Birthday Celebrations

This year, my birthday landed on a Sunday so we had my birthday dinner on Saturday. We went to Cava, a tablao restaurant where they have live flamenco dancers and Spanish singers. It was so much fun. I enjoyed every minute of it. At the end of the dinner, my family surprised me with my birthday gift a day early - a Canon Rebel SL1! I really wasn't expecting it. I've been playing around with it, but I have lots to learn and discover with this new toy! 

The next day, my family surprised me yet again with a surprise party. I was expecting maybe some close friends at my aunt's house for Sunday dinner, but not a full-blown party. My sister spearheaded it all, while my mom helped with decor and my aunt and uncle helped with the food. It was really nice. They served some of my favorite foods and desserts. My sister even had a playlist in the background with my current favorite songs. Every detail truly was perfect. 

Dessert table with my favorite cupcakes from Sweetness Bakeshop, mini arroz con leches, mini flans, cheesecake, cake pops  and my favorite type of cake - Chocolate Turtle.

She's the best!

This guy knew about it the whole time :)

I'm so happy to have these amazing friends in Florida!

Love her

I like to eat all my desserts (literally) with milk. So she had that option available for everyone :)

The churrasco grill master

the trio

The girls in the family - cousins Luisa and Hortensia showed up too!

#thehairflip

I was also showered throughout the month and day with cards, packages, texts and phone calls from amazing friends and family. 

Favorite text! Love them <3

The next day at work, they surprised me with a cake and sang happy birthday.

I think it's safe to say that 24 (I feel old saying it) started off pretty good! 

Valentine's Day

Here are some pictures of all things Valentines this year. 

Pencils for my young women

Out craftivity in speech

The YW in our ward had a camp fundraiser. We sold over 40+ baskets and made enough money to pay for all of our girls to go to camp this summer. 

I had tons of fun reading this book with my kids. They all created their own love monsters. Cutest book ever and very applicable to some of these kids who have a hard time making friends. 

                                           

I received all sorts of goodies at work. 

I got Blaine a Waffle Love gift basket instead of getting him chocolate. Waffle Love is one of his favorite places to eat at in Provo. He misses it a ton. 

Rue got some goodies too

I got an awesome V-day/birthday package from Kim and Jonathan.

How cute is this? 

My aunt delivered this beautiful orchid to me at work. So sweet of her. 

We went out for dinner at CPK and came back home early to watch a movie. Blaine wasn't feeling well and we just wanted to have time alone at home. It was a great Valentine's Day. 

February Happenings

February was such a busy month. I felt like something big was happening every other day. 

To start off, we watched the Super Bowl at Katina and Spencer's house (Bruce's brother). I was rooting for the Broncos but I like the Seahawks as well. I was just bummed out that it was such a boring game. Thank goodness for Bruno Mars, good food and girl talk! 

Bruce took the NCLEX exam and passed! We are all so happy and proud of him. Now he can start applying for jobs. Bruce is going to be one great nurse!

Our stake had a youth temple fireside on temple grounds. It was the closest I've been to the temple so far. It was a great night. We saw the sunset behind the temple and saw the temple light up when it got dark. It is such a beautiful building. I really cannot wait until it's open (2 more months!). It was a great night for our young women. I really feel them growing stronger in the gospel. When this presidency was first called, we had 1 or 2 girls attending church on Sunday. This last Sunday, we had over 10 girls. 

We went to Wynwood Art walk one Saturday. Its an area in Miami that hasn't had the greatest history. Its still a pretty bad neighborhood, but there's a big artistic movement going on there that is supposed to turn this neighborhood around. I think its working. There were so many people there and there are many more businesses and cool restaurants opening. We had some yummy burritos from a food truck and also had our favorite Cuban ice cream from Azucar. I loved seeing all the artwork and definitely want to go back and see more of the galleries. 

Great friends - Jackie and Valentina 

Damaris caught us taking a couples "selfie". 

LOVE Azucar's ice cream

These murals are property of Goldman Sachs. They're part of this big cultural/art movement. 

Goofing around

The boys trying to appreciate the art

A lot more happened in February...but there will be posts on that soon!

End of January

We went to Disney again...the whole family ended up going even though we all planned to do so independently of each other. I guess thats what happens when the whole family has annual passes.

Papo was in a recent motorcycle accident and had to be in a wheelchair in the parks. But he had lots of fun popping wheelies (park employees weren't thrilled about that). 

After much talk, we finally ate at The Coral Reef restaurant in Epcot. Blaine has great childhood memories here with Grandma and Poppy! 

Love these people.

The boys - it was slightly chilly for Florida. 

We went country dancing at Round Up. It was a lot of fun but you can easily feel a little lost if you don't know the line dances. I was able to learn 3 of them on the spot and it was really fun. We haven't been dancing at all in a long time so we really had a good time.

Caro was also there celebrating her birthday. 

Reunited after 2 years.