2005 Holiday newsletter

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people...and on earth peace, good will toward men... " Luke 2:8-14

To our dearest family and friends, we hope this holiday greeting finds you all warm, happy and healthy. Jacob continues to grow and GROW and GROW. He is learning new words, new songs and new ways to get mommy and daddy tired and asleep by 9pm. Jake loves his Elmo, Barney, the "TubbieTubbies", and the Wiggles (he even took a date to see them live in concert). But it doesn't compare to his maddening obsession with choo-choos. (Suffice it to say we are now addicted to caffeine and Tivo just to keep up with Jakers and maintain our pre-child hobbies and interests.)

Believe it or not, we are enjoying his terrible twos (knowing that the teenage years are still ahead of us), because he is just the bestest kid we could ask for.

We are blessed to have family and friends so close to help us. With "Kappie", his cousins (2 more were born this year), his 15+ neighborhood girlfriends, and his daycare teachers and classmates, JakeJake doesn't have a shortage of activities and love to keep him laughing, learning and enjoying being two.

We were able to finally take several vacations and weekend trips this year (see more pictures from 2005 on Snapfish). It's not an easy task when we're traveling with a kid, 2 dogs and at times, Kappa and her BIG-bag-o’-hair stuff. In May, we spent a day out in Thurmont, MD (near Camp David) to celebrate Mother's Day at the Cozy Inn buffet and a train ride on the Walkersville Southern Railroad, MD.

In June, we spent a weekend in Lancaster and Strasburg, PA riding through the Amish countryside on Jakie's favorite "Thomas the Tank Engine" train and gorging at every Pennsylvania Dutch buffet. Them folks can cook.

In late August, we ventured back to OBX (Corolla, NC) for a week with my brother's family, the Cruz’es and my friend since high school, Eric.

We did nothing but lounge around on the beach, by the pool and eat all the seafood we could see. For a brief moment, we experienced a simpler life again.

In October, we went apple picking in Purcellville, VA. Trina baked the best apple pies.

And just recently in mid-December, about 20 family members from Columbus, OH to northern VA to the eastern shores in MD, we celebrated Kappa's official admittance to the AARP. We all hopped on a cruise ship to the Bahamas and Coco Cay islands. Oh, how I miss eating at Windjammer. Did you notice a recurring theme for the Arzaga's when we go vacationing?

Both of our loving pups, Paddington and Tyler turned eight this year. They are as fluffy and cuddly as ever. Rain or shine, sleet or snow, our canine kids still have the energy and good health to keep us going on our daily walks around South Riding. The neighborhood kids came over to help devour the birthday cakes with Paddi and Tyler.

Ernesto is still working towards retirement, only 22 years left to cashing in on his 401k. Working at CACI is challenging and interesting, if not fun. Really, it is. I find myself writing volumes and volumes of software requirements, functional designs, test scripts and even online help and training documentation for the DoD. I learn something new everyday. I sometimes wonder if people are actually reading and reviewing my 30, sometimes 300+ page papers I churn out every other week. It’s not up to par with Grisham’s thrillers or kid-friendly like Harry Potter, but it’s very good reading for the insomniacs. Really, it is.

Trina has been promoted again at E*Trade. She is managing a team performing due diligence on loan portfolios of other mortgage entities. We are all so proud of her. Trina's business travels have taken her across the continental US, including, Cleveland, Nashville and San Antonio. Hopefully, my sugar mamma will make it all worth her while when she earns her bonus.

Thankfully, Trina is cutting down on her workload and travels soon (Ernesto can't handle being Mr. Mom for more than 2 days in a row), as we are expecting our second child in the summer of 2006. We are excited about our expanding brood. We figured we've got 2 cars, 2 dogs, why not 2 kids?!? We're sure Jacob, Paddi and Tyler can't wait to have another rugrat joining them in wreaking havoc to our already unstable sanity.

We wish we could see you all more often. Let’s make plans to meet at a restaurant ;-}. May your holidays be merry and bright and hope the coming New Year brings you continued good health and much joy!
Ernesto Arzaga, Jr., Trina Arzaga,
Jacob Arzaga, Joel Arzaga,
Paddington and Tyler too!