Mina 2011

A video montage of Mina age 2-3

My parents came into town a few weeks ago and it was so nice to have them here. The first stop was the studio to show them the town of O'Hare. As you enter O'Hare, on your left, is Mina's Coffee Shop, named after the little munchkin herself.  Leo's tribute to his son in the town is Lukas' barber shop where my brother, James, was also a featured extra, as a marine getting a tattoo. 

My Dad makes his big screen debut as a man standing outside town hall. Alejandro loved his height, to make Little Boy look that much smaller, so I imagine he will make it into the film.

  Leo gave him some direction on set. There are so many moving parts to each frame of film and every detail is important.

My mom was working hard that week, putting in 12 hour days on set, as a Spider Lady, one of the town gossips. She is in about 5 scenes total! Mina just loved being on set with Grandma & Grandpa, and keeps asking when they are coming again.

 While Grandma was working, Grandpa was a huge help, reading to the kids at bedtime.

One of the kids favorite spots to hang is the indoor playroom at the Rosarito Beach Hotel, and Grandpa is the best at the towers since he can make them so high.

 The kids both seem to have the gift of rhythm from their father, as they rock out to their own beats.

 Lukas' favorite game with Grandpa was charging through the towers of blocks. He had a blast.

 Dad also joined in our volleyball games, which we've been having a couple nights a week, in the sand outside our condo. They get pretty competitive. Just this last week I got nailed in the face by a spike from the actor who plays London, the older brother in the film. Notice the number 1 we are holding up though here since we dominated that night!

This last week we were visiting by Roger & Carrie, and our nieces and nephew. Mina just loves Ellie and Thomas and the kids all played so well together. It is so much fun as the kids grow to get the cousins all together. We will miss them and all the visitors but we are so grateful family was able to visit these last few weeks.

We are already at day 42 of filming with only about a month to go. This last month will be grueling, as all Saturdays from here on out are full, 12 hr shoots, so the only day of any rest is Sunday. It is going so well though, and we have been blessed to get to know some of the cast members well. The nice thing about being on location and spending so much time with everyone working on the film is that you get to develop relationships. It is such a unique experience that we feel very blessed to have, despite the hard work. The film is looking gorgeous so hopefully it all pays off!

A little family time...

 Last weekend, Leo had a full weekend off with Mexican independence day. It was so nice to have a 2 day weekend with him! We took a day trip to San Diego on Saturday and stopped at Sea World with the kids, since we now have passes.

 Since Lukas had an appt. in LA the following week, I took the kids to OC for a few days and stayed with my parents. Our first stop to break up the drive, was Chuck E Cheese. The kids loved the Kiddie Coaster. It was pretty cute to see them riding together.

 This was Lukas's first trip to Chuck E Cheese since he could walk and boy did he get around!

 Mina enjoyed riding on some giant motorized stuffed animals at the Irvine Spectrum.

 Mina and Lukas loved park time, since there really aren't any here in Mexico, and they got to have a playdate with Mina's friend Jack. The kids were all cracking up together with Grandma.

Lukas ended the week ready for the bummer of a USC game. He looked better than they did that night. Fight on boys!

Happy 1st Birthday Lukas!

 Happy birthday Lukas! We love you baby boy! You have brought so much joy to our lives. Here are some moments captured at Lukas's party...

Lukas's favorite food is hands down watermelon. He destroys it!

 Enjoying his new table & chairs. We'll photoshop his sister's doll out later.

 Mina took a good shot at the giant spiderman pinata. When in Mexico...

 We found out Lukas's favorite candy...lollipops.

Enjoying his cake pop!

Last, a video of memories from Lukas's 1st year of life...a family tradition...

Happy birthday Leo!

 I am a day late celebrating Leo's birthday because we were busy partying yesterday. We celebrated with his parents, our friends here, including the family of "Little Boy." Leo grilled up some delicious meat, fish, and veggies, including a gigantic zucchini from our garden back home. His shirt is courtesy of Skylar, Mitch, and Pietro, and the front and back contain our favorite lines from the script, which Leo wrote. It is thus far, my favorite scene filmed.

 The kids all had a blast playing in the sand, busting open a pinata, and eating gorgeous cakepops made by Lukas's Godmother, Tia Robyn. We actually doubled up on the celebrating since Leo will be filming all day on Lukas's birthday and won't really have much of a chance to see him that day. Leo's cake was a giant chipwhich, reminiscent of the ones my mom used to make for our birthdays when we were little.

As for the kids and I, we are just so grateful that God gave us the gift of Leo! He is an amazing husband and father, constantly sacrificing for us by working long hours, rushing home when he can to be there for bedtime, leading us with his wisdom, and uplifting us in prayer. He is our hero! So God, today we give you the thanks for bringing this wonderful man into the world and specifically, our lives.

What a week!

What a week it has been already. Mina started ballet classes here in Rosarito, and she is absolutely loving them. I wasn't sure how she would be with an hour long class after only ever going half an hour before. She actually wanted to stay for the next class when she was done. The teachers love her and have praised her behavior (she listens to them far better than to me ;-)). Below is a little preview of her newest skills.

We had a little getaway midweek to the Baja wine country, Valle de Guadalupe, which was a stunning drive along the coast and a quiet evening with Leo since he was actually able to leave set with us at about 7 pm (a very rare treat). The following day we had another big day, getting to do a test flight of the helicopter ride from San Diego, straight into the studios, which some the actors will be taking. Lukas slept right through the ride, but Mina loved it. We created a monster, however, teaching her how to speak into the microphone on her headset.

We arrived safely into the studio with the smoothest flight I have ever ridden. We then escaped from our powerless home, during one of the largest U.S. blackouts ever, by going to see The Lion King at the movies here. Fortunately, power returned in the middle of the night, which was a big relief for the production today. We have friends in town this weekend for birthday festivities so off to prepare!

Week 1 of 11 Complete!

They have finished their first week of shooting. The schedule has been grueling for all involved, including the kids and I. Leo had 2 night shoots this first week so Mina, Lukas, and I escaped to San Diego for a day at Sea World & a play day with some family friends.

 The filming this week was on location at "Mr. Hashimoto's" house. The house was constructed for the film and will be donated to a poor family living in a shack nearby. The detail of the interior is incredible.

 Every inch of the house has been so carefully decorated in the mindset of Mr. Hashimoto.

The film experience has been hard work, but so blessed so far. So many talented artists, actors, and business minds are working countless hours to bring the pages of this script to life. Perhaps the greatest blessing is having Fr. Juan Rivas, a friend and faithful priest, staying in the same building as us, bringing us the Eucharist, and words of wisdom each day. Our daily bread is sustaining us, the scriptures keeping us focused, and the fellowship of fellow mission driven Catholics supporting us from all around. It is a beautiful process that we will keep you posted on as we progress. Godspeed into week 2!