A Day at Palm Beach Gardens

Damaris and I heard about this mall in Palm Beach Gardens that was amazing. So we decided to take a little day trip up there and see what it was all about. 

It just so happened to be that there was a PGA Superstore on our way there. Blaine was in golf heaven. It was the largest golf store I've ever seen. There are only 8 or so of these in the U.S. If he had the time, Blaine would've spent all day in there. This was his first time going to a PGA Superstore. 

We had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen with Damaris. Then we started shopping! The Gardens Mall was really nice! It had all of our favorite stores, was really clean, new and...empty! We went on a Friday afternoon and it was so quiet! I can only imagine how it is during a regular weekday. Damaris took me shopping at H&M and Lululemon. She spoils me a lot. I have the greatest sister in the world. We hit up the sales at H&M and bought almost the same exact items. We have the same taste. It was a lot of fun. 

My sister and best friend!

Once we got home, we were hungry and tired. We hung out with the rest of my family and tried to imitate the cookie monster from the Keys. It wasn't the same, but it was close! 

All in all, it was a great day. There's nothing like going shopping with your sister!

Key West

For Easter, my aunt gave us a trip to the Keys! Blaine had never been. We had such a good time. The weather was gorgeous and we were in great company. We stayed at a really cute resort, called The Galleon. 

Papo & Emily by the marina.

The 7-mile bridge

Saturday, we spent the morning and afternoon swimming in the pool and the ocean. 

I love this picture. Too bad I took it with my phone. I think it's hilarious.

That night, we walked around Duval street. Duval street has a ton of little shops and restaurants. It's is the happenin' place in the Keys. We ate at a little pizza shop and stopped for dessert at Mattheessen's for their killer cookies.

Pirate dog!

Eating the Cookie Monster! It was monstrous. 

Their chocolate chip cookies were huge and delicious! 

After our stroll, we watched Game 7 of the Celtics-Heat series. We needed to win this one in order to advance into the Finals. It was fun watching it with my family. Needless to say, we won the Eastern Conference Championship :) 

Uli received a lot of compliments on his Heat sunglasses. 

At midnight, we sang happy birthday to Emily. She turned 16! 

The next day we spent some more time by the pool before checking out. We had breakfast at Denny's and then headed to the southern most point of the U.S. Afterwards, Damaris & I wanted to give key lime pie another try. It was an experience, but I'm still not a fan!

My uncle, Ulises, posing.

On our way back, we stopped at The Whale Harbor Inn for their seafood buffet. This is a place that my family has been going to for years. A trip to the Keys isn't complete without stopping there and eating all the crab you possibly can! It was delicious, as always.

Once we were done, we hung out behind the restaurant for a little bit. Papo, Emily and Uli went looking for crabs, shells, and snails. 

We had a great little trip with my family. I could've stayed for a full week! It was beautiful. I hope it won't be too long till we visit Key West again!

Golfing in the Sunshine State

Saying that Blaine golfed a lot during our visit is an understatement. He golfed a ton. He found out about this website called golfnow.com that gives you discounted rates. He was able to get some pretty sweet deals with a cart! 

Blaine took Papo out golfing 3 times. I was glad that they were able to have some bonding-brotherly time. Papo had never been golfing before. I didn't think he would like it, but he did! He's actually pretty good, too. By the 3rd time he golfed, he made 4 pars in 18 holes. 

I love these two. 

Blaine also worked on getting his official GHIN handicap. Now he can start working a little bit more seriously on his game and participate in small tournaments. Blaine played his first local tournament and placed 4th out of 30 men. Not bad for his first time! I was so proud of him. 

One day, we took Uli golfing with us. I was surprised by how much fun he had. People usually think golf is a boring sport. This little guy loved it. He played through 9 holes and sat out on the rest. 

It was really hot. 

But I think his favorite part was driving me around on the golf course. I can't believe he's so big! I had such a good time with Uli. 

This is a shot of the golf course Blaine played the most. The Miami Springs Country Club was right by my aunt's house. We could walk and bike to it. I thought it had a lot of character and classic Miami charm. 

Golfing in Florida was a lot of fun. Blaine enjoyed seeing golf stores and courses everywhere. I felt like he definitely experienced why Florida is the golf capital of the world! 

End of the School Year

Although summer had already begun for Blaine and I, my little cousins were still in school until the first week of June. It was fun to see them in all of their award ceremonies. 

Ivan plays little league and his team actually won the divisional championships this year. Go Angels!

One night, we were able to attend a school activity of the kids, "Reading Under the Stars." Instead of reading under the stars, we had to go to the school auditorium because it was raining outside. Uli's class sang a song about farm animals. It was really cute. Ivan was already dressed as a tiger (his favorite animal) because it was "animal day" for spirit week. 

There was also a book fair going on. Uli was such a cutie and wanted to get me something. He knows that I enjoy cooking and got me a cookbook. I'm actually excited to try out some of its' recipes! 

Projects of the students were also being displayed that night. I read one of Uli's book that was patterned after Dr. Seuss' style of writing (it was awesome - Damaris did a great job helping him!). I was able to help him with a project on the tiger shark. It was fun being around to help. I wish I could do it all the the time. 

Uli's tiger shark pyramid

Ulisito is now done with the 4th grade. I can't believe he only has 1 year of elementary school left! As always, he received numerous awards. He only missed principal's honor roll for the whole school year because of 1 B grade. 

Ivan is now done with kindergarden. He also got a lot of awards, including honor roll. We were all so proud of him!

One happy kid!

My favorite part of the ceremony was when Uli was announced as the new president of the student council! He had to make a poster and deliver a speech as to why he should be president. He was the only boy running for the position. He won against 5 other girls (by a lot)! I'm so proud of him. I know he'll be a great president next school year!