my little lovies

last month my nieces and nephew came down to visit. i absolutely love spending time with them and since it happens only about once a year i treasure the time with them. it was also meagan's 3rd birthday. meagan is so special, she is the most lovable little girl i've ever met! even if she doesnt know you she'll give you the biggest hug like she's known you all her life.

 won't they make the cutest flower girls and ring bearer:)

just saying

my dad is the goofiest man you will ever meet.

he bought this hat with the craziest hair and he LOVES wearing it around to see people's reactions (not going to lie it's pretty funny). 

you gotta love this man:)

the fair, be there

a few things i loved at the fair this year...

robots on scooters

my dad finding the silliest things to do

eating a ton and sister actually eating more than me (thats a rarity!)

newborn chicks


p.s. in case you were wondering about the outcome of my last post, crist actually vetoed the bill, thank God!

so long christmas, come back soon

i hope everyone had a delightful christmas because i know i sure did. i have to admit i wasn't too sure it would be enjoyable because of my current condition (which i'll divulge later) but i was pleasantly surprised.

it was very low key, christmas morning was the usual opening presents with family and then for dinner my mom cooked an amazing feast that we enjoyed with some family and friends.

i love that my family hasn't grown out of the tradition of opening presents on christmas morning. i also love that my mom still loves to spoil us. i can't wait until i can spoil her.

i woke up to this surprise next to the tree...

isn't she a beauty?! i can't wait to ride her.

i also got a new camera because ol' pinky doesn't like to open up her lens anymore.

my other favorite are these...

i have a mildly odd obsession with disney princesses and collect all things disney princess so every year my mom gets me a new disney princess ornament and this year with the help of sister i got 6:)

and this is just a cute picture of my baby on christmas morning.

i decided that next year i'm sending out christmas cards with a picture of bailey and i in santa hats. since everyone else sends pictures of their families i think it will be appropriate...

and a tad bit funny.

happy thanksgiving

i'm thankful to be spending thanksgiving with my family in chicago.

i'm thankful for such amazing parents.

i'm thankful that i'm a teacher and i get holidays off.

i'm also thankful for my students and that they told me they were thankful for me today (it was so sweet)

most of all i'm thankful that i have a relationship with my amazing savior.

tomorrow i will be celebrating thanksgiving in a house full of about 50 crazy people. i love the fact that even though we're a huge family we're all so close and would do anything for each other. sometimes i wish i lived in chicago so i can spend every holiday with my family and see them even when its not a holiday... but only sometimes because then i think about how much i love warm weather lol.

i hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving and has many blessings to be thankful.

windy city

so chicago did not get the 2016 olympics, boo!!!

i could have easily experienced the olympics for the first time in my second home. oh well looks like i'll just have to make a trip to rio de janeiro in 2016;)

but even though the olympics won't be in chicago, i will be there in november! i miss my family so much and i LOVE getting to spend holidays with the whole family.

can't wait to see these people.

Great America, circa 2003

beach days are my favorite

sister and i took our nieces and nephew to the beach for the first time. they loved it and it was really cute watching them take in everything for the first time.

meagan did not like the sand at first and refused to walk in it but she loved it by the end

it will be a zoo, good thing i like zoos

so my big sister decided to drop off my 2 nieces and nephew for the week.

i am very happy about this because since they live in texas and i don't get to spend nearly enough time with them.

the first day here they were already going crazy in the pool.

and they were spent by the end of the day.

my little nurse

sister is officially a registered nurse!!!!

she was studying for her nclex so hard and stressing about it so much but of course this smart cookie passed! i am so proud of my little sister.

i got her some yummy cupcakes to celebrate her amazing achievement.

she is going to be the loveliest nurse ever.

family time on the 4th of july

i had the best 4th of july spending some quality time with my family. we went to marco island and spent the whole day at the beach, it was wonderful.

i think the 4th of july is moving up on my list of favorite holidays.

{sister doesn't care for the sun much lol}

{i love that they're still cute and in love}

summer means time to bbq

i absolutely love summer and one of my favorite parts about summer is grilling out. sister and i finally grilled today and we made shrimp and chicken kabobs for the first time. it was a very yummy dinner if i do say so myself. i can't believe i never liked shrimp before.

we're all about trying to make new things for dinner because all we ever really eat for dinner is rice, beans and meat! ever since i was little my dad would say we only eat rice and beans because we're puerto rican and that is what puerto ricans eat but i'm starting not to believe him anymore.

when in rome...

so last week my mom, sister and i got back from our trip to italy and what an amazing trip it was. i already had a passion for traveling but this trip made it 100 times stronger. there is just so much to see in this world and i want to experience as much of it as possible. i also think the more you travel the more educated you become because i definitely learned a lot on this trip.

we went to rome and venice and they were so different but equally beautiful. my favorite day was we went to the colosseum and the roman forum, so much history! but i also loved seeing all the beautiful churches, it was awesome to see what people built to honor God.

these are just some of my favorite pics.

i am also now convinced that I would like to live overseas for about six months to a year. probably spain because i really want to be fluent in spanish. hopefully i can do a semester abroad while in grad school.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow...

So the past 3 months I've been living in Chicago with family for a job opportunity. I have been teaching first grade and it has been an awesome experience but summer is approaching and in less than a week I'll be home in Miami!!!!

I have to admit I was getting pretty homesick but the past 3 months really did fly by. And it's very bitter sweet, although I'm super excited to get home I will miss many things here.

The top 5 things I'll miss most....

5. the change of seasons, I appreciate nature so much more now

4. the trail I run on, it started my love for running

3. H&M, I will be really sad about this one

2. my students

1. my family, they might be crazy and dysfunctional at times but I love them all so much