurant - the Electric Lotus! It was delicious!!! Love and miss you guys....

Gotcha!

2011-12-31T19:53:00.000-08:00

Finally got Jeff... And Dan too!!! Happy New Years Eve y'all!

This is how we roll...

2011-12-23T18:13:00.001-08:00

To church! Roger is cooling out in dads sunglasses! And thats right... Roger and I went to church today with mom! We love you mom- from your favorite children!

Christmas at the Aysons

2011-12-22T21:56:00.000-08:00

Look at how great the house looks! Awesome job dad! We love u!

Gotcha!!

2011-12-21T20:49:00.000-08:00

Check out dad's fruit!

2011-12-19T16:50:00.001-08:00

Look at dads pumellos! So cool he was able to get it to grow on this little plant! The calamsi tree looks great too! Can't wait for you guys to get here!

Chops Christmas program

2011-12-17T17:55:00.000-08:00

They had their Christmas program this past Thursday and the kids were too cute! Here are a couple of pics...

Until next time

2011-12-11T13:03:00.001-08:00

We just left Jacquis and here are a few
Pics we took before we left! No goodbyes... Just until next time.

Packing up

2011-12-11T12:59:00.001-08:00

Today is the day... Getting on the road soon!

In SF with Roger

2011-12-10T16:06:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I are in SF helping Roger move... Jacqui and her room mate have been great and things are going good so far! Ron should be here in a few hours and we are heading back to SoCal tomorrow! Love u guys

Chops:Pro Skater

2011-12-08T09:11:00.001-08:00

You have to take a minute to watch this! (Its literally a minute long). Check out Chops- in the blue helmet in the back of the frame... This is how he "skates" on double blade ice skates... we tried putting him on the regular normal single blade- but he was falling everywhere! Hopefully he will graduate to a single blade next year. This is too funny! A great way to start your day!

Roger on his way back to SF

2011-12-01T17:10:00.001-08:00

Roger just left SoCal today to head back to SF! We had such a great time when he was here- but it was too short as the first 1/2 of his visit I was so jet lagged!

Anyways- we went to Habanas by my house for lunch (above) and then some coffee at Milk N Honey (below) before he left and here are some pics of us that we took before Rose took him to the airport! Love and miss you Roger!

Happy Birthday Rosie Rose!

2011-11-29T09:32:00.001-08:00

Happy birthday to a great sister and friend! So glad that we were actually able to SURPRISE you this past weekend for your bday! We wished that everyone was here to celebrate- but I am sure we will do it again for the holiday when we go home to Pcola.

We almost didn't pull it off... it was SO difficult to get Rose out of the house in time for everyone to come over before her surprise dinner. Dave was in charge of getting her out of the house by 5pm and to the restaurant by 8pm since most of the guests were coming to the house first and then we were going to walk over to the restaurant so she didn't see any of our cars!

But we pulled it off and she was totally SURPRISED! We had a great turn out and the venue ended up giving us the back patio-- a really nice night to have dinner outside.

It was awesome the her close family and friends could be with her to celebrate her special day and we all hope you had a great time! It was fun putting it together and everyone helped out to pull this off! It was also nice to have Roger here and Dave's family even came to celebrate as well!

Above is a picture of some of our Run Club who came out to surprise Rose as well! It was fun having everyone together- but we did miss Mom and Dad and the Butlers. We will have to tell you the whole story soon! Love you Rose and the celebration will continue on tonight!

Video by Christopher Parsons: Dream Water

2011-11-26T11:17:00.000-08:00

Check out this video by my good friend, Christoper Parsons, who you know as CP. He entered this in the video division of the Epson Red Sea shoot out and should have won 1st place! I was honored to dive with him in the Red Sea!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T11:47:00.001-08:00

We missed the rest of you guys who couldnt be here with us! Dad- we really missed your cooking and really excited to come home for the holidays so that we are all together again! Love you guys!

Jeny and Al- actually Shay- were up to their usual.. shot for everyone!

We couldn't stop playing Mahjong... and we started playing for BIG money-- $1 a game! Ha...

Thanks again to Jeny and Al for hosting everyone at their house and ALL of the good food- I don't think I will be eating for the rest of the weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T12:34:00.001-08:00

Well, we are missing Ron in this picture but we will see him later tonight! We wish we were with you all this Thanksgiving holiday, but can't wait to see you guys for Christmas! I am so thankful for my family and thank God everyday for our wonderful, loving and amazing family. Love you all and we will Skype later from Jenys!

We're Back!

2011-11-21T06:14:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I are on the flight back right now to LAX- we land at 10:30ish PST and just wanted you all to know that we are safe and sound (cool they have internet on the flight huh?)

Here are some pics of us in the ancient city of Petra, in Jordan-in front of the Treasury, which was all carved from the side of a mountain- its an amazing view!. Petra (rock in Greek; Arabic: Al-Batr) is an archaeological site in Arabah, Aqaba Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is renowned for its rock-cut architecture. Petra is also one of the new wonders of the world. Petra was also the site for Indiana Jones, The Last Crusade. Check out some more info about Petra here!

It was a quick one day trip- it took about 3-4 hours just to get there- and that includes about an hour alone at the border but we will definitely post more pics very soon! The pic above was in one of the many shops along the way! What an experience we had!

Eilat, Israel

2011-11-17T05:34:00.001-08:00

Hey guys! Sorry we haven't been able to post very much but just wanted to share a few pictures with you before we have to head out again... and will hopefully post more tomorrow since we are not diving tomorrow... but traveling to the ancient city of Petra. These pictures below and above are when we first arrived in Tel Aviv and went to dip our toes in the Mediterranean.

This pic below is one of the scenic stops along our 3ish hour journey to Eilat (pronounced Eelat) and although it was all desert- there was a lot of different terrain and the trip over was very interesting. Plus, we had our eyes peeled on wandering camels. Although Jeff and I didn't see any- CP swears he saw about 6.

After a quick journey south- we finally arrived at Eilat and are staying about 1/2 mile away from the border of Egypt. We are staying at the Prima Music Hotel which is next door to the dive shop where we meet for our morning dives every day and where they are hosting the Epson Photo Shoot Out. Jeff and I are both competing- so wish us luck! I will have to post some of my shots first, before you see Jeff's! Just know that mine are with a point and shoot- and Jeff is using a Canon Rebel T3i! I have to run but will post more pics to come.

FYI- The awards ceremony is on Saturday night so we will let you know if anyone from the American Team won-- that's just any of the 9 of us in our group! Ha.. Love you guys-

We made it to Tel Aviv!

2011-11-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

Part 1 -Getting there: Riza and I began our trip began with a 8am flight out of LAX, we had a quick s top in ATL and then one more in New York where we met up with the rest of our group. There were nine of us total heading to Eilat Israel to dive the Red Sea. Only one of our group had been there before, everyone of us has had the Red Sea on our bucket list or some kind of list for quite some time. We were all anxious to get there. From JFK to Tel Aviv airport is a 10 and a half hour flight. Once we finally landed in Tel Aviv, Riz and I had been traveling for 22 hours. We both managed about 5 hours sleep each total since we left, but our grand adventure was just beginning.

The Tel Aviv airport was very nice and very modern. But despite the modernization of today’s air travel, the lost baggage average was not in our favor. Out of the 19 checked bags for our group, 4 of them didn’t make the trip to Tel Aviv. We are hopeful that the missing bags will show up within a day or two. Fingers crossed. Once we got the lost luggage forms and rental cars squared away we headed towards our hotel for the night which lays on the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea. When we reached the hotel we were greeted by a crowded lobby and ensuing chaos of travelers trying to check in after a full day of traveling. After a few minutes we realized why things were so hectic and taking longer than they should. It was Friday after sunset and Shabbat had begun. With Shabbat a lot of things and people are not allowed to work on Shabbat. For instance in the designated Shabbat elevator you were not allowed to press the elevator buttons. It simply went up one floor at a time, stopping at each floor. Until it reached the top, then stopping on each floor on the way down. Needless to say to took awhile for 9 of us and all our luggage to wait our turn to get on the elevator. Once we were checked in, we quickly met for dinner and drinks in the hotel lobby and restaurant. A rum and coke never tasted so good after a day like that and the food was amazing. A perfect way to end our first day of travel.

Thanks rose for taking us this am...

2011-11-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

And getting up at 5am with us! Love you for all you do for us! We will be sure to come back with some gifts!!!

Here we go!

2011-11-10T08:42:00.001-08:00

Red sea bound!!! We are on the plane- we have a stop in atlanta and new York before landing in Tel Aviv! Can't wait to scuba dive the amazing red sea! Love
You guys!

Rach is now an IRON(WO)MAN!!!!!

2011-11-05T20:58:00.001-07:00

We love you Rach and are amazed by your courage and strength! We are SO proud of you- much more than words can say. You are our hero!

My sister is doing the IRONMAN! Go RACH!

2011-11-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

My sister is amazing and doing the IRONMAN! Check out her times here by searching for BUTLER! I can't tell you how proud of her we are!!!! You are such a role model to all of us... we LOVE you!

Here is a pic of her and her friend Ana who is doing the IRONMAN too! Be safe and we are all cheering for you guys from the west coast!

TextingForward powers TrackMyRunner via SMS for NYC Marathon

2011-11-05T13:44:00.001-07:00

Click here to check out what we are doing!

You can also see how the ING NYC Marathon is promoting us HERE.

Kaycee Canlas

2011-11-04T15:41:00.001-07:00

We got to have dinner with Kaycee in New York last night! It was so fun seeing her after 20 years!!! She looks great...

Heading to NYC

2011-11-03T12:34:00.001-07:00

Pic flying over Colorado! Can't wait for the snow!!!! A beautiful day to fly. Headin to NYC for the marathon! Cross ur fingers again for us!! Will blog so u can see what we r up to!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a Happy and Safe Halloween!!! We have celebrated Halloween so many times this year.. I definitely got my use out of my costume!

Ethan's 8th Birthday!

2011-11-01T23:15:00.001-07:00

Ethan's Birthday was yesterday (on Halloween!) but we had a party at the house on Sunday to celebrate his big day! A good time was had by all.. wish you guys were here with us celebrating!

As you might be able to tell- it was a Star Wars Theme...We are missing Chewbacca "AKA- Jennifer Fosburg" and I think a couple of other Star Wars Characters- but as you can see... the Adults had more fun dressing up than the kids!

Hope you guys had a great Halloween! Just wanted to post a few pics but I will upload the rest on Flickr! Love you guys

Thanks for the pirate costume Rach!

2011-10-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

Choppies loves his pirate costume!! He has worn a different one everyday he gets home from school this week! Hope you got our message! Jeff loved Darth Vadar- too bad it was a little too small!

Visiting Pepere in the Hospital

2011-10-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

Jeff's grandfather had a scary accident last night - but he is doing fine today- thankfully. We are near uncle nick in a city called Palomar and are visiting him today. He fell and broke 3 ribs and has some internal bleeding. Pray for him that he has a speedy recovery! Love u

Chops takes first in the costume contest!

2011-10-22T15:08:00.001-07:00

And it wasnt because his costume was original! His charm won over the audience... Imagine that?

Flying home from Chicago!

2011-10-10T16:28:00.001-07:00

Look at all the snow on the mountains already flying over Utah! It's coming to Cali soon! Also- check out the grand canyon- you can really see where the canyon edges are! So cool- jeff and I want to go there next year! Love u guys- just landed!

Heading Home after a Successful Race

2011-10-10T12:00:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we did it! It was a 100% SUCCESSFUL race!!!! We are very excited, although VERY tired! Jerson was actually sick the whole time so the whole team pulled through and we all earned that WIN! Will give you details later... for now- we are heading home! Bye Chicago! Until next time...

Race Day! Here we go..

2011-10-09T04:56:00.000-07:00

We arrived at 445am... Cross your fingers for us! We love u guys!

Runner Tracking: Chicago Marathon

2011-10-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a little clip of the Runner Tracking Madness at the Chicago Marathon Expo! So excited for all the runners! There is still time to track a runner here: Runner Tracking.

Chicago marathon: Runner Tracking/SMS from Riza Ayson on Vimeo.

TV Coverage in Chicago:Runner Tracking

2011-10-08T08:00:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to show you guys the news coverage we are getting on the Runner Tracking program we are powering- where you get notifications of where your runner is on the course via text message! We will send you a text message at the 10k, HALF, 30k and FINISH splits. Check out the coverage! Go TextingForward!!! One more day until the race... cross your fingers for us!

Chicago Marathon- round 2

2011-10-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

Here we go! It's crazy and will only get crazier! Wish u were all here with us... We WILL celebrate on Sunday night! Love u all

On the way to Chicago!

2011-10-06T13:58:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you guys know that we are going to Chicago today to work the Chicago marathon for the second year! Yeah! Wish us luck... Good thing it's a beautiful day to fly- it will get up to almost 80 degrees in Chicago this weekend! Too bad for the runners though because that is way too hot for them!

Acupuncture

2011-09-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

I got done with my treatment before Rose so i decided to check out hers and here are a few pics in case you are wondering what it's like! Rose can comment and tell you what all these needles mean!

Rose runs with Dr. Oz!

2011-09-27T16:52:00.001-07:00

Rose made GREAT time running the race on Sunday and was only a few seconds behind Dr. Oz! She got a pic with him and he picked up Chops :)

Check out Rose's time behind her!

Rose ran on behalf of Carrie's family.. they were all there volunteering! Her mom is a breast cancer survivor!

After the event- we took the trolley back to our car! Thank goodness we got to ride because we forgot where we parked! Great job on the Race Rose!

Taiko

2011-09-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

This Buddhist church's taiko group played at the race on Sunday - check them out!

Rose runs to support breast cancer awareness

2011-09-25T09:56:00.001-07:00

Dr Oz is running at the front with rose!

It's crows night

2011-09-07T23:47:00.000-07:00

An impromptu crows night to get Happy Feet massages... And 90 minutes! Gotta love it! Love my girls...

Ethan and chops start school

2011-09-07T12:13:00.001-07:00

Ethan and Choppies started school this week on Tuesday and Ethan is going to Paularino Elementary and Chops is going to Davis Magnet school- let's hope they both can go to the same school next year! So far so good- they both have great teachers- Ethans teacher is Ms. Langeworthy and Chops teacher is Ms. Diaz!

Central coast for Labor Day Holiday

2011-09-03T13:09:00.001-07:00

We made it up to Los Olivos and our first winery, we get to do a private tour! It's absolutely gorgeous here... Wish u were all here with us!

TextingForward in San Fran

2011-08-27T09:07:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to post some pics from our whirlwind of a week when we were in San Fran! We had a very productive week and lots of great contacts were made here in Silcone Valley! Above is a pic of me and Jerson at the Clicaktell offices in Redwood City - we are about to kick off a major partnership with them which is an exciting move for TextingForward!

The conference we did together was just the first step-- and it was a good test to see how both companies worked and to identify what we need to work on. Definitely a lot of work to do ahead of us.

We got to see Rog and Shay briefly- we went to an awesome Thai restaurant close to the Moscone Center where we were living for the last two days! It was so great to see them and enjoy some time with the outside world since every night, Jerson and I camp out in the business center at the bottom of our hotel working until the wee hours of the am.

Finally, we met with some Venture Capitalists for the first time and it was such a nerve racking yet educational experience! We know SO much more now after those two meetings and are actually poised to get our first deal soon. Although- we know its not going to meet our needs- to know that we have a company and platform that is going somewhere and that is what these VCs are looking for feels really, really good :) Stay tuned!

Wish us luck today!

2011-08-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

We have some very big meetings today with venture capitalists and a big partner so keep your fingers crossed!! We love and miss u guys... Babe- sorry I'm not coming home tonight but see you in the am! I feel like I've been gone for a month!

Which company is bigger?

2011-08-16T22:25:00.001-07:00

Ha- Jerson did this and I thought it was funny!!! Had to post this... We still did awesome!

In San Fran for the SES Conference

2011-08-16T11:34:00.001-07:00

We are here and it's so exciting! Our
First exposure with Clickatell! It's going to be a long few days.

Go TextingForward!

2011-08-15T10:11:00.001-07:00

Hey guys... Jerson and I are in San Francisco and we have some big meetings this week!! Wish us luck!

On our way....

2011-08-01T10:17:00.001-07:00

Its going to be a long day flying... Miss u guys already! Love u!

Bye Bye Butlers!

2011-07-31T14:33:00.001-07:00

The Butlers left Pensacola today and we are sooo sad :( I can't believe our little vacation is coming to an end and that we are leaving to go home tomorrow.

The boys had a great time playing and doing everything together and looking forward to coming back home for Christmas!

I feel like this trip went by so quickly... there's never enough time to spend together. But now we will just have to wait until the next time we are all together! Thanks Dad for all the food and mom for watching all the kids while we were out! Love you guys!!

We are on our way to see lolo and Lola...

2011-07-28T07:01:00.001-07:00

And we are all packed in the expedition! Good times!!!!

Meeting with DTX!

2011-07-26T20:29:00.001-07:00

Today, Rach and I went on a sales call together... to DTX! Dan arranged for us to meet with the Exec VP of Marketing, Dan Nelson and Gene and some of his other staff was there too!

It was a ton of fun doing a sales call together with Rach-- who knows... maybe Rach will be working more with TextingForward!

Afterwards, Dan gave us a tour of the place and I can't believe how much DTX has grown! They have about 75 employees and seems to be growing strong!

Hopefully DTX will be a client of TextingForward soon... then I guess I can write all my trips off to the Butlers every year! Ha...

Cale and Lucas' football practice

2011-07-25T16:02:00.001-07:00

We are here watching cale and Lucas practice! They are both doing so great!! Dan is head coach this year too.. Congrats Dan! You are doing a great job... You're a natural!

On our way to Melbourne beach!

2011-07-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

The first pic was from our movie night last night in the condo... Look how cute they are! Now we are on our way to Melbourne and will be at rachs for the next four nights until we leave on Thursday for Pensacola! Thank goodness for electronics! Ha...

Walt Disney Parks

2011-07-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time yesterday... but it was definitely a LONG day... Almost 13 hours to be exact. We started at 9am and ended around 10pm... and hit 3 parks- -started at Hollywood Studios, then went to Animal Kingdom then ended at Magic Kingdom! Here are some shots from the day. Wish you guys were here with us!

Magic kingdom

2011-07-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

We just got here and waiting for the ferry to get to the magic kingdom! The boys are waiting patiently...

Gotcha!

2011-07-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

So glad they make adults sit on the outside of the tram so they can make sure the kids are safe...

We are here in Disney!

2011-07-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

Everyone's having a great time! It's soooo hot but we are dealing with it and just left Hollywood Studios and on our way to animal kingdom!

On our way to Florida

2011-07-20T09:15:00.001-07:00

Thanks for taking us Rose and we will miss you soooo much! Enjoy some peace an quiet and we promise to bring you back some presents!!!! Love u and miss you already!

Will & Lisa's Wedding: July 16, 2011

2011-07-18T16:11:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to post a few pictures from this past weekend in Pismo Beach at Will and Lisa's wedding weekend! It really was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been to- the weather and scenery were just perfect! This part of the coast is gorgeous!

Will is Jeff's cousin- his dad is the brother of Sharon, Jeff's mom and Will and Lisa met at Cal Poly where they attended college.

The pic below is off Jeff's side of the family, minus the kids- and it was really good to see all of them and spend time with his grandparents who we call Memere and Pepere. This was a pic of us after the wedding and before going into the reception hall, which was also very beautiful.

At the end, we all lit sparklers to send the couple off! I am sure their photographer got some great shots... but here was one of mine :) You can find more pics from the wedding here: CLICK HERE.

Wedding at Pismo Beach, central coast of California

2011-07-17T13:00:00.001-07:00

We traveled up to Pismo beach this weekend, between OC and SF - it was Jeff's cousin Will's wedding! See below pics of the location but will blog more pics soon. Seriously one of the most beautiful weddings we have been to!

Happy Birthday Jeff!

2011-07-11T07:38:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday babe! Today is Jeff's 39th birthday and we celebrated this past weekend with a party at the house and wishing all of you were here with us! Tonight we are having a birthday dinner with just the family in honor of his day.

Vanessa came over to the house and we did a shrimp boil for Jeff (you would have LOVED it mom and dad- she spiced it JUST like the crawfish, but since they were out of season- we did shrimp!)-- this was Vanessa's present to Jeff for his birthday. Above is Paul Dove- who most of you have met- who was her sous chef! Everything came out perfect- the potatoes, corn, sausage and of course shrimp were delicious!

Everyone devoured the shrimp and there was only a little bit left-- but ALL the food was delicious including Rose's spinach and strawberry salad, taco dip, Jeff's sliders and baked chicken and the numerous deserts we had!

We had some special guests come including Maribel Rayos Normand and my friend from grade school- Eva Lawson and her husband come... it was so great to see everyone!

Thanks to everyone who came to help celebrate, ate and helped clean up! We missed you Shay, Rog and all of our family who couldn't make it! Love and miss you guys

On our way to Shaver lake

2011-07-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you guys know that we are heading to shaver lake to go camping (in the Sierra Nevadas, south of Yosemite) and stopped by Antonettes on the way out! Wish we were going to be with everyone at Uncle Reys house... But we will be thinking of you guys. Miss you mom and dad! Can you tell how excited E and C are? At least they aren't asking when r we going to be there for the 100th time? Love u guys

Last Day in Milpitas

2011-06-28T16:46:00.003-07:00

This was on the last day that Jeff and I were in Milpitas- we just went to church in this picture and was heading to the hospital to see Uncle Rey. The below pic is just Ron being Ron and the boys hanging out before leaving to head to the hospital.

Mom and dad just left today and Jeff and I aren't sure when we can come back but hope to visit again really soon. We are so glad we were able to visit when we could and are praying hard for a faster recovery for Uncle Rey. We love you so much and miss you guys more than we can tell you! Keep being strong for us Uncle Rey! You will get through this and we will all be here to help you. Love you.

I got served... 4 times!

2011-06-26T16:55:00.000-07:00

Ok.. Really funny Shay- she got me 3 more times! I ended finding these two items in the car... The green plastic Dino in my purse (do u guys remember this???) and loving the croc head that we found in the trunk on the side! Good ones Shay! Just wait... It will be when u least expect it!

We are on the way back and I will post more pics that I took that are on my camera when I get home! Love u

Ron made it!

2011-06-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Ron made it JUST in time before visiting hours ended and they were even able to stay late tonight- 10 instead of 830p. Uncle Rey is doing ok today- he feels weak today so no physical therapy. They took a lot of the tubes out but the biggest things are the pacemaker to help his heart beat, the tube in his lungs to get all the fluid out and oxygen to help him breathe. He also has a tube that is giving him food since he really has no appetite and needs the calories to give him some energy. He also eats a lot of ice chips- since he can't have too much liquid bc of his lungs- he loves his ice chips! Auntie Winda may stay the night tonite so we are just now headed home! Dad has been home all day alone... Hope he has dinner ready!

BANANAGRAMS

2011-06-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

What would we do without this game? Rog and Shay get a little serious! This is the most exercise she's gotten all week! Ha...

On our way to pick up Bon Jehng

2011-06-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Jeff helped dad cut down this huge tree in the front lawn- you can see below by jeff holding it up! Can't wait to see Jehng Jehng! Love u guys

Uncle is resting...

2011-06-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

We just went in for the last visiting hour and he is passed out! What an ungrateful uncle... Ha! Just kidding! He is breathing so well now which is a great change. We will be back in the morning tomorrow. Until then- good night everyone. Love u all!

Uncle is resting...

2011-06-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

Uncle Rey's physical therapy

2011-06-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

Uncle Rey ended up being strong enough to do physical therapy after they just did another check up on him! He walked down the hall and back and is doing great. He said he is feelin better today than yesterday! So awesome!

Update on Uncle Rey

2011-06-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

We are back at the hospital and have been camping out in the same spot! Thank goodness we have outlets and wifi in the hospital - although cell coverage is just ok. Uncle is doing better- his heart is actually pumping on its own, but its very low- 50 compared to 90 yesterday-- although yesterday he had a machine helping him and today his heart is on it's own so that's a great sign. But bc his heart is weak, no physical therapy for him today. Om- going in to see him now- we r allowed to see him every 2 hours for 30 min each time. There is supposed to only be 2 at a time but since Auntie works here- we get VIP treatment! They think they might move him out of ICU tomorrow maybe... Will keep u posted!

Uncle Rey is doing better

2011-06-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I got in around 230a this am so we are beat! But we were able
To hang out with uncle rey and despite the fact that he is still in the ICU, he is doing better and trying to stay in good spirits. We aren't sure how long he will be there, but maybe we will know more
Tomorrow. He had his first physical therapy session today and is actually sitting up - which is major progress! More soon... Love u guys

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there and especially to our Daddy- for being the best day ever! Thank you for all that you do for me and all that you sacrifice for us. It does not go unnoticed and we love you so much!

We hope that everyone has a great Father's day and wish we could have all celebrated your day together! Love you all!

Awww... I miss all of us being together!

Erin and Liz come visit California!

2011-06-04T09:34:00.001-07:00

Do you guys remember Erin ODonnell and Liz Klump from Loyola? Its been sooo long since I've seen them both-They were here for Memorial Day weekend and it was SO much fun hanging out! Just wanted to post a few pics from our weekend! We did so much-- including some paddle boarding and going to Glen Ivy Spa!!! I love that place... wish you ladies were here with us!

Hiking El Moro Canyon!

2011-05-22T12:24:00.001-07:00

We went hiking for almost 2 hours this morning and even did a bit of trail running! Thanks goodness it was over cast so we didn't get sun burnt - it was a chilly start but we warmed up quick! The views are spectacular!

Best birthday party ever! Hbd nicole!

2011-05-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

TextingForward in Vegas

2011-05-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hey familia... TextingForward is in Vegas for meetings and it's been a great trip so far! We have some exciting projects to share with u all soon (which is why we r here!). The last picture is a view from my hotel room! Too bad we don't have any time for fun... It's all work this time! Love u guys!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there today! Especially to my mom- thanks for ALWAYS being there for us and loving us unconditionally. You are a fantastic mom and I just hope to be a mom like you one of these days. I always think about how you did it- raising the 5 of us wonderful and smart kids! Ha-- we owe it all to you-- I mean, how did we ALL turn out so smart and beautiful? Thank you mom for all you've done for us! We love you so much!

In honor of PACMAN!

2011-05-07T13:16:00.001-07:00

Click here to check out Manny sing with Dan Hill! This is his favorite song! We are going to head to Antonette's tonight to watch the fight!

Riza and Jeff's Engagement Party

2011-04-30T13:07:00.001-07:00

Hello Family- as you know, Rose and Ron threw Jeff and I an engagement party and they did such a great job- and Roger was able to come in town to help out and be there for our special night. It was so touching to us that you guys did this for us- words can express how we truly feel. Family is everything to us and we are so glad that you guys are here close to us and we wish that the rest of the family could be here too.

We just wanted to post some pics and a little video of a song that Rose, Ron and Charles sang for us that night- and it just made the night even more special. This was a cover of the song "Price Tag" that is sung by Jesse J and Charles changed the song a bit and wrote a tribute to me and Jeff. Click on below and check it out.

One of the other highlights of the night was the LOVE pinata that Rose filled with all kinds of goodies including tierras, lots of bling, sceptors, pom-poms and of course- candy! Everyone had a good time hitting that pinata!

I'll put more pictures on flickr once I have them uploaded! Miss and love you guys and thanks again for making our engagement party so special! XOXO, Riza and Jeff

Our Wed Night Run Club

2011-04-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

We meet at Mutt Lynch bar in Newport beach on wednesday nights! Jeff and the boys came with Rose and I last night and it was a lot of fun havin them there. We met our "Ragnar" relay buddies through this group and looking to do more runs with them!

Rose's last leg at exchange 31! Go rose! In mission bay now!

2011-04-16T16:08:00.001-07:00

All the decorated Ragnar Vans

2011-04-16T15:30:00.001-07:00

I will post more of the vans and the race names buy I love this one!

Heading to our last leg

2011-04-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

We ran through the night and the last runner ended around 8am this morning. We stopped in Carlsbad for a breakfast of Champion's and now heading to the next and LAST major exchange. Rose did great on her run this am at 3 and I had an easy run right after that. More updates soon! Rach- you ARE doing this next year with us! It's sooo fun!

Ragnar relay: exchange 11

2011-04-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

We just saw Sunshine from the Biggest Loser show and we are almost done with leg 1! Sarah is running now and Stephanie (below in the green shirt) just got done and did awesome! Thank god the sun is going down and ita getting cooler. After she gets done with her 8 miles- we are getting to eat dinner (yay- real food!) and ice!!! More updates to come!

Roses leg- exchange 7

2011-04-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

These are pics of us going to exchange 7 for roses first leg and us while we are waiting for her to start!

Ragnar Relay has begun!

2011-04-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

We are here at the exchange and runner 7 just started! Rose is runner 8 and will be starting next!

The Ragnar Relay starts today!

2011-04-15T08:42:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone!

Rose and I are running the Ragnar Relay and the race starts TODAY! This is a 200 mile race that starts in Huntington Beach and finishes in Coronado Island! Rose is Runner #8 and I am Runner #9- we all have to run 3 different legs.

Rose 1st leg is 5.4 miles, 2nd leg is 6.5 miles and 3rd leg is 5.9 miles = 17.8
My 1st leg is 6.0 miles, 2nd leg is 2.4 miles and 3rd leg is 8.3 miles = 16.7

See the map here:

There are 2 vans, with 6 runners each and we will be sleeping/eating/waiting in the van along the route- sometimes pacing people as they run. We run NON-stop starting at 8:15am and we are estimating to finish by 6:38p tomorrow night. I will be blogging as much as possible but here are our run times- remember these are Pacific time! Also, these are ESTIMATED times - depends on how the runners before/after us do!
Rose: Leg #1=1:12pm Fri, Leg #2=2:06am Sat, Leg #3=12"47pm Sat
Riza: Leg #1= 2:12pm Fri, Leg #2= 3:13am Sat, Leg #3= 1:46pm Sat

Wish us luck! We will be posting and blogging along the way! Love you guys!
PS- Mom and dad- sorry I haven't called lately- but we will try and skype you from the van (if possible)!

It's race day!!!

2011-04-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

We are here at the start/finish line- 5am start for us! Things are going GREAT - so far so good!

The Day Before The Race!

2011-04-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hey guys... It's the day before the race and we are getting ready! Even though I'm not running- it's so exciting to see the tents up and be in the thick of things! These are pics taken at Chafietz Stadium where the expo is taking place and a shot of a spot near the start/finish where we will be working on race day- and close to our hotel on market street in downtown St Louis!

Can you see a trend in our workspace?

2011-04-08T08:37:00.001-07:00

Who needs a desk these days? It's all work and no play for us.. Except a drink or too! Things are going good so far... But the real action is just beginning as the expo kicks off today!

Please tell Jacob that there is a cardinals store in my hotel- and I will find Rams stuff too- but email me exactly what you want again and I will see if they have it here! Any other requests from St Louis?? Love u guys!