San Antonio - Days 2 & 3

Day two began very early with my sister calling at 0730 in the morning to see if we were ready!! We weren't even awake yet! My sister is an early riser and I guess she expected us all to be. After everyone woke up and got ready (very quickly) we went downstairs for breakfast in one of the restaurants downstairs. It was a wonderful buffet with everything you could imagine. All of the little boys ate more than enough and we all returned to our rooms to pack our bags for Sea World. I had never been to Sea World before and it was pretty cool. With my father's handicap placard we were able to park on the second row and basically walk right in. We all took turns pushing Grandpa around and went to many shows. For the first show we went to, Jose and Ipolito joined my nephews in the front row! After the first splash Ipolito was done. He did not want anything to do with the splashing. The shows were really cool. They even had an Elmo show that let the kids go up and touch the characters. It was pretty cute! We didn't ride any of the rides and that was fine with me. Around late afternoon we went to the swim park played in the water for about an hour and a half. For dinner that night we went to Pizza Hut and had some pizza. The boys all had at least 2 slices each plus peaches! 

My Daddy & I!

Papi & Ipolito

Marcus & Jack

Front row seats for the Elmo show!

Flores Family & Tele Monster

Once we got back to the hotel we changed into our swim clothes and went to the pool for a couple of hours! These boys couldn't get enough of the water. 

Day 3 started the same as Day 2, only this time it was my parents doing the waking up. Apparently no one in my family sleeps past 0700! This day we went to Denny's for breakfast and Ipolito didn't break out! He usually breaks out if we go to IHOP or Denny's. I was armed with the Benadryl just in case but I didn't need it. Hopefully he is growing out of this egg allergy. Monday was our Six Flags day and we had so much fun! We rode many, many rides. Our little Ipolito is a daredevil and loves to ride any and all rides at least once. He may tell us at the end that he doesn't like it but he will try it!! After relaxing at the water park in Six Flags we went to have dinner at Chris Madrid's! 

Hi Mom!

Jack & Pito

Papi & Pito

They had some amazing hamburgers! Even Ipolito had a little 1/4 of mine. We actually ordered him tostada's because we didn't think he would eat the hamburger (he never has), but once he saw his cousins doing it he wanted one too! He loved it! 

Chris Madrid's (no we don't know the people in this picture)

That night after we dropped off Grandma and Grandpa we went to see Courtney, Jose, & Christian. They had a beautiful house and many toys for Ipolito to play with. Of note, our first night home during our prayers, Ipolito asked to pray for Papi's friends and their little boy because he let him play with his toys.  

Ipolito & Christian

You can see how happy they were about having their picture taken

My Jose, Ipolito, Jose S., & Christian

May 2009

San Antonio - Day 1

I am really trying to catch up on my blogging. I have so many pictures and stories I have saved in my email but I literally just do not have any time to do anything!  Now, I do....for a few weeks at least! 


To celebrate the ending of my practicum/graduation, we decided to go on a mini vacation to San Antonio. My parents, Marcus, my sister Rita, her husband, & two sons also joined us. Jose and I booked reservations at the Omni Hotel, reserved a van, and left on Saturday around noon. Jose had to work the night before so he got off early, came home and went to sleep for a few hours. The plan was for me to drive the whole way down so he could catch some more sleep. That morning Ipolito & I finished the last minute packing and waited for my mom to come get us so we could go pick up the van. We got there at exactly 10 am and the guy at the counter told me the van wouldn't be ready for about 15 minutes because the van need an oil change. Luckily the Budget car rental was inside Sears so we looked at the new refrigerators, washers, and dryers and rode the escalator a few times. When I came back 20 minutes later (I gave him an extra 5 minutes) he told me it wouldn't be ready for 30 more minutes. By this time I was getting very antsy. I had a schedule people! I also was getting nervous because by this time Jose was awake and waiting for us, plus we still had to go to my parents, feed my dad, have my mom pack up some last minute stuff, pack the van, and come to my house and pack our stuff! PLUS I was driving! Everything worked out though and we got a nice little mini van complete with a DVD player. 


The ride down was very nice and over half of the way everyone but me (which was a plus since I was driving) & my parents slept. It took us a little over 4 hours to get there with one stop and some traffic in Austin! We safely arrived at our hotel and it was amazing. I loved the staff (who were made of Aggies) and we were all next to each other. The rooms were amazing and unfortunately we found out very quickly that Ipolito could open the doors. At one point I heard him and opened our door to peek out thinking he was on his way over. My mom it turns out was just running out her door looking for my son. She said he escaped. We both took off after him and guess where he was? He had pushed the elevator button and was just walking onto the elevator. He was quite proud of his accomplishment! From that moment on we all had to deadbolt our rooms when all of the boys were in there. 

The lobby @ the Omni Hotel

After everyone arrived safely and had unpacked we left to meet Jose's friend Gabe at a restaurant called La Fogata. I was a wonderful place with a great atmosphere. Most of the seating was outside and that was fine with us. Unfortunately there was big gray rain cloud over us. No one thought it would rain. It wasn't in the forecast and let's be real we are in the midst of a dry heat wave here at home. Well, it rained and it rained HARD! It rained for about 30 minutes. We were all lucky enough to hide under some umbrellas with our margaritas in hand! My mom, sister, and I all had some margaritas and they were yummy. In fact we were all a bit on the tipsy side because we had not really had anything to eat since breakfast time. Once we were seated (inside with the AC) we had a wonderful, delicious meal! My food was wonderful and everyone ate most if not all of their food! Afterwards, since it was pretty late, the boys all ran from room to room like little girls for a little bit. Then we all turned in for the night!

My loopy sister and mother!

We are all very happy!

Oh man...we have the same smile!

My sweet little man after the storm!

Oh happy day!

Mommy & Pito! 

Silly Marcus & I!

They guys....a little wet but happy!

Singing a song for my mom & sister!

Mr. Gabe

The boys enjoying the music!

Stay tuned for Day 2!

Easter 2011

We have been keeping very busy here lately. It seems as there is always something going on & we are always on the go. In regards to family news, Jose recently started a new job. He seems to enjoy it and be in his element once again. I am super happy for him and the pay raise he is getting compared to his old job.


Mr. Ipolito Flores or as he says, "Pito Forez" is growing like a weed and learning so much every single day. He carries on conversations with me all of the time and is very inquisitive. He definitely shares his opinion on everything and loves to play with the "big" boys still.


This past weekend was Easter. The past few weeks we have been reading a Mickey Clubhouse Easter & The Easter Story. Ipolito knew what Easter involved Jesus & bunnies. BUT I don't think he really knew what to expect. He absolutely loved the story that involved Jesus. He knows who Jesus is and what Church is. At Church last Sunday as we took our money to the front of the alter for the Children's Collection he saw the Priest and said, "Wow, it's Jesus! I see Jesus!" I just chuckled to myself and almost cried (that seems to happen quite often). When we got back to the pew he told his Grandma & Grandpa, "I saw Jesus!"


Saturday night we decided to fill Easter eggs full of jelly beans. Mr. Pito loved this!

For Church I bought Ipolito the cutest seersucker suit! It barely fit by the time Easter came along, but we made it work! I kept thinking if he moves too much or jumps the wrong way it is just going to go RRRIIIPPPP!!

Seriously....could he be any cuter?!

While we were in Church on Easter Sunday there was a point in the Mass where we were reciting our baptismal promises. Ipolito was joining us by saying, "I DO!" He was very loud and strong with it too. He had a serious look on his face as well and people from many pews away were turning to look at us and smile! I again, was in tears. It made me so happy and made my heart swell with pride. I hope he continues to learn about Jesus place all of his faith in the good Lord!

Ipolito has a rather large Easter basket I bought for his first Easter. I plan on him using it until he is too old to hunt for eggs/candy. I filled it with all of his favorite things such as "candy suckers," "Krispy Treats," & "Dinosaurs" (aka fruit snacks). I also bought some little toys (a baseball and bat), books, bubbles, and a pinwheel. I love the dollar section at Target because that is where the majority of the goodies came from!  This was the first Easter he was able actually enjoy and search for candy. We decided to join my mother's family this year as we did when I was a little girl. These days we are unable to join them because our immediate family is just so large! With just my siblings, spouses, nieces, nephews, and great niece/nephews we total out at about 30 people!! We have wonderful get together's but don't want to impose all of these little boys on many! They are a rowdy bunch!  Anyhow, we went to a park not far from my mom's house and had a wonderful cookout. It was wonderful spending time with my extended family! Ipolito had so much fun! He ate well, got to play with the big boys, and enjoyed his cousins: Deet, Ivan, Isaiah, & Julian! He loves playing with "big" boys especially when they have balls readily available. At this time he is very into baseball. 

His super cool basket with all the goodies!!

His cool personalized "I" bunny shirt!

Looking at his cousins with his big cousin JJ!

All the little boys eating!

Getting Mama with a cascaron!

During the egg hunt!

With his goods!

For the actual hunt Ipolito was one of the first children to go because he is pretty much the youngest. He had so much fun and got so many goodies! He actually got quite a bit of Peeps! I guess because they were so big and bright compared to the other candy. I separated the goods into two piles: Papi & Ipolito. Pito's consisted of mainly "candy suckers" and soft candies & Papi got the rest. 

Afterwards we went to Abuelo's house to spend some time with them. We had another egg hunt and enjoyed our family. Unfortunately Papi had to work the night before and this night so we had to take many pictures to show him! Hopefully next year we will all be together!

Flores Family Easter

All in all we had a great Easter and I look forward to many more!