Ivette & Jose

Together we love adventures and traveling. We love meeting new people, trying new foods, visiting new places, meeting up with old friends and family, and visiting new attractions that we haven’t experienced. We have traveled from the west coast to the east coast. We travel from southern California to northern California, Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, Oklahoma, New York, Niagara Falls, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and Nicaragua. These are just our past adventures and we have a lot of new destinations, domestic and international, that we see in our and our children’s horizons. When possible we enjoy traveling with other family members and friends. We believe our adventures not only create memorable moments for our family but also allow our children and those to come with memorable moments, cultural understanding but also personal growth.

As a family, we have many traditions. We enjoy spending as much time together as possible even though our family members live in different states. The Holidays are the best time of the year for us, we look forward to celebrating it together. At the beginning of the year we all get together and decide where and who will host our reunion or holiday get-togethers. We try to get as many family members as possible to join. We alternate holidays to be able to spend time with everyone, thanksgiving dinner we will spend with Ivette’s family, and Christmas with Jose’s family and the next year we alternate. There are times that we host a holiday and our home is full of family members and laughter. We have made it a tradition of our own to take road trips at least twice a year and plan to meet with family members on our route. This helps us stay in touch with family that we are not able to see as often as others. We also open our home to our nieces and nephews for two weeks during the summer. This allows their parents a much-needed break, as well as allowing our nieces and nephews to be together and enjoy each other's company, and let's not leave out getting spoiled. Our family has close friends that we enjoy spending time with too. We enjoy attending local fairs and celebrating our children's birthdays together as well as other neighborhood gatherings. We believe that having these traditions is important because it provides stability not just for the children but also for the adults in a world that can feel a little unpredictable and busy at times. .

Ivette’s family is spread out all over the country. Her immediate family is close-knit, it consists of her parents and three brothers. Her parents are supportive and involved in their lives, her father is a biotech mechanical engineer and her mother is a homemaker. The oldest of her male brothers is married and has three children, her younger brothers are twins, single, and enjoy traveling. They have instilled in their kids the importance of education, perseverance, hard work, and family. Despite living in different states, they all get together at least once or twice a year and try to make one of those gatherings during the holidays. Ivette has a blended family, gatherings are full of fun involving different traditions, customs, and food. They are extremely close and enjoy traveling together when possible. They like cooking and attending baseball games together. Other times they will just schedule a long weekend get-together to catch up and spend time together. Distance is not a barrier for Ivette and her family, they will always make time for family.

Jose comes from a very large family. Jose’s father is one out of 20 siblings. Family reunions are the best and we get to have so much fun. Growing up with large families gives children the opportunity to learn from each other, build relationships, and learn about support structure. That is what is offered in Jose’s family. A bond that is built through social skills and close relationships.

We have four very active French Bulldogs. They have tons of energy and love to eat. Our pets enjoy going out on walks and hikes, going on vacations with the family, and being outside to play and run around all day. Our pets are children-friendly and love to cuddle and have their bellies rubbed. They are well-behaved and love playing fetch. They are good-natured and have a good temperament. Our pets make great companions.

Kamila and Kaira are Jose’s daughters. Kamila is 12 years old and is in middle school. She is very active and enjoys playing outside, swimming, reading, arts and crafts, and listening to music. Kamila enjoys making jewelry and pearler beads in her free time. Kaira is 14 and started attending an early college high school. Kaira enjoys walking and being active, reading, and arts and crafts. Both girls are lovable and caring with younger children. They enjoy playing and helping with their younger cousins. Both girls are excited to welcome a younger sibling to play and spend time with.

- Passion for cooking, make a delicious chicken marsala. Enjoys going hiking. - Enjoys making small projects out of recycled material. Has an herb and vegetable garden. - Ridden an elephant and fond of them. - Fan of the San Francisco Giants and 49ers.

- Enjoys gardening and have over 20 rose bushes on my front lawn. - A fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers (enjoy it when they play against my wife’s favorite team). - Has visited 23 states and 19 countries. - Enjoys barbecuing, listening to the radio, and dancing.

Our home is a modern two-story dwelling that has 4 bedrooms and three bathrooms located in an urban town. We are surrounded by nature. There are parks, schools, and walking trails nearby, aquatic centers and jungle gyms within short driving distance. We have a spacious family room which is our favorite place in our home. Our home is very spacious with enough room for children to run around, play board games, and watch television. The outside of our home consists of a large front yard, a very large side yard, and a large backyard. During the summer months, we set up an inflatable bouncy castle and an above-ground pool for the children and adults to enjoy. During the summer and winter months, we put a projector on the side of the house so we can watch movies outside while we cook smores over the fire pit. We also enjoy barbeque during the summer days and invite our friends over for a good cookout. Hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, and chicken are our favorite meals. We also enjoy celebrating birthdays outside with the bouncy castle while having our daughters' friends over. During the rest of the year, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the mountains.