arizona Archives

Fam in jammies, a Christmas Eve photo journal

Jan 1, 2020 | Photo Diaries

Christmas Eve 2019

We wore our matching jammies, listened to Christmas tunes, prepped a huge feast, and gathered together around the dinner table for Christmas Eve.

Beyond the lights, the decorations, the music, and the presents, it’s FAMILY that makes this day so special to me.

Some random thoughts and gratitudes about this:

My brother drove in from Flagstaff in a crazy near blizzard, and he just graduated from college AND just started a new job immediately after graduating so it was so so good to have him with us.

I haven’t spent a Christmas with my siblings and parents all together like this in I think 5 years.

My sister’s in-laws are my family too.

This was also my first holiday spent with my nephew and niece, and I feel like Christmas is way more festive with little kids! They made me feel like a kid again too.

And having my fiance there too, it’s like having my whole heart in one place all together.

We actually opened all the presents under the tree before 9pm on Christmas Eve! It started with “only one present after dinner” rule and then of course, we lose our restraints and soon the kids are stacking up their presents to open and everyone is laughing and having the best time. Merry Christmas from me and my family to you and yours!

Thank you for being a part of my journey.

Fam in Jammies, Christmas Eve Photo Journal - NERELLE

Beach camping American Samoa | Nerelle.com

Photo Journal: Family trip to Sedona and Grand Canyon

Dec 31, 2019 | Lifestyle

A late photo journal from my first weekend of vacation with the whole family in Arizona.

After an entire day of traveling, I arrived in Phoenix late in the night, and my brother-in-law picked me up from the airport and drove us straight to Sedona, where the rest of my family was. My brother just graduated from Northern Arizona University, and to celebrate, my sister planned and hosted a weekend in a beautiful cabin in Sedona.

We drove up to the Grand Canyon the next day, where we marveled at this natural world wonder, witnessed a marriage proposal, and saw a massive condor!

Back in Sedona, my sister gave us early Christmas gifts — matching flannel jammies! We all got warmed up around the fireplace where my brother was tending to the fire. We got some classic family photos, and played games pretty much all night. I’m so grateful for this time with family reunited for the holidays after something like 5 years apart, the celebration of my brother’s graduation, and especially for my sister who made sure we had a wonderful time.

OdySea Aquarium + Butterfly Wonderland

Aug 28, 2018 | Lifestyle, Travel

Just like me, my nephew is enamored with fish. Particularly the ones in “Hooray For Fish” by Lucy Cousins, his favorite book.

We spent the day at the OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland and marveled at all the beautiful creatures.

Diary of an Aunty: Summer 2018

May 25, 2018 | Journal, Lifestyle

Oh my goodness time flies and these cuties just get cuter! I am so incredibly blessed to have the chance to go and visit my nephew and niece every year.

It always feels like eons waiting for summer to come around and my bank account is weak but when I’m hanging out with them and we’re bonding over a fish book that Ian picked out a couple years ago and my nephew’s super excited to read it for us… It just feels so good.

Also my tiny 3-year old nephew who barely spoke the last time I saw him showed me a photo of his class playing with puzzles and I asked him if he was able to solve the puzzle – he straight up said to me “it wasn’t hard, but it wasn’t easy”. What??? Who taught you that kind of reasoning in response to a very simple question?! You’re 3!! How do I even respond to that?? I’m just “aunting” real hard here heheh.

My 1-year old niece is also too adorable for words. She’s different from Isaac: she doesn’t (yet) like people as much as Isaac did when he was that age, gives you a skeptical look when you try to pick her up, she is a total mama’s girl, and she has a hilarious toothy smile when she laughs. But she’s also super observant, gives the best kiss we when you say besos, and makes my heart melt when she’s reaching for her blankie in her sleep.

The two of them together, they’re just the perfect little kids in my eyes. Isaac’s always talking about his little sister with affection, always tries to make her smile, shares his toys with her and is patient with her when she hogs the toys. Rachel is learning lots from her big brother. She laughs every time he makes a funny face for her, or when he runs around and does something silly, she plays with him even if it’s trucks or puzzles.

I forget sometimes that these tiny humans came out of my sister’s womb. It’s nuts to me. We were that age once, my sister, me, and my baby brother. We were best friends and confidants, with some headaches in between. All these little moments make me so happy.

Quality time with the Que’s

Aug 15, 2017 | Lifestyle

Hello! As I mentioned in my last blog post, my week has been filled with cute kids and too-hot-to-do-anything-except-swimming temperatures. It’s been mostly uneventful, and I got to spend a lot of much needed quality time with my family. I wanted to keep a clear schedule so I could truly have a little vacation from my usual go-go-go schedule during vacations. I didn’t even tell my Arizona friends I was in town, which I probably should have, but I just really felt like I needed this time to retreat and restore.

Isaac’s first day of pre-school

We woke up early, and strapped the kids into the car. Isaac was reading one of his favorite books on the drive over, and Rachel sat calmly staring out the window. We arrived at the school and Isaac followed his mommy along while licking his “pop pop” that mommy gave him that morning. His teacher greeted us at the door and Lyn signed him in. My sister let go of his hand and he immediately reached for her hand again. He cried on his first day of school, just like I did. My heart melted, but we knew he was in good hands. When we picked him up we had another special pop pop.

Got my 13” MacBook Pro laptop screen fixed for free!

If you have a 13” MacBook Pro retina display laptop, you might have encountered a stain on your screen that won’t go away. After a quick google search, I learned that a bunch of other customers had this same problem. It was referred to as #StainGate. It was a flaw in Apple’s manufacturing of the display screens. I booked a repair appointment online at https://getsupport.apple.com/ and got it fixed in a day!

Arizona heat is no joke

All week, there was 100-degree dry heat. I had no desire to leave the house. Well, one day I did go window shopping at an indoor mall (so that I could practice resisting the urge to buy things, I told myself). My parents bought a big beautiful home in Arizona and the pool is so key in the summer. We spent a lot of time swimming with my nephew whose favorite thing was jumping in the deep end doing funny poses. My baby niece joined in too and relaxed hardcore in a little floaty.

All you can eat sushi

This place is awesome. Akita Sushi is an all-you-can-eat sushi spot in Scottsdale. Lunch is $13.95 per person and dinner is $21.95. It’s so worth it if you know you’re hungry and you’re craving sushi – which is like, all the time for me. I scarfed down a bowl of miso soup and 3 delicious specialty rolls, and I wasn’t even that hungry. There are also unlimited nigiri and hand rolls. My brother introduced us to the place so when he raved about the green tea ice cream and fried banana desserts, we had to try it… and it did not disappoint!

Let’s Go Dbacks

My brother and I watched the Diamondbacks vs Cubs game. He gets a student discount on ticket prices, so we only paid $5 each! The seats were way up on the bleachers, but we had a really good view of everything from up there.

It’s getting harder to say goodbye

My flight departing Arizona was at 5am, so the night before, I gave my nephew and niece kisses before they went to bed and hugged my sister and brother tight. I live so far away, it’s not easy to just stop by for a visit. And each year I come to visit so many things change. It was so good to be with them again, and I wish I could see them more often.