Victoria turns 10!!!

Early morning birthday doughnut before school


It doesn't seem like I should have a 10 year old, but alas I do, and it has been a fun ride so far. Last week Victoria turned 10. On the day of her birthday, we celebrated with lunch at Chili's and cake at home. It was funny, because we thought about invited a few people to cut cake with us, but then decided that not to, because we really don't know the meaning of "a few." But, wouldn't you know, as we were cutting the cake, our neighbors, Jose Luis and Adriana, rung the doorbell and enjoyed a piece of cake with us. For the "official" celebration, Victoria invited three of her friends for a sleep over at our local Holiday Inn. I will have to say, that all in all, it was an excellent idea! All the girls enjoyed their time with each other and got along really well, and it was a very fun and unusual activity for them. After school on Friday, we had lunch and then I, along with Isabella, took them over to the hotel to check and in and head for the heated pool. They spent all afternoon and evening in the pool with activities ranging from Olympic synchronized swimming competitions to playing queens of nature (queens of the ocean, sea animals, etc.). They opted to stay in for dinner, so we had pizza while they played Wii and watched movies. Amazingly enough, they were all asleep by 11:00 pm! I couldn't believe it! The next morning after breakfast, they swam some more before check-out time. Sam, Sofia and Olivia joined us for breakfast and swimming. Sofia had a very, very, very hard time with all of this, because she could not understand why life was so unfair that she could not spend the night at the hotel and enjoy all the same things her sister was enjoying. I get the feeling we haven't heard the last of it yet...probably won't for a few years! If I had known how relaxing it was going to be for me also, I would have done this long ago. It was really a great celebration.
Victoria is such a beautiful young lady still somewhere between a little kid and such a grown-up! She can go from a responsible young lady to a heap of tears over her sister's harassing. It is amazing and baffling. Victoria's sensitivity to others feelings always touches our heart. She is beautiful inside and out. We are so proud of her and look forward to many, many more birthdays.

Cake with the family on her birthday



Lunch with her friends on Friday before the festivities begin


Sofia looking the happiest she did all weekend. Usually she was a mess of tears for one reason or another.


Wii action



Victoria and her friends, Elsita, Fernanda and Dania

Kings Day

I am figuring out videos, so this is a good opportunity to show you what we have been up to. On January 6, very shortly after returning from christmas travels, we celebrated Kings day with a new crowd for us. King's Day is more important in Mexico because it is when kids get gifts from the three wise men. Our church had a special contribution in December to help street kids. The first amazing thing is that we raised more than $1000 USD. That is so amazing for our group!!!! So, armed with cash, the church bought over 100 blankets, 40 or sweatshirts and sweatpants and some jackets for kids. We also gathered used clothing and toys. We joined Rodger Garcia who opens his home to street kids everyday. He has been doing this for several years. The first year he had about 20 kids, the next year 40, and now he feeds about 200 kids each day. He helps as many of them as he can get off drugs, finish school and get jobs. On January 6, we treated the kids and many families to treats that they may not have had otherwise -- they had dinner, special bread that is served on that day, piñata, candy and of course blankets and clothes. It has been estimated that 300 plates of food were served! Rodger has a lady, Panchita, who is very poor, cook the food for him on a daily basis, and she also cooked for this occasion. She did this in spite of the fact that two days earlier her daughter-in-law and grandson had been run over (some drug related disputes), her grandson was killed, and her daughter-in-law continues to be in the hospital in a coma. She wanted to do this as a tribute to her grandson. Her spirit and courage was a blessing to all of us!
Enjoy the videos...we had a great day!

Battle of the Wills

There are so many more important things I should be blogging about, especially since you haven't heard from me in forever; however, this is on the brain and rather amusing, so you must hear about our hamster, and you can hear about the rest later...A few months ago we were browsing in a pet shop when Sofia suggested she wanted a hamster and she had money to get it. So, what can you say to that? Her dad said yes...We ended up with "Sandy" a rather aggressive and Houdini hamster.
Sam had the brilliant and very creative idea to use a little wooden play cabin of the girls and adapt it as a hamster house. And, thus, the battle began. The hamster's sole mission became getting out of the house and Sam's sole mission became confining the hamster in his lovely cabin! The hamster was amazing at getting out and got progressively better at it. The little cabin with plexiglass walls turned into Alcatraz with wire mesh around the top, little ties to hold the wire down, duct tape around the edges, bungee cord to hold closed the door and finally my good kitchen towel (which the hamster chewed up completely) stuffed in the corner to keep him in. The nice high class cabin was now some kind of red-neck contraption.
After the hamster got out during our small group, and then with company on various occasions where we had to reassure them that we didn't have rodents but simply a pet taking a stroll around the kitchen, I insisted on new accommodations for the hamster. So, tonight, Sam came home with the deluxe hamster cage, and just in time as I was catching it yet once again.
As you can see, our hamster is very happy and enjoying his new place and I am much more confident that he will be there in the morning safe and sound and out of my furniture!

Before pictures -- Sam's very creative contraption (seriously, Sam gets major points for being creative and persistent in the task)






After pictures -- the new hamster condominium




Now to leave you with a look at the beauties in our home, here are a few shots taken at a birthday party a couple of months ago, expect Olivia who must have been camera shy. Instead, you see what cuteness I have to put up with at home on a daily basis...








And just in case you want a bigger dose of photos, you can check out the latest Vincent family portraits here. Enjoy