A week of BIG EVENTS for our family....

OH WHAT A WEEK! And I say that in the most positive, upbeat tone of voice possible!!

There were moments consisting of: AHHHH. Yippee!!! WAH! Hallelujah!!!

Monday May 26, 2008: We had the day off from work and school for Memorial Day....this was an AHHHH moment.

Tuesday May 27, 2008: Marcos gets his braces off! He had them on for 18 months and the best part is that he got them off while he was still only in 6th grade at the tender age of 12. He'll get to go into junior high with a million dollar smile that we got for the low, low price of $4000.00...this was a Yippee!!! moment.

(CHECK BACK SOON FOR PHOTOS!)

Alex had his consultation to see if he's ready to get his braces on. Dr. Silcox said that we should take Alex back in about 4 months to see if his 5 remaining baby teeth have fallen out by then. If so, it will be his turn to get braces put on. So much taking the braces off of Marcos's teeth and putting them directly onto Alex's teeth. It did make me feel sad for just an instant when I realized that there are only 5 baby teeth seperating me from having babies and having BIG BOYS....this was a WAH! moment.


Friday May 30, 2008: My Widdle Boy Anfreny graduated from high school...this was a Hallelujah!!!! moment.

He looked like the same confident kid that I dropped off for his first day of kindergarten, although he had just grown much taller and was definitely much more hairy. It amazed me to look at him and fully comprehend that at this HUGE milestone in his life that HE IS MINE! The same kid that slept in my arms all night long at Holy Cross Hospital on August 20, 1990. MINE! MINE! MINE! The same kid that at 3 years old would thank us for "kissing him on his lips." The same kid that at nearly 6 years old was so happy to finally have his little brother Marcos. The same kid that at 8 years old when Alex was born on his birthday didn't seem to mind that he had to share his special day with his new little brother and actually said that Alex was his best birthday present EVER (although he may not admit that he said that now!). The same kid that tested our parenting skills here and there throughout junior high and high school and made me worry, cry, feel frustrated, and maybe even yell (just a few times). Today that same kid was dressed in black slacks, a white button down shirt, a black tie, black gown and cap with a black and orange tassel. The best part of his outfit was his nice, broad, WHITE smile (he was obviously feeling as proud of himself as Manuel and I were feeling!)

YOU MADE IT ANTHONY! YOU DID IT!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!! We feel so proud of ourselves when everyone tells us what a great kid you have turned out to be....and we like to pat ourselves on the back and pretend like we had so much to do with your success, but really what it all boils down to is YOU. We know that there are lots of kids out there with parents that have better parenting skills than we do. More money than we do. More time, patience and understanding than we do. And those parents may have kids that don't graduate from high school because they don't have the same drive and motivation inside of them that you have proven that you have inside of you. Don't ever sell yourself short because I know that you are capable of anything that you put your mind to....and I'm going to try harder to believe you when you tell me that you 'have it on lock.' Thank you for doing your part in making me feel like we did a good job of being your mom and dad. We will ALWAYS be here for you. WE LOVE YOU!!!

A few photos from Anthony's day:



















My sister Leona and her husband Jerry and their grandson Brayden came from Las Vegas to attend Anthony's gradutation. We had dinner with the whole family at Iggy's and I think that Anthony had a great time.

Sunday-June 1, 2008: Manuel's birthday. Ask him how old he is and he'll say 28. Ask me how old he is and I'll tell you 34. Check his drivers license for yourself and you'll see that only one of us is telling the truth and that would be ME!

Manuel had to leave today at 3:30 pm to drive back to work in Laramie, Wyoming. He even works hard for his family on his BIRTHDAY...what a great guy!


















Happy 34th birthday Espo!!
TE QUIERO MUCHO MI AMOR....AYER, HOY Y PARA SIEMPRE!!



It is now 11:58 pm and Anthony just called me to let me know that he and his friends have arrived in Las Vegas and are checking into a hotel for the first night of their SENIOR TRIP. Definitely a well deserved vacation, but that doesn't mean that I won't still be worrying about him.




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