Well it's the last night of 2015 and we had our traditional dinner of yummy salmon, grilled vegetables, rice and champagne. We sat down as a family and gave thanks to the Lord for all the blessings He has bestowed upon us. Some good and some not what we would have liked, but God has his reasons! This is the list we came up with for our little family in no particular order.
1. Disneyland: Our happy place! We our a big Disney family and love to spend as much time there as possible. We are annual pass holders and plan to hold onto them as long as we can. We definitely get our money's worth and try to go at least once a month if not more. Last year we started our year with a trip to Disneyland and plan to do it again this year!
2. Family: This is not our favorite moment of 2015, but it is an important one. We lost three incredible members of my family this year! First, my beloved Tio Angel lost his battle with cancer on January 7th. On January 18th we lost my Tia Melinda suddenly and unexpectedly. In July we lost our sweet Tia Cruz who was 97 years old! All three of these passings have left such a big void in our lives. We miss them so much and can't believe that they are gone. We know that each and everyone of them is in a better place and for that we are thankful, but it's just hard knowing that they are not here with us on earth.
3. Drama! This is actually the production kind. We are so proud of our baby girl, Speedy, she works hard at her craft and has been cast in all of her productions in high school so far. She was Penny Wise in Urinetown last spring, where she stole the show with that awesome voice of hers! This past fall she was cast as the lead in A Flea in Her Ear. We love to watch her act and sing! This is her passion and we hope she gets to live her dream in all she does.
4. Squiggler has had the most things happen this year! She lost 4 teeth this year. The first two were taken out by the dentist and then she finally lost her first official tooth in September followed by another one in November. She was a late bloomer and didn't get first tooth until she was 9 months old. That is why I think she has barely started to lose her teeth.
5. Church: Speedy made her confirmation in May and I was so happy and proud of her. She's a bit of a rebel when it comes to religion, but she did it and for that I am grateful and proud! I don't have a picture, but Squiggler started her first year for her First Communion and I am teaching the class. I have 15 of the greatest kids in my class!
6. Weegie! She finished MUD and started working for Estee Lauder! She loves being a make up artist and is living her dream!! She works with some amazing people in a truly amazing company. She has learned so much and goes to work everyday happy!! She also free lances on the side and has done make up for some proms and weddings. I am so proud of how much she has grown and how hard she works.
7. Royalty Dance Academy: This is our home away from home! Squiggler takes Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Hip Hop and Speedy takes Jazz and Ballet. We love it there and I think they love us too. All my girls have been a part of Royalty and now Weegie helps when she is needed. I'm so glad that we belong to such an amazing place with amazing people.
8. Sports! Squiggler learned to swim and made it all the way to level 6 in swimming lessons. She also learned to ride a bike with no training wheels!!! This was my honey's summer project! He wanted to make sure he taught her how to ride a bike this summer. He has now taught all his girls how to ride a bike and made sure they were strong swimmers.
9. Las Vegas: For the first time in her 40+ plus years the Wifa finally went to Las Vegas!! She got picked to go to an SDE conference and went with her good friend Mrs. C. They had a blast and her friends made sure she enjoyed herself and experienced the Vegas life! She even won contest and gets to go back to the conference next year for free! The following week her honey and Squiggler went back to Vegas for a small family vacation! So now she's been twice!
10. College Life: Speedy won a scholarship to go to CSSSA for the summer at the Cal Arts campus. We were so proud of her, but missed her for the month that she was gone. Luckily she wasn't gone to far and we were able to visit her twice to buy her supplies and just spend some time with her. They had them jam packed with classes and activities. She really enjoyed herself and is hoping to attend next year too.
Honorable Mentions for this year!
School: Squiggler is in 1st grade while Speedy is now a Junior in High School. Both girls are doing great and Squiggler won student of the month in Kindergarten and 1st grade. Speedy still is maintaining her high grade point average and getting ready to take the SATs at the end of the month. She is also up for a Scholarship in Voice and Acting, so we couldn't be more proud of her.
Love: We will be celebrating our 20 year anniversary in January and are thankful that we still love being together. He is my best friend and she is mine! We couldn't do it alone and being together is much better!!
Family again: My grandparents were featured in a book and I was asked to write a small excerpt about them. I am now published!! LOL! It was exciting and such an honor to have our grandparent's legacy live on!!!
So that is pretty much it for us in a nutshell. We are Blessed beyond belief and even though sometimes things might not go as planned we know there is always a reason and something better is waiting for us just around the corner. Sometimes it's hard to remember that, but we try. We have the best girls and are so proud of them. They have good hearts and try to lead a good life. We couldn't ask for more! We continue to pray that they always remember to do good in all they do. Thank you for such a great 2015!
