A Sad Day

Today, I attended daily mass with my family and then witnessed the blessings of my cousin's ashes.  My cousin, Enrique, passed away on January 29th, just five days ago.  He leaves behind three daughters and two grand kids.  I'm sad today because a part of my childhood died.  Enrique and I grew up together, we were in the same grade and because it was Ajo, usually the same classes.  The last time I remember spending time with him was going to a Too Short concert at the Celebrity Theater.  LOL! TOO SHORT!  I can't remember who else performed but it was the early 90s.

During mass I thought about the fact that my kids never even met him.  He was my cousin (my mom and his dad are sister and brother).  And my kids never met him.  That makes me sad.  Family dynamics are interesting.   I remember spending time with Enrique at my Nana and Tata's house.  I remember going home with him during our lunch hour.  He was the big brother I never had.  Rest in peace, Enrique.  You are loved and missed.  Watch over your daughters and your grandchildren, and especially your dad.

Proud Mama

I am one proud mama.  I have two great kids. sure I complain about some of the things they do or decisions they make. BUT, I'm still their mom and I love them so very much.  It was a very busy week, but two exciting things from the week are Joshua playing basketball and Alexandra playing her violin.

Joshua has been playing basketball for SJV this winter (his second year). Here are a few photos from his game this week.  And yes,  he is wearing a red headband!  A decision of his that I don't agree with. :-)

Alexandra has been taking violin lessons for a little over a year.  Last night she performed with her teacher at Kat's Artist Tree Winter Recital.  I am so proud of her!! Click the link to see and hear her play!!

Alexandra playing La Paloma

Alexandra and Joshua, remember that your mama loves you more than Disneyland, infinity times infinity!

Shulsquita Weekend

Since both Anthony & I could not coordinate a common week to take off this summer we decided to take a few weekend trips.  The first one was our trip to Tucson with our friends, the Shulskis... Fred, Melissa, Hannah, Paul and Claire.  We drove up Friday morning and encountered a minor wind storm.  We were lucky, the storm was north/west of us, so we missed it.

We stayed at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort.  This place was awesome!  It was beautiful, had all the amenities you needed and the best part, had flavored water stations scattered throughout the resort.  That was the best!

We had a room that looked out to the front of the resort.  It was beautiful at night.  I tried to take a couple of night shots, but they didn't come out right.  

This is a shot of the pool area.  There were two pools, a splash pad, a couple of hot tubs and a lazy river.  We had fun playing in all areas!

On Saturday, Anthony & Fred went golfing, while Melissa and I took the kids swimming.  We were out there for almost four hours!  And the kids didn't not get tired!  Hungry, yes. Tired, no.  So we met up with the boys, and went to lunch.  We want to try a place many people recommended but when we arrived there were about 30 people waiting to be seated! So, we tried the place across the street. 

After lunch, we decided to go to Colossal Cave.  We had fun, the tour guide was a hoot!

On Sunday, Melissa and I had our "me" time at the spa getting pedis.  My first. And I loved it!  I'll be going at least monthly, going forward.

While we went to the spa, the boys took the kids swimming.  

More swimming, showers, then it was time to leave.  Our time at Starr Pass went by toooooooo fast! 

We decided to have lunch in the old pueblo before we left.  We went to Wings Over Broadway, a restaurant owned by our friend Roxanne's brother.  If you are ever in the Tucson area, STOP BY and have some BACON RANCH FRIES.  I wish I would have taken a photo of this, instead I have a photo of my sandwich and tater tots. :-) Which was delicious!

In addition, we were able to spend some time with a very special person, my God-Daughter, Celestina.  She is a junior at the university in Tucson. :-)  LOVE YOU CELESTINA!

Joshua fell asleep while waiting for his wings.  I guess I finally found the secret to getting him to sleep . . . let him swim, at least two hours a day for three straight days.  Seemed to do the trick!

 And my last photo, is Joshua with the Most Interesting Man, who put him sleep. :-)

All in all it was a great weekend!  Can't wait until we can do this again! Vegas, 2014!