Letter to Santa

December already

WOW time flies I cant believe it has been almost 4 months since my last post..LOL I left to Colorado to take Bianca there & get settled in before she started at college. I have been so busy with her, the rest of the kids, remodel on the house, the monkey situation that is still going on after 2 years that I have neglected my blog yet once again. I am a terrible BLOGGER! I have been helping Bianca with her blog so all the post you see I have put them up for her. She emails me the pictures & what she wants to say & I post it...LOL You would think she would of learned how to blog by now.
Well I am going to try & keep this up to date..as there is a new year starting & I am sure there will be a lot of things to share with you.

Going Away Dinner

This was Bianca's going away dinner, of coarse being the procrastinator that I am it wasn't planned until the last minute. Just a few close friends & family getting together to say goodbye. It was a couple of nights before heading off to Colorado.
Bianca didn't tell me that she was inviting a few of her friends so imagine my surprise when I saw the bill at the end of the night...LOL
We had conversation, good food, a great time & most importantly we got to spend some time with Bianca before she left.

Scrapbook Room

OK, OK everyone has been asking me to post pictures of my scrapbook room so i finally got around to taking some the other day.

The room is not completely finished but it is presentable. The room will always be a work in progress..LOL For those that know me I have changed my scrapbook room so many times I cant even count. Every time I find new furniture I like I change it. My sister get all my hand me downs so she is always encouraging the change..LOL

The embellishments are in jars that I purchased at target, wal-mart & prima. I have all my ribbon, flowers, embellishments, gems, & inks sorted by color that took me forever to do. I still have baggies with items to sort they are in my MISC. bin...LOL

The furniture is all from IKEA. I LOVED the dark brown/blk look some call it espresso. I got everything to match piece by piece.

The bins are from target, Ek, & IKEA I added tags & ribbons on them to help me find my items more efficiently. As you can see there are still tags to be made.

My computer & electronic devices are along the back wall all lines up on the Ek cubes that are no longer being sold..thank god i found furniture to match :0)

My working table is big enough for 2 but i prefer to use the whole table myself..LOL When my daughter scraps she gets the fold out table and outs it catty-corner to me so that we can talk & share, boy am I going to miss her when she leaves to college next month. As you can see under the table are more bins...LOL

I made some XL canvas to hang on the wall it spells out FAMILY they are pictures of my children from the last 3 years.

I keep all my paper & embellishments in the bins. The paper are kept in plastic 12x12 paper holders each one labeled & in alphabetical order as you can see I have a ton of girl paper...LOL The stickers & themed embellishments are in the bins separated by plastic file tabs from cropper hopper.

I tried to take pictures of whatever i could to give you the idea of how i keep my scrapbook room oh & lets not forget the matching doggy bed..LOL

Here are some pictures of the room. I hope it inspires you!

Busch Gardens 2008

Busch Gardens was GREAT! except for the scorching 98 degrees with no breeze that we had going on. I tell you it was so hot that we couldn't even see straight, it mad the breeze from the roller coasters feel fantastic..lol Lets not mention the water rides thank god they had 4 of them..lol We went up to Busch Garden because we gave Bianca a graduation gift that entailed her being in their zoo career for a week working alongside the zookeepers, handlers & veterinarians at Busch Gardens. So we drove up on Friday and dropped her off Sat morning & continued on to the park for ourselves. We ran into her one time while Jr was getting a tattoo...lol She was getting to know the park inside & out. She has only one phone call a day & it is a night as she has a really rough schedule. Bianca gets up @ 5:00am every morning gets ready has breakfast & then works in her zoo area from 7 -12 then has lunch and goes back to her zoo area from 1-3. At 3 they go & do other activities that entail learning all there is to know about working with zoo animals. She then gets dinner around 6 then showers, free time & phone calls. There are a few field trips she will go on one is to the Busch Gardens Animal Outpost where the zoo animals are held before entering or leaving to go to another zoo, the other field trip is at Discovery Cove where she will swim with dolphins and learn about marine animals. She also gets a few photo ops with some animals and lots of hands on training. I think this is an experience she will never forget. I hope the gift we gave her measures up to her expectations. I will keep you posted on her week as it draws to a close. She has made a few friends one of them is also going to Colorado for college so i hope they stay friends for a very long time.

Sea World Trip

We Went on a trip to Sea World & their new water park Aquatica. It was so much fun! We were a group of 11 yep you read correctly 11 so it was a bit hectic but all in all worth every moment. The kids had so much fun it had been a few years since we had been to Sea World the weather was great it wasn't too crowded it was just right. We woke up at 6:00 am to get to Aquatica by 7 the park opened @ 9 but we were allowed in an hour early some special we received when we bought our tickets online...lol Anyhow the new park is so popular that the gates close by 10 because they have met capacity, is that insane or what? Cant wait we are going to be going to Busch Gardens next weekend this summer is going to be jam packed with fun things for us to do all together before my baby girl goes away to college...

Well June 4th has come & gone Bianca has graduated. I have been so stressed trying to get everything ready for her BIG move to Colorado. I am so nervous about her going yet i am not acting like it (at least not in front of her). I am trying to stay strong for her sake. Bianca reads alot in to my actions and i dont want her to be afraid, nervous, or second guess her decision about going out there & pursuing her dream. It seems like she will be gone for so long but time flies & in a blink of an eye they are all grown up. She will be done with her associates before i know it and be on her way back to Fl where she wants to then go to UF's wonderful Veterinarian school of medicine. At least she will be in Fl and she will be closer to home...lol I guess i am selfish i just know i am going to miss her soooo very much more than she will ever know. As out of all 5 of my kids she is the one closest to me & the one i share everything with.

Graduation

CLASS OF 2008

I CANT BELIEVE IT June 4th is almost here! Bianca is finally graduating...I am so very, very proud of her and all that she has accomplished while in high school.

I look forward to seeing her become all that she can be in the future. I know her dreams of becoming a wildlife vet will come true, the talent and determination that she has will take her far in life.

This is one of the happiest moments for me.

I LOVE YOU Bianca

Bianca's Senior Prom

Bianca's Senior Prom

On Saturday Bianca had her Senior prom it was a hectic day! Hair, make up, clothes, pictures...boy it was so stressful.

Bianca looked breathtaking!!! The dress was such an unusual color for a prom dress, it made her stand out in a crowd. The dress was a HUGE HIT! Everyone LOVED it & thought she was so beautiful she got compliments on it all night long... I had to keep looking at her she just looked so pretty.

All of the pictures were taken outside before going to meet up with everyone & getting in the hummer limo that was taking them all to prom. The pictures look like a professional took them but it was just lil old me. I did out do myself in the picture taking department...lol I cant believe how great they turned out but then again i had a beautiful subject.

WOW this is her SENIOR prom where has the time gone? I really wish my grandmother Mimi was here to see her she would say "Mi niña linda, preciosa" she always had a way with words. I know she was looking down upon her on that special day.

My little Bunky is growing up right before my eyes. Only 15 more days till the GRADUATION!

Jr's Activities

I know i have been talking all about the girls & cheerleading and haven't been saying much about my one & only boy. Jr is in karate & baseball so he keeps himself very busy. . He is already a yellow belt hopefully next week when he gets tested he will get another stripe towards getting his orange belt.

Lil Rich is also in baseball he goes to practice 2 times a week and has 1 to 2 games a week. He has really gotten 110% better since his 1st season back in Oct of 07. All the coaches that have worked with him have said he has great potential in this sport.

Here are a couple of pictures of him in action.

Ohana "Means Family"

Every year we take a family portrait and this year Bianca decided to take care of it for me. She picked out everyones outfits & drove them to the studio and had them posing for pictures. I am very proud of her she really is a GREAT daughter and a WONDERFUL BIG sister. Here is one of the pictures they look so amazing in it!!! Ohana, means family...and I thank god every day for mine.

Check out my Slide Show!

Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach was our last hoorah! It was our final cheer competition and i have to say one of the BEST! The weather was great a little to great we all got sunburned..lol
the competition itself was on the beach and we had a blast. The kids really enjoyed themselves. I invited my brother along so he could see his oldest niece perform for the last time as she is a senior this year & will be going away to college in Sept. This was a very emotional competition for a lot of us as this is the last year some of the girls will compete so it feels strange knowing that Bianca will no longer be traveling with us and helping me out with her sisters. We are going to miss her but i know that she is going to be great as a vet and even though she will no longer cheer with everyone i know that her heart will always be with Cheer Fla, the coaches, the teammates & the friends she made over the years. We celebrated our last day with a HUGE team bbq on the beach on Sunday it was very cold & windy as you can see by the pictures.
Our last BIG get together will be @ our end of the year banquet at the Hard Rock!!! Boy Our we going to have fun!!!!

Check out my Slide Show!

ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE

Back from islands of adventure. Besides the horrible weather ALL weekend long we had a good time. All of us were together and that is what matters most! The girls competed on Sat & Sun but got to have fun at the parks in between despite the weather. We got soaked on Sat it rained all day long..lol We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel on site and got to party like rock stars..they really gave us the 5 star treatment and the rooms were great, well they better be for $400 bucks a night...lol
Another advantage we had for staying on site was the fast pass access to get on all the rides with no wait especially being that this was spring break & the rides were packed with 60-80 minute waits but we just blew on by everyone...well worth it!
Here are some pictures of the fun filled weekend!

National Champions Again....

We arrived back from Tampa last night at about 2:00 am. The competition was GREAT! Both Anissa's, Ivy & Bunky's teams got 1st place! Even though it was a very very long & tiring weekend the final outcome makes it all worth it.

I am so proud of my kids they really try as hard as they can and give it 110% all the time. We have 1 last competition to go to this season & it's at Daytona Beach, FL. We might be going to one other to try & win a bid to compete at the Cheer competition of ALL cheer competitions "WORLDS" were only the best of the best compete.

If we get to go compete for a bid @ Worlds we will then have 3 more competitions to go to. Since this is Bianca's last year to cheer since she is going away to college i really hope she gets to go & experience the thrill & excitement of competing among all the top teams from all of the country.

I will keep you posted and let you know if they go for the bid or not. But for now we are the National Champions!!!!!
GO CHEER FLORIDA

Tired

I am sooooooooooo tired I have been on the go everyday for weeks with the girls & cheerleading. It is all worth it when you see your kids compete & then win 1st place over 15 teams and then to top it off win overall Grand Champs!!!! They are doing so great which I am glad as this is Bianca's Last year to cheer since she will be leaving to college soon. They won a few weeks back at a National in Miami and they were invited to preform the pre-game & half time show at the Miami Heat Game. They did AWESOME I am so very proud of them!

Into March...

Well March is here and it seems like just yesterday we were celebrating New Years!

I am teaching the Limited Edition "Believe" word book by Bo-bunny. It is a wonderful keepsake to place your magical memories in.

There is also the "LuCkY" album a 4-leaf clover board book using the "Green Day" Collection by Reminisce. This mini album was designed & created by me so it is one of a kind you cant get it any where else...lol It really is a cute project. You don't have to be celebrating St Patty's day to create it I have photos of my family as i feel so lucky to have them in my life.

Moving right along I made a "Princess" accordion album that is so beautiful, I used the Creative Imaginations "Regina" Castle accordion book, EK's Disney Princess papers & Jolee's.

There is also a Bo-Bunny "Easter" board book, and a 2 page "Spring" layout using Reminisce Collection, and last but not least the 2 page layout "Your Just so Lucky" using Rusty Pickles "Lucky" collection.

These classes are just the beginning of a long list of creative & unique classes to come...
I am still adding pictures of the classes they will all be updated by tomorrow i need to take some pictures of the other projects.

Disney Dreams Come True!

Let me just tell you a little bit about the amazing week I had. We went on a family vacation last week. We went to Walt Disney World for 5 days and hit up all 4 theme parks it was to celebrate Jr's 6th b-day. On our 3rd day we were at Epcot you can just picture this all of us arguing like the crazy cubans that we are, fighting over where we should go first and so on. We finally decided on a location the Finding Nemo ride which is so cute you really must go & see it. Well back to the story when we were about to get on the ride 2 Disney Cast Members pulled us aside & they shouted "You & your family are the winners of the Year of a Million Dreams contest!

Now before i tell you what prize we won i have to go on the record for those of you who don't personally know me. I am a HUGE i mean HUGE Disney fanatic...i am not kidding i love anything and everything Disney. So you can imagine my reaction when we won!!!! The prize we won was so fabulous i couldn't believe what i was hearing i had to have them repeat it twice..lol This particular prize is given out only once a month and there is only 12 total to be given out we were the second family to win the prize this year. I felt so totally honored I was 1 of the lucky 12!!!

We won 45 minutes of private time with 18 of Disney's greatest characters. They arranged a private area for all the characters to meet with us later on that afternoon. This was so incredible the kids were excited (not as much as I was...lol) We got to see all the Princesses and their handsome Princes and lets not forget the Fab 5 Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, & Pluto but they weren't alone they brought Chip & Dale and Donald's girlfriend Daisy along!

The area they took us to was decorated so lovely they had a beautiful enchanted backdrop that had the castle in the far back it was a picture perfect setting. Not only did we get one on one time with all the characters we were given autograph books signed by all of them & not just with their signatures but little sayings to each of us it was very nice. Along with the autograph book came a professional photographer for the whole time we were there. The photographer was snapping away and taking tons of pictures. Then to top it off FREE 5x7 coupons to get the photos that were taken of us was that not great? I couldn't believe it i never win anything some would say i am down right unlucky.

WOW this was a great gift. I am so glad we won, oh did i mention that the prize was for your average family of 4 but they allowed all 13 of us yes you read it correctly 13 of us to participate which i thought was wonderful all in itself.

I don't think i will ever experience anything as great as that for as long as i live, i know i am a grown up but i still feel like a little kid inside especially when I'm at Walt Disney World.

NEW START!

Hi everyone,
This NEW YEAR has started out to be a GREAT one! Starting the new year with lots of changes in my life all for the better.

I will keep you posted as all the New Year resolutions transpire here are a few...

*New job (DONE)
*Loose weight (in the process)
*Mommy makeover surgery
*New car
*New wardrobe
*Win my monkey lawsuit (hopefully soon)

Please keep checking back you never know what is going to be going on next...