Dessert Bar

Tomorrow we have a good bye party for one of my friends from work, and the theme is a "dessert bar" - so several of us are bringing desserts. I spent several hours in the kitchen today, and even though I am happy with the results, I am also exhausted. I don't know if the cupcakes or the cake I made will be any good, but at least they look pretty.

Hyde Park Blast

Yesterday morning we ran in the Hyde Park Blast, a 4 mile run. They also had kids's races, so I registered Bella and Sofia. Lionel and I did really well: I ran my fastest mile yet - at 9 minutes, 10 seconds per mile - and Lionel actually finished before me.  This was the very first "official" race for the girls, and Sofia did really well. Bella, on the other hand, got scared with the crowds and the noise, and I pretty much had to hold her half of her 0.1 mile race. She ran the other half, but she wasn't too happy about it. At least she liked doing face painting, and getting a cookie and a medal at the finish line.

Dear Baby Deer

This morning we woke up to find a baby deer relaxing in our backyard. It was so sweet!

I waited as long as I could to let Zoey out, but eventually I had to let go. At the beginning she did not realize that the deer was there, but eventually she saw it and went after it. The poor deer ran as fast as he could, but Zoey is fast, really fast. He did manage to escape her, but not my much!

Heart cake

Over the weekend I bought a heart shaped cake mold, mainly because it was cute and it was on sale. So today I decided to use it for the first time - just because.

It's a match!

Today was raining, and as luck would have it, my umbrella actually matched my skirt.

Quick run and yoga

On Monday morning, I started my day with a quick outside run and yoga on the deck. It was a super nice way to start the day!

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree" is the English equivalent of the Spanish phrase "Hijo de tigre, pintito". I know this holds true quite often, and couple days ago I found myself falling quite close to the tree myself.

When I was growing up, Gabi and I knew that we should never call my dad at work unless it was an absolute emergency. He NEVER skipped work, his worth ethic was impeccable, and he just worked too hard. Asking him to skip work for a school event, or for some other routine situation, was just out of the question.

Couple days ago my mom emailed my sister and I to let us know that they needed one of us to take my Dad to an important doctor appointment next Tuesday, during the day. Given that my calendar tends to be full of meetings, my initial reaction was "That sucks. I have all these meetings that I can't cancel. I can't let people down. It is irresponsible, and they are counting on me". So I responded that no way I could take the day off, and that hopefully she and my sister could manage the visit themselves. But shortly after I replied, it hit me that I was doing EXACTLY what my dad would have done back then ... Except that I don't think he would have been proud of that. I think that after many years - and may difficult life lessons - he finally realized that working hard and keeping your commitments is important, but family must come first! So I revisited my answer and told my mom and my sister that if they need me there, I will do what it takes.

So I may have fallen close to the tree, but had a chance of heart, and managed to roll away.

A day of summer

Today was a typical day of summer. We hit the neighborhood pool in the morning, before it got too crowded or too hot, and after lunch we went to Newport on the Levee to watch Monsters University with the girls. Unfortunately Bella is still afraid of the movies and refused to go in, so while Lionel and Sofia watched the movie Bella and I just walked around. We went to Barnes and Noble to look at books, we went to Starbucks to get a smoothie and a pastry, we walked into couple toy stores, and even went to the purple bridge. Towards the end she was getting tired and anxious, but luckily by then the movie ended and we all headed home.

Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa

Tia Gabi Birthday

This past Thursday was Gabi's birthday. Since it was during the week we didn't get to have a full celebration that exact day, but as tradition would have it we at least got together to cut cake.

Ready for a facelift

Our deck is all empty, and ready to be resealed tomorrow. It really really needs it, so I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Happy Hour

Today we had a quick happy hour with David, and old friend I hadn't seen in a while since he moved out of town. It was really nice to see him, it had been too long!

Fathers Day 2013

My 3 tennis players

It's yellow! No, it's green!

Yesterday my tennis outfit matched the tennis balls, so I wanted a fun picture of it.

Master negotiator!

This morning I got Bella to cooperate and hurry up by offering her not one, but TWO chocolate chips. The thing is, they are tiny little things.

Tennis!

This past Saturday Bella had her very first private tennis lesson. She only did it for about 15 minutes, but it was a start!

The form of a butterfly