Celebrating 14 Years

Today we got to be grown-ups. Of course we are grown-ups everyday, but when we get to go out to dinner on our own and have adult beverages and adult conversations we can appreciate being grown-ups. The reason for today's break away from the kiddies was to celebrate our 14 years of wedded bliss. 

It wasn't too fancy, but it was a nice time. A little Indian restaurant in Jersey City.

Also,  a great gift from our extremely thoughtful daughter who made us this card.

I love that she states "guys" as if we are a couple of her pals.

Portraits or Me and Eddie

And then a little author recognition

No, this is not me on my wedding day, but since we are celebrating marriage I thought this would be a good time to share a wonderful picture of my maternal grandmother on her wedding day. Just looking at her I know exactly what she is thinking. Nervous about what was to come. Excited to be starting an adventure with a man you love. Hopeful for the future. Of course Olive (my grandma) never knew that one day, that moment would be captured and put on her eldest daughter's daughter's blog..I mean in the 1940s in a country town in Jamaica...who would have thought.

Incredible - Happy Anniversary Edu!

Lucia Heads to Girl Scout Camp

This summer both kids are mixing it up and doing a variety of summer camps. Logistically it is a bit hairy to organize and keep track of, with so many different locations, forms, start and end times, lunch, no lunch...blah, blah. This week Mateo is going to basketball camp and Lucia is actually going to a Girl Scout Day Camp. I was told about it by her troop leader and when I found out how inexpensive it was and how close (only 30 minutes away) it was and that there was a Hoboken bus I just couldn't resist. 

We signed her up, but before we actually let her go, I made Eddie go with her a couple of days before to check out the camp and make sure it was decent. This is the ride up to the campsite.

Outtdoorsie - as a camp should be.

Cabins! Looks legit to me.

So today was her first day and as I waited for the bus with her I got a weird twinge. Didn't realize I would feel this way and I admired her for wanting to go even though she didn't know anyone else who was going. My brave little Lucia walked on that bus, waved goodbye and waited until I couldn't see the bus. 

"Bye, bye."

Parents aren't allowed to go to the camp to check on the girls, but they were kind enough to post a lot of pictures of the girls' week, so here are some highlights from her 1st week. 

She didn't go with friends, but she seemed to make a lot while she was there.

Friendship circle

Arts and crafts time

Her program was Fashion Art and on this day they had to dress wacky which explains all the bows in her hair

The ladies working on their straw hats for their fashion show

My country girl

All of the fashionable ladies

Of course camp wasn't only arts, crafts and fashion it also included field time and hiking...

...Lunch time fun...

...And  keychain making. I actually remember making these types of plastic yarn key chains when I was at camp

At the beginning of the week they stenciled t-shirts and on the last day they got to wear them. Lucia made this great owl.

or their field trip they went to FunPlex which also had a pool and waterslides. 

What was great about her whole experience was the bonding with other girls both her age and older and the real true outside camp experience. Everyday she came home happy and exhausted as it should be after a fun-filled day at summer camp.

 Week 1 Done! 

M&L Summer 2016 Piano Recital

Going along with the theme of the last few weeks, today the kids performed at a sort of end of season piano recital.

Recital Program

Both kids are listed under the 1PM performance, but they missed listing one of the songs Mateo was going to play (Blue Grass)

Lucia seemed a little nervous, but she was keeping her composure

Lucia plays Snake Dance

Mateo plays Blue Grass

Mateo's 2nd song, Acrobats

After the kids actually wanted to take pictures with their instructors - Allie teaches Lucia during the week...

...Michi teaches Mateo during the week.

And Virginia teaches both of them during the weekend.

After the recital, we all needed some fuel so we (us, Aba and Abu) all went to eat Mexican food

Of course we couldn't have lunch without dessert, so we headed to 16 Handles

As usual, Miss Lucia poured out more than she could handle. After a few bites she was done.

Since it was so nice out, we decided to go to the park to let the kids run out some of their energy.

"I'm on top of the world!"

Can't forget this peanut - she missed 16 Handles and park time because she was "chileando" and taking a nap.

Masterful performances followed by a pretty fun day.

Mateo - Swim Time

Today was the last day of Mateo's swimming session and he pulled out all of the stops, and by stops I mean swimming moves.  He managed to squeeze all lot into 30 minutes.

Diving

Freestyle

 Backstroke

 Breaststroke

and we're done until next season.

Well done Mateo

ECS Field Day 2016

Today is a big day in the Vielot-Gonzalez household - Elysian Field Day! Basically the kids compete against other teams playing different field sports like potato sack races, 3-legged races, etc. It's a fun day for the students, teachers and the school community.

COLOR WARS - Blue vs Orange!

Who will win!

Our little Lucia was intensely focused during the egg-spoon race

Papi volunteered to "help" with Field Day, but from the looks of it he wasn't too focused on the potato sack race.

He was, however, very focused on the staff vs. 8th Graders tug-of-war. 

8th Graders won.

The Fourth Graders also had their own tug-of-war. Mateo's team tried their hardest and won.

And then collapsed

The day was full of running...

...and it ended with "Water Balloon Fights!" to cool the kids down.

All in all they had a blast.

Father's Day 2016

Today is Father's Day which also means one of the hardest days of the year for me. So strange, that just 2 years ago it would mean getting a card for Eddie and my father-in-law and of course my Dad and now it's 2 out of the 3. No calls for me to make or corny gifts for me to buy unless it's from the kids to Eddie. It has also been a tradition to have a Father's Day barbecue at Aba and Abu's house. I thought about that all week and I wasn't able to make it last year, but I was determined to make it this year. "Just suck it up Francoise, you'll be fine. After all it is not just about you, what about Eddie. You can do this, just breathe..."

So, we started the morning with breakfast in bed. It was Lucia's idea and it was very important to her that we made the kind of eggs that look like eyeballs so we could make a smiley face. There was no bacon for the mouth so we improvised with sausage. 

After breakfast, we piled in the car and headed for Aba's house. By the way, this was also V's first day facing forward in the car. A whole new world.

So, I would love to say that the rest of the day was a breeze, but it wasn't after the in-car picture was taken I started hyperventilating and I needed to get out of the car. I had to go back home. I couldn't handle everyone saying "Happy Father's Day" to their fathers knowing that mine was not around. I couldn't stand the fact that I would end up in a silent contemplative moment and begin to tear and then someone would notice and all of a sudden the day's joy would be all about my sadness. I didn't want the attention, I just wanted to be alone. I felt awful that I couldn't bring myself to go...that my kids saw me freak out and figured out why. Anyway, the rest of the day I spent alone in our home and spoke with my mom who helped to calm me down.  The rest of these photos are from Eddie's phone.

Apparently there was a pinata! You can't go wrong with a pinata and of course my son is always at the front of the pack when the candy comes raining down.

I do want to acknowledge and express my gratuity to my Edu. A great father and partner in parenthood. Hopefully, one day I will be able to celebrate with him without feeling pain. Fingers crossed.

Maybe next year...