Mommy's Birthday Trip to Aruba - Day 1

Although my actual birthday was pretty standard, I was super excited about my gift from the hubby. A wonderful kid-free trip to the beautiful Aruba

View from our window at the magnificent Marriott hotel

Couple's Therapy - After a magical massage we hung out by the pool

And after lounging at the pool, we took in the scenic sunset on the Aruban beach

We later went to this traditional Aruban restaurant. "Bon Bini" means "Welcome"

"Welcome fruity martini!"

Great start to our mini vacation

Mommy's Actual 40th Birthday

So today is my birthday and it is a big one. Some people call it a milestone birthday. The big 4-0! That's all there really is to say about it. I got lots of good birthday wishes and went out to a nice dinner and that's about all...for now.

I didn't get any photos of myself today, but I wanted to capture the day somehow and luckily I had these shots of some of my favorite girls. Miss Lucia had a playdate with one of her best friends, Alma.

And V got to just sit around looking adorable.

Good day.

MLV Go Country Clubbing

Today was interesting. Some friends invited us to a visitors' day at their Country Club. It's not something I have ever even considered or been interested in because I have always had a perception of exclusivity that made me feel uncomfortable. Today's visit changed a lot of that for me...not all of it, but a lot of it. I learned that sometimes you can't judge a book by its cover, even if the cover has a fancy name that ends with "Club"

Valentina was prepared and ready to prance around the grounds

Lucia was equally as ready in her preppy stripes

Mateo got a kick out of this table tennis set up. We were unable to play real tennis because we did not have "tennis whites"...I did mention it was a "Country Club"

Sylvie's (pictured here with Lucia) family were our hosts for the day and they were very gracious

"Cheers everyone!"

Lucia's 1st Piano Recital

After Lucia's first musical performance with her brother, she decided she wanted to forget singing and just focus on piano. Tonight was her first gig and it was fabulous. We followed the performance with a great meal at the Annual Hoboken Spaghetti Dinner.

Really cool, their performance was held in the back room at Maxwell's (famous for their live bang performances).

Lucia was focused and ready to perform

Luciap performing on the piano

As you can see with the piano performance she was a lot more at ease. It also just looked cool because she was on a legitimate stage with performance lighting. When I asked her why she wasn't as nervous with this performance as she was with the last she said "because I didn't have to look at anyone."

After her performance we headed over to Sinatra Park for the Spaghetti Dinner where there was lots of pasta and this wonderful Sinatra-like performer

Miss Lucia was very satisfied

Papi and V shared a moment on the dance floor

Mateo Goes to British Challenger Soccer Camp

Staycations are over and camps are back on. Today Mateo went to another - you guessed it- Soccer Camp! This one was being sponsored by a British organization.

He was pretty psyched to get to go with his two friends Lucas and Liam 

Sunday with Lucia & Valentina

Today Mateo had a chess tournament and Eddie took him into the City which left the girls and I home to explore Hoboken.

Since it was a nice sunny day we needed to remember to accessorize for the weather.

Valentina was prepared...

...and so was Lucia

First, we took a walk to the library where the sisters enjoyed some reading time.

Next we headed off to Lucia's favorite daytime restaurant, Panera, where V tried out her chompers on this big apple.

Lucia enjoyed her usual - mac and cheese, yogurt and an apple juice

After that we stopped by Sweets for a little, mini cupcake treat

Valentina was more fascinated with the store than she was with the cupcakes

We finished the day off with a trip to the park.

Perfectly pleasant.

MLV - Staycation Day 4

Our final day of at-home-vacation was a great one. We took the kids to see Matilda which was Lucia's 1st Broadway show and Mateo's 2nd. They were very excited since they had both seen and enjoyed the movie.

Toothless Lucia in kitty ears really looks feral

After getting into the Port Authority we walked through the city and of course came upon a street fair (which tends to be the norm in the City during the summer)

At last! We reached the theater where Matilda was showing.

"Yah can't wait!"

The wait was cool because the set was so captivating

In the end the kids were very satisfied.

Great Musical!

Great Day!

And great end to our 1st Family Staycation!