We celebrated several more birthdays in the family over this past week. I wished I would find the time to dedicate a seperate post for each individual that had a birthday, but I gave in knowing it would never get done and settled with lumping them all into one. Maybe we could all find something better to do a certain time of year so we don't end up with even more birthdays in the summer time...
First, our niece Clarissa turned 3 years old! Wow, how time goes by - it seems like just yesterday that I watched the miracle of her birth. Now, she's grown into this adorable little angel with a very spirited personality. It was painful for her to have to pose for the picture above, and while she isn't looking at the camera or smiling (nor is it a very clear picture), at least she isn't looking away. At her birthday party, the kids played games, tossed water balloons at each other, ate lots of food & cake and opened up gifts.
As we were getting ready to leave Clarissa's party, we decided to stop by Armando's sister Eva's house. Eva wasn't able to go to the birthday party because she was still celebrating the birth of her son who was born the day before. He was born at home and weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds! He does still have that precious newborn look and aura, but he's as big as a 2 month old. 
On Thursday, our niece Angelica turned 15! None of us can believe it has been 15 years since she arrived and changed all of our lives. She continues to amaze us and often will make us caulk our heads sideways, looking astonished and wondering how the heck a 15 year old could possibly have said that. I really do need to dedicate an entire post to this girl, but for now I'll end her brief birthday recognition with this great picture of her with the frog she caught in a stream while at the beach on her birthday...
On Friday, the day after his sister Angelica's birthday, was our nephew Antonio's 12th birthday. Antonio has always been a sweet, cuddly boy. And even at 12 years old, he will wake up in the morning, sit or lay next to you, wrap himself around you and just cuddle while you both wake up. What a sweet boy! And just for proof, below is a picture of Antonio snuggling with his new baby bunny rabbit he named Penelope...
Today is my stepdad George's 60th birthday! We celebrated yesterday as the family gathered at my house. George has been battling with various serious health issues for many, many years now (a special thank you to the soulless/heartless people that sent him to Vietnam). At 60 years old, he is still full of life, love and a strong will to fight through each obstacle that tries to physically and mentally pull him down. He is a beautiful soul, a loving and gentle man and a great father to all of us girls. Below is a picture of him, his daughter Cyndi and his grandson Roman.
This coming Thursday, my sister Mary turns 26...oh, I forgot, she's staying 25 from now on. Mary travels a lot but has stayed in the area for a few weeks now, traveling only from Geneva's to my house. Though she'd rather be in California with her man for her birthday, we are thankful she isn't going to make it. Maybe we'll be blessed with warm weather so we can go up to the river with some cold beer and sit in the sun like we used to...
Happy Birthday Everyone - I love you all and will look forward to many, many more birth days!
Esperanza and I stayed with Geneva and the kids for about a week. Their new home is cozy, comfortable and homey. I think though that when you have a bunch of kids in a house, it's hard for it not to feel that way. Our week long visit flew by. We spent a day wondering around downtown getting to know the area and on another day we strolled though the Saturday market looking at all the arts, crafts and produce. One of the days we spend driving around visiting the schools the kids will be going to this fall. It was so nice to be part of that, to have not just a connection with the kids' home, but to also know where they will be spending their days during the school year. The rest of the time we pretty much hung out around the house cooking, cleaning, playing with the kids and watching Geneva organize her new life and home. 
We also went to up to the Washougal river one of the days they were here. Anycia ended up wanting to spend a few hours with her Grandma and Grandpa instead of going to the river so we dropped her off at my moms house and headed up the river road to my favorite spot on the river where the Angelica, Antonio and Armando swam. Esperanza and I waded in the water but didn't feel up to getting all the way in. Unfortunately, I must have left my camera at home that day cause I just realized I have no pictures of that adventure. Oh well, we have the memories. 
