April's Dance Recital

April's dance recital was on Sunday, June 28th, 2009. She was such a beautiful ballerina and danced like a star. Her natural ability for getting up in front of crowds and doing her thing is awesome. She tells me she doesn't get nervous. Our family really enjoyed all the performances put on by Tiffany Dance Academy, but I'd have to say, the Austin Powers performance was my second favorite. The faculty did a great job. It's such a wonderful feeling to see your child up on stage dancing with a huge smile on her face and having the time of her life. Very special!

Ouch! Sunburn!

Today, Saturday, we were sunburned pretty bad. The sun and the 104 degree heat-wave we had today felt miserable. Dave and I got up and went for a bike ride. We wanted to beat the heat. It was really nice. : ) I can't remember the last time I went on a bike ride with just Dave. We took advantage of the girls being asleep. I love my time with him.
Veronica had to say good-bye to her boyfriend, Dave, today. I feel so bad for her. It's hard to see her so sad. She had a great 16 days with him while he was on leave from the Army. Now he's going back to Washington, and hopefully, he'll get to come back once a month until he gets deployed towards the end of the year.
Today I handed out batches of some friendship bread to Zeke's (April's boyfriend) parents and Dave Reid's parents. It was tough. At one point I had the bread starter in the car...the mice we got for Monty, the snake, and fish for Daisy, the turtle. Since our AC wasn't working in the suburban, I had to carry all that stuff over to Zeke's house. All of them wouldn't last long in the 104 degree car. Thankfully, his family wasn't there, so we took them home. April, Marina, Dave and I watched Daisy enjoy a very good meal.

Del Valle Day With the Girls

Went to Del Valle on Friday. We packed some lunch, took blankets and were off for a day of "girl fun". We had a blast! There was hardly anyone there, and it was so peaceful. The water was just right, so we all went swimming first thing. Marina went back-and-forth on that lake non-stop. Back floating seems to be her favorite. We ate a little lunch then went swimming again. After that we went to the other side of the lake and rented a pedal boat. Everyone loved it except for Marina. We talked her into going up front to pedal which brought a little bit of a smile. Come to find out "Captain Marina" had a plan to take us back to the dock. We were ready to come back in after one hour of pedaling anyway. I pedaled the entire time. What a great day for Del Valle memories. Everything from going up there with my whole family to show Aunt Patsy when I was about 8; to Carratti Jeweler annual picnics; times with boyfriends; rainy day fun with Lisa Ising; lots of times with Dave and all of our friends; camping with our girls; and the last time for Jim's Celebration of Life camp-out. Lots of memories : ) Today... lots of sunburn.

Happy Party Day To Me

June 25th is really my party day, but I never seem to get on here to blog until after 12 midnight. My mom gave me this special day to celebrate my birthday because my b-day is on Christmas. Thanks Mom. It started out with Dave smiling by my bedside this morning. He gave me a really nice card with some spending money for clothes. From there I was pretty busy with going to the store, and coming home to get April's hair done for her recital dress rehearsal. She looked beautiful. I can't wait for her recital this Sunday. As soon as we got home, April had to go to choir practice. Dave was taxi-dad tonight. Thanks Dave. Veronica made me a delicious chocolate, cherry cake with sprinkles added by Marina. Dinner tonight was tamales, BBQ corn, and spanish rice. Yum.

Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died today. Farrah died from anal cancer and Michael died from cardiac arrest. Charlies' Angels used to be one of my favorite shows. My family would all get together and watch it. Michael Jackson was such a talented guy. Too bad his life took a nosedive towards the end. The little Michael with Jackson Five was so cute. Rest in peace.

Starbucks Day

Started out the morning going to the orthodontist for April's and Veronica's routine check-ups. April found out today that she probably won't be getting her braces off until after school starts. : ( We kind of already knew that, but were being hopeful it was earlier. After the appointment we did our usual thing and treated ourselves to Starbucks. I'm glad we do that. It's one of those things the girls will always remember. We got home and kicked back. I got a little caught up on Life on Mars (I love that show). Made teriyaki, pork shish-ka-bobs for dinner, and everyone loved them. Around 12 midnight, Veronica went to get food for the cats and discovered a couple black widows under the steps to the hot tub. A couple turned into four. We killed those and went hunting for more. We found three more and killed them, too. Great hunting, Veronica. What a trooper.

Cutie

I woke up to the little bird chirping. That was cool that he survived the night. Marina and April and I took lots of pictures of him, and Marina named him, Cutie. Later in the day I put him outside in the front bushes because I didn't think he would survive in captivity, only to find him later on this evening in front of Rusty the cat barely breathing. Marina and I brought him in and gave him water and some food. He died in my hands moments after that. Marina and I had a few tears. She has such a big heart. It's sad. On a happier note...Veronica went to Santa Cruz with her boyfriend, Dave, and April went to her boyfriend's house, Zeke, to see his cute little kitten. Marina and I went to Barnes and Noble to get her free summer reading book and to sign her up for the Tracy Library summer reading program. She is quite the book worm.

Father's Day '09

Had a great day today kickin' back with Dave and the girls. Took a beautiful bike ride and stopped off at Java Makers on the way home. Marina rode her new bike that she just got yesterday for her 7th birthday party- great job on the bike Dave. We ventured out farther than usual and took the path with the high and low roads. Marina was a trooper. April loves to ride and will take the chance whenever it comes around. She swears she'll ride with me when she's older and busy with boyfriend stuff. Came home and took Veronica out with me on an errand to the Health Food store. I miss my time with her. Marina's comment of the day..."That's why I like being little, so you won't miss me."
I just saved a little sparrow from my cat, Rusty. He looks like he has a hurt wing, so I brought him in and set him up in our bathroom with some food and water. Hope you make it little guy.