Around Here...the end of 2014

I cannot believe the year is over! Well I can, but where has time gone? Where have I been the last few months? I feel a bit out of touch right now with this blog and I feel bad I haven't been keeping up lately, but around here things have been very busy and a bit stressful (for a few reasons, but mostly good ones). So to close out the year I'll leave you with a small update on what's been going around here...


Mikey

• Started Middle School and has transitioned fine with a few expected bumps... a new found homework load and responsibility for himself has become a true reality. 

• He has reconnected and rekindled friendships with buddies at his school he hasn't had class with in a few years and all is right in the world again.

• Has turned 12 years old, grew 3inches in the last year, is getting facial hair, and his voice has dropped an octave. Just recently we did not recognize him over the phone! (I have early bloomers and officially no more baby boys)

• He has also auditioned for this year's CHIME winter drama production of Wicked and      landed the lead role of Fiyero, and we can't wait to see him in it in February.

Danny-

• Has thankfully transitioned nicely into high school. He is working hard, getting some great grades and really loving it!

• Joined a social skills intervention program for special needs teens called the PEERS group at CSUN and what a great program that has been for Danny. He has made new friends, has gained a new found confidence and practicing some his new social skills every chance he gets. 

•  He joined the Anime club at school as a direct result and encouragement of this PEERS group. It so nice to see him getting involved at school already and feel some connection with his peers.

• Jerry has started to get him behind the wheel and learning how to drive...a little bit

Christian

I've been grateful that its been an easy transition for our two youngest because honestly this school year has been focused a lot on Chris getting through his Senior year and everything that entails...

• Started his Senior year and in so many ways the beginning of the end of 4 great years of high school at Cleveland Magnet. It seems like yesterday he was just a freshman.

• Learned how to play the snare in order to join and help keep alive the school marching band and was named drum captain. This has been extremely fulfilling for him and will be something he never regret doing. If anything he wished he would have have done it all 4 years.

• Couldn't have made us prouder earlier in the semester than by getting nominated by his school's college counselor for the very prestigious POSSE Scholarship program.  This was a 3 month process of 3 different interview levels and at the end of it all he had been selected as one of the final POSSE Finalists.  Even though he unfortunately did not get this particular scholarship it was truly an achievement in itself!

• Because plan B's are there for a reason- Chris applied to over 11 schools in all and so far has received 7 acceptances letters...Woohoo! We're all feeling blessed to know that he'll have options to fully look at and consider before making a decision as to where he will start college next year. There's a lot to consider including academic programs, location, costs and the results of financial aid, but what's for certain is that there is an ultimate plan that God is unraveling in front of him.

• Other than this he has been enjoying his senior year by attending the school's senior activities with his girlfriend and his best friends, and looking forward to the more exciting ones coming up this next semester, like Prom!

I was determined to get to my Project Life and my One Little Word projects going and guess what...the year's over and neither has really been touched! Ugghh... I've been really disapointed, but in the big scheme of things some things just had to take a back seat.  I am hoping to catch up with them and continue in 2015.

All in all, 2014 has really been a great year and feeling blessed for many things,
but I am looking forward to 2015.

2015 is going to be:
a year of many decisions- some easy, some not, some very exciting!
a year of more performances
a year of exciting moments, proud moments, bitter-sweet moments
a year of cherishing the times we have together and memories made
a year of growth for all of us in faith, maturity, bonding, strength and more importantly Love.
a year of letting go and really letting God!

I'm ready (I think) and I will be keeping you posted as the year progresses of all this new year brings.

In the mean time we'll be celebrating New Year's tonight with family and some good friends, and then finish enjoying our Christmas break together before all goes back to normal.

Thank you all for your continued support and for stopping by to read and follow along.
Your visits mean more to me than you'll ever know.

And to end this 2014 from my little corner.... Have a safe and wonderful New Year!!! 

With Love,

#Novenas2014

These pictures represent last night which ended our successful 2014 Novena season. Although we're missing a few regulars in these pics- our spirit and joy still represents all who made them happen.

This year was special because I noticed something in particular which has meant more to me than ever.  This year our kids and even non-Colombian husbands were the ones asking for them, participating and urging them to happen. Wow, I loved this!

It was special because I noticed that they knew it was that time of year when they got to see this group of friends again. They looked forward to going to someone else's house each night for 9 nights. They even knew who's house was who's this time.

Our kids knew that we would pray and sing in Spanish (whether they understood it or not), that we would share food, laughter and some good old fashion games and prizes.

More importantly they now know that this is part of what makes THEIR Christmas time special. Its not just about the gifts and the craziness, but about getting together with people we love and truly getting to know that Christmas is all about. I believe that they too will fondly remember these Novenas as part of their childhood just like we have....A priceless gift for all us indeed.
 

Thank you once again to all of those who hosted a Novena, 

and to those who came and joined us it was great having you there. 

We truly had a blast!

From my little corner to yours..."Ven, Ven, Ven" and  Feliz Navidad! ;)

XOXO

My travel favorites...

Well hello there! I haven't been back in a while I know, but I have been recently helping Chris get through this very stressful process called 'applying for college'...Uggh! I'll have some thoughts on all of that when its all done, but for now I wanted to get back to my blog. I missed writing, so as I've been reflecting back on our trip, (as long ago that seems to be now), I wanted to share some of my favorite accessories/tips/ideas that I specifically used and found to make our trip so much less stressful for many reasons.  I figured I was still in time to share these with those of you planning on traveling soon for the holidays or anytime thereafter for that reason.  I hope that you'll find these items helpful in your planning and traveling. Here they are:

Packing
Keeping in mind that we were going to be moving between 3 states, and basically live out of our suitcases, and in addition, wanting to avoid extra baggage fees, any unnecessary over packing was out of the question. So I did some research on the best possible way to pack just enough clothes, (the right kinds of clothes) for 5 people and for 8 days. We were also going to be doing a lot of walking, in humid areas, so packing needed to be practical and light- there was no room for cuteness and/or the latest fashions really.  Casual wear and tennis shoes were our calling. 

So I found this travel blog post that basically showed me how to pack up a few outfits at a time into rolls. An amazing piece of travel advice! I was able to pack up 2 pants, 2 shorts, 4 shirts and an extra pair of shoes for each of us into just 2 suitcases! With some extra room to boot and I minimized wrinkling. We each took a sweatshirt and carried that as necessary so it wouldn't overload the bags either. Loved it. Then because we made sure that our hotels had laundry services I also took a plastic container with Tide wash pods and a few dryer sheets so I could wash clothes between cities. I had done this on our Hawaii trip  a few years back and had worked well so I decided to try it again. We saved money by taking our own detergent stuff, and it helped me avoid bringing home a whole bunch of dirty (stinky) laundry too. I will continue to do both of these things on any and all trips because it made packing and traveling pretty much stress free.



Travel Photography
My research included getting information on travel photography, and I found this article by Juliette Fradin on one of my favorite photography blogs called clickinmoms.com. It was about picture taking on trips and I got inspired with ideas of the kinds of pictures I wanted to take on this trip.  It had some great ideas, but I have to say that because our trip was so go-go-go, I really didn't have a chance to think about or set up all the special shots as she suggested, but I still think it makes a good read for all the the great travel information it contained.

Camera bags
In this same article is where I also found my next two favorites. This photographer suggested two different bags for two different situations, but both happen to apply to me for this trip. So I decided to purchase both.


The Lowepro Sling bag-

I had to get resourceful with everything we were taking including my purse and my camera bag. I had to avoid any additional pieces of luggage possible, so this bag became the perfect solution- it turned out to be my purse, my carry-on AND my camera bag for the entirety of the trip. It comes with a padded section for my camera but there was also extra room to carry my tickets, my phone, my travel book (see below), a magazine, a water bottle and even a light sweater once I opened up the zipper section. I carried it cross-body the whole time, and it occasionally would get heavy but I knew that I had everything with me at all times and no extra camera bag to carry. I found that Ebay carries them at the best price available and I got it delivered in less than 2 weeks.



Camera Coats
This was the other great suggestion I decided to
purchase not only for the purpose of this trip, but
because its a way to always protect my camera in a purse when I don't feel like carrying it around in a bulky camera bag and give myself a stylish flare at the same time. For this trip, it provided extra protection for my camera from those rainy days in Washington DC and for the boat trip to and from the Statue of Liberty. And even with this Camera Coat, it fit into the camera compartment of my Lowepro bag. They are a bit pricey, but I bought mine (the one pictured) because it was cute and it was on sale! I don't pay full price for anything f I can help it especially on a trip like this. That's how I roll. ;)


Travel Books

Midori style Travel books are apparently all the rage in agenda carrying nowadays. They are intended for travel journaling, but people are using them for all sorts of reasons- note taking, goal planning, an idea keeper, artwork etc. I was introduced to them by my SIL, and I'm always looking for a cute new way to keep my ideas and time schedule together so I decided to buy a "faux-dori" (a travel book that is similar to the actual Midori brand travel book for half the price). I figured it was the same idea and it would still be a leather covered journal as a way to keep a journal throughout our trip. I wasn't sure I'd do much with it, but I ended up having a great time keeping this up as the days went by. I used some scrapbooking skills to make its own little book, and used stickers, my Instamax pictures, and the memorabilia I gathered to decorate it. I took a small pencil case with some washi-tape, pens, scissors, a small ruler, and decorative extras to complete it. It was a project I happily worked on during our flights to and from and I would find a few minutes every night to journal. So as of right now, my trip is pretty much journaled in its own little notebook (an accomplishment in itself...Truly!) This was actually a great resource for me as I used to refer back to as I wrote my posts about the trips. They also come with 3 notebooks, so I still have 2 more inside my leather book to use for other things and I carry it with me everywhere.

So there they are, my favorite travel tips/ideas and accessories. I love finding a good item and telling my friends about them even more so. I hope you find these interesting enough to try for yourself. You can find these posted on my Pinterest page as well. I'd love to know if you have any of your own travel favorites. We don't travel that often, but I'm always open for a better way to do things when traveling near and far.

From my corner to yours... wishing you happy, stress free travels!!

Our trip to the East Coast- Highlights of NYC (days 1-3)

So I was seriously considering not finishing up these posts. Its almost too much info for anybody, but  I hate not finishing off projects. So for the sake of getting closure, I figured I'd just finish up with at least some highlight picture collages of the last 3 days of our trip in New York. I won't be saying much but I hope the pictures will say it all for me- We did a heck of a lot in just 3 days and we a blast. We Love New York!

Day 1- The Manhattan Sky line view from our hotel room in Long Island City

Our first dinner in the city at John's in Time Square recommended by my SIL Gaby. Delicious pizza in a beautiful renovated church. A great New York meal anytime.

 The kids (and Tito) experience Time Square for the first time
 with the help of Spidey himself.

There is something different going on at every corner.

  It was alive and kicking At Rockefeller Center- Its such a location straight out of the movies. The boys found happiness at Nintendo World before we went on our way to a last minute set up (by a good friend) to see a taping of America's Got Talent
 at the famous Radio City Musical Hall. 

Great 1st night in NYC.

 Day 2-  Started off with a trip to see Lady Liberty, a walk up to her pedestal and a visit to the museum with in its walls. Looking back on the city from the statue is a view I will never forget.

TBT- Jerry and I had gone to NY back in 1998 with Christian who was 18months old at the time. One of the most memorable moments I have of that trip was of watching Chris on the boat to and from the Statue. He was just captivated by the water and wanted to stand by the railing at the top of the boat to watch the water as it moved along. Being able to capture him in this very soulful stance meant so much to me and I get emotional every time I look at them. So I figure I'd share them with you here to fully reminisce.

So remembering these pictures and knowing we were going back to the Statue of Liberty on pretty much the same type of boat 16 years later, I wanted to hopefully get some of the same shots. And I did! Sans the binky in the mouth of course.  ;)
He doesn't remember having taken those baby pictures but he still had that same soulful look and was captivated by this whole experience in a totally new way. So happy that I got to capture these on film too.




Wall Street- This was Jerry's must see part of the trip...his kind of Disneyland. I made sure to point out to the boys the architecture and the layout of the buildings. It the concrete Jungle of the world.

911 Memorial-  An immediate sense of solemnity falls on you as you approach this place. There are no words to explain or ways to wrap my mind around the images going through my head as I sat there imagining what it must have been like there that fateful day.  Even Mikey who wasn't even born then and knew not what it all meant could feel that sense of quiet fall on him. We spent the following morning showing him videos of what happened so he could fully understand the magnitude what this beautiful memorial meant.

(TBT #2- Another picture found from 1998...It gave me some serious goose bumps people!!)

 A YANKEE GAME!!!-  Jerry surprised us by changing our plans for that evening with tickets to Yankees vs. the Boston Red Sox game. Yeah baby!! When would we get the chance to see those two teams play AND in addition we had the privilege of watching Derek Jeter play one of his last games of the season in NYC.
 Let me tell you, those Yankee Fans are hard core!
The subway ride to the Bronx was full of them! Soo cool!

Day 3- Final day in the city and a chance to get a few last things in. We walked to Grand Central Station, Saint Patricks Cathedral (almost too overwhelming to be in there with all the renovations going on inside), walked down Lexington Avenue, saw Saks Fith Avenue, the Apple store under glass, and of course famous FAO Shwartz and the "Big" Piano. The boys gave it a good shot at playing Chopsticks with their feet...soo much fun!

 

 Central Park Tour- This is the last and final tour through Tours by Foot we would take. We almost missed it entirely due to a miscommunication of time, but we made it. Our tour guide Bill, was a lot of fun and for a change was an Actor/Art History major and he knew a lot about Central Park and its history. It was a beautiful, peaceful tour and very green. Picturesque beyond belief especially at the sunset hours.  We can now officially say we have seen Central Park from beginning to end, and oh did Bill make us walk.. A LOT!! This tour takes you from 59th and Fifth Avenue entrance all the way to the other side to Central Park West where it ends at John Lennon's Strawberry Fields and the site of the Dakota  Apartments where he was shot and killed. Worth every step we took.

 And after a long day and so much walking (my pedometer recorded over 20,000+ steps for that one day) we ended this amazing trip with a very big sweet tooth at the famous SERENDIPITY cafe. This was another recommendation from my SIL Gaby. Its cute and quaint and the size of the desserts allowed us to share in the overindulgence of yuminess! 

And then as soon as it had started it was all over...We were headed home! 

We are still looking back and remembering so many great moments and missing so much of these 3 beautiful cities. We are so grateful to our In Laws for joining us once again and for being a part of all those memories we made. I am grateful to Jerry for making such an effort to make sure this happened for us this year. It really was a special trip and the boys and I will never forget it.

Thanks to all of you for coming back each time to keep up and I hope that we could inspire you travelers out there to try a few of the Tours we took. I can't recommend them enough. 

From my little corner to yours...That's all folks! 

Our East Coast Trip- Philadelphia, PA

It only made sense that if we were driving towards New York that we pass through Philly since it is literally the midpoint between WDC and NY.  We also figured it would be a great way to continue the historical tie ins by visiting the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall for the kids. When would we get a chance to do all of this again like this?

Road trips are always cool, but when a road trip can take through a series of 6 or more states all in a few hours time...you can check them all off your list right? The kids loved that. 



Travel Tips- So in my research I found out a few things:

• The Independence Visitor Center, the Liberty Bell Center, and Independence Hall were all within the the same area- making it easy to visit all at once
• The Liberty Bell was a free exhibit and did not require tickets to visit it- Woohoo!
• The Independence Hall Tour tickets were free at the Visitor Center but only if you got there early enough to reserve them (which we wouldn't be)
• But for $1.50/per person (a minimal cost) you could pre-order tickets and pick your tour date and time. So in planning and knowing that we would get to Philadelphia later in the afternoon I went on line here and picked the 4:15pm tour (2nd to last tour of that day) and bought our tickets to make sure we'd give ourselves sometime to get there and still make it.

 The Liberty Bell

The Liberty Bell was surreal to see. You hear so much about it and what it symbolizes, but again to see it in person is always more impacting. It is much bigger than I had expected and there was a security guard who explained the story of how it cracked for the kids to hear and I love that they have it displayed in the middle of this room with Independence Hall in view.

 Independence Hall-



Independence hall tour was once again surreal in that you are walking into a building that at one point housed one of the most important events that helped our founding fathers shape our nation. You can feel it in the air as you walked in. 







The park ranger explained the story of this picture and how it depicts the Assembly room in which the actual Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were drafted and signed. Then he actually walked us into the that exact Assembly room. Can you see it?

Wow! Its just like the picture and the chair in the middle is the original chair George Washington used during that time. They also had Thomas Jefferson's original cane. I personally couldn't help but stare and take in the room to just imagine what it must have looked like with all of these men arguing and scrambling to get these historical moments done.

Ben Franklin
  Also a couple of small blocks away from Independence Hall, we found the burial spot of Benjamin Franklin.  The Christ Church cemetery is located two blocks away, and Ben Franklin's gravestone can be seen just on the other side of an iron gate on the south-east corner of the cemetery.  Its simplicity and lack of grandeur was its beauty and spoke volumes to me of how simple of a man he must have held himself to be. He is buried with his wife and a his son who died at 4 years old from small pox.


The Rocky Steps
After all this American history intake, we had a some time to spare so we went off to look for the Philadelphia Art Museum which is the location of the famous "Rocky steps."  And yes...we became the corny tourists and ran the stairs ourselves.  Another check off the bucket-list for sure ;)

Driving on out of state highways...Hated It!!

I have to say that this following part of the road trip was the most frustrating of our trip for me. We were "supposed" to have a philly cheese steak dinner IN Philadelphia.  However... because the highway system out there is designed the way it is (engineers are fired!) and because Jerry and the GPS system were not getting along so well that night, he missed the proper exit by 1/2 a mile, and we ended up unceremoniously leaving Philadelphia and ended up in New Jersey 5 miles later! Uugghh!  Let's just say this was one of those things I wished would have been different but in looking back it has definitely made for some hysterical memories and its become part of the story of our trip.

Soo good-bye Philly... New York is next.

Thanks for stopping by,

Our East Coast Trip- Washington DC- Day 2 & 3

Just fyi- as you read ahead please know that I am truly trying to keep my story telling to a minimum but oh its so hard!!  Thanks for coming back ;)

Here we go with Washington DC- Day 2

One of the places my Father-In-Law really wanted to see on this trip was the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception- the largest Roman Catholic Church in the US. So it is the morning of Sunday, Aug. 31st, and being the "good practicing Catholics" that we are it was time to go to mass and give Thanks for such an amazing start of our trip, so what better way than to get to do both.











It was massive and magnificent to look at to say the least. The details in the church's decor were indescribable, and as we sat through mass I couldn't help but be distracted in just looking up at the ceilings and the paintings, and wanting to take pictures. Not very respectful, I know, but hey I think God would understand my admiration of one of His works?

Anyway, the jet lag was definitely starting to set in as we got comfortable with our surroundings, so we headed back to the hotel rest up a little for the next tour we had coming up that evening.

We showed up a little early to our tour's meeting point at the Andrew Jackson statue in Lafayette Park so we could take in the park, relax and enjoy the White House during daylight hours which was just as beautiful then as it was lit up at night.







 The weather in DC was as expected- hot, humid and muggy, but it also changes quickly.  As we hung out in front of the White house these huge clouds and thunder and lightning literally rolled in as a small storm seemed to be setting in, and we weren't sure how it safe it would affect our tour. But these tours are done come rain or shine so we were going to stick with whatever happened.









The Lincoln Assassination Tour

Kara was our young host for this tour, and once again turns out that she too is a history buff turned full-time tour guide. Not a bad little gig, huh? 

Of course as she started the tour it began to rain on us, but she came prepared with plastic ponchos for most of us and she kept it moving.

The tour takes you from Lafayette Park all the way to the Ford Theatre and the house where Lincoln actually dies. Coincidentally and as if planned, the rain came down on us and set up a natural stage for the extremely detailed back story that Kara laid out, one historical character at a at a time, as the same way it also rained that fateful night that Lincoln was murdered. She made it really easy to put ourselves back in time at these locations and be able to imagine the horrible events playing out.

I have to say that boys were completing engaged and we all loved it. I was afraid at one point that the rain would be too much for my in-laws to manage along with the amount of walking, but they were the biggest troopers. I loved that they kept saying "Don't worry, its all a part of the experience" and kept up beautifully- Such great sports!!

Washington DC- Day 3

Now its Labor Day, and the last day of our adventure in Washington DC so I wanted to make that day special and as patriotic as possible.  So we traveled the metro over and across state lines into Virginia as the first tour I planned for the that day was the Arlington Cemetery Tour.

This was the last of the DC by Foot tours that we would be taking here in DC, but the one my Father-In-law said we couldn't NOT do while we were here, so he got his wish and we all were in for one of the most memorable experiences by far.

Rebecca was our leader for this one, and she was a native Texan who made yearly trips to DC and the cemetery as a youngster, and actually has a couple family members buried here herself, and she was what in college??...An American History Major! So not shocked, but once again extremely impressed with the incredible amount of information she knew about the history, specific soldiers, and how this cemetery became to be the Nations shrine for those veterans of war who choose to exercise their right to be buried there.

Arlington Cemetery is over 643 acres of land reaching all the way to walls of the Pentagon. There are over 65 designated sections of burial plots of which we were only able to see a few of, but no matter which way you looked, it was a never ending sea of burial markers- a true sight to behold.   

                                                                                                             

We visited John F. Kennedy's grave site and the eternal flame that burns 365 days a year. This grave site alone brought out such an immense feeling of respect for him and all those buried here. He is buried along side Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, two babies, and his brothers Robert and Ted Kennedy.

But one true moment that made this tour exceptional for all was watching the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. WOW... was that an intense thing to witness! I can't begin to explain the absolute seriousness with which this ceremony is taken. It is sacred in its own right. No one, I mean no one is allowed to be sitting while this is taking place!

Once again, only because Rebecca truly explained the history and honor of this ceremony did watching this make it so much more meaningful for us. It made such a difference to know that the service men who guard this tomb have gone through over a years worth of testing and training just to have the honor. The guards selected cannot be ranked higher than a private during year long service as they are not allowed to outrank the unknown soldiers buried. And most impressive is that this is the 2nd hardest badge of service to achieve next to becoming an Astronaut.  Oh no ser!  This was no joke.

It was an honor just to watch.



The United States Capitol -

After Arlington we made our way back to DC for a quick lunch as I had made reservations on line for a tour of the nations Capitol Building.  

Travel Tip- This tour was also free and its something you can book yourself by going straight to the Capitol's website link which is why we did not take this tour through DC by Foot. You can also arrange to get tickets while you're there to see the chambers of the Senate and The House of Representatives (also Free).

However, because we happened to decide to go on the day of a National Holiday, they were not in session so we did not get to privilege to see them....A major disappointment for sure!! Uggh!  But we were able to get to see the Library of Congress and that is grandest library I have ever seen.   Oh to be able to study in a library like that! (2 pictures on the top right corner of the collage).
 

The capitol was not only historical in content but it basically serves as a museum as well. The statues and decorations are very grandiose and to think that the founding fathers roamed around those halls was a bit daunting to think about too. The dome which has its own story to tell is going under some major renovation so we weren't able to get its complete grandness but it was still huge and looked beautiful anyway.

*******
So that was it for Washington DC and the end of the first leg of our trip. We were honestly very sad to leave such a beautiful place. DC was very good to us and although we were technically a bit rushed  we did real good in getting to see all the major spots and fully enjoy them.

Some of the notes we took about our DC trip in general:

• My In-laws felt that you really need a full week to see all of DC properly

• The Next time we would go to a visit at least a few of the 19+ Smithsonians they have there- we didn't get to see any

• We would go back and maybe spend more time at the individual monuments during the day.

• Chris and I would go back and do a couple more of those tours like the Secrets and Scandals or the Ghosts of Georgetown...Oooooooh!

So at this point, we spend our last night in WDC and the next day we rent a car and off to Philadelphia we go, as part of our small road trip as we make our way to New York City.

I hope you enjoyed this and that you'll be back to check that out too. Thanks again!