¡olé!

we just returned from our trip to orlando with tia tata, tio miguel, and sofia. it meant the world to me to be able to spend time with them. we haven't seen each other in person since may of 2008, and it was the first time that they had met joel...the quiet man, as miguel named him. they provided the condo, all the food, and i provided the yukon xl to drive us all around. three kids and three adults, and we conquered the magic kingdom together without any major meltdowns! sofia and evan are two peas in a pod. it was the best to see them playing together. they would run around in circles chasing each other...around, and around. we were able to celebrate evan's 3rd birthday a little early with them, and with my parents who came down to orlando for the day. it was great to spend a couple of days with mima and pipo at wild waters, and for an afternoon at ormond beach. i was also able to escape for a bit while we were at their home for a mani pedi! once we got back up to birmingham we celebrated it again with our tia and tio from atlanta who came to pick up tata and miguel. it's a family tradition that we continue. growing up we always celebrated our birthdays together with a cake no matter when our birthdays were. i really believe that birthday celebrations are such an important time in a person's life when they should feel how much they are loved. saying goodbye to the duro beruvides family was really emotional for me. my family is very small, and tata and i grew up like sisters. i miss her terribly! i love the family she's made with miguel and i am so thankful to him for making her so happy. although matt wasn't able to go on the trip with us, he did get off the day they were here in birmingham. we took advantage of the time to take the kids to the mcwane science center downtown. that place had so much within it's four floors. we even got to touch sharks! we then had lunch at taziki's greek fare...yummo! i'm back to the grind today and feeling refreshed in spirit and mind to start daily life again. laundry, laundry, and more laundry. i'm taking evan to his 3 year well child visit today with dr. peters, and then i was able to schedule a late hair appointment which i'm very excited about at the homewood hairgroup, which my neighbor brittnie recommended. we are getting excited to see our friends, and family who will be making the trip for evan's birthday party on august 28th. i am starting to accept the fact that things won't be done with the house and that's ok. matt is just too busy working hard with his program. the house stuff needs to be the last thing on his list.