Virgen de Guadalupe

Today is the feast day for the Virgen de Guadalupe. What a special day. Dedicated to Jesus' mom. Our mom.

I'm very excited that I get to be a part of the special mass today. I'm getting to dance. We get to use candles. And we've been practicing for weeks. It's very exciting!

I really do like my culture. Not only are we celebrating la Madre de Dios, we are celebrating all mothers. There are going to be mariachis, dancers, and matachines at mass. Very exciting. My Dad is also cooking up a big dinner. That's for after the big day. And all of our fun. :) C

We're Home

We're home from the Mariachi Conference. It was so much fun! We got home last night. I went straight to bed. I was that tired.

But we had a fun week. My Dad taught for my Tio Joe. My Nana performed for him. Because Tio Joe didn't travel with the mariachi. It was a good thing. Since baby Graciella came while we were gone. My Dad is going to be her Godfather. And my Nana is going to be her Godmother. She is a very lucky girl! :)

My tio Juan also didn't go. Because of my friend Sarita is still in the hospital. So my Nono taught and performed for him. We're all still praying for Sarita.

At the conference I got to take both dance and music classes. I was really lucky. I had to take the dance classes. Because my dance group went to perform. But my Dad got me to take a few music classes. And that was a lot of fun. My friend Joe got to go too. I'm so glad! We live so far away. And only get to see each other for the conferences.

We got to sing and play our violins on the river. Because there is always a big concert on the river. It was so fun! I even got to sing with my Nono and Nana. On the night of the big concert, I got to dance. Marissa, Maribel, and Lauren got to dance too. We really did have a good time.

And when my tios and Nana performed, Joe and I got to sing a duet with them. That was so exciting! I really do enjoy the conferences. And I can't wait until the next one. :) C

Baby Jelly Bean is Here

Baby Jelly Bean was born last night. How exciting is that? I can't wait to go home to see here. I know she will be perfect. Just like her mommy and daddy. Congratulations Tia Jelly and Tio Joe! Love you lots! :) C

Traveling

We're going to be in Texas until next week. For a mariachi and dance workshop. I'm so excited! I really like coming to these things. You meet so many good people. And you learn so much.

I've got all my homework with me. My Dad told me that it's important that I keep up with my school work. I agree. But I'm really excited about performing this week.

My Dad is going to be teaching. And all of my dance group is here too. I'm so excited! We had to bring so much luggage. The airports were so busy. But everyone is happy to be here. :) C

Happy Thanksgiving

I think Thanksgiving could be my favorite holiday. My Dad makes the best food ever! He's already been cooking for hours. Yesterday, he baked a bunch of pies too. My Grandma and I even made a pumpkin roll. That was so fun! I can't wait to try it. Because I've never tasted one before.

We're having a lot of friends over today. I'm super excited about that. Baby Jelly Bean still isn't here yet. Jelly keeps telling us that she just wants to get through Thanksgiving before her baby is born. :)

Now I'm going to go have breakfast with my Dad and my grandmas. Then we have to get ready for mass. But I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! :) C

Praying for Sarita and Adelita

My friend Sarita's little sister was born last night. We're all super excited! And we can't wait to meet Adelita. My tio Juan told us that she has so much hair! They already put some of her bows in her hair. :)

We're all excited, but also scared. We are all praying for Sarita. She had her surgery a little bit after Adelita was born. We're all hoping that her surgery helps her. And that her cancer will be gone soon. For good.

I can't wait until they get to move back. Please pray for them both. And their mom and dad. They need all the prayers that they can get. They are so special. Gifts from God. :) C

My New Scarf

I wanted a new scarf. I think I might have told my Dad one day after church. And he told me that we could go shopping, after the mariachi conference. So I was pretty excited!

Today, my tia Sals brought me this scarf. Isn't it pretty? I like the color a lot. And it's super soft. :) Thank you tia! I love it. I just wish that it was colder outside so I could wear it. :) C

Dia de los Muertos

Today is Dia de los Muertos. I always think about Sarita on this day. She really likes it. She told me that this is her favorite holiday. :)

The reason for today is to celebrate our family and friends who have died. We make alters and offer food, gifts, and music to them. A really special day.

Tonight we're going to mass. And having a celebration at our house. It's important to remember all of our family. Even if they have died. It's really important. I like this day. Because we get to remember them, and celebrate their lives. :) C

Happy Halloween

Yay! Today is Halloween. I'm so excited to get to dress up and spend the day with my friends. Our church has even asked us to dress up for mass today.

We're also going to the Mall later to do some trick or treating. They're going to have a costume contest too. And then, we're going to go out to dinner. My tios are also taking some of us for more trick or treating. I'm very excited!

I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween. Stay safe! :) C

Back Home

Nono and I made it home this afternoon. I'm really tired. But I had a lot of fun with him. I was in Florida for over a month. I missed my Dad so much! And mi abuelitas too. My dogs must have missed me. Because they've been sitting in my lap all night.

Tonight, we all went to church. Then my Dad made a big dinner for everyone. It was so yummy. And it was fun to see all of my friends again. :) I missed everyone a lot. I'm glad that Nono gets to stay for a few weeks too. I think it's going to be a lot of fun to have him around.

I'm really tired. I think I should go to bed. We've been up for a long time! It was a long flight home. But I'm glad to be back. I had lots of fun with my Nono. I'm glad I got to go spend some time with him. :) C

My Dad is Working

My Dad left today. He went to work on some gigs with my Nana. I already miss him. But I'm glad I got to stay with my abuelitas. It's fun that they both live with us. I think that we are going to have a lot of fun together!

We only have a week of school left. Then I'm going to fly to meet my Dad and my Nana. This is going to be a lot of fun! We're going to a race while I'm there. And my Dad said we might get to stop and visit Sarita on our way home. :) C

It's Almost Summer Break

School is almost over. We have 15 more days! My Dad is already on his summer break. But he will start teaching lessons at home. During the day. This week at school it is spirit week. And every day we get to dress up. It's a big deal. We usually have to wear a uniform. I go to a private school. But this week we have days like pj day and career day. I'm really excited!

But I'm also sad. School is almost over. I won't get to see all my friends until August. It's a long time. We will still get to talk on the phone. But we won't see each other every day like we do now. My Dad told me not to worry. That I could have sleepovers. But I'm still going to miss my friends.

My Dad has planned a trip to go visit my Nono. We are going to Florida for a few weeks. I'm really excited about that! I like going to visit him. We always spend a lot of time at Disney World. My Nono also has a big swimming pool. And I just like to spend time with him.

I will still be in my dance classes too. We get to perform during the summer. I won't be bored. But I will miss spending lots of time with my friends. :) C

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is Mother's Day. But I don't have a mom. Instead, I have lots of ladies who love me. Starting with my abuelitas and my Nana! I hope they all have a nice day. I've made them each a special present. And I've gotten to see everyone but my Nana today. She's visiting her mom in a different city. But I can't wait to see her! She really is like my mom. I LOVE her so much! And I know that she does a lot of things for me that she doesn't have to.

I don't think you have to be a mom today to celebrate. And you don't need to have a mom. All you need are women that love you. I never miss the love of my mom. Because my Dad loves me so much! He makes up for my mom. And my Nana is so special to me. Happy Mother's Day! :) C

Busy Week

I'm still tired from last week. But I had a lot of fun! It was fun to see Joe again. He used to live here too. In our town. But his dad got transferred and they moved to Utah. But we still see each other at the different conferences. My Dad pays for him to go. He thinks it's important for us to learn about our culture.

Our show went really well on Saturday. Sunday we went to see lots of groups perform. We got to sing too! And my Dad and me ate lots of food! That's our favorite thing to do at things like this. I also bought lots of jewelry, monos, and ribbons. We got my Nana some too! She likes these earrings.

Joe went home early Monday morning. We came home later in the afternoon. Our bags are still at the door! We haven't unpacked. Because I had to go back to school yesterday. And my Dad went back to work.

Last night we had a long dance rehearsal. I'm glad we don't have one today. I'm really tired. And I got all my homework done before we came back. I'm ahead of my classes because my Dad got my work before we left. I finished it. And my classes haven't gotten that far yet!

Tonight I think I'm going to bed early. I'm really tired. But we had so much fun last week! It's just sad that it only happens a few times a year! There are 4 conferences that I like to go to most. I'm glad my Dad teaches at them and that I get to go. :) C

Learning A Lot!

I've been learning a lot here at the conference. Joe and I have been practicing our duet. We get to sing tomorrow night for the big dinner. And we are singing Friday-Sunday. It's really exciting!

Our dance group has learned a lot of new dances too! Marissa is having a lot of fun. But she is still made that they don't let her dance with the candles. She has to dance with a vaso of agua. All of my tios are teaching like my Dad. It's really a lot of fun here. :)

I'm most excited for Saturday night's show. My tios are performing a big show too! We get to dance for part of it. The whole conference is fun. I'm glad my Dad brings me. And I'm glad he pays for Joe to come too!

We're getting ready to go for dinner. I'm really hungry today. My pansa keeps making noise. I hope we go somewhere with good food. :) C

I'm Excited!

My Dad and I are at the airport. We're going to the Mariachi Conference this week. We get to see lots of friends! My Nono is going to be teaching too! I can't wait to see him! I wish my Nana was coming. But she has school and work. So she couldn't come.

My dance school gets to come too. But they're not coming until tomorrow. My Dad has to be there tomorrow. Because he's teaching. The teachers have a special rehearsal tomorrow. That's why we're going to be there early.

You should see all the bags we have! I have 2 suitcases with just my dresses, hair pieces, and shoes! My Dad and me each have a regular suitcase. Then we have a garment bag with both of our Mariachi Trajes. And we have our 2 violins. My Dad also has his briefcase for his music and laptop!

We are going to be gone until next Monday. But I'm excited to go! I'm taking the dance classes. But I'm also going to study voice. And my Dad is going to be teaching me the violin stuff in the evenings. This is going to be a lot of fun! I can't wait to see Joe. We're singing a duet too! :) C

Family

We had everyone over for dinner last night. We went to mass, then my Dad made dinner for all of us. We came back to our house. And we had lots and lots of fun!

I'm starting to think, family is not just the people who are related by blood. My sister doesn't talk to my Dad or me. And I've never gotten to see my baby brother. My mom is not really a mom. It's hard to talk about that. But she just chose to not be a part of our family.

My only real family is my Dad and my abuelitas. We all live together. And I really do LOVE it! We're very close. And we all get along really well.

But I think family is about more people that love you. Like my Nana and Nono. My Nana is a lot like a mom to me. She is always here for me when I need her. She told me to call her whenever I need or want to talk. We have lots of friends who are really close. They're my tios and tias. All of their kids are close to me too.

Family is about people that love you. No matter what, they are always there for you. I like that. I like the family that we have made. It feels nice to have so many people around me that really do love me. They don't expect me to lie for them, or to give them money. They just love me, and I love them. :) C

Birthday Party

Yesterday we had a big birthday party at our house. It was for Maribel, Lauren, my Nana, and me. All of our birthdays are close together. And Lauren and Maribel's moms just had babies. Their birthday parties were supposed to be last weekend. But my Nana and my Tio Berto asked us if we could make them all at the same time. Since that is when the babies started to come. I was really excited! And my Dad said it was OK to have all the parties together.

Maribel and Lauren turned 3. I turned 12. I'm not sure how old my Nana is. But she is 20 something. Tio Berto asked me to keep the secret. We surprised my Nana. She thought the party was just for us 3 girls. But Tio Berto bought my Nana a big birthday cake, her own pinata, and lots of presents. :)

Our birthday parties are always Matanzas too. That's when you kill a pig and cook it. Early yesterday morning, all my tios and my Dad killed 3 pigs. And then they started to cook. They're really good at it. 2 of the pigs had been at my Tio Berto's house. And 1 had been here. We fatten them up until the day they kill them. My favorite part, are the chicharrones. It's pretty much fried pork fat. But it tastes good in fresh tortillas. :)

Everyone had a lot of fun! My tios played too! They're mariachis. And my Nana sang with them. They even got Maribel to sing a song. She's getting really good! There was a lot of dancing and eating. And we got to see both sets of twins. They came for a little while on their way home.

This was my best birthday ever! I got to spend it with a lot of people I love. And I got to share my birthday party with my 2 friends and my Nana! :) C

Happy Birthday Maribel

Today Maribel turns 3. She is getting so big! Maribel is my friend. And I'm glad that we have our birthdays so close together. :) Her favorite character is Tinker Bell. I made her something special for her birthday. I just hope I get to see her to give it to her. Happy Birthday Maribel! :) C

Lots of Stuff

Last night my Nana came over for dinner. We had a lot of people over. My Nana was OK. But she was sad. I think she really misses her auntie. I feel bad that she couldn't be there with her. But she told us that she would be OK.

Marissa still doesn't want her little brother. Her mom is going to have twins. A boy and a girl. I think it's exciting. But Marissa doesn't want a brother. She has been trying to give him to my Dad. Everyone thinks it's funny. But she told us all that she doesn't want him.

It's getting closer to all of our birthdays. And to all the babies coming. That is really exciting! My Dad told me that there is just something special about March. All the really important people are born in March. I don't know. Because my Dad is special too. And he was born in January. :) C