It's wedding time.....

.....again!!  ;) (I feel like I've attended a wedding at least once every couple of months this year!!)
This time it was my cousin Alan and his wife Chrissie

 She's English... so we started the night with these yummy cucumber sandwiches..  It was VERY appropriate, and they may very well be my new favorite!  :)

 Cousins! 

 More cousins!  haha!  these guys crack me up!  :)

 The pretty table settings!

 The reception was at someone's house... and I fell in LOVE with their backyard waterfall!  ;)  it was BEAUTIFUL!

Cousins!

The "couple" table

Bea and gramma Grace!

This is one of my favorites!  ;)

.....Then we used the waterfall as a backdrop!  ;)

....and i decided to board the titanic!!  haha!!  it was too funny not to post!  ;)

Oh you meant we should of smiled??  like this?? 

haha!!  my mom wasn't feeling good and couldn't come, but my aunts kept my dad entertained...  :)

Me and Tanya!

awww...  Love him!!  :)

my dad and gramma Grace!

Chrissie wore purple shoes under her dress...  :)  CUTE!

The bride!

I fell IN LOVE with these flowers at the entrance....  :)

soooo pretty!

....the BIGGEST bottle of tequila made it's debut as the afternoon moved in...  and YES, they/we/everyone polished it before the night was over...  HONESTLY!!

Time for a toast!

Cheers!

The first dance!

they were so cute!  :)

Time for the father-daughter dance!

.....and the mother-son dance

LOVE these pictures of my cousin and aunt!  :)

Time for a picture with Dad!

The sunset from the backyard was seriously awesome!

....Then it was time to start the dance party!  I will let the rest of these pics do the talking...  ;)

....then again maybe not, ;)  chit-chatting on the dance floor!

The sun/sky was beautiful!  :)

haha!

Alex and Natalie

The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree!!  ;)

....still dancing!!  haha!

...stirring the pot, stirring!!!  haha!

....after the sun set, the sky was awesome, so Natalie and I took a minute to go take pics with the sky behind us!!  ;)

Here's to another fun wedding celebration!!  :)

and here are a few "sunset" pictures from my phone!!  ;)

It was seriously BREATHTAKING!

Here's to another fun family filled fun night...  complete with a beautifully painted sky!!  :)

One more wedding down....  one more to go!!  ;)

You Challenge!!

Six Places: (I have traveled too)

1. Guatemala...  I was born there!  :)
2. England
3. Paris
4. Rome, Venice, Florence
5. Hawaii
6. Cozumel, Mexico

Happy Birthday Dad!!

My dad, is one of the hardest people I know, I truly believe that it is from him that we learned our work ethic, and he is also the one that taught me to be the independent person that I have become...  I know I've said this before, but I am EXTREMELY GRATEFUL for every holiday, Father's day, and Birthday that we get to spend with him...  LO QUIERO MUCHO DAD!! espero que lo alla pasado bien!  :)

Time for a family pic....  smile everyone!  ;)

 My dad LOVES dulce de leche, and he LOVES cheesecake, so I went ahead and made him one...  does it look pretty?  I kinda thought so!!  :) 

 AND he LOVED it, I thought it was good too, and my brother, Mr. "I don't do sweets," went back for seconds, so it must of been good, Gaby doesn't count, because she LOVES ALL treats!! ;) The recipe I used was pretty simple... You can find it here

My dad requested Paella, so my mom obliged with our help...  I helped to get the stuff ready before I left for Brody's party, and Mike and Gaby came and threw it all together, and cooked it...  It was DELICIOUS!!!  :)  Thanks mom for teaching us the "tricks"!  :)

The birthday boy...  he was excited for one of his favorite foods, and for being able to celebrate with all of us...  :) 

 There's a wise guy in EVERY family...  Mike's ours!!  ;)

 The show plate...  :)  doesn't it look yummy??  NO??  oh ok, sorry!!  ;)  I think this is one of my favorites too...  It's got chicken, shrimp, clams, mussels, and rice..  WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE??  ;)

 Birthday Cheesecake

 got the girl's on skype...  we're ready now guys!!!  ;)

 V was telling them a story.... and Lu was trying to figure out why we were on the computer!!  haha!

 This is how we do Birthday's around here!!  ;)

 Happy to you Chato!!  :)  I'm not sure but judging by my brother's face, storytime was still going on!  ;)

 ok....  bye guys!!!  ;) 

 :)

 ...then it was time for cheesecake!!  YUMMMMM!!!

Happy Birthday again Dad!  We hope you had a GREAT day!!  We LOVE you!!  :)

Happy Birthday Brody!

Brody turned 4 and had a Pirate party!  haha...  It's all he wanted, that and a Pirate Ship cake...  ;)

the birthday boy and his pirate stuff! 

all the goodies for the table!

...and the treat table...  I set out to make "pirate" type cupcakes...  :)  they were chocolate with red buttercreme and skulls or ghost flags on them!  Jaime made brownie buttons and mini cupcakes!

fun stuff for the kids to entertain themselves with!

the treasure chest pinata...

Jaime found these fun skull suckers...  they were perfect for the treat table...

snacks...

Brody requested a pirate ship cake...  and this is what I came up with...  I think he was happy!!  ;)

I think this was my FAVORITE place to hang out at...  I'm pretty sure I snacked the whole time I wasn't taking pictures!!  ;)

the food table

The sign at the entrance!  ;)

I had to leave before cake...  Thanks Jessica for taking the pic for me!!  :)

Happy Birthday Brody, I hope you had a GREAT day!!  ARRRHHH!!!  :)

Pirate Treats!

My friends son had a pirate birthday party, she/he requested pirate treats...  and here's what I came up with...  ;)  chocolate cupcakes with red buttercreme and skulls or ghost flags as decorations.. 

....and I made him a pirate ship cake!!  I was pleased with how it turned out!!  Nothing wrong with patting myself on the back...  right??  ;)

...and I'm pretty sure the birthday boy was pleased!!  ;)

You Challenge!!

Seven Wants:

1. A new camera lens
2. to get the traveling bug once again...  :)
3. a house  :D
4. to be able to cross BIG things off my Bucket List
5.  To be able to see my grandma's once again before it's too late!
6. To go back and visit my family in Guatemala
7. I REALLY, REALLY want to go hang-gliding.... 

Things I was.....

...... GRATEFUL and THANKFUL for this last week  :)

This AMAZING little girl...  I am GRATEFUL that she LOVES Chato and Vero's house, as much as she does, it means we get to see her A LOT!!!  ;)  LOVE her stories, and the way she takes everything in!  :) 

....And Lulu too!!  I will get her picture up.... as soon as the "taker" sends it my way!!!  no pressure though!  ;)  She gives the BEST hugs...  I LOVE it!! 

Thank you Cousins for making the trip and bringing the girls for a visit...  see you "tomorrow, next weekend," as V said...  Oh how I wish we lived closer!  ;)

...And Miss Ella and the fun picture she drew me the other day!!  :)  And how excited she was for me to see it!  :)  This is what greeted me the other day when I came over...  ;)

....and a very special picture for me was inside!  ;)

....and I can't forget the boys...  Mr. Luke and the way he seems to find his way into my lap...  and the excitement on his face when he realized that my "iPod" had so many doors that still needed to be opened!  ;)

and Jakey boy and Brody and Mr. Owen and their hugs, and smiles!

....And the girls and their impromptu last minute lunches...  LOVE that I can drive up and meet them for lunch!  :)

...There was many a picture taken this week, I am definitely thankful that I am able to enjoy one of my favorite "past times," and that digital photography lets me take as many pictures as I want!  ;)

... How about D-land passes... thanks to those we got to spend the day there today!!  :D

...we were thankful that it wasn't crowded AT ALL!!

Not so thankful for the humidity though!  ;)

weddings, and fun parties

old friends

family

my parents

Michael, and his willingness to always HELP me!!  :)  LOVE you Michael!  :D

cake pops, as wedding favors, and their popularity! I still can't believe people were stealing them!!  haha!!

Naps, I actually needed one this last week...  it was a LONG one!

and finally today this BEAUTIFUL sky after sunset...  good job taking the pic Bea, and thanks for sharing...  :)  I was busy taking pics with the camera!  ;)  I will post those later!  ;)

We totally enjoyed the sky while the Chavi got packed up and ready to go home!  :(

I LOVE sky's like these...  they're soul and mind cleansing, and I feel like after enjoying such a beautiful afternoon I am ready to take on the coming week...  :)  as we stood outside saying our goodbyes and enjoying the view, I thanked God for always being generous to my family and I...  and for always keeping us safe...  and for always painting such beautiful "pictures" for us to enjoy everyday!!!

here's to the beginning of what is going to be a VERY BUSY week!!  I think I'm ready!!  ;)  Have a good one everyone!!  :)