Wordless Wednesday

Family Reunion

Adame --> Trujillo --> Ponce --> Kavanagh

A little glimpse of my family lineage from my mom's side to the present

While Aaron and I were dating it was hard explaining the family. He couldn't understand that the all the relatives that lived on my street were not the extent of my family, it was just the tip of the iceberg. (There were still more in Redondo, Huntington Beach, Oceanside, and San Diego. )He found out as we made out our guest list to our weddding and finally out the last family reunion - September 2005.

Last Saturday we had a Family Reunion aka "The Adame Family Reunion" in Huntington Beach. It was great because I believe that we added 6 more members to the family, and we came out in full force.

I will just come out and say it... I love our family. It does not matter that we only see each other every once in a while, we're there for each other. Whether it's celebrating a birthday, anniversary, wedding, etc... we're all there for each other. This sense of family is something I really want to pass on to my kids. They need to know that they do not just have each other, they have a WHOLE family.

Well we came, we ate, and we laughed. It was great to hang out with people I hadn't seen a while. Stories were told and memories were shared. And since I'm part of the 3rd generation, it's funny to hear the stories of the 1st and 2nd generations. Especially those of the TJ girls...

Here is my personal recap of the memories I have of the reunion...

• Aaron eating 12 tacos
• My Nino handing out menus of the tacos available and everyone, in line. asking what kind of meat there was
• all the red cups
• the kids running around.
• Frank asking the girls to 'jump' as they took pictures. I had to remind him that these were his COUSINS
• Bill trying to cop a feel on Rosemary during the family photo. They were right above me... I still have trouble sleeping : )
• While playing volleyball... RJ serving the ball into Michelle's butt
• Aunt Sonia and her puppet show theatre chair
• Raquel asking her where she got after we all ragged on it
• Raquel trying to get girls to do the Roger Rabbit, and then asking someone just how to do it
• My mom asking to play volleyball, and neither team wanted her.
• My Nino coming in and kicking ass. I don't think he knew we were having fun. We weren't playing for money
• Linda and Robert coming over and hearing Robert explain how he killed a bat
• Jeffrey rolling down the hill with Sasha
• Vanessa saving me and giving me wipes
• Kristina's volleyball serve
• Watching Kristina and Michelle watching the ball drop and then blame each other

I think that may be it. I'm sure I'm missing more, but it's enough to make me laugh.

As we all say... we need to do this more often. I say let's do it!

Below are pictures from that day. Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

Josh & Courtney's Wedding 8/7/09

About a week and a half ago we went to Josh & Courtney's wedding in Temecula, CA. It was held a beautiful winery and we had a lot of fun. We got to see the whole group (Aaron's friends and the women the conned into marrying them! ) from OV. It's pretty cool, we all went to HS together.

Aaron has been friends with Josh since they were in 2nd grade, and Josh was the Best Man in our wedding. He has been loving referred to as "Penguin Man" in our family because he works at Sea World. It was very cool as it came full circle and Josh asked if Jeffrey could be in the wedding as the Ring Bearer ~ very cool.

The rehearsal was the day before the wedding and the guys had to go down early. I had to stay and work. I ended up meeting them on Thursday night. It was Josh's job to buy the ring bearer pillow and hand't, so Jeffrey carried this during the rehearsal.

The guys had fun at the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Jeffrey took his job very seriously despite Sean's comments.

We got to stay in a hotel, Jeffrey's favorite part, and were able to relax right up to the ceremony. I dropped the guys off and found them in the groomsmen room.

Josh.... relaxing????The ceremony was beautiful and everyone looked handsome/beautiful. It was awesome. Watching the ceremony was like watching a game. They had waiters bring you wine, so you could enjoy as the ceremony took place. I was okay, and then I saw this...

It was so cute to see my little boy (man) walking down the aisle. He held his own, did not drop anything and did what he had to do. We went through two bags of chewy snacks and the ceremony was over. Jeffrey dropped the empty bag of chewy snacks, got his pillow and followed his Daddy back down the aisle : )

The rehearsal was a lot of fun. It was a total party atmosphere and we had a good time and had a lot of laughs. Everyone had a good time at the rehearsal.... including my son

2 weddings down, 1 to go. Brian and Alyda~you're next!

Las Vegas Family Trip

We decided to go to Las Vegas as a family.... (what the H*!@l were we thinking?!?!) Luckily, my mom, dad, Kris, and Uncle Jimmy came along.

There was talk about not taking the kids, and I was on board, but Aaron wanted to take them. I'm glad we did, sort of.

The ride up there was long and tough. Towards the end, Lexi had thrown every toy given to her on the ground. Jeffrey had played with almost every toy in the car. Both had their fill of snacks.

We made it. Aaron and I ate and took the kids right to the pool. The first night, the kids were restless and the buffet was almost a disaster. The kids enjoyed the lights on the strip. All was great until Lexi pooped and stunk up the car. Aaron took the kids for the night, and I went out with the adults. We had a lot of fun that night. I only play $5 bucks for 3+ hours and the kids were angels going to bed.... Or so I thought. We woke up the next morning to this sight

Granted we did not have a "Hangover" night, but how did we get a dolphin in the middle of our floor without noticing it?

Day 2 was great. This time we did the $25 all you can eat buffett all day. Holy cow! I've never eaten so much in my life. Day 2 was hanging out at the pool, playing some games, a trip to Target(no Ponce/Kavanagh trip could be complete), and the M&M Factory and attempting to see the lions at MGM

Day 3 we played at Circus Circus and had more fun in the pool. My parents took the kids for the night and Aaron and I were able to go to the Burger Bar once more. We met up with Kris, who took me away from Happy Days machine, and went off. Kris and I are very different gamblers. She likes the tables, I like the video poker. We got a drink at Dick's and after I recovered from brain freeze, she went back to the room.

Aaron and I stayed a little longer downstairs, and got a call from Kristina. She said Dog the Bounty Hunter was in the casino. After no Dog sightings we went up to the room.

On the way home we stopped at Bob's Big Boy. I've LOVED that place since I was a kid. It was a great ending to a great trip.

Legoland 7/23/09

So it's definitely been a while... Yes, I realize it's August. Yes, I realize I'm writing about something that happened almost 3 weeks. Nonetheless, here it goes.

We went to Legoland with Aaron's Parents (aka Grandma Donna & Grandpa Russell). This is a trip that we had been trying plan since the beginning of the year. We finally got around to it, and it was fun.

Neither Aaron or I had been to Legoland, so it was an adventure for all. I knew that it was built out of Legos, but I didn't know the extent of it. Legoland is built of legos, very cool. I loved Legos as a kid, so it was cook to see just what you could build out of them.

This mom was SO pushy!

We went to see the Legoland buildings and they were amazing... Las Vegas, New York (including a working subway), The White House, Washington DC, and so much more. It was so incredible. I don't think kids can fully appreciate all the work that goes into something like this, but for the adults it was cool.

We went on some rides. Lexi went on her first big girl ride (she sat by herself) and had fun. Jeffrey's ride of the day was the driving school. (Designated for 3-6 year olds) He had to push a pedal and steer the wheel. This was a challenge for him. He'd concentrate on pushing the pedal. Then he'd concentrate on steering and forget to push the pedal. He did not go very far, but still got his license.

After that we went on rides. This was Jeffrey's favorite part. They kept saying,"Stop the water, stop the water." as gusts floated under the workers and spray

I enjoyed the Emergency Vehicle Helicopter ride, and the splashing boat ride - quite possibly my favorite. Jeffrey also 'drove' an airplane. It was a good time.

We saw a few shows, saw the one and only Legomaker, and a few animals here and there. We had a great time, and were so happy to see the kids have fun.

Alexis 1 Year 7/18/09

My Dear Alexis Kendyl,
I have been putting off writing this because I feel if I don’t write, somehow it’ll stop time. You are officially 1. No more months behind your age… sigh. I realize I write this often, but where did time go?

As I’m preparing your slideshow, I’m reminded of just how far you’ve come. You started out your life in the safe arms of your parents, and then were taken to the NICU. You were 3-4 days old before I could hold you again. It was very hard for both us, and your family. You were our first baby from the family (out of 21 grand/great grand kids) to ever be in the NICU, so it was quite scary. It never occurred to me that you were in danger, as I knew you’d survive. From day 1 of having you, I KNEW you were a fighter. We were finally able to hold you, and then it was a little easier. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was leave you in the hospital, and go home. Once you were able to come home, it was much better.

It takes us to now. You have developed quite a little personality my dear. Everyday is something new that makes us laugh or realize that we need to baby proof more.

• You are talking more and more. You now say baby, mama, hey, do-do (Fozzy) and LOVE Mommy’s pink phone.
• You are standing and walking around, but have yet to begin walking. Today you did take your first steps toward Mommy’s phone
• You enjoy mealtimes - you love yogurt, cheese, and ice cream
• You’ve taken to your sippy cup and do not use a bottle anymore.
• Your hair is starting to become thicker and your hair is like Mommy’s ~ curly and really kinky curly when we hit humidity.
• You adore your brother, for the most part, and love playing with his toys.
• You now give kisses. You open your mouth and try to bite people. It’s cute, but wet and can be messy : )
• You adore your Daddy and say ‘Deedee’ when you see him. A blow to my ego since I was the one getting up with you during those first months.
  
  Well my dear that’s all I have for now. I have been writing to you for so long, that’ll be weird to wait another 6-12 months to write to you.
  
  We look forward to watching you walk, talk, and more of your kisses and giggles.
  
  All my love,
  Mommy

Below are some pictures of your first year of life