The Vazquez's of Fort Myers

WOW time flies!

2008-12-19T00:47:00.002-02:00

I can not believe the last time I blogged was the first day of school. I am a slacker Tina. I will blog in a few days about Gabys singing debut it was great. But for this blog I am going to copy my sisters.

Christmas Traditions

While checking out her blog today, I found this fun survey and since I'm completely exhausted from all of the Christmas season running around, I thought I'd cheat and "borrow" this idea!!
Here it goes:)

1~Wrapping paper or gift bags?? Paper w/big bows and curling ribbon! It's way more fun to s ee someone struggling with ribbons then just pulling a wad of tissue paper out of a bag:) I love this answer so I am keeping it.
2~Real or Artificial tree?? Artificial but if we lived where it was not 85 on Christmas I would love a real one.
3~When do you put up your tree? As soon after Thanksgiving as we can.
4~When do you take the tree down? sometime the first week in January
5~Do you like eggnog? No, yuck!
6~Favorite gift received as a child? My Unicycle.
7~Easiest person to buy for? My kids, they ask for 2 or 3 things and I can usually get almost all of what they want.
8~Do you have a nativity scene? Yes
9~Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail! Do people seriously send email Christmas cards??? I have already gotten a few of these.
10~Worst Christmas gift ever received? one of those roomba vacuum cleaners that just runs around the house by itself... a little creepy if you ask me and I had a house with almost all wood floors! Sorry Mom, but I love you anyway!! I have to agree with this one.
11~Favorite Christmas movie? Frosty the Snowman and Polar Express
12~When do you start shopping for gifts? Usually I start on Black Friday but this year I will start on Sat. Did I really say that.
13~Have you ever recycled a Christmas gift? you betcha! How many candles and lotions can one person use?? lol Completely agree
14~Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? anything chocolate!!
15~Lights on the tree? ah, duh!! Does anyone have a tree in their house without lights???
16~Favorite Christmas song? I go the Third Day CD from my Secret Santa at work this year and it is awesome.
17~Travel for Christmas or stay home? I have mixed feelings about this one. I would love to have all my family together for Christmas without having to travel, but I guess as long as we are here and they are there... traveling will be always be in someone's Christmas plans! One year I want to just go somewhere to get away from it all but I guess it is more about and more fun with family and friends around.
18~Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes
19~Angel or star on the tree top? neither, I have a snowman and man is he cute!! ME TOO!
20~Open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? As a child we all went to church Christmas Eve and when we got home we could pick one presents from under the tree to open. I loved it! It always made me feel like I was getting away with something:) Now, we open them all in the morning. Same Here. We might change this up a little this year.
21~Most annoying thing about this time of year? People to crazy over the perfect gift.
22~Favorite ornament? The ones my kids have made.
23~Favorite Christmas dinner? Roast Duck
24~What do you want for Christmas this year? A NAP

OK, that's mine! Now I'd love to read yours:) Do one on your blog and link back here and here so I can read them!

A Day of First for all of the Girls!!

2008-08-25T18:37:00.004-02:00

   The girls before heading off to school. They were both so excited.
   Me and the girls!
   Gaby in front of her new class.
   Through the window of Gaby's class. She adjusted well.
   Check out Sofie's kicks. She loves them.

Last Monday was a day of firsts for all of the Vazquez girls. Sofie started her first day of 1st grade which she loves. Gaby started her first day of Preschool, which she loves. And I started my first day of work (in 6 years) which I also love. I am teaching Gym at a local preschool where Gaby is going. I thought she would have a hard time adjusting since she has only ever been with me, but she loves her teachers Ms Gloria and Ms Kelly. She is having so much fun. Sofie loves 1st grade, she is still trying to understand though why she does not have homework every night. I keep trying to tell her to enjoy it now, because I am sure it is coming.

Gaby is 3!!!!

2008-08-03T00:46:00.003-02:00

Gaby eating her Cold Stone Ice Cream!

This is the Cars cake that I made for her!

Gaby in her Lightning McQueen bikini!! She would not take it off.

Gaby with her cake!

Paige, Abby, Carter, Sofie, and Gaby!!

I love this kid!! Gaby turned 3 yesterday. She still continues to amaze me every day. And when she is around you are always laughing, she is definitely the one that will keep the party going. We had a low key day on her actual birthday since John had Lasik that morning. We went out to Coldstone for ice cream that night. Today we went to my moms house for a party. When we got there she had some Cars decorations and balloons, Gaby loved it. She got a lot of cool Cars things and she got a Cars bikini that my mom made for her. She wanted to sleep in it tonight, no kidding, she would not take it off, I had to take it off of her an put her PJs on after she went to sleep. Johns parents, her Abu and Papa also came up for the weekend to celebrate with her. She loves her Abu and Papa. It has been a great birthday and I love her more and more everyday, she is so funny and loving to be around. Here are a few BDay pics.

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW!

2008-08-03T00:33:00.003-02:00

On Friday the 1st John had Lasik eye surgery. He said it was amazing and he can see clearly now without any glasses or contact lenses. The girls and I watched the surgery and it got my stomach going a little. Here is a pic of John in sunglasses which he has not worn in over 8 years. He looks so different. We also let Sofie smash his glasses she thought that was cool!

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-04T23:23:00.004-02:00

At the Fireworks show!
The bike parade!
Abby claiming her 1st place. Look at her face, she was so happy!!
Sofie and Abby
In the backyard playing with sparklers!

Today is the 4th of July. Last night we went and saw a big fireworks display and then this morning we went to the clubhouse and the kids decorated their bikes and scooters for a patriotic wheels parade. Later in the day they had a pie and ice cream social where they also announced the winner of the patriotic t-shirt decorating, Abby won 1st place. She was so excited and we are all so proud of her. Later after dinner the kids played with sparklers and the ever faithful pop its. They are now watching the fireworks on TV that are in New York. We had a great and restful holiday. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY TO EVERYONE!!

Happy Anniversary

2008-07-03T13:21:00.002-02:00

Today is our 9th Anniversary. We have had a great marriage so far with many ups and downs and a lot of adventures. We have enjoyed our life together so far with travels and family and just enjoying each other. John and I have been through a lot in our 9 married years together so far and I am sure that there will be much more in the future. We have two beautiful daughters and a great home and a happy life to show for it. I am truly looking forward to many many more years to come. I want to thank my husband and let both he and everyone else know how much I love him and our life together, more now and the day we were married. Here's to another 9.

I LOVE YOU HON!

The Disney Cruise

2008-07-01T22:26:00.003-02:00

The girls with Mickey before getting on the boat.
The girls at the drill for the life boats.
The Elephant. The kids loved to see which new ones they would get each night.
The girls loved burying John in the sand.

This past weekend we went on a Disney Cruise. It was sooooo much fun!! If anyone asks I will always say you should go. If you have ever seen the commercial for the Disney Cruise and the little girl is still talking about the cruise a year later I think that it is actually true. We went with the four of us and we also took my middle niece, Abby with us. They all had such a good time and were so appreciative of everything. I am posting a few pics from our vacation. I have posted all of them on my facebook page if you want to see them.

What happens when your 2 year old gets a hold of your digital camera!!

2008-06-13T09:46:00.002-02:00

Here are some pics that Gaby took one day when she got a hold of our camera. She was trying to take pictures of the inside of her mouth. Enjoy the comic relief!!!

In the Water!

2008-05-12T18:30:00.005-02:00

John and the kids in the river.
Sofie standing tall. I could not rotate. Sorry!
John with the sting rays.
Gaby floating in the river.
Sofie petting a sting ray. It was so funny. There was a handicap ramp down into the sting ray area and the kids would run down it and get the attention of a sting ray and then it would chase them back up the ramp. It was hilarious. Sofie snorkeling.

Here are just a few pics of the kids and us enjoying the water play areas at Discovery Cove. We went snorkeling and floating in addition to swimming with the dolphins.

Underwater

2008-05-12T17:56:00.005-02:00

This fish was quite scary looking with its big teeth. Hey Uncle Rusty, do you know what it is?
Some of the fish around the reef.
A hugh sting ray or man a ray, not really sure which is which.
I just liked this pretty blue fish.
Gaby was so excited when she put her head under water and saw these Nemo fish.

Here are some pics that we took underwater in the Coral Reef at Discovery Cove. There is no zoom on the underwater cameras so what you see is how close we actually got. The fish we vibrant colors and very cool. The man-a-rays and sting rays were large and a little scary.

AMAZING!!!!

2008-05-12T10:28:00.003-02:00

After we swam with the dolphins they let Gaby come in the water with us and pet the dolphins and hug them. She thought that was the coolest thing.
This is Sofia on her swim. You hold onto the dorsal fin and flipper and they pull you along. Look at the smile on her face.
John with Dexter.

Sofie and I with Corral.

All I can say is that anyone who has not been before and has the opportunity, I would say ditch Disney this time and head over to Discovery Cove. It was such an awesome experience and we all got to actually relax and connect as a family. When you walk in you have to take off all of your jewelry and put your stuff in a locker, so that means no cell phones and no watches. The food was unlimited and awesome and it was an awesome adventure. I want to go back again already. I am trying to figure out an excuse to go. I will do another post when I get all of the pictures back from Costco. Also I can not post the ones we took yet because I let my battery for the camera in the hotel. They are going to send it to me.

Determination

2008-04-29T22:31:00.001-02:00

Well I had said in a previous blog that I know where the girls get their sense of adventure from, their mom. I now also know where Sofia gets her determination (John calls it stubborness) from, me. Here is a little background story that I am sure other than myself, my mom and sister are the only other two people remember. I was about 5 or 6 and I was determined to get my one turn, this is a move in twirling where you throw the baton in the air, turn around under it and then catch it. I stayed outside one night for about 5-6 hours because I said I was not coming in until I got it. Well I did and then I went inside.

Sofia made a decision that she was going to get her round off back handspring, this is in gymnastics, before she turned 6. Tonight's practice was her last chance and she was not going to leave until she got it. Well, she DID. I am so happy for her. She got in the car after practice and said "I am so proud of myself mom." I love her more everyday.

The first video clip is her getting it and sticking it and the second one is when she honks the horn. When they learn a new move in gymnastics and they accomplish it, they get to honk the horn and then everyone in the gym watches them. She did awesome.

Old School Birthday Party

2008-04-26T21:26:00.000-02:00

For Sofie's 6th Birthday she wanted a Roller Skating party. Wow! What a time warp that is when you walk into a roller rink. It feels and looks just like they did when we were kids. She had a great time. It was a great turnout and everyone enjoyed themselves. I made the roller skate cake that is in the previous blog and she loved it. I am so proud to be Sofia's mom. She truly is a great and caring girl. She cares about others and their feelings. A little girl came and her mom was going to be coming back later to pick her up. The little girl was upset and Sofie asked her what was wrong and she said that she was sad because her mom was not back yet with the present for Sofie. Sofie then tells her that that is OK because her being there was as good as a present. I Love Her. Happy 6th Birthday Sofie you are an awesome daughter that I am so proud of.

I DID IT!!

2008-04-26T00:35:00.000-02:00

Well I truly surprised myself this evening. Sofie is having a roller skating party tomorrow for her 6th birthday and she wanted a roller skating cake. I could not find anyone who made them so I decided to make it myself. I found an idea online to use a tennis shoe cake pan and make it from that. Here is how it turned out. I love it. We will see what Sofie thinks in the morning. I also made some cupcakes which are funny but I am going to have to make some adjustments to them before I take them to a child's party. Look at them and you will see what I mean.

Roller Coaster Girls!!

2008-04-19T23:17:00.000-02:00

Well the Vazquez girls definitely got their sense of adventure from their mother and not their father. They both love roller coasters. Over this past Spring break we went to Disney for the weekend where Gaby road her first roller coaster, The Barnstormer. She loved it and was smiling from ear to ear. She talked about it the entire time and wanted to keep riding it.

Then later in the week we went for a day trip up to Busch Gardens. It was a lot of fun. Sofie took a spin on her first roller coaster that went upside down, or as she likes to say a loop de loop. She has been on Everest at Animal Kingdom before and loves it and I think it goes almost upside down but it is hard to really tell since it is all in the dark. But the Scorpion at Busch Gardens definitely does. She wants her Aunt Tina and Uncle Rusty to come down and ride the Scorpion with her.

NO FEAR Girls!! I love It!

I LOVE MATER!!!

2008-04-15T11:18:00.000-02:00

Gaby's favorite movie is CARS. She says that she is having a Cars birthday and that it is going to be at Costco. She loves the pizza there. Anyhow, when you ask her what her favorite movie is she says Cars. On the way home from Disney this weekend I was asking her what her favorite part of the weekend was and she said that it was seeing Mater. Here are some picks of him.

Fashion Show

2008-03-11T22:41:00.000-02:00

This past Saturday we took the girls to a Fashion show at a local mall here in Ft Myers. Gaby stole the show when she walked out on stage. She took the mike and said HI to everyone and said I'm Gaby! As if that was all there was to the whole thing. Anyhow, Gaby won for her age group and she is going to have a photo shoot and be on the cover of Parent Child magazine for the July issue. I am also so proud of Sofie because instead of being upset that she did not win, she was so excited for Gaby and was jumping up and down with her saying how proud she was of her sister. I love my girls. They also had the Easter Bunny there for lunch. Here is the DIVA!!

Roller Skating at the NET

2008-03-11T15:19:00.000-02:00

Last Wednesday we went Roller skating at the NET. It was Preschool skate time so I thought it would be a perfect time to take Gaby for the first time. It was a lot of fun. She did very well and loved it. She cried bloody murder when it was time to leave. I think she was up and down about an even number of times as you can see from the video. Anyhow, she loves roller skating now.

Ice Skating!!

2008-03-11T12:35:00.000-02:00

We went Ice skating at Germain Arena a couple of weekends ago. We went with a few friends and their kids. It was a lot of fun. Sofia picked up skating very quickly as did she pick up a boy who she was skating with all night. We are in trouble. I already sat her down for a little talk about things like that and the fact that she is too young for it. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the pics. John never got on the ice so he did not fall. I didn't fall either, but then again I was holding onto the sled most of the time with the kids.

Something's Missing!!

2008-02-16T12:43:00.000-02:00

Well for the past week Sofie has had a very loose tooth. And on Wed. Feb 13th the day after we got home from Chicago, she finally lost it. She lost her first tooth at school and since it was so loose and she would not pull it out before, she insisted it needed to come out on its own, there was not even any blood when it came out. She went to the nurses office where they gave her a little treasure box to wear around her neck with her tooth in it. When I picked her up from school I could tell she lost it before she even smiled or got in the car. She was holding the treasure box so tightly around her neck and she had the goofiest little smile on her face. She was so excited to finally get her name on the lost tooth bulletin board in her class. The next morning when she woke to find what the tooth fairy had left her under her pillow, it sounded like the running of the bulls was happening upstairs. She was running around with such excitement. Oh, what a wonder it is to be a child and have all of these things to believe in.

My Angels!!!

2008-02-16T12:32:00.000-02:00

My Angels are Sofie and Gaby. Here are my Angels making Snow Angels. This was the first time they ever got to do this and they thought it was really cool.

Also, there is a short video of Gaby singing. Anyone who knows her, knows she loves to sing.

Sledding!!!!

2008-02-16T12:18:00.000-02:00

We went sledding in Chicago. When we were in Chicago we stayed at my friend Sandy's Moms house. They have a hill in their backyard and this is where we went sledding. The kids had a ball. There are pics here of Sofie (in white jacket and purple bottoms) Sofie, (in all pink), and Sandy's girls (in all white). They all had a blast. Enjoy the pics and videos. See if you notice the sign in the background at the bottom of the hill, Sandy and I hit this everytime we tried to sled.

Snowball Fight

2008-02-16T12:00:00.000-02:00

"I going to throw a snowball at YOU!!!" That is what Gaby keeps saying. She was so excited to play in the snow. I think her favorite part was throwing snowballs at mommy. Sofie was the same, she enjoyed throwing them at me especially when I had the camera in my hands. Here is a pick of Gaby throwing a snowball and then of Sofia throwing one. The one of Sofie, if you look in the top left part of the pic you can see the snowball before it has gotten to me. Enjoy, we sure did!!

It SNOWING!!!!!!

2008-02-12T17:31:00.000-02:00

No, not in Ft Myers, in Chicago. Over the weekend the girls and I went with a friend of mine and her girls to Chicago for the weekend. The girls got to see and play in the snow and they loved it. I am going to put a few posts with the pics and videos.

The Biggest Upset in NFL History

2008-02-04T05:27:00.000-02:00

So, when is a season that ends 18-1 a bad season? When the 1 comes in the last game...

Unbelievable Super Bowl last night. I was sweating so much that I thought I was playing in the game. My stomach still hurts from watching the game and being nervous.

I think that these pictures say it all...

It's not over yet though. I heard that the Patriots are protesting the outcome of the game because the secret videotapes that they watched had different plays than the Giants actually used. :)

The First of Many!

2008-01-31T23:21:00.000-02:00

Well, Sofie just completed the first of many school projects. She is in Kindergarten and this was her first school project. She was so excited about it and came up with the idea and the planning of the project all by herself. She had to do a project celebrating the 100th day of school. She came up with 100 sea shells on the shore. Her title is, Sofia sells 100 sea shells by the sea shore, because you can not see it very well in the pic. I am so proud of her and I love the fact that she loves school.

GOT IT ON EBAY!!!!

2008-01-27T22:36:00.000-02:00

Believe it or not, a car is sold every 53 seconds on EBAY. John has been bidding on a BMW. He finally won an auction last Thursday and we went to pick it up in Miami this weekend. It is a beautiful car and he is more than pleased with it. There are also two future BMW models in the pics.

Tea Party Friends!!

2008-01-13T22:14:00.000-02:00

I found Gaby this evening playing tea party with our new puppy. He just sat in the chair and did not seem to mind the whole thing. What a great dog. I am so happy. And I think that these pictures show what a good friendship starts like. The girls love him and he loves them.

Our New Addition

2008-01-12T21:41:00.000-02:00

So we finally did it. We have been talking about it for over a year now and we finally found one that was suited just for us. We got a dog today. It is a 3 month old mix between a shitzu and a poodle. He is black and white and so much fun. He plays his little heart out chasing the girls around the yard and then curls up on your lap for a rest. He loves to be picked up and held which is a huge advantage in our house. Enjoy the pics and I am sure there will be more fun things to come. With potty training a puppy and a toddler at the same time there is bound to be funny things happening.

WE HAVE A MONKEY IN THE HOUSE!!!

2008-01-05T23:37:00.000-02:00

I have always told everyone that Gaby is a MONKEY. I think this is proof of it. For Christmas, Santa brought the girls a 3 story doll house. This evening while making dinner I heard Gaby calling HELP! HELP!. I went into the play room to find her like this. Funny but now I have to stop it.

Happy New Year

2008-01-04T20:00:00.000-02:00

We were in NC for New Years Eve 2007. We went to a friend of my sisters house to celebrate. We played games and enjoyed the time together. There were 16 kids their and they all made it till midnight and without any major incidents. I did not really make any New Years resolutions for 2008. Of course like almost everyone else, I want to loose some weight. The main things I really hope for in 2008 is happiness for everyone that I know and love and most of all for everyones Health. We have been blessed in this area and I can only pray that it continues. I am looking forward to 2008 not because of any major changes that are going to be happening, but because of all of the little things that I am going to try very hard to stop and appreciate more.

Happy NEW YEAR to All. Here is to a GREAT 2008!!! LOL

A Day in Greenville, SC

2008-01-04T19:50:00.000-02:00

During our trip to NC we took a dat trip to Greenville, SC. We went to the zoo there. It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun. The kids all had a great time getting outside and running around. It is always fun and a little crazy spending time with my sister and her family. We all really do get along great and enjoy spending time with each other. I am going to show you a few pics of us that day you can also click on my sisters blog to see some more pics from that day. When it was time to leave the kids nor us were very happy. I was hoping for a major snow storm that would have us blocked in there for a few more days. Oh Well, we will be headed back soon.

Christmas in North Carolina 2007

2008-01-04T19:41:00.000-02:00

In June of 2007 my sister made a major move to NC, they moved up there to help start a church. With a move like that brings many fun new adventures. The holidays of course being one of them. My side of the family all ventured up to her house for Christmas. Thankfully she has a huge house up there and all 13 of us fit in her house quite comfortably. We celebrated Christmas with them on the 26th. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a great time catching up with each other. It was my sisters family of 5, our family of 4, my parents, my brother, and my grandmother. I was so happy that she made the trip up there as well to be with all of us for the holiday. It was a lot of traveling but I am so glad that we spent our two week Christmas vacation the way we did.

Christmas in Miami 2007

2008-01-04T19:31:00.000-02:00

Our Christmas in Miami for 2007 was the first time in about 4 years that the whole family, that lives in the US, was able to all get together for the holidays. It was crazy and a lot of fun. The girls got to see their cousins that they have not seen in about a year. They are 3 boys, a five year old and twin 4 year olds. They all had a great time together. It is always nice spending time with family and getting to see each other. It seems that everyone keeps moving further apart and it gets harder to see everyone at the same time. Merry Christmas to everyone and enjoy this precious family time together.

Cookie Time

2008-01-04T19:21:00.000-02:00

The start of our Chirstmas vacation "WHIRLWIND" began in Miami. We headed down to Miami the Friday before Christmas to spend some time with Johns family. The night before Christmas Eve the girls got to bake cookies with Abu (that is their Grandma on Johns side) for the first time. They were so excited about this. She was awesome about it even letting the girls crack the eggs, and knead the dough, and of course make a mess. The kids always have such a great time at Abu and Papas house. And believe it or Not, the cookies actually tasted really good.

The Competition Begins!!!

2007-12-12T20:35:00.000-02:00

Well, this past weekend Sofia had her first Gymnastics meet. She was so excited about it. She was the youngest one at the meet but she carried herself with poise and confidence, which should be of no surprise to those of you that know her. She placed 4th on Beam, 3rd on Floor Excerise, 1st on Bars, and 3rd All Around. We were all so proud of her. I was the most proud however, when she went up to the girl who one first and gave her a big hug and said congratulations. The meets are still fun now, that the kids are not out for blood yet. It was so much fun and a glimpse into what is yet to come for many of our Saturday's.

Santa Came Early

2007-12-01T23:46:00.000-02:00

Santa came to visit us a little early this year. John loves doing this. We were trying to get pics for the Christmas cards. I am also trying to add a video. If it works you will understand what I am about to write. "I bet the Santa at your mall does not do this!" And we are sober. Just having a little fun. We still have not grown up yet.

Gabys First Haircut

2007-11-12T18:38:00.001-02:00

Well she is over 2 years old and so I decided that it was finally time to get Gaby her first haircut. This went a lot smoother than Sofia's first haircut. There was no crying or screaming. She got her haircut at the Magic Kingdom. They do an awesome job there with the little ones. They put Mickey stickers all over her legs and then gave her two of those light up spinners. This kept her occupied the whole time. After it was done she got a certificate as well as a Mouse Ears hat that says First Haircut. It does not look all that different but I can leave her hair down for a day.

Halloween 2007

2007-11-01T16:10:00.000-02:00

This year we went Trick or Treating for Halloween. One of our friends hosted a pot luck at her house before trick or treating and then after everyone chowed down, the 7 familes went out trick or treating together. It was a lot of fun. The girls really got a kick out of the whole thing. They got way too much candy and we gave most of it to Sofies teacher this morning for ther goody box. Here are some pics of them in their costumes.

Pumpkin Carving 2007

2007-11-01T16:04:00.001-02:00

Adventures in Pumpkin carving. That is what we had at out house the other night. Sofie had a school project where she had to guess the number of seeds in the pumpkin and then actually count them to see how many were in there. I told her that since it was her homework she had to dig out the seeds. That is until she almost lost her lunch in the pumpkin. I guess she has a weak stomach when it comes to the insides of a pumpkin. Gaby was unsure of the whole thing but she got into it as well. By the way there were 186 seeds.

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-28T12:47:00.001-02:00

We went to the Pumpkin Patch the Friday night. It was a lot of fun. This is the first year that Gaby knew what we were doing and understood it. Altough there were not any really nice big pumpkins, the kids had no problem picking a ton of little ones out.

Relaxing on a Sunday Afternoon

2007-10-28T12:32:00.000-02:00

For those of you who really know me, you know how rare this is. We were actually home for most of the day this Sunday afternoon. It was nice out so I set up the $8 easel that I scooped up at Peir 1 when they were going out of business. I put the kids in Johns old t-shirts gave them some paint and let them have at it. They stayed out there for over 2 hours just painting and having fun. We watched them and sat on the patio reading the newspaper. This was a lot of fun and very relaxing. I am really thinking that we should do this more often.

Fishing Town

2007-10-03T22:54:00.000-02:00

On one of the days in Spain we went took a side trip to a little fishing town called Cudillero. This was awesome. We parked right next to the ocean and then walked through the town because as you will see in some of the pics, it is crazy to drive there. The houses are litteraly on top of each other and the roads are smaller then our one way roads, however, they are meant for two cars. It was an adventure driving anywhere there. John did a great job. Although driving home from there, we took a few side roads that ended up taking us around the side of a mountain that the roads were very curvy. Sofie got a little car sick and we had to stop at the side of the road for a little while. This town is set around the fishing industry. At around 4pm everyday is when the fishermen come back to shore. Everyone meets them down by the water to see the catch. The women then hang the fish from their balcony windows to dry them out. Life is really different there, but it seems calm and relaxed and yet they still get things done. The pics really say it all about this town. Enjoy!

Flights to Family

2007-10-03T12:01:00.000-02:00

Over half of Johns family actually still lives in Spain so we try to make it there as often as we can, usually once a year. It is never any fun getting there, as I am sure you read in my earlier blog, but it is always great once we get there. Everyone is always so excited to see us, well mainly the kids. I can see his grandma's spirits rise as soon as she sees the girls. We went to a few places that we had never been before there, so that was a lot of fun. For this blog I will concentrate on the Family aspect of the trip and then on my next one I will talk about the places we visited. Families are those things we all have that we count on, on a daily basis and sometimes take for granted. I really did not want to make the trip over there again so soon, we were just there last summer, but I know that everyone is getting older and you never know what tomorrow will bring. And I fugured now we can do it we might as well. HIs grandmothers house is on the side of the mountain and this is where she as always lived. Johns mom and aunts were actually born in that house. It is a beautiful little house with so much to say for itself. You can look around and only imagine the things those walls have seen and heard. It is hard to find that there nowadays because so many of us live in new houses and move around alot. John's dads sister, actually still lives in her parents house as well where all of his siblings were born and grew up. We spent one night looking at old pics, that is always a lot of fun. We played with the sheep, the chickens, the dogs and the cows. We got veggies from the garden for lunch and lived quite a relaxing life for a week. There is something to be said for taking it easy and slow. The quality of life is better there I believe and the families are all so close. It is always good to be home and with the friends and family you know and love. We had a great trip there and will probably be back again next year.

Testing Patience

2007-09-28T21:45:00.001-02:00

Last week we went on vacation to Spain. We have done this before with the kids so we expected kind of the same for the plane trip over there. We were sadly mistaken. We left Miami International Airport at 8:30pm Sunday night and we did not get to John's grandma's house in Spain until 2:30am Tuesday morning. Now, it is not supposed to take that long or else we would probably never go. We had a good flight to Madrid then our connector was a little delayed. We got on our connector and we were in the air for about 1 hour when the landing gear went down and we started the decent to land. Suddenly the pilot sped up and went back into the air. Now, my heart is in my throat and who knows what is in my pants, I think we are being hijacked or who knows what. The pilot comes on the speaker finally saying the fog is too heavy and he can not land. He is going to make a second attempt and then he will have to go to a different airport. He circles for a while and then tries again. No Luck!! Now, here is where the PATIENCE starts to come into play. Instead of going to an airport close to where we were supposed to go, we go all the way back to Madrid. Then when we land we are made aware that we are not in the US anymore. Instead of hanging around the aiport for the next flight, we are told that we will go to baggage and collect our luggage where we will board a bus to drive to Asturias (the airport we were trying to fly to). We are told that it is a 5 hour max bus ride. En route, we are made aware that it is far longer than 5 hours. The bus makes two stops, in the middle of a city and then at the train station, before ever going to the airport. When we left Madrid there were 2 buses full of people, when we got to the airport (where everyone was supposed to be going) there was at a maximum of 15 people and 8 of them were us. Only in Spain!. So after a 9 hour plane ride to Madrid and then about another 3 hour plane ride above Spain going nowhere, a 7 1/2 hour bus ride, and a 45 minute car ride we finally make it to our destination. This was a true test of Patience, I did lose it on the bus when we started making alternate stops, I was yelling, but of course it was in English so no one understood me. The kids though, were a Grace from Above, because they were so good. I Thank God everyday for what he has blessed me with. In the end, I know it was all worth it, we had a great time with the family, but you better believe that I am going to try to get some of our money back. Check back on my blog in a few days I will actually post pics of Spain.

Welcome to our Blog!

2007-09-25T22:15:00.000-02:00

OK, so it took a while to merge onto the Information Superhighway! But here we are. We just got back from Spain a couple of days ago and we are trying to get things back to normal. Our life here in Fort Myers is hectic enough with Sofia, 5 and Gaby, 2 but when you throw a trip to Europe in the mix, it makes things even more nutty.

So, check in every once in a while to see what is going on in our lives as we try and figure out this crazy thing called parenthood.