Mexico and Preparing for Turkey Day

Last weekend the kids got to enjoy some time with their cousins in California and Mexico. On Saturday we bundled up the kids (yes it was cold) and we hit a parade. Carmen hung out with her favorite cousin Destiny and "Baby Jayda" is now old enough to follow the girls around too! Carmen insisted on wearing my sunglasses the entire morning!

Later on that evening, we crossed the border and went down to Mexicali, Mexico to Abel's grandmother's house. The family surprised Carmen with a birthday bash! The party had decorations, carne asada on the grill, posters, balloons, pinata, presents, cake, and plenty of kids running around.

She loved her party! The kids played with cousins that they haven't seen in a year. Down below in this picture you can see the driveway to the house is gated and secure. Things down there continue to get worse but once we are at the house I feel safe because we are totally closed in!

Carmen whacked the pinata so hard! Can't wait to see her hit a baseball in a few months!

Abel's dad came to the party. We call him Grandpa Efrain. He gave Carmen a special necklace which she loved.

This weekend it was my recovery weekend from the Mexico trip but also my "gear up and prepare for Thanksgiving" weekend. I had a gigantic list of things to do. Here was my list for Saturday and Sunday:

-clean the house

-laundry

-plan the thanksgiving meal

-shop for thankgiving

-birthday present for Gianni's friend

-birthday party

-winter coat for Gianni

-dance pictures

-dance class

-Gianni has homework

-buy the turkey

-clean the front yard

-clean the back yard

-organize the garage

-find the Christmas tree and ornament boxes

And....I did it all! We got everything done and we still were able to watch football and have a relaxing evening with the kids. Tonight we grilled chicken for fajitas. The kids made their own fajita with the toppings of their choices. We ate dinner outside by fire light. Then we played games in the backyard. It was the perfect end to a busy weekend. We are ready for Thanksgiving and Nonna!