Some Family Time

Random family pics. More events await us!

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We got Paloma a Fisher-Price hammock off Craigslist. 20 bucks and it's going back on the Craigslist market. Score!

My brother was in town from Minnesota for a few days for Thanksgiving. Here is lifting weights: his niece.

She couldn't wait to indirectly have some turkey.

Our cousin Haydee dropped by for T-day dinner.

Sushi...check! On Friday, we got our sushi fix and went to Koi in Seal Beach. Real, authentic sushi made by Japanese people. Yum!! It was all grown-ups this time: me, Fernando my brother Moses and our fabulous Guerrero cousins, Tricia, Kenny, and Norman. We went back to the house and Paloma was up waiting to meet them.

Yesterday, Auntie Nora and Uncle Manny hosted a gathering at their house. Auntie Remy, Auntie Nora and Mom chatting it up.

The dudes: Uncle Ted, Uncle Manny and Dad.

Paloma was mesmerized by Kenny's clapping.

Group pic!

One week left...I want it to go by sloooowly!

David's 30-Something Birthday

On Friday, we went to my cousin Armilyn and David's house to celebrate his birthday.

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David with Ky, Maia and Alex before blowing out the candles on his birthday treats.

Boy wonder Alex.

Armilyn giving the bunny ears on Sweet P.

Paloma's amused by Alex's energy. "Hi Pawooooma!!!"

Ky gave us a fabulous coffee shop-style guitar performance in the living room. He denied my request for "Smelly Cat".

Ah! A new soothing position to entertain Paloma. Brilliant!

Happy birthday, cousin-in-law!

Sweet P's Party - Part Uno

One of my friends made up this nickname. And I love it! Here are just a few pics from a gathering in her honor at our house on Sunday. We're still collecting pictures.

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Me and the babe.
The Nix men - Alex, David, and Ed - underneath the angel's trumpet plant in my parents' garden.The other Ancheta ladies - my Aunt Amie, JC, and the ever-so-sweet Jasmine. Little miss can count to 14 and say "chew" in Spanish. What a smarty!

The Angeles family. We got to meet little Alyssa.

More pics to come!

Hanging out with Armilyn and Alex

On Tuesday, we went to Armilyn's house for a tasty breakfast before we explored OC. It was so wonderful to see Alex and how much he has grown in all his rambunctiousness.

I also got to play with the new camera that my dad gave us. I can't wait to get a little more creative!

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These guys were ready to start our day.

My favorite 7-year-old ham of a nephew.

We headed to The Camp. Alex plants a wet one on his mom in the gazebo.

My very talented and creative cousin sells her Fashion Cards at a fabulous new store that sells handcrafted goods, Seed People's Market.

Unique handmade items, ample space, brilliant lighting, alluring display...and a mini movie theater inside. It's store love!

Oh sooo delish. Milk + Honey after. Shaved ice with toppings galore: mochi bits, cheesecake pieces, brownies, almonds, strawberries, etcetera!

Alex shows off his lovely ears.

We went to Central Park in Huntington Beach to visit the duckies.

Here, ducky, ducky...

At the dock of the man-made lake.

Armilyn had this extra baby seat at her house. We're working on our next milestone: sitting up. I was going to hand her a pencil to practice some simple math, but maybe that was too much. ;-)

Off to the USA!

Yes! We did it! We made it here to the US with no tears. None! The anticipation of being trapped for endless hours on a plane with our little one was unbearable for me, but we prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. I just wanted Paloma to be comfortable and I seriously prayed that we'd have a stress-free flight. I felt the grace! The reality is that we now have an international family, so we're expected to make these extensive trips for a long time...well, forever. They do say the experience gets worse as children get a little older and mobile. Yikes! But I won't worry about that now.

Here's a few pics of our 6-hour stopover in Munich.

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Huntington Beach in Germany? No, it's a logo for Hofbrauhaus, a famous local brewery. Okay, who bit off whose logo?

Fernando couldn't help but bite into the human-sized Toblerone.

Yay for blatant advertising on cigs. Smoking kills, people. It kills!

Fernando and Paloma stand in front of the sinners' box. Hehe...

We found a very quiet and peaceful area of the airport, where I slept for a good hour. Fernando's turn watching the baberoo and falling asleep, too.

We had a delicious German lunch, sauerkraut and all!

The best apfelstrudel (apple strudel) I've had in my life. Authentic, buttery, warm....perfection!

Our honey bunny anticipating the next flight, on which she slept 7 hours straight. Also, we were able to watch 2 movies back to back! It was easier entertaining ourselves on the plane than at home. Thanks, P!

Neighborhood Party in Sant Marti

Ahhh! I'm totally backlogged on my entries! Time to rewind the past few weeks. Let's cut to the chase...

What I love about Barcelona is the rich tradition in the neigborhoods. The "Festa Major de La Verneda" was celebrated on November 6-15 in Sant Marti.

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Neighbors dance La Sardana, a Catalan dance where people gather in a circle.

The Sardana band: a young group of musicians play live music for the dancers.

Check mate.

For the kiddies. Who wants to ride the express train? Choo, choo!

Face painting. My cousin Armilyn is going to teach me how to do this.

A very tall clown with good equilibrium joins the circle.

Tiny dancers. Ole!

I dig the colorful clothing of this band from Galicia (I think!) So folk-y!

Festive dancing.

The kids loved it!