We once again visited Orlando In June. However this time we did not visit the Disney parks. First of all its too hot and my passes are no good for the summer. We stayed at the Gaylord Palms and had a great time. Our rooms had a balcony that faced the indoor atrium. My parents came along with us for this trip and Uncle Dan came and visited on Saturday. The kids had a great time in the octopus pool and splash area. The pool was great because it had a beach entry. The indoor atrium had different areas. The Key West area had a boat and the southern most point booey, St Augustine had the fort and the Everglades had some reptiles. We had a great time strolling around the hotel even did a scavenger hunt and got some prizes. Paul as usual was in class most of time. We had a great time at the hotel!

Paul had class the weekend of May 15, so Alexa and I tagged along, and Paul Andrew stayed home with my parents. We stayed at the Hilton in Lake Buena Vista to try out a new hotel. It was great! We got upgraded to an Executive room and the Disney buses are only a 3 minute walk away at Downtown Disney. We had a very busy weekend. We arrived late Friday night, checked into the hotel and Alexa and I walked around Downtown Disney while Paul studied for his test the next day. Saturday, while Paul was at class, Alexa and I went to Hollywood Studios. We had lunch with the characters, saw Playhouse Disney Live, The Little Mermaid, and played with the parachute before watching the Block Party Parade. Sunday morning, started out with a character breakfast at Cape May Cafe. Alexa loved eating with Minnie, Donald and Goofy. After breakfast, we went to the Magic Kingdom. We rode the carousel, It’s a Small World, danced with Minnie in the parade and visited Toon Town. Once our day was over, we rode the Monorail to the Contemporary, where Paul was meeting up with us, to begin our drive home.

Alexa turned 3 years old on May 1st. We celebrated her Birthday at The Miami Children's Museum. Alexa had a great time. We visited the fishing room, music room and Publix. After visiting the rooms in the musuem we sang Happy Birthday, ate some cake and played in the playground. The pictures from her birthday are posted in the gallery.

First of all the temperatures were not spring like at all in early April. It was more like winter. Thank goodness the kids didn't mind being all bundled up and Alexa loved wearing her gloves. Paul Andrew just kept on removing his gloves and using it as teether. Poor baby had 2 molars come in while we were away.

This was the first time either Paul or I had been to Chicago so it was a great adventure for us. We had heard from everyone that it was a great city and we definetly agree. Here is a brief recap of our wonderful and hectic trip.

We arrived on early on Tuesday, April 7, and checked into the Conrad Hilton. Lucky for us they had our room available. From the hotel, we took a taxi to the Shedd Aquarium. We could not believe our eyes when we saw the line for the Aquarium. About 200 people and the line was barely moving so we decided to go the Field museum instead. The kids loved the Field museum. Alexa wanted to take a picture with every taxidermied animal and Paul Andrew loved playing with the instruments downstairs in the children's museum area. We returned to the hotel to take a much needed rest and then had dinner at an excellent Italian restaurant.

Wednesday morning we got an early start and went back to the Shedd aquarium. Unfortuately for us the large animal area was closed for renovations. The kids loved looking at all the tanks and just running around a bit. We decided instead of taking a taxi back to the hotel we would walk back instead. We walked through Grant Park, stopping at the Buckingham Fountain ( the one that the show at the beginning of Married with Children), then made our way over to Millenium Park. At Millenium Park we visited the Bean and the Tower Fountain. After a very busy day we had a casual dinner at Weber Grill.

Thursday started with a nice stroll down Michigan Avenue to visit the Hancock Building. The views from the observation floor were beautiful. Alexa seems to have absolutely no fear of heights. She would stand right at the window and look straight down. From the Hancock building we walked over to Navy Pier. We walked around and then visited the Chicago Children's Museum. The kids loved being able to run around a bit. Paul Andrew loved going down the musical slide and Alexa loved playing in the water area. Dinner that evening was delicious. We finally had Chicago style pizza. After about a 40 min wait at Giordanos we were able to sit down and enjoy our pizza.

Friday we spent all day at the Museum and Science and Industry. Wow! What a museum. There was so much to do I don't even know where to begin. There was an agricultural area with tractors for the kids to get in, an outer space area, a circus area, a coal mine but we weren't able to go because the line was 90 min long. etc. The list just goes on. Paul even went inside a submarine. In the late afternoon we took a walk down Michigan to do a bit of shopping. Alexa got to pick out a doll at the American Doll store.

Saturday was our last day in Chicago and also the coldest. We spent the day at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Luck for us there were buildings we could go inside for warmth. We saw just about any animal you could name, lions, tigers, penguins polar bears, cows, giraffes, monkeys, and many more. Alexa had fun climbing in a huge maze while Paul Andrew took a nice nap. After the zoo, we had lunch and the Grand Lux Cafe on Michigan Avenue. We then went back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and go the airport. Whie waiting for our early evening flight the kids played in the kids area at the Admirals Club.

Recently, we have visited Disney twice, once in February and again March. In February we traveled with Abu and Aba and also met up with Dan. On Friday, Paul, Dan, Alexa, Paul Andrew and I, visited Animal Kingdom. We had breakfast at Tuscker House with Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy. Alexa had a great time. She even led the conga line holding Mickey's hand. The kids really enjoyed the safari and the Nemo show. Dan was nice enough to keep on eye on the kids for us so I could finally ride Expedition Everest.

Saturday, Paul had class and did not join us in Epcot. By this time Abu and Aba had arrived in Orlando. we all had a delicious lunch with The Disney Princess', Belle, Alice, Aurora, Ariel and Paul Andrew's favorite Jasmin. The kids rode Nemo, Norway and my favorite the Mexico ride.

Sunday, we visited the Magic Kingdom. Once again Paul had class and couldn't join us. This time we had lunch at Crystal palace with Pooh and his friends. This is definitely the kids favorite park. We watched a show in front of Cinderella's Castle, heard Belle read a story, rode Its a Small World and visited Toon Town. Alexa loves visiting Minnie and Mickey's house and taking pictures with them. I met up with Paul at the hotel (Port Orleans-Riverside) and we headed once his classes were done.

Our March trip was to see Cristy run in the Princess Half Marathon. Paul Andrew and Alexa carried signs that said GO TIA!!! They loved going into the park to see Cristy running. Alexa and I took advantage of the EPCOT being open early for the race and got to see all the characters without a line twice! It was so empty Mickey and Minnie were dancing with her and twirling her around. She was loving every minute. The day before the race we visited the Magic Kingdom with Boo-E, Ba and Tia and hit all of their favorite spots.

Paul Andrew turned 1 on February 11. We celebrated by eating cake and dinner at my parent's house. He sure does like cake.

Paul Andrew also went to the doctor for his year checkup. He is now weighing 20 pounds and is 31 1/4 inches long. He still is refusing to walk alone but is cruising around the entire house.

We celebrated Paul Andrew's 1st birthday at my parents house on January 31. The theme was farm animals. We had a little farm come out with a petting zoo and ponies to ride. The animals were adorable. They were all babies and some of them were even dressed with sweaters, scarves and bows. The kids had a great time feeding them seeds and milk from a bottle. The bounce house, cow tunnel and playground were also a big hit. Paul Andrew had a great time crawling around and playing with his friends.

We had our second annual trip to Disney World for the Very Mickey Christmas Party on the first weekend of December. This year Martica had matching shirts made for all of us to wear that said Miami’s Mouseketeers. Our group this year was quite large, we were 21 in total with just 4 kids in the group, Matias, Angelina, Alexa and Paul Andrew.

Friday night, we went to the Very Mickey Christmas Party. We ate plenty of cookies and drank some delicious hot chocolate. The kids had a great time riding on It’s A Small World, Peter Pan, and dancing with Cinderella’s wicked stepmother and step sisters, Later in the evening, we all sat down and watched the parade. Alexa loved seeing all of her favorite characters, Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Donald and Goofy. By that time, Paul Andrew was pretty tired and took a little nap. After the parade we decided to ride on Pirates of the Caribbean. What a mistake that was! Just before our boat was about to go down the waterfall it got stuck. We were sitting there in the first row with Paul Andrew and Alexa in the dark for about 15 minutes before a worker told us to start rocking back and forth to dislodge the boat. We finally got to the edge of the waterfall and began our plunge in to the ride. I think we were the last boat to go down the falls because no boats followed us for the rest of the ride. Once we got off the ride we were able to catch part of the fireworks show but had to leave shortly after because Paul had class early the next morning.

Saturday morning we visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We all wore our matching shirts that day. The kids saw the Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney Live, Beauty and the Beast, and the Block Party Parade. Alexa loved playing with the giant Parachute before the parade started. For lunch we ate at the Hollywood and Vine. We had a chance to meet June, Leo, Jojo and Goliath. This time Alexa was no longer afraid of the characters and Paul Andrew had no fear either. We left the park in time to catch the 2nd half of the SEC championship game which of course the Gators won. Go Gators!

Sunday, Alexa and I returned to the Magic Kingdom alone, My parents and grandparents started the drive back to Miami early with Paul Andrew. Paul once again had to go to class. Alexa and I had a great time. We rode on Jungle Cruise, It’s A Small World, Winnie the Pooh and as per Alexa’s request the Spinning Teacups. We spent a large part of the day in Mickey’s Toon Town. We visited Minnie and Mickey’s house. Then at the end of Mickey’s House, we were able to meet both Mickey and Minnie and take pictures with them. In Toon Town, we were able to also take a picture with Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Cinderella. The playground in Toon Town was also a big hit with Alexa. We left Magic Kingdom when Paul gave us a call he was done with his class and we began our drive home.

Paul was recognized for his work by Beckman Coulter at an awards banquet in Laguna Beach. Wednesday morning I flew out of MIA to meet up with Paul who already in California since Monday. From the airport we went to Seal Beach to have lunch at O’Malley’s. We decided to take the scenic route down to Laguna by driving on the Pacific Coast Highway, and arrived at the Surf and Sand Resort early in the afternoon. We had a beautiful room with a gorgeous view of the Pacific Ocean. That afternoon, we took a walk down to the city center, and then strolled back along the ocean. The houses along the beach are absolutely gorgeous. For dinner we ate at the hotel beachside restaurant, the food and view amazing.

Thursday, we lounged by the pool and took a dip in the cold Pacific Ocean. Actually Paul did. I just went in to about my waist. Thursday evening was the awards banquet at the Montage Resort. The place was beautiful and the food was delicious. Paul and his team got to go up on stage to receive their awards.

Friday was our last day, because Paul had to go to class Saturday morning in Orlando. We had signed up to go on an excursion called Dolphin Safari. At Dana Point, we boarded a catamaran along with 8 other couples. The day was perfect, a flat ocean, and not one cloud in the sky. We were able to see Pacific white sided dolphins, common dolphins, seals and a Minke whale from far away. Friday evening, there was a delicious dinner buffet up on the terrace of the hotel. Unfortunately, Paul and I weren't able to stay long because we had a red eye flight to catch. I got on a flight to Miami and Paul flew to Orlando for his weekend class.

Since it’s been awhile since I have updated the site, I will try to catch you up on what has been going on.

Alexa has been very busy with school and extra curricular activities. We are still going to Gymboree, and music classes on Saturdays with Angelina and Matias. School is going very well for Alexa. It has been full of fun activities for her to participate in. The firefighters have visited as well as the police and a dentist. She has dressed up for rodeo day (a cowgirl), storybook day (Snow White) and career day (a Gator doctor).

Paul Andrew is growing daily. At his latest doctors appointment he was weighing 19lbs 5oz and measuring 30 in long. He is now eating pureed meats but is dying to eat regular food, and with his 8 teeth he should be able to do that soon. He is crawling at super speed, babbling, and standing up using any piece of furniture he can find.

For Halloween, Angelina had her annual Halloween Party, although this year though it was at a warehouse full of bounce houses. Alexa dressed up as a flamenco dancer and Paul Andrew was Larry Csonka from the Miami Dolphins. Alexa had a great time jumping in all the bounce houses and Paul Andrew loved watching his sister.