Cousins Onced Removed

wearing a purple gap dress, dont remember what line - but its got great twirl factor. ariana wanted to wear her purple lavender tinkerbell fairies bow made by melanie. for the wedding, relatives flew in. we havent seen them for over a year since they got relocated. we call amelia in the family - mimi. ariana knows 2 mimi's, she calls amelia her "white mimi", the other one is brown mimi. my sister gave them cabbage patch baby dolls - a white one and a brown one. the girls are 17 days apart with mimi being the oldest. funny we were married the same year 1999 as my nephew and then both had girls in fall 2005.

Savanna Sunset

ariana wanted to write a note to her kindergarten teacher when school was out. i thought it was a great idea, anything to encourage her to write over the summer. another day she decorated an envelope and asked if the mailman goes to the teacher's house. she was serious about this letter. while we were on vacation, i received 2 "little bo peep" play photo storybooks - one for us and the other for her teacher. ariana wrapped it up all by herself and even tied the bow (since she learned how to tie shoes over the summer). she kept bugging us either to take her to the post office or deliver it. it wasnt on my list of priorities, but ariana is pretty persistant when its high on her list and wont let you forget about it. i finally gave in today and said "lets go". she wanted to do everything by herself - from ringing the doorbell and giving it to her teacher. this little girl is on cloud 9 singing "i got to see my teacher!" and feels extra special since Mrs.C gave her a tour too. ariana is wearing gymbo savanna sunset. both are kidgirl sizes that i have been waiting for her to fit in them. top is side 3 and shorts are size 4.

Summer Closet

i need to do the math. do you think there are same number of summer days left to wear each one??

Watermelon Picnic LOVE

i have all these knit short & tank outfits from gymbo - mostly from watermelon, floral reef and citrus cooler lines. there is a stack of each line in ariana's dresser. usually on sale for $5.99 or $6.99, then i stack a 20% coupon on top. i might as well buy gymbo for the same price i could buy at target or walmart.

Final Fitting

aside from returning home from a 2 week vacation, we are all in my nephew's wedding this coming weekend. picked up ariana's flower girl dress from david's bridal alterations. it fits perfect. joshua picks up his tux on thursday. byron is wearing his suit and we need to go buy him a tie. i'm all set with dress & shoes, except i need to start wearing the shoes around the house to break them in before the big day. ariana specifically wanted to wear a dress... a pink one. she picked this gymbo floral reef patchwork one. (note she wore this a couple months ago). her pink SF giants cap & geox sandals.

Home Sweet Home

its true what they say - you need a vacation from a vacation, at least i do. altho its nice to be home and sleep in your own bed, theres the unpacking putting things back plus tons of laundry. i added it all up. 15 days + 4 hotels + 3 rental cars + 6 airports SFO MCO ORD LGA JFK LAX + disney + family reunion + wedding = our summer vacation. doesnt look like summer weather in the bay area compared to where we have been. ariana is wearing a disney silvermist dress around the house. it almost could pass as a nightgown. throughout the day, she has managed to change into some of her princess dresses. ariana said she was snow white for a long time.

FRIDAY - JULY 15, 2011
THE ONLY WAY TO FLY


matilda jane for our last traveling day. its the deedee fiona with lindy ruffles. united has 3 class cabin planes flying out of JFK. josh wanted to catch the first flight out at 6:00 am. i have no where to go nor attend, but HOME. there was no way i was going to check out at 3:00 in the morning to get to the airport. we tried for the 2:30, 4:00 and 5:30 direct flights to california. they all went out full - which is a good thing for the airline company business but bad for stand bys. ariana doesnt understand the flying benefits. to her, the airplanes are leaving and we're stuck at the airport. homesick was kicking in. lounging in the red carpet club room helped to make things comfortable. finally we got premium first class seats on the 6:00. these seats fold all the way down to lay flat as a bed. aside from the meal, ice cream sundae & drinks, each passenger has their own digi-player to pick any movie or tv show. ariana watched yogi bear. i started to watch black swan but josh told me it wasnt good, he switched me to "take me home tonight". we all made it home by midnight with all luggages accounted for.

Jersey Boys Wedding

my nephew and his partner are finally tying the knot, being together for 15 years. at first it was a commitment ceremony, but now its legal in new york - its officially a wedding. when i first explained to ariana, she was like "what, thats funny - 2 boys are getting married??" then she connected it to a pebbles & bambam episode, she saw 2 men getting married where one was wearing a wedding dress. so i start explaining that now-a-days, its OK for 2 guys to be together, OK for 2 girls to marry each other. added some kids have 2 mommies or 2 daddies. i realized i was "prepping" her, where for a normal man-woman ceremony its a given in a child's mind. at the same time to instill we should always love our family & friends no matter who they marry. the boys ended up wearing khaki suits - one with a blue shirt, the other in pink. it was a very entertaining event especially with lance doing his vows in a lip synch broadway musical rendition with props. the theme was a broadway production called “The Ceremony.” the program was a Playbill complete with cast listing, bios and headshots of the wedding party. i had a copy in my purse and read it on the plane - it credited all the actual weddings they participated in (including ours). “I now pronounce you partners for life” declared by the mistress of ceremony. Congratulations boys!
ariana wore gymbo seashell coral caftan with janie & jack poolside shorts for the lincoln tunnel car ride. changed into one of targets easter dress for the wedding. the couple owns one of the oldest homes in newark, new jersey built in 1710 - the sydenham house. josh plugged in carlo's bakery (cake boss) realizing its in hoboken and just miles away.

Statue of Liberty

WEDNESDAY - JULY 13, 2011

janie & jack santorini top with seaside escape linen pants to see the statue of liberty. i picked up these white pants on sale at our brief shopping mall stop when we landed in chicago. i have no fear of ariana wearing white pants, she is not one to just sit down anyplace. its hot in the city, but cooler when we head out to liberty island. we told the taxi to drop us off at battery park to see the statue. oh my gosh, we almost ended up on the ferry to staten island. oops. didnt feel bad as another family almost made the same mistake. got our tickets in the round brick building, then having to go thru similar airport security lines to catch the boat. we walked around the grounds and took pictures like typical tourists would do. didnt buy tickets to go up the pedestal or to the crown. ariana would be too tired. on second thought - we would be the ones carrying her. after embarking, she told the taxi "to the Plaza hotel where Eloise lives, please". on our way, i was explaining to her that the plaza is a hotel where they filmed the movie, eloise doesnt really live there. boy did they prove me wrong. outside is a big pink Eloise flag, theres a big framed picture inside the lobby and a boutique gift shop. there is even a hotel suite, unfortunately it was reserved or else we could've got a tour. needless to say, ariana was one happy camper going to Eloise's hotel and constantly reminding me that i was wrong.

The Big Apple

gap daisy fields dress for chicago to new york flight. checked into our hotel on west 57th by carnegie hall. we arrived on one of the hottest days hitting 102 deg. went out to dinner and walked to times square at night. who would've thought there would be a disney store right dab in the middle. changed ariana into another gap dress from porcelain line.

Chi-town

a storm hit chicago up thru the morning, causing power outages. kind of gave us a late start to go downtown for the weather to clear up. this way it wasnt too hot to walk all around navy pier. guess no shopping for me down michigan avenue. ariana is wearing gymbo tropical bloom. the first dress i had ordered online - the front print was mostly white and light blue. i specifically went to the store and compared all the dresses looking for one with mostly navy blue to match the saltwaters sandals.

Church

attended one of the family's neighborhood church (beth eden baptist in morgan park). it was almost like on the movies. ariana wore the pink bubble dress from target, then changed into a naartjie sugar outfit to visit grandmommy.

Family Reunion

another day of flying - off to chicago for the family reunion. theres 5 of us trying to get out of MCO, and only 4 got on the first flight. once again, i was left to take care of things while byron relaxed in the red carpet room and boarded a later flight in a first class seat. i got my nephew out back to SFO with one of the last seats available. luckily a party of 3 didnt show up til the last minute. joshua realized he had left all his shirts at home. in the meantime of waiting for byron's flight to get in, we went to a really nice mall about 12 miles away. all my favorite stores were there and wished we had more time. we checked into the hotel, did a quick change and made it to the family reunion banquet dinner. ariana wore gap corsica dress, then the gap havana dress again. obviously one of the brothers didnt get the memo to wear white or a blue shirt. luckily i was able to coordinate to have a family picture of byron's immediate family with his mom and 3 brothers.

Best Day Ever

FRIDAY - JULY 8, 2011
gymbo seashell coral

THURSDAY - JULY 7, 2011

oh my gosh, talk about being jet lagged from the west coast. i looked at my ipod this morning - it said 7:00. i decided to stay in bed and wake everybody up at 8:00. byron beat me to it - asking me what time is our lunch at the disney castle. our reservation is for 12 noon, and it was 11:00. i realized and panic at the same time - my ipod time never changed time zones. the disney gods are on ariana side and able to get us in for dinner. whew. to the park, ariana is wearing gymbo poppy love halter dress with red saltwaters. hurdle #2 - get to the park for the 3:00 parade. we got in and caught the parade as it started to turn around on main street. right on cue when the parade was over - it literally started to rain. i'm talking major downpour, thunder and lightening. it finally settled down as we made our way to small world. at 5:00 we noticed the schedule of the all princesses' greeting times ended at 5:00. i told ariana they all went home because of the rain, and we'll see some of them at dinner. byron decided to check - they were there late due to the rain. she was able to see princess tiana and the new rapunzel (tangled movie) afterall. and since she's a first grader, she went on the tea cups and dumbo ride for the first time. she declared this "the BEST day ever!"

Blizzard Beach

we're moving from a 2 bedroom villa to a 1 bedroom with adjoining suite, basically josh gets a studio all to himself. the villa was in one of the first out of 7 buildings constructed. it was refurbished with upgraded tvs and sofabed, but the bedrooms were disappointing. i smacked a big old cockroach, the sliding glass door in the master bedroom security lock doesnt work, and ariana found some ants. i am aware that there are better rooms and a stickler when it comes to my accommodations. while they are getting our room in bldg 6 ready which is one of the last one to be built and remodeled late last year, we spent the day at disneys blizzard beach. ariana just stayed in the main kiddy area, and the boys went down all the waterslides. she is wearing gymbo fairy fashion tankini (size 4) and speedo aqua shoes. afterwards changed into gymbo tropical bloom outfiit with navy saltwaters. went to downtown disney for dinner. ariana had fun trying on all the wigs of each disney princess.

Travel Tuesday

i always pick for ariana to wear matilda jane on the plane. airline employees have a dress-up code (meaning no jeans & tshirt), especially if you prefer to sit in first class. mj is dressy, yet so comfortable for flying - and not getting off the plane all wrinkled up. this set is from the hammond bay line - sunny dress with lindey linen ruffles. ariana wasted no time getting comfortable and settled in at the timeshare. she is wearing one of the shorts & tank outfit from gymbo coral reef line. went back to the airport to pick up byron, who got on a later flight. it was kind of a good thing as he was able to get some work done in the red carpet room mind you. then he sat in first class being wine & dined. where here i was left to handle everything on the store front - watch the kids, keep count of all our bags consisting of 7 check ins and 4 carry ons, pick up the rental car, drive to the timeshare, check in and get settled in. so not fair.

MONDAY - JULY 4, 2011
FOURTH of JULY
the holiday is basically our "packing" day, aside from cleaning the house since we're gonna be gone for a couple of weeks. ariana understands we are getting everything ready, but could only entertain herself for so long either watching a dvd or coloring. usually if she sees me really busy, she'll go to dad and vice-versa. this afternoon she had both of us stop what we're doing and take a break for the parade. i thought i was going to watch her march around the house, where instead WE were in the parade. imagine this - the 3 of us marching down our street and back. byron and i held the flag sign following our little leader. ariana wrote the words to "God Bless America" and we sung it.

Back at the Ranch

checking out of hotel reservation #2. its the usual place we always stay at - the shenandoah inn. we got the suite, so all the boys and their friends can crash in the front room. theres a continental breakfast in the lobby, i take ariana a dip in the pool while the boys get ready. she is wearing gap corsica bathing suit (size 4T). we head out back to the ranch to visit with family before heading out of town. a full breakfast is served with all the leftovers from last night. every year my cousin rents out a snowcone machine and a popcorn machine. last year we were talking about using the machine to make halo-halo (a filipino shaved ice dessert meaning mix-mix). we planned it this year to bring the filipino condiments (available at several stores in union city) and evaporated milk. the snowcone machine wasnt available, but the magaritaville blender worked out great. yummy. ariana is beginning to branch out on her own. either she's getting older or feeling comfortable around the family & her surroundings. she still asked me permission "mom, is it ok to go and chit chat with the family?" she is wearing the gap southwest dress in this 100 degrees weather.

FoJ Family Summer Celebration

the family annual summer celebration. its always held on the first saturday of the month - no matter what day the fourth of july falls on.
muenster cheese. went to the grocery store first thing this morning. made 2 batches of mac&cheese. the recipe is from patti labelles cookbook, my cousin dubbed it "gitchy gitchy yayaya". right out of the oven just in time for the boys to take it. they head out to the ranch earlie, as they are directing the parking. it starts at 4:00, but i now i could relax and dont mind being late since my dish is there.
now to cleanup, get dressed, get ariana ready, plus pack for a one-nighter. ariana is wearing a gymbo fourth of july dress from last year. i can't remember how much i got this on sale for. its a size 5 and running a tad big, had to tie a ribbon in the back for the shoulder straps to stay up.
before hitting the 2 hour roadtrip drive, i still have my list to complete:
filipino oriental store - buy condiments for filipino halo-halo drink.
gas station - fill up tank at $3.75 per gallon. gas prices are going down.
fireworks. union city is one of the places that allows firework stands. i purchased the $69.99 assortment box...and used a $10 coupon off. plus 4 sets of sparklers for the kids. these thing run for $7.99, luckily theres a bogo free. a set is 6 boxes with 5 in each of them. i really dont remember these costing that much.