Celin Dion

AMAZING!!! That about sums up our night in St. Pete on Thursday at the Celin Dion concert. She is an awesome singer and an even more incredible entertainer. She was more than I could've imagined.

So, on a whim, I called my Uncle Bob and Aunt Lana to see if they would want to go to the concert as well (knowing they are big Celin Dion fans) and of course, who WOULDN'T want to go. So, Rico jumped online, found them some great last minute tickets. We made plans and made our way to The Forum.

Our plans were to go to Tampa/St. Pete in time to go out for a nice dinner, then head on over to the St. Pete Times Forum for the concert. However, we got stuck in traffic (rush hour, go figure) so dinner was not an option. Therefore, we ate chicken fingers and french fries at the Forum right before the concert began. We were so excited to be at the concert, we didn't let this ruin our night.

In summary, if you ever have the chance to see Celin Dion in concert.......jump on it. She is an awesome singer and an excellent performer who is gorgeous with a HOT body.

P.S. I read online where cameras were not aloud, so I had to leave my camera in the car. No pictures to show for!!! Guess you'll have to go see for yourself.

My Surprise

Tonight Rico surprised me with the best surprise yet. We are going to see Celin Dion in concert. Yep, we are headed to St. Pete Times Forum tomorrow for an evening out. We will dine at Channelside then head over and see Celin Dion perform LIVE!!! I cannot wait. I have been wanting to see her FOREVER and she is finally coming to our neighborhood. What a great husband I have and what a great night we will have together. Details and pictures to follow.

Raul Alcala

Most blog entries are exciting and happy ones. I am lucky to say that most things that go on in our lives are happy and exciting. However, life is full of ups and downs therefore, we must take the good with the bad. I am upset to have to write this, but Rico's father passed away yesterday. He is now with God in Heaven where we know he will always be excited and happy. Afterall, that's what Heaven is all about. He lived to be 70 years old and he will be forever remembered and always missed. God rest his soul.



Raul visiting us in Florida. Lexi never left his side.

Jessi and Raul on his Birthday. April 6th (a few years ago)

Raul, Matt (our friend) and Rico

Our Busy Day

Now that Avery is a whopping 9 months old, I felt he was ready to attend his first playdate. So, we loaded up and headed to one of the local libraries for "Partners in Play." There were children there ranging from 8 months old to 3 years old. Of course one of Avery's best friends, Jadyn, went as well, so he had a familiar face there. I should also mention that since Avery is all grown up, he feels that he is ready to feed himself. Well, we gave him a try at it..........





"Here ya go, son,, your own plate of dinner as you requested." Notice how clean he is.....


At the playgroup... Jadyn is ready to get comfy on a beanbag....Avery, not so sure what's goin' on yet.

After a long day, Avery enjoys a Baby Einstein movie. He's excited to see it, he wants to crawl through the T.V.

Still enthralled........

"Better grab my sniffer, (AKA his blanket) I'll probably enjoy the show even more."

Surf's Up Dude!!!

Avery has become a regular at Siesta Key Beach and he just loves it. He has quite an assorment of swimming trunks already, now we are trying to find him the most suitable surf board. Well, not really just yet. We made several trips to the beach while Mimi and Papa were here and he is attracting beach babes like it's his job. Way to go son.



Mom and Avery taking a stroll along the water's edge.


Time to get your feet wet.........

Quick photo op....."Dad, time for you to get in some of the pics. "

"Dad, if you lay real still, you can be a great climbing block for me. "

Traditions

Our family (immediate and extended family) has many traditions. And, one of our traditions is that we always attend the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida every New Year's Day. So, of course, this year where were we New Year's Day? You guessed it.....in Tampa at the Outback Bowl. This year it was between South Carolina and Iowa. We had GREAT weather, PERFECT seats (had we been any closer we would've been on the sideline), Avery was a complete trooper and of course we had a snack or two. On the down side, the game was TERRIBLE. South Carolina should've just stayed home as Iowa whooped their A**!!! Oh well, it was still a great time.




Mimi and myself while Avery takes it all in.


Just a view from our seats.

Right outside Raymond James Stadium.

The Marching Bands at half time.

Avery's 1st Christmas

Avery's first Christmas.....wow, did it ever make for a different Christmas, but a great one at that. It was so neat to be able to shop for toys and books and play Santa Claus for the first time. Although Avery didn't understand any of it, Mommy and Daddy sure did and we enjoyed it to the fullest. We had Mimi and Papa here, and Avery's Great Grandma and Great Grandpa as well. We had a fabulous meal prepared by Rico and Mimi and PERFECT weather for Christmas. What a great day it was.


Mommy and Avery discovering all the bells and whistles on his new bike.


Oooooh, a delicious Christmas dinner, Chicken, sweet potatoes and applesauce!!! "Can I have seconds please?"

Back on the bike again. "This thing is cool." ("Don't worry, there's a gate around the pool, no matter how hard I try I can't drive my bike into the water.")

Avery and Papa opening presents. "Papa, I will show you how to tear into these gifts in NO TIME."

All of the Alcalas ready to see what Santa has brought. (Notice Avery is so excited he's about to jump off the couch.)

"Whew, all that excitement of presents and more presents....I'm exhausted."

HO HO HO!!!

HO HO HO!!! Merry Christmas. The Alcala Family would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. We are very excited to have our first Christmas with Avery Alexander. We have already made so many memories with him during the holiday season that will probably be the start of many holiday traditions to come. Anyhow, we haven't updated our blog lately as we have been very busy. Mimi and Papa arrived safely from Illinois on Saturday, December 20th. Rico and Dad have been golfing nonstop.....doing exactly what they love, while Mom, Avery and I have been playing outside, catching some rays, baking and shopping.........doing exactly what we love.

Last night we hosted a holiday party at our house with some of our closest friends in the sunshine state. We had about 25 people at our house and the weather couldn't have cooperated more. We enjoyed great food, cocktails and good conversation with some great laughs by the pool.


Pat, Jadyn, Rico and Avery chillin while the females prepare the food.

Most of the chicks in attendance at the party. We all thought it would be a great idea to pose for a pic by the Christmas tree......yet, where's the Christmas tree.......hidden behind all of us. Great idea girls. This is what happens when you get a bunch of girls together drinking wine.....

My mom and dad chillin' by the pool, playing with Avery, waiting on the guests to arrive.

Well, cheers to a very Merry Christmas and most importantly Happy Birthday Jesus.

Cookie Monster

Today was the day for making those ever so yummy Christmas cookies. I had an excellent helper in the kitchen (see below) so they turned out fabulous. Next step is to deliver them to our neighbors. We are very fortunate to have AWESOME neighbors, so we want them to know how thankful we are for them. And, what better way to show them then by baking Christmas Goodies.


My Helper: "Mom, as you dirty the dishes, I'll put them in the dishwasher...after of course, I lick the cookie dough out of the pans."


Yes, he climbed up there all by himself....no assistance needed by mom.

A Fabulous Assortment: Sugar cookies, Chocolate Chip, Hershey Kiss Cookies, etc.

"After all that labor, I am EXHAUSTED. I'm gonna take a snooze while you finish, mom."

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Well, the decorations are up and the house is ready for Christmas. We have some presents to wrap, but we are basically ready for Santa Claus to come fill our stockings.



This is my favorite part of the decorations....the lil' Christmas tree in Avery's nursery with the twinkling, colored lights. He loves to lay in his crib at night and sing out loud "Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree......."

And, the Alcala Family Christmas tree... a fake one, what a beauty!!! (And we didn't even have to drive to the middle of no where to pick it out)

Ah, how romantic....the lights and greenery above our headboard!!!

And, the outside lights. Didn't Clark do a real nice job, just a real nice job Clark!!!

Side Note: For those of you who don't know; the movie "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" is one of my all time favorites.....so I will be quoting it often during our Christmas blogs. If you haven't seen the movie, I recommend pouring yourself some eggnog (or a stiff Captain and coke) and renting it. What a great flick!!!