Great Aunt Alice

I come from a very small family.

I have one uncle on my mom’s side.

I have no first cousins.

However, my mom has several cousins and growing up we were particularly close to two of them ~ LouAnn & Sharon. They both have kids my age and a little younger so I’ve always considered them my first cousins even though they are actually my third cousins. Back in the mid-80s to mid-90s we would get together annually during the holidays and trade off houses between Long Beach, Mission Viejo/San Juan Capistrano and our home in San Diego. We always had a huge feast, visited and exchanged gifts. LouAnn & Sharon’s parents, Uncle George & Aunt Alice, were fabulous cooks and the holiday tables were bursting with good food. I will always remember these small, intimate gatherings with our little family.

Unfortunately great uncle George passed away in 2000, but we of course continued to see aunt Alice and were honored that she was able to attend our wedding almost 10 years ago.

Well, today is her 95th birthday!

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We travelled to the Temecula area this past Saturday afternoon to celebrate. The little clubhouse in her HOA was packed with so many of her dear friends and family. She was overjoyed with the kind words spoken from the mouths of these friends that have known her for decades. She was taken aback by all the cards and gifts bestowed upon her. But I have no doubt that she felt special and now knows what an impact she made on so many lives over the years. It was a honor to attend and brought back so many memories from our visits years ago.

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{the birthday girl dancing with my Uncle Larry}

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{L-R: my mom, Elliott, Auntie Alice, me, LouAnn & Sharon}

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Our lives have now taken us to different states and onto different seasons, but we’re always together for the milestones.

I don’t know what it’s like to come from a big family, but I’m sure happy with my little one.

The happiest of happy birthdays to you, Auntie Alice! Wishing you many blessings in the next year and always….

Busy Calendar

Hello and Happy-day-after-St. Patrick’s Day!

Our day of {all things green} was just like any other Monday pretty much.

It started out with my favorite pair of gold Havaianas having a blowout in the same spot as all my other well-loved pairs. The little part between the toe gave way and forced me to switch to my gold flats. Havaianas are my absolute favorite and I did get 3-4 years out of these, but I imagine the chlorine from the pool and the trips to the beach eventually take their toll on the rubber…..sad face.

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Mama Leprechaun dropped the ball on the once-a-year-Lucky-Charms-for-breakfast deal so she popped them in the car for a donut with green icing and shamrock sprinkles at Albertson’s on the way to school instead! Not the best breakfast to start Health Week off with….

We had a leprechaun come and turn our toilet water green which seemed to freak the kids out a little more this year.

Last week I sampled a precooked corned beef brisket at Trader Joe’s and immediately knew I was going to serve it on a hectic, homework-filled St. Paddy’s Monday night. Fortunately Mondays are our “easy” days and we have nowhere to be, but it was nice to know all I had to do was heat the brisket for about 30 minutes in the oven and sauté up some cabbage and onions to make some sauerkraut! I also squeezed a couple drops of food coloring into a lone bottle of Mexican beer and hit it with a little lime juice for an adult after 5:00pm treat while I prepared our Irish feast.

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Holden brought home a friendly little leprechaun and I updated our “days until” sign {which hadn’t been updated since Christmas!!}. That was the extent of SPD at Chez Aspiras!

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And as for our nice, quiet, after-the-holidays schedule……that is all coming to a screeching halt and the calendar is quickly filling up again.

Elliott is back in full swing with Spring soccer through AYSO and is on another great team. They’ve played two games and walked away with a shutout in game one and managed to tie game two up this past Saturday. The Spring season is a lot more relaxed as there are no playoffs and only 8 games, but it is a great way for the kids to keep up with their skills and build up their momentum for the Fall season. We are so proud of her as she ASKS to go and practice at the park above and beyond her normal practices. She was chosen to be a team captain this past week and Jay captured this sweet picture of her teammate and her after they won the coin toss…

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She also has stepped up her dance game and has taken on another class aside from her Friday hip hop & jazz. Last week she went and tried a lyrical class with her friend, Tiffany, and came home so excited to show me what she had learned. In one hour she had mastered choreography for the Spring recital number and the teacher asked of she was doing the recital! I thought the deadline had passed to order costumes, but apparently it was extended so BOOM she’s enrolled in one more dance class during the week and I ordered her second costume for the recital.

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This warms my heart as lyrical is one of my most favorite styles of dance and I have been nudging her to take this class for a couple years now.

I feel so blessed that she can go from aggression and speed on the soccer field to beauty and grace in the dance studio. I pray that she will continue to grow in both of these activities and is always able to keep one foot in a soccer cleat and one foot in a dance shoe.

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Holden is about to start Spring baseball so we will throw in a practice during the week and a Saturday game into the calendar for the next couple months. He is very excited and received new baseball necessities from Gramma Kathy for his birthday last month ~ fancy cleats, official baseball pants with a big boy belt {no more drawstrings!}, a bat and some awesome batting gloves. I need to uncover his right-handed glove out in the garage and he’ll be good to go! He hasn’t played since being on the cutest little t-ball team 3 years ago, so this league will be a great way for him to be reintroduced to baseball.

He and I also enjoyed a little mother/son bonding time at a PTA sponsored bowling event last weekend. Our team made our own tie dyed shirts which was a first for me and so much fun. The afternoon of bowling was equally as fun and we can’t wait for next year!

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The weeks are simply flying by. Aside from these activities, they are both doing after school activities and their weekly religious education classes. Spring Break is on the horizon and that just means one thing…..Summer is not too far behind!

As mentioned in my last post, our summer is going to be filled with events leading up to the marriage of my brother-in-law to his precious finace in late July so we have all that goodness waiting for us on the books, as well.

Feeling so grateful for our busy calendar.

Have a beautiful day, friends!

XOXO